Disney Vacation Club for dummies...

[TogetherForGood]

Can someone please explain how this works...to someone who has never participated in a vac club before.

Can you give me arguments to convince DH that this is something we should do?

Do we have to sit through a "talk" to join?

Listening,

Angie

 

[akrake]

You should go to the DVC forum an dpost this....you'll get a better response.

 

[crisi]

Go over to the DVC board and click on the FAQ thread. Basically, DVC is a points based timeshare. You buy points for a fee (minimum purchase through Disney over $10k) and then pay maintenance on those points each year at $4-5 a point. The points spend like cash - from 8 points in a studio on a weeknight in the lowest seasons at OKW to a 158 points on a weekend night during the highest season for a Grand Villa (3 bedrooms) at BWV. You can spend the points whenever you wish (subject to availability)

 

[mommystieg]

You can start here http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/faq.shtml for some basic info. You do not have to sit through a talk to join DVC -- as a matter of fact, there is no hard-sell at all. Before we joined in 2002, I spent a lot of time here http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=28 just reading other people's posts. We also ordered the free video and then called a guide almost daily with any questions. The experience was extremely painless and our guide, Jim McCoy was awesome.

Basically, the DVC is a Disney version of a timeshare except you buy an allotment of points. Along with the initial $/point cost, there are also annual maintenance fees. It is not for everybody but it works for us. IMHO, the DVC works for people who plan to visit WDW at least once or twice a year, every year. We joined because we knew we would come back again and again and by managing our points a little, we were able to get 4 studios at the Beach Club Villas and take DH's extended family a couple of years ago. HTH

 

[TogetherForGood]

Thanks, looked but didn't see the DVC, but I was distracted too!

Angie

 

[katy33]

Thanks, I'm learning the ropes myself!

 

[emma'smom]

If you have the chance, go to the DVC talk. There was no pressure to buy and we had a lot of fun. We went toward the end of of a really hot afternoon and they picked us up at the back of the World Showcase and took us to the DVC office (including the kids- with carseats for both). The kids played in a "kids room" (which they loved as they were getting kind of sick of just hanging with their parents and wanted some down time to just play in a safe area). There were cold drinks and refreshments while the "guide" walked us through the details. We then saw the pool and toured a few different kinds of rooms. Afterwards, we picked up the kids, had some ice cream, and they drove us back to the hotel where we had dinner reservations. Oh, and they gave us a 50.00 gift card for taking our time.

We were so hot and tired..and the kids needed such a break that the air conditioned van ride (behind the scenes) was a treat all of its own...even if you don't plan to buy into DVC- it was a good experience (with no pressure, really).

 

[Snow Shoe]

Let me add my 2 cents worth here. We bought Boardwalk back in 98'. We decided back then, that Disney was where we wanted to vacation with and without our children. We had been going since 86' and spending $$$$$ to stay on site every time. With DVC now, that room cost is gone.

We have wonderful rooms to stay in anytime we go. Last summer we had a 2 bedroom villa and having all of the extra room was great. Bottom line is, if you will make Disney your vacation spot at least every other year, then look into DVC. If you choose to purchase DVC, then make sure you purchase at the DVC resort you want to stay. The re-sale market is whare you can buy into resorts that are currently sold out. Also, don't think of this a "property investment", it's a "family fun investment".

 

[Deb & Bill]

As a DVC member, we love it. It doesn't save us any money, but we get great prepaid vacations out of it until 2042 and fantastic lodging. I second sitting down with one of the DVC guides at the parks or make an appointment with DVC to visit the sales office at SSR.

There are several resale companies, one sponsors the DVC boards. You can usually get a resale for a bit less than what Disney is selling it for. But you can finance through Disney. With the resale companies you have to find your own financing.

They are not hard sell at all. If you don't think you will be interested after a few minutes, that's all you need to tell them.

DVC points are best used to stay at DVC resorts, but you can use them at other WDW resorts, DL resorts, DCL and other non-Disney resorts. Sometimes, it might be cheaper to pay cash than use the points at some of these other places.

By the way, there is nothing greater than a family of three in an OKW one bedroom villa. Except maybe a family of three in a two bedroom villa or Grand Villa.

 

[westjones]

We love our DVC membership, but I agree, it doesn't really save us money because if we had not joined, we would have stayed at the value resorts instead.

What it does is give us the chance to stay at Deluxe resorts when we never would have done so on our own.

It also 'ties' us to vacationing at Disney at least every other year. This may not be a good thing for people who would rather not go that often. We love Disney, and I can't imagine not wanting to go at least every other year (we like going a couple times a year actually, but it is getting to expensive to travel there that often).

We bought 150 points, and at first you feel like you really want MORE points and when you first stay there you want MORE points, but I am so glad we didn't do that because our 150 points are paid in full (we just pay monthly dues which is around $55 a month) and we can skip a year and not end up with too many points to try to use up (we have never rented points, but that is what some members do when they have points they can't use).

I agree, the DVC boards will give you more information, but remember they (we) are biased in that we all bought into DVC and we all love it (or we wouldn't be hanging out on the DVC DIS board).

DJ