Looking to buy into DVC

[deanna85]

Hi,

My name is Deanna. I live in central Florida. We have annual passes and go to the parks once a week. In October of last year, I took a DVC tour. The deals seemed great but we decided against it, because we live here. We are moving to Arizona in a few months and are thinking about buying into DVC. I spoke to someone at Hollywood Studios today and he said they are offering an incentive of $1000 plus a cruise if we purchase by March 28th. The only catch is that we have to know somone with a DVC. I will have to find someone but assuming I can, can this deal be combined with the $5.00 off each point deal? My husband's family lives here, so I know we will be coming to florida at least once a year to visit. It would probably be smarter for us to buy this now, rather than paying for hotel stays every year. Also, my son is almost 2, so I know we will be getting great use out of it for years to come. I was told that it is better to book at BLT than AKV because the dues are lower. I don't plan to come during the busy times of the year. I hate crowds so I will probably be here during the fall time. Does anyone know the rate of buying at SS. Do you still get the incentives? Are they even selling there? I plan to go through disney and not a reseller. Also, say I do not use all of my points in one year, how far in advance do I need to request that my additional points be pushed back. How maybe years can you save for? What is the fee charged each time you book a vacation? Thanks! I look forward to getting to know everyone!!

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

I'm sure you won't have any problem finding a referal

 

[stopher1]

Hi,

My name is Deanna. I live in central Florida. We have annual passes and go to the parks once a week. In October of last year, I took a DVC tour. The deals seemed great but we decided against it, because we live here. We are moving to Arizona in a few months and are thinking about buying into DVC. I spoke to someone at Hollywood Studios today and he said they are offering an incentive of $1000 plus a cruise if we purchase by March 28th. The only catch is that we have to know somone with a DVC. I will have to find someone but assuming I can, can this deal be combined with the $5.00 off each point deal? My husband's family lives here, so I know we will be coming to florida at least once a year to visit. It would probably be smarter for us to buy this now, rather than paying for hotel stays every year. Also, my son is almost 2, so I know we will be getting great use out of it for years to come. I was told that it is better to book at BLT than AKV because the dues are lower. I don't plan to come during the busy times of the year. I hate crowds so I will probably be here during the fall time. Does anyone know the rate of buying at SS. Do you still get the incentives? Are they even selling there? I plan to go through disney and not a reseller. Also, say I do not use all of my points in one year, how far in advance do I need to request that my additional points be pushed back. How maybe years can you save for? What is the fee charged each time you book a vacation? Thanks! I look forward to getting to know everyone!!

Hi Deanna and welcome to the DIS! I just PM'd you. I'd be happy to provide a referral for you.

The incentive with the referral is for the per point credit, plus the cruise based on the number of points you buy.

Each of the WDW resorts currently for sale - BLT, AKV and SSR are all $112 direct from Disney. BLT has the $5 per point credit, and AKV and SSR have a $6.25 per point credit. And then on March 26th the new Villas at the Grand Californian at Disneyland goes on sale. That resort will also be $112 per point, with a $5 per point credit. That resort will open in November of this year. Depending on where you'll be in AZ, it's not that long of a drive, or it's a very short flight over to Orange County, for visiting the place that started it all - the ORIGINAL Magic Kingdom - Disneyland!

For banking, you must bank your points by the last day of the 8th month of your use year - so for example my Use Year is Dec - Nov - so I would have to bank points by July 31st. You may bank one year's worth of points.

When staying in DVC resorts there is no fee to book a vacation. When transferring out to other Disney hotels or to the World Passport collection via RCI, or the Disney Cruises or Adventures by Disney there is a $95 transaction fee.

Hopefully you will continue to explore and ask more questions as they come up. You'll find lots of useful and helpful information here on the DIS. PM me and I'll be happy to answer more questions for you.

 

[backyardponder]

Welcome to the boards!

There is a huge thread on referrals at
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2054975

 

[Sandisw]

Welcome and its good to ask questions to be sure that DVC is right for you.

I think that the $1000.00 incentive may be the $5.00 off per point. I know when I added on last month at BLT, I got a gift card in the same amount, that I turned around and put toward my down payment.

You have the first 8 months of your UY to bank your points. You want to try to pick a UY that is right before the time you think you might travel so that if you have to cancel a trip, you can still bank the points. There is no fee to book your vacations at a DVC resort. Only if you want to trade out. It sounds like that is not your purpose.

Disney is currently selling BLT, AKL, and SSR. You can get them all through Disney and the minimum buy in at AKL and SSR is only 100 points for new members. BLT is a minimum of 160. You can get the incentives on those contracts as well...however, it is based on the points you buy.

I do think that BLT may become harder to get than some of the other resorts. However, to take advantage of having a particular home resort, you have to be able to book between 8 - 11 months out. Once you hit the 7 month mark, all DVC owners can book at all the resorts.

I would buy where you want to stay. WHile the MF are lower right now for BLT, they may not always be. In addition, it costs more points per night in many of the rooms at BLT. Depending on when you go, it could make a difference for you. The points chart was just reallocated in 2010 so it is important that you see that to determine how many points you will want to get.

For me, I love being able to walk to/from MK and always stayed at the Contemporary so that is why I wanted BLT. I always travel in August so booking at 11 months is not an issue.

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask more questions!

Sandi

 

[Golden Rose]

You've come to a great place to get information!

Some quick thoughts based on your statements...

As others have said, don't buy based on where dues are currently lowest. Buy based on which resort you most enjoy staying it. You are more likely to be able to get the room size and type you prefer for the duration of your stay at your home resort. Also, while the dues are lower at BLT, you need more points for most stays, so you'd have to buy more points to stay for the same amount of time at BLT.

The times of the year that are busiest for DVC are not the times of the year that are busiest for WDW. For example, if you plan to come in October, you run into people booking for the Food and Wine festival... it can be much harder to stay at a resort that isn't your home resort at that time of year. December is one of the busiest times of year for DVCers... you aren't likely to be able to stay anywhere but at your home resort for much of the month.

Oh, and don't buy SSR direct from Disney if that is where you decide to buy. Go buy resale. Seriously. It is almost half price to buy it resale. You can buy yourself a cruise with the money you save, and not have to worry about the blackout dates. You still get all the same perks and the same treatment from Disney if you buy resale at this time.

Also, you can use 3 years points at once. You can bank into one year and borrow from the next (so you could bank all your 2009 points into 2010 and borrow your 2011 points into 2010, giving you three years of points to use in 2010), but you can only bank points for a single year. (If you banked all your 2009 points into 2010, you would have to use them in 2010, or they would expire.)

Hope some of this helps!

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Hi, my name is Deanna...

Hi, Deanna! Welcome to the Disboards!

I was told that it is better to book at BLT than AKV because the dues are lower. I don't plan to come during the busy times of the year.

If you guys are planning on staying at BLT most of the time, buy BLT and buy it through Dis. If buying AKV, check out the resale market, but you still may be better going through Dis with the incentives.

If you are thinking of buying anywhere else, save yourself some money and consider buying resale. We had signed to purchase SSR through Dis, and ended up buying resale. There is absolutely no difference in how you're treated, and you can either save a decent amount, or buy more points for the same amount of money.

SSR is selling for anywhere from $67 - $80 per point on the resale market, depending on how "loaded" the contract is, and the size of the contract. Smaller contracts generally tend to fetch a higher price per point. Through Dis, you will have to buy a minimum of 100 points, but on the resale market, you can buy any number of points you wish.

I hate crowds so I will probably be here during the fall time. Does anyone know the rate of buying at SS. Do you still get the incentives? Are they even selling there?

Not 100% sure of the going rate for AKV/SSR, but I think it's around $104 per point.

Incentives would apply if you're buying 100+ points, and yes, they are still selling at SSR since they recently introduced the Treehouse Villas (part of SSR).

I plan to go through disney and not a reseller. Also, say I do not use all of my points in one year, how far in advance do I need to request that my additional points be pushed back. How maybe years can you save for?

See my comments above regarding the resale market. The sponsor of this board is very reputable, and it would be worth paying them a call and just seeing if resale is right for you (I promise...I don't work for them, and they didn't pay me to say it! )

If you don't use your points this year, you can bank them into next. You can only bank a set of points one time. So next year, the points you banked would expire at the end of your use year if you didn't use them. However, the new points you receive next year could be banked into 2011.

What is the fee charged each time you book a vacation? Thanks! I look forward to getting to know everyone!!

There is no fee to book Disney Vacation Club resorts. However, if you decide to stay at a non-DVC resort on Disney property (Grand Floridian, Poly, Contemporary, etc.) or basically any non-DVC resort, Disney charges a $95 exchange fee. The fee also applies if you trade your points into RCI (a company that allows you to deposit your points so a family could come to Disney on your points, and you could use their points to travel somewhere else), Disney Cruise Lines, and what Disney calls their Concierge Collection (which is a collection of nice hotels across the country).

If you need a current member's info, feel free to PM me, or anyone else. I know any of us would be glad to provide you our information. Wishing you the best with your move, and your DVC purchase!

 

[deanna85]

You all are so wonderful and inviting. I am not allowed to pm responses because I do not have enough posts yet, but I read them all. Thank you. I never thought it would be this easy to find a referal. The crazy thing is I just booked a cruise for April 23. We got a room with a balcony for our family of three. It is only a three night cruise but we only paid $1300 (fla resident discount). If we get the cruise with the purchase I will save it a year. I don't think I will buy at SS after reading all of the posts. It is too far away from the site. How does transportation work? Does DVC offer transportation to the resorts. I would hate to have to rent a car just to the get the resort or ask my husbands family to pick us up. I think I will look into the BLT or the Animal Kingdom one. The SS prices are tempting but I would rather be closer to the parks. I am so excited. Has anyone booked a cruise through DVC before? What if I do not have enough points for each member of my family. Say I only have enough points for one person. Can I pay for my husband and child or will I need to rent points? Thanks again!

 

[stopher1]

You all are so wonderful and inviting. I am not allowed to pm responses because I do not have enough posts yet, but I read them all. Thank you. I never thought it would be this easy to find a referal. The crazy thing is I just booked a cruise for April 23. We got a room with a balcony for our family of three. It is only a three night cruise but we only paid $1300 (fla resident discount). If we get the cruise with the purchase I will save it a year. I don't think I will buy at SS after reading all of the posts. It is too far away from the site. How does transportation work? Does DVC offer transportation to the resorts. I would hate to have to rent a car just to the get the resort or ask my husbands family to pick us up. I think I will look into the BLT or the Animal Kingdom one. The SS prices are tempting but I would rather be closer to the parks. I am so excited. Has anyone booked a cruise through DVC before? What if I do not have enough points for each member of my family. Say I only have enough points for one person. Can I pay for my husband and child or will I need to rent points? Thanks again!

Deanna, feel free to email me - there's a link to my email under my user name to the left. I forgot about the less than 10 posts thing and PM's.

Yes, all of the DVC resorts have the same kind of bus, boat or monorail transportation that the regular resorts offer. BLT is on the monorail line as part of the Contemporary. AKV is on the bus line, as is SSR. Of the 21 or 22 resorts at WDW, 6 are DVC resorts and all provide transportation throughout the greater resort. And as a DVC member, you also have access to the Magical Express bus service to and from the Orlando Airport.

I haven't done a cruise yet so I can't answer those questions, but I'm sure someone else will come along who can.

 

[Sandisw]

I think that it is very important to buy where you want to stay, even if it means that your initial price per point is more. Nothing beats the feeling of being at WDW and knowing you are in the right place.

We always rent a car when we visit. We are not thrilled with the bus system and take advantage of our AAA parking pass and drive to all the resorts. Of course, we stay at the Contemporary so we can walk or monorail. MK is our favorite resort and that is the main reason why we bought in at BLT. Even though the points are more, I know that I would not be happy anywhere else and don't want to chance the 7 month booking window (even though I go in August and have heard it is not a extremely popular time).

As far as crusing, the best use of points for DVC is for the resorts. While you can use the points for you and I believe pay for the others, my understanding is it would be cheaper to try to rent your points that year and just pay cash for the cruise.

If you still need a member referral, (I know you can't respond to my PM), please don't hesitate to contact me via email--ssherloc@twncy.rr.com.

Good luck and enjoy your time planning and deciding about DVC!

 

[deanna85]

When you all go, do you buy tickets or annual passes? Currently. we have annual passes but they expire at the end of September. My plan is to come back to Florida at the end of September and do the Mickey Trick or Treat Party and the Food and Wine Festival. Are the closing costs around $700?

 

[Buckeye Fan]

...How does transportation work? Does DVC offer transportation to the resorts. I would hate to have to rent a car just to the get the resort or ask my husbands family to pick us up. I think I will look into the BLT or the Animal Kingdom one. The SS prices are tempting but I would rather be closer to the parks. I am so excited. Has anyone booked a cruise through DVC before? What if I do not have enough points for each member of my family. Say I only have enough points for one person. Can I pay for my husband and child or will I need to rent points? Thanks again!

Disney transportation is great. If you fly in to MCO, you can take Magical Express from the airport to your resort (right now, this service is free, and has been for several years). Once you're at your resort, you can take busses to any park, and to DTD. Many times, we like eating at other resorts, so we'll hop a bus to a park, and then take a bus from the park to another resort. It sounds like a pain, but when we're at Disney, I'm on vacation and hopping busses doesn't bother me in the least! It's part of the Disney experience!

I have never booked a cruise with my points, though may next year. The cruises are high, because your food is included. Some people rent their points and then pay for the cruise, or bank points and pay. To answer your question, yes, you can use points for one person (adult or child) and pay cash for everyone else if you want. The only thing you can't do is mix points and cash. So, for example, say you needed 260 points for an adult. You couldn't use 130 points, and pay the other 1/2 with cash. Many people use points for cruising, though.

Lastly, AKV is absolutely beautiful (staying there in less than 30 days ), and BLT is going to have a great location. Next time you're there, check them both out. Here's a link that will tell you more about the resorts - http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ho...ResortCategoryFacet=facetValueng:deluxe-villa

 

[Sandisw]

When you all go, do you buy tickets or annual passes? Currently. we have annual passes but they expire at the end of September. My plan is to come back to Florida at the end of September and do the Mickey Trick or Treat Party and the Food and Wine Festival. Are the closing costs around $700?

My plan is to buy an AP and then stager my visit by one week each year so that I get two trips out of one (ie: go the 3rd week of August one year and then the 2nd week the next).

I am not positive about the closing costs as I bought my first contract via resale. I ended up with a small VWL contract (50 points) so that I could start with a BLT contract that was smaller than the 160 minimum.

Once I was a member, the minimum add on for BLT was only 25 points. When you add on as a member, there are no closing costs. Of course, I ended up with 115 points, not much less but I was so excited after I was a member that I just couldn't wait to buy BLT. And, I got the developer points (cruise dates didn't work for me) which I am using for my August trip!

Have fun and happy planning!

 

[deanna85]

Thanks, I might go check them out next week sometime. I LOVE Chef Mickey's so I am leaning towards BLT.

 

[5forDiz]

Since you mentioned moving to Arizona you may want to consider purchasing at DVC's Disneyland location at Grand Californian Resort but keep in mind that if you do then the earliest you'd be able to book at a DVC resort located in WDW would be 7 months before check-in date you'd want.

jmho, but best place for you to start would be to look over the points charts for each DVC resort and be sure to check 2010 charts as well because points adjustments have been made beginning then for weekday and weeknight stays; get a better idea of how many points you'd need by calculating which resort(s) you'd like to stay at/number of nights you'd most likely need/size villa you'd most likely want to stay in (as you son gets older you may prefer larger villa)/which season(s) you'd like to travel during.

You'll also want to take into consideration annual Maintenance Fees which you'll pay based upon your Home Resort (DVC that your points are from) multiplied by number of points owned; presently cost per point ranges from $3.67 at BLT to more than $6 at Vero Beach.

Although Disney is presently offering first time buyers the opportunity to buy-in to DVC for just 100 points at AKV & SSR you may very well find a much better deal on resale market so do your homework to determine whether your best value is in purchasing direct through Disney or via resale (this board is sponsored by The Timeshare Store & myself & many here have purchased through them with excellent results). All DVC resorts at WDW are available on resale market ( even BLT has shown up on resale ) & often resale purchase can save you significant amount over purchasing direct through Disney & you may purchase a contract at less than what Disney requires on purchase through them. All DVC resorts are available as well to purchase directly through Disney but their main focus will be to get you to purchase at the newest/latest DVC's (BLT, AKV & SSR) so if you do want to purchase direct through Disney but at one of the earlier DVCs ( like OKW,BWV,BCV,VWL or offsite Hilton Head or Vero Beach ) you'd need to make this very clear that this is what you want & there may be a bit of a waitlist for points at these resorts. In addition to the great info here on DIS boards you may also want to take a look at dvcnews.com as well.

Best wishes on your planning & on your new home

 

[stopher1]

When you all go, do you buy tickets or annual passes? Currently. we have annual passes but they expire at the end of September. My plan is to come back to Florida at the end of September and do the Mickey Trick or Treat Party and the Food and Wine Festival. Are the closing costs around $700?

When we first joined we did not have AP's, but now we do and stagger our trips to be sure to get at least 2 years out of one set of passes.

Closing costs buying direct from Disney for us were about $300. I believe they are higher, possibly as much as the $700 you mentioned when buying resale.

 

[5forDiz]

Closing costs on resale contracts vary usually depending upon the contract size and the resale broker used (some resellers have been known to have additional fee(s) calculated in) so don't presume what one agency tells you will hold true at another. When you contact a resale agency whether it be the sponsor of this board, The Timeshare Store, or any other resale agency ask what the closing costs/fees are at the get-go. jmho, but I would not deal with an agency who can't or won't tell what that amount is or how it's calculated.

 

[deanna85]

Since you mentioned moving to Arizona you may want to consider purchasing at DVC's Disneyland location at Grand Californian Resort but keep in mind that if you do then the earliest you'd be able to book at a DVC resort located in WDW would be 7 months before check-in date you'd want.

jmho, but best place for you to start would be to look over the points charts for each DVC resort and be sure to check 2010 charts as well because points adjustments have been made beginning then for weekday and weeknight stays; get a better idea of how many points you'd need by calculating which resort(s) you'd like to stay at/number of nights you'd most likely need/size villa you'd most likely want to stay in (as you son gets older you may prefer larger villa)/which season(s) you'd like to travel during.

You'll also want to take into consideration annual Maintenance Fees which you'll pay based upon your Home Resort (DVC that your points are from) multiplied by number of points owned; presently cost per point ranges from $3.67 at BLT to more than $6 at Vero Beach.

Although Disney is presently offering first time buyers the opportunity to buy-in to DVC for just 100 points at AKV & SSR you may very well find a much better deal on resale market so do your homework to determine whether your best value is in purchasing direct through Disney or via resale (this board is sponsored by The Timeshare Store & myself & many here have purchased through them with excellent results). All DVC resorts at WDW are available on resale market ( even BLT has shown up on resale ) & often resale purchase can save you significant amount over purchasing direct through Disney & you may purchase a contract at less than what Disney requires on purchase through them. All DVC resorts are available as well to purchase directly through Disney but their main focus will be to get you to purchase at the newest/latest DVC's (BLT, AKV & SSR) so if you do want to purchase direct through Disney but at one of the earlier DVCs ( like OKW,BWV,BCV,VWL or offsite Hilton Head or Vero Beach ) you'd need to make this very clear that this is what you want & there may be a bit of a waitlist for points at these resorts. In addition to the great info here on DIS boards you may also want to take a look at dvcnews.com as well.

Best wishes on your planning & on your new home

I have been thinking about the one in Califonia. I need to call an agent. They really market the one's here in Orlando, so I have no idea how much the one in California cost.