DVC Tour?

[MommytoaSweetie]

Hi! I've heard something about taking a DVC Tour, but I'm not really sure what it is. I know I've seen their booths many times on our trips, but haven't stopped by. How do you sign up to take a tour? How long do they take and what could we expect if we went on one? We're looking into DVC and I think this would be a good way to consider it, but we have to plan things a little more when we have the kids with us.

 

[DVCGeek]

A vacation club "Guide" (salesperson) will tell you about the program and show you some model rooms. I believe they typically take about 60-90 minutes IIRC, but it depends on how many questions you ask and paperwork may add to that should you decide to buy on the spot.

You might want to look at this: http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/dvc-for-beginners

Some other things off the top of my head:

We were offered beverages & cookies (and ice cream?) while there.

There is a childrens area at the preview center, and they provide you with transportation to and from the tour from any Disney resort or park.

Make sure you have the name of a "referral" from a current DVC owner before you schedule the tour! If you purchase from Disney the referring member gets a referral bonus and you may be elligible for special purchase discounts.

You are generally given a small thank you item for taking the tour. Common items include $15 gift cards or 'instant fast passes'. When DW & I did it in Oct. 2008 we each got a fast pass card good for 3 fast passes you could use immediately.

You can either schedule at your resort or in the park once you arrive or call the DVC sales # beforehand to schedule.

Hope that helps!

 

[SSR]

1. They have child care. It was great and our 4.5 son had a blast with the older kids. You get to make ice cream sundaes afterwards (which, I understand, was implemented to draw the kids away from the child care center, which at SSR, was pretty neat).

2. We got a family photo as our keepsake.

3. You can make the "pitch" as long or as short as you'd like. We started off by telling our guide that we've spent hours researching and we had very specific questions. He was smart enough to focus only on those questions.

4. We ended up buying resale, but we legitimately were thinking direct from DVC when we met. We were up in the air on whether resale or direct made sense for us. I got the impression from others that if the guide thinks you're on an "intel" mission or simply kicking the tires before going resale ultimately, you'll get a less-than-enlightening experience from your guide. Who knows for sure, however.

 

[tank27]

We just did the tour at BLT and that is the reason I am looking into resale now. I didnt understand it until I took the tour. The CM we had said he understood that we werent going to buy now and gave us $75 in gift cards for taking the tour and a limo to Downtown disney. I suggest taking the tour if your unsure how DVC works then buy resale. that is what im doing now

 

[christa112]

Wow Tank!!!

You got a great deal $75 in gift cards and a Limo!!!! NICE!!!

We just did the tour at BLT and that is the reason I am looking into resale now. I didnt understand it until I took the tour. The CM we had said he understood that we werent going to buy now and gave us $75 in gift cards for taking the tour and a limo to Downtown disney. I suggest taking the tour if your unsure how DVC works then buy resale. that is what im doing now

 

[christa112]

We took the tour last year. I would definately recommend taking the tour, but also doing your research on the Dis. You can learn a lot of info from doing both. With the tour I love that you can see some demo rooms. We fell in love with AKV by looking at the room and knew that was the resort for us.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

We took the tour last year. I would definately recommend taking the tour, but also doing your research on the Dis. You can learn a lot of info from doing both. With the tour I love that you can see some demo rooms. We fell in love with AKV by looking at the room and knew that was the resort for us.

when we were at WDW in September for our honeymoon, we were at DTD and wandered over to the DVC booth. She offered us each a $15 GC for doing the tour. We didn't have any real plans that day except lunch at WCC at WL and then either Spectromagic or Illuminations that evening. So we figured, why not? They sent the Goofy van to WL to pick us up after our lunch and then returned us to our hotel when we were finished with the tour. (They'll take you wherever you want when you're finished.) We didn't buy then... But we're ready to buy now and will be doing so within the next few days or so. It was a nice way to kill time, $30 in GC wasn't bad, and yes, we got ice cream at the end. But we wouldn't have done it if we weren't really interested. Not that we really thought we would buy, just that we really wanted more info because we were pretty clueless about the whole DVC thing. I'm also glad we waited to buy because we initially were thinking of buying BLT but now are most likely going to buy at AKV. But don't do it unless (1) you have time to kill or don't mind sparing the time it will take and (2) you really want to check it out. The tour site is at Saratoga Springs and they have mock rooms from BLT and AKV.

 

[Crystal_27]

If you are even remotely considering DVC, please do yourself a favor and research every aspect of ownership before doing a tour. DVC is a nobrainer for a certain type of Disney vacationer; however, the Guides will try and show you how it's perfect for everybody (even if in your case it might not be). Because of the way the Guides package DVC (and, because of Disney's easy financing) it's easy to get roped into DVC. So, do your research before you tour to know whether or not DVC is a good fit. If it is, you can actually become a DVC member in about 2-3 hours during the tour.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Make sure you have the name of a "referral" from a current DVC owner before you schedule the tour! If you purchase from Disney the referring member gets a referral bonus and you may be elligible for special purchase discounts.

Just a clarification here - there is currently no incentive offer to provide new buyers with any discount by offering an existing members name. There is still Share The Magic which only provides a referral payment to the existing member.

Because of that, we do not allow offers from members to be referrals on our boards at this time. Thanks all...

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

Thanks to everyone for all the information! (and PMs) I know that if we went on the tour, we still wouldn't be ready to buy yet, but there's no way we'd buy without going on a tour first if that makes sense. Is it a really pressuring pitch? Will they understand that we won't be ready yet, but if it's right for us, hope to soon?

 

[Crystal_27]

Is it a really pressuring pitch? Will they understand that we won't be ready yet, but if it's right for us, hope to soon?

Reports are coming in very varied about how high pressure (or not) the tours are. Your best bet is to be honest with your Guide about where you are in the process, and to educate yourself so you know what is realistic in terms of any "deal" that you are getting. Also, look at resale - even BLT is starting to show up on the resale market and it may be that resale is a better route for you. Either way, good luck.