Tough time deciding on first Use Year

[MicheyMouse]

I'm torn trying to select our first Use Year. I am considering options that would allow us to take advantage of Magical Beginnings but still get points before the end of this year, like with a September contract.

Our primary planned travel times can be either the first two weeks of May or September with an occasional December trip. I say that hesitantly because we have taken a couple short notice July trips with under 2 months notice.

I originally wanted an April Use Year since Dec. 1 to March 31 would be the least risky for banking with the Nov. 30 deadline. Ideally we would know by then if our December trips are at risk, absent some emergency.

Most likely factors that could potentially cause a cancellation other than an emergency situation, would be a September hurricane or an early winter storm - both somewhat rare.

Now, I really just do not know. We are not bound to any school schedules and will not be restricted by anything like that. Ideally summers would be at home due to the short season but those plans never seem to hold once the itch to go somewhere starts.

Anyone else have similar travel patterns? If so, which Use Year has worked out for you?


My current thought process is:

Buy Direct with a September Use Year, sell back 2024 points, borrow from 2025 for a July Welcome Home trip for a couple days if there is some availability then book another trip for the balance of my points by next summer.

 

[Brian Noble]

I am considering options that would allow us to take advantage of Magical Beginnings but still get points before the end of this year, like with a September contract.

I would not let this drive my decision. Your UY is yours for many many years---MB is just one year's worth of value. Yes, the rebate does help, but it does not help enough to get the wrong UY.

In thinking about UY, it is helpful to remember that there are really three "risky" months---months 10, 11, and 12 of the UY. The banking deadline is four months prior, but to avoid holding, you need to cancel at least 31 days prior to check-in. That means even a reservation in month 9 is okay, because you have to cancel it during month 8, and can still bank it.

If your trips generally happen between May and December, September is just not ideal. The risky months for September are June, July, and August. If you want to retain the ability to take a spontaneous trip in the summer, that's not great. April would be much better. Yes, that means you either (a) don't use MB or (b) don't have points to spend until April of '26. Either way, you probably are not taking a trip in May-December of '25, because those dates are pretty well booked at this point. So, maybe it is okay to sell the April '25 points back to Disney? What's more, this means you could potentially wait a whie to make the purchase, allowing you to save a little more and/or earn a little interest on the money.

 

[MsChristy12]

We have similar travel times. We like going in May primarily and once in awhile in December. I have April and February UY. I didn't want Feb but those are my BLT contracts and Feb is the easiest to do add-ons. April is nearly impossible, I tried waiting for them and I gave up so that's how I ended up with Feb. We also don't have any restrictions on travel times, anytime of the year works for us but we generally avoid June - Sept because of the weather.

In hindsight though, I think I should have gotten October because we wouldn't mind traveling in February either if we wanted to get away from the cold at home. Our last trip was end of Feb - early March, weather wise it was nice not too hot. The only thing is point charts is a bit higher, so at the end, we still prefer May. But October UY for BLT is also harder to come by. In your case though, I agreed w/ Brian that April would be better for you.

 

[minniesfriend]

We always travel the first week in May and first week in Dec. and have an April UY.

This past year was the first year we had to put points into holding/missed the banking deadline, but we still had 3.5 months left of good weather before the points expired. So we ended up choosing a weekend in early March, and at 60 days out grabbed SSR. If needed, we would have tried to rent, but it worked out.

Like MsChristy, I sometimes think an October UY might have been a better option. But if I ever need/want to travel during the summer, it leaves me outside of the banking window and forces me to travel during the hottest months of the year if plans fall through.

The April UY allows us to travel in the summer with the flexibility of the points. We don't normally take long trips to WDW in the summer due to the heat, but this year we booked a 5 day stay at a FW cabin during the July 4th week to change things up. If something falls through, I still have plenty of time to use/bank those points.

And to Brian's point, MB is for one year's points. We've taken advantage of it, but remember you still have to pay dues on those points. It's kind of a bummer to buy DVC, pay the dues, no points, and then have to borrow some of next year's. So it's a trade off that's over once it's done and you're left with the UY (and, if you borrow, a point deficit which causes addonitis.....just sayin').