DVC Tour???

[DisAddict]

I'm really interested in DVC. We are going in Oct and would like to tour a DVC.

How long will the tour take, I have a 2 and 4 year old, not the most patient.

Can you only tour SSR?

And I'm a little confused about where to buy. Does it matter, can't you stay at any of them?

Sorry for the basic??? just getting started looking, I'll be reading more

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yes, you can stay at any DVC resorts IF there is availability at the 7 month booking window. For the smaller DVC resorts, that might not always be possible as the membership numbers climb. The "buy where you want to stay" mantra is usually preached here for that reason. You will get the tour of SSR when you do the tour, but you can go to any of the DVC resorts and ask to see an available unit at the front desk. Except for the decor, most DVC on-site resorts have basically the same layout with the exception of OKW. OKW has larger units that are a significantly different floor plan from the others. You WILL be able to purchase points from Disney at any of the DVC resorts, but for other than SSR, you will probably have to go on a waitlist, since the others are officially in the "sold out" status. People who are already members might have priority on the waitlist when points become available. You can also buy resale by checking with the sponsor at the top of this board page.

FYI, I believe DVC has childcare for the little ones while you are touring.

 

[jakenjess]

There is childcare for when you take the tour. Our kids were a little older than yours, but they had fun!

 

[isyt]

When we did the tour with our 3 kids they had the childcare in a nice room. My older 2 (5 and 7) went with no problem but my 3 year old came on the tour, not a problem at all. There is no sales pressure so everything was pretty quick.

 

[Plutofan]

From my understanding is that if you take the tour you will have 3 days to purchase or you lose the incentive discount. I believe that the incentive is $8 off the $98 dollar price. Disney is pretty strict on this. If you call and get the DVD and do not take the tour then there is no 3 day limit.

 

[flechette]

2 incentives :

1) $8 off $101 for a $93/point and you get this years points

2) $13 off for an $88/point and your points start in Dec 2006

 

[bmalonef45]

In response to the question about touring other resorts than SSR...

Yes you can but they are not guided tours. Just drive to each of them and look around. Tell the guard at the gate what you are doing and you will have no troubles. If they have rooms available you can ask to see one and they will take you to it. All the restaurants are public as far as I know. So if you are hungry, sit down and enjoy a meal. We did the same thing but left the kids at home gave us the opportunity to tour at our own pace. Touring all the resorts really helped us decide to purchase.

Enjoy!

 

[BroganMc]

I went on the tour at Saratoga in early May (first weekend I believe). Just walked in on a Sunday afternoon after having lunch at Wilderness Lodge. Got the guided tour and the lowdown on how the point system worked, costs, etc.

At the end of the tour, they take you to the ice cream parlor for a little treat (along with a packet of info for you to study, assuming you decided to think about it instead of sign papers... I never sign papers right after a presentation). Our guide (Ricardo) told us they built the ice cream parlor as a means to entice the kiddies out of the childcare rooms and back to their parents. Apparently kids were having so much fun playing games they didn't want to leave.

I had already toured the Beach Club and Boardwalk resorts, but haven't seen the rooms. I didn't realize they'd let you see them. Old Key West is next on our list. Probably in December via a boat cruise.

 

[Granny]

If you are going on the tour, I wouldn't rush through it for the kids sake. It's a big investment and you don't want to feel anxious or rushed because you're worried about the kids. Hopefully they will be distracted by the daycare and let you have a good visit.

My suggestion would be to learn as much as you can about DVC (you've got 5 months so you won't even have to cram!) before you go, so that the tour is not as much about learning as it is about deciding. Then that 3 day decision timeframe won't seem so stressful.

We did our research on this and other sites and asked questions, did searches for topics of interest and learned the ins and outs. Once it was time to call our sales person (guide), it was an easy process since we already knew everything he told us (and then some). We bought sight unseen, but I'd recommend doing the tour.

 

[tomandrobin]

Two things....

First, if you take the tour alone without your spouse, they give you a couple of weeks time.

Second, the models at SSR are open daily from 5-7 for view. No tour required, just walk on in. There will be a guide or two that can answer any question you may have. I would call and verify the "open house" times.

 

[lovewdw13]

I think they have opened rooms to view at Boardwalk. Not sure of the times or days of the week, but I believe it's in the evening. Usually there's a guide there as well. They may stop doing this by October, but they get a lot of foot traffic on the Boardwalk and it doesn't hurt to show some rooms.

 

[Disney Doll]

The Open House/tour isn't that long and they have baby-sitting for the kids.

When we did the tour, our guide was not a hard seller at all. Most folks that I know who have taken the tour report the same thing. If you have a guide assigned to you who is a hard seller, then ask for a diffferent guide.

Basic info:
~You buy points
~You spend the points based on length of stay, time of year, and size of unit
~Every year during a specific month (called your Use Year--UY here on the DIS)you get your full allotment of points. We have a contract with an October UY...every October 1st, we get 200 points to spend.
~You can borrow points from the upcoming UY, and you can bank points from the previous UY. For example, for my October UY contract, I could have banked 2005 points, have 2006 points, and borrow 2007 points, so technically, if I needed to, as of October 1st 2006 I could have 600 points at my disposal.
~You can stay at any DVC resort using points. Your home resort is the one you buy the points at, and you have an 11 month booking window there. All the other resorts give you a 7 month booking window. For example, my home resort is Old Key West (OKW). I can book a vacation 11 months in advance there, but at the BeachClub Villas (BCV), the Boardwalk Villas(BWV), the Wilderness Lodge Villas(VWL), Saratoga Springs(SSR), Vero Beach(VBR) or Hilton Head(HH), I can only book the vacation 7 months in advance. If where you stay is very important to you, then buy your points at the resort where you like to stay, because it gives you the 11 month booking window. This is especially true if it is one of the smaller resorts, such as BCV or VWL. Those resorts fill up fast. If your vacations will be ruined if you don't get to stay at the Beach Club Villas, then make sure your home resort is the BCV. If that is not a huge issue to you, then go with what gives you the best price.
~Financing can be done through Disney, if you buy from Disney. When we bought (and I don't know if this is still true because it's almost 10 years ago now) they offered 1, 3, 5 & 10 year financing. Their rates were pretty competitive. DH & I financed ours with the 10 year loan, because it had the lowest monthly payment. Our logic was that we could always pay more when we had extra money and pay the loan off sooner, but if we had a month where money was a little tight, all we had to pay was the low monthly rate. We did, in fact, pay it off in about 4 years as opposed to 10.
~Just to add to the confusion, there is the resale market. If you look on the DIS and look at The Timeshare Store(TTS), you will get lots of good info about resales. We bought a second contract through TTS and were very pleased with their service. It was efficient, professional and quick.
~It is willable, so if you die you can leave it to someone.

I am sure there are others who will add more. I just want to say that DH & I have owned since 1997, bought a 2nd contract in 2002, and have never, for one moment, regretted our decision. I would give up a lot of other things in my life...like eating, for example...God knows I could lose a few pounds!!!! ...before I'd give up my DVC points. Owning has brought us and our firends and family much joy. We have enjoyed the more relaxed "feel" of our vacations since joining, we love owning a piece of the magiic, we like the perks you get, we think the accomodations are top shelf, any minor problems we have had have been quickly and efficiently rectified. For us, it has been a homerun.