some ?'s from a total newbie.

[LBKMAMA]

A friend went to DVC presentation recently and came back with some info that got us thinking too. Questions though

IF you buy 160pts at ssr you can use them anywhere, but just can't book as soon? We go in late Sept or Early Dec.

If you have 160 pts can you pay OOP if you don't have quite enough?

If you are a family of 5 (young family) can you sleep comfortably in 1 bdr?

If there is Free Dining offered can you get it at DVC resorts?

Are you considered a FL resident and can you get the tickets at those prices?

Do all of the DVC have kitchens?

Her presentation was for SSR, but should we ask about other properties? When does AKL open and when will they start selling that one?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'd like to hear what owners have to say about all this. We may try to ck out a presentation in Sept. while we are there. Thx

 

[chalee94]

IF you buy 160pts at ssr you can use them anywhere, but just can't book as soon? We go in late Sept or Early Dec.

yes, subject to availability.
If you have 160 pts can you pay OOP if you don't have quite enough?

it's complicated. basically, you can borrow from your next year's points or you can see if there is a discounted cash room available.

If there is Free Dining offered can you get it at DVC resorts?

maybe - if disney offers it at a DVC resort and you're willing to pay full rack rates in cash. but most likely NEVER for a stay on points.

Are you considered a FL resident and can you get the tickets at those prices?

no - you can get a discounted AP through DVC, but you're still not a FL resident.

Do all of the DVC have kitchens?

studios only have a kitchenette. 1BR and up have kitchens.

Her presentation was for SSR, but should we ask about other properties?

you can. but other than AKV, you may need to push a little to get a guide to sell you a different resort...

When does AKL open and when will they start selling that one?

already on sale and partially open - won't be fully complete till 2009 or so.

 

[IluvXU]

I am interested in reading the responses...

I am also wondering if you pay cash for the intial purchase.... say for 150 points how do you know what your other costs are- dues, etc?

Round about- what else is going to cost me after I buy my points?

 

[disneynutz]

A friend went to DVC presentation recently and came back with some info that got us thinking too. Questions though

IF you buy 160pts at ssr you can use them anywhere, but just can't book as soon? We go in late Sept or Early Dec.

If you have 160 pts can you pay OOP if you don't have quite enough?

If you are a family of 5 (young family) can you sleep comfortably in 1 bdr?

If there is Free Dining offered can you get it at DVC resorts?

Are you considered a FL resident and can you get the tickets at those prices?

Do all of the DVC have kitchens?

Her presentation was for SSR, but should we ask about other properties? When does AKL open and when will they start selling that one?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'd like to hear what owners have to say about all this. We may try to ck out a presentation in Sept. while we are there. Thx

Since DVC is new to you, I would check out the Disney DVC website. There you will find some answers to your questions and you can order the free DVC DVD that has even more information.

 

[chalee94]

I am also wondering if you pay cash for the intial purchase.... say for 150 points how do you know what your other costs are- dues, etc?

Round about- what else is going to cost me after I buy my points?

if you buy from disney, you have to start with a minimum contract of 160 pts. if you buy resale, you can start with whatever size you need.

a history of dues per point at the different resorts is here.

the cost of points (plus closing costs) and the annual dues is all you pay. (well...for DVC. you still have tickets, food, etc...)

 

[LisaS]

IF you buy 160pts at ssr you can use them anywhere, but just can't book as soon? We go in late Sept or Early Dec.

Just so you are aware, early Dec is one of the most popular times for DVC. Most of us who plan to go at that time make our reservations 11 months out. You will need a lot of luck to stay anywhere other than your home resort in early December.

If you are a family of 5 (young family) can you sleep comfortably in 1 bdr?

Only AKV officially allows 5 in a 1BR, (except for the Value 1BRs which only sleep 4). MS has been allowing 5 in a 1BR but that could change at any time. There is no bed for the 5th person, unless they fit in the pack'n'play.

 

[ScottakaMickey]

Since DVC is new to you, I would check out the Disney DVC website. There you will find some answers to your questions and you can order the free DVC DVD that has even more information.

Having recently purchased and have been researching this for many years, I actually watched the DVD the other day. Slow day at work. That said, for me it was more about the fluff and not enough about the substance. I think sites like this and other sites out there are more helpful in digging into the detail questions then the DVD was. It is good to get started.

 

[LBKMAMA]

Thanks for the responses so far. I really wanted to hear from those of you who already have done it.

Can you buy points at AKV now? My friend only mentioned SSR and that was 2 weeks ago.

Is late August/Sept as popular with DVC as December is? As kids get older it will be harder to pull from school.

What is the average fee per year?

I'm getting that if we don't buy enough pts. initially we will need to buy or borrow. You can't really pay the difference?

Thanks

 

[Chuck S]

Thanks for the responses so far. I really wanted to hear from those of you who already have done it.

Can you buy points at AKV now? My friend only mentioned SSR and that was 2 weeks ago.

Yes, AKV is available for purchase...however, most of AKV will not open until 2009, and there may be restrictions on using points before then, unless you are able to purchase one of the completed units.

Is late August/Sept as popular with DVC as December is? As kids get older it will be harder to pull from school.

It depends upon which resort you are talking about. The EPCOT area resorts are popular during Food & Wine Fest, so September through November would be a busy time for them.

What is the average fee per year?

It depends upon how many points you own, the dues, right now, are about $4.25 per point, again, dependig upon which resort you own. Some are less, some are more.

I'm getting that if we don't buy enough pts. initially we will need to buy or borrow. You can't really pay the difference?

Thanks

You can not combine cash and points for any given day, nor can you pay cash to upgrade from a studio to one bedroom, etc. You can make a reservation where some days are points, and other days are cash.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for the responses so far. I really wanted to hear from those of you who already have done it.

Can you buy points at AKV now? My friend only mentioned SSR and that was 2 weeks ago.

Is late August/Sept as popular with DVC as December is? As kids get older it will be harder to pull from school.

What is the average fee per year?

I'm getting that if we don't buy enough pts. initially we will need to buy or borrow. You can't really pay the difference?

Thanks

Yes, AKV is available now. Late August and early September are VERY easy dates to get, because not much else is going on.

Here is the dues history for all the resorts up to the present. The price listed is per point owned, so the more points you own, the more dues you pay. These are maintenance fees. Just like your home, your Disney home needs to be maintained, and these fees cover physical maintenance, management, buses, taxes etc.
Dues from 1991 - 2007

Year OKW BWV VB VB(sub) HH VWL BCV SSR
2007 4.40 4.85 5.63 4.39 4.98 4.73 4.63 4.12
2006 4.24 4.69 5.27 4.12 4.34 4.61 4.48 3.98
2005 3.86 4.41 4.87 3.84 4.04 4.35 4.27 3.83
2004 3.68 4.25 4.67 3.67 3.86 4.22 4.18 3.80
2003 3.49 4.11 4.36 3.45 3.70 4.05 3.97
2002 3.22 3.92 4.17 3.33 3.48 3.80 3.77
2001 3.13 3.82 3.97 2.70 3.32 3.63
2000 3.16 3.94 4.08 2.87 3.25 3.62
1999 3.16 4.02 3.99 2.82 3.18
1998 3.17 3.94 2.76 3.20
1997 3.14 3.84 2.90 3.16
1996 2.99 3.70 2.82 3.16
1995 2.84
1994 2.70
1993 2.63
1992 2.56
1991 2.51

 

[dianeschlicht]

I forgot to mention that the REASON you can't just pay the difference if you don't have enough points, is because the point inventory and the cash inventory are seperate. Cash reservations come from CRO, while point reservations come from DVC.

 

[Tramp68]

With 10% down you can expect to pay about $1.14-$1.16 per point per month with 10 Year Disney Financing. Dues will run about $.35 per month.

Bottom line is ~$1.50 per point per month with 10% down and using the Disney financing for 10 years

 

[crisi]

You can not combine cash and points for any given day, nor can you pay cash to upgrade from a studio to one bedroom, etc. You can make a reservation where some days are points, and other days are cash.

With that all encompasing disclaimer "subject to availability." There may not be cash rooms available when you go. There may be cash rooms available through CRO that you cannot get the DVC discount on. Inventory is a tricky thing, but points rooms are points rooms and can't be sold for cash. Cash rooms come in several different categories - most which cannot be used for points.

Subject to availability is big all the way around here. Disney has sold enough points so that the resorts operate at very high occupancy levels. There are times of year that are less popular (August and September currently are), when there is availability up to pretty much the last minute. There are other times of year where its hard to find availability anywhere less than six or seven months out.

 

[3boys Disdad]

regarding the family of 5 in a 1BR ... we've done it with an air mattress for the 5th and it's no problem. the 2 BR is like living in a house! very comfortable for everyone. even in the 1 BR, it's a lot more space than in a regular room and a little alone time for the adults.

 

[crisi]

regarding the family of 5 in a 1BR ... we've done it with an air mattress for the 5th and it's no problem. the 2 BR is like living in a house! very comfortable for everyone. even in the 1 BR, it's a lot more space than in a regular room and a little alone time for the adults.

I wouldn't develop expectations based on this. I find a two bedroom much more cramped than MY house. At the non-OKW resorts the joke is you can sit on the couch and grab a beer from the fridge - that's an exaggeration, but these are small "apartment" type accomodations. Way better than four people in a studio (the nookie perk is my personal favorite DVC perk) for a week, though.

And while I think the whole "but you'd have FIVE people sharing one bathroom!" discussion sort of laughable (I grew up in a house with five people and one bathroom - ten people including SIX teenage girls for a week every summer when my cousins would visit), the fact remains that for a lot of people the idea of that many people and one bathroom seems frightening (the AKL two bedrooms that sleep five have two bathrooms).

 

[3boys Disdad]

you're right ... "house" was a bit of a stretch, though our 2 BR at OKW probably had more square feet than the 1st floor of my 1st house! the others don't have that same open feel, though. still ... no comparison to a regular hotel room.

5 with one bathroom would be an issue with older kids. ours were young so we had no problem.

 

[Chuck S]

A reminder...if this thread degrades into nothing more than an occupancy thread, it will be closed. I've left it open so far because it encompasses many topics and questions...but occupancy discussion is not allowed on the DVC boards. Such discussions are limited to this thread ONLY: DVC Occupancy Thread