DVC Complaints

[Chic]

Trying to stay on the OP topic, while I have no regrets, I wish I had understood how difficult it can be to stay some where other than your home resort. We have had some success with this but I don't think we will ever be able to stay at BCV ot VWL. We should have done more research but our guide made it seem so easy. I also would complain that sometimes units are not as clean or well maintained as they should be and while others have reported that they have had their complaints addressed promptly, we have not.

As for valet parking, yes that used to be a DVC perk.

Are you calling to book your reservations on the first day of the 7 month window? I always call right at the 7 month window and always get availability. Unless you're trying for a vacation in December, Food & Wine Festival, or Spring Break, you should have your choice of resorts. Even if you own at BCV or VWL, you will have difficulty finding a room there if you try to book your reservation after the 7 month window opens. As far as dirty rooms, I experienced a problem once at Saratoga Springs and brought it to the attention of the resort manager while I was there. They moved my family from a Studio to a 1-Bedroom Villa and returned all of the points back into my DVC account for the entire trip.

 

[twinboysmom]

Most of the time I have not tried to book at exactly 7 months but not long after. I am not complaining about not being able to stay at the other resorts during the popular DVC time such as F&W, the first 2 weeks of Dec,or any holiday times. We have managed to stay at other resorts some but not a lot and have never been able to stay at BC or VWL despite wait lists. The OP asked what complaints others have and this is mine. As I said previously, we did not do enough research but our guide presented the ability to stay at the other resorts as being much easier than I find it to be. It is good I like my home resort as much as I do.

 

[Chic]

Most of the time I have not tried to book at exactly 7 months but not long after. I am not complaining about not being able to stay at the other resorts during the popular DVC time such as F&W, the first 2 weeks of Dec,or any holiday times. We have managed to stay at other resorts some but not a lot and have never been able to stay at BC or VWL despite wait lists. The OP asked what complaints others have and this is mine. As I said previously, we did not do enough research but our guide presented the ability to stay at the other resorts as being much easier than I find it to be. It is good I like my home resort as much as I do.

If your vacation planning ever allows, be sure to call on the first day of the 7 month window and you will probably be able to get BCV or VWL. I've stayed at both of these resorts and prefer VWL by a long shot.

 

[lucyem]

I like to think I went into this opened eyed and with all my facts. The evening after our official DVC tour I was online checking out all the facts I could find. At this point I cannot say there is anything I wish I had known prior. The salesman certainly glossed over a few things. But no different then any salesman. Actually he was much better then a number of car salesmen I have dealt with over the years.

I see people complaining about things like towels, cleanliness of rooms, views etc. To me these are minor annoyances which can happen anywhere really. So it would be hard for me to say I wish I had known beforehand about them. Nothing is perfect. Had someone said "sometimes the room is not cleaned right" ahead of time it would not have stopped me from buying in.

What does bother me is the MS. When you call there is no guarantee the person on the other end of the phone knows what they are doing. I recently had one freak me out about borrowing points. The whole waitlist issue bothers me too, and thats a whole other thread. But honestly having the Disboards makes a huge difference dealing with these issues. You can find the facts here and help getting things sorted out.

 

[DebbieB]

In 10 years of DVC, I was not able to get the reservation I wanted only once. I usually call for BWV at 11 months but one time got a standard view at 7 months. I was able to get VWL, OKW, AKV at 7 months or less. I once got BCV 1 week before (one night, beginning of Feburary)! The only one I didn't get was when I called about 3 weeks before for a Sunday night in mid October (add-on to a business trip). All resorts were booked. I ended up using points for POFQ (before they started charging the fee).

 

[antnyh]

Well we are suppose to get our package today. We bumped up to 240 points at BLT. I feel that gives us more freedom with what time of year we go. I have pretty much made up my mind that I want to do it, but my wife is still struggling. I think deep down she wants to, but parting with that much money up front hurts a little, since we are no financing. Hopefully I'll be back on here tonight and posting that we are members!!!

 

[Chic]

Well we are suppose to get our package today. We bumped up to 240 points at BLT. I feel that gives us more freedom with what time of year we go. I have pretty much made up my mind that I want to do it, but my wife is still struggling. I think deep down she wants to, but parting with that much money up front hurts a little, since we are no financing. Hopefully I'll be back on here tonight and posting that we are members!!!

Like yourself, we did not finance any of our DVC contracts and felt a little uneasy about sinking that much money into one place. Here is one thought to help your wife feel more comfortable about becoming a DVC member. If you decide a few years down the road that you're not happy with your purchase, you can always sell your contract and recover most or possibly all of your money. Example: Members who bought into Old Key West back in 1991 paid about $54 a point for their contracts. Those same contracts are now selling for around $70 a point. This simply means that they received almost 20 years of vacations and are now selling their contracts for more than they paid, talk about "Magic"! As far as BLT contracts, I don't think you will be able to sell it for a profit in a few years but I feel safe to say you could recover the majority of your money. Considering that you would have gotten a few years of vacations out of it, that's a fair deal. If you're like most people, you will keep your membership and enjoy almost 50 years of Mickey!

 

[Sandisw]

Well we are suppose to get our package today. We bumped up to 240 points at BLT. I feel that gives us more freedom with what time of year we go. I have pretty much made up my mind that I want to do it, but my wife is still struggling. I think deep down she wants to, but parting with that much money up front hurts a little, since we are no financing. Hopefully I'll be back on here tonight and posting that we are members!!!

Just in case you didn't know, you can put your purchase on your Disney Visa and get 6 months, 0% interest on up to $5000 (and possibly $10,000 as I read somewhere that they raised it) of the cost. You would also earn the reward dollars.

We did this last year and it was great. We had the money to pay cash but it was much easier parting with it a little each month instead of one lump sum.

Good luck and congratulations!!!

 

[antnyh]

Welcome home to me!! We did it! Got the wife to say yes and we have paid for it and are signing papers tonight. Should mail the paperwork tomorrow. Now we just have to find some way to use those 2009 points. I already tried to get a Thanksgiving ressy...no luck. I luckily have done enough research to understand why. My guide is trying to work some "first time member" magic. Who knows? Thanks to all that helped with the decision process!

 

[javamom]

Welcome home!

 

[Dean]

Welcome home to me!! We did it! Got the wife to say yes and we have paid for it and are signing papers tonight. Should mail the paperwork tomorrow. Now we just have to find some way to use those 2009 points. I already tried to get a Thanksgiving ressy...no luck. I luckily have done enough research to understand why. My guide is trying to work some "first time member" magic. Who knows? Thanks to all that helped with the decision process!

Congrats and welcome home.

 

[MickeyT]

Well antnhy. As one who just passed ROFR and am waiting to close let me say 'Thanks for the thread'!

I have learned so much from reading answers from the Vets! I hope we all enjoy as much in the future as these folks have in the past!

 

[vicki_c]

Welcome home to me!! We did it! Got the wife to say yes and we have paid for it and are signing papers tonight. Should mail the paperwork tomorrow. Now we just have to find some way to use those 2009 points. I already tried to get a Thanksgiving ressy...no luck. I luckily have done enough research to understand why. My guide is trying to work some "first time member" magic. Who knows? Thanks to all that helped with the decision process!

Welcome home!

 

[Luna_Lovegood]

My guide is trying to work some "first time member" magic. Who knows? Thanks to all that helped with the decision process!

My husband called our guide back yesterday to say YES to 200 points at BLT! He told my husband to call him, not member services, to make our first reservation for December, so maybe that's why. Perhaps they have a supply of pixie dust for both of us!

 

[mkmcm]

My biggest complaints and really my only complaints are:

1. Everyone says WELCOME HOME - then why can't we as DVC Members get the Florida Resident rates on tickets? There really should be a price break (other than annual passes) for members who flock to Disney year after year and usually with larger families in tow (which was the reason we bought in - accommodations for six). The ticket cost factor is out of control though.

2. Dining Plan - The Dining Plan used to be such a deal, and now it's cheaper for us to just pay as we go. No real benefit to purchasing this plan any longer. However, when Disney runs "free dining" for regular Disney Hotel guests, it would be nice if they offered DVC members a discount at least.

3. Wish we had more points (you can never have enough). We absolutely love and use our timeshare as much as possible. If you can afford it, definitely buy. Although we do miss the free valet parking perk - I'd say that's not going to ruin anyone's vacation!

 

[CarolAnnC]

My biggest complaints and really my only complaints are:

1. Everyone says WELCOME HOME - then why can't we as DVC Members get the Florida Resident rates on tickets? There really should be a price break (other than annual passes) for members who flock to Disney year after year and usually with larger families in tow (which was the reason we bought in - accommodations for six). The ticket cost factor is out of control though.

2. Dining Plan - The Dining Plan used to be such a deal, and now it's cheaper for us to just pay as we go. No real benefit to purchasing this plan any longer. However, when Disney runs "free dining" for regular Disney Hotel guests, it would be nice if they offered DVC members a discount at least.

3. Wish we had more points (you can never have enough). We absolutely love and use our timeshare as much as possible. If you can afford it, definitely buy. Although we do miss the free valet parking perk - I'd say that's not going to ruin anyone's vacation!

I don't think you realize this thread you bumped up is 2 1/2 years old now.

DVC does offer an Annual Pass discount to members. The Florida Resident Discount (offered by Walt Disney World) is to provide some sort of offset compensation to the folks who live permanently nearby and have to deal every day with the higher traffic flow and general inconvenience of dealing with major theme parks in their permanent home state of residence. They also have restrictions on them which are not convenient sometimes, to a vacationer visiting from elsewhere.

Many DVC'ers are not interested in the Dining Plan - we like to use our full kitchens for at least some meals.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I just read a page and a half of this thread before I realized how old it was. I couldn't understand why people were still upset about the banking deadline changes and valet parking.

A DVC rate for Magic Your Way Tickets would be nice, although the annual passes have always worked for us (even when we were only doing one trip a year). We'd go August the first year, then July the second year and get two vacations out of the same pass. It was much cheaper than buying MYW tickets both years, even with my military discount at Shades of Green (which are some heavily discounted tickets). I understand that others have different travel and park habits, though, and annual passes don't work for everyone. I'm assuming any DVC MYW ticket discounts that might ever come along would have the same family/household restrictions as the annual passes.

As to free dining, I'm afraid I'm in the direct opposite camp from the poster who revived this thread. I hope Disney never does anything to replicate this program within DVC. The misnomer is that people think Disney is giving away meals for free. They aren't. Believe me, theyre still making a profit on those families. They're making up for the cost of the free dining by charging non-discounted rack room rates, which cost significantly more than the price they rent the same rooms for under other discounts. (And who's to know if rooms would be cheaper still year round if this free dining program didn't exist?) Since there is no sustainment revenue source within DVC other than member dues, any free dining offer would ultimately show up as a bill to all members through a dues increase. We don't enjoy Disney's dining plans, and seldom use them. Because of school schedules, we also couldnt schedule our trips to be there during the free dining period. So frankly, I wouldn't want to subsidize other members' meals.

 

[Jay Jablonski]

We have been DVC members since 1998 and spend many weeks a year at WDW. The thing that I’m noticing more now than ever before is availability issues. Even though sales at each resort is regulated sales at many resorts are very close to being maxed out. To work around this problem when not staying at a home resort requires wait listing as early as possible. Wine and Food has become extremely popular and is causing issues during Fall months so booking as early as possible is a must. We’ve spend the Past 15 Christmas’s at Boardwalk and New Years at Vero, both are home resorts for us and we’ve had no problems getting exactly what we wanted. I don’t think we could have made a better investment. We’ve bought in three times and we’re absolutely thrilled with our investment !!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We have been DVC members since 1998 and spend many weeks a year at WDW. The thing that I’m noticing more now than ever before is availability issues. Even though sales at each resort is regulated sales at many resorts are very close to being maxed out. To work around this problem when not staying at a home resort requires wait listing as early as possible. Wine and Food has become extremely popular and is causing issues during Fall months so booking as early as possible is a must. We’ve spend the Past 15 Christmas’s at Boardwalk and New Years at Vero, both are home resorts for us and we’ve had no problems getting exactly what we wanted. I don’t think we could have made a better investment. We’ve bought in three times and we’re absolutely thrilled with our investment !!!

You know this thread is eight years old, right? Zombie thread.

 

[ziravan]

I love DVC

Worth the zombie thread to find this gem from 8 years ago.

And not giving you grief. I know based on how much time you spend here that you’re very vested in DVC and very willing to help others. That was true 8 years ago too, as evidenced by this thread.

I don’t see you making that comment today. Still vested but maybe a bit jaded over time.

Honestly, I appreciated seeing that.