Curious about how points required are set

[momoftwins]

I was looking at the DVC points: http://www.dvcbyresale.com/DVCPointsChartOKW.html.

Just curious, do the dates within the seasons change every year? For example, for 2003 OKW (link above) for 4/18 thru 4/27 was during Premier season - a studio was worth 147 pts. This year the same dates are during Magic Season - a studio is worth 109 pts.

So, how do you ever know how many points to buy initially? Do you have to buy a certain block (minimum) of points?

I hope this made sense. Thanks.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you buy from Disney, you have to purchase at least 150 points for an initial purchase (unless you already have a resale).

The points values change in March and April to account for Easter and Spring Break. If you want to go at holiday times, the point requirement is usually higher.

We started out with 175 points to get us at least a week in a one bedroom. We now have 500 points. Gets us about 2.5 weeks in a one bedroom, usually going summer and Thanksgiving/Christmas or early Jan.

 

[tjkraz]

The point costs around holiday periods will follow those holiday periods each year. 12/24 to 12/31 as well as the week before and week after Easter each year will always be Premier season. The three days surrounding Thanksgiving will always be Magic season.

Other than that, the point values are fixed. September, January and 12/1 to 12/14 will always be Adventure season and 2004 costs for a room will be the same as the 2030 costs for that same room.

The only way this could change is if all of the points at the resort were reallocated. The total points cannot increase or decrease, so if they made a room more "expensive" somewhere on the calendar, they would likewise have to reduce the cost for that room elsewhere on the calendar.

A reallocation occurred only once in the 12-13 year history of the program, and I believe it was back when OKW was the only resort. It is certainly not undertaken casually.

Lastly, while the above applies to the properties managed by DVC, trades into the other Disney resorts (Grand Floridian, AKL, etc.), Disney Cruise Lines and other timeshare exchanges are subject to change. The costs for these non-DVC options are renegotiated each year and do change.