DVC Tours

[Happy Mom2]

We are planning a trip to WDW, and want to tour a DVC or two. Is it better to schedule this in advance or do I have to wait til we get to Disney? I'm a planner so I'd like to schedule in advance. How much time should I allow out of our day... for the sales pitch, for touring the resorts, etc? Is it better to go on our arrival day or does that even matter? Is it just our family on the tour or a group of people? Lastly, we have two young kids. Can they come on the tour with us? This will be their vacation home too, and I want their opinions. They are very well behaved and it is very doubtful they will interrupt the presentation. Sorry for all the questions. As I said, I'm a planner and like to know as much as possible in advance. TIA.

 

[roydavid7771]

We took a tour last year, and it was just me and my fiancee. We were staying at WL and stopped at the DVC desk to ask some questions. Within minutes, a DVC van picked us up and took us to SSR, where I assume the DVC sales reps are stationed. We didn't tour any facilities except for SSR, and at the time they were selling BLT, AKL, SSR, and Aulani. Rather they had rooms designed exactly the same way as at BLT and AKL. They were pushing these facilities since joining these resorts was a longer timeshare than joining some of the others. All in all, we spent about 2 1/2 hours listening to the whole pitch and got six free fastpasses good anywhere for our time.

I have to say, it was a pretty informative presentation, one that we are seriously considering!

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Plan on about 3 hours for your tour, depending on how many questions you ask and what all you want to see. The preview center is at Saratoga Springs Resort. That's where you'll meet your guide, get an overview of the DVC system, and take a tour of the model rooms. (They don't actually take you around to see each resort. They take you through mock-up rooms in the preview center.)

They'll then walk you around Saratoga Springs, if you like, to show you some of the amenities such as the pool, spa, laundry room, community hall, etc.

Your tour and discussions will be one-on-one with you and your guide. They don't group multiple families together for the presentation.

Having the kids along won't be a problem. In fact, they'll love the ice cream sundaes at the end of the tour and will probably get loaded up with stickers.

You can call directly from your resort room (just dial the operator and ask to be connected) or stop by a DVC desk at any resort or park at any time during your trip. The DVC sales desks are EVERYWHERE at WDW. They'll give you a time and even send a van to pick you up. (Usually right away.) You can probably pre-schedule your tour by calling them at (800) 500-3990. If you're calling far enough in advance, ask them to send you the DVD, too.

 

[Happy Mom2]

Thank you both.

 

[mecllap]

You can check out the public areas of the DVC resorts on your own (most by car, or any of them by bus or in some cases walking). There is a model room you can drop by and look at at the Boardwalk near Epcot. If you're not familiar with timeshares in general, take a look at some threads at http://tugbbs.com/forums/ , and also read the info up at the top about DVC resale.