Thinking of DVC- A few questions

[KristiT]

I am considering buying DVC, but I have a few questions before I call Disney and get serious. I hope you will be able to help.

1. Can you reserve 2 studio rooms at once if you have the points to do so?

2. Do you have to use your points every year or can they be carried over to use with next years points? Is there as time limit on how long the points are good for?

3. If you reserve at your home resort at 11 months, can you switch to another at 7 months without any type of penalty?

4. If you need to change the reservations at your home resort from May to November, would there be any penalty?

5. Do you have to cancel reservations by a certain time to not loose your points?

6. About how much does the maintance fee go up each year? It seems affordable now, but I'm thinking of 20-30 years down the road.

7. We almost always go in May. Will it be difficult to get a reservation for a studio to try a different DVC than our home one?

Sorry so many questions. I just want to know all the facts before I make a decision. Thanks.

 

[gonzalj1]

KrisiT,

I'll give this a shot.

1- You can reserve as many rooms as you like providing you have the points available.

2- You can bank your points into the following use year. There are provisions as to what percentage of your points can be banked. You can bank 100% of you current points within the first few months. You can only bank one year ahead and can only bank one years worth of points at a time. You can borrow points from your upcoming use year and have at most 3 years worth of points available using the banking and borrowing rules.

3- There is no penalty for switching resorts at the 7 month window. This only applies to Disney resorts. If you were booking at an external exchange (II) then the rules are different and perhaps someone else can help answer.

4- Changing you reservation would not normally incur a penalty but your use year will make a huge difference here as will when you cancel. If you cancel within 31 days of your reservation than the points go into a special holding account that can only be used to make reservations no more than 60 days in advance and these ppoints cannot be banked. If you are towards the end of your use year then you will most likely lose the points as you are unable to bank points in the last 3 months (I believe) of your use year.

5- Reservations must be canceled 31 days or more out or the points go into a holding account. If you cancel on the day that your stay is to begin you forfeit the points.

6- Maintanence fees rise on average 3-5% a year. In some years at some resorts fees have actually gone down. Florida law caps the amount of increase at 15%. Disney has done a great job in my opinion of keeping fees down while not sacraficing upkeep on the resorts.

7- Depends on where you want to stay. Boardwalk standard view can be very difficult to get at any time of year at the 7 month window as can Hilton Head during the summer months. As long as you can remain flexible as to the resort or dates of your stay you should have no problem.

What my family and I do is we book our home resort at the 7 11 month window and switch to the resort we really want to stay at at 7 months. This was if the resort we were hoping for is bookes we still have the dates we wanted at our home. This guarantees our vacation dates so we can start shopping for airfare.

Anyway, hoped I helped and didn't add too much confusion. Any other questions feel free to ask here. You've got some of the nicest and most knowledgable people about DVC at your disposal.

 

[yesdisneyfool]

Originally posted by gonzalj1
KrisiT,
I'll give this a shot.

Bulls eye gonzalj1.

 

[caverill]

Excellent reply to your questions...just a couple of other thoughts.

Depending on your ability to schedule vacations in advance and how often those plans change, will effect how well DVC works for you. DVC is really great for people who like to plan at least 8 months in advance (11 is better) and prefer to stay in a deluxe hotel.

Use year might make a difference, if you tend to change your plans alot.

As stated above Maintenance fees can increase up to 15%, but they also have to be "valid" maintenance. Disney can't just increase the fees to make a profit. I also agree that Disney does a great job of keeping DVC up. Disney has also be very active in getting the contractor to fix their problems.

 

[erikthewise]

1. Having two studios at the same resort is fine. Having studios in two different resorts on the same dates under the same name may be OK, or not. I don't know if DVC permits that kind of double-booking.

4, 7. If you get serious about DVC you will want to have some understanding of "use year". Feel free to ask when the time comes. (DebbieB is especially good at explaining those issues.) Generally speaking it's good to have a use year that begins shortly before your standard vacation time.

6. I would not project that 3-5% annual increase out very far. I think it's very possible that annual fees never go above $5/point, if that high.

 

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by erikthewise
1. Having two studios at the same resort is fine. Having studios in two different resorts on the same dates under the same name may be OK, or not. I don't know if DVC permits that kind of double-booking.

There's no restriction. If you've got the points and are within the window, you can book as many rooms in as many resorts as you'd like. So it's not considered double booking, because it uses double points.

 

[DebbieB]

7. We almost always go in May. Will it be difficult to get a reservation for a studio to try a different DVC than our home one?

I own at Boardwalk but stay at OKW in a 1 bedroom in early/mid May. Never have had a problem at 7 months. I usually call the first day and ask what availability looks like and they always say it's wide open.

 

[Beth]

Jimbo's correct.

We've been at OKW with family staying at Vero simultaneously.

 

[AmieeLynne]

I have a few questions too, if you guys can help. I am new to the boards and all that is Disney...actually my first trip ever to WDW isn't for another couple months!! But I sent away for info about DVC and am really interested in this because I see this being a regular vacation at least every 2 years for many years to come. The question I have is probably a common sense one but, you have to buy 150 points min at closing -- that's the big lump 12,000 -- but what about points every year after that? No where in all the paperwork Disney sent does it describe about this. Do they then GIVE you points every year as you are paying the maint fees? I think this is what is implied/assumed -- but I don't want to make a mistake and not know for sure. Please face away from the comp as you laugh and attempt to type a response Thanks

 

[Caskbill]

AmieeLynn:

You purchase the points one time only. After that you receive a yearly allocation of points.

Buy 150 points now, and receive 150 points to 'spend' every year for the next 40 years, paying only the annual maintenance fees on those points, which currently vary from about $3.20 to $3.80 per point, depending upon resort purchased.

 

[AmieeLynne]

Thank you very much....that's what I thought but wasn't 100% sure. I do remember them telling me that all resorts but one were sold, I am thinking it would be the new BCV that is for sale now right? do you know? If I buy into the BCV but really would prefer staying at OKW most of the time, are there disadvantages? like it costing more points to stay at site different than your home resort?

 

[Lisa P.]

If I buy into the BCV but really would prefer staying at OKW most of the time, are there disadvantages? like it costing more points to stay at site different than your home resort?

It would not cost more points but the points you buy may carry higher maint fees each year. It happens that OKW has lower fees and if it's your favored resort, buying there would also cost you less over the long haul.

Also, you are able to book earlier at your home resort than at the other DVC properties. It can be very difficult (or sometimes impossible) to book certain major holidays or a 3BR Grand Villa at a resort other than your home resort. These can book up by home resort members before the 7-month open booking window begins. Same thing can happen with lowest point-saver periods (like early December) and prime summer on HHI. OKW is a large resort so less likely to get fully booked but it's best to own where you will prefer to stay most often, especially if you are able to plan early.

 

[Richyams]

You can buy at any resort you want. There is a very active resale market. One reseller, who we have heard nothing but praise about, advertises on this board. here are several others also.

A resale can save you money up front, the only drawbacks to a resale are that you pay closing costs, $400-500, you don't close quite as fast, you have to arrange your own financing and you may get a kooky seller who decides not to sell at the last minute.

 

[Richyams]

I also think that OKW is a great choice, most of the smartest DVCers own at OKW.