Help! RCI-DVC-II Magical Mayhem

[Wiloughby1]

Ugh. We have just had some very crazy turns of events that have led us to DVC as a hopeful solution, but I am not clear as to how this will work. Please bear with me, read my story, and offer any advice/solutions/clarifications that you can.

My parents have several timeshares with RCI and Interval International- they have weeks, NOT POINTS, mainly because their weeks are so good and they use them. With II, they have an odd-year only week at Star Island in Kissimmee. We use this for our Disney trips. According to the catalog, there week should be April 30-May 7, 2011. With this knowledge, we booked our Auto Train tix (adventure for DS who loves trains) at 11mos to get the best deal and we got an awesome deal for our week, plus 3 days that we added on at AKL in the regular rooms. When my mom logged on today to bank other weeks that she can't use this year because of surgery, she saw that the system listed our week as April 23-30, which is absolutely out of the question since we a. can't get train tix within $600 of the price we got at this point and b. need to be home for the holidays that fall that week.

Since I have become a good little DIS follower lately, I remembered someone saying that DVC was linked to RCI somehow, so I had my mom call to see if we could get anything for our week at and DVC location in Orlando. My mom banked her BEST RCI week in an attempt to get our dates (4/30-5/7/2011). They said they would put her in a search for all of the properties and call when one came up. The agent said our chances were very good, but not necessarily for the 2 bedroom we need, and certainly not the 3 bedroom lock-out we have with our regular Kissimmee condo. Of course, if nothing DVC shows up, we can still try to get Kissimmee anything else through RCI or II.

So I guess what I want to know is
1. What are our odds of getting anything DVC and what properties/styles of room tend to become available to RCI?
2. How long should we hold out? Will most show up at the 7 mos mark? or later?
3. What perks do RCI trades get when staying DVC and what DVC perks are unavailable (obviously no AP discount, but we don't need that)

If all of this falls through, we'll have to just book a regular room, but we really didn't budget for that and we are accustomed to condo vacations. In my dream world, I would have DVC myself, but with my name on all my parents' timeshares it would be a bit of overkill. I'd love to try a taste of DVC, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Anything that you can tell me to ease my mind or clarify would be GREATLY appreciated. All of this confusion is kind of dampening my magic right now.

TIA,
Autumn

 

[Chuck S]

There are no DVC perks available to RCI, as you room will not be keyed as a DVC reservation. You will receive the normal onsite perks that all guests receive...bus transportation, Magical Express, ability to add dining plans, room charging, resort delivery of purchases, and free parking at the theme parks.

You will not receive any DVC specific perks or discounts.

There seems to be no specific rhyme or reason as to when DVC deposits rooms into RCI, so good luck with your planning.

 

[RobDoc]

If the timeshare unit you are trying to exchange is located in Kissimmee I believe there is a blackout for exchanges into the WDW DVC resorts for local timeshares in the RCI weeks system.

Otherwise, the chance for success will depend on the trading power of the week you have banked and are using to search.

You might take a look at www.tug2.net as they are an excellent resource for suggestions about exchanges. They can likely assist with the trade strength of your timeshare.

Good luck!

 

[Wiloughby1]

Chuck:Thanks for answering my questions. I guess ther perks question I meant was really facilities usage and resort guests. I didn't mean that I wanted to "take advantage" if that was implied.

Sorry if it was a burden on the system by putting it in "Operations". I thought this that was where you asked "how things operate."

One more question- Do DVC members generally dislike the ability of RCI members to trade into DVC space? Like how neighborhood of owners don't like renters?


Doc: Our II trade was Kissimee, but the RCI trade was Ft. Lauderdale, with a very bankable resort for a beachfront luxury resort, according to our agent. Thanks for your help!

I am so upset about my trip being nearly cancelled, and am hopeful that my Disney vacation can be saved.

 

[bwvBound]

Autumn,

Can your folks see any DVC weeks in RCI right now against the Ft. Lauderdale deposit? Even if not for your specific dates it might provide a glimmer of hope if they can see other weeks offered through RCI's website. (There was good number of studio, 1BR and 2BR units at OKW, SSR, BWV, AKV and BCV earlier this morning.)

G'luck!

 

[Wiloughby1]

bwv- Believe it or not, there were weeks available for later in May than our week! There were a few scattered. We just had to call back and ask more questions. Now we just realized that we told them Saturday to Saturday, but we could actually do Sunday to Sunday because we have extra days booked at AKL that we could switch. All that need to stay fixed is either our arrival day or departure day. We'll check online now that we're banked. Thanks for the tip!

 

[bwvBound]

That is encouraging news! RCI's OnGoing search is your best bet for matching your dates ... but you might also want to check the website daily just in case ...

 

[Chuck S]

Your question certainly didn't imply anything. Different timeshares treat incoming II/RCI trades differently. Some do grant most/all the same privileges as owners. DVC does not. I don't think there is any animosity to traders. There is no way to know a trader or a cash guest from a member while at the resorts. The facilities themselves have the same access to everyone, but as I said you will not receive the discounts, AP, free internet or pool hopping perks. There really aren't any DVC perks at the resorts themselves, other than some dining/shopping discounts.

 

[Wiloughby1]

Our ongoign search still doesn't have a match, but we'll check a lot. Thank you so much! Sometimes a little positive thinking goes a long way.

 

[ccgirl]

Do you have to stay at a DVC property? There are LOADS of RCI timeshares in Orlando/Kissimmee. Try one of those. I traded my Hawaii week into BWV just two months ago. You are treated just like any other resort guest/non-DVC owner. You also have to pay a $95 fee to Disney for use of Magical Express and their transportation - even if you don't plan on using it. If you don't have to stay on Disney property will you have no problem finding something. Good luck!

I copied the below from the RCI website:
Urgent Information
A US $95.00 RESORT FEE PER UNIT PER WEEK WILL BE BILLED UPONCHECK-IN FOR ALL EXCHANGES. THIS FEE IS INCLUDED IN THE FEEFOR ANY RENTAL. THE FEE INCLUDES SHUTTLE SERVICE PROVIDED BY DISNEY MAGICAL EXPRESS, EXTENDED PARK VISITATION HOURS ON SELECT DAYS AND TRANSPORTATION THROUGHOUT DISNEY RESORTS. FEE ALSO COVERS ADVANCE DINING RESERVATIONS, ASSISTANCE WITHOPTIONAL DISNEY DINING PLAN, TEE TIMES AND DELIVERY OF ANY PURCHASES MADE AT DISNEY DIRECTLY TO YOUR RESORT. DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED ALONG WITH RESERVATION CONFIRMATION. VALET PARKING, WIRELESS ACCESS AND OTHER CHARGES MAY APPLY. PETS AND SMOKING ARE NOT ALLOWED. DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, EXTRA VACATION INVENTORY HOLDS CAN ONLY BE GUARANTEED UNTIL THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS (SAME DAY). **MEMBERS WHO OWN AT RCI RESORTS WITHIN A 30-MILE RADIUS OF ORLANDO CANNOT EXCHANGE INTO DVC RESORTS.

 

[Brian Noble]

Let your search run for another few months. At that point, consider adding Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and maybe the three Hilton Grand Vacations properties.

 

[Wiloughby1]

Thanks CC and Brian! It's good to have a few back-ups in mind. Right now we can see a few OKW and a couple others available in weeks close to ours. Lets hope more get closer!

 

[Dean]

As a rule DVC doesn't deposit premier time including easter, I doubt there is much chance of any match, much less a 2 BR or greater. Don't take the RCI reps claim of high demand for your week, they get paid based on how many deposits and matches they generate. I'm not aware of any to resorts in Ft. Lauderdale itself, hopefully it's actually not one of those 5.

As a rule Orlando is easy but that is one of about 3 tough weeks, I wouldn't hold out for DVC but would go ahead and and list a few other top resorts like Hilton's, The Fountains, Bonnet Creek. All of those will be as nice or nicer than Star Island. The fact you're already committed means you really should get your dates set at a top place and not shoot for the moon with DVC, IMO.

It sounds like your parents got caught up in the readjustment which happens about every 6 years, generally referred to as week 53 or 00 depending on the system. With fixed weeks ALWAYS check the dates against your own resorts calendar. Even using a standard timeshare calendar is risky.

 

[Wiloughby1]

Dean- It's actually the week AFTER Easter that we want- she realized she HAD Easter and we don't want it. I don't want to be anywhere near Disney during Spring Break. They put in something from the Wyndham Santa Barbara. I think we'll be fine, but thanks!

 

[Dean]

Dean- It's actually the week AFTER Easter that we want- she realized she HAD Easter and we don't want it. I don't want to be anywhere near Disney during Spring Break. They put in something from the Wyndham Santa Barbara. I think we'll be fine, but thanks!

I have Easter as 24 April and Premier time as 17-30 April. It's unlikely they'll deposit a week that starts in Premier time so that only leaves the Sunday start date. You never know, just depends on how much you want to gamble to get DVC.

 

[Brian Noble]

It's unlikely they'll deposit a week that starts in Premier time

They deposited three today: a studio at BWV checking in on 4/17, and two different 2BRs at OKW, on 4/22 and 4/24, respectively. They got snapped up quickly, but they were there.

 

[Wiloughby1]

Awesome! Our search says says any Disney location, with either Sat Apr 30 or Sunday May 1 as a start. Thanks so much everyone! I'm trying to get a handle on this since my mom feels so bad about the mistake. I feel like if I can just straighten it all out for her, she won't feel like she "blew it."

 

[Dean]

They deposited three today: a studio at BWV checking in on 4/17, and two different 2BRs at OKW, on 4/22 and 4/24, respectively. They got snapped up quickly, but they were there.

Thanks for the info, I guess never say never. They also did Xmas this past year as well but I only saw a handful of units but I don't recall seeing Easter in Premier time previously. DVC is getting big enough that they will be forced to do a few but I suspect it will be relatively few and I doubt the OP will have enough trade power.

 

[Brian Noble]

Maybe. Maybe not. Based on some comparisons I'm running across a few different deposits, it seems as though trade power requirements have dropped in the past month or so for DVC. There was some further discussion on TUG regarding yesterday's banking---a *lot* of people saw things with deposits that hadn't ever seen DVC before.

What's more, the differences from week to week don't always make sense. For example, I have one deposit that couldn't see OKW 2BRs for the first week of September, but *could* see the 2BRs during Easter Week---both the ones deposited yesterday, and one that was deposited in June. Granted, Labor Day is late this year, but still...Labor Day is in higher demand than Easter?

If anyone can explain that one, I'd love to hear it.

 

[ccgirl]

Just to make you feel better, I was able to get a 2Br at BWV for check in May 1, 2010. I believe I traded this same time last year so keep an eye out. They go VERY quickly. I was on probably about 10 times a day.