Let DVC choose your resort stay?

[TiggerBouncy]

This sounds like something from Disney Cruise lines. You book a category of room (at a discount), and they'll put you in any room that fits that category. The room could be anywhere on the ship.

this was my first thought when reading the post. DCL does something very like this where for a cheaper price you get a guaranteed stateroom at the same category or better. That can’t happen with DVC though. Different animals. but I was wondering if someone confused the programs.

We’ve been members since 1992 and have never heard of that (the link you posted also didn’t work).
That doesn’t make sense because one of DVC’s selling points has always been flexibility- unlike many other timeshares, DVC members are not tied to a particular week.
When we bought DVC, the minimum number of points you could purchase from Disney would allow you to book a week at the home resort - that might be where the ‘guaranteed week’ began and was misunderstood

DVC has indeed sold guaranteed weeks. You pay a premium for them, but you get the same week every year. They have sold them at a few resorts. I almost did it at poly. you can still refuse your week, but you are booked the week before any 11 month priorities, so you always get your week if you want it.

https://*******.com/dvc-information/buying-dvc/purchasing-a-guaranteed-week/

 

[SueM in MN]

Some resorts do indeed sell guaranteed weeks..now called favorite weeks.. and you pay premium upfront for thst..10% more points. If you cancel it, you get all the points to use as normal, including that extra 10%.

I know VGF, CCV and RIV have them. It may also be AUL.

But DVC books it for you prior to the 11 month window and it is a 7 day trip going Sunday to Sunday and can’t be modified. There are some that attach to a runDisney even that can be moved to start on a different day but not positive how those work.

DVD is limited though to selling more than 35% of rooms for any given day for the guaranteed week..

this was my first thought when reading the post. DCL does something very like this where for a cheaper price you get a guaranteed stateroom at the same category or better. That can’t happen with DVC though. Different animals. but I was wondering if someone confused the programs.



DVC has indeed sold guaranteed weeks. You pay a premium for them, but you get the same week every year. They have sold them at a few resorts. I almost did it at poly. you can still refuse your week, but you are booked the week before any 11 month priorities, so you always get your week if you want it.

https://*******.com/dvc-information/buying-dvc/purchasing-a-guaranteed-week/

That’s interesting and definitely not something I would have expected.
I can see especially people who do RunDisney events liking it. Some do the same races every year and it would be one less thing to worry about

 

[TiggerBouncy]

That’s interesting and definitely not something I would have expected.
I can see especially people who do RunDisney events liking it. Some do the same races every year and it would be one less thing to worry about

The DVC rep I spoke to about it was trying to hook me for the holiday season where the resorts can be difficult to land. Unfortunately, I hate to fight the parks during the holiday season and although it's okay once in a while, I would not want that to be every Disney vacation I take!

 

[robotsneedlove2]

Some resorts do indeed sell guaranteed weeks..now called favorite weeks.. and you pay premium upfront for thst..10% more points. If you cancel it, you get all the points to use as normal, including that extra 10%.

I know VGF, CCV and RIV have them. It may also be AUL.

I have a "favorite week" at the Polynesian. While I may have paid a premium for the week when I bought the contract, starting in 2023 I will be saving points!

I'll only need to pay 130 points for a week that would cost 139 points to book.

 

[CarolynFH]

I know VGF, CCV and RIV have them. It may also be AUL.

AUL was the first DVC to have guaranteed weeks. They wanted to market AUL to Japanese and other Asian buyers, who are more familiar and more comfortable with fixed week timeshares.

I can see especially people who do RunDisney events liking it.

AFAIAA, CCV is the only DVC that offered the RunDisney guaranteed weeks -- I don't think RIV or VGF2 offers them. They must not have been very popular, although I found them attractive due to the increased flexibility of being able to change the start day of the week. But I wasn't in the market for CCV points, so my opinion didn't help them sell!

 

[Little E]

@drusba I'm a DVC newbie...bought VGF earlier this year direct from Disney. I had no idea that DVC owners could book cash rooms at a 25% discount. I knew we could book cash rooms, but not for the discount. How does one reserve cash rooms with the discount? I just logged on to DVC and I don't see any options to book for cash. Do you need to call member services to do this?

 

[drusba]

@drusba I'm a DVC newbie...bought VGF earlier this year direct from Disney. I had no idea that DVC owners could book cash rooms at a 25% discount. I knew we could book cash rooms, but not for the discount. How does one reserve cash rooms with the discount? I just logged on to DVC and I don't see any options to book for cash. Do you need to call member services to do this?

You need to contact MS to do any reservation for cash. As I noted they are not always available, and even when available, the resort choice may be limited. Also, it is a discount off the regular stated price of the room (also called the "rack rate)." If Disney itself is advertising a discounted price, you cannot double up on the discounts -- you can only get a discount off the rack rate.