Totally confused up to my Mickey Ears

[marksniles]

Hi everyone! I'm Mark. I'm new here. I've been reading the posts here for the past couple of days and I am totally confused. I am a brand new DVC member. We signed the paper work the first week of July and we're going down on Aug 15th to have the DVC tour with Judy. I bought 155 points. I sold back the points from 2003 so I could get the discount they were having at the time.

Judy told me that I get my new set of points in Feb. 2004. Is this Feb 1st 2004?

The wife and I are both teachers and the only time that we can travel is during the summer months. If we wanted to use our 2004 points that summer - that's only a 7 month window on getting a room. What are the chances we could get something that summer?

OR should I do this: We have an eleven month window to book at our HOME resort. It said from the check out date. So I can call 11 months to the day of the last day of the vacation?

So if I want to skip a vacation in 2004 to insure getting a room can I call in August 2004 for a trip in 2005? Is that right that I would be using 2004 points for a trip in 2005?

Since I get my points in Feb. I have to bank my points by July 31st to bank 100% of them. But since the trip isn't until July 2005 I can't make the reservation until Aug. 2004. What if I need more points. What happens to those banked points?

I'm hoping I didn't make a huge mistake in getting a DVC membership. PLEASE help put my mind to ease!!

Thanks,
Mark

 

[lurontravel]

Mark,
Just a quick answer, no, you did not make a mistake (not even a small one) in buying DVC.

Just b/c you sold back your first years' worth of points does not mean that you cannot book until you get your next set of points, it just means that you cannot STAY (unless you borrow next years points this year) on next years points until they become available. Your points are only able to be used during the year that they are issued, unless you bank them, in which case you cannot use them until the following year, or unless you borrow them, meaning you MUST use them during that year. You do not use the points until your actual stay.

This means that you can book at your home resort at the 11 month window (or at any other resort at the 7 month window), as long as you'll have the points in your account at the time of your stay.

Hope this explains it with out getting you more confused, and by the way, WELCOME HOME!

 

[marksniles]

So my 2004 points that I get in Feb 2004 have to be used in 2004. They have to be used by Dec. 31, 2004? Then what's the point of the 11 month window to make reservations because unless you get your points in December - the 11 month window overlaps 2 years?

 

[Deb & Bill]

The points you get on Feb 1, 2004 need to be used by Jan 31, 2005. Or you can bank 100% of them by July 31. You can make a reservation 11 months out. So if you want to make a reservation for Aug 2004, you can make one now for your home resort, or you can make one in February for August at a different resort. If you want to make a big reservation before you get your Feb 2005 points, you can borrow those points in your 2004 use year to make a reservation during your 2004 use year.

You will be glad you did this. Take a deep breath, breathe in and out slowly. Everything will be fine.

Any points you don't use in your use year (from Feb 1 until Jan 31), you either need to bank or rent. (Wait, forget I said rent, that's even more confusing.)

 

[Lesley]

Your use year (when your points are filled each year, which for you is Feb. 1st) has nothing to do with when you can book your room. You can book your room at 11months from your check out date....providing enough points will be in your account at the time of your stay to cover the stay. So if you want to go to WDW next August...you could call now and make the reservation (as long as you have a member number). The reservation would use the points that will go into your account on Feb. 1st 2004....and if your reservation needs more than 155 points, the remainder of the points will be borrowed from your 2005 allotment of points.

You could also book a trip for some time prior to Feb. 2004 by borrowing those points into this use year. Your 2003 use year goes from Feb. 1st 2003 to Jan. 31st 2004. So if you wanted to go to WDW for Christmas or New Years' this year....you could book it now (pending availability) and the points would come out of your 2004 allotment.

Does that help? Booking windows and use years are completely independent of one another.

Oh and your Feb. 2004 points do not need to be used until Jan 31st 2005.....but if you aren't going to use all of them by then, be sure to bank the remainder into the following year by the cutoff date. You can bank all your points into the following year by the end of June in the current year (? I think...basing my guess on my March use year....) and then it goes down from there to where once Dec. rolls around the points can no longer be banked....so to make sure you don't lose points you want to make sure you're banking your leftovers (like putting them in the fridge so you can have them later....lol)

 

[followme2disney]

Mark -

I can remember being just as confused as you when I first starting looking into buying. Keep reading these boards and you'll get more information than you can imagine. You can also search for information on banking, borrowing and room reservations.

I also don't think you will have any trouble booking a vacation for 2004 if you choose to. I was worried about availibility of rooms also and had no difficulty at all making a reservation - at the five month mark for the exact location and time I wanted in December.

I purchased in May and after about a month of worrying realize this was the best decision I ever made!

 

[Caskbill]

Mark, remember, your use year has absolutely nothing to do with a typical calendar year. It's easier to make yourself a little chart. You receive your new allotment of points on February 1st of each year, and these points are good for a vacation during the next 12 months.

For a February use year, your chart would look like this:

Year....POINTS....Vacation dates
2003.....155.....Feb 1, 2003 through Jan 31, 2004
2004.....155.....Feb 1, 2004 through Jan 31, 2005
2005.....155.....Feb 1, 2005 through Jan 31, 2006
2006.....155.....Feb 1, 2006 through Jan 31, 2007
2007.....155.....Feb 1, 2007 through Jan 31, 2008
2008.....155.....Feb 1, 2008 through Jan 31, 2009

and so on.

Points designated as 2003 are points assigned to the vacation dates Feb 1, 2003 through Jan 31, 2004.

When making reservations at either the 11-month or the 7-month window, it only matters that you will have points available for vacation at the time it is to be taken. You do not have to have the points in your account at the time you make the reservation.

So, if you want to take a vacation in say in July 2004, checking out on example July 10th, then you would call next month on Aug 10th, 2003 (your 11-month window for a home resort) or you would call Dec 10th 2003 (your 7-month window if you're going to a resort that is not your home resort).

Since the vacation is in July 2004, that is within your 2004 use year (Feb 1, 2004 through Jan 31, 2005), so it would require 2004 points. Since you will be receiving points on Feb 1, 2004 then those points would be used for that vacation. Remember, that when you make the reservation, it's only necessary that points WILL be in your account for the time of the vacation itself. They don't have to be there when you call to make the reservation. So if you wanted to take a July 2004 vacation, at your home resort, you would be calling MS just about 2-weeks from today. The CM would make the reservation using your upcoming 2004 use year points.

Finally you may bank points from any one year into the following year, or you may borrow points from any year into the preceeding year. You gave back your 2003 points for MB so you don't have any of those. You can bank your 155 2004 points into 2005 if you want. Those points would then be used for a vacation sometime between Feb 1, 2005 and Jan 31, 2006. Remember you will still receive 155 points on Feb 1, 2005 so if you banked your 2004 points also, then you would have 310 points available to use during use year 2005 (Feb 1, 2005 through Jan 31, 2006).

If you wanted to take a vacation during your 2005 use year, it would require 2005 year points. (Note that year 2005 points can consist of any of the following, or combination thereof: 1) Banked 2004 points, 2) Normal 2005 points, or 3) Borrowed 2006 points).

You may bank points anytime, subject to banking deadlines which it sounds like you already understand.

You may only borrow points when you make a reservation, and at that time, you may only borrow the quantity of points needed to complete the reservation. Use again our July 2004 vacation. Suppose it required 200 points. At your home resort, you still call in August 2003 to make the reservation. The CM will use all 155 of your 2004 points, and would borrow 45 of your 2005 year points.

You go and have a wonderful vacation in July 2004.

On Feb 1, 2005 you receive your new allotment of points: 110 points total (155 minus the 45 you borrowed and used in 2004)

Opposite scenario: You reserve your July 2004 vacation on Aug 10, 2003 but the vacation only requires 125 points. Therefore you bank the remaining 30 points.

You go and have a wonderful vacation in July 2004.

On Feb 1, 2005 you receive your new allotment of points: You get 185 total (155 plus the 30 that were banked)

Keep in mind that while the 155 points here could be banked into 2006, the 30 points cannot. Points can only be banked from one year to the next and not again into suceeding years. In this example you would have to use those 30 points sometime in 2005 (Feb 1, 2005 through Jan 31, 2006), or you would lose them.

Again, let me reinforce: Do not confuse Use Year with a Calendar Year (Jan 1 through Dec 31). They are not the same thing.


I presume you purchased from Disney. If you did then you are able to make reservations even before your contract closes. If you purchased resale, then you must wait until the contract closes before you can make your first reservation

Hope this helps.

 

[Caskbill]

Another note: A couple of the posters above stated that if you want to take a vacation in August 2004, that you could call today to make the reservation.

Actually, August 2004 is more than 12 months away. For an August 2004 vacation you would call in September 2003 (11-months) to make your reservation.

I think the above posters just got confused because July and August are adjacent months. They are, but August 23, 2004 is 13 months from today's date, not 11 months.

 

[KathyR]

Judy told me that I get my new set of points in Feb. 2004. Is this Feb 1st 2004?

Yes, that is Feb 1st 2004

If we wanted to use our 2004 points that summer - that's only a 7 month window on getting a room. What are the chances we could get something that summer?

You still have the 11 month window to make your reservation. All you need to have is your points available at the time of your stay. Say you want August of 2004. You can book in Sept of this year (11 months from check out) even though you have no points at the moment. They will draw on your 2004 points to make the reservation, and they will borrow 2005 points if necessary to complete it. It only matters that when August 2004 comes around that you would have points available (yours come in Feb 2004 so you are fine for August 2004).
You could also borrow those 2004 points for a stay in Feb-dec 2003 and Jan 2004 if need be.
Or, you could bank them by your banking deadline and use them for Feb-Dec 2005 and Jan 2006. Whatever use year the points are in is when they have to be used or banked. Borrowed points can't be banked, so they must be used in the use year to which they have been borrowed to, or they will expire.
Use year determines when you get your points, when you can bank them by and when unused points expire.

We have an eleven month window to book at our HOME resort. It said from the check out date. So I can call 11 months to the day of the last day of the vacation?

You would book at your home resort 11 months from your check out date, but you also have the option of switching that reservation 7 months from check out to any of the other DVC properties based on availablity of course

So if I want to skip a vacation in 2004 to insure getting a room can I call in August 2004 for a trip in 2005? Is that right that I would be using 2004 points for a trip in 2005?

Yes, that is correct.
You would first bank your points by the deadline banking month in 2004. Then you would call 11 months from your check out date and make your reservation like normal using the banked points first and complete it with your 2005 points. This way you would have the option of banking any unused 2005 points, so you don't lose them.
Points can only be banked one year ahead, so those 2004 banked into 2005 points expire on Jan 31, 2006 whether used or not. This is why you use them first. The leftover 2005 points could be banked ahead to 2006 if you do not use them all.
You would also have the option to borrow some or all of your 2006 points for this reservation if need be, but once borrowed they stay in the borrowed use year and would then expire no matter what on Jan 31, 2006.

Since I get my points in Feb. I have to bank my points by July 31st to bank 100% of them. But since the trip isn't until July 2005 I can't make the reservation until Aug. 2004. What if I need more points. What happens to those banked points?

I think I covered this above, but if you need more clarification please post a question

I'm hoping I didn't make a huge mistake in getting a DVC membership. PLEASE help put my mind to ease!!

I don't think you made a mistake. It just takes some time to get all of the details down, and once you do, it is so easy! We were all in your shoes when we first joined It gets better! Trust me!!! Of course, when you take that first trip, you will understand that you didn't make any mistake at all!

Don't hesitate to ask for more info. We are all happy to help

By the way Welcome Home
And out of curiosity, which resort did you purchase?

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I can also answer that last one--NO you didn't make a mistake! I'm a teacher and we vacation in summer as well. We have 160 points at BWV and 175 at VWL. We have stayed at both and also done a Wonder cruise. Our next DVC vacation will be 2005 as we are cruising with family next year. We plan to alternate one year at BWV with one year at VWL--or maybe try OKW or BCV sometime. You will really enjoy knowing your accomodations are paid for, and saving more money by having some meals in your room!
Robin M.

 

[gracelrm]

Marc,
DH and I are both teachers too! We have a Feb. use year and vacation in the summer as well. Everything works out fine and you'll never regret joining DVC if you love Disney Vacations! Congratulations on your purchase and "Welcome Home".

 

[tinkgrl]

Marc,

I just wanted to say welcome home & have fun!! Relax!!!!

Allison

 

[MikeScott8]

since it appears you got most of your questions answered already (with many fine answers BTW), I will add just one thing.

WELCOME HOME!!!

Mike

 

[natcam1996]

Mark,

First, I wanted to say "Welcome Home". If you like being at WDW you will not regret joining DVC. When you do the DVC tour with Judy in August, I think you'll be convinced of that. We had many of the same questions you did when we joined. A couple of things I would suggest. If Judy is your guide, prepare a list of questions and followup questions and review all of them with her. In addition, while this forum gives you a tremendous amount of information based on practical experience, there are other sources of information. The is a FAQ on this forum, some information on the Deb Wills website:

http://www.wdwig.com/dvc.htm

and the Official Disney DVC website:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/parksandmore/parkindex?id=PMDisneyVacationClub

I think you need to be offically recorded as an owner before you're supposed to have the logon information for the member part of that website. It has a FAQ and a Member Guide there. Lastly, if you discover you've really made a mistake, you have 30 days to back out. That may have been mentioned above but I really didn't read through all the posts (sorry Guys). I'm assuming that your August stay is non-DVC.

We'll be at WDW 08/15-08/22 at OKW. I hope for both of us we have great weather.

 

[jekjones1558]

WELCOME HOME! from another teacher who was once overwhelmed like you. This forum is invaluable as a learning tool. You'll be glad that you discovered it. Everyone is patient and SO helpful!

 

[marksniles]

Thank you all for the great info!! I think I finally understand everything. Thanks again!

Mark