Help please...

[NancyHawaii]

We went to our first Disneyland Vacation Club presentation 2 days ago while at Disneyland. This program sounds really really good but before we sign up, would like to hear from all experienced members (pros/cons).

Is booking really easy or do you have to book months and months ahead? I just hate to sign up and be impossible to get the dates/location you want.

Thanks so much! Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Aloha, Nancy

We have a Disney Hotel being built here on Oahu that will be opening sometimes in 2011 so this timeshare sounds even better

 

[Kmango]

My family has owned DVC for 16 years, and we think it's one of the best things we've ever done. That said, it's not for every one.

DVC is great if:

+You can afford not only the initial cost of points, but also the recurring expenses of dues, park tickets, airfare/gas, means and miscellaneous items.

+You intend to go to stay at a DVC-owned property at least every 2nd or 3rd year.

+You like having a kitchen and washer/dryer with you on vacation.

+You don't mind not having daily maid service.

+You are able to plan 7 to 11 months ahead OR are able to be extremely flexible with your dates and accommodations.

Is booking really easy or do you have to book months and months ahead? I just hate to sign up and be impossible to get the dates/location you want.

Yes. Booking is generally really easy, if you book months and months ahead. There are a few minor exceptions, but for the most part, if you book as soon as you have the chance, which is 11 months out, you should have no problem getting what you want. For high-demand reservations (AKV concierge, BCV/BWV for Food and Wine, VWL at Christmas, Grand Villas, etc.) you should book at 9am on the first day you can. For less crazy times of year (and DVC peak times are different from the peak times for WDW in general), any time more than 7 months out should be plenty to get you a room at your home resort.

If you can't plan more than 7 months out, prepare to spend a lot of time at Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. These resorts, while lovely in their own ways, tend to fill up last because of their size, location, and understated theming. If you are happy to stay anywhere on property and wouldn't mind SSR or OKW, then booking in the 3-6 month range may work for you.

DVC also works pretty well for last minute, one or two night getaways, which you might be able to take advantage of for the new DVC Hawaii resort. When I lived in Florida, 90 minutes from WDW, I'd frequently call in the morning to get a room for that evening, and I always got something. With there only being the one resort on Oahu, it may be more consistently full, but you never know.

Phew, that was long. I hope that helps.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

We went to our first Disneyland Vacation Club presentation 2 days ago while at Disneyland. This program sounds really really good but before we sign up, would like to hear from all experienced members (pros/cons).

Is booking really easy or do you have to book months and months ahead? I just hate to sign up and be impossible to get the dates/location you want.

Thanks so much! Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Aloha, Nancy

We have a Disney Hotel being built here on Oahu that will be opening sometimes in 2011 so this timeshare sounds even better

Aloha! We enjoy the DVC resorts, and are very happy with our membership... but we also are within a day's drive (long day) of WDW and can visit often. Only you can judge your ability to make use of the membership. For us, I know it would be cost-prohibitive to make frequent trips from Hawaii over to Orlando (not to mention the jetlag woes!), so our membership decision would be based on how much we anticipated going to the Hawaii DVC property and the Grand Californian Villas at Disneyland.

If you can anticipate when you want to travel at seven months out, you should be able to get the resort you want, but perhaps not the exact room. For instance, if you own at the Hawaii resort (which would then be your home resort), you would probably find it difficult to get a standard studio room at the Boardwalk Villas during the Food & Wine Festival at the 7 month mark (when you would be able book BWV). But, you would probably be able to find a larger room available there for the dates you desire. Additionally, you would be able to find studios available at some of the other resorts for that same time period. I can't tell you anything about booking ease at GCV as we've never booked there.

With the banking and borrowing policies of DVC, even if you don't plan to travel to Disney annually, I feel it's a great purchase. If you anticipate going every two years, you can purchase 1/2 the points you would need for each stay and bank. Or, if you anticipate going every three years, you can purchase 1/3 the points you would need and use the bank/borrow strategy.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[bumbershoot]

We have a Disney Hotel being built here on Oahu that will be opening sometimes in 2011 so this timeshare sounds even better

If you mean that you'd want to stay at that hotel mainly, you might want to hold off and just buy your points there, so you have the nice long lead time on making reservations.

If the guide you met with at Disneyland had the initials JM, he's really good with answering questions, and he's very honest. So call him with your followup questions! I would also email my questions, and then he would call back with the answers bing bang boom.

 

[NancyHawaii]

Thanks everyone for your reply.

So, if my home resort is Hawaii, we have a better chance of getting the reservations here?

I believe there will also be villas in the Hawaii hotel.

Aloha, Nancy

 

[disneynutz]

Home resorts can be booked at 11 months, 7 months at all others.

Bill

 

[ToddyLu]

GCV, VWL are smaller resorts, MK views at BLT are popular. For these areas--and I am sure ocean view at Aulani will be the same--you really need to own there. For instance my DH and I own 210 points at AKV. It was easy for me to get 2 SV studios for this Dec at AKV...I think if I had tried at BLT at 7 months out for a studio the same time ...I would be out of luck. For that resort is popular and getting better booking chances I would need to book at 11 months not 7. It is anticipated that Aulani will go on sale this fall and will be about the same on price and point cost as BLT. We will see. It is predicted that folks on the West Coast will purchase at GCV and then hop over to Aulani for a few days if possible. If you are interested in GCV you need to buy soon, rumor has it that the prices are going to go up in July and GCV is almost sold out

Even with prices and amount of points to think about...read, read, read and especailly understand UY and cancellation policies before your purchase. Resale of points is also usually a good option for DVC points at WDW resorts. I do not think there are a many resale at GCV due to its popularity and size (less points for distribution at that resort).

I wish I would have known about resales before we bought. But I feel we got the best contract for us direct from Disney, since we financed (that is a whole other ball of wax). Best of luck to you and your decisions.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

You will best be able to utilize your membership if you can book 11 months or closer to that than 1-2 months out. Especially if you would plan on using your membership on the west coast. There are only the Villas at the GC at DL and it is a very small resort. With Hawaii yet to open it's hard to say how the bookings will go there but it's better to assume you couldn't book close to the date of travel and be happy if you're able to do that.

If you travel to the east coast there are more options so the chances of getting a room closer to your dates of travel are greater.

Overall though if you have particular dates and times to travel and are not very flexible then you want to be booking far in advance or the timeshare may frustrate you.

And yes - if you mostly want to stay at Aulani then buy there. Only owners there will be able to book from 11-7 months out. At 7 months it's available to any DVC owner. If you can't book more than 7 months out then it doesn't matter where you own but you also may not get what you want for your stay.

 

[NancyHawaii]

Thank you all for your replies. This really helps.

From past experiences, do you think they will be offering any specials with the sale at Aulani? Currently, there's a special 100 pt package for about $11,500 with $1,000 discount and double points the first year.

Also, with the maintenance fees, how much has it gone up in the past?

Mahalo, Nancy

 

[Sandisw]

Thank you all for your replies. This really helps.

From past experiences, do you think they will be offering any specials with the sale at Aulani? Currently, there's a special 100 pt package for about $11,500 with $1,000 discount and double points the first year.

Also, with the maintenance fees, how much has it gone up in the past?

Mahalo, Nancy

MF's have typically risen around 3% or so per year.

 

[BillPA]

Here's a link to the history of dues:

http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/DVC/DVCDuesHistory.htm