DVC for Dummies

[kreckl]

Seriously, though, can someone explain a few things to me? I don't want to call Disney~
Currently we own at AKV- a family, shared purchase bought through Disney years ago. We are thinking we would like to have more points ~and at a different resort.
-Will we only be able to use the # of points we have at each resort at the 11 month mark? Do they combine?
-Must our use years be the same?
-What else do I need to know??
Thank you!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Will we only be able to use the # of points we have at each resort at the 11 month mark? Do they combine?

They don't combine. At 11 months, you can only use points at their resort. At 7 months, you can combine. But you can only book a split stay at 11 months if you want to use both point sets. Many people who own multiple resorts either split stays, book at 7 months, or alternate trip cycles.

Must our use years be the same?

No.

 

[kreckl]

Thanks...
So~ why would people buy in someplace at 25 points?

 

[supersnoop]

Thanks...
So~ why would people buy in someplace at 25 points?

I own 25 points at BWV. That gets me five days in a standard studio every other year during the Food & Wine festival. And, since I titled that in my wife's name, she gets all the privileges, access, and discounts that come with being a member.

 

[ziravan]

If you don't have the same UY, then your contracts - and points - will be in separate accounts. In that case, they don't "combine" at 7 months.

For example, say you own at AKV and SSR different UY and different contracts, and you want to book 7 nights at BWV at 7 month mark. You can use one contract to reserve 3 nights and one for 4, and then combine that reservation, but both reservations have to come from different pool of points.

Where this bites is when you get down to a few points. In the above reservation, if you only have enough points in each contract for 3 days each and both contracts have points left over that together would equal another day, you can't automatically combine them to use.

In that case, you'd have to:

1. Transfer from one account to another and that uses your yearly transfer on both accounts (although DVC has been known to make exceptions when the transfer is between the same owner's accounts).

2. Use one time use points on one of the contracts to complete the last day.

I own different UYs. It's sometimes a small hassle, but it's not that big a deal. I always work something out.

 

[disneynutz]

I suggest that you buy the same UY unless you have a reason not to.

Bill

 

[kreckl]

"I own 25 points at BWV. That gets me five days in a standard studio every other year during the Food & Wine festival."
I hadn't really thought about 25 points being worth anything- but thats actually great!
Thanks for the info

 

[SuperRob]

We only have 60 points total, and you'd be surprised at how we've stretched them. We're looking at adding on just to give us some breathing room.

 

[zavandor]

"I own 25 points at BWV. That gets me five days in a standard studio every other year during the Food & Wine festival."
I hadn't really thought about 25 points being worth anything- but thats actually great!
Thanks for the info

Standard view is a difficult category to book and very difficult to get even at 11 months during F&W. Buy with the knowledge that you might not get it when you want it even owning at the resort.

 

[kissiffer4]

So for my first ever post a bit of a stupid question. Apologies for hijacking your thread If you own enough points to cover your stay (i.e 25 points for a week in a standard studio), is there any additional cost on top of that for accommodation? Or do the points cover the entire stay? We are not currently DVC members, but I am considering AKL for the future as we really enjoyed our stay there. Thanks!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So for my first ever post a bit of a stupid question. Apologies for hijacking your thread If you own enough points to cover your stay (i.e 25 points for a week in a standard studio), is there any additional cost on top of that for accommodation? Or do the points cover the entire stay? We are not currently DVC members, but I am considering AKL for the future as we really enjoyed our stay there. Thanks!

The are annual maintenance fees on those points but as long as you stay at a DVC resort there are no other charges for the room. You would still have tickets, food and souvenirs as well as travel expenses.

 

[CMNJ]

So for my first ever post a bit of a stupid question. Apologies for hijacking your thread If you own enough points to cover your stay (i.e 25 points for a week in a standard studio), is there any additional cost on top of that for accommodation? Or do the points cover the entire stay? We are not currently DVC members, but I am considering AKL for the future as we really enjoyed our stay there. Thanks!

You pay maintenance fees every year which vary by resort based on the number of points you own. Each resort has their own MF per point cost as the costs to run each resort and taxes vary by location.

 

[kissiffer4]

Thanks. Amazing, just realized I was asking questions about DVC 10 years ago...which was when I last visited. One other question...can I still buy into Animal Kingdom Lodge directly from Disney? I looked online and it did not appear to be an option.

 

[mickeyman]

Thanks. Amazing, just realized I was asking questions about DVC 10 years ago...which was when I last visited. One other question...can I still buy into Animal Kingdom Lodge directly from Disney? I looked online and it did not appear to be an option.

No, only resale I believe

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks. Amazing, just realized I was asking questions about DVC 10 years ago...which was when I last visited. One other question...can I still buy into Animal Kingdom Lodge directly from Disney? I looked online and it did not appear to be an option.

It would be almost twice as much to buy direct - $155 direct vs $85 resale.

 

[zavandor]

AKV is available direct, it's just not encouraged. They'd try to sell you Poly but if you stick with it and say it's AKV or nothing they'll sell it.
I would not buy direct though, here are plenty resale contracts available, who are much much cheaper and you don't loose anything significant buying resale.

 

[mickeyman]

I just bought an AKV resale contract for $75 per point. Don't buy direct for AKV

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The main reason, beyond undefined benefits, that I see people cite for direct is the financing.

It never makes sense to pay 2x the price in order to pay 16% interest over time to buy something.

 

[kissiffer4]

Thanks for the info! So, if we bought resale, would we forgo any of the other Disney benefits? Are there special discounts, publications, park passes etc, that you only get through buying directly from Disney? Also, trying to get a better understanding of the points expiration (I have read a lot of the intro material, but still don't quite understand it). Do all points expire in the same year (whether buying direct from Disney vs resale)? And what happens to the value of those points once you near the expiration date? For instance, if I buy 150 points at AKV that expire in 2057, at what point do they start to lose their value? Thanks everyone!

 

[SuperRob]

The main reason, beyond undefined benefits, that I see people cite for direct is the financing.

It never makes sense to pay 2x the price in order to pay 16% interest over time to buy something.

We're considering buying direct, but for some very specific reasons.

1. We're going to try to get into VGC for our 5th anniversary in September, and having the points immediately available would be advantageous. There's no guarantee a resale would close in time, and many of the ones we're looking at have stripped points anyway.
2. The interest rate is comparable to what we're finding elsewhere, and since we're already members in good standing, it's an automatic approval. Other lenders we've looked at with automatic approval have higher rates than what Disney quoted me.
3. Having Disney handle all the details rather than dealing with a resale broker, another owner, another finance company, etc. is not a minor benefit to us.
4. There's no chance we could spend a month working on a resale, getting our hopes up, and having Disney ROFR it.

Also, I'm not sure where you're getting "2x the price" from. We're seeing Disney's prices for the properties we're looking at are maybe 33-50% higher. And the interest rate we were quoted was WAY lower than 16%.

For the record, normally we wouldn't advocate financing this at all. (It really eats into the time it takes to break even.) We're using the financing more as a bridge loan. We can buy now, pay a sizable down payment, and then pay down the rest if/when we resell our current contract.