DVC guide wouldn't answer quetion directly

[schachtel]

WE are looking into buying at AKV but kept asking if possible to use points to sometimes stay at the Grand Floridian. The guide said it was "possible" but never actually told us how this is done. Does anyone one know for sure if this is possible and how to do this either purchasing, renting or trading points???

 

[anonymousegirl]

I am not a member ( but I am hoping to be!), but it is possible to use your points to book a deluxe resort at WDW. However, I seem to remember reading it is a bad use of your points and it is much better to pay cash and either bank your points for future use or rent them as extra income.

Hope this helps, and I am sure someone much more knowledgeable than myself will come along soon.

 

[Lynne M]

Yes, it is possible to use points at the GF. However, you would be trading out of the DVC system to do so, and the point costs at the non-DVC resorts are much, much higher than they are at the DVC resorts. Here's an example:

To stay in a savannah view studio at AKV in the cheapest season, it's 11 points per night for Sun-Thurs, and 23 points per night for Fri-Sat nights.

To stay in a savannah view 1-bedroom savannah view villa at AKV, it's 23 points per night for Sun-Thurs, and 45 points per night for Fri-Sat. This villa includes a full kitchen, living room with a sleeper sofa, master bedroom with king bed, a jacuzzi, and a washer/dryer.

To stay in a garden view GF room, it's 41 points per night for Sun-Thurs, 74 points per night Fri-Sun. Yes, you read that right. It takes four times the points to stay at GF compared to an AKV studio, and twice as many points as it would to stay at an AKV 1-bedroom.

And...there's a $95 fee anytime you trade out of the DVC system.

Another important thing to know is that unlike point costs for DVC resorts, the cost for non-DVC resorts is NOT fixed, and pretty much goes up every year. There's no restriction on how high they can go, so down the road, you will likely find that you need to buy more points to stay the same number of nights at GF. Disney can also restrict the use of points for non-DVC options, or take it away altogether.

So....now you see why the guide was non-committal when you asked about GF. If you plan to stay at non-DVC resorts only occasionally, it's not a bad thing. But, if you would want to use your points to stay at non-DVC resorts on a regular basis.....DVC would be a very poor value and probably isn't for you.

ETA: If you wanted to stay at DVC resorts, say, every other year, alternating with the GF, you could also buy only enough points to cover your DVC trips. With the use of banking and borrowing, if you bought 50 points, you could take a 100 point trip every other year, or a 150 point trip every three years.

 

[all4fun]

As Lynne indicated - It is possible, but is a pretty bad return on the value of your points and comes with the $95 booking fee for reserving a non-DVC resort.

If you intend to use DVC primarily to stay at the non-DVC resorts or Disney Cruise line, you're probably not going to be happy with what you get for the money.

If you plan to do something like this every now and then, it's a convenient feature.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I would say to only consider it if you are in a "use them or lose them" situation with some points that are going to expire and want to do something special. I wouldn't recommend staying @ GF with points on a regular basis for the reasons already stated. Of course, you are not me and the beauty of DVC is you can use "your" points anyway you want to...so by-golly if you have enough pts and want to stay at GF using them -- go for it!

 

[CarolMN]

To answer your question directly (without any "extra" advice, LOL) -

Yes, it is possible to use your points to stay at the Grand Floridian (or any other deluxe or moderate WDW resort that doesn't have a DVC resort attached to it).

To do so, you (or the DVC member if you are renting points) would just call Member Services and let them know your dates and what type of room you want - (same process as you would use to make a reservation at a DVC resort). The CMs at MS will take care of it for you. Easy to do (subject to availability).

Good luck with your decision making process.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

To answer your question directly (without any "extra" advice, LOL) -

Come on now Carol -- It's not like we were charging for the extra advice or anything...you know we just can't help ourselves!

 

[doconeill]

Hey, we forgot one more item in the bad pile:

Once you make a reservation with points for a non-DVC resort, they go into a Reservation pool. If you cancel them, they do NOT go back into your normal DVC pool of points. You can ONLY use to book another non-DVC destination (and not an II exchange either) before the end of your Use Year.

And in some cases, you could lose a portion of the points for a cancellation.

 

[Dean]

It is possible today but not a program that is guaranteed to cont. It is also a pretty poor return on your points.

 

[CarolMN]

Come on now Carol -- It's not like we were charging for the extra advice or anything...you know we just can't help ourselves!

Too true, LOL. But the OP did say their guide "wouldn't answer question directly", so I when I saw none of you did, either, I couldn't resist!

Wonder how many prospects we have talked out of buying points to mainly stay at the Poly or GF? (All of them, I hope)!