DVC Guaranteed Event Weeks

[drlorilovesdisney]

Since the DVC site is up and running again, I decided to search runDisney. This is what popped up:
“Stay Magical, Mile After Mile With Guaranteed Event Weeks
Disney Vacation Club can help runDisney participants save on future Disney Resort stays, while securing race entries in advance for select runDisney events at Walt Disney World Resort. As a Member with a Guaranteed Event Week, you can enjoy outstanding accommodations near your favorite runDisney race, year after year.”

I am assuming this is new, not just something I missed before. Looks like it is for new special purchases at Cooper Creek. Does anyone else know any more about this? I wonder if the rest of us that joined DVC years ago could pay a fee to have the guaranteed event week option added to our contacts?? I doubt it, but I might consider it if it were an option.

 

[The Expert]

I remember reading about this a few years ago, and iirc it was a spin on the fixed week option they did when they sold the villas at GF. The idea was you could buy a fixed time period around a race or races and it would move with the dates of the event. NO idea if anyone ever took advantage or if it even was officially offered.

ETA: You might want to post this over on the DVC board!

 

[ValW]

Guaranteed Weeks are not new. They are offered at a few resorts: Riviera, Copper Creek,VGF, Poly, and AUL. Many people purchase them for hard to get times like Christmas. A guaranteed week costs 10% more than regular points for the week would cost. My understanding is that once you purchase a gw, it's set - you can request to just get the points in lieu of the week, but the request has to be made every year. If rD decides to cancel a race weekend and start up a new weekend at a different time of year (Rival Run anyone?) you can't just change your week.

Also, the DVC early registration is for every DVC owner (not just gw) and is currently not available - it WAS a marketing tool, but not a guaranteed entry.

ETA: No, you can't change your current contract to a gw.

 

[drlorilovesdisney]

Thanks. Not sure why I never heard of this. I was intrigued that it says it secures race entries.

 

[BikeFan]

If rD decides to cancel a race weekend and start up a new weekend at a different time of year (Rival Run anyone?) you can't just change your week.

Which is exactly why this doesn't sound like much of a deal. If the event itself is not guaranteed, what's the point of paying extra for a guaranteed event week? RunDisney events are usually during "slow" times anyway, so DVC reservations aren't hard to get for those events if owners take advantage of early booking windows. Personally, it's never been an issue for me getting a room for those events when booking in advance.

 

[striker1064]

You cannot add a Guaranteed Week to your existing contract. I own a Guaranteed Event Week contract, so I know a bit about them.

First, it's helpful to note there's a difference between a Guaranteed Week and a Guaranteed Event Week. A Guaranteed Week works much like you would expect a typical timeshare. You buy an entire fixed Sunday through Sunday week corresponding to a certain number of points, and DVC will book that week for your before the 11 month window opens. You are guaranteed the accommodations you purchased every year without fail unless you opt to cancel the week (which you can do at any time). These were/are offered at PVB, GFV, AUL, CCV, and RIV.

An Event week is similar, except they correspond to the 4 runDisney weekends - Wine and Dine, Marathon, Princess, and Star Wars (or I guess, Springtime Surprise now). Event weeks are assigned a week just like a Guaranteed Week - for example, the Wine and Dine week is contracted at Week 44 - but they are fundamentally different in that they "float." Member Services will call you ahead of the booking and ask what days you want to book. You don't have to book Sunday-Sunday. You can book Tuesday-Tuesday, or even Thursday-Monday if you don't want an entire week. And your booking is guaranteed every year once MS sets that date. Also, the contract includes guaranteed early event registration, with a link sent to you by MS before general registration opens. Guaranteed Event Weeks were first offered at CCV and they were discontinued for RIV, so if you want one you have to buy CCV.

Thanks. Not sure why I never heard of this. I was intrigued that it says it secures race entries.

I don't have my contract handy so I'm going off memory, but as I recall you are allowed 5 race entries for your specific event for yourself or anyone else you choose to register. The entries can be used on the 10k, HM, marathon, or challenge - no 5k or kid's races. And note it's only for the event you purchased. If you buy a contract for Princess, you cannot use your race entries on any other weekend if you don't use all 5 for Princess.

My understanding is that once you purchase a gw, it's set - you can request to just get the points in lieu of the week, but the request has to be made every year.

This is correct, but you don't have to request it every year. For a regular GW, the booking is made automatically for you, and you can cancel it and use the points if you wish. For an event GW, MS will call you before they make the booking to get the dates you want.

Which is exactly why this doesn't sound like much of a deal. If the event itself is not guaranteed, what's the point of paying extra for a guaranteed event week?

If for some reason the event is cancelled, the week reverts to the underlying week stipulated in the contract. W&D is week 44, and the rest I don't know off the top of my head. Those weeks can still be cancelled and the points used however you'd like.

RunDisney events are usually during "slow" times anyway, so DVC reservations aren't hard to get for those events if owners take advantage of early booking windows. Personally, it's never been an issue for me getting a room for those events when booking in advance.

I don't know when or what you are booking, but this is extremely not true. Studios book fast all race weekends and are very hard to get at certain resorts if you do not book 10-11 months in advance. If you're booking AKV, OKW, or SSR I can understand why you may think this is easy. For anyone who owns and wants a studio at GFV, CCV, RIV, BWV, BCV, and sometimes even PVB it is very hard to get a studio on a race weekend. CCV and BWV standard studios are gone pretty much as soon as the 11 month window opens. It's unfortunate that CCV is the only resort that has the guaranteed event week, but if you want to stay in a studio at CCV during runDisney events, you better be booking right at 8 am or you may be out of luck. That's the value of the contract.

 

[BikeFan]

I don't know when or what you are booking, but this is extremely not true. Studios book fast all race weekends and are very hard to get at certain resorts if you do not book 10-11 months in advance. If you're booking AKV, OKW, or SSR I can understand why you may think this is easy. For anyone who owns and wants a studio at GFV, CCV, RIV, BWV, BCV, and sometimes even PVB it is very hard to get a studio on a race weekend. CCV and BWV standard studios are gone pretty much as soon as the 11 month window opens. It's unfortunate that CCV is the only resort that has the guaranteed event week, but if you want to stay in a studio at CCV during runDisney events, you better be booking right at 8 am or you may be out of luck. That's the value of the contract.

Granted, my home resort is OKW, which is one of the larger ones, but I've booked all sorts of rooms, from studios to grand villas, for 10+ race weekends, and it's never been difficult to get what I wanted. I was even able to book last-minute stays at BWV and GFV for Marathon Weekend a few years back, but maybe I was just lucky? Anyway, that's been my experience, for what it's worth.

 

[striker1064]

Granted, my home resort is OKW, which is one of the larger ones, but I've booked all sorts of rooms, from studios to grand villas, for 10+ race weekends, and it's never been difficult to get what I wanted. I was even able to book last-minute stays at BWV and GFV for Marathon Weekend a few years back, but maybe I was just lucky? Anyway, that's been my experience, for what it's worth.

That is fair. Most people buying GWs are buying studios, which are the first to book. If you are primarily a 1-bedroom booker, GWs don't make sense because they are much easier to book. All other room types are highly variable based on the resort and time of year. Let me give you one other situation that shows the value of a GW. You have to do your research for this, but you can see why it's good...

The cost of a GW is set when a resort opens. You must purchase the number of points it cost to book the week the first year the resort was open plus a 10% point premium. For a real world example - Wine & Dine corresponds to week 44, which cost 107 points when CCV opened. 10% is 11 points, so to purchase W&D week, you must buy 118 points.

Thanks to DVC's point chart reallocation, week 44 without a GW in 2022 would cost you 121 points. You are actually saving 3 points even with the 10% GW premium. Given that further point reallocations are likely in the future, it's possible for savings to grow. There are more weeks where this idea works.

That's why it's not a bad idea to buy a GW if you're buying direct. Obviously runDisney is only available for CCV, but a standard GW at RIV for a week you want to go most years is not a bad idea, because it may turn out to be cheaper after future point shifting.