dvc purchase

[jmassey1samchi]

hi, first-poster:

I am considering buying a dvc interest. I have been able to find as much info as I need except for one aspect. I am wondering how little lead time you can make a reservation and still be able to book something. We are Floridians who tend to not want to book 7 or more months in advance. If the dvc usually requires a long lead time in order to book a room, then it may not be something for our family.
any advice as to easier times of year to book, which resorts are easiest to get into, etc. would be much appreciated.
thanks
Jeremy

 

[ziravan]

DVC works much better if you can plan. The potential value goes down if you're a last minute planner because it limits your options and you won't even have time to wait list something together.

That said, you should be able to book, even late, at one of the bigger resorts: OKW, SSR, or even AKV. Even then, you might still have trouble during the busy DVC season (which is different from non-DVC busy season): Dec, F&W, and during some of the marathon and Star Wars Weekends. Your chances will go up if you're not picky about type of suite and/or if you're willing to do split stays.

If it's important to get into a high demand resort last minute, DVC isn't for you. If you just want to be at Disney, and splitting 2days in a OKW suite and 2 in a SSR 1br sounds like an adventure, you can make it work.

It's a question of expectations. I wouldn't buy with the idea of booking last minute if you don't have a serious thrill of adventure mindset AND if you won't be happy with improvisation. Last minute DVC bookers could work for a very specific mindset (although that's not how it's designed). Are you that mindset?

 

[Msmithmd]

DVC works better booking well in advance, but there are reports you can often find "something" for a day or two inside a month, if your dates and resort are flexible.

Higher demand season is from September through the January marathon. High demand season for DVC doesn't correspond well with higher visit seasons for WDW overall.

If you would want to stay at a specific resort for more than a day or two, and want to book well inside seven months, then DVC wouldn't be a good match for your anticipated travel pattern. If you're extremely flexible to dates and resort, then it would likely work fine.

Just realize you're never going to be staying over Christmas, New Years, or other peak demand holiday weeks if you're booking on short notice.

 

[ziravan]

DVC owners are point hoardes. They want to get their value out of their points. Look at any point chart for any resort. Typically, the "value" season is the busy DVC time and the high point seasons aren't.

You aren't going to get into newer and/or smaller resorts consistently booking late: GFV, GCV, BCV, BWV, BLT.

For F&W, you will prob not find the EPCOT resorts (BCV and BWV) even at 7 months and certainly not after.

One option that might work is to combine last minute trips with planned trips. You could manage the best of both worlds: your style of visit with the maximum benefit from DVC. Buy enough points to take a planned vacation AND two or three smaller trips over your desired time period (every year, other year, or third year depending on how you use your points).

If unplanned trips will be the norm, and you still want to buy, consider SSR resale. That will give you your best combination of price, length of contract, and cost of yearly MF. Common advice around here is buy where you want to stay. If you aren't going to take advantage of the 11 month window that gives you, then that advice is moot.

 

[MagicJourney]

One think I like about DVC is you can cancel a reservation > 30 days w/o penalty, and the pts can be banked to next year. So it's quite flexible to me.

 

[NoleFan]

Another option is to rent distressed points. You can usually find 1 or 2 nights if your schedule is flexible & not set on a specific resort. Distressed points rent for $8-$10.

 

[disneynutz]

One think I like about DVC is you can cancel a reservation > 30 days w/o penalty, and the pts can be banked to next year. So it's quite flexible to me.

To be clear your points can be banked only during the first 8 months of your UY.

Bill

 

[HokieGCC]

To be certain you get the most value (nights/point) you really need to book at the 11 month point with your home resort (with the possible exception of OKW and SSR ... for now). The 7 month point is a crap shoot. You might end up having to burn points getting "too much room" because that's all that is available.

DVC "can" be a good value if you optimize all of the parameters and booking real early is one of them.

 

[jmassey1samchi]

Thanks for all the replies. It is news to me that the park busy season doesn't necessarily correspond with the dvc busy season. I pretty much know what three day stays we would want well in advance, but we like to do a couple 1 or 2 night stays during the year too. I am sure I could learn to plan as the idea of having a dvc membership really appeals to me. I suppose you can always try to book something shorter notice while having your further out stays already locked in for the year. Not picky at all about which resort or accommodation type.
Does this sound more realistic
Thanks again
Jeremy

 

[jmassey1samchi]

I read that the busy season for dvC is from September through the January marathon. I would like some insight as to why that is, especially since it is almost opposite the parks busy season(apart from thanksgiving and Christmas week).
Also, does that mean it is easier to book a dvC room in the spring and summer? What time of year we go wouldn't really matter to us.(other than being partial to early December)
Thanks
Jeremy Massey

 

[supersnoop]

I read that the busy season for dvC is from September through the January marathon. I would like some insight as to why that is, especially since it is almost opposite the parks busy season(apart from thanksgiving and Christmas week). Also, does that mean it is easier to book a dvC room in the spring and summer? What time of year we go wouldn't really matter to us.(other than being partial to early December) Thanks Jeremy Massey

DVC point requirements are arranged to maintain 95%+ occupancy. Early December requires the fewest points, so many people try to book then to get more for their money.

Also, DVC owners aren't making a once-in-a-lifetime trip. They know they will be back and want to enjoy their trips. We schedule trips to avoid the large crowds.

 

[chitwndan]

DVC point requirements are arranged to maintain 95%+ occupancy. Early December requires the fewest points, so many people try to book then to get more for their money.

Also, DVC owners aren't making a once-in-a-lifetime trip. They know they will be back and want to enjoy their trips. We schedule trips to avoid the large crowds.

Exactly!

Think about it from Disney's perspective, you have people who will be visiting typically yearly or bi-annually at worst. Do you want to incentivize them to come when business is booming and they might need to hire additional help to manage the crowds, or to come when it is slow and the need revenue to help cover overhead expenses and/or make a small profit.

Disney does this and the DVC members respond accordingly. This also then frees up rooms Disney can rent for cash as hotel overflow.

 

[Minniesgal]

Thanks for all the replies. It is news to me that the park busy season doesn't necessarily correspond with the dvc busy season. I pretty much know what three day stays we would want well in advance, but we like to do a couple 1 or 2 night stays during the year too. I am sure I could learn to plan as the idea of having a dvc membership really appeals to me. I suppose you can always try to book something shorter notice while having your further out stays already locked in for the year. Not picky at all about which resort or accommodation type. Does this sound more realistic Thanks again Jeremy

If you aren't picky 1 or 2 night stays are probably doable short notice. The way I would probably manage this though is to make a rough plan at the beginning of my use year and book place holder stays and record them all on the calendar. That way if you can go you are booked and you can cancel or change up to 30 days before. As you can only bank for the first 8 months of your UY it isn't totally flexible and you need to have a plan to use or bank all your points. To me your big risk is not not being able to go it is points expiring as you find suddenly you can't use them

 

[HokieGCC]

Buy DVC for the yearly trip you can plan. Get the season pass (DVC discount). Rent points or pay cash for the last minute trips. You are getting the best of both worlds that way.

 

[DenLo]

You can easily book at the 7 month, but it might not be at the resort you want, especially for the period of October through January 7th. SSR, OKW and often AKV have lots of rooms available at the 7 month mark. But a week or two later during the October - January 7th time period, and you might have to do a split stay where you stay 3 nights at one resort and 4 nights at another. Or opt to switch from a studio to a 1BR.

We usually will book at the 11 month mark and then switch at the 7 month mark if we don't want to stay at a home resort.

 

[jmassey1samchi]

Thanks for the responses. Lots of good information and I now have a pretty clear understanding of how this is going to work. I will start looking for a resale membership
Jeremy Massey

 

[ziravan]

Good luck!