First Timer Help

[matt_in_nh]

Your target trip is Fall 2026. For September 2026 for example you would book October 2025 for it.

You would use points that at in the UY covering that trip. (If have a June UY, it is 2026 points. If you have a December UY, it is 2025 points.)

Also you look at how many points you have that can be banked from the prior UY or borrowed from the next for the reservation.

When I bought I thought I wanted Oct use year because I do t want to go when Orlando is on fire. I settled for September because the contract was kind of what I wanted. Turns out I am happy with that and have a trip booked for the end of Sept which is the cheapest time to use DVC points. Nevermind Orlando will still be on fire.

 

[airjay75]

For your UY, you've identified the months you are MOST LIKELY to travel to WDW - September and mid-summer (I'll just say July and August for that). That is part of picking the best UY. To pick the best UY for you, you also need to consider the months you are LEAST LIKELY to travel to WDW. You want those months to come just before your UY begins.

So, if you think you will almost never travel during November and December, then I'd probably look at a February UY.

If you think you might want to travel around the holidays or the winter months, but you're definitely not going in late spring (April/May), then you might want to look for a June UY.

What you want to avoid is (1) ever having to cancel within 30 days of a reservation no matter your UY, or (2) canceling a reservation in the last 3 months of your UY, but even with 30+ days notice. If you do #1, no matter when, those points go into "holding." If you do #2, they won't go into holding, but you will only have to the end of that UY to use them or lose them which can be as bad or worse than points going into holding.

 

[Jtbick01]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

 

[eticketplease]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

Yes.

If you choose a February use year the 2025 points would cover trips between 2/1/2025 - 1/31/26.
September 2026 would use the February 2026 points. If any points were banked from 2025 it would use those first.

It doesn’t matter if you have points at booking only that they are available when your trip occurs.

If you wish to book somewhere that requires 100 points to stay on 9/1/26 you can book it on 10/1/26 if it is at your home resort and you have a total of 100 points in the Feb 2026 use year. It doesn’t matter if you have a 100 point contract, or a smaller contract that you have banked/borrowed points into as long as you have the 100 points in the Feb 26 use year you would be able to book the reservation. If this trip was not at your home resort you could book it subject to availability on 2/1/26.

 

[Wedgeout]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

With Feb UY (in fact any UY wanting to book Sept 2026, books Oct 2025) would be using 2026 points. If there are no 2025 points, you would only have the 2026 and points from 2027 to borrow.

 

[eticketplease]

With Feb UY (in fact any UY wanting to book Sept 2026, books Oct 2025) would be using 2026 points. If there are no 2025 points, you would only have the 2026 and points from 2027 to borrow.

October and December use years would be using 2025 points

 

[Wedgeout]

If looking to purchase a Feb UY contract with the Sept 2026 date in mind, it would be beneficial to have as many 2025 points as possible. (With the length of time it takes from ROFR, closing, and membership established, I’d ask seller to bank those 2025 points since you most likely will miss the Sept 30 banking deadline).

 

[Chili327]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

Yes.

It’s a 11 month window for your trip. It only matters that the points will be available for the trip, no matter when you do the booking.
But you will want to book as close to 11 months ahead as possible for your home resort, and 7 months ahead for any other eligible resort.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Your points would be allocated on 12/1/2041 for trips from 12/1/2041 until 1/31/2042.
You could also borrow those points to make them useable between 12/1/2040 and 11/30/2041.

Many of us believe that DVC will limit your banking and borrowing rights during the last few years of the contract.

Having a December UY could be challenging during the last year of the contract as you can't book before 12/1.

 

[matt_in_nh]

you also need to consider the months you are LEAST LIKELY to travel to WDW. You want those months to come just before your UY begins

I think this is the correct way to determine what your use year should be.

 

[airjay75]

So if I buy a contract with a UY in February, and no points left in 2025, will I be able to book my September trip before the February points are available? Like I would want to book my trip in October of 2025 for September 2026.

There are two things to keep in mind. What UY you are in (and how many points you have in that UY) and when your 11-month booking window opens up. If your planned trip is in your Feb 2026 UY, yes, you can use those points to book as long as you are 11 months or less from the planned first date of travel (and there is availability).

Let's say you're planing to travel September 1-7, 2026 and have a February UY. On October 1, 2025, you will be able to book your home resort for that stay using points from your UY that begins Feb 1, 2026. You would also be able to borrow points from your 2027 UY for that stay if you wanted to (and use any points that you banked from your 2025 UY).

If you are planning your next trip in September 2026 and thinking of going with a Feb UY (and we're talking resale), I think you need to keep two additional things in mind.

One, the time from having an offer accepted to actually having the points loaded in your account can take 2-3 months (even without a delayed closing) and there are some aspects of it that are just completely outside of your control (how long the sellers take to return their docs, how soon the title company records the deed after getting all docs, and how long Disney takes after that to create your DVC account and/or load your points). Check out the Closing Time thread to get a sense of how long it takes for some people. This could have some implications for your 2026 trip because, if you don't yet have the points to book at the 11-month window, at some resorts/rooms, you may not have your pick by the time your points load. I think you'd be in better shape if your trip is toward the end of September rather than the beginning, but still no guarantee. Also, if you're planning to book a 1 BR villa with your points, you're probably ok too because those tend to be the rooms with the most availability - studios, in particular, and some 2 BRs are a different story.

Two, if you make an offer on a Feb UY contract and they have any 2025 points that have not been banked, insist that they do that as part of the sale. They need to be banked before October 1st, and I don't think you will have your points loaded onto a DVC account before then, even if everything goes as fast as can be.

Good luck!

 

[Jtbick01]

Thanks for all the advice. I made an offer at $125 on a contract asking $134. They countered with $128 and we accepted. It’s a UY of Feb since we are very unlikely to travel in Nov, Dec, or Jan.

We have been going to Poly yearly and booking the deluxe studio each time. We like them better. Am I correct in assuming those are not even available to book for none DVC members until the 7 month mark? I ask because I read this morning it is sometimes impossible to get studios and buy your points based on a 1 room villa. I figured my points based on the studio.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Thanks for all the advice. I made an offer at $125 on a contract asking $134. They countered with $128 and we accepted. It’s a UY of Feb since we are very unlikely to travel in Nov, Dec, or Jan.

We have been going to Poly yearly and booking the deluxe studio each time. We like them better. Am I correct in assuming those are not even available to book for none DVC members until the 7 month mark? I ask because I read this morning it is sometimes impossible to get studios and buy your points based on a 1 room villa. I figured my points based on the studio.

you can book your home resort 7-11 months out. You can book for any guest regardless of how many months you are out.

If you decide to book another resort than your home resort then you have to wait until 7 months or less months out.

 

[Wedgeout]

Very nice!! Once sign and submit, there is this link to post. The format for entries is on first page post. Have a fun purchase adventure.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...ost-for-instructions-formatting-tool.3969776/

 

[airjay75]

Check out dvcfieldguide.com for historical availability by resort and room type. Booking studios at resorts other than your home resort at the 7-month mark are definitely more challenging than 1 BRs, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. There are also various waitlist strategies to use that can give you a better shot at securing hard to get 7-month bookings.

Congratulations and Welcome Home!

 

[disneylandtour]

Yes, 2041 would be the last vacation year unless you squeeze a trip in January 2042.

I think think this was just a marketing tactic that they decided on years ago. Ends in 2042 sounds better than 2041--by a year. But as there are no DVC Jan UYs, all points are distributed in 2041. And you simply have 31 extra days to use them. But in terms of point allocation it ends in 2041. Again, I assume a marketing decision.

 

[eticketplease]

We have been going to Poly yearly and booking the deluxe studio each time. We like them better. Am I correct in assuming those are not even available to book for none DVC members until the 7 month mark? I ask because I read this morning it is sometimes impossible to get studios and buy your points based on a 1 room villa. I figured my points based on the studio.

First congrats on the contract.

Anyone can book the studios if they are available for cash.

Right now 7/14/2026 is available for cash on disneyworld.com even though that date is more than 11 months out.

For points it is a little different.

You as an owner of PVB can book any room at the resort up to 11 months out provided it is not already been booked by someone else and you have the points to do so.

Other owner's can book any room at your PVB that has not been booked between the 7-11 month window starting at 7 months out from the travel date.

For example with today being August 6th 2025 as an owner of PVB you have exclusive access to book those rooms if available between July 6th 2025 through March 5th 2026.

Come March 6th 2026 anyone who owns points at other resorts (with the exception to resale owners of RIV and later) can come and book at PVB.

March 6th is also the date that allows you to try and get a laid back resort such as BRV or OKW or attempt to walk into Epcot by looking for availability at BCV or BWV.

People state it's impossible to get studios and the fact is that varies a lot by resort and time of year but generally it is true.
For example CCV studios count is 78 rooms vs your PVB having 497 between the tower and the longhouses.
Even if it is a high demand time your chance of getting a PVB studio at the 7 month window is much greater than over at CCV

 

[sndral]

Thanks for all the advice. I made an offer at $125 on a contract asking $134. They countered with $128 and we accepted. It’s a UY of Feb since we are very unlikely to travel in Nov, Dec, or Jan.

We have been going to Poly yearly and booking the deluxe studio each time. We like them better. Am I correct in assuming those are not even available to book for none DVC members until the 7 month mark? I ask because I read this morning it is sometimes impossible to get studios and buy your points based on a 1 room villa. I figured my points based on the studio.

Poly studios are available to book by Poly owners at 11 months, all other DVC owners (except resale Riviera & cabin owners) can try to book those studios at 7 months.
Most folks book their home resort at 11 months & try to grab the resort they want but don’t own at 7 months by modifying their existing home resort reservation. How successful this strategy will be depends on when you’re going & the resort/villa size you aim to move to. I’m in the camp of buy where you want to stay (or at least wouldn’t mind staying at) & consider it serendipitous if you are able to switch at 7 months.
The 1 br. advice is because 1 br.s are point hogs, we DVC owners tend to be point hoarders, thus we book villas that take the fewest points first - so villas that cost more points tend to be available longer.
There is nuance to that advice, smaller resorts book faster than bigger resorts - thus, the BC books faster than the BWV, because it is smaller & cheaper view categories (like BWV resort views & the infamous AKV value villas) tend to book really fast whereas more expensive views at those resorts last longer, sometimes much longer.