I know less than nothing... can you help me?

[Karenj2]

I'm not buying anytime soon, but I'm curious - if you buy into a certain place like SSR, etc., you don't have to actually stay there, do you? i.e., I could buy into the DVC in California, and still use those points towards a WDW stay, right?

What if I really like a particular place, like the Wilderness Lodge Villas - are you able to buy into there even though it's been sold for quite some time?


I still like the idea of traveling to different places, however my BIL lives out in CA and we visit often enough that it might be nice to have a "place" we can stay other than at their house, and we're going to WDW more often now that my sister's kids are older...

 

[salmoneous]

Short answer - you are allowed to stay at any of the DVC resorts with your points. However, you are allowed to make a reservation at your own resort 11 months out and at the other resorts 7 months out.

So while you can stay at the California resort using SSR points, it's possible that folks with California as their home resort will have booked all the rooms for the time you want to go before you even had a chance.

EDIT - To answer your second question, yes, you can buy into the "sold out" resorts. You can either buy through Disney, or go to the resale market. Clink on the add for the Timeshare Store above and you can see resale contracts for sale.

 

[Greg K.]

You are correct. You don't have to stay where you buy. One of the charms of DVC is its flexibility.

Buying into one particular resort simply gives you first priority to staying there, if you make your plans 11 months out.

 

[alldiz]

I'm not buying anytime soon, but I'm curious - if you buy into a certain place like SSR, etc., you don't have to actually stay there, do you? i.e., I could buy into the DVC in California, and still use those points towards a WDW stay, right?

What if I really like a particular place, like the Wilderness Lodge Villas - are you able to buy into there even though it's been sold for quite some time?


I still like the idea of traveling to different places, however my BIL lives out in CA and we visit often enough that it might be nice to have a "place" we can stay other than at their house, and we're going to WDW more often now that my sister's kids are older...

You can buy WL.....click on the "Timeshare store" at the top of this page and see what is available.

The ONLY advantage of owning at a particular resort is that you have 4 months to book your vacation before everyone else does.
Once you hit 7 months before your vacation....you can( and everyone else) book wherever is available.
Good luck in your decision.
Kerri

 

[spiceycat]

or you could go like me and buy at both!!!

that say the one in Calif is brand new so no resales yet. come to think of it has DVC even started to sell it?

so get VWL now. you can buy resale or from DVC. that say if you buy from DVC it must be 160 points or more. buying resales you get the contract you want or come close too.

if you go with DVC instead of resale - make them do one 100 contract and one 60 contract. you will pay the title fees on the first contract (I think).

if you need to sell you can get rid of smaller contracts easier.

 

[GranddadTom]

I can't emphasize enough the value of owning at VWL IF you plan on staying there during the DVC busy times (which are different than the WDW busy times!) It's one of the smaller resorts and the 11 month window is a very big deal there.

 

[aDVCguy]

That's the best part of being DVC!

As long as you reserve out at the right time you
can visit any and all! Different rules apply to staying at a non-DVC
i.e., Port Orleans...Poly, Grand Floridian etc. but you also can
stay there!
My DW & DD were thinking of staying at the Poly until I
found out my SIL, BIL and kids decided to stay in style...
@ Disney instead w their sister at Marriot! Go Figure!

Should you decide to buy DVC...there are NO regrets!

 

[Karenj2]

Thanks for being nice to me. I never realized about the priority 11 mo/7 mo. thing... That's sweet!

Like I said - I'm nowhere close to buying into DVC, but I *am* a planner, so I wanted to find out more info before even considering it.

I'm still torn about the whole timeshare thing - my parents had a second home on the Chesapeake Bay since I was 10, and I *LOVE* that I can bring my dogs there & crash whenever I want, and that it's full of personal items... But, DVC is much cheaper than buying a full house, and I go to WDW (and DL) more often than I ever thought I would, since DH and I have no kids. (Would I be greedy to want both a 2nd house AND DVC??? )

Is there a good FAQ site that's NOT disney owned? I went to the official DVC site, and got some vague answers - i.e., first buy in is about $20k "which pays for itself in up to 7 visits!"

Ok - you've given me food for thought... Thanks!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks for being nice to me. ...

- my parents had a second home on the Chesapeake Bay since I was 10, and I *LOVE* that I can bring my dogs there & crash whenever I want, and that it's full of personal items... But, DVC is much cheaper than buying a full house, and I go to WDW (and DL) more often than I ever thought I would, since DH and I have no kids. (Would I be greedy to want both a 2nd house AND DVC??? )

... Thanks!

Bringing the dogs on vacation is why we bought a vacation home first before we bought into any timeshare! We own in Cape May NJ and when we would walk our dogs on the beach or in town, so many people would say that they missed their dog and we were so lucky! So...when/if you can, yes both is preferable!!!

Best wishes as you decide!
Bobbi

 

[Karenj2]

Bringing the dogs on vacation is why we bought a vacation home first before we bought into any timeshare! We own in Cape May NJ and when we would walk our dogs on the beach or in town, so many people would say that they missed their dog and we were so lucky! So...when/if you can, yes both is preferable!!!

Best wishes as you decide!
Bobbi

Cape May is the one Jersey shore place that I'd like to buy in, if we don't go for a place on the Chesapeake... (That is, of course, if we ever make enough to actually buy a second home!!) DH is a Jersey Shore (Sea Isle) guy, and I'm not, but I like Cape May.

Getting back to the original topic - what does the initial buy-in get you? Enough points for a studio for a weekend?

My sister & her family have invited us to go down with them to WDW next year - I'm going to try to convince her that we should to rent DVC points, so we can check it out!!

 

[spiceycat]

depends upon the resort and the season

you need to buy 160 points.

you can stay at OKW for 5 days in the summer for 150 points Sun-thurs (leave on Fri) in a 2-bedroom villa.

 

[salmoneous]

Is there a good FAQ site that's NOT disney owned?

http://dvcnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=186&Itemid=160

 

[GranddadTom]

depends upon the resort and the season

you need to buy 160 points.

you can stay at OKW for 5 days in the summer for 150 points Sun-thurs (leave on Fri) in a 2-bedroom villa.

You can also consider resale if you are looking for fewer points (although smaller contracts tend to cost more per point). I just when to the resale portion of this site and saw several contracts as low as 50 points for $4k+. If we go to WDW every other year, 100 points can get you a nice room.

 

[Karenj2]

Do you mind that I'm bringing up this post again? I have more questions.

What is banking? (I'm assuming it's something like rolling over your points to the next year.) So theoretically, if I bought 160 points but only go every other year, I'd have 320 points to play with? Can you bank for more than a year?

Also, if you have folks joining you, what's proper protocol? i.e., DH and I have no kids, so of course we could just use a studio, but I like going with my family (sister & her family), so I'd probably get a 2br instead. Would it be rude to ask my sister to pay for part of the cost (perhaps what she would have paid for a value resort)? WWYD?

I SO want to buy in, but we've got other things we've got to save for right now... This'll be a long term wish. (Kinda like the "library" shelves I've wanted in my house for the last 5 years!! )

 

[DVC Mike]

What is banking? (I'm assuming it's something like rolling over your points to the next year.) So theoretically, if I bought 160 points but only go every other year, I'd have 320 points to play with? Can you bank for more than a year?

Yes, it's rolling over your points to the next Use Year. Vacation points may be banked from your current Use Year into your next Use Year. Banked points may not be returned to their original Use Year, and cannot be borrowed or transferred. All banking transactions are final and irreversible.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

All banking transactions are final and irreversible.

True, but if you make a reservation and change your dates, you may use those banked points for the changed reservation as long as it is in the same use year that you have banked your points.

I think it would be ideal to talk to your sister before making the purchase. I think it also depends on your sister. It can be tricky. It seems that for every good experience story about relatives on the DIS, there is another story that either tells of 1) relatives that didn't show and stuck members with larger accommodations than were needed or 2) did show up and made the host(s) pull hair out in frustration.

We love our 100 pt. contract. We have stayed in both 2 bedrooms with family and studios by ourselves. We'll have our 1st 1 bedroom at Hilton Head in November.

 

[StotheK]

There's lots of people who can answer your technical questions better than I can (you can only bank 1 year and borrow 1 year ahead, so in theory on 160 pts you could have a total of 480 at your disposal.) Anyway, about brining others, I think it's always a personal choice really. Some people ask for nothing, others strike some kind of cash deal. We bring my in-laws generally they help us with our DD and buy us a couple nice dinners. Once we used my MIL's frequent traveler points to stay at a Hampton inn somewhere. I think another time we exchanged cash because they wanted to extend their stay by an extra day, so they gave us some sort of monetary compensation. At least that's what my wife tells me

Do you mind that I'm bringing up this post again? I have more questions.

What is banking? (I'm assuming it's something like rolling over your points to the next year.) So theoretically, if I bought 160 points but only go every other year, I'd have 320 points to play with? Can you bank for more than a year?

Also, if you have folks joining you, what's proper protocol? i.e., DH and I have no kids, so of course we could just use a studio, but I like going with my family (sister & her family), so I'd probably get a 2br instead. Would it be rude to ask my sister to pay for part of the cost (perhaps what she would have paid for a value resort)? WWYD?

I SO want to buy in, but we've got other things we've got to save for right now... This'll be a long term wish. (Kinda like the "library" shelves I've wanted in my house for the last 5 years!! )