DVC Members from Orlando

[bridger71]

Hi everyone,

First time posting, long time lurking.

DW and I are going back for our second tour at SSR this Saturday to talk with our Rep about the current promotion.

I was hoping to get some feed back from DVC members on here from Orlando (like us) and how they use their points differently than if you lived out of town/state.

Thanks.

 

[OKWJan]

I really can't answer this yet, but will be able to soon. We have 480 points and are moving to Celebration soon. We have done a joint vacation with friends for years (they do 1 week, we do the other) and plan to still do it because it wouldn't be the same. We will use the points for friends and family, and use some at Vero Beach and Hilton Head. We will probably stay there once in a while ourselves, just because we love it!

Jan

 

[JimC]

We moved to Orlando from PA end of June. We have 442 points. 332 at OKW and 110 at BCV. That was good for two weeks in one bedroom at OKW (Jan and Oct) and 5 week nights at BCV in December.

We still enjoy being on property for extended stays. But now we use our OKW points with out weekend stays and can get more time, other resorts or both with our OKW points. We also go for many "day" trips, particularly during the music festivals at Epcot. And having our own car and no airports to deal with is a huge hit with us!

 

[jjk1107]

Hello, I am also new to this site. I live in Orlando and just purchased the DVC over the weekend. With the current promotion of $86, it was too good of a deal to pass up. The reason why my family and I decided to go ahead and buy after researching for several years is because of the number of times we would go and stay at Disney property during the year even though we lived nearby. We enjoy staying because of the extra magical hours and because it is a great mini vacation. We have already booked our first visit and are making it for a Sunday night during a 3 day weekend. This way we will not use up many points. Also, it will be great for New Year's Eve and during the Food and Wine festival at Epcot. I also figure we can use points to go to other Disney properties outside of Florida. In regards to New Year's Eve, my husband and I found that staying at Saratoga Springs this past New Year's Eve was amazing. We walked to the lake where we were so close to the Pleasure Island fireworks that there was literally debris falling within a few feet of where we were standing. We had an incredible view of both the PI fireworks and the MGM fireworks. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone, especially because Saratoga Springs through a great party by the lake. It was nice to be able to just walk back to our room than having to worry about driving home in Orlando after so many people have been out drinking. These are a few ways that we will use our points even though we live in Orlando.

 

[bridger71]

We stayed on property twice last year and agree with the posts here, its a completely different experience than driving back and forth from your house (Even if its just 30 minutes away). That's part of the reason we're about to take the plunge.

A nice extended weekend for the Food & Wine Festival sounds like a great idea and so does New Year's Eve by DTD. We actually were at Epcot ringing in the new year with some DVC friends and it would have been nice NOT to have to drive home afterwards (Took 2 hours to get back to Winderemere).

jjk1107, if you don't mind my asking, did you get any gifts for signing up this past weekend? I've read about the tote bag several times on here, but also heard that sometimes you get Annual Passes too, is that true?

Oh, and thanks to those who have emailed us, but we already have our DVC referral. Sorry

 

[Dean]

One thing to note that unlike many timeshares, DVC does not allow day use though some of the perks are available to members who are not staying at DVC at the time like restaurant and park discounts. There are other timeshare in Orlando that allow day use if that is important. One obvious benefit is that you don't lose much or any travel time. So one could get 2 days usage from one nights stay for all options including Pool, DDP, free parking at the parks and the like.

 

[jjk1107]

We did not get the annual passes. I was a little bit upset at first, but then I did some research. I found out that is the gift they give you if you join at Disneyland. I am wondering if it would have been better to go through a sales office in CA to purchase instead of purchasing in FL, if this is even possible. I know tht they got the deal of the $86 a point in addition to the annual passes. When we joined though, I think we got a much better deal, but they may have also gotten this. We were given all of 2006 points without having to pay any dues for them. So we have started off with 300 points right away and will still get another 300 in 2007. I am not sure if they still have the 2006 points available, but if they do, jump on it. In regards to the annual passes, I wonder if anyone has gotten freebies by asking for them??? I guess it never hurts to try.

 

[bridger71]

Well, if its annual passes for Cali only, that wouldn't be as good as annual passes in Florida. I will ask though, never hurts. The M.F. free points for last year is a VERY nice way to sweeten the pot. We'll keep our fingers crossed and bring the check book.

 

[jjk1107]

From what I understand, the passes can be used either for DL or WDW. I think I am going to talk to my guide about this incentive, to see what he can do if anything.

 

[jjk1107]

OK, I checked into it and you can only get these passes if you physically take a tour in California. Oh well. It was worth asking.

 

[bridger71]

Thanks for checking on that. I'll play dumb and ask anyways on Saturday too.

 

[bridger71]

Just wanted to say thanks to all the great responses. We finally did it yesterday, bought 200 points at SSR with an August UY.

We asked our Rep about any current "gifts" for signing and she got us 2 Fast Pass cards. We also had ressies at EPCOT for a late lunch and half jokingly commented that we wouldn't have any money left to eat after we finished the purchase. She came back with with two $15 gift cards for us before we left. Very nice of her!

 

[jdvm]

We own at Old Key West and now live in Celebration. My wife and I sneak off for weekends. We also use it as a spare bedroom for guests and our oldest daughter, who's in college, is looking forward to going there with some of her pals.
John

 

[KandiB47]

When we bought in our guide told us that he uses his points for when family comes to visit him. He sends them to the Disney hotels so they don't stay at his house