DVC EXPERTS ????? Rules

[Hygiene99]

Ok here it is , We are members we own at the BW..

On a recent trip to Wdw NON VACATION CLUB STAY.....
got great annual pass holders rate .. could not refuse since we are going to use points later in the year for family trip...

But anyways Back to the question.. We decided to Go to the VERO Beach Resort to check it out ... So We presented our selfs to the Castmember at the Front desk Telling them that we are DVC members and we would like to have a pass to be able to use the pool and the Beach as they have key Card access only..

They asked when we were checking in We said we are not ...
Then we were asked if we had an active stay at any other DVC
resort in affect Right Now we said No...

It was my impression that as a Dvc member we could use any resort at anytime ?????

Since none of the Castmembers working did not know the exact anwser, The Pass was Granted and we did use the pool and the Beach at Vero...The Boss would not be in until 3 pm..
So they gave us the benefit of the Dought...

Was wondering the Official rules for this???

Oh and Vero is very loverly By the Way ....
and now that we have been would consider stayying there for a trip or 2 so it was a win win for Dvc I guess....

Just had a great time .... for the day..

Peter

 

[tjkraz]

Here are the official pool hopping rules from the DVC Member site:

You and any Guests staying with you at Disney's Old Key West Resort, Disney's BoardWalk Villas, The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, and Disney's Beach Club Villas are permitted to use other Disney Vacation Club and Walt Disney World® Resort hotel pools (in addition to the resort hotel at which you are staying) if the resort hotel pools are not at capacity. If the pool you are visiting reaches capacity, you may be asked to leave in order to accommodate Guests of that resort hotel. Please check with a Host/Hostess at the Front Desk of the resort hotel you wish to visit to find out about pool-access availability. You must present your Walt Disney World® Resort ID card with your "DVC Member" designation on it to use the other pools. This offer is not available at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts.

Resort hotel pools may become unavailable from time to time due to capacity limitations. Due to the high occupancy that is expected, Disney Vacation Club Members may not "pool hop" during the following dates*:

April 3 - 11, 2004
May 28 - 31, 2004
June 28 - July 4, 2004
November 22 - 28, 2004
December 18, 2004 - January 2, 2005

*Other restricted dates may be added based on projected pool capacity.

Sounds like you technically need to be staying at a DVC resort on points in order to pool hop.

 

[RobDoc]

Usually, the CM's at any of the DVC resorts will be gracious and allow a visit to the resort- just as they were with you. The facilitles at all DVC resorts are for the use of registered guests only. DVC members (even owners at that resort) are not entitled to any special consideration, but the staff will usually allow a brief visit. Pool hopping is allowed only by DVC members who are registered at another on site DVC resort. Local DVC members are not allowed to use the facilities whenever they wish unless they are registered guests at a DVC resort using points or a "Member Cash" reservation.

Glad they could accommodate you for the afternoon!

 

[PamOKW]

As you can see, pool hopping is only permitted when you are staying on points. Allowing use of the Vero resort when staying at WDW on points is a stretch of the rules but one that Vero usually permits. If you are paying cash to stay at WDW, you are not entitled to pool hop.

It was nice that they made an exception for you. One reason why the pool hopping has these restrictions is the large number of Florida residents who are DVC members. They could spend many lovely days lounging around the WDW and Vero poosl. In fact, a co-worker's family who moved to Orlando did just that. They would very often go and use the different resort amenities including pools. When things tightened up, they bought a small DVC membership at Vero rather than build their own pool They planned on pool hopping with the DVC card. I've lost touch so I don't know how they make out now that DVC has refined the wording of pool hopping. Of course, theywere pretty bold before so I wouldn't be surprised to see them at SAB someday.

 

[floridafam]

We were wondering this also.

We hope to move to Vero Beach in the next few months. I guess we will just schedule a night's stay at the resort if we want to use the pool.

 

[Hygiene99]

Thanks u guys for the anwsers...

Ok We did the same thing over at SSR no problem...
told them that we are members they said .cool Go..

Hung out and used the pool no problem.... just wanted to check it out as it is New...


Was Also told that as a member u can come and use the
Resort u own at , At anytime .. this was by our Guide...
That is were we got the idea from... DOC...
Was told that the local members Come and use the resort for the Day if they like.... ??

Peter

 

[floridafam]

You were told at VB that locals come and use the pool for the day?
I'm surprised by this because the pool is usually packed during the Spring and Summer months.



I'd like to know what the policy is on this. We were also told something similar by our guide. I wouldn't expect the Front Desk CM's at VB to know for sure. They've been less than "up to date" on all the rules and regulations lately.

Does anyone know what the rule would be on activities at VB? Can you take your child to the resort for a craft or something and show your member card if you aren't staying at the resort? Can I take my kids over to the resort and play mini golf? What if DH and I want to go over for a drink in the Green Cabin Room on a Wednesday? Do we still get the discount because we are members?

It really doesn't matter to me either way but it would be nice to know in case we do end up living in Vero Beach.

 

[Hygiene99]

No was told this For the Boardwalk location by our Dvc Guide..

Not Vero.... was some years back.... things may have changed ...

 

[barb45]

I think this is one of the problems with pool hopping. If they could find a way to stick to the rules it would probably be OK but when you have locals using it as the public pool it gets too crowded. I don't think this is at all fair to people paying either with cash or points at a nice resort to be jammed in the pool with someone taking advantage. Not that I think the OP was doing that - it seems like that was a legitimate visit to me (I wasn't sure of that rule either). But I think if the pools are too crowded too often they should just cancel the pool hopping thing all together or police who is in there.

 

[mbhoxsie]

I think the main reason they doublechecked the rules at VB was due to the fact that many of the locals (non DVC members) take advantage of the pool and beach facilities. VB is one of the only DVC resorts where you need a room key just to get into either the pool or boardwalk at the beach.

I'm glad they take a look at the facitilities and use the pool though.

Does anyone know what the rule would be on activities at VB? Can you take your child to the resort for a craft or something and show your member card if you aren't staying at the resort? Can I take my kids over to the resort and play mini golf? What if DH and I want to go over for a drink in the Green Cabin Room on a Wednesday? Do we still get the discount because we are members?

Floridafam, This one is gray area... My take on it would be that if you are paying for the activity then it wouldn't be a problem.. (IE.. If you pay the $10 for the cell painting, or the $3 for minigolf..) The resort is able to recover the cost of the activity without dipping into the operating budget...

I'd imagine that getting the discounted drinks at the Green Cabin Room wouldn't be an issue either.. (Gotta love that 2nd story balcony.. ) To me, this situation is very similar to using the DVC discount for dinner at the WDW Swan or using it at DD at the Bath Basin... You are still covering the cost for the services that are being rendered..

The only things that should be of concern would be the complementary services that the resort performs just because you are staying there... IE.. The video rental at no charge, use of the pool facilities, etc... These costs come out of the operating budget, which is covered by member dues...

Moving from East Lansing to VB!! Congrats!!!!! That is so awesome!
You are living my DW's and my dream... We live near Port Huron, and I keep joking with her that if anything ever happens to my job here, we are packing up and moving to Sebastian...

 

[Deb & Bill]

Originally posted by Hygiene99
...Was Also told that as a member u can come and use the
Resort u own at , At anytime .. this was by our Guide...
That is were we got the idea from... DOC...
Was told that the local members Come and use the resort for the Day if they like.... ??

Peter

Another example of the DVC guides not knowing the actual product and making promises to people in order to get them to buy. If you want to take advantage of the resort, you must be staying on points to do so. There are some DVC perks that you can get just by showing your Blue DVC Member card - Valet parking, shopping discounts, dining discounts.

 

[floridafam]

mbhoxsie,

Keep your fingers crossed. DH is still waiting to hear on the transfer. We are looking at Sebastian. It seems like a really nice area.

 

[Dean]

Disney does not allow day use of any of their resorts, period. It has been unclear over the years if PH applied to VB. In general, the application has been it does not but it has been hit or miss. If one is staying on points and want's to hit VB, I'd recommend calling and talking to a supervisor the day of the visit or the day before. Get their names and ask them to post the info at the front desk so they'll know you when you arrive.

Note that in general, Marriott resorts allow day use of owners from that resort, but not all Marriott owners in general. It varies from resort to resort through out the timeshare world. This can be a good thing to know about as it's frequently cheaper to own a timeshare than belong to a country club.

 

[PamOKW]

Hygiene99 mentioned she was told a few years back about being able to pool hop. Since then DVC has stated that it's only available to guests staying on points which was a clarification that didn't exist before. Just like we once could pool hop at SAB, the rules have since changed.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by PamOKW
Hygiene99 mentioned she was told a few years back about being able to pool hop. Since then DVC has stated that it's only available to guests staying on points which was a clarification that didn't exist before. Just like we once could pool hop at SAB, the rules have since changed.

Just because someone was told this does not make it so. Members have never been able to use ANY DVC option for day use. That doesn't mean exceptions haven't been made, they have. What the rules are and what was allowed are two different things, especially when DVC and Disney are concerned as they are consistently inconsistent.

 

[Scoootch]

Hi!

Just came home from a wonderful long wknd at VB I think the OP did the right thing being unsure of the exact rules. Happy to hear she was granted permission to try things out after driving all the way down to VB. My understanding though is that of what's been previously posted --

You must be staying at a DVC resort ON POINTS in order to pool hop and the resort you are pool hopping to needs to be able to accommodate you as to not be over crowded.

That being said, the OP got permission so she did the right thing. I have to say though, it was VERY crowded while we were at VB this past wknd and am personnally happy that anyone cannot just pool hop at will - member or not. We actually inquired about adding an extra night while we were there (just didn't want to come home, we were enjoying so much ) and were told the entire resort was booked solid. So with the resort being so crowded, you can imagine how crowded at the pool with the heat index having reached 105 on Saturday!

As for using the resort itself - Anyone can and is actually encouraged to do so. I'm sure Disney wants people to come, enjoy the resturants and walk around the resort. That's how they get people to want to book their next stay - by checking out the other resorts. But what's available to use at the resort if not a registered guest is limited to resturants, the gift shop, and just walking around the resort . While this is wonderful to do while at WDW, not sure it's really worth it to drive 2hrs for only these things. I'm happy for the OP she was granted permission to use the pool and such since she wasn't aware (and for that matter neither were the CM's ) of the exact rules and made the long drive down but Personnally, after this wknd, experiencing how crowded VB gets (at least during the hotter months) I agree with the officially posted rules as tjkraz posted. It's too bad the DVC guides can't all get their stories straight when telling people the rules when they're asked

As for activities at the resort - IMO it should be like pool hopping. You should need to at least be a registered guest anyway - esp. for the activities that don't have a fee. Some of those activities get full and can't even accommodate the guests. They even say for the un-birthday party for the kids to "please only participate in one un-birthday party during your stay". Even though they run it a few times a week because it gets full. And they were full when ds went on Friday.

Anyway, hope no one minded my putting in my 2 cents, just thought I would since I was just at VB and saw first hand just how crowded it gets.

 

[Hygiene99]

Scoootch


That is when we were at VB. on Saturday spent most of the time on the Beach until we got word of the Sharks siting and then we went and tried the pool.. they had a Dj going and it semed like most people were having fun this was at about 3 pm or so did not stay long at the pool 45 minutes or so ... Love the shower room they have, Took shower got changed and headed to Port Canveral to Watch the DISNEY Magic Go Bye at 5 pm...

From Grills .. we would have been allset with just doing the
walk around thing..having lunch looking at rooms and having gone up the street to use the Beach.. but we got lucky I feel ... Was unsure of the rules
so we Asked and they said Yes... Very lucky I guess !!

Peter

 

[disfountainofyouth]

Where did you get your annual pass from and how much did you pay? I am
looking to do this for the coming year.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by disfountainofyouth
Where did you get your annual pass from and how much did you pay? I am
looking to do this for the coming year.

Unless you are a Florida resident (DVC membership does not qualify) or active / retired military, the price for an AP is the same no matter where you get it. You can buy in advance from the Disney Store...you can purchase from the WDW web site...or you can just wait to buy when you arrive at WDW. Regardless of which method you use, the AP "year" will begin when you arrive at WDW. To be specific, if you purchase in advance, you receive a voucher which must be redeemed at WDW, and your year begins at redemption.

So, there are few reasons to purchase in advance right now.

You can buy APs (or redeem your voucher if you choose to purchase in advance) at Guest Services at the four theme parks, or at Downtown Disney. WDW Resorts cannot activate or sell APs.

 

[Hygiene99]

more on the annual pass, Just get it when u Get to say Mk.
when renewal comes up it is around $350.00
per year we dont have the super duper one just the one for the parks... So no Water parks and so on ...

if u have any passes with one day or so left on them the y maybe use towards the purchase of the annual pass...