Newbie Questions

[mamaofsix]

Hi. We have not bought DVC, but have a few questions about it:

1) Is AKL the only resort where you can use DVC points to stay Club Level?

2) What perks do you NOT get if you buy resale DVC?

Thank you!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

1. AKV is the only resort with Club Level units on points at this time. That said, do not buy AKV hoping for regular Club Level bookings. There are 5 units, all of which are 2BR lock-offs. So there is a max of 5 studios and 5 1BRs, or a smaller number if someone manages to grab a 2BR. Disney have had many opportunities to add Club units since AKV (BLT, VGF, Poly, CCV) and haven't. I don't expect Riviera to have Club-on-points options.

They added a pay-to-play faux club level at CCV/BRV. It's a cash add-on. It seems to be very lightly used and a poor value. But they hyped it at the Annual Member Meeting and seem to be pretending it to be wildly successful, so more of that may be coming.

2. You cannot trade your points for cruises or the Disney Collection (both of which are poor values, especially at direct buy costs). You cannot use the (temporary) Epcot Lounge. You cannot register for Moonlight Magic (which is limited sign up and many on-site DVC visitors get shut out of anyway). You officially don't get discounts on merch, but CMs checking for Blue Cards vs. White is inconsistent. You do not get the AP discount, which is the only direct purchase benefit with real economic benefit for those who use an AP.

 

[drusba]

Heed the above warning about not purchasing AKV to be able to get club level. An owner at AKV can reserve a room there for up to a week beginning at exactly 8 a.m. on line at 11 months out from date of arrival. On a typical 11-month out date, the club level studios and 2BRs and often the 1BRs , are either already gone to persons who reserved multiple nights with an arrival date just before the one you want, or, if open, disappear within nanoseconds at 8 a.m. with the winners being only those whose computers communicate fastest with Disney's. Net result, most AKV owners trying to get a club level room don't succeed in getting one.

 

[mamaofsix]

Wow, thank you for that warning! How frustrating that there are so few club level rooms available. Well, this might make the decision for us, then. We normally stay off property, but thought DVC resale might be a good way for us to stay at the Deluxe resorts. No club level essentially means no housekeeping or complimentary food offerings - something I really enjoy as a mom of 6 on vacation!! We can get much more value for our buck in a luxury home or club level hotel offsite. How sad that Disney is not able to offer the same

 

[_auroraborealis_]

How frustrating that there are so few club level rooms available.

DVC is a timeshare. Disney is cautious about committing to any kind of service offering for a 50-year contract term. If AKL ever eliminates Club Level, the points associated with those 5 units will have to redistribute around to make those units Standard View, since they're not a good view, and they'll need to be dropped in point-cost per night.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Wow, thank you for that warning! How frustrating that there are so few club level rooms available. Well, this might make the decision for us, then. We normally stay off property, but thought DVC resale might be a good way for us to stay at the Deluxe resorts. No club level essentially means no housekeeping or complimentary food offerings - something I really enjoy as a mom of 6 on vacation!! We can get much more value for our buck in a luxury home or club level hotel offsite. How sad that Disney is not able to offer the same

In addition to Club Level at AKV, the Value rooms are almost as difficult to get. I have reserved them a few times, but I have been UNABLE to get them most of the time when I have tried.

That being said, I love Animal Kingdom Lodges. I consider them to be the premier DVC property at Disney World, and I say that when I am also an owner at Poly and BLT. I did stay at the Concierge Club Level one time, and honestly, I did not find it to be worth it. I don't see what all the fuss is about. For the extra amount of points it costs, just rent a few of those extra points out, and use the cash to buy much better goodies than Disney will give you in the Club Level. You can also choose to pay for daily housekeeping as a cash add-on.

I own two contracts at Animal Kingdom, one at Kidani and one at Jambo, which I purchased on the resale market. I think that Animal Kingdom Lodges is an EXCELLENT value, all things considered, including quality of the resort, number of years remaining on the contract, and current Resale price of around $115 per point. I like it so much that I am very likely to buy another contract there, in the future.

As for the Perks of Resale vs Direct, for the difference in cost, I think the Resale is a better value. The perks are not that impressive.

1. The lounge at Epcot will indeed be going away, sometime in the next few years. It is not a permanent perk. Perhaps Disney will open another DVC Lounge somewhere, but all you are getting is a place to hang out for a while and drink a couple of sodas and eat some chips. So what.

2. The 10% discount on food and merchandise is an okay perk, but, frankly, I forget to ask for it half the time anyway. So that is how little I am impressed with it.

3. By buying resale, you don't get (and won't need) the perk of having access to the Disney Collection of hotels (using points to exchange into French Quarter, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, etc.). You can do even better by taking the points you would have used for that and renting them out through an agency like David's Vacation Rentals, and then taking that money to pay for your hotel rooms. You really do come out ahead that way!

4. If you are talking about using DVC points to exchange for a Disney Cruise, please, don't even get me started. Pointwise the cruises are SO EXPENSIVE that it is practically robbery to give up your DVC points for them. If you use points for the DVC Member's Cruise coming up in October 2019, it will cost you about 250 points per person, or 500 points for 2 people, for the cheapest type of cabins, the Inside cabins. Well, if you took those points and rented them out through David's you could get approximately $7500 for them. And then you can pay cash for the cruise. You wouldn't be able to get on that "Member's Cruise," (don't know why "Member's Cruise" is any more special than a regular Disney Cruise) but if you paid cash right now, through a Travel Agent, you could get the same cruise on the same ship, 10 days or so later, for only about $1500 per person. That saves you around $4500!!!

5. The ONLY perk that is worth very much to me are the variable and sometimes temporary discounts offered to DVC Members on Annual Passes. You could save about $100 or sometimes (depending on which pass you get) $200 off the purchase price for an Annual Pass, per year. This could add up over a period of years, depending on how often you come to Disney World, but if you are only going to come to Disney World once or twice a year, then an Annual Pass is not worth it, and it is better to just buy 5 day park entry tickets with cash.

I hope this helps put a few things in perspective, and helps you decide if you want DVC or not. Personally, I still think it is a great deal!

 

[mamaofsix]

In addition to Club Level at AKV, the Value rooms are almost as difficult to get. I have reserved them a few times, but I have been UNABLE to get them most of the time when I have tried.

That being said, I love Animal Kingdom Lodges. I consider them to be the premier DVC property at Disney World, and I say that when I am also an owner at Poly and BLT. I did stay at the Concierge Club Level one time, and honestly, I did not find it to be worth it. I don't see what all the fuss is about. For the extra amount of points it costs, just rent a few of those extra points out, and use the cash to buy much better goodies than Disney will give you in the Club Level. You can also choose to pay for daily housekeeping as a cash add-on.

I own two contracts at Animal Kingdom, one at Kidani and one at Jambo, which I purchased on the resale market. I think that Animal Kingdom Lodges is an EXCELLENT value, all things considered, including quality of the resort, number of years remaining on the contract, and current Resale price of around $115 per point. I like it so much that I am very likely to buy another contract there, in the future.

As for the Perks of Resale vs Direct, for the difference in cost, I think the Resale is a better value. The perks are not that impressive.

1. The lounge at Epcot will indeed be going away, sometime in the next few years. It is not a permanent perk. Perhaps Disney will open another DVC Lounge somewhere, but all you are getting is a place to hang out for a while and drink a couple of sodas and eat some chips. So what.

2. The 10% discount on food and merchandise is an okay perk, but, frankly, I forget to ask for it half the time anyway. So that is how little I am impressed with it.

3. By buying direct, you don't get (and won't need) the perk of having access to the Disney Collection of hotels (using points to exchange into French Quarter, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, etc.). You can do even better by taking the points you would have used for that and renting them out through an agency like David's Vacation Rentals, and then taking that money to pay for your hotel rooms. You really do come out ahead that way!

4. If you are talking about using DVC points to exchange for a Disney Cruise, please, don't even get me started. Pointwise the cruises are SO EXPENSIVE that it is practically robbery to give up your DVC points for them. If you use points for the DVC Member's Cruise coming up in October 2019, it will cost you about 250 points per person, or 500 points for 2 people, for the cheapest type of cabins, the Inside cabins. Well, if you took those points and rented them out through David's you could get approximately $7500 for them. And then you can pay cash for the cruise. You wouldn't be able to get on that "Member's Cruise," (don't know why "Member's Cruise" is any more special than a regular Disney Cruise) but if you paid cash right now, you could get the same cruise on the same ship, 10 days or so later, for only about $1500 per person. That saves you around $4500!!!

5. The ONLY perk that is worth very much to me are the variable and sometimes temporary discounts offered to DVC Members on Annual Passes. You could save about $100 or sometimes (depending on which pass you get) $200 off the purchase price for an Annual Pass, per year. This could add up over a period of years, depending on how often you come to Disney World, but if you are only going to come to Disney World once or twice a year, then an Annual Pass is not worth it, and it is better to just buy 5 day park entry tickets with cash.

I hope this helps put a few things in perspective, and helps you decide if you want DVC or not. Personally, I still think it is a great deal!

Wow, an excellent perspective and great information. Thank you! We would likely not be going to Disney more than once a year, so I can't see the annual pass perk being a problem for us, since we don't usually buy annual passes. You raise a good point about the value of concierge - perhaps we could just shell over the cash saved on using less points and pay for housekeeping, etc.

As my name suggests, we are a large family. As such, we are most interested in booking either 2 bedroom villas or 3 bedroom grand villas. I am a little concerned about the availability factor - I wonder how many grand villas are even available at each resort at the 11 month mark? Something to think about...

 

[_auroraborealis_]

22 GVs at AKV, 20 of which are Savannah view.

4 at CCV.

The numbers are all out there.

 

[Frederic Civish]

As my name suggests, we are a large family. As such, we are most interested in booking either 2 bedroom villas or 3 bedroom grand villas. I am a little concerned about the availability factor - I wonder how many grand villas are even available at each resort at the 11 month mark? Something to think about...

I’m glad your family gets to enjoy Disney World. I also often travel with large family groups. And they love it. My second oldest daughter has a plaque on the wall that says, “We are a Disney home.” My grandkids all love Disney. We go multiple times per year, with different groups in our family.

Grand Villas at Animal Kingdom are very available. About 1/3rd of the days in March, which is just a bit over 2 months out, still have Grand Villas available. And Grand Villas at AK are currently available on all but 2 days in April, 4 days in May, 7 days in June, and then from July on, there are Grand Villas available currently at Animal Kingdom, every single day of every month, right through Food and Wine Festival. Most of these dates in near future months are Savannah View. Savannah view is significantly more available than Standard View. But about half the days in July still have Standard View Grand Villas, and from August on (which s 7 months out) they are also available every single day up to the 11 month window.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Wow, an excellent perspective and great information. Thank you! We would likely not be going to Disney more than once a year, so I can't see the annual pass perk being a problem for us, since we don't usually buy annual passes. You raise a good point about the value of concierge - perhaps we could just shell over the cash saved on using less points and pay for housekeeping, etc.

As my name suggests, we are a large family. As such, we are most interested in booking either 2 bedroom villas or 3 bedroom grand villas. I am a little concerned about the availability factor - I wonder how many grand villas are even available at each resort at the 11 month mark? Something to think about...

Thing is that you might be thinking that you wont go to Disney more than once a year - After you first trip as DVC (maybe two) you start getting the Disney bug and want to come back more often You get the AP and want to squeeze in an extra trip before the expiration - before you know it you go twice or 3 times per year. Its not a bad thing it just cost more money.

 

[mamaofsix]

I’m glad your family gets to enjoy Disney World. I also often travel with large family groups. And they love it. My second oldest daughter has a plaque on the wall that says, “We are a Disney home.” My grandkids all love Disney. We go multiple times per year, with different groups in our family.

Grand Villas at Animal Kingdom are very available. About 1/3rd of the days in March, which is just a bit over 2 months out, still have Grand Villas available. And Grand Villas at AK are currently available on all but 2 days in April, 4 days in May, 7 days in June, and then from July on, there are Grand Villas available currently at Animal Kingdom, every single day of every month, right through Food and Wine Festival. Most of these dates in near future months are Savannah View. Savannah view is significantly more available than Standard View. But about half the days in July still have Standard View Grand Villas, and from August on (which s 7 months out) they are also available every single day up to the 11 month window.

Okay! So, obviously the larger villas have much broader availability than studios. Great news for us. Not so great for those who want studios....