Taking the DVC tour????

[whodatdare]

Hi guys,

What are the pros and cons of taking the DVC tour? We're going down a day early and haven't planned anything to do. I am trying to talk the wifey into doing the DVC tour, but we've done a high pressure tour with Wyndham in the past, and she's really not interested. So, how long is the tour? Is it high pressure? Any other reasons we should do it (Free disney pin or something??)? Do you need to call in advance to set your time?

Any advice would be great. We leave Sunday!

 

[disneynutz]

The sales presentation takes a couple of hours, you might get a Disney gift card for your time. Not high pressured but Disney uses a lot of mental tools to make the sale and some sales people have been known to bend the truth.

It's a start if you are looking to buy, be careful they do such a good job, many who never intended to buy have walked away as owners.

You can call for an appointment or contact the DVC ASA at your resort.

Bill

 

[Leveretttltl]

We scheduled our tour with one of the DVC people in Epcot. A van picked us up from our resort and took us to Saratoga Springs. The presentation and tour took about 2 hours. There was an option for babysitting services for our daughter, but she wanted to stay with us. We were offered ice cream at the end, but had lunch reservations so there was no time. The DVC van took us straight to Downtown Disney for our reservations. We were given the choice of 3 fastpasses or a $50 gift card (I think). Anyway, we took the gift card. Our salesperson was a little pushy and honestly almost creepy and my husband did not care for him at all. My husband has since spoken with a couple of other agents that were much easier to work with that did not make us feel so pressured.

 

[robndani]

Ours took around 2 hours, but that included us making the deal and doing the paperwork. We got 5 or 6 fast passes good for any ride, but we were leaving that day, so we had to give them away to a stranger. Good luck!

 

[Safari Queen]

Two hours is right. No pushing, no creepiness. That's supposed to be the rule, but I guess some guides have their own style. Got ice cream and coupons for free CS meals. Very different than most time share experiences.

 

[MinnieMouse100]

Sounds like everyone only tours Saratoga. We own at SSR and are considering an add on when poly goes for sale. I was hoping we could tour poly on our upcoming nov trip. Has anyone ever requested a tour of a specific resort ?

 

[Tunseeker1]

I was just at disney 2 weeks ago so I went and did tours!

I have done the tour at saratoga and didn't get the sales pitch, not too bad but I drove over and told them I wanted to see the models, I didn't get anything for looking at models but it only took like 20 mins.

We stayed at Bay lake and they have a model on the first floor that you can tour with no sales force.
We stopped by the grand floridian and they have a model on the first floor we toured, also no sales force on property.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

We scheduled our tour with one of the DVC people in Epcot. A van picked us up from our resort and took us to Saratoga Springs. The presentation and tour took about 2 hours. There was an option for babysitting services for our daughter, but she wanted to stay with us. We were offered ice cream at the end, but had lunch reservations so there was no time. The DVC van took us straight to Downtown Disney for our reservations. We were given the choice of 3 fastpasses or a $50 gift card (I think). Anyway, we took the gift card. Our salesperson was a little pushy and honestly almost creepy and my husband did not care for him at all. My husband has since spoken with a couple of other agents that were much easier to work with that did not make us feel so pressured.

There are many sales people, but I kinda get the feeling you and I had the same person!! Ours was just horrible. Horrible in a way that my skin was crawling and I almost pulled my husband aside a few times to say "get me out of here NOW".

I'm pretty thick skinned, but this guy really got to me. He said so many off handed comments then questioned us about our ethnicity and why our kids have Asiatic names. It was all so weird.

I couldn't focus on much of the tour and didn't hear most of what he said after that. I was debating on asking the satisfaction department if we could redo a tour in the future and ask for a friendly salesperson.

 

[chalee94]

Sounds like everyone only tours Saratoga. We own at SSR and are considering an add on when poly goes for sale. I was hoping we could tour poly on our upcoming nov trip. Has anyone ever requested a tour of a specific resort ?

the sales office is at SSR. that is why people go take the tour at SSR - that is where the model villas are.

DVC will not take you on a tour of a sold-out resort but it is possible (subject to the front desk staff having enough time to help you) if you ask the front desk to show you an empty villa or whatever. but if they are busy or don't have a room to show you, then you are out of luck as it is not an official process.

also, DVC members typically don't take a "tour." generally, they make the models available to us in more of an "open house" format (usually at certain times of day) since they figure we already understand the basics of how the program works. (but this does change from time to time - just talk to the kiosk staff and let them know you are currently a member and want to see the poly models when they start selling the poly...depending on whether the poly has a model onsite like BLT and VGF.)

 

[GAVSMOMS]

I went on the tour last summer. Each of us got 3 fast passes and an ice cream for going. Our sales guy pissed us off so much I had to go back and tell the guy that signed us up(which we loved him). The tour guy made comments about if you can afford it. He was a creep.
Got a call from the manager and was assigned to another sales person.
Other sakes people seemed much nicer.

 

[ohionola]

We are in the process of buying a resale but would love to go on the tour to see everything first hand. Will dinsey allow this or do I just not tell them? They would have already received the contract view rofr before the tour.

 

[chalee94]

We are in the process of buying a resale but would love to go on the tour to see everything first hand. Will dinsey allow this or do I just not tell them? They would have already received the contract view rofr before the tour.

as i said above, let someone at a kiosk know that you are an owner but would like to see the models. they will let you know the protocol.

also, you can stop by the boardwalk model at the BWV anytime you like (well, before it closes in the evenings).

 

[ohionola]

as i said above, let someone at a kiosk know that you are an owner but would like to see the models. they will let you know the protocol. also, you can stop by the boardwalk model at the BWV anytime you like (well, before it closes in the evenings).

I am not technically an owner yet and would like to hear all the ins and outs of ownership. Yes I have researched and know a lot of it but my wife doesn't and I am sure there are some things I don't know about.

 

[chalee94]

I am not technically an owner yet and would like to hear all the ins and outs of ownership. Yes I have researched and know a lot of it but my wife doesn't and I am sure there are some things I don't know about.

frankly, it's better to learn here. DVC has the least pushy and the most honest salespeople in the industry, but there is still a lot of misinformation that gets spread during the tours. (that "resale buyers cannot trade out of the system" through RCI for other timeshares seems to be the most common fib right now.)

the "guides" are not guides at all, they are salespeople who only get paid if you buy direct. i would feel like i was wasting a guide's time to ask them about how the program works. but they may have changed their minds since the last open house i went to a few years ago and would be happy to sell to you as an owner...just talk to the kiosk staff and they should be able to tell you what to do.

 

[GTScott]

New guy chiming in...
We did the tour 5 years ago and saw the models at Saratoga. We we're down last week and, on a whim, decided to do the tour again at boardwalk. I point blank told the salesman I had specific simple questions. He agreed and did nothing more than answer my questions that we were left with 5 years ago. Very professional.

We closed yesterday at VGF. I am now trying to figure if I should add some more points in (I have a few days to add in) and am using the resources here to make that determination.

Our first tour took 3 hours. We got a picture, paper fast passes, and ice cream. This last time, the "tour" talk was an hour. We got a 50 gift card and 3 of the use anywhere, anytime fast passes added to our mB.

 

[disneynutz]

New guy chiming in...
We did the tour 5 years ago and saw the models at Saratoga. We we're down last week and, on a whim, decided to do the tour again at boardwalk. I point blank told the salesman I had specific simple questions. He agreed and did nothing more than answer my questions that we were left with 5 years ago. Very professional.

We closed yesterday at VGF. I am now trying to figure if I should add some more points in (I have a few days to add in) and am using the resources here to make that determination.

Our first tour took 3 hours. We got a picture, paper fast passes, and ice cream. This last time, the "tour" talk was an hour. We got a 50 gift card and 3 of the use anywhere, anytime fast passes added to our mB.

Did you want to buy VGF or is that what was sold to you?

All DVC resorts are available for sale direct from Disney and at a discount from resale brokers. The Guides don't usually tell you this because they are told to push certain resorts.

Bill

 

[GTScott]

We wanted VGF or Animal Kingdom. It was a toss up and we went VGF.

Not to get off subject, but 5 years ago when we were soooo close to buying, I recalled the Bay Lake numbers at 92-95 a point from disney. Trust me, there was some regret on my part that I had not yet bought in.

 

[disBOBney]

Sounds like everyone only tours Saratoga. We own at SSR and are considering an add on when poly goes for sale. I was hoping we could tour poly on our upcoming nov trip. Has anyone ever requested a tour of a specific resort ?

The tours are conducted primarily at SSR, but can also be at BLT or BWV. The reason for SSR is they have rooms set-up reflecting the various other resorts. so you not only get to see SSR but also Aulani, GFV, etc.


As for me and my first tour, not only were they not pushy, I had to be a bit pushy to buy. I think the guide thought we weren't interested as I am single and the married couple I was with weren't interested in purchasing. The fast passes we received made up for the lost time in the park. The last time I was on a tour was with my sister, and they gave us a $100 gift card that we used for dinner at LaCellier, Thank You DVC.

BTW you should try to do a tour near the beginning of your stay so that if you do buy, you can change your room to your new DVC room and save from what you were paying for your original accommodations.