Odd DVC question

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

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[Chuck S]

DVC is not a good value if only staying at non-DVC resorts. They take a lot of points, the points needed for them is renegotiated annually, so they can (and have) increased over time, and it requires a $95 processing fee per reservation for any non-DVC stay.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I would not recommend buying into DVC if your goal is staying at non-DVC Disney hotels. The points are extremely high (more so than staying at a DVC resort). You also have a $95 fee to pay each time you use your points for the non-dvc hotels. We used points to stay 10 days/9 nights at Poly over Christmas...points were more than double what it would have cost us to stay at our home resort of AKV. This was a one shot deal for us and will hardly be the norm though. I think you lose any value you got with DVC by staying at the regular hotels. You can actually stay at those resorts cheaper though regular offers on cash than what it works out to be using points. In the end its up to you, but I certainly wouldn't buy into DVC if that was my only purpose. My advice is to ask your guide for a point chart...you may be startled by the difference. 160 points will not get you many nights at the Poly.

 

[DebbieB]

160 points will not get you as far at the Poly. For 2008, for value season, a garden view was 37 points weekdays/67 weekends. So you could get 4 weekday nights for your 160 points, plus the $95 fee. You could get a one bedroom at BCV/VWL/SSR for 22/45 during adventure season and no fee. So you could get 5 weeknights for 110 points an 1 weekend night for 45, total 155. I've always said DVC is most appreciated in a 1 bedroom or larger.

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

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[jbrowna]

As I understand it, the CM discount is no longer 25%. It was until last summer, when it dropped to 15%. For the holiday season they bumped it temporarily up to 20% -- but I believe that ended in December. Perhaps they started a new discount for the New Year?

That being said, what pp's have said is sound advice: buying into DVC in order to stay at non-DVC resorts is not wise, especially if you can stay at those non-DVC resorts with the CM discount.

However, having stayed at every resort on property (except for the Yacht Club), I would encourage you to check out other places. We, too, love the Polynesian -- but we also love Animal Kingdom Villas, and Beach Club Villas, Saratoga Springs (looking forward to a stay in the Treehouse Villas!), and Old Key West -- we love 'em all! We're really looking forward to a stay at the new Bay Lake Tower sometime, as well. Even with the CM discount, staying at the Polynesian can be pretty expensive, and often there are no rooms available at the Cast rate when we try to book. Our typical stay is to use the CM rate for the weekends (avoiding the high points), and booking DVC for the Sunday through Thursday timeframe. With DVC we feel like we have a lot more options.

That being said, if the Polynesian is the only place you ever want to stay, then buying DVC would not make sense, even with a CM discount.