So confused about DVC...

[Papa Deuce]

And so is my wife.

OK, we undertand what the $14,700 / 150 points is....

What we don't get is what we have to pay beyond that, like per year. We also don't understand is how much it costs to stay at places that are not your home resort.

Do you have to go to your own resort every "x" years?

We have the book that DVC sent. We're still confused.

I'd like a better understanding before we call a DVC rep. Or the Timeshare Store.

Thanks... Chuck

 

[bicker]

We pay about $950 per year, on our 250 points, for maintenance.

You get an allocation of points each year. You must use those points that year, the year before or the year after (there are special procedures to borrow and bank points, to accomplish the flexibility I've described).

There are some fees for some of the exchanges, but using your points at non-DVC Disney resorts don't have any fees -- they just have a points-exchange schedule that make it much better to use your points at DVC resorts. We only use our points for non-DVC resorts on occasion, for a chance of pace.

 

[OneMoreTry]

If you buy 150 points you get to use 150 points per year. That can be at ANY of the DVC resorts you are able to get a reservation at. You don't HAVE to stay at your home resort -- there's no requirement for that.

The only benefit of ahome resort is that you can make reservations there at 11 months out. At any other resort you can make reservations at 7 months out. So you -- and everyone else -- has a 4 month advantage when making reservations at a home resort.

It can be hard to get reservations at 7 months out during popular times of year in certain resorts, such as spring break and Xmas. So if you REALLY want to stay at a specific resort at a specific time of year you should seriously consider buying points at that resort -- and making it your home resort. (Hilton Head is real popular during the summer.)

You also have to make annual payment for upkeep of your home resort. You will pay a certain amount per point. I think it's around $3.50 per point now, but it varies from resort to resort.

The other decision is use year, but I'll leave that to another post.

 

[JimMIA]

And so is my wife.

OK, we undertand what the $14,700 / 150 points is....

What we don't get is what we have to pay beyond that, like per year.

Each resort has dues (AKA maintenance fees) which range from $3.83-$4.87 per point per year, depending on resort. Those dues increase slightly each year.

We also don't understand is how much it costs to stay at places that are not your home resort.

That's easy -- nothing...just points. The points vary a little from resort to resort, but they are the same for everybody.

Do you have to go to your own resort every "x" years?

No. You don't have to EVER set foot in your home resort if you don't want to.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

The points are like money. Different hotels cost different points for different times of year and so on.

If you decided you were not going to use your 150 points one year you could "bank" them and use 300 the next. Also, you could borrow from the following year and then be able to spend 450 in one year.

We also pay around $950 per year right now for 250 points but it goes up every year (around $3.80 / point).

You can book your home resort 11 months before your vacatioin (which you should always do) and other DVC resorts 7 months before. What we do is book our home resort then at the 7 month window, we check other resorts and maybe change and maybe not. Also, we might get on a waiting list for another DVC resort. Your HOME resort is the one you are most likely going to be able to book so it's best to purchase where ownership in the property you like the best.

 

[WDWLVR]

I recommend the FAQ thread Doc put together.

Click here to get to it.

 

[tamu91]

What we don't get is what we have to pay beyond that, like per year.

After your initial cost, you pay a yearly maintenace fee and that varies per resort. In 2005, the maint. fees were $3.86/pt @ OKW, $4.41 @ BWV, $4.87 @ VB, $4.04 @ HH, $4.35 @ VWL, $4.27 @ BCV and $3.83 @ SSR.

We also don't understand is how much it costs to stay at places that are not your home resort.

Nothing out of pocket to stay at DVC resorts, DCL or other Disney properties, other than your points of course. If you want to trade out, there is a small fee.

Do you have to go to your own resort every "x" years?

As mentioned previously, you can visit any one of the DVC resorts. The only home resort advantage is the 11 mos. reservation window vs. 7 mos. everywhere else.

 

[Disney Doll]

Your points cost you "X" amount of $$ to purchase, and you pay that off hwoever you choose...loan, cash, home equity, whatever. It is like a mortgage...as a matter-of-fact, I guess it is technically a mortgage on a vacation property. The you have maintenance fees or dues. I liken them to common charges that you pay if you live in a condo. They are not your mortgage, they are for expenses, upkeep etc. They are figured based on the # of points you have and at which resort. I believe, and I could be wrong on this one so other DISers may correct me, that most of the maintenance fees are between $3-$4 per point, depending on which resort. They do go up, depending on inflation etc, but I have not found in the 8 years we have owned DVC that they have increased dramatically. You will pay these maintenance fees for the life of your contract. Every contract will end in 2042, unless your home resort is SSR, in which case your contract will end in 2054. So you will be paying these maintenance fees for a loong time!!!

 

[winjos]

Here's an example:

1) You buy 150 points with Sept. use year (every Sept. 1, you get your allotment of 150 points) at SSR

2) You want to go to WDW the month of May for 5 days (Sun-Thu) in a 1 bedroom. Here's the breakdown of points for that week:
OKW - 100 points; BWV - 140 (preferred to simply example)
BCV - 140 points; VWL - 140
SSR - 125
3) You've read these boards for months now and you've become frugal with your points . You decide that OKW looks great at 100 points!!

4) You check the calendar and find that you are within the 7 month window to make the reservation.

5) Call Member Services. You tell them the dates you want to go and the resort you would like to stay in. They check... yep OKW had a 1 bedroom available. You say, "I'll take it!!" The CM asks you the names of your party, any requests, and then tells you a conf. # and the cancelation policies.

6) You receive an envelope that makes all DVC members hearts race. You open it up and there is this beautiful confirmation letter. You are on and you start to mentally pack your bags for the trip!!

7) What to do with the left over 50 points??? You can bank them for the next years vacation, rent them to someone, or go back to WDW for a short trip!! It's up to you!!

Like the other members said, if you want to use your points outside the DVC resorts (i.e. exchange your points for a week just about anywhere), there is a small fee for them to process your request and find a place for you.

We bought 200 points at BWV in 2000. We banked out points that first year because we were not going back to WDW within the year. We had a baby in 2001 and used the 200 points we had banked for an exchange. It cost us $75. We banked the 2001 points. In 2002 we went to FL for 2 weeks - 1 week at OKW and 1 week at VB. We've gone back to WDW 2 more times and another trip planned for this Sept. We have never stayed at our home resort! We love OKW and try and stay there!!

I kind of look at the maintence fees at HOA (homeowner's association fees). Some subdivisions have lower and some have higher!!

Good luck!!

 

[Beca]

Also...there is a thriving resale market where you can buy all resorts. You can click on the Timeshare Store link above and see what is available, and there are other resellers as well.

You can buy SSR via DVC, or you can get on wait lists thru DVC to buy any of the "sold out" resorts. You don't get any incentives when you buy a sold out resort, and even if you buy them from DVC, they still expire in 2042, not 2054 like SSR. You should not have too long of a wait for any of the sold out resorts except for Beach Club Villas...if you want that resort....either go resale, or plan to be on the waitlist for a while.



Beca

 

[gjw007]

6) You receive an envelope that makes all DVC members hearts race. You open it up and there is this beautiful confirmation letter. You are on and you start to mentally pack your bags for the trip!!Good luck!!

I just made resevation waiting for that letter. Yeah!

 

[Papa Deuce]

Thanks!

 

[pbharris4]

Just another note in case you didn't know: it only covers lodging. Park tickets, dining, and extras are just that..extra. You wouldn't believe how many people ask me that when I tell them I own DVC.

 

[JimMIA]

Just another note in case you didn't know: it only covers lodging. Park tickets, dining, and extras are just that..extra. You wouldn't believe how many people ask me that when I tell them I own DVC.

Although, when you stay at DVC (as with any on-site stay), you also have free parking at all of the theme parks, and complete unlimited use of the transportation system. We prefer to drive our car to the theme parks, so staying on-site makes that free and easy for us.

You also get a DVC discount at a number of restaurants and retail outlets, but the big discount is the discounted Annual Pass. Don't factor any of these discounts into your purchasing decision, however, because they are all temporary and do change from time to time.