dvc tour

[princesslily]

Has anyone ever done it? How long does it last? Do they give a gift for doing the tour? Just wondering cause we are interested in buying in!

 

[mooneyda]

I did it in January I would say it lasts maybe an hour or so not real long and when we did it they gave a 25 gift card but who knows that might have changed

 

[GOLFDISNEY72]

We each got 3 fast passes last year when we went. We did not buy but we actually enjoyed seeing everything.

 

[thunderbird1]

We just did it last week, and enjoyed it enough that we want to do it again next trip! It probably took about 2 hours (including check-in, kids' club, ice cream, etc.), but we had lots and lots of questions, and wanted to see everything. The coolest part were the models for the new AK rooms--we really wanted to see the new CR models, too, but they weren't ready yet. That's okay--it gives us a reason to go back next time!

Gift options were 3 fastpasses per person, or one $15 gift card per person. We had 2 adults and 2 kids, so they gave us $60 in gift cards! There was also an offer for a $100 gift card for guest currently staying at DVC properties, in case that would apply to you.

We would love to be owners, and were really hoping they would convince us it would be a great deal, but we're just not quite there yet. We've gone during free dining the last 3 years, and even DVC ownership doesn't beat the savings we get from free dining.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We took the tour Sept, first week of, and it lasted 2 hours. We had alot of questions and were interested in the information to really compare to a resale DVC interest. The perk then for doing the tour was a 100.00 gift card per couple. We used ours for shopping and food, great perk and low pressure tour.

 

[ArielRae]

The gift they offer you depends on which resort you are staying at. I know that if you are at a deluxe hotel they are giving you $100 per room. If you are staying at a value resort they give you $15 per person. I don't know what they offer for the moderates. I had a DVC guy tell us that as long as we continue to stay at a value we aren't going to get anything good for taking the dvc tour. DH and I have done it twice. We have been toying with the idea for a bit.

 

[sraiford]

We have also been thinking about DVC however the yearly maintenance fee seems to be the big catch for us. We could get a room for about the same price-not a deluxe, but a room. Plus you still need to purchase the dining and tickets. I still would love to be owners especially the new Bay Lake Towers, but you need lots of points and then the maintenance fee would really be high.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We would love to be owners, and were really hoping they would convince us it would be a great deal, but we're just not quite there yet. We've gone during free dining the last 3 years, and even DVC ownership doesn't beat the savings we get from free dining.

Just a thought...think of your free DDP as a discount off the rack rate. So unless you're staying at a value (or maybe a moderate) there are greater discounts that can be obtained.

We have gone to Disney the past two years during the free DDP and used it, but what also just bought into AKV and after sitting down and working the numbers (and that we only stay in the Deluxe resorts) the savings of the DVC over the free DDP at rack was still huge.

If you were staying in a Deluxe with a 40% room only code, then I MIGHT see some difficulty in the decision, but otherwise, there is still no comparison at the Deluxe level.

We have also been thinking about DVC however the yearly maintenance fee seems to be the big catch for us. We could get a room for about the same price-not a deluxe, but a room. Plus you still need to purchase the dining and tickets. I still would love to be owners especially the new Bay Lake Towers, but you need lots of points and then the maintenance fee would really be high.

This is a valid reason. If you don't typically stay in Deluxe resorts, then DVC is probably not for you. Not because you don't deserve it, but because the value isn't the same.

 

[danv3]

We took it earlier this month. It lasted about 2 hours. We didn't get any gifts though. we were staying at french quarter at the time.

 

[Crisgw]

We took the tour while we were there about 3 weeks ago (we ended up buying into AKV ) and got a $100 gc for doing the tour and when we closed on the property (aside from the incentives) we got 4 fast passes

 

[kdepot]

We took the tour in May. We got 3 instant fast passes each. I had done a lot of homework before but, the DW had some questions . We only want to stay at deluxe from now on, although POR is our fav. The tour was almost 2 hours and we saw SSR and AKL showrooms. We bought SSR, the DW thought AKL was too dark. Spent more time going over the payment plans than the tour.

Anyway we bought at 25% off cause DS is a seasonal CM which made it a no brainer

Remenber your buying vacations for years to come and the rack rates will go up.
The discounts on AP and DDE along with the discounts just with the DVC card will make up for some of the cost. Also how often and for how many years are you coming to WDW will have a effect. But thats just me!

 

[DeeCee735]

We have also been thinking about DVC however the yearly maintenance fee seems to be the big catch for us. We could get a room for about the same price-not a deluxe, but a room. Plus you still need to purchase the dining and tickets. I still would love to be owners especially the new Bay Lake Towers, but you need lots of points and then the maintenance fee would really be high.

I figure it this way, and I'm sure there are better ways to figure it out, but this is the one that makes sense to me.

We purchased a 50 point add on at AKV which cost $4800. It expires in 2057. We received 07 points and 08 points because we bought in July and our UY is October.

A studio in AKV for April 13 - 17 is 64 points (standard view/Jambo House), which means I'm banking 36 into the 09 use year.

Rack rate in the Jambo House for a studio at AKV for April 13 thru April 17th is $2292 including hotel tax.

A rough calculation using just these points and just this reservation as an example (not our original purchase and 1st add on - original purchase $65.00 per point, lst add on $89.00 per point, all at BWV) and none of it financed......

$4800/50 years = $96.00 per year for the 50 points - equalling $1.92 per point x 64 points for these four night = $122.88 + $303.00 (rounded up) (4.73 per point in MF for 64 points used) is a total of $425 for the four nights (with 36 points still left over that are bankable).

2292.00 - 425 = $1867 savings. Even with free dining AND a room discount we'd still realize a savings with DVC, I doubt we'd be eating THAT much food in four days!

Anyway, for us it was never really about how much we would save, truth be told, we spend way more than we would if we didn't own DVC, because we travel there way more than we would if we didn't own!! It was always about locking in our vacations, forcing us to go away and enjoy ourselves as a family on a regular basis (getting DH away on vacation was always a challenge), and eventually something our kids can use, and their kids as well. It's awesome and we love our DVC!

 

[np4gp]

I am taking a tour tomorrow with DH and DS(2) just to see what we bought into...lol. We are still waiting on our paperwork to come through but since we are local, we figured we would make a day out of it. Model tour, ice cream and then F&W. Since we are already buying, do you think there is any chance of us "earning" a gift at the end??

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I am taking a tour tomorrow with DH and DS(2) just to see what we bought into...lol. We are still waiting on our paperwork to come through but since we are local, we figured we would make a day out of it. Model tour, ice cream and then F&W. Since we are already buying, do you think there is any chance of us "earning" a gift at the end??

I'm sure if you tour they'll throw in something like the FPs.

 

[stopher1]

When we took it we got the ice cream sundaes at the end, and VIP Fastpasses for each member of our family.

 

[MJ6987]

Where do they do the tour? Or, where is it likely to be done in February? Thanks

 

[jerseygal]

I "randomly" called DVC for info on the phone and a guide called me back...I told the guide I would be down on a specific date and was interested in taking the tour...During the next few weeks, I researched the boards here and reviewed point charts, trading specifics and developed questions back and forth for the guide...After my initial call, she mailed me the "Dream"book which I was able to get so much info from..

By the time we actually took the tour of AKV, my guide knew that we were intimately familiar with specifics and wrote down in the notes that we wanted to "cut to the chase", spend as least amount of time as possible..We didn't even tour the SSR models, just AKV...

We sat down with the guide and spend only 1 hr in total from tour to finish.
The norm probably is 1 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs...

We were given choice of $15 gift cards or 3 immediate fastpasses for everyone in the family...We chose the fastpasses which were great!
Ice cream was nice a the end of the tour...The DVC van was very prompt to the minute picking us up at our hotel!

Enjoy the tour..Good Luck!