The first (and second and third...)question of many

[haleynskye'smom]

I am very new to DVC. We have ressies for our home at SSR for Jan 15-21 of 2006. I need to know a timeline that I should be doing things. We are considering the annual pass. With a use year of June, we will probably make another trip in 2006 with our new point allotment in June. (is that right? we are using most of our 150 points for the Jan trip but will have new ones in June, right?)
Now, if I order AP early, will they expire a year after I order them or once I get to the parks in Jan? (sorry for such newbie questions, we have always been length of stay package people before DVC) And does the DDE card expire after one year also?
Thanks in advance for your patience. I dont really understand the DDE card fully but I think I have a grasp on it. Is that the best dining option with an AP? We usually eat on property most of our meals. We do plan on bringing breakfasts but we still like to do a character b'fast here and there. We usually plan on 2 meals a day for 4 of us. My children will be 10 and 8 on our next trip.
If you need any more info, let me know. I feel like I am rambling...

 

[dianeschlicht]

You can order the AP voucher at any time, and the clock doesn't start ticking on it until your first visit to the parks. You can order the DDE card with the AP voucher number, so I would have the AP vouchers in hand early enough to order the DDE card by November. That should give you time for the DDE card to arrive. The DDE care will expire about 13 months after it is ordered.

Remember that you can reserve your stays 11 months out at your home resort. That does not mean you have to have that Use Years points already before you reserve.
June use year
June '05 points are available for a STAY June 1 '05 through May 31 '06. You can reserve those stays at 11 months from the check out day, no matter if those points appear to be in your account yet or not. Point accounting is done by use year, but your stays are booked many times before that use year starts.

 

[lllovell]

You need to tell us your use year in order for help on when you will have points and when you will get more.

Annual passes start ticking when you activate them at the parks. So if you don't go until Jan, you passes will get good 365 days from the first day you activate them, so if you go again in 2006, you will get to use them more than once.

The DDE doesn't work the same unfortunately. You should wait until Dec (at the earliest) to order it. It tends to be good for 13 months or so (it is actually a yearly pass, but they give an extra month for processing the card). You can actually wait until the last minute to get your card (either ordering it right before you leave or when you get there if its during normal business hours on a week day only) but you have specific places to pick up the "letter" that goes along with the card. We wanted the most from our cards, so we ordered them to coincide with our first trip this year in March and it worked out perfectly!!

Keep asking questions Everyone here is so helpful when you are new!

 

[haleynskye'smom]

Thanks so much for your answers. We just bought into dvc so our use year starts this June. I was able to reserve our Jan stay with my temp member card. I think I am getting it all and doing a lot of reading. I am sure I will have more questions as it gets closer to our trip "home". Thanks again

 

[tjkraz]

Thanks so much for your answers. We just bought into dvc so our use year starts this June. I was able to reserve our Jan stay with my temp member card. I think I am getting it all and doing a lot of reading. I am sure I will have more questions as it gets closer to our trip "home". Thanks again

Use Year doesn't have any relation to the date on which you purchase. You might want to double-check that Use Year. If you bought a brand new contract at SSR, all of the posts I've read recently indicate that they are currently selling points with a September or December Use Year.