new to dvc...help/advise needed!!

[rsjj]

hi everyone! i am new to dvc. and now i'm planning our vacation...and am having a hard time trying to book anything. i know there are many "deadlines" or "months in advance" type dates to look at. can someone give me a general run down of such.

i kept having to call dvc to have them check the availability, and everytime i call, they don't have what i'm looking for. and am a little bit frustrated. i try to be organized, and look at our future vacation plans, and figure things out...but it's not working out for me lately!

any ideas/tips on how to get myself organized would be greatly appreciated! and i have to deal w/flight booking, and such. ok...do you usually book your accomodation first, and then look at flight? or the reverse? i don't even know where to begin!!

thanx for listening/reading!! maybe i just need someone to tell me that i'm not alone!

 

[chalee94]

you're allowed to book 11 months out at your home resort. if you called today to book your home resort, you could book a 7 night stay starting march 16, 2012. calling at this point means you'll virtually always get your first choice (AKV concierge and a few other hard-to-book options aside).

you're allowed to book 7 months out at any resort with availability. this can get a little more difficult. you could call today to book nov 16 for up to 7 nights...but owners at the other DVC resorts have had a 4 month head start and may have booked a lot of options completely.

due to the long lead times, it's easier to book the villa first and look for airfare afterwards.

if you are trying to book on short notice (in timeshare terms, even 3-4 months out is "short notice"), you may have issues finding something available for a week straight. (a studio at SSR may be available for the first 2 nights, then a 1BR at OKW might be the only thing available for the next night for example.) timeshares like DVC can be frustrating if you don't book well in advance...be as flexible as possible...sometimes SSR or OKW isn't your first choice but if that is all that is available, then take it.

 

[rsjj]

thank you, Charles!! really helpful!! but what about if i'm not booking at any disney places? they have different set of "months out", no? i'm so confused! and i am finding out that, like you mentioned, in time share terms, i am behind!! and here i thought i was ahead of the game!! boy, i've got lots to learn!!

 

[chalee94]

if you are trying to make a trade through RCI, yes, it gets even more complicated. generally, i think you'd want to start looking about 12 months in advance if possible...but DVC owners aren't allowed to trade to most RCI timeshares (due to a quality filter to limit complaints that the timeshares aren't comparable to DVC resorts) and some owners of the best RCI timeshares just rent their weeks rather than offering them for trade.

bnoble and dean have more experience with RCI, though. i've traded some through II but would never trade out with my DVC points.

 

[rsjj]

bnoble and dean have more experience with RCI, though. i've traded some through II but would never trade out with my DVC points.

what does this mean? do you mean to say that generally, dvc people go to disney locations, and not use rci?

 

[lizanne]

what does this mean? do you mean to say that generally, dvc people go to disney locations, and not use rci?

I think generally DVC owners go to Disney locations. We've been member since 1992 and we did trade out once and went to Williamsburg VA and that was an easy transaction, but I'm not sure it was RCI then.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Trying to plan a DVC vacation depends on when you want to go, what your home resort is and how many points you have to use. The peak times for WDW are not necessarily the peak times for DVCer's. Most would probably agree that if you under the 7 month window, you can most often find accommodations at SSR, OKW and AKL. But, if you are looking at peak times, it is more important to use your 11 month booking window. Most would also agree that buying into DVC should primarily be for the purpose of using the ownership for DVC vacations. If you were willing to share some more specific information about how many points you want to use, your home resort and your desired travel times, you could probably get some more specific recommendations. Welcome Home!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

what does this mean? do you mean to say that generally, dvc people go to disney locations, and not use rci?

DVC is really expensive to use primarily for trading out. You are better off getting just as many points as you need to make your Disney vacations (bank and borrow if you need to) and buy another timeshare for trading.

 

[SharonandBob]

my very 1st blog entry........ we just purchased our DVC membership and our guide (the gentleman we purchased from) made our first reservation. In order for us to be able to schedule, they 'used a room in their inventorty' to make the reservation- otherwise their was 'no room @ the Inn" He said it is only done once and within 30 days of the purchase.
We are staying @ Wilderness Lodge in October. Still can't believe we actually bought a membership!!!!!!

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

Congratulations and HOME!

 

[Sammie]

at 11 months out from the first day you wish to arrive you can book your home resort.

at 7 months you can book any other DVC resort, including Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island.

Busy times that will require you to book early are during the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot, early December, and major holidays.

Also grand villas, and concierge at AKV will need to be booked early.

 

[andi95]

Congratulations! We bought in 2008 = AKL The best decision we ever made! Now, why didn't I book a trip this Spring Break?? I'll never know!

 

[disneydenisel]

thank you, Charles!! really helpful!! but what about if i'm not booking at any disney places? they have different set of "months out", no? i'm so confused! and i am finding out that, like you mentioned, in time share terms, i am behind!! and here i thought i was ahead of the game!! boy, i've got lots to learn!!

If you are trying to plan a vacation using RCI, then a lot of people would put in a request up to two years in advance. You specify resorts and dates that you would accept for an exchange. And even then, you might not know for a long time whether anything matches.

If you are trying to plan something without having an ongoing request in with RCI, then it may be very hard to find what you want, unless you are really flexible with dates and locations. Like you said, you need to book flights and organize things for a trip, so it sounds like you have a certain place in mind?

My recommendation for now would be to bank your points for a future trip, or rent them out in order to cover the annual dues and some of your upcoming vacation expenses. Then book your vacation to wherever you want to go.

We do this with our other timeshares, and it seems to work out well. We rent out what we want (usually timeshares in other locations), and that way there is no uncertainty as to where we are staying or when we are going. With DVC points, we always stay at DVC resorts .