Considering DVC some questions

[Mousefan mom]

Hello--

We came so close to buying into DVC a few years ago, we had signed everything, but when we went to use our points for a second trip the rest of the year (family size of 5 and we must travel only on school breaks) we were so disappointed to see that we couldn't find anything for a week without doing a split stay so we canceled.

We continue to go back at least once a year. We generally stay at Deluxe level resorts. We are buying the annual pass this year, and can see that makes financial sense. However, I'm still on the fence about DVC. The Poly is my favorite resort, and I'd love to have ownership there...but the downside are the studios are smaller for a family of five, and the Bungalows are just crazy expensive. This leads me to questions...

1. How hard is it to stay (realistically) at a DVC resort that you don't have ownship within, and DH is generally not interested in Key West, Saratoga, etc. We prefer resorts on the monorail or epcot walking distance. We will always have to travel during school schedules, as I teach and we have school age kids. So I know the times we need are more of the "prime times".
2. How do the annual dues work, and how expensive are they? Does it matter if you have 50 points or 300 points.
3. How does it work if I buy poly now, but add more points at another resort later on?
Thank you so much for any help!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

How hard is it to stay (realistically) at a DVC resort that you don't have ownship within

Depends on expectations. From late September to marathon, switching at 7 months is quite difficult, particularly for studios. Expect to book and stay at home resort. The rest of the year, it will be rare to switch to lowest-cost units at BLT or BWV. Boardwalk and Beach Club are going to have more pressure that won't be going away as Toy Story and Galaxy's Edge opens. Grand Floridian is also hard year-round.

Year-round, if you want to switch, being ready and primed at 7:59AM of your 7 month is quite important. Do not expect to wait several weeks past 7 months and not be looking at Saratoga.

In general, if you can plan at 11 months and book your home resort, to be sure of a room, you will always be fine. Switching at 7 months to the most desirable locations, like the Epcot resorts or BLT, is getting harder year-round as more points are sold for new resorts. Studios (and often 2BRs) are harder to book than 1BRs. If you have 1BR points, switching gets easier (but not guaranteed).

How do the annual dues work, and how expensive are they? Does it matter if you have 50 points or 300 points.

Dues are per point, and per resort, and range from ~5.60/per point at Saratoga to $8.11/per point at Vero Beach, with other resorts falling between. They go up every year from 2-5% depending on property. You pay them every year.

How does it work if I buy poly now, but add more points at another resort later on?

Each set of points retains home resort booking, so the Poly points are good at 11 months at Poly, new points will be good at 11 months at other resort. They cannot be used together until 7 months.

 

[ivanp91]

1) The monorail and Epcot-area resorts are the most popular, presumably for the exact reasons you've outlined: they are more convenient for traveling to the parks. You will pretty much need to rule out Grand Floridian - it has one of the smallest amounts of DVC rooms out of any resort, and coupled with being a monorail resort it books out almost immediately (I'm an owner there and have only experienced a 50% success rate at exactly 11 months). You are concerned about Poly's studio sizes so that may rule it out. Bay Lake Tower is very popular due to being walking distance from MK. Their studios are ridiculously small IMO, so you'd need a minimum of a 1BR there, though I'm not sure how easy those are to get if it's a non-home resort. IMO don't completely rule out resorts that aren't park-adjacent. Animal Kingdom Lodge in particular is an absolute gem, and is my second favourite WDW/DVC resort behind Grand Floridian.

2) As _auroraborealis_ said, dues are a set amount per point that are paid every January. If you live in the USA you can choose to pay them by the month also, if you live internationally you must pay it as an annual lump sum. To give a rough idea, I own 125 points at VGF, dues are around $5.89 per point (which is around the middle when comparing the dues prices of all DVC properties) and paid around $740 in dues this past January.

3) To elaborate on what _auroraborealis_ answered, basically if you own 150 points at Poly and only 40 points at another resort, you can't use those extra 40 points to book at 11 months at Poly - if you didn't have enough points you would have to either borrow from your next Poly use year OR wait until 7 months. The same rule would apply if you wanted to book your "other" home resort at 11 months.

 

[Mousefan mom]

Thank you so much! Very detailed! As much as I would love to see DVC work for us, I just don't think it still makes a ton of sense for our family. For the type of vacations we like to take, we'd need about 225 points, and we often book around 4-6 months out and need to change dates for kids activities, etc. I was surprised to see the new Copper Creek DVC is still only built for family size of 4, etc. WDW as a whole, seems to be building more rooms so you can sleep that 5th person in--so I had just assumed the new DVC would as well...It just seems they have more DVC owners than the supply availability. Hopefully that will improve as they build more resorts.

I must say I am surprised how expensive the Poly bungalows are. I'm sure Disney wouldn't build them if there wasn't a demand for them--but the jump from studio to bungalow is substantial....ouch! Am I missing something?

 

[ivanp91]

Basing it on nothing but my own opinion, but I think Disney waaay overestimated when it came to pricing the bungalows which they kind of corrected when it came to pricing the cabins at Copper Creek. I've been at DVC presentations where the guides have tried to justify the cost of the bungalows by saying it's somewhere you would stay for a night as a special way to end your vacation, or similar. I've also seen social media posts regarding members getting tours of the bungalows and noting cobwebs, spiders, etc around them because of their low utilisation (in saying that, I also saw a post the other day from one lucky family that got upgraded to one due to studio availability - lucky!). There's no easy way to solve how expensive they are either - you may be aware that the only way Disney can alter the points chart is to move points from one section to another (no reduction or addition to the overall chart is allowed). If Disney wanted to make the bungalows cheaper, technically they need to redistribute those points which will bump up the price of the studios...

 

[Mousefan mom]

Basing it on nothing but my own opinion, but I think Disney waaay overestimated when it came to pricing the bungalows which they kind of corrected when it came to pricing the cabins at Copper Creek. I've been at DVC presentations where the guides have tried to justify the cost of the bungalows by saying it's somewhere you would stay for a night as a special way to end your vacation, or similar. I've also seen social media posts regarding members getting tours of the bungalows and noting cobwebs, spiders, etc around them because of their low utilisation (in saying that, I also saw a post the other day from one lucky family that got upgraded to one due to studio availability - lucky!). There's no easy way to solve how expensive they are either - you may be aware that the only way Disney can alter the points chart is to move points from one section to another (no reduction or addition to the overall chart is allowed). If Disney wanted to make the bungalows cheaper, technically they need to redistribute those points which will bump up the price of the studios...

That makes sense. I wanted to look at a tool to see what availability would be like for DVC about 6 months out (just to give me an idea--but knowing the only options we could do in the next 6-7 months is Thanksgiving week or Christmas break), but the only thing that I can view is 60 days out on their website. Its mostly Saratoga, and even then you might be doing a split stay...the bungalows are often available though. Certainly no Studio availability...I know when we almost joined before we did so over Spring break...came home to book our summer vacation and there was nothing available for a full week in anytime over that summer. That is when we canceled.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DVC is not a good fit for people who are not planning 7-11 months in advance, unless they are comfortable and willing to stay at Saratoga, and not always then.

 

[Sandisw]

I am a teacher and have to travel on vacations as well. For summer, I have been pretty lucky in getting what I want. For this summer, I was able to get Poly for 4 nights for a July trip. I have also been able to get VGF, BLT, and BRV (formerly Wilderness Lodge) in the summer as well within the 7 month mark.

For travel during the fall, I own BWV so we can stay there for Food & Wine when we want to go for a long weekend. I have not yet tried to get anything during the Spring break time. But, on short notice, have been able to get AKV, SSR, and OKW during Memorial Day weekend.

If regularly booked 4 - 6 months out, you will have to be flexible in what will be available. In addition, if that is your typical pattern, then truly having a certain home resort is less important as you are not taking advantage of the home resort priority.

One option is to look at buying for stays with DVC every other year, at a time when you know you might go, so you can book 11 months out, and choose a home resort based on that. Good luck!

 

[disneynutz]

We assume that the GV's, bungalows, and cabins are only for DVC use, in reality Disney can put VIPs and other guests in them.

Bill

 

[Dean]

Hello--

We came so close to buying into DVC a few years ago, we had signed everything, but when we went to use our points for a second trip the rest of the year (family size of 5 and we must travel only on school breaks) we were so disappointed to see that we couldn't find anything for a week without doing a split stay so we canceled.

We continue to go back at least once a year. We generally stay at Deluxe level resorts. We are buying the annual pass this year, and can see that makes financial sense. However, I'm still on the fence about DVC. The Poly is my favorite resort, and I'd love to have ownership there...but the downside are the studios are smaller for a family of five, and the Bungalows are just crazy expensive. This leads me to questions...

1. How hard is it to stay (realistically) at a DVC resort that you don't have ownship within, and DH is generally not interested in Key West, Saratoga, etc. We prefer resorts on the monorail or epcot walking distance. We will always have to travel during school schedules, as I teach and we have school age kids. So I know the times we need are more of the "prime times".
2. How do the annual dues work, and how expensive are they? Does it matter if you have 50 points or 300 points.
3. How does it work if I buy poly now, but add more points at another resort later on?
Thank you so much for any help!

As long as you're realistic and plan ahead at least 7 months or more, you really should be OK though non of us know the future. Personally I'd be comfortable buying at SSR (not OKW but for other reasons) and I'd be OK staying at any of the WDW resorts. You need to investigate enough that you understand the issues you've raised and more, this usually takes a few months of active investigation. It sounds like DVC would be a good fit if you're OK planning ahead and OK staying at SSR/OKW or planning 11 months out and buying elsewhere. As posted, BLT sounds to be the best fit for your situation and when you factor in dues, is likely to be the second cheapest resort to own long term. But owning elsewhere and getting other options does require planning and understanding, if not active use, of the wait list. And for fall breaks and Xmas, it may require the 11 month window other than SSR/OKW.

 

[Best Aunt]

(family size of 5 and we must travel only on school breaks)

Which school breaks?

If you mean Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or President's week - I doubt you can book these at 4 to 6 months out (although others can correct me if I'm wrong).

If you mean any time during the summer - maybe you can book at 4 to 6 months out.

If you mean during some break that your school district does, but is not a U.S. nation-wide vacation time - more likely. For example, some school districts have Superintendents' Days when the kids do not have to go to school.

Also, you are a family of 5, so make sure you understand the bed situation for studios and 1-bedrooms at the different resorts (factoring in which people in your family are willing to share beds).

Also make sure you understand what happens to your DVC points if you cancel, including the rules for banked and borrowed points.

 

[Mousefan mom]

Which school breaks?

If you mean Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or President's week - I doubt you can book these at 4 to 6 months out (although others can correct me if I'm wrong).

If you mean any time during the summer - maybe you can book at 4 to 6 months out.

If you mean during some break that your school district does, but is not a U.S. nation-wide vacation time - more likely. For example, some school districts have Superintendents' Days when the kids do not have to go to school.

Also, you are a family of 5, so make sure you understand the bed situation for studios and 1-bedrooms at the different resorts (factoring in which people in your family are willing to share beds).

Also make sure you understand what happens to your DVC points if you cancel, including the rules for banked and borrowed points.

Our district doesn't do a fall break, unfortunately and spring break is always the week before or after Easter--so truly we have the busiest times to go (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Pres day, Easter, etc.). We do have all summer, and we used to begin late August--so this was a good time to go (less crowded 3rd week in August), but now due to standardized tests they are starting earlier and earlier:-(. We do get out before Memorial day so an early summer vaca is a possibility, but I do love having it mid-late summer so we look forward to it all summer. We usually stay a week.

 

[gracelrm]

I've been a DVC owner for 16 years and have been a teacher with school aged kids the entire time. My DH was also a teacher but retired this summer! Our family of five also only traveled during school vacations and my husband's position only allowed us to travel during June as he returned to work in early July each year. We have traveled to Disney during our fall break, Christmas break, spring break and June (usually one trip a year). We typically had 1 BR accommodations and took a air mattress with us to accommodate the 5th person. I pretty much always made a reservation at my home resort (VWL/BRV) at the 11 month window and changed if we wanted to at 7 months. There were a few times I had to waitlist for our desired resort, but somehow, some way, they always came through. I do believe that the bigger DVC gets, it is harder to get certain resorts. Our Christmas break trips have come when the school calendar has us getting out around the 17th and we'll go for five or six days and then be home before the crowds are so large. Our Spring Break does not necessarily correspond with Easter, it is the first full week of April and sometimes Easter falls in March or late April and thus the time we have gone has not been the high point days.

I think the key to it working for us is that we are perfectly happy at Kidani (because we love the 2nd bathroom in a 1BR) and we love OKW for the room size and we love SAB at BCV and we love BLT for the location and the 2nd bathroom and we love that we can get connecting studios at PVB and so on. We find something that makes us happy at each resort and then we just love being at Disney. I think that has been the key for us. If it becomes more difficult for us to change from our home resort at 7 months and waitlists don't happen, we will be perfectly happy at VWL.

In my small school, we have three current teachers and two former teachers that all made DVC work for them on school breaks - so it can be done, it just takes preplanning. We have another teacher (family of six) that rent points once or twice a year for DVC and they are able to get the resorts they want by renting. So, don't pass up DVC just because you are a teacher - it can work!

 

[Deb & Bill]

It really doesn't seem like DVC is a good fit for your family and style of vacationing at this point. You might try renting points and see how that works for you for the times you want to go. But not being able to book a minimum of seven months out will not be road to success for you.

 

[alldiz]

Hi,
I just wanted to add about the studios at Polynesian. IMO these are the largest and best studios for a family of 5. There are 2 bathrooms. The pull down murphy bed is very comfortable my DD said. She is 5 ft 5 and 120 pds.
So a small adult is fine there. The room felt really large and very well laid out.
In fact I loved the poly studio(lake view) and resort so much it is now my favorite.
Happy planning
Kerri

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hi,
I just wanted to add about the studios at Polynesian. IMO these are the largest and best studios for a family of 5. There are 2 bathrooms. The pull down murphy bed is very comfortable my DD said. She is 5 ft 5 and 120 pds.
So a small adult is fine there. The room felt really large and very well laid out.
In fact I loved the poly studio(lake view) and resort so much it is now my favorite.
Happy planning
Kerri

There really isn't two bathrooms. It's really a split bathroom with a tub, sink and toilet on one side and shower and sink on the other. So only one toilet which can be critical at times. But the shower seems to be really nice. That's something DVC is doing well when they are designing and renovating. Nice standalone showers.