looking into DVC...have some questions....

[senorak]

Seriously thinking about buying into DVC....I've received the video, talked with CM and am being mailed additional material. In addition, if we can fit a visit into our WDW vacation (Aug.17-24) we will do so. At this point, I am leaning towards buying into a 1BR......my first question is: what are the advantages/disadvantages of buying thru DVC (as opposed to buying a resale? I was told points are $75 thru DVC. We already own a timeshare so I'm familiar with things like "maintenance fee", exchange fee, etc. I realize that the DVC point system is different than the typical "own a wweek" system on other timeshares. We are a family of 5, making our first trip to WDW since '93 (wanted to waititill my 2 little ones were of an age to truly enjoy it) but I'm sure we will be returning at least every other year (if not yearly and DVC seems to be the way to go...as we prefer to stay "on-site" in deluxe resorts). Any info you could share with me would be much appreciated.....pros and cons. Also, is there any site besides the Timeshare Store where I can look at prices of resales? I just joined TUG, so I've already checked that out (but doesn't appear to be any DVC resales there). Thanks for all your help.

DEB

 

[Luv2Dream]

Deb,
You may want to check into this, but I believe you can only have 4 people in a 1 BR unless that 5th person is under 3 and in a crib. So you might have to budget for 2BR stays instead which is quite a difference in the number of points you would purchase.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think DVC is excellent as a time share. It is so much more than the others we have looked into, and we have been very happy with our DVC membership. With small ones, you will be visiting WDW a lot in the coming years. You always know it will be a good time. With DVC, you will spend a great deal less per vacation when you average out the cost. We were spending about $3-5000 per trip, and that was for hotel accomodations. We feel our 2 bedroom vacations at OKW have more than paid for themselves in 4 years.

Realistically, I think you can get by with 150 points at the start. Especially if you only plan to vacation every other year at Disney. That will give you 300 points to play with for your stays. You will discover that you will want more very shortly, but it would be a good start. We vacation at WDW multiple times a year, so we started with 230 points and added 150 later. The point system is great because you can be very flexible and stay in different sized units as needed. We have stayed in everything from a studio to a 3 bedroom villa, and loved them all. I will admit the studio is not our favorite since we like the living room/kitchen are.

Be sure to research where you will want to stay. Right now, the VWL is the only choice if buying from Disney, but there are re-sales available at BWV and OKW to consider, and soon there will be Beach club and Eagle Pines.

We own at OKW because we like to get away from the hustle and bustle of the parks at the end of the day. We also enjoy the more vacation home type of units as well las being able to park outside the door. If you prefer hotel atmosphere and more activity, you might like the Boardwalk area more.

Another consideration is cost, both initial and dues etc. OKW is very economical because it takes fewer points to stay in larger units there and maintanance fees are lower. Be assured that Disney does a wonderful job of keeping things up. Even the older OKW units seem new.

MOst of us on this board are very sold on DVC, so you wont hear much regret here.

 

[senorak]

If your "home resort" is OKW, how difficult is it to "trade" into BWV or another Disney resort? With my family of 5 (kids ages 4, 6 and 11), I'm thinking the older one would prefer the "excitement" of BWV and all of my children love pools (specially those w/ slides). For those of you who have OKW....do you use most of your points there or in the other resorts?

DEB

 

[Ed T]

Here is another resale broker who handles DVC resales.

Jaki Apetz at A TIMESHARE BROKER 888-345-2622. Their website is www.atimeshare.com

I have personally used her as well as many other members on this board.

Feel free to email me and I can share my experiences with you.

Good luck.

Ed
DVC 1994

 

[Lisa F]

It's fairly difficult to trade into BWV if it's not your home resort. That doesn't mean it's impossible, but whenever we have tried to get reservations relatively last minute (within 4 months or so) I've never been able to get into BWV but have always been told that OKW had plenty of availability.

If you want to stay at BWV on a regular basis then you really need to buy points at BWV. If you want to stay at OKW on a regular basis but might like to occasionally try BWV, then you shouldn't have a problem getting into BWV once in a while, but I'd make my reservations at OKW and try to switch them later (we have had decent success with the wait list at bwv).

Lisa

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I just want to add that we also have a family of 5 and I bought 160 points initially--because if we went every other year in a standard view BWV 2 BR (the minimum required for our family size) we need 306 points. If you go every other year and only have 150 points, you would need to borrow 6 right away and be in perpetual shortfall. This is if you go in summer. If you can go other times (not holidays) you could do it with fewer points. I teach so I don't have an option.
Now, though, our plan is every other year a week at BWV and 5 nights at VWL the other years (100 points). If you want a full week at VWL in a 2 BR during summer you would need 350 points--40 each for Sun-Thurs. nights and 75 each for Friday and Saturday. Again, during non-holiday and non-summer times you will need fewer.
Warning--it's addictive. We bought our addon at VWL before we had even stayed at BWV for the first time!
Robin M.
Poly 6/2000
BWV 6/2001
BWV/VWL 7/2002

 

[senorak]

Robin-
I'm a teacher, too...so I'm locked into the summer or the heavy holiday time to travel (which, I assume are the high point usage for DVC). Which brings me to another question---I know that when we are going this summer (leave on the 17th) to WDW....we are in "value season" and have lower rates---does that work the same for DVC? Also, I checked and we do indeed need a 2 BR villa; not a 1 BR...so we would need more points. Right now, I'm planning on about 250.

Ed- I have seen many positive posts about Jaki at atimeshare.com, and will get in touch w/ her. I'm just being inundated w/ info now--video, info packet from DVC, checking out websites,etc.

Keep the info coming...I really appreciate it.

DEB

 

[Lisa P.]

Here's a link to Brian Bennett's DVC Planning Guide (Points Charts) so you can see what the points requirements are for your favored vacation time. Summer (June 11 - August 15) is the second highest season (below Christmas/Easter). The weeks immediately before and after that summer period are the midseason (3 out of 5). Due to its nature, there are no points discounts when the occupancy appears to drop in a given slower year and no points increases jsut because it gets booked up earlier in a given busy year. Hope that helps.

 

[JonHM]

Hi Senorak!

First of all, you sound like a great candidate for DVC - given how often you'd like to go, and the type of accomodations that you prefer, it sounds perfect for you. Just to elaborate on what Lisa F. said a few posts ago, the earliest you would be able to try to get bookings at BW would be 7 months before your check out day. It's very true that it would probably be very tough to get ressies at BW at 4 months, but if you plan in advance, it should be do-able at 7 months a lot of the time. But even if it isn't, the DVC waiting list is really a wonderful thing. Here's what you would probably want to do:
If you know the dates way in advance, you would make the ressies at the 11 month window at your home resort. Then, right at the 7 month window, call up and see if those dates are available at Boardwalk. If they are, just move the ressies over. If they're not, put yourself on the waitlist for what you'd like at Boardwalk. You can look up archived posts of people's dealings with the wait list; while I've never used it yet, I've read a lot of success stories of people who have. Just wanted to make you aware that it's definitely an option, and most of the time you would probably be able to get into BW, *if* you were able to plan well in advance. Just pointing that out since it's so much easier to buy at OKW or VWL right now, BWV resales are extremely hard to come by. But you could always do an add on there later and you would still be fine.
Keep posting your DVC questions here. You will find the folks to be very eager to answer all of your questions.

 

[Joe T.]

If you are planning to go every other year, you may find that the super efficient Sunday thru Thursday stay will suffice. In that case, it only 200 points for a 2 bedroom at WLV or BWV. It is only 150 at OKW for larger size 2 BR. It is true that we can not see or do everything in 5 days, but the Grandkids seem to like the idea of planning for the next visit. It has worked for us. My DW is a teacher so we are also resticted to summer.