Potential New Member--Questions

[bray]

Please help. We love Disney but are trying not to get caught up in the hype having just returned from 7 days at Wilderness Lodge and 2 nights at VB. After all this is a LOT of money and we are committing to approx 39years of maintenance dues.

We usually travel to WDW for approximately 4 days in March (spring break) or 7 days in June. (2 educators and a 7 year old)

We are contemplating purchasing 200 BC points with a Feb use year.

We recently stayed at the Wilderness Lodge (non DVC prop) and loved the atmosphere. OKW sounds just as relaxing. However, I was told that those had later use years. How important is the use year?

Given that we will have DVC, we might consider travelling a few days during Thanksgiving or maybe the week after Christmas.

While looking at the Member Guide Book property list, I was disappointed that most of the properties require weeklong stays. That would not be feasable for Thanksgiving. Does anyone know how often nightly basis non Disney properties have been added in the past? We are looking possibly for visiting the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade or skiing.

We are looking at 200 points. I asked the sales rep about our options for adding more points or what could be done if that is an excessive number of points. He indicated that we could purchase points (min. 25) at the price in existance at the time of the additional purchase. He also said we could sell points but DVC can choose not to approve the buyer we find and can purchase the points themselves. Does DVC usually purchase the points back at the rate they are selling points?

ANY info is much appreciated. We are expecting our contract any day. It was already suppose to be here.

 

[Dean]

There are a few options for non 7 day stays to include the Concierge Collection, Disney Collection, Adventurer collection and BVTC. II requires a 7 day exchange though no rule you have to stay 7 days. The costs for the non DVC daily stays are very high, IMO, high enough as to make DVC an unreasonable method to accomplish those stays. DVC is not suitable for long weekends as a routine either. Remember that none of these options are guaranteed and they could all evaporate tomorrow.

You can buy additonal points through DVC IF they are selling and only at the resort they are selling at. They do not hold points at your home resort just for members to add on though maybe they should. You cannot sell part of a contract unless you buy the parts separately. Rather than 200 points, you could buy 150 points and a 50 pt add on. Lets have a show of hands of anyone who's bought 200 or less points and felt they had too many, my guess is anyone who feels this way sold all their points.

Don't forget you could buy resale either now or for add ons in the future but there are no guarantees. As for use year, I feel it's very important for some and sounds like it would be for you. Good luck.

 

[arcruiser]

Use years are important primarily for Banking and Cancellation, IMO. If you typically travel in the spring, I think Feb would be good for you... With a Feb use year, if you canceled a spring break vacation, you would still have plenty of time to reschedule or bank your points.

We have an offer on a Feb now at OKW. We wanted a spring use year, due to DS will steer us toward spring and summer vacations when he reaches school age. Also, my annual vacation sign-up is in June, so I will still have about a month to make DVC plans, and Bank if needed.

The same use years are available at all resorts. and use year has nothing to do with reservations..... but the 11 month window at your home resort is important, especially for those busy spring break and Thanksgiving trips.

If I remember correctly, there are no Jan, May, July or November use years at any resort.
The other 8 are/were available at all resorts.

The Villas at Wilderness Lodge and Old Key West......

Currently The TimeShare Store http://www.wdwinfo.com/timeshare/dvclisting.cfm and DVC by Resale http://www.timesharesbyresale.com/ have several OKW and VWL listings with various use years.

They come up all the time.... a resale at a "laid back" OKW or VWL should not be hard to find. I'd imagine there's a 200 point +- Feb or March out there right now, that fits your needs.... or there will be one tommorrow, or in a few weeks!

Good Luck!

 

[arcruiser]

theres a 240 point VWL listed now, at $70, with no points this year. Depending on the deal - seller should pay 2003 dues since they used the points, may even pay closing - you could save some bucks..... and get the resort you want, and the use year you want.

Disney would want $74 with Magical Beginnings, which would mean exact same outcome -
but you save $960!

All that's different is sweating the ROFR and the wait.

Another way to look at it is:
At $70 per point, $16,800 buys 240 points resale (ROFR permitting)
At $74 per point, $16,800 buys 227 points from Disney - if you can get them at a "sold out" resort.