Locations outside the Disney network

[psimon]

I would like to see what is available to me outside the Disney network to use points. Is there a place to get a pdf file of the locations available? Playing with the website is slightly cumbersome and would rather download a document that I can read anywhere, regardless of internet availability.

I like the idea of being able to "leaf through" something and thinking "that would be an interesting place to visit".

Many thanks!

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[disBOBney]

Outside the Disney network! If I understand you correctly, you mean in addition to the theme park villas, both at Disney World and Disneyland, in addition to the three beach resorts of Aulani, Hilton Head and Vero Beach, in addition to the adventures by Disney which very from year to year and time to time, in addition to Disney Cruise Line, what other resorts can you go to via your points? Almost every other timeshare anywhere in the world via RCI. Any timeshare who has registered with RCI can exchange with any other. If you want to know more about RCI their website is RCI.com.

Personally, I don't recommend using your points this way ( I think it would be better to rent out your points and then getting the best cash deal you can where ever you wish to go,) however many DVC owners do travel through RCI with some regularity. One way or another as a DVC owner you have access to the world, but realistically there is no place like home.

*disclaimer, new dvc owners via resale do not have access to DCL or Adventures by Disney, or the Disney Collection of other Disney resorts.

 

[chalee94]

I like the idea of being able to "leaf through" something and thinking "that would be an interesting place to visit".

it's not as easy as booking a hotel and it's like buying a lexus and trading for a nissan sentra (the other RCI timeshares can often be found for $1 upfront and annual dues as low as half of DVC's), but here, knock yourself out:


http://b2b.rci.com/resort-directory/DVC/landing

Interval International sends me a hard-copy directory for my non-DVC timeshare trades, but i'm not aware of RCI doing that (and certainly not for DVC members, who are not counted as individual RCI members.)

 

[Dean]

I would like to see what is available to me outside the Disney network to use points. Is there a place to get a pdf file of the locations available? Playing with the website is slightly cumbersome and would rather download a document that I can read anywhere, regardless of internet availability.

I like the idea of being able to "leaf through" something and thinking "that would be an interesting place to visit".

Many thanks!

---Paul in Southern NJ

More info would be helpful however here's some basics that assume you have qualified points (retail or resale before the 201 cutoff.

For DVC options there are many websites that have info including this site and allears.net. The points tables are available online otherwise for most options.

For CC (Concierge Collection) there really isn't a good summary of the resorts that I'm aware of. You'd really have to look them up individually. Points are too high to be generally reasonable.

For BVTC (Buena Vista Trading Company) you'd have to investigate Club Intrawest and Club Cordial and/or the individual resorts. TUG (Timeshare Users Group) and redweeks might be good starting places.

For RCI it's RCI.com realizing you don't have access to the Orlando resorts and can't trade back into DVC through RCI using DVC deposits. RCI does several books including one for weeks and one for points. If you are a book type of person maybe you could find someone with last years copy of each they'd send you.

For ABD I'm not sure a good summary other than going tot heir site itself and realizing the points are very high and almost never a reasonable option.

DCL, many places to investigate including their own board here, DCL's site and many cruise sites. Again VERY high points plus.

DC (rest of the Disney Collection) again very high costs.

ALL cash type options are too high in points to be a reasonable option routinely as well as having other limitations that also make them unreasonable for most situations.

 

[psimon]

More info would be helpful however here's some basics that assume you have qualified points (retail or resale before the 201 cutoff.

For DVC options there are many websites that have info including this site and allears.net. The points tables are available online otherwise for most options.

For CC (Concierge Collection) there really isn't a good summary of the resorts that I'm aware of. You'd really have to look them up individually. Points are too high to be generally reasonable.

For BVTC (Buena Vista Trading Company) you'd have to investigate Club Intrawest and Club Cordial and/or the individual resorts. TUG (Timeshare Users Group) and redweeks might be good starting places.

For RCI it's RCI.com realizing you don't have access to the Orlando resorts and can't trade back into DVC through RCI using DVC deposits. RCI does several books including one for weeks and one for points. If you are a book type of person maybe you could find someone with last years copy of each they'd send you.

For ABD I'm not sure a good summary other than going tot heir site itself and realizing the points are very high and almost never a reasonable option.

DCL, many places to investigate including their own board here, DCL's site and many cruise sites. Again VERY high points plus.

DC (rest of the Disney Collection) again very high costs.

ALL cash type options are too high in points to be a reasonable option routinely as well as having other limitations that also make them unreasonable for most situations.

Thanks for all the info....

Our points are from 2000 so we qualify to look outside the network.

We were considering San Francisco and Napa for next year. Really wanted to see my options and what it would it could cost.

We always use cash for the cruise as we know trying to do it points is foolish.

Guess I'll have to look at things that way as well for California.

Again, thanks for the insight....

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks for all the info....

Our points are from 2000 so we qualify to look outside the network.

We were considering San Francisco and Napa for next year. Really wanted to see my options and what it would it could cost.

We always use cash for the cruise as we know trying to do it points is foolish.

Guess I'll have to look at things that way as well for California.

I would not assume that ALL points use outside DVC is overly expensive. I think that is generally true of cruises and hotel stays, but it's not necessarily true of RCI exchanges.

For San Francisco and Wine Country in particular, I see some nice options.

With SFO, you will need to look carefully at the locations of the resorts to be sure they are well-located, but I see several in great locations. SFO lodging tends to be pretty expensive, so your DVC/RCI costs there may be a decent value.

Same with Wine Country. With the Wine Country listings, be sure you know where they are. The RCI heading says San Francisco/Napa, but some of the Wine Country listings are actually in Sonoma County or elsewhere. "Wine Country" includes quite a bit bigger area than just Napa Valley.

For DVC/RCI, use the link chalee94 gave you above, rather than rci.com. DVC owners don't have access to all of the resorts shown on RCI. The link Charles gave you will give you only the ones you can actually book.

 

[Msmithmd]

You all piqued my interest, as I hadn't checked the DVC RCI options for the Napa and Sonoma area.

My wife and I visit the valleys every other year. The only listing among these that would be reasonable for a stay specifically for wine country is the one in Windsor. All of the others are more than a 30 mile drive distant; with the majority of them actually in San Francisco.

Having spent over a dozen trips to the Napa/Sonoma region, my advice is that there is exactly one option available via DVC trade that would be geographically reasonable to choose.

And even that one isn't at all close to Napa itself, rather it would be ideal for visiting the Sonoma/Dry Creek/Healdsburg area wineries. Which are some mighty nice places, I should say.

Now if you're focusing on San Francisco, and just want a day trip up to wine country, there are plenty good options.

 

[psimon]

You all piqued my interest, as I hadn't checked the DVC RCI options for the Napa and Sonoma area.

My wife and I visit the valleys every other year. The only listing among these that would be reasonable for a stay specifically for wine country is the one in Windsor. All of the others are more than a 30 mile drive distant; with the majority of them actually in San Francisco.

Having spent over a dozen trips to the Napa/Sonoma region, my advice is that there is exactly one option available via DVC trade that would be geographically reasonable to choose.

And even that one isn't at all close to Napa itself, rather it would be ideal for visiting the Sonoma/Dry Creek/Healdsburg area wineries. Which are some mighty nice places, I should say.

Now if you're focusing on San Francisco, and just want a day trip up to wine country, there are plenty good options.

Thanks for the comments.....

If you didn't use DVC/RCI where would you recommend to stay?

Thanks...

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[Msmithmd]

Paul, it's a challenging question to answer because the costs are so highly variable. Some of the best hotels in the United States are in the Napa Valley, but some of these make the Grand Floridian look truly cheap in cost comparison.

I'd first look at tripadvisor or Expedia reviews, consider your lodging budget range, and go from there. There are literally more than a hundred lodging options when considering all of the Napa and Sonoma valleys.

The area is large enough we often "split stay" with a few days in the immediate Napa area, and a few in Healdsburg (northern Sonoma).

Independent properties, many of them B+B's, tend to be the best, although there are a few good choices among the national chain hotels.