Has anyone used DVC to stay at Tokyo resorts?

[TwingleMum]

So if I understand correctly (sorry just an uber planner) I can make dining reservations the day before I want to eat at 10 JT on the official website. Or take my chances for same day either on the website (9 JT) or in person as a walk up.

 

[iheartglaciers]

You can try at 10am JT 30 days out. That's the time that everyone can try. You can also try day of in the app at 9am or at the restaurant in person at 10am. Hotel guests and vacation packages start at 9am JT; however, they can book for the entire length of their reservation. You still can book a month out though.

So hotel guests can book the hotel restuarants as soon as they book their stay and then they get a 1-hour head start on booking non-hotel restaurant reservations (9am JT v. 10am JT 30 days out)?

I actually used points for part of my stay next month (2 nights at MiraCosta), so I’ll report back how that goes, but a few things to note….

TDR hotels can only be booked 4 months in advance using DVC (this is true for cash bookings as well, with the exception of vacation packages). However, TDR hotels have a tendency to sell out extremely quickly - and because of the time change, it’s possible that cash bookings could eat up most of the inventory (especially for coveted rooms at MiraCosta and TDLH) before the DVC member services line even opens. I believe the rooms come on around 9pm EST, so you’d have to wait until the following morning to book with member services - and I believe the department that handles these bookings is closed or has limited weekend hours. Probably not a huge deal for most, but DVC also doesn't have access to certain room categories - in particular, they can only book the standard view rooms at MiraCosta - not the park or Venice view, and some special suites cannot be booked using points.

Also - the point redemption isn’t the best, but I don’t think it’s horrible either if you have the points and want to do something different. Right now the Yen is fairly weak to the USD, so cash rates aren't as bad as they have been in the past. You can also rent out your points and use the funds to make a cash booking - you'll probably come ahead this way, but the convenience of just dealing with DVC and not worrying about the sale of points on my taxes was worth it IMO. If you're considering lumping in some of the other Asia parks on your trip, HKDL has some much better point redemptions (specifically mid-week), where you can often get the HK Disneyland Hotel (like a mini Grand Floridian) for 20-30pts per night.

One thing that is great about using DVC at TDR compared to HKDL or DLP is that when you call member services to book, they will actively book the reservation for you then. It’s not like the others where they have to submit it, and then it could take up to a week to hear back. Also, because it’s a DVC reservation, you won’t be able to link it to your TDR travel case/website - meaning you’ll miss out on the ability to make certain privileged hotel dining reservations.

Thanks, this was super helpful! Interesting that DVC can only book standard view and no park view rooms.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I've also seen the Sheraton that's near the Toy Story hotel come up on Interval International's Hotel Exchange, but it doesn't seem like a good use of points (30 points for one night).

 

[soniam]

So if I understand correctly (sorry just an uber planner) I can make dining reservations the day before I want to eat at 10 JT on the official website. Or take my chances for same day either on the website (9 JT) or in person as a walk up.

You can try as early as 30 days out online.

So hotel guests can book the hotel restuarants as soon as they book their stay and then they get a 1-hour head start on booking non-hotel restaurant reservations (9am JT v. 10am JT 30 days out)?

Yes

 

[jaydis208]

So a quick update, we didn’t end up using our DVC points to book a room at TDL. We ended up getting a vacation package for 2 nights at Miracosta which includes guaranteed admission to the new fantasy springs area. We are staying for 4 nights so I still needed to get two more nights to complete our stay. Vacation packages are only offered for one or two night stays. They include the park tickets so a 1 night package gives you one day at TDL on check in and the next day at Disneysea with the fantasy spring access. The 2 night gives you three park passes.

I called DVC about booking our other two nights but it was 100 points per night and we need two rooms per night since we are a family of 5. It was a very poor use of our points to spend 400 points for two nights stay. We were able to get a cash stay for the next two nights at Miracosta in the same room type so I hope we don’t have to switch.

Thanks for posting this great info about DVC & Fantasy Springs Hotel. We are considering using our points to book at Fantasy Springs Hotel since the cash reservations are so difficult to get in order to have the Magic Passport. And the prices for the vacation packages at the other resorts (the other way to get the MP) are so high (though 100 points per night is right up there if not worse). Hmmm..one week at Aulani, or one night in Tokyo lolol.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

We don't own DVC but we always rent when we go to WDW. Can points be rented to go to TDR and if so is it even worth it?

 

[soniam]

We don't own DVC but we always rent when we go to WDW. Can points be rented to go to TDR and if so is it even worth it?

You can’t rent points for TDR. However, you can book through DVC MS using your own points.