Some questions about purchase...

[CarolMN]

West Coast So Cal DVCer here !!! YES to colored sections!!!
BUY where you want to stay is GREAT advice too!!
Although if you live close by like me (20 minutes away) sometimes 7 or less months out reservations isn't too hard to get OR getting a hotel room on points if you REALLY need to! THUS BUY DIRECT to get the advantage!!!

Color is nice, but yellow is very difficult to read.

 

[juncker]

I think that the most significant thing that many DVC purchasers wish they had known before they purchased is about the resale market. I know that there are a lot of people on these boards (myself included) that feel that resale is usually the better way to go, but there have been many posts from people that bought direct that didn't even know about the resale market. Disney doesn't want you to know about that. Disboards is the best place to learn the real story.

I'm not saying that buying resale is the best case for everyone. Some people do want to be able to exchange for cruises or other destinations where resale points won't work, or need the financing, but most people who are educated on the topic agree that isn't the best value for your points. If you are looking at a 200 point contract, but could get it $40 per point cheaper as a resale, that's a difference of $8,000. You could take a number of cruises in addtion to your points for that kind of money.

My recommendation would be to take your time. Explore the boards for questions that others have already asked. Understand the limitations of a resale purchase vs. direct. Once you understand it fully, you'll make the right decision for your situation.

Other than understanding the resale situation, the 2nd most important thing would be understanding and selecting the right home resort. If VGC is a priority for you, that should be a no-brainer. That is probably the hardest property to reserve at 7 months so you need the 11 month home advantage.

Best of Luck!

 

[jockotaco]

We have been thinking about whether or not purchasing into DVC would be a good idea for us or not. We have a few questions, but do not want to contact anyone at Disney and know many people on here are wonderful resources. So...

#1. How important is your "home" resort? I think we would be interested in buying at VGC, but I know there are not many villas there, so I wasn't even sure if it was a possibility.

#2. If you are short points, say you own 120 and you need 129, can you buy 9 points for just one time or do you have to borrow from your next year? Can you "rent" those 9 points you need and add them to the ones you own?

#3. What is the "waiting list" everyone is talking about? Is that for buying more points - like you might already own 100 points but you'd like to up what you have to 150?

#4. We got the info packet from Disney, and there was a place where it looked like you could get park passes to go with your purchase. Do you know if that is like a one time deal, or is it something you get every year?

#5. Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read these and answer them!

We own at VGC. Great property and even better DVC rooms. Your home resort is very important especially for the smaller resorts like VGC. If you are buying to use mainly at VGC buy that as your home resort. You can buy, borrow or bank points. We made an initial purchase of 125 points to see if we really liked DVC and used the borrowing and banking for our reservations. We are looking to add on. The one downfall to DVC is a disease called addonitis!!! The biggest mistake we made was not putting my wife on the original note. The problem this created is she is not viewed as a DVC member and does not have her own card. This has an impact on discounts while traveling. You can get it changed but its a pain in the tush.

 

[hjgaus]

This question may be odd, but are you on the west coast or close to VGC? I ask because as a DVC owner living in California, we don't get the same kind of discounts that Florida DVC members get to take advantage of. Most notable, we only get $20 off Disneyland Resort annual passes, compared to the bigger discount for WDW annual passes.

If VGC is where you want to stay, try to purchase VGC as your home resort. It is VERY difficult to book VGF at the seven month window. This is due to the fact that it the ONLY DVC resort at the Disneyland resort and it's the smallest DVC property (or one of the smallest - someone will quote me just to correct me if I don't put that caveat in). With that said since VGC is considered "sold-out", you'll have to waitlist through DVC directly or resale through brokers. NOTE: you can't use resale points purchased through a broker to book Collection properties, like the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier for a last minute weekend trip or if you wanted to plan something at the last minute.
Just keep in mind that IMO, a lot of feedback on these boards has the prospective of the Florida resident or members close to WDW. I've read a lot of comments on here that don't apply to or are not practical for me on the west coast.

As for what I wish I knew... I wish I bought all my contracts in smaller chunks so they could be offloaded or resold later. Also, if you travel a certain time every year, make sure that your use year is greater than four months after that time.

Good luck.

Is this color better for reading?

 

[hjgaus]

My advice is not coming from "I wish I would have known of resale...." But more so BECAUSE our 1st time with DVC WAS resale. Our BCV points of 450 split between 2 contracts was purchased resale in 2008. Our VGC points of 160 was purchased DIRECT from Disney in 2009 while it was being built. We have been splitting our vacation times about 2 years between resorts so far & very much enjoying it!! NO REGRETS purchasing either BUT if things were to change I would rather give up BCV then ADD ON to VGC BECAUSE will LIVE NEAR DLR!!