Potential new buyers, few questions?

[Magic Megadegs]

Having done much reading and reviewing (thank you for all the fabulous information on here) we are at the point of discussing numbers of points to buy rather than whether to buy or not.

We are still tremendously confused about resale versus buying direct and understand there are two camps. DH is very concerned that Disney will alter the parameters on resales in the future which could impact us etc

Questions we have that we wondered whether anyone might be able to help:

1) is it possible to book say a 14 night trip and book and pay for only say 5 days worth of Disney dining plan so we have the flexibility to cook / eat off site or do you have to book the dining plan for the entire duration of your stay? If it is possible could you use the 5 days worth of dining plan over the 14 days or just the 5?

2) We are looking at buying enough points for two weeks in a 1bed villa every 2 years. Is it possible to buy at two resorts (1 weeks worth at each) and book 1 week at each 11months out? Are there drawbacks for doing this? (We cannot decide between OKW and BLT)

3) Use year ... Very confused on this. Do we have to have points in our account at the date of making the booking or do they need to be available at the date we would actually check in? Therefore if we owned at more than one resort would we need to have the same use year?

 

[POTCfan]

I am no expert, but from paying attention here, I think I can answer some of your questions

Having done much reading and reviewing (thank you for all the fabulous information on here) we are at the point of discussing numbers of points to buy rather than whether to buy or not.

We are still tremendously confused about resale versus buying direct and understand there are two camps. DH is very concerned that Disney will alter the parameters on resales in the future which could impact us etc

Questions we have that we wondered whether anyone might be able to help:

1) is it possible to book say a 14 night trip and book and pay for only say 5 days worth of Disney dining plan so we have the flexibility to cook / eat off site or do you have to book the dining plan for the entire duration of your stay? If it is possible could you use the 5 days worth of dining plan over the 14 days or just the 5? You would have to book separate reservations. For example one for 5 days and one for the 9 days after. Then each reservation can have it's own dining plan, or no dining plan, associated with it. It will probably mean that you have to switch rooms to the new reservation. You do have to use the dining plan during the days in which you have that reservation booked. But know that you can check into the room at 6:00 am on the first day (your room will probably not be ready) and start using the dining plan. You also have until midnight on the last day you check out to use up your dining plan. So for 5 nights, you would have 6 days to use up your 5 days worth of credits.

2) We are looking at buying enough points for two weeks in a 1bed villa every 2 years. Is it possible to buy at two resorts (1 weeks worth at each) and book 1 week at each 11months out? Are there drawbacks for doing this? (We cannot decide between OKW and BLT) You could do that, and it would count as two reservations (so one could have the dining plan and one not). There are some disadvantages if you want to do other things (ie. book all your points at the 11 month mark at one of the resorts) but this can be gotten around by borrowing / banking. Another issue may be if you have different Use Years. Say one was February and one was June. For the same use year, you couldn't book a consecutive 2 weeks in May - though like before, this can be gotten around by paying attention to your points and using points from different Use Years and / or borrowing banking.

3) Use year ... Very confused on this. Do we have to have points in our account at the date of making the booking or do they need to be available at the date we would actually check in? Therefore if we owned at more than one resort would we need to have the same use year? The Use Year is the month that you can start using your points in an actual reservation. So a February Use Year would mean that you have to use those points (barring banking them) from February 1st to the following January 31st. You can make the reservation 11 months before check-in day if the points are at your home resort. You don't have to own the same Use Year for both resorts, but from what I understand, it makes it easier

Hopefully this answers some of your questions. If I'm wrong on anything, I'm sure someone will correct me.

 

[rosanab1031]

Hello! Let me take a stab at some of your questions. I am fairly new to DVC but my guide always seems rather impressed at how much I know. What can I say? I like my research

Having done much reading and reviewing (thank you for all the fabulous information on here) we are at the point of discussing numbers of points to buy rather than whether to buy or not.

We are still tremendously confused about resale versus buying direct and understand there are two camps. DH is very concerned that Disney will alter the parameters on resales in the future which could impact us etc

Questions we have that we wondered whether anyone might be able to help:

1) is it possible to book say a 14 night trip and book and pay for only say 5 days worth of Disney dining plan so we have the flexibility to cook / eat off site or do you have to book the dining plan for the entire duration of your stay? If it is possible could you use the 5 days worth of dining plan over the 14 days or just the 5?

2) We are looking at buying enough points for two weeks in a 1bed villa every 2 years. Is it possible to buy at two resorts (1 weeks worth at each) and book 1 week at each 11months out? Are there drawbacks for doing this? (We cannot decide between OKW and BLT)

3) Use year ... Very confused on this. Do we have to have points in our account at the date of making the booking or do they need to be available at the date we would actually check in? Therefore if we owned at more than one resort would we need to have the same use year?

First I will speak to the resale versus buying direct. I have only purchased direct through Disney because I have BIG plans for my points. Haha. We are going to see the world! You can't do this buying resale. Sure if you want to rent your points out I guess but that is opening up a whole other topic! Also, I chose to finance my contracts and it is much easier to do through Disney.

Now on to your questions!

1) If you split up your reservation hten it will be possible but your dining plan days will be consecutive for the number of nights you are staying at that resort. You do not have to use all of your meal credits for the day each day but you must use all all of them by midnight of your check-out day. There are different levels on the meal plan so definitely check it out to see what works for you

2) Sounds great if you don't mind moving part way through your trip I personally wouldn't want to do it but if you're up for it I say why not?! Just make sure you love both resorts

3) Okay... yes use year can be confusing! Here is what I can explain: Your Use Year is the beginning of your new year and that is when you get your annual allotment of points. You do not need to have the same use year but I hear it is easier that way

Hope my answers could be of some help and good luck to you!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

1. As was mentioned you would have to have 2 different reservations and would have to use the dining during the reservation that you had it. If you were to buy 2 resorts and planned to stay at 1 one week and the other the next week it would work very well to have the DP for the stay at one resort and then not at the second - or vice versa.

2. If you were only going to go every other year and just for example say that a week at OKW will take 150 points and BLT would take 200 points then you would want to buy 1/2 of the points required for each of the stays (so 75 OKW and 100 BLT) and use either banking or borrowing to get your weeks stay at each location every 2 years. You would book each of these at their own 11 month booking window.

A drawback might be if you needed to cancel and were unable to return for 2 years then you would need to do something else with points such as rent them or lose them.

3. When you can book is the same for every use year - at 11 months out from your check in or at 7 months out from your check in. It's just that what points are used will depend on your UY and you must have points that are valid for use at the time of the stay you are booking.

 

[dmunsil]

The advice other folks have given is all useful. I'll just add a few other notes and some different perspectives to consider.

We are still tremendously confused about resale versus buying direct and understand there are two camps. DH is very concerned that Disney will alter the parameters on resales in the future which could impact us etc.

Here's how I think of it: the core value proposition of buying DVC is the discount you get on DVC resort accommodations. The various external options, including cruises, staying in other Disney resorts, RCI, etc. are not actually a significant savings, or in some cases any savings at all, compared to paying cash. So while they might be a useful option if you're just tired of going to WDW or something, I would suggest that you give those options very little weight as far as figuring out whether DVC is worth the initial cost.

You can think of it this way: DVC is a program that gets you big discounts on WDW accommodations. In order to get those discounts, you are willing to spend a bunch of money to buy into the program. If you're not getting any discounts, you're not actually "paying off" that initial outlay. So every year you spend your points on, say, a cruise, you're essentially not getting any value from the club.

There's a little sleight of hand involved in the sales pitch. They show you mathematically how much money you save on staying at WDW. And you do - DVC is absolutely a great deal for that purpose. Then at some point they show you all the great things you can do besides just stay at WDW, and that is also true - you can trade your points for all those things. But the implication is that the other stuff is just as good a deal. It's absolutely not. If you bought DVC just to do the other stuff, you'd be throwing away money.

The same analysis applies to buying resale. The options that only direct purchasers can use are ones that you don't get a discount on, so it's not a huge loss. On the contrary, it's a gain for resale buyers in that not having the options probably reduces the price of resales somewhat.

Will Disney add other restrictions for resale buyers and not grandfather in all the existing owners? I doubt it, but only time will tell. The key value of DVC, the discounts on DVC villas, would be very difficult to change or remove. And since everything else is of very little value in comparison, it's not worth stressing about what Disney might or might not do in the future to resale buyers.

1) is it possible to book say a 14 night trip and book and pay for only say 5 days worth of Disney dining plan so we have the flexibility to cook / eat off site or do you have to book the dining plan for the entire duration of your stay? If it is possible could you use the 5 days worth of dining plan over the 14 days or just the 5?

As others have pointed out, you can do a split stay and do dining plan for one portion and not for the other portions. But really, the dining plan is not a good deal. DVC members get discounts at a variety of restaurants in WDW, and if you plan to do a lot of table-service dining, you can get the Tables In Wonderland card, which gets you 20% off almost every restaurant in WDW.

2) We are looking at buying enough points for two weeks in a 1bed villa every 2 years. Is it possible to buy at two resorts (1 weeks worth at each) and book 1 week at each 11months out? Are there drawbacks for doing this? (We cannot decide between OKW and BLT)

Yes, that can work. And via banking and borrowing, you can probably have some years where you just stay in one resort, and some where you split your stay between the two.

3) Use year ... Very confused on this. Do we have to have points in our account at the date of making the booking or do they need to be available at the date we would actually check in? Therefore if we owned at more than one resort would we need to have the same use year?

People get confused about use year all the time; it's a confusing system. Lots and lots of people think they have to wait until the first day of their use year before they can get online and book their trip, which is not true. Your points are in effect available all the time; you never have to wait for them to "load."

The use year is the 12 month period when the points can be used; it has nothing to do with when you can actually make the booking. So for example if you have a March use year, your 2013 use year is from March 1, 2013 through Feb 28th, 2014. So if you book a trip where you're staying at WDW in January 2014, that booking uses 2013 use year points no matter when you actually made the call or went online. A booking for a stay in March, 2014 uses 2014 points because the points are being used after March 1 of that year, even though you actually made the reservation during your 2013 use year.

Anyway, there's no right or wrong about these issues like direct versus resale or what resort to buy at; keep reading and researching and do what feels right to you.

Good luck!

 

[Missyrose]

OP, you might want to look at Tables in Wonderland. It's available to DVC members (for $100) and it gives you 20 percent off most TS restaurants (the discount includes alcohol). That way, you wouldn't have to limit yourself in the same way you would with the dining plan.

 

[kristenrice]

Just to clarify a few things even further...

In regards to having the dining plan for only part of your trip, this can only be done if you have separate reservations in different room categories/resorts. You can't book a 1BR at OKW from Feb 1-7 and then book a separate reservation in a 1BR at OKW from Feb 7-14 and add the DDP to only one of them. You must switch rooms, but since it sounds like you want to split your trip between two different resorts, you should be fine.

Second, all of the exchange options available by buying direct are not as straightforward as your guide will lead you to believe. A few years ago, ALL DVC members were blacked out from booking cruises for several months. This applied to ALL members, not just resale. The points required to stay at the Disney Collection resorts (which will soon be the just Yacht Club, moderates and FW), DCL and ABD go up every year. They could also be taken away or suspended for ALL members, resale or direct.

Since you are looking at points for two weeks, every other year in a 1BR, you will need at least 200 points total. Resale will probably save you at least $5000 ($25/pt) and that's probably a conservative estimate. You need to look very carefully and make sure the options you have currently available to you by buying direct are worth the extra cost.

Good luck with your decision and ask all the questions you want. It's better to be informed now than disappointed later.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Lynne M]

We are still tremendously confused about resale versus buying direct and understand there are two camps. DH is very concerned that Disney will alter the parameters on resales in the future which could impact us etc

Many potential buyers seem to feel that buying direct will give them protection against benefits being taken away, as your husband does. But that's not necessarily the case.

When you look over a DVC POS, you'll see that what you're actually buying is the right to stay at DVC resorts, subject to availability, for the duration of the contract.

That is the one and only thing that can't change, whether you buy direct or resale. Everything else about the current DVC program is subject to change, no matter whether you buy direct or resale.

Currently, resale buyers may not use points for the Disney Collection resorts, DCL, ABD, the Concierge Collection, and the Adventurer Collection. That same restriction could be applied to direct purchasers as well, at any time. DCL already limits the number of cabins and cruises available on points, they could decide tomorrow that they no longer will allow ANY cruises on points.

You want to look at the core value of DVC - using points to stay at DVC resorts. Anything else, from exchanges to discounts, is not guaranteed to anyone, and changes often. They're just perks.

 

[jerseyduke]

UY gets overly complicated really. You are never waiting for points to be loaded, the points are there all the time.

My 2030 points are already "there"...i am not waiting for them to be loaded....WHAT WE WAIT FOR IS THE BOOKING WINDOW.

If you are booking at the 11 month window, you will have access to the points that are available in the UY that the ressie falls in (assuming no points were preciously borrowed), plus the NEXT use year. Also add any points that were banked.

UY is more important for banking purposes. It is ideal to travel early in your UY, so if you usually travel in December, a SEPT use year is nice, a Feb one isn't.

 

[Magic Megadegs]

Thank you all so much. More reading needed for me I think. Thank you for taking the time to reply x

 

[rosanab1031]

Thank you all so much. More reading needed for me I think. Thank you for taking the time to reply x

Good luck!

 

[Dean]

DH is very concerned that Disney will alter the parameters on resales in the future which could impact us etc

The reality is that there is not a single option for current resorts that could be taken away from resale that could not be taken away from retail, not a single one. Thus from a protection and ultimate risk standpoint, they are EXACTLY the same. There are currently some options that are different and it's likely there will be other differences in the future. If buying just to stay at DVC resorts doesn't make sense for you, buying DVC doesn't make sense in any way. The ability to book current home or club resorts the same as other qualified members is a guaranteed option. An exchange company is not completely guaranteed (for anyone) but is about as close to a guarantee as you can get. As a minimum one could use the smaller independent exchange companies on your own. There is not a single option currently on the table for retail buyers that couldn't be taken away and not a single one of those is worth buying for, ever, in any scenario one could come up with. Just consider anything that you get gravy and hope it continues.

Look at it another way, that's a very expensive insurance policy if that's the reason for looking at retail.

 

[DizBub]

UY gets overly complicated really. You are never waiting for points to be loaded, the points are there all the time.

My 2030 points are already "there"...i am not waiting for them to be loaded....WHAT WE WAIT FOR IS THE BOOKING WINDOW.

This is extremely helpful.