Is it hard to use your points at a DVC resort?

[unpaintedhuffheinz]

Greetings. I'm new to this forum. We are considering purchasing a 25 point DVC resale (maybe 50) for either Animal Kingdom Lodge, Bay Lake Tower or Wilderness Lodge.

We are military retirees, so we can stay at Shades of Green. We're looking for a membership with a very small number of points, so we can augment our periodic Disney stays with a few nights at a Disney resort.

One question we have---is it hard to find rooms when you try and make a reservation? Our concern is---if, at the 11 month mark, we call our Home Resort to make a reservation, what's the likelihood that quality rooms will still be available?

I'm thinking of my experience with using frequent flyer miles on airlines. Airlines only allocate so many seats for frequent flyers, and they often "sell out" quickly.

Are DVC rooms allocated the same way? Do "choice" rooms at a resort (e.g., Savannah view rooms at Animal Kingdom) go super-fast? Or, is there a realistic chance that DVC members can get quality rooms if they register soon enough?

Thanks---looking forward to your responses.

 

[DVCconvert]

Welcome to the boards!

Getting a room at your home resort at exactly 11 months out is not hard at all -- practically 100% a sure bet. It's not like the rewards travel biz. That said, due to limited numbers (limited by physical building layouts) some rooms cat's do go faster than others. As an example, at BWV the Std View Studios go fast due to the relative low point cost.

HTH

 

[stopher1]

Yes, welcome to the DIS! The beauty of that 11 month home resort window is that there is more availability, especially at the larger resorts like AKV. With the addition of Kidani Village, there will be a lot of rooms there. Last year we booked our first trip home to AKV at 5 or 6 months before the trip and got what we wanted - and that was with just Jambo House. Our next trip home will be in Jan '10 in Kidani Village vs Jambo House, and I've already made 2 changes to that ressie with no problems at all.

 

[unpaintedhuffheinz]

We hope to join you in the DVC real soon.

 

[Caskbill]

I'm thinking of my experience with using frequent flyer miles on airlines. Airlines only allocate so many seats for frequent flyers, and they often "sell out" quickly.

Are DVC rooms allocated the same way? Do "choice" rooms at a resort (e.g., Savannah view rooms at Animal Kingdom) go super-fast? Or, is there a realistic chance that DVC members can get quality rooms if they register soon enough?

It's nothing like FF miles. DVC retains about 2% ownership in the resort. These rooms are used to cover for regular rooms that might go down for maintenance or refurb. When not required they are released to CRO for cash reservations.

The remaining 98% of rooms are available to members, at 11-months for home resort members only, and at 7-months for non-home resort members.

At 60 days, any remaining rooms not yet reserved are released to CRO for cash. This is one reason DVC works best for those who can plan ahead.

There are very few times when the 11-month window becomes an issue with availability and that is for very popular times. NYE is probably the most popular night and Standard View rooms at BWV usually go within a few hours right at 11-months because of the BWV location and that Standard view Studios are fewer points.

Other busy times are Christmas, Spring Break, October Food and Wine, etc. At these times many rooms will book up during the home resort priority period, for certain villa types, and will not be available at 7-months.

Summer months can be more popular, especially at HH. At OKW getting a GV during the summer is very popular because of the lower point requirements.


Hope this helps

 

[Dean]

Greetings. I'm new to this forum. We are considering purchasing a 25 point DVC resale (maybe 50) for either Animal Kingdom Lodge, Bay Lake Tower or Wilderness Lodge.

We are military retirees, so we can stay at Shades of Green. We're looking for a membership with a very small number of points, so we can augment our periodic Disney stays with a few nights at a Disney resort.

One question we have---is it hard to find rooms when you try and make a reservation? Our concern is---if, at the 11 month mark, we call our Home Resort to make a reservation, what's the likelihood that quality rooms will still be available?

I'm thinking of my experience with using frequent flyer miles on airlines. Airlines only allocate so many seats for frequent flyers, and they often "sell out" quickly.

Are DVC rooms allocated the same way? Do "choice" rooms at a resort (e.g., Savannah view rooms at Animal Kingdom) go super-fast? Or, is there a realistic chance that DVC members can get quality rooms if they register soon enough?

Thanks---looking forward to your responses.

All rooms declared into inventory are available at 11 months out. When a resort is still in active sales, that means all rooms may not be in the inventory and thus they are not available on points. You should have NO problems at AKV 11 months out except for the concierge rooms which are almost impossible to get even if you call when they open day 1 at 11 months out. Likewise, getting other resorts at 7 months is not difficult if you call day 1 when they open other than limited room types like BWV BW view or standard view or likely, BLT MK view. In your situation 25 points will give you a studio about 2 days per year or 5 days non weekends every 3 years for many times of the year. I'd suggest you consider a slightly larger package because you'll have to be paying closing on resale and the price for closing will likely be the same either way.

 

[CHOPR]

No 1 ,thank you for your service!!
You are probably looking at 2 nights the most for 50 pts. (weekday) so would probably have over a 90% chance 11 months out. I would be surprised if you did not get it. Being a DVC member you could also get a discount for any more nights you would like to stay cash. That would usually have to be planned well in advance though. Good Luck

 

[unpaintedhuffheinz]

Dean, you make a good point about buying a larger package. But, we're thinking about coming every 3 years. Then, we'd bank one year, use one year and borrow from the next year, so we'd have 3 years of points (75 total) to use. Given that we're looking for a DVC membership to supplement our stays at Shades of Green, 25 points looks ideal for us---at the moment.

 

[unpaintedhuffheinz]

CHOPR, you're welcome, and thanks for the kind words.

 

[Dean]

Dean, you make a good point about buying a larger package. But, we're thinking about coming every 3 years. Then, we'd bank one year, use one year and borrow from the next year, so we'd have 3 years of points (75 total) to use. Given that we're looking for a DVC membership to supplement our stays at Shades of Green, 25 points looks ideal for us---at the moment.

Your choice of course and you'd get all the perks that other members get when not staying on points no matter how small the ownership. If you're looking at one trip every 3 years I would not buy at all given your stated situation. However if you decide to proceed, many people find they need more points when they get into it and there is some economy of scale. Also, what if they change the schedules further such that the days you're looking at are 20% more than they are right now. Just don't cut it close on that small of a package as it will be difficult to adjust later. At least looks for the best value in the 25-50 points range, maybe it's a 37 or 42 point contract that comes along and best fits your needs. If you can find someone who is selling privately and you and the sellers are willing to do a little work and take limited chances, you can cut down the cost significantly by doing the deed and closing yourself. Some will tell you don't take the chance but the risks are minimal at most and the potential savings $200-400. Regardless enjoy all the opportunities, it's nice to have choices.