INFO on DVC

[rosiep]

I know absolutely nothing about DVC's. Can someone point me in a good place to gather information.

And if you'd like to provide a basic overview...that'd be great.

 

[spiceycat]

start here

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/index.html

still have questions
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28

want opinions - these are favorable to DVC
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=119

other opinions - these can be both - some people on the resort board hate DVC
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

any other questions just ask!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

DVC is Disney Vacation Club.

It is essentially a time share.

Instead of purchasing a particular week, you purchase points, that are allotted to every year. You can stay for as few or as many days as you like, or stay in accommodations ranging from studios to 3 bedroom vacation homes.

Disney has 6 DVC resorts on property at WDW, with 1 each in Hilton Head S.C. and Vero Beach, FL.

The number of points used per night varies by the resort chosen, room type, time of year, and whether weekday or weekend. Studios range from 6 points per night at Hilton Head in January on a weeknight, to 43 points per night at the Wilderness Lodge Villas at Christmas on a weekend. 8-12 points is very common.

On a recent trip, DH and I stayed in a 2 bdrm Boardwalk View Villa for 5 nights in April for 200 points.

Points generally range from $70-$90 resell or $100+ from Disney. You must purchase a minimum of 25 points resell and 160 points from Disney. Small contracts tend to be harder to come by.

For convenience, you can bank points from a previous year into the next year, or borrow from an upcoming year.

For our April 2007 trip, we had purchased DVC in January 2006 and banked our 2006 points. We were then able to use 100 2006 points and 100 2007 points to go on our trip with 200 points in April 2007.

DVC also allows you to use points at other Disney resorts in FL and around the world, go to nice hotels, Disney Cruises, and other timeshares. These tend to not be as economical as going to DVC properties, but provide options for using points other than Disney.

Spiceycat is much more knowledgeable than myself, and provided some very useful links.

We love our DVC!

You can also contact Disney and they will be very happy to send you a video.

 

[rosiep]

Thank you both.

Looks like I have some homework to do.

 

[spiceycat]

definitely.

some people here love DVC - count me in that number.

others hate it.

this board was started in 1993 because Pete was trying to make up his mind to buy or not.

So long history here of DVC.

to get a completely different opinion look here
thttp://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/dvc/3_Debate/opposing.htm

with DVC you must be willing to plan. It does okay for last minute trips - but only okay. It is not designed for last minute trips.

It is also better for people who like to stay Sun-thurs (leaving fri morning) than those who want to stay the full 7 days.

I love it! but others have had troubles. One of the things that I recommend is do what you are doing - homework.

then the next is to consider your vacation budget now. make sure that DVC would work for you.

one of the main problems seem to be new dvc members that live beyond their means. they stayed in a value or moderate room - then got DVC and suddenly started to stay in a 2-bedroom. Sorry if you can't afford it - wait until you only have maintence to paid before you go to the 2-bedroom.

if you have extra points then either bank them or rent them. You can generally rent points here for $10 a point - more elsewhere. maintence will run up between $4 to $5 (right now) per point.

 

[1000th happy haunt]

All Ears Net and MouseSavers also have DVC information.

You may also want to stop by one of the DVC kiosks on your next trip to WDW and talk with the person there. DVC is not high pressure in the least, so you can ask a few questions and just walk away.

DH and I are two of the people who love it.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Rosiep:

How is your research going?

Do you have any more questions yet?

BUMP!

 

[Brian Noble]

Edited: I tried to point the OP at another fine resource for DVC information, but apparently that site is a "bad word" on DIS.

OP: You can email me off-board if you want the site name, but I can't hint at it here. I've already had my wrist slapped for doing that with another site.

 

[rosiep]

Thanks everyone. Quite frankly... DVC isn't worth it for me. I rarely visit Disney for more than 7 days a year. While I travel elsewhere, we usually visit friends and family so hotels aren't an issue. I really only asked because I see it debated here so often and I was ignorant as to what it entailed.
But, I really appreciate everyone's offer to help.

 

[jdm]

We own with Worldmark and it sounds like a similiar system. I'm curious about the annual maintenence fees with DVC?

Jenn