Newly considering DVC with a few basic questions

[rramstad]

Hi there. I'm just getting my feet wet in regards to DVC and had a few questions.

1) I see the term ROFR thrown around a lot. Is this an acronym for right of first refusal i.e. any resale of DVC needs to pass through Disney and they may decide to buy the points themselves?

2) We are in Seattle and would only be interested in VGC (at DLR) most likely. I see that owning VGC points means we can make reservations 11 months out, vs 7 months out for other points. How important is this? Is it easy, hard, impossible to make VGC reservations with non-VGC points? (In the resale market, it seems like AK points go for quite a bit less, but if you can't reliably use them to make VGC reservations, that's not a savings!)

3) Is it correct that only active DVC members can access the DVC reservation system? (My initial thought with #2 was to go online and see how hard it was to find an available 1 BR at VGC any time in the next few months, and form my own opinion, but it seems I can't do this myself.)

4) Is there a common "sweet spot" when it comes to points i.e. a number of points that typically works for most folks, or are contract point values all over the place? I know for some other similar types of systems, there are advantages to certain point numbers in terms of how frequently people need that many points vs. overpaying for maintenance fees.

5) I see some posts on the Rent / Trade forum indicating concern or even panic about expiring points. Do points actually expire, and cannot be rolled over, or is this simply someone trying to get $$ for the points that should be used soon, so they can finance paying for the next year points?

Thanks in advance for your help! Especially on the VGC vs. non VGC question...

 

[disneynutz]

Hi there. I'm just getting my feet wet in regards to DVC and had a few questions.

1) I see the term ROFR thrown around a lot. Is this an acronym for right of first refusal i.e. any resale of DVC needs to pass through Disney and they may decide to buy the points themselves? Yes

2) We are in Seattle and would only be interested in VGC (at DLR) most likely. I see that owning VGC points means we can make reservations 11 months out, vs 7 months out for other points. How important is this? Is it easy, hard, impossible to make VGC reservations with non-VGC points? (In the resale market, it seems like AK points go for quite a bit less, but if you can't reliably use them to make VGC reservations, that's not a savings!)If you want VGC, you should own there.

3) Is it correct that only active DVC members can access the DVC reservation system? (My initial thought with #2 was to go online and see how hard it was to find an available 1 BR at VGC any time in the next few months, and form my own opinion, but it seems I can't do this myself.)Only members can check.

4) Is there a common "sweet spot" when it comes to points i.e. a number of points that typically works for most folks, or are contract point values all over the place? I know for some other similar types of systems, there are advantages to certain point numbers in terms of how frequently people need that many points vs. overpaying for maintenance fees.Check the points requirements on the point chart.

5) I see some posts on the Rent / Trade forum indicating concern or even panic about expiring points. Do points actually expire, and cannot be rolled over, or is this simply someone trying to get $$ for the points that should be used soon, so they can finance paying for the next year points?You can bank points into the next year then they expire.

Thanks in advance for your help! Especially on the VGC vs. non VGC question...

VGC is a small resort that books up early and it has VERY LIMITED availability for non owners.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

The most time you have to use points is three years. You can borrow them into the prior year. You can use them during the current year. Or you can bank them into the next year (as long as you bank them no later than 8 months into your year).

So at any one time, you can use three years worth of points for a reservation.

Whatever you see available on the Disney Reservation Center website is not what is available for points. So you can't use that to go by. And like Bill already said, only members can look on the members site.

 

[DougEMG]

Hi from across the water (we're in Victoria),

VGC is an extremely hard resort to get into because it is very small. For your best chance of getting in there you need to own there and be able to book in advance, preferably 10-11 months in advance.

If you can't book earlier than 7 months don't bother buying VGC as you will be paying a premium price but unable to use your home resort advantage.

 

[sparkhill]

1) Yes. Disney had 30 days to exercise their right.

2) For the most part it is very easy to book at 11 months and pretty difficult at 7 months. If you are planning on staying at VGC regularly, you will save yourself lots of stress by just buying the VGC points. As a benefit, VGC has relatively low maintenance fees.

3) Yes (and I wished I could have done the same thing). To give you some idea, pretty much everything at under 7 months is booked and most days between 7 and 11 months are wide open.

4) I suggest you figure out how long you usually stay, how often you visit and then build in a cushion. I think DVC trips are a lot less hectic than hotel stays so you are willing to stay longer. Instead of staying three nights and rushing around the parks, you might take a more relaxing five night trip with DVC. Maybe something like this:
points = (typical points needed) / (years between trips) * 1.25

5) I think others have covered this one.

 

[zavandor]

It's not impossible to book at VGC at 7 months: I'm monitoring every day the end of January, that is very low season, and I see availability for studios every day.
However this is true for late January (7 months from now), in every other period before that I can see only a few nights here and there. And in high request seasons you'll not find anything available even at the 7 months mark.
If you'll look for 1BR instead of studios you may be more lucky, but as others said, if you want to stay often there you should own there.

 

[Sandisw]

I too think you need to buy at VGC since your goal is to use them there. And, if you can't get something at 7 months, there are no other options.

It is really different than the WDW resorts...someone can take a change buying in at a cheaper price vs. the resort they want because there are so many options. But, with VGC, that is it and it is small.

You can always extend the life of points by 1 year by banking them forward into the next UY. But, yes, points do have an expiration date and your UY is what determines it.

Good luck!

 

[chalee94]

2) We are in Seattle and would only be interested in VGC (at DLR) most likely. I see that owning VGC points means we can make reservations 11 months out, vs 7 months out for other points. How important is this? Is it easy, hard, impossible to make VGC reservations with non-VGC points?

the DVC Resource Center stickied at the top has a lot of useful information.

BWV - 383 Units / 532 Max. Available Rooms

BCV - 208 Units / 282 Max. Available Rooms

SSR - 888 Units / 1320 Max. Available Rooms

AKV - 458 Units / 708 Max. Available Rooms

BLT - 295 Units / 428 Max. Available Rooms

VGC - 48 Units / 71 Max. Available Rooms

4) Is there a common "sweet spot" when it comes to points i.e. a number of points that typically works for most folks, or are contract point values all over the place?

nah. if you want a studio for 5 nights every other year, you can get by with a lot fewer pts than if you want a 2BR villa for 4 weeks each year...

5) I see some posts on the Rent / Trade forum indicating concern or even panic about expiring points. Do points actually expire, and cannot be rolled over, or is this simply someone trying to get $$ for the points that should be used soon, so they can finance paying for the next year points?

as others have stated, you can move pts forward one year by banking. after that, if you don't use them for a stay, they disappear into the void...

 

[rramstad]

Some very useful information and great answers to my questions, thanks.

Is there a location online that shows typical floor plans for the four different GCV lodging options (studio, 1 BR, 2 BR, grand suite)?

From reading the various threads, I didn't see anything definitive indicating that GCV is sold out... but for some reason I get the impression that it is. Can DVC GCV still be purchased from Disney direct at $120 per point?

Thanks!

 

[sparkhill]

Some very useful information and great answers to my questions, thanks.

Is there a location online that shows typical floor plans for the four different GCV lodging options (studio, 1 BR, 2 BR, grand suite)?

From reading the various threads, I didn't see anything definitive indicating that GCV is sold out... but for some reason I get the impression that it is. Can DVC GCV still be purchased from Disney direct at $120 per point?

Thanks!

GCV is sold out, but you can add your name to the wait list to purchase direct. The direct purchase wait list seems like it takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months. My resale took 2.5 months to go through, but if you get ROFR'd, it would be a lot longer.

Room layouts are here:
http://www.dvcrequest.com/villas_grand_californian.htm

 

[chalee94]

Can DVC GCV still be purchased from Disney direct at $120 per point?

since DVC is constantly re-acquiring inventory through foreclosures and ROFR, no resort is really "sold out." that term probably means more to the salespeople/guides as i suspect they have different incentives for selling resorts in active sales.

 

[ELMC]

since DVC is constantly re-acquiring inventory through foreclosures and ROFR, no resort is really "sold out." that term probably means more to the salespeople/guides as i suspect they have different incentives for selling resorts in active sales.

True. But from reports on the DIS talking about a 2-3 month waiting period for direct purchases, I suspect that the demand for VGC is far outweighing the supply.

 

[Missyrose]

True. But from reports on the DIS talking about a 2-3 month waiting period for direct purchases, I suspect that the demand for VGC is far outweighing the supply.

I think this could be true to a point. But I also think Disney is now using the wait list as a way to not have to give previous year's points. I don't remember which thread it was but someone mentioned how they were on the wait list for a June UY and "miraculously" their "guide" called on June 1st and said they had points for him.

The conspiracy theorist in my thinks Disney will now put people on the wait list until their desired UY comes up on the calendar.

 

[rramstad]

Here's another few questions.

I know that if you need a few points to make a reservation, you can buy a handful at $15 per point. Is that option always available?

I had also heard somewhere that you could "borrow" points from the future -- how does that work?

Can you make a tentative reservation, and then make arrangements for additional points, or do you need all the points up front? i.e. I could see a scenario where you are trying to make a reservation at a peak time, all the smaller units are booked up, but they have a 2 BR. You decide you want it, but figure you'll buy transfer points from another DVC member to make up the difference, presumably a process that takes a few days to sort out. Can you lock in that reservation, and then make the arrangements to get the points?

Finally, there are some comments in here about UY and dates that points go live on account. Is there a particular reason to prefer a given month than another one? Obviously it must feed into when you want to book and use points, but I don't get the nuances.

Thanks for all the super helpful information so far!

 

[chalee94]

I know that if you need a few points to make a reservation, you can buy a handful at $15 per point. Is that option always available?

once per year, at the 7 month window (not at 11 months), you have the option to buy up to 24 one-time-use pts to complete a reservation for $15 per pt.

we only got the option to buy those one-time-use pts a few years ago, so it's possible (like almost anything else with DVC) that it could go away in the future.

I had also heard somewhere that you could "borrow" points from the future -- how does that work?

all of your pts through the end date of your contract are available to you, based on 2 rules:

1) you can only bank or borrow pts one time to move pts up or back to a different use year - then they are stuck in that new use year.

2) you can book your home resort at 11 months out and other DVC resorts at 7 months out (subject to availability)

so if i have an oct UY and want to book a stay for oct 7, 2013 for 6 nights (*note that this stay falls within my 2013 UY which runs from oct 1, 2013 - sept 30, 2014*), i cannot book that reservation at my home resort until 11 months out = nov 7, 2012 (see rule number 2).

edited to clarify: whether you have a feb, oct or dec UY, nov 7, 2012 would be the first day you can call.

based on rule number 1, i can book that reservation when i call on nov 7, 2012 with banked pts from my 2012 UY + current pts from my 2013 UY + borrowed pts from my 2014 UY (if needed.) so if i've used up my 2012 and 2013 pts already, i can still call in nov 2012 to book oct 2013 with borrowed pts from oct 2014 if that's all i have.

Can you make a tentative reservation, and then make arrangements for additional points, or do you need all the points up front?

you lock up the pts when you make the reservation. as stated in rule 1, if you bank and borrow pts to be able to make a 2BR reservation, those pts remain stuck in that new UY and cannot be moved again. if you need to have pts transferred in, you cannot book the reservation till you get the transfer.

Finally, there are some comments in here about UY and dates that points go live on account. Is there a particular reason to prefer a given month than another one? Obviously it must feed into when you want to book and use points, but I don't get the nuances.

UY month has nothing to do with when you can call to book - nothing at all.

UY month tells you when your pts are valid for stays. UY month also tells you when your banking window closes (8 months after the start of your UY)...so if you have to cancel a reservation at the end of your UY, you will likely be past your banking window...which means that any current pts in the reservation cannot be banked forward are at risk of expiring unused and disappearing into the void...

so ideally, you'd like to travel early in your UY and never in the last 3 months or so of your UY...but if you never have to cancel, it probably will never be a big deal...