DVC tour

[jjnv]

Hi there,

We will be in WDW in 3 weeks! We will take a 3 day cruise and stay at OKW for 2 nights afterwards. I am interested in learning more about DVC. Should I take the tour from Disney? How long does it take? Do they offer any perks? Do I need to schedule before we go? Our time is the limiting factor. The kids will get very upset if it is like all the other timeshare presentation. They would rather be in the parks of course.

Thanks,

Jane

 

[spiceycat]

here is there site.
http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/index

on the resort board - after you signed up in some cases you got an email with a moderate for $70 (might be less) per night - to come to this.

unless you need the information NOW.

then go to
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/index.html

read it - then ask questions here.

 

[Desnik]

We did the tour at SSR and we went to the "open house" which is I believe between 5-7pm. They had some villas open to tour on your own. Then we just walked into the DVC building there and got in with a guide. We have taken the tour in the past so we were in the system not sure if that had something to do with us being able to "walk in" without a ressie. There are information booths all over the parks and resorts and you can make a ressie there. They will even come to your on site resort and pick you up and bring you back! After you do the tour you have 3 days to decide to buy if you want to take advantage of whatever incentives they have at the time. They have an awesome child care center there and they will watch your kids while you are with the guide. They have everything and anything you could imagine to keep any age child happy! Even cookies and juice boxes. They will even watch infants. They give you a pager, just incase your child needs you or they need a diaper change. I think you should read everything you can on these boards before taking the tour. Definately do the tour if you are pretty sure you want to buy. You will find most info on DVC on the internet. Then if you do the tour ask all the questions you want. They are really no pressure type of selling. They will go over eveything with you and answer all questions. No rushing or pressure. If you decide to join at the tour they make it so simple. You have to give them a deposit, I believe 20% but, you only need to give them $500 there, the rest can be sent to them in 14 days. After you sign the contracts you do have 15 days to change your mind and get your money back.

There is a rumor that the current incentive will be ending soon. The purchase price is now $95 per point. 150 point minimum. The incentive is $10 off per point, making it $85 per point and that difference they use as a "down payment" on the sale.

Hope I explained that well! Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[tjkraz]

The rooms are so wonderful and the Guides informative that I would try to schedule a tour. If you schedule something in advance, DVC will send a van to pick you up and then return you to your destination of choice afterward. So, don't get the impression that you need to spend a lot of time going from bus-to-bus to make your way to SSR.

Look at your touring plans and see if you have maybe 2 hours of downtime that you can give-up for the tour. I understand that the preview center has a staffed play area for the kids, so they will at least have something for you to do while you tour.

You shouldn't get hit with any pressure to buy while you are on the tour, and frankly I wouldn't recommend buying while you are there. DVC guides are much better than your typical timeshare salesperson, but some may still stretch the truth at times on items that are not written in black and white. After you return from the tour, take whatever info DVC gave you and any other questions you may have, and ask the folks around here for clarification.

 

[rinkwide]

Should I take the tour from Disney?

Only if you want to get an SSR focused presentation.

If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend taking your own tour of all the DVC properties. It's easy:

You'll be staying at OKW so you got that one covered. When you're at Epcot stroll over to the Boardwalk resort area after Illuminations and check it out. Take a mid-day break from MK by catching a boat to VWL for lunch. You can stop by SSR anytime you're on the way to DD.

 

[tjkraz]

If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend taking your own tour of all the DVC properties.

Good advice, but just be aware that it can eat up a significant chunk of time. DVC will only give you a formal tour of SSR. If you want to tour the other resorts, you'll have to do it on your own. You can inquire about seeing an empty room at the front desk, but whether they can accommodate depends on the resort having a clean, empty room to show and a Cast Member that can walk you up to that room.

 

[LYNSUE]

DH and I took the DVC tour of SSR just this past November. (we ended up buying in Woo Hoo). The tour took about an hour. After the actual tour you will determine how much more time you want to spend with any additional questions. There was no pressure at any time during our tour. We did make an appointment time for our tour about three week prior to leaving home. When making the appointment your rep will ask some questions so they will know what things interest you the most and your tour can be modified more to hit those things. Also it is slightly more comfortable meeting the guide after you have spoken to them on the phone. Ask for Ricardo, he was very good.

DVC made it so convenient for us. We were picked up at MGM and after the tour we were taken back to Magic Kingdom. It was a great experience and we did not feel it took time away from our vacation. In fact it added to the fun.

 

[jjnv]

Thanks all for the great information. I called DVC and talked to a Betty. She said I can learn a lot from home too. She is going to mail me some information.

Is there any fee on top of the per point cost? I thought there is closing cost for resale points. What kind of finance do they offer? I did not plan to get a loan for the purchase, but I am interested to find out. I will try to tour all the DVC resorts. But I'd like to do my comparision of SSR vs resale from home to save me time.

Thanks a bunch,

Jane

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Jane,

Current financing is 9.75% if you take the $1500 deduction, 10.75% if you take the vacation.

Disney pays all closing costs if you buy directly from them. The only other "fee" will be the yearly maintenance fees (do not start accumulating until you close).

 

[MrShiny]

We did a tour at the former DVC center at the BoardWalk in Feb. At that time, there was a cooupon for a $50 gift certificate in our room.

They will tailor the tour to how much time you have - we were leaving to catch our flight, so we had them keep it under an hour (I don't think it miuch goes over). The more you know about DVC, the shorter it can be, depending on your questions.

It's very painless compared to other timeshare presentations. First of all, the product has great value. Next, they don't have to convince you that going on vacation is a good idea or that Disney is a cool place to go. You probably already know that.

They will waknyou through the specifics. Based on what you think your usage will be, how many points and what that will cost and what your financing options are.

Hey, after years of hemming and hawing, they snagged us!

 

[lllovell]

We never did an official tour of any of the DVC properties and bought sight unseen at SSR. On a later vacation date, we stopped in (the guard was nice and told us exactly where to go) and we were able to do a mini-tour immediately. Our sons (2 and 4) loved the tour as there were doors to open and rooms to see. (they take you to a studio, one bedroom, two bedroom and GV to give you a look at everything!) I am very glad we bought when we did and where we did!

I don't know if they are still doing it, but once you have taken the tour, they were offering fast passes (2 I believe per person) when you got back to the park to make up for any time you spent at SSR and as others have said, they would come and pick you up and take you back at your convenience!

If you are worried about losing time, I would ask about the fast pass offer. I would basically let you bypass 2 lines with your entire group once you got back to the parks so you won't miss a thing!

 

[cruise-o-matic]

We did the tour in November and received two lunch vouchers that we used at the Artist Palet.

If you take the tour, the clock starts ticking. You only have 3 days once you return home to decide to buy with the current incentives. Other than that, there is no pressure to buy.

 

[4Mousekateers]

We took the tour on Dec. 23rd. There was an envelope in our room (WL) that explained if we took the tour, we would get 2 $50 certificates (if both husband & wife attended). We applied them towards our room, taking $100 off the bill. The playroom for the kids is great. My son didn't take his Gameboy along, and we jokingly asked if they had one. Next thing we know they walked up and handed him what looked like a brand new Gameboy with a couple of games! No, he didn't get to keep it, but did play it for awhile. We were all invited to the ice cream bar afterwards for free sundaes - they treated us pretty well.