New DVC owners - need reservation advice

[kimkatmom]

YIPPEE!!!!! We have now closed on our Boardwalk purchase and our Wilderness Lodge purchase!

Tomorrow we will be in the system at DVC and able to make our first reservation. Anyone have any little "secrets" to share?

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Leslye

 

[Buckeye Fan]

YIPPEE!!!!! We have now closed on our Boardwalk purchase and our Wilderness Lodge purchase!

Tomorrow we will be in the system at DVC and able to make our first reservation. Anyone have any little "secrets" to share?

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Leslye

First of all... HOME!!!

As for things you should consider:
1) If you call MS, they can walk you through logging on to the member website. This takes much less time than waiting for your information to come through the mail.
2) If you plan on visiting WDW during peak times (Food & Wine at BWV, Christmas at VWL, spring break, etc.), make sure that you take advantage of your 11 month booking window. BW and standard views will go fast, and you almost can't stay at VWL at Christmas unless you own there.
3) Determine whether you want to put your dues in monthly installments (automatically taken from your checking) or annually. If you pay monthly, unless things have changed, you have to have it withdrawn from your checking. If you pay annually and you care about credit card rewards points, you can pay by credit card.
4) ENJOY!!! Our first reservation with our DVC membership was at BWV. We had such a good time there, and it holds a special place in my heart just because it was our first visit as members. As for VWL, we just stayed there in August, and I fell in love!

You'll love owning, and I'm really excited for you. Congratulations!

 

[ILuvMulan]

I am a semi-new member also and just made my first reservations (using developer points) last week. I called on the exact 7 month day and had no problems getting what I wanted. It was soooo easy! Until I made that first one I was still a bit skeptical. It was great!! WELCOME HOME!!

 

[Brancaneve]

Welcome home!

I remember that we were so excited to just reserve something that we did not think carefully about the dates we wanted to reserve. This happened with our Disney Cruise and when we changed the dates we had to pay another $95 booking fee!

So my advice is to take your time planning your vacation. Come up with a plan A and B, maybe even C. Wait a day or two and then look at your plan again. We try to work around the high points for the weekend and study the points chart so we can get more bang for our points, so to speak.

But my DH and I feel that this is part of the fun! It's neat to explore all of the options and find what is most beneficial for our family.

 

[dvcSteve]

Congratulations and Welcome Home!!!!

One thing to be conscious of is the 11-month window for booking at your home resort(s). It can be very useful/essential at busier times of the year so plan accordingly.

Have fun!!