December Use Year

[MrsBergs]

We currently own at SSR with a June use year. We are waiting for Disney’s ROFR for a December use year contract. I was told by a fellow DVC member that a December use year is the worst use year. Is this correct?

Thanks

 

[Frederic Civish]

It depends entirely on when you like to vacation. Ideally, if you have a December Use Year, you will POSSIBLY want to complete your vacations by August 1st. Why? So that, in case you need to cancel or change your plans, you can just Bank them. That opportunity to Bank will end at 4 months before the end of your use year. In other words, you can Bank up until July 31st, but after that you can only use them, trade them, rent them out, or whatever.

We often travel in early to mid October, so my first contract was a September Use Year. But since then, I have added contracts in February, March and more in September. I often Bank points, but if I'm not sure whether I will be using them, and I think I might, then I don't bank them, and if it becomes clear that I won't be using them, I rent them out. Of course, the alternative is to just Bank, for convenience reasons, and then, if you decide to take a trip in the last 4 months of you use year, just Borrow the points.

Anyway, there IS NO one, BEST Use Year. It is just like everything else. Different Strokes for Different Folks.

 

[Henwen88]

Who told you that??? I have 3 June and 1 December contracts - added the December UY last year cause we took several May trips which left me sweating with that June UY. I love it. June for summer/fall travel, and Dec for winter/spring. If I ever to add on again (not looking good at this point lol) it will be to the Dec UY.

 

[chalee94]

... December use year is the worst use year. Is this correct?

If you typically travel in September, October and November, then yes. It is terrible. If you need to cancel, you will definitely be at risk of losing pts.

December UY can also be tricky because, unless your trips are in December, you will typically be using 2019 UY points during the 2020 calendar year and so on.

Depending on your resort, December UYs may also be more or less common than others if you go shopping for a matching resale contract.

 

[quandrea]

We have a December use year. We head down at all times of year so use year is mostly irrelevant. When we go in October, which is often, I guess it’s a risk, but so far so good. Your travel patterns will evolve. I don’t think use year is all that important.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We currently own at SSR with a June use year. We are waiting for Disney’s ROFR for a December use year contract. I was told by a fellow DVC member that a December use year is the worst use year. Is this correct?

Thanks

It sounds as if they may not really understand UY. Dec is no better and no worse than any other UY per se but if you don't really understand UY people can find it confusing.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

We like to go to Disney in December and in the Spring, so December is a great use year for us. If you plan to go a lot in the Fall, it is probably not the best use year.

 

[stuartsong]

The only issue I see with December use year is with the calendar year issue. It starts from December and goes into the next year. What happens when we reach 2042 with the expiring contracts. Do you have until November 30, 2042 to use your points?

 

[crvetter]

The only issue I see with December use year is with the calendar year issue. It starts from December and goes into the next year. What happens when we reach 2042 with the expiring contracts. Do you have until November 30, 2042 to use your points?

No all resorts expire 1/31 or their expiration year. Though Disney can do anything here as long as it’s not to the detriment of what an owner is entitled. However with borrowing (assuming not limited) you should have plenty of time to use it.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The only issue I see with December use year is with the calendar year issue. It starts from December and goes into the next year. What happens when we reach 2042 with the expiring contracts. Do you have until November 30, 2042 to use your points?

No, the 2042 resorts expire Jan 31, 2042. Or if SSR then it would be Jan 31, 2054. They will likely have to continue to allow borrowing. Annual dues are calculated and paid on a calendar year basis so all UY's will have paid for maintenance of the resorts equally for that last year.

 

[stuartsong]

No, the 2042 resorts expire Jan 31, 2042. Or if SSR then it would be Jan 31, 2054. They will likely have to continue to allow borrowing. Annual dues are calculated and paid on a calendar year basis so all UY's will have paid for maintenance of the resorts equally for that last year.

Everyone must pay the 2041 maintenance fees as the last year of dues for the resorts ending in 2042. The December use year will have the shortest time to use up their points, roughly 2 months. In essence, 2041 might be a very busy time with lot of owners borrowing their points before expiring.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Everyone must pay the 2041 maintenance fees as the last year of dues for the resorts ending in 2042. The December use year will have the shortest time to use up their points, roughly 2 months. In essence, 2041 might be a very busy time with lot of owners borrowing their points before expiring.

The resorts are sold to be booked up 100% every year. The last year should in essence be no different.

 

[arminnie]

I love my Dec. UY at SSR. I've had issues with my October UYs at BLT and OKW.

 

[rg35]

We have a Dec use year. The majority of our trips are in July. We are going this year in August.

UY really only comes into play if you have some kind of emergency and need to cancel your plans at the last minute. Hopefully any kind of situation like that would be rare. Owning DVC requires a somewhat stable schedule and the ability to plan vacations in advance in general anyway.

 

[MrsBergs]

Thank you for all your responses. I appreciate it. Hopefully Disney does not exercise their ROFR. It’s a great contract.