DVC/campsite question

[LONE-STAR]

My sister won a DVC and she wanted to pay for our campsite with her points. But they told her she could not pay for a existing reservation. She would have to make a new one but there is nothing open when we are going. Does this sound right??

 

[John VN]

My sister won a DVC and she wanted to pay for our campsite with her points. But they told her she could not pay for a existing reservation. She would have to make a new one but there is nothing open when we are going. Does this sound right??

I don't quite understand what you mean by won a DVC but that sure sounds cool.

As far as nothing available....the last time I booked using our DVC Points I was told that there are a certain number of sites available to DVC Members using DVC Points and when they are booked that is all there is. Things could very well have changed since I booked so I would recommend she call Member Services once again and try again. Who knows, something might have opened up. She might also be able to put the dates wanted on a wait list. Good luck.

 

[SandrA9810]

I thought you couldn't use DVC points at the campsite without paying the 95$ fee.

If you can't get the campsite, I wouldn't cancel the one you've got. The campgrounds are cheap enough. The other alternative is to get a villa at WL for part of your stay if they've got anything available. That still puts you fairly close to the campgrounds, unless you have a pet, in which case don't change.

 

[daddyscooltv]

The $95 fee does not apply to the campsites. But good luck trying to get a campsite using your points with DVC. If you go during a non-holiday weekday you might be OK but on a weekend or holiday good luck. But like allways keep calling member services or use the online request a reservation form through the DVC website. If you use the website they will ask for a credit card for the $95 but for a campsite they do not charge it.

 

[chief19spixi]

Please let us know if you are able to do it.. dh and I are looking into the vacation club!! thanks!

 

[docbrown]

We have owned DVC for several years now, and have been able to book with points before. As earlier posters pointed out it is hard to find campsites during holiday seasons.
From our understanding there are no sites reserved for DVC members, it is based on availability and it is well known that the campground is booked way in advance for holidays.
We have our reservation for Christmas 2010 already booked but on cash.
Also the problem of reserving campsites with DVC points, is the DVC cancellation policy. When you use your points for any non DVC resort, your points become "reservation points" and can NOT go back to your DVC account and can only be used for reservations of Disney resort.
We just rent some of our points out to give us the opportunity to reserve the campsites at our favorite times. After doing it a few times you establish relations with repeat renters and it really works well for both sides.
Good luck.

 

[MandMLUVMMandDVC]

We have used our DVC points to book sites, but have only been successful during NON-holidays. Everytime we try to book using points over holidays we've been told there are no sites available for points usage. We were told that there are only a certain number of sites available per night for DVC (since FW is not a DVC resort) and once booked that's all they can book, even though you might find sites available for cash reservations.

 

[MandMLUVMMandDVC]

Too ironic. 4 1/2 hours after I made that post, I called DVC to book for July 4th next year....Of course there are no DVC sites available!!

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Too ironic. 4 1/2 hours after I made that post, I called DVC to book for July 4th next year....Of course there are no DVC sites available!!

I've had better luck calling closer to the dates that I want to stay at the Fort. I think if you call too far out, they don't let you book the sites since they want them available for $$ first. I've tried using points twice (Spring Break, and October for Food & Wine Festival) at the Fort and I was successful both times, but I've never tried around a holiday.

I'm sure someone like Donna can answer this question, but do the booking windows apply when using points at the Fort?

 

[LONE-STAR]

I don't quite understand what you mean by won a DVC but that sure sounds cool.

She entered a sweepstakes and won a 50 year DVC and disney covered every penny no tax no hidden fees. If I remember right she gets 240 points a year.

Oh I made her enter that's why she wanted to pay for our campsite with her points.

Thanks for all the reply's.

 

[John VN]

She entered a sweepstakes and won a 50 year DVC and disney covered every penny no tax no hidden fees. If I remember right she gets 240 points a year.

Oh I made her enter that's why she wanted to pay for our campsite with her points.

Thanks for all the reply's.

I figured that you meant a DVC Membership but did not know if it was one of the 3 year or one of the 50 year memberships. That is great for her and family.

If I had won one of the 50 year memberships and you were the one who made me enter the contest, I would set you up for a mini FW vacation for every one of those 50 years. That winning contract was valued well over $200,000 I believe.

 

[Donna]

I've had better luck calling closer to the dates that I want to stay at the Fort. I think if you call too far out, they don't let you book the sites since they want them available for $$ first. I've tried using points twice (Spring Break, and October for Food & Wine Festival) at the Fort and I was successful both times, but I've never tried around a holiday.

I'm sure someone like Donna can answer this question, but do the booking windows apply when using points at the Fort?

yes, i think the 11 mo. window applies. I wonder if DVCers only get what's NOT booked by cash guests. I had a hard time for this past June but someone took a liking to me at MS and somehow, magically, called me back after I emailed my displeasure at no availability. I will be trying in September for next august. I've never had a problem in August.

I was so glad that they started waiving the fee. I think the letters alot of us wrote really helped. How in the world could they justify a $95 fee when that's more than the camp site is usually! Common sense prevailed for sure in that case.

So when you win a membership, does that include the 50 years of maintenance fees too? wow!

 

[John VN]

.....So when you win a membership, does that include the 50 years of maintenance fees too? wow!

For the 50 year membership, NO COST at all!