Considering DVC

[torian]

We started small and added small.

Is 100 points considered small?

 

[torian]

You can bank during the first 8 months of the UY so you have until the end of May.

Looks like you got the rest correct, congratulations.

Bill

WHEW! I was worried!

That's great about the banking...if I have excess points, I will never feel worried about banking them because the likelihood of me going down to WDW in the summer is slim.

 

[Dean]

Is 100 points considered small?

Definitely, anything less than 150 would be small. You'll pay more per point for such a contract AND the closing costs will be the same. Plus 100 pts is rather limiting on your options.

Yeah, but if you never cancel...that's all moot, right? We've rarely banked points...always in borrow mode, but when we have banked we have been very aware of the banking deadline. I suppose if you cancel a resie past that banking deadline but before the 30 day cancel period, then you just look at those points as having to be re-booked before the next UY...or, if you cannot do that, rent them out. I don't know, I'm just not all the caught up in UY...but as I said, we don't cancel. If a perspective buyer might be one who has to cancel/reschedule frequently then he/she should certainly consider UY more.

Obviously some have larger risk than others in this area but it's about insurance and risk, anyone could have an issue that forces them to cancel last minute.

I've been to Disney in February, April and December. I prefer the weather in April...December can be a bit chilly. Feb was good weather wise, too.

Now I remember why I've never been during F&W. Hurricane season. Maybe a December use year would be better afterall...

It sounds like you're all over the place and don't have a defined track record. That suggests to me that UY might be less important to you than for many others. I think it's a big mistake to buy a UY worrying about later add ons though. You should put some more thought into it and spend enough time to get past the emotions before you buy, IMO. If UY really is meaningless, as it is for some, then the best contract with the most usable points at the cheapest price is likely best for you.

 

[HokieGCC]

It is hard to think of much advice for someone that has done such a good job looking into all the aspects of DVC.

The basics that you covered well:
- don't borrow money for DVC
- make sure your family will want to continue going to Disney
- get a good understanding if you care where you stay

The only thing I can think of is to think ahead with your teen kids on when would be their best time to visit as they get older. We had to switch from summer Disney trips through their High school years to Jan and/or May trips as they are in college and working in the summers. College kids typically get long breaks in Dec/Jan and you can shoehorn a trip when they come home from college in May just before they start their summer job. This might influence what use year you should target.

The other only thing I wonder about is if you will be doing less commando trips in the parks if you will really not acquire a favorite resort. For us (this is just us .... everyone has their own thing) we can enjoy ourselves hanging out on the Boardwalk and like the outdoor atmosphere of the Wilderness Lodge. However, when we stayed at SSR for the first time recently although being a nice place we didn't find ourselves drawn to the resort and ended up doing more commando park stuff than we would have at the Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Wilderness lodge. I could spend a week at the Beach Club and never get on a Disney bus and have a great vacation.

 

[DizBub]

That's great about the banking...if I have excess points, I will never feel worried about banking them because the likelihood of me going down to WDW in the summer is slim.

We felt that way too but life has a sneaky way of intervening. We never anticipated going in the summer. Ever.

This year our family trip was booked for the 1st week of October. Our daughter popped up pregnant and is due Sept 27. Had to change to mid-June. I'm happy about the new baby but dubious about the June trip. We will see.......

We also had to cancel last minute once, death in the family. The trip was Sept/Oct and our UY is Feb. Feb UY means my banking deadline is Sept 30. We did not have time to bank and were canceling within 30 days so we had a bunch of points go into holding that would have expired Jan 31 if not used before. Availability between Oct-Feb can be challenging but we were able find a 1 bedroom at OKW and did not waste any points. Things worked out but we used a lot of points that we would have normally used for 2 trips.