DVC Tour Perks/Incentives?

[AKV707]

Call the guide and set it up!

 

[JulieEck]

I've been thinking about doing the tour and wondered if it's possible to do on our first day there. We'll arrive around 10 in the morning on Dec. 31st and are not planning on doing the parks that day. We also will not have a car and are staying at POP this trip. Is it possible to do the tour on our first day? Don't they have kiosks at DTD? I just wasn't sure how far in advance you had to schedule something. Also, we think we'd really like VWL, but the tours are only at Saratoga, right? I know if we buy through Disney, we'd have to take Saratoga or AKV. Thanks for your help!

 

[AKV707]

I am sure that you could contact DVC in advance of your trip and arrange the tour. They will pick you up at POP.

 

[fastshark9]

new member here as of easter this year my wife kids and i got icecream 5 fastpasses and 5 $15 gift cards and of course we bought

 

[TiffanyK]

I called the guide who sent us the dream book and set up our tour. It sounds like they do the tours on the half hour and pick you up 20 min. before. We'll be picked up at ASMu at 9:40. She even asked if any of our kids needed a carseat or booster. The only perk we're hoping for is the fastpasses. we'll be headed to MK right after the tour. I'm excited to see DVC, even though it will be a while before we're in the position to buy.

 

[AKV707]

Enjoy the tour!

 

[Fenceman]

Back in late 90's HH offered Dolphin Discovery Boat Ride and free cookies. Went through tour without any intention of buying. Two days later we purchased at HH.

 

[gkrykewy]

We went to a presentation at the end of May IN Magic Kingdom, rather than doing the tour, and ended up buying. Bonus was two of the 3-ride fastpasses, but we gave them away with 1 ride left on each.

 

[acourtwdw]

My sister and I have been members since 02. Last October we dragged our brother, sister in law, cousin and cousin in law and their two kids for the tour at SSR (before the AKL rooms were ready for preview). It was about 830 in the morning and we were served coffee and donuts. After the presentation each family was given the hard cover DVC book, a $50 gift card and fast pass card good for one day. The card was good for 5 fast passes. (My cousin's card malfunctioned and we had 10 passes for Test Track) Of course they offered us ice cream, but only the kids wanted it. Then they had the van take us to AK so we didn't have to wait for the bus. No one bought at that time, but the rep couldn't have been nicer.

 

[Pooh&Minnie]

Jeff, who works the kiosk at SSR and DTD, is such a nice guy.

How funny! Jeff was at the DTD kiosk and he's the one who signed us up for our tour Aug 1. He was great Once we completed our tour, they gave us 2 fast passes (good for 3 rides each, but we were also told that you could go to another park and that they'd be good for another 3 rides each ) They also gave us two $15 Disney dollar cards, and of course, the ice cream sundaes at the end.

 

[TMB1203]

When we took the tour we got free meal passes. Our "free meal" really cost us $15k because we bought that day!

 

[bababear_50]

I've been thinking about doing the tour and wondered if it's possible to do on our first day there. We'll arrive around 10 in the morning on Dec. 31st and are not planning on doing the parks that day. We also will not have a car and are staying at POP this trip. Is it possible to do the tour on our first day? Don't they have kiosks at DTD? I just wasn't sure how far in advance you had to schedule something. Also, we think we'd really like VWL, but the tours are only at Saratoga, right? I know if we buy through Disney, we'd have to take Saratoga or AKV. Thanks for your help!

JulieEck there is a kiosk right inside of the lobby of Pop Century. There are quite a few Kiosks in DTD also. You can also call on our resort phone to reserve a tour. Disney will sell you WLV but you have to be pretty persistant that that is the only resort your interested in and the min is 160 points. During my tour I requested seeing already sold out resorts --OKW--BC and WLV and they gave me a name tag and dropped me off at some of the resorts. (Little red van )Hope this helps
Have a great time
Hugs Mel

 

[nderh2o]

In June, we got the ice cream and each person got a VIP fast pass good for 3 INSTANT FPs. All you did was insert the card into the kiosk and out popped a FP good starting NOW. Sad thing is, we ended up giving most of them away because most of the parks FP attractions were "sold out" when we would get there around dinner time.

 

[Magical JenK]

I would like to do the DVC tour when we're there in September! DH mentioned last year how he wanted to learn more about "Disney's Best Kept Secret"!! It sounds like the more questions you ask the longer the tour. How many people are on the tour w/you or is it just for you?

 

[AKV707]

I would like to do the DVC tour when we're there in September! DH mentioned last year how he wanted to learn more about "Disney's Best Kept Secret"!! It sounds like the more questions you ask the longer the tour. How many people are on the tour w/you or is it just for you?

When you take the tour at the SSR preview center, you will be assigned a guide who will be taking you throught ehtourof the program, the SSR models and the AKV models. There is no pressure. It will just be you with your guide. The guide will explain the whole program and answer all questions.

You will leave with tons of information, a cool book, point charts and more. Oh yeh, and some ice cream if you want it.

 

[TSMIII]

Hello,

This is my first post since joining the boards.

We just took the tour last Thursday, on the second to last day of our trip. It was our first trip ever to Disney.

We set up the tour by going through the rep at the DVC booth in EPCOT - made a reservation the night before.

They picked us up at our resort and took us to SSR.

We have one daughter who is 6 yrs old and she came on the tour with us. They have a play room for the kids while you're on tour but it was full when we were there.

While waiting for the guide, there was a hospitality station set up with coffee, tea, juices, pastries, etc. for you to help yourself to at your leisure.

The tour took roughly an hour and a half and our guide was quite friendly and answered any questions we had. We were given a little shopping bag with the Dream book in it as well as additional literature related to pricing, the ways in which DVC points can be used through Interval International, points charts, etc. We also received a large full color brochure with fold outs showing AKV development in phases with artists drawings, etc.

We were only shown the AKV models and only offered AKV points. No mention of SSR. The guide indicated that they were selling points for units not yet finished and that they would be completed in December (part of the Jambo House I believe as he said that he could not yet sell Kidani Village since it hasn't been built yet).

Anyway, at the conclusion of the tour, he gave us three Fast Passes that were good for 3 rides per day and would issue you a FP ticket with an immediate start time - these were great and we used them for the last two days of our trip. Last, he took us to the ice cream parlour and saw that we got what we wanted, said his goodbyes, and said he would contact us by phone to remind us of the deadline to put a deposit down for the offer of the DDP or $8/point discount.

We ate our ice cream and then the person arranging the return transportation asked where we wanted to be dropped off. A short time later the van came around and brought us back to our resort (could have been dropped off anywhere though).

I would recommend taking the tour while there just to see the models as they're extremely nice. Plus, free FPs and ice cream is nice too!

Very low pressure by the way, no arm twisting whatsoever.

We visited AKL that evening on our own as we wanted to see if we would like what possibly would become our home resort should we decide to buy in. We did not want to buy sight unseen. It was even nicer than the brochures and testimonials indicated -we fell in love with the place. The six year old as well - she said upon entering the lobby "I wish we were staying HERE!"

We have a friend that's a member and so we knew something about DVC before going. Also, I began lurking on this board once I learned of its existence from our friend and it is an invaluable resource when contemplating whether or not to buy.

After our first trip experience, talking with our friend and other members we met in the parks, on the buses, at OKW where we stayed for the last half of our trip thanks to our member friend and visiting AKL, we have decided to become members. We are waiting for the documents to arrive by FedEx this week.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

 

[AKV707]

Hello,

This is my first post since joining the boards.

We just took the tour last Thursday, on the second to last day of our trip. It was our first trip ever to Disney.

We set up the tour by going through the rep at the DVC booth in EPCOT - made a reservation the night before.

They picked us up at our resort and took us to SSR.

We have one daughter who is 6 yrs old and she came on the tour with us. They have a play room for the kids while you're on tour but it was full when we were there.

While waiting for the guide, there was a hospitality station set up with coffee, tea, juices, pastries, etc. for you to help yourself to at your leisure.

The tour took roughly an hour and a half and our guide was quite friendly and answered any questions we had. We were given a little shopping bag with the Dream book in it as well as additional literature related to pricing, the ways in which DVC points can be used through Interval International, points charts, etc. We also received a large full color brochure with fold outs showing AKV development in phases with artists drawings, etc.

We were only shown the AKV models and only offered AKV points. No mention of SSR. The guide indicated that they were selling points for units not yet finished and that they would be completed in December (part of the Jambo House I believe as he said that he could not yet sell Kidani Village since it hasn't been built yet).

Anyway, at the conclusion of the tour, he gave us three Fast Passes that were good for 3 rides per day and would issue you a FP ticket with an immediate start time - these were great and we used them for the last two days of our trip. Last, he took us to the ice cream parlour and saw that we got what we wanted, said his goodbyes, and said he would contact us by phone to remind us of the deadline to put a deposit down for the offer of the DDP or $8/point discount.

We ate our ice cream and then the person arranging the return transportation asked where we wanted to be dropped off. A short time later the van came around and brought us back to our resort (could have been dropped off anywhere though).

I would recommend taking the tour while there just to see the models as they're extremely nice. Plus, free FPs and ice cream is nice too!

Very low pressure by the way, no arm twisting whatsoever.

We visited AKL that evening on our own as we wanted to see if we would like what possibly would become our home resort should we decide to buy in. We did not want to buy sight unseen. It was even nicer than the brochures and testimonials indicated -we fell in love with the place. The six year old as well - she said upon entering the lobby "I wish we were staying HERE!"

We have a friend that's a member and so we knew something about DVC before going. Also, I began lurking on this board once I learned of its existence from our friend and it is an invaluable resource when contemplating whether or not to buy.

After our first trip experience, talking with our friend and other members we met in the parks, on the buses, at OKW where we stayed for the last half of our trip thanks to our member friend and visiting AKL, we have decided to become members. We are waiting for the documents to arrive by FedEx this week.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

First, welcome to the Dis! And welcome home to the AKV family!

 

[TSMIII]

Thank you for the welcome AKV707.

Since you also bought in at AKV, I have a question you might be able to help me with.

I noticed on the back of the AKV brochure they gave us that there was a bunch of language stipulating various things and one section said the following:

"Purchasers should not rely on the continued existence of, or access to, existing Animal Kingdom Lodge amenities, savannas, restaurants, etc. that are not part of DVC membership."

Or something pretty close to that - not sure if I've quoted it exactly.

Here is my question:
Is this just a CYA clause for legal purposes in case Disney ever wants, or needs, to do something with the cash based hotel operation or is it indicating something that is already planned for in the future??

Thanks to any who can shed light on this.

 

[gkrykewy]

Is this just a CYA clause for legal purposes in case Disney ever wants, or needs, to do something with the cash based hotel operation or is it indicating something that is already planned for in the future??

Good catch, but it's just CYA. I imagine they'd have a heckuva time restricting Jambo savannah views from savannah-view AKV rooms in Jambo house.

BTW, someone else gave the board a heads-up to a Great Hotels (travel channel) episode on AKL airing tomorrow at noon. You may want to watch or DVR it.

 

[roselark]

BTW, someone else gave the board a heads-up to a Great Hotels (travel channel) episode on AKL airing tomorrow at noon. You may want to watch or DVR it.

Yay! I know I will DVR it! Looks like they have one on the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts on 9/6. I love any show about anything WDW!