DVC tours?

[monalsw]

i've noticed the dvc tour gazebos at the resorts and never knew what they were. after some time on the DIS, i know, and would like to take the tour. but, i have a couple of questions...

i'm not ready to buy right now; is this a hard sell tour? can i take my kids? what all do we see? how long does it last? i'm really curious and want to take a look around!

any info appreciated!

 

[Pig Pen]

We did not get a hard sell at all. In fact, we were practically begging our guide to let us sign the contract!

Anyway, it took us about 2 hours from beginning to end - and we purchased. I bet you could be out of there under an hour if you don't buy?

 

[KristiKelly]

My husband & I took the tour 10/3/03. We had our kids 3 & 6, they do have a kids area with toys, video games, coloring, snacks, etc. my kids enjoyed it. We were staying @ BCV, the van picked us up @ 3:40, (we could've walked faster) carried us to Boardwalk where the tours take place. We did not sign then and were out by 4:30. EXTREMELY low pressure sales. We actually think that's one of their selling points. Painless and we also got meal vouchers for the 4 of us and ate @ Beaches N Cream. We would love to join, but just refinanced for 15 years and need to see how the larger house payment will effect us before we add more to the plate.

 

[castleri]

In 1997 we were walking by the BW DVC place and decided to stop in. We did so with the opening statement that we really didn't want a prolonged tour etc. just wanted to ask a few questions.. Linda Scolaro did just that - never did see the units other than the one we sat in about 2 hours later as we signed the papers. Having experienced the "hard sell" type at both Newport RI and Cape Cod we found Disney just the opposite. It is basically -this is how it works - how do you like to plan and take vacations. With Linda it was a pleasure as she explained ow it worked and who it would be good for and who might not be a candidate. (took about 1/2 hour) If you want spur of the moment vacations you might have a problem with DVC. We took our info packet out to the boardwalk and had some nachos and a beer at the mico brewery and said yes this is for us. Do not worry = no one will tell you this is the only day you can do this deal or any of that stuff - well unless you do the tour on Oct 31st. ( that is the last day of the $10 off per point).

 

[mbb]

...no hard sell, gave us a info pack, video and brochures, cold lemonade, kids playclub (ours were 4yrs old, and had a great time - the office was just down the hall), told them up front we couldnèt buy right then...no problem, answered all our questions, returned to the Polynesian to find four dinner vouchers to use...one year later, we called Karen Guyder (our guide for the tour - sheès excellent, always returns our calls promptly)...I think Ièm having a french language day with my keyboard ) and bought!

Two days later, we thought we should check out the competition , so we did a Westgate tour....can you say never again, and how did we get out of their with the shirts still on our backs... Apologies to all who have Westgate, we loved the property...but couldnèt bring ourselves to buy from an organization that supported the kinds of HARD sales pressure tactics we experienced. JMHO.

Enjoy the tour...canèt wait to see SSR models... do we smell an add-on!

 

[NancyDVC]

We bought in early 1992. What sold us (besides it being Disney) was the extremely low key sales approach. No pressure, direct factual answers, and the willingness to be upfront about everything. The topper was when they apologized for not being able to give us a walking tour (OKW was very small at the time) of the resort because they did not want to disturb the guests who were staying there! Any organization that has that much concern for their guests was one I wanted to be a part of!
We had toured Orange Lake Country Club the year before and what a difference! Pressure, pressure, pressure. Whizzing around on a golf cart, using the recreation center for slide shows. I wondered when owners/guests could use the facilities. And the more we said no the more the pressure was put on! As we were leaving the salesman followed us to put a bit more pressure on! By that time we were laughing!
I still drop in to see my current guide on every trip. We get the same welcome and friendly approach even though we are not buying. Yes it is very family friendly and low key. Take a tour just for the experience.

 

[DVC-Don]

We did a timeshare tour and presentation in Hawaii once. The DVC tour and presentation was in no way comparible. At DVC we were about 2.5 hours because we started the paperwork to buy while there. You can take the kids too. You do not say how old they are, but DVC had a room full of video games, Disney movies playing and a craft table with a couple of nice ladies there. Actually our kids were kind of upset when the time to leave came.

 

[Montana Minnies]

Thanks for the thread Lisa
I have been wondering about the tour myself.
Does the tour include all of the DVC resorts or just the one you may be interested in?
A few of us are thinking of taking one when we take our vacation next Aug.04 at WDW.
"Montana Minnies"

 

[michaeln]

As far as I know they only have the one office at the Boardwalk. In there they have some mock up rooms for SSR and Boardwalk.

Anyway it is very low pressure. As someone else said we had to ask the guide if we were allowed to sign anything that day. I think they give you some stuff to take home and read if you don't sign. I.E. you can get home, read it, sign it there and mail back.

 

[zurgswife]

My kids didn't want to leave the kids play room.....Very low pressure and we also purchased...but we had put lots of thought into it prior to even walking into DVC Sales office....(We had decided NO!!! LOL) After seeing the Boardwalk rooms we quickly changed our mind...

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

On my solo vacation last December, I stopped by the DVC kiosk that was in the studios. I made an appt. to see the BWV one-bedroom the next morning. It was easy enough to just walk over from The Swan after my breakfast.

When I saw the room, honestly, I almost cried. The room was so georgeous, and I knew fully well that I cannot afford to buy.
I was NOT given a hard sell. My guide was very nice. I was given a video, pamplets, and a voucher for dinner. But the tour stuck in my mind ! I *HAD* to find a way to get that room. LOL !

I have since rented points from someone on these boards, and this coming December I will spend 3 nights at The Swan, and then 3 nights at a BWV one bedroom...SOLO.

 

[ArnyVee]

Originally posted by Claudia Kellenberger
When I saw the room, honestly, I almost cried. The room was so georgeous, and I knew fully well that I cannot afford to buy.
I was NOT given a hard sell. My guide was very nice. I was given a video, pamplets, and a voucher for dinner. But the tour stuck in my mind ! I *HAD* to find a way to get that room. LOL !

I have since rented points from someone on these boards, and this coming December I will spend 3 nights at The Swan, and then 3 nights at a BWV one bedroom...SOLO.

If you are renting points and actually paying to stay at the Swan and BWV, why not purchase yourself a small resale contract and that way you don't have to buy-in at such a large amount of money? With renting out the points and rooms, you are already spending money that could go towards purchasing a smaller DVC contract.

We bought into DVC with a small 75 point contract and with everything included (including banked points!) we ended up with about $6,000 spent. It's not peanuts, but it's not 'break the bank' sort of money for most. I actually paid the $6,000 with a credit card check, transferred the balance onto another card with a 4% balance transfer rate and no transfer fees until balance is paid off and will be taking our first trip 'home' in about a week and a half!

Let me know if you have any questions on the process.