zerb said:
If you buy SSR, what is the minimum contract, 150 pts?
Yes, 150 points is the minimum if you buy direct thru
DVC. If you buy via resale, you can get a contract with as few as 25 points.
What are the current deals?
They have the friends & family promo at SSR which is 15% off, making the points $83.30. However, this deal ends on Feb. 1st. After that we are assuming they will revert back to just the $8 off incentive, which would make the points $90 each. (They could announce another promo, but we have no idea). Note: there are no deals on "sold-out" resorts buying direct thru DVC... just $92 per point with 150 pt minimum.
The 2006 dues are as follows:
BCV - $4.48 per point
BWV - $4.69 per point
HHI - $4.34 per point
OKW - $4.24 per point
SSR - $3.98 per point
VB - $5.27 per point
VWL - $4.61 per point
Dues are due in January of each year. You can either pay in lump sum, or have them split into monthly payments and drafted from a checking account.
Are they selling the last stage of SSR?
I'm not certain, but I believe so. I know they are building the last phase.
How do most people pay for their points, 10 yr Disney financing, cash up front, home equity loan?
Again, I'm not certain, but I'd guess the majority of people use the financing option (even if they decide to do a home equity loan later to pay it off). Personally, I paid cash for my first contract, then I charged my SSR add-on to a 0% interest for 15 month credit cards. I plan to have it paid off by then, else I will probably move it to my home equity line of credit.
When do you get your points & when do dues/morgage payment start?
You get the points within a day or so of paying the deposit to start the paperwork. Dues are prorated from the date you start the paperwork and you will have to start paying on the prorated amount of dues within about 2 months. I'm don't know about the mortgage payment starting.
Can you pick what month you want your contract to start? I usually go in Aug/Sept. What month should I get my contract for since I like to stay at VWL.
First, you might have some flexibility in picking a use year. You would have to check with your guide. Since you travel in Aug or Sept, I would think a Jun or August UY would work best. This would give you the most "banking" freedom if you had to cancel an August trip.
Now, as for preferring to stay at VWL... if that is where you always prefer to stay, you might want to consider buying at VWL instead of SSR. With SSR points, you would only be able to book your ressies at the VWL 7 months in advance. Thus, there may or may not be any availability since VWL owners can book their ressies there 11 months in advance.
I am leaning toward starting with a small contract, 50 pts, just to decide if DVC is for me. I know I need a lot more points, I just don't want to commit to that many yet. Last year I rented 242 pts and this yr I am looking at renting 290 pts. If I like being a member I would want 300 pts.
If you have several contracts, and you can make reservations 7 months out, which contract would this 7 months be based on?
With a small contract, you would have to purchase via resale. If you then add-on direct thru DVC to your small contract, your points would have to be in the same use year and thus the points would be listed under the same parent contract. If you bought VWL as your small contract, you could use those points 11 months out for a VWL ressie. At 7 months out, you could use them at any other DVC.
If you were to buy your "add-ons" via resale, it is likely that each contract would give you a new member number. With these types of contracts you have to "transfer" points between them and "can" be more problematic, depending on how you use and manage them.
Regardless, you can indicate the contract from which you want to use the points.
If I buy a resale, what are the dues per/pt/yr for the VWL & Boardwalk Villas? How many yrs are left for VWL & Boardwalk Villas.
See the dues list above.
The sold out resort contracts expire in 2042 (including OKW, BWV, BCV, VWL, VB, & HHI).
SSR contracts expire in 2054
What are some of the benefits of being a member? Discounts: hotel rooms, DVC rooms, park passes, food???
Being able to book your own ressies and having control of those ressies. Perhaps the "best" discount is the $100 off AP discount. We also get discounts on booking cash ressie at DVC resorts (but not at other resorts). There is the ability to exchange points for non-
Disney vacations, BUT many will argue that it isn't the best use of points. There are a few dining discounts, not many. There are some shopping discounts and discounts on tours and recreation. Let's see... umm... oh, invitations to special events (like the EE experience). There's also some pool hopping priveledges. I'm sure I left a few others off, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.
My favorite places to stay are the Polynesian and the 2 bdrm villa @WL. The points will not help with Polynesian discounts, correct? I love the VWL, but I miss the monorail because I have 3 small kids. (4, 3(in a wheelchair), 1yr)
You can use points to exchange into the Poly, BUT it wouldn't be a "good" use of points. Also, DVC membership does not give a discount on other DVC resort rooms. However, you can use the AP discount and get at least 1 AP and then use the AP to book an AP rate for the Poly. Of course, there is also the rumor that the CR might become a new DVC location, and if that is the case, you would be able to use DVC points to stay in villas there.
Does disney do any discount for handicapped children? I always get 2 rooms or 2bdrm villa, because I take my daughter's nurse with us on vacation. Any hints on discounts???
None that I know of.
I do go to disney at least 1/yr and always stay at a deluxe hotel.
I think you are an ideal candidate for DVC. If you look at the $2500-3000 you spend each year on renting points, the cost to stay at the Poly will continue to rise over time (the amount of points to stay at a DVC is pretty much fixed - they can moved around a point here or there, but the overall amount of points can't be increased). Dues, of course, are subject to annual increases, but with 300 points you'd be looking at around $1200 per year. Here's just an idea... if you were to get 150 pts, you could stay at a DVC every other year and bank/borrow to get 300 pts to use. Then every other year you could still stay over at the Poly. If you plan the vacations right, you could get 1 AP and use that AP for 2 vacations.
Well, I hope this helps some. Take care and let us know if you have any other questions!
