Question about DVC

[OrlandoMike]

I can only tell you two things about DVC.

#1 I deal with a lot of "owners" on a daily basis, and they all tell me they absolutly love it, and would not do it any other way.

#2 There is no way I would go on one of those tours....well not with my credit cards in my wallet!

Most of the people I deal with love the flexibility of the point system....being able to bank and borrow. They also eat up the perks (Discounts, pins, advanced reservations etc.).

Good Luck with your decision.

Oh and if you do take the tour, from my understanding is it is VERY low on the pressure aspect. They give you the info and send you on your way to think about it!

 

[zeitzeuge]

I can only tell you two things about DVC.

#1 I deal with a lot of "owners" on a daily basis, and they all tell me they absolutly love it, and would not do it any other way.

#2 There is no way I would go on one of those tours....well not with my credit cards in my wallet!

Most of the people I deal with love the flexibility of the point system....being able to bank and borrow. They also eat up the perks (Discounts, pins, advanced reservations etc.).

Good Luck with your decision.

Oh and if you do take the tour, from my understanding is it is VERY low on the pressure aspect. They give you the info and send you on your way to think about it!

Thanks Mike. I have a lot of reading to do. Maybe I'll speak to someone when we go in September. Gives me time to research.

 

[OrlandoMike]

Maybe I'll speak to someone when we go in September.

I know if you do it here in Florida you get free Ice Cream!

 

[zeitzeuge]

I know if you do it here in Florida you get free Ice Cream!

Well that's worth the trip right there.

 

[jenn&nelsonrego]

I know if you do it here in Florida you get free Ice Cream!

That is reason enough right there to plunk down a couple grand!

We got fast passes to Test Track... this was right around when it first opened and getting on it was like getting on Soarin now!

 

[Disney_Villain]

We use our rooms to do nothing but shower and sleep in.

Do you use the resort pools at all?

If you think you might use them, choose a DVC home resort that has quiet pools. Being a gay couple without kids, we really don't enjoy the "main" pools which are always filled with tons of screaming children. You may not enjoy it as well.

PS: Note that the Animal Kingdom Villas do not have quiet (aka satellite) pools.

 

[OrlandoMike]

Why do you call her DVC?

Her name is Deevy See!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1DV6r1Nk54&feature=related

 

[zeitzeuge]

Do you use the resort pools at all?

If you think you might use them, choose a DVC home resort that has quiet pools. Being a gay couple without kids, we really don't enjoy the "main" pools which are always filled with tons of screaming children.

PS: Note that the Animal Kingdom Villas do not have quiet (aka satellite) pools.

We do on occasion, especially late night to cool off and wind down.

I don't know.....I tend to LOVE LOVE LOVE tons of screaming children around me, peeing in the pool.

Oh and thanks for the DVC for Dummies link. Lots of good info!

 

[Saxton]

I've got 3 DVC accounts - I bought OKW and BWV through resale and then AKV directly from Disney. I love it!!! Lately I'haven't been able to use it much because of my Dad's health issues but I'll always say it's the best decision I've made. A while ago my brother was coming to town so that meant I could get a break, I called member services and EVERYTHING at WDW was booked solid (spring break). The nice woman I spoke to asked if I had ever thought about going to Disneyland and within a matter of minutes I was booked for the Grand Californian. I've taken friends and family and everyone has loved it.

They have a unit open at the Boardwalk if you want to check it out - it's right near the Big River Grill.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We're pretty sure we're going to buy next year. DP has researched the DVC thread and we have friends who are owners. To us, it makes sense. From what I see, the closing cost, out the door right now, is $ 1800 for an average of 160 points, which is the lowest you can purchase. Then you pay your monthly payment. Sounds good to us, great investment for us and our famlily!

I think you're missing a "0" in your number...

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Another DVCer chiming in.

We bought in 1996. I honestly don't remember how much the points were, but I think they were somewhere around $50 per point "back then."

I've heard of good deals from resale places, but remember. DVC has the right of first refusal (ROFR) and if an owner tries to sell her/his points at too low a price, DVC will buy them back. They keep the value up that way, eh?

Also, you can bank or borrow points. That means that if you are not going to use all or part of your points in a given year, you can bank (again, all or part of them) them into the next use year. Depending upon when your use year starts will drive the timing for banking the points (you have to bank by a certain time in the year).

If you want to use more points in a given year than you actually have for that year, you can borrow from the next use year. That will of course, leave you with less points for that upcoming year.

The most points you can use at any given time are three year's worth. It's done like this. In a three year span: Year one, bank all the points into year two. When you are in year two, borrow all the points from year three to use for a vacation (safari anyone) in that second year. Got it?

You can use the points in many places throughout the world.

It's incredibly flexible, and with some small exceptions I've had incredibly good luck booking spur of the moment. Years ago when Hurricane Jorge was headed for the west coast of FL (we were living in Ft. Myers) we wanted OUT! I called DVC and got a villa at BWV. Then I called back and changed the reservation (increasing the time)!!! All in a few days time/notice.

Same as this weekend. Spur of the moment and voila, we are staying at OKW for Gay Days.

OKW is our home resort. It's the original vacation club. There was only OKW and BWV when we bought in, and BWV wasn't finished yet. Funny too, BWV is my least favorite DVC. Not that I refuse to stay there, but I like the others much better for many reasons (one being that hideous clown pool).

OKW has some lovely quite pools that are quite private.

We are looking forward to staying at Kadani Village in October, and to our annual trek to Vero Beach in August.

Even for all my disallusionment with Disney over the years, I'm still a dyed in the wool lover of DVC.

Oh, one thing that some folks don't like. The contracts end. There is the right of inheritance, but the contracts will come to an end and if you are still around, you'll no longer be a DVC member. I think ours expires when we are in our 80s. I'm not really too worried about it!

Do take the tour. Seriously, there is absolutely no hard sell. The guides will tell you themselves that DVC sells itself. They explain the program and leave folks to make up their own minds.

Our guides name is Betty Prykryl. There are loads of good guides though, so you can easily turn up and learn all about it. Plus, the model villas are wicked!!

 

[rpmdfw]

Why do you call her DVC?

Her name is Deevy See!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1DV6r1Nk54&feature=related

Wow! I like the sounds of that rooftop lounge!

 

[wallyb]

Why do you call her DVC?

Her name is Deevy See!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1DV6r1Nk54&feature=related

She forgot to imagine the snarky barkeep!

 

[DVCajun]

You can NOT use DVC points for Value resorts.
You can use them for Mods and Deluxes. The thing is, it costs MORE points for a Mod room than for a DVC studio!

Yeah, it's not exactly cost effective to use your points to stay at Disney anywhere other than the DVC resorts. And, having stayed in many of the resorts, I'm sorta like, "why would I want to stay anywhere else??" The DVC resorts are SHWEET!!!!!

It has been a worthwhile investment for us ... members since 1998. Our typical plan is to visit WDW twice a year. Of course, we recently bought a camper so we could vacation with our four-legged babies, so we're renting out points a bit. But I still wouldn't change a thing!!

 

[PghLybrt]

SO we bought into Bay Lake. The way I figure 3 trips in a grand villa will pay for it all ( If you figure out what out of pocket would be for that).

I have to say it was the worst decision we ever made. WHy? Becasue now i want to buy more!!!!! 100 points and a free cruise!!!

WAy off topic......

Does any one know if I get ESPN at Bay lake? I can't miss the Steeler game while I am there!!!

 

[zeitzeuge]

SO we bought into Bay Lake. The way I figure 3 trips in a grand villa will pay for it all ( If you figure out what out of pocket would be for that).

I have to say it was the worst decision we ever made. WHy? Becasue now i want to buy more!!!!! 100 points and a free cruise!!!

WAy off topic......

Does any one know if I get ESPN at Bay lake? I can't miss the Steeler game while I am there!!!

BLT is the new tower next to the Contemporary correct? It seems to be a very reasonably priced DVC especially the yearly dues. Is 100 points enough do you think for a start and if so how many nights stay can you get a year for that many points?

Why I'm having SO much difficult understanding this stuff is beyond me.

 

[rpmdfw]

BLT is the new tower next to the Contemporary correct? It seems to be a very reasonably priced DVC especially the yearly dues. Is 100 points enough do you think for a start and if so how many nights stay can you get a year for that many points?

Why I'm having SO much difficult understanding this stuff is beyond me.

I seem to recall that 150 points is the miminum amount you can purchase. But I could be wrong

 

[zeitzeuge]

I seem to recall that 150 points is the miminum amount you can purchase. But I could be wrong

I think I read 160 points was the minimum buying directly from Disney, but that you can buy lesser amount of points through a broker?

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Whew. It's been so long since I bought in, I don't remember the details, but I think that 100 points for someone with no other points won't "work."

Minimum purchase used to be 150 and as you say, may have risen to 160. That's representative of a studio in the lowest season for a week, I think (but could be wrong so don't quote the "season").

BLT is the most expensive, point and dues wise I believe.

If you bought 100 points through a timeshare resale, I don't know how that would work with Disney, as DVC doesn't recognize "resales" only that you are a DVC member.

Seriously, you need to do the tour.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Minimum point purchase is 160 through Disney. Certain properties have minimum 100 point ADD ONS for current owners. We got an e-mail yesterday for a 100 pt. add on at BLT.

As far as points, BLT points are the most expensive. The dues are not very high right now because the resort is brand new.

Vero Beach and Hilton Head have the highest annual dues. So high, in fact, that the dues will out pace what you saved on per-point buy in within several years!! (Meaning you can buy points at Hilton Head relatively cheap, but what you save will quickly be eaten up by high annual dues.)

It IS less expensive to go resale, you can choose pretty much ANY of the DVC properties as your home, and you can find varying amounts of points.

We chose to go through Disney directly because the finance paperwork from the resale place made my head hurt. Th e-mail was like 12 pages long and relatively complicated. (From my point of view.)

When we bought our AKV contract I just phoned our guide (we toured the summer before) and told him we were ready. He got some basic info and BOOM! we were owners. The loan qualifying was more like a credit card app. as opposed to some HUGE document.

We just got our new DVC book this week. I must say, they are PROUD of those Grand Californian villas! The points are INSANE!!!