Questions from potential buyer

[Lynne M]

Hi, all -

After reading everything I can get my hands on about DVC, I still have a couple of questions I think you're best qualified to answer....

1. I've gotten the hint - I should buy where I want to stay . I assume this is because that extra 4 months you have to reserve in your home resort *really* matters. Based on your experiences, if I want to reserve a 2BR in a resort other than my home for Sept (when I usually hit WDW), is 7 months not enough time?

2. But - I'm expecting to use my points for various deluxe resorts (GF, Poly, etc.) about 30-50% of the time. What's the reservation time frame for those? Is it still 7 months? Have you had problems reserving the deluxe resorts in that time frame?

3. I'm a little worried about the point requirements for each type of accommodation increasing over the years. Have you found that they've been pretty stable, or has the number been creeping up?

Many thanks for any advice you can provide - hope I'll be joining you as a DVC owner soon!

Lynne

 

[Merilyn]

We have gotten reservations at other resort at 7 months, but we don't usually go in the busy times of the year. I don't know about using the points at the other hotels at WDW. Our point charts shows them to be so expensive point wise that I don't think it is worth it. After you have stayed at a DVC location, I don't think you will feel the same way about staying elsewhere. All the DVC locations are extremly nice and much larger than any of the other places. As to an increase in points, they have not changed since we have been member. The new locations are more points as they build them, but they seem to stay the same after the original paper work. The contract states that they can't go up on the total number of points needed for any given size or time without going down on another size and time.
Example: Say in Sept on a Mon a studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and GV add up to 75 total points. If the studio is 7 points, the 1 bedroom is 15, the 2 bedroom is 20 and the GV is 33, then to raise the GV to 40 they would have to take from one of the other until they all added up to 75. I hope that makes sense. Hope you are joining us and if you have any other questions I am sure many other members can help you. Everyone on these board are very helpful.

 

[Lew]

1. There could very well not be availability seven months out for a September reservation. The best advice is to make a reservation at your home resort eleven months out so you're covered. Then at seven months you can check availibility at the other resorts.

2. I believe you have an eleven-month window for non-DVC WDW resorts. I'm not absolutely sure, so I may be corrected on this one. Be careful, using points for non-DVC WDW resorts is not the best use of points...it can be quite expensive.

3. Point requirements cannot be increased in one season without a corresponding decrease in another. The number of 'point-days' per year at each resort is constant.

 

[ripleysmom]

The point requirements for DVC properties can only be increased in a period if there is a corresponding decrease in another.

The point requirements though, for non-DVC resorts, can and do increase over time so if you are buying with the idea of staying at GF or some other resort like that just be prepared that these will increase.

One comment though that I see consistently here is that many people buy with the intent of sampling the non-DVC properties but once you have stayed in a DVC room (especially the 1 BRs and up) it is difficult to go back....

 

[Dean]

To add a little and emphasize one major point. First, DVC rooms will not increase in points (overall) but the other options could increase or evaporate tomorrow. To say that using DVC points for the other options (DC, DCL, CC) is expensive in terms of points is an understatement. If you plan on using non DVC options that much, just buy less points and pay cash for what you want. There will always be specials and discounts though not necessarily ones that work for you every time. Lets say you wanted to go and stay at DVC every other year for a week in a 2 BR and then on the off years get a larger (sleep 5) room at the Poly, etc. Just buy about 150 points, pay it down faster and pay cash when you go on off years. If you find you would rather stay in DVC resorts every time, you can always buy more points.

Here's an example, I'm going Thanksgiving and staying at AKL for a savannah view room. The cost is $169 plus tax, around $188 total. The total in points would be around 81 points for the 2 nights or little more than the cost of the yearly fees (depending on home resort). Another example would be DCL which for 2 category 11 would be around 252 points for value season and you can get for as little as $799 per person right now and I'm sure the price will continue to come down by specials and the like. This is slightly over $6 pp and I believe that in both cases, you'd need to pay the taxes. You also may lose out of cabin credits, specials for kids, etc. I paid $50 pp, didn't finance and the dues are the lowest of all of the DVC resorts and anything less than $8 pp is where I seriously consider paying cash.

 

[fkj2]

If you contemplate staying at the other WDW resorts, as Dean said, be sure to compare prices which vary according to travel time. For example, a year and a half ago I stayed at the Contemporary on points, except for the Saturday before and after my week, as it was cheaper to pay cash than use the points.

 

[PamOKW]

Booking non-DVC resorts (like GF, AKL, etc.) can be done at 11 months. Using points to stay at WDW resorts has always been a fairly expensive use of points. The number of points required stayed pretty stable throughout the history of DVC. For 2002, they readjusted the charts to allow booking specific views and Concierge rooms. While they were adjusting, most of the deluxe resorts saw the points required rise astronomically. Hopefully, they will now stay stable (or maybe come down) for 2003 on into the future....but that is not guaranteed.

 

[Lynne M]

Thanks to everyone who answered so promptly! It's very much appreciated.

I hadn't heard about the restrictions on point increases; that's very reassuring. And the other tips and suggestions were great, too.

I did notice that you seem to get a lot more for your points at the DVC resorts, but I know I'll be staying at GF at least every few years...took my Mom there once, and now she refuses to stay anywhere else, so when I go with her, GF it will be. And I would like to try some of the deluxe resorts at least once, just out of curiosity. The DVC one bedrooms sound like they'd be about right for most of my trips, though.

fkj2 mentioned staying at the Contemporary and using points for some nights and paying for others. I wondered if you could do that, that might work out well for those high-point weekend nights.

Lynne

 

[dianeschlicht]

You can't ASSUME you or Mom will like GF better than a nice large 1-2 bedroom at a DVC resort. We thougt this too before we stayed in an OKW 1 bedroom. The luxury of your own kitchen, HUGE master suite with 2 room bath room and Jacuzzi and in room laundry were not to be believed on our first trip. We have never used the other resorts since joining DVC. I doubt I could go back to a hotel room, no matter how nice, and give up these other perks!

 

[Lynne M]

Oh, I'm sure *I'll* like the 1-bedroom better, but Mom wouldn't be enthused about the kitchen or laundry, she likes having other people waiting on her hand and foot when on vacation . She's also very attached to the restaurants and the beach at GF.

The flexibility to do something like that every so many years is what really attracted me to DVC. If it's just me, I can have a studio, if it's me and the boyfriend, a one bedroom is perfect, if it's me and my friends, the two bedroom will be ideal. That'll be the bulk of my trips into the future, I'm sure, but it's nice to be able to treat Mom to her favorite resort every now and then.

Thanks again!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I just noticed you are from King of Prussia! We visit there every October for dog shows!

I agree that an occational visit to the GF would be a good choice, but it is not the best use of points to always stay at one of the other non-DVC resorts.

 

[Lynne M]

Diane, I didn't even know there *was* a dog show in King of Prussia, and I've lived here for 8 years!

BTW, I put my deposit down for VWL this morning. Thanks to everyone who participates on this board, you folks are the best salespeople DVC has! Reading your messages has been such a help, both in getting my own questions answered, and in getting a feel for what it's really like to be a DVC member.

If there was any one thing that made me finally decide to purchase, it was the amazing level of satisfaction that you all seem to have with your DVC memberships. Sure, there are always going to be annoying little glitches, but overall, it just floored me that you've all been so happy with DVC.

Thanks again, I'm SO excited to have my own little piece of Disney magic!!!!

Lynne

 

[Granny]

Lynne....

Congratulations on your decision.

As we often say here, your only regret will be that you didn't do it sooner!

So, when is your first trip home?

 

[BobH]

I booked Vero Beach in April for a June vacation last summer. Maybe I was lucky, the resort was full at the time I arrived.
I also just booked Hilton Head at the 7 month deadline for next May 19 thru 25th. I understand June, July & August are next to impossible at the 7 month window. I am an owner at OKW.
Welcome to the DVC!

 

[Synonymous]

I got a Friday and Saturday night at VWL at the end of September on one week notice. This September may not have been normal, though.

 

[Lynne M]

Thanks for the welcomes! My first trip home will be sometime after June of 2002, that's the beginning of my use year. I did the MB thing and sold back the extra 150 points, $1500 off the purchase price was too good a deal to pass up, and I can use that money to fund the Fall 2002 GF trip with Mom.

I'll figure out when I'm going after I get the contract and all the member stuff. The mail's been so slow lately that I haven't even gotten the informational video package yet!