Toying with the idea of taking a DVC tour...what should we know?

[chiisai]

I am in the same position as OP as thinking about the tour on our upcoming May trip. I just finished the phone tour on Monday. The CM on phone said only resorts were Aulani, Poly, and Copper Creek. She said they were all the same price at $176 and that minimum points to buy were 100. That seems a little different than the preliminary research I have done so far (and even as stated above). If I could buy 50 points direct from Disney for BLT I would probably do it. Is that something Disney would even consider for a first time buyer? Is it worth doing the tour and asking?

I was also recently told by Disney that minimum buy in (for non-members) was 100 points.I only asked about Copper Creek. I'd be interested if you are able to get something under 100.

 

[Little E]

This is all really helpful information. Thank you so much!

Now, I need to figure out use year. I know this is not quite the topic I posted in my original thread, but it's something I've been wrestling with. If any Dis friends have advice, I'd love your thoughts. We have taken family trips in January, February, March, May, and our next trip will be in June. DH and I did a quick no kid trip this past November too. My kids are middle school and high school ages, and we are trying to avoid pulling them out of school, which is why we're giving June a try this year. However, we are a little concerned with heat and crowds, so we don't know if we'll want to continue with summer trips in the future.

So, I really have no idea what use year I should seek, if we ever decide to pull the trigger. How do others determine their use year? Is there a good rule of thumb to follow? If I need to post a separate thread about this, I'm glad to, but I thought I would throw this in, as it's something that I'm sure will come up if we take a DVC tour.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I am in the same position as OP as thinking about the tour on our upcoming May trip. I just finished the phone tour on Monday. The CM on phone said only resorts were Aulani, Poly, and Copper Creek. She said they were all the same price at $176 and that minimum points to buy were 100. That seems a little different than the preliminary research I have done so far (and even as stated above). If I could buy 50 points direct from Disney for BLT I would probably do it. Is that something Disney would even consider for a first time buyer? Is it worth doing the tour and asking?

I was able to buy into the poly as a first time owner at 70 points last May.

 

[kboo]

One way would be to figure out the 3-4 months you are most UNlikely to travel and pick the month just after that stretch. We also don't want to take our kid out of school, and we like to ski in the winter (or at least have that option). Plus 3 out of 4 people in our family have summer birthdays. So... We figured we are most likely to travel to WDW for April break and in the summer, with possibly President's week here and there. So a Feb UY made the most sense for us. That said, the contract we bought has some Feb 2017 points that we're going to have to bank and use before Feb 2019, so now we are planning a trip over Thanksgiving 2018 right before our youngest turns 3. Which is sort of the worst time to use Feb UY points, but I figure if we have to cancel our trip for some reason after the time to bank 2018 points has passed (9/30/18) we will just try to rent the reservation.

NYC schools also have a few short breaks in the fall, so we decided that if we ultimately end up wanting to travel some in the fall too, that we would buy a different UY and a different home resort to cover some of those trips - so we also kept our initial purchase this time smaller with the possibility of buying another contract. hope this helps!

 

[wnielsen1]

The minimum buy in for new members is 75 at Copper Creek. I could have bought in at that and went with 100 instead (2 contracts @ 50)

 

[chiisai]

The minimum buy in for new members is 75 at Copper Creek. I could have bought in at that and went with 100 instead (2 contracts @ 50)

I tried that, they told me I had to buy 100. I'll call back.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Just a note, we were staying off property when we did our tour.

We had actually traveled down to Orlando, for Disney, but for another timeshare. We knew we didn't want that timeshare, but we had been thinking about DVC. They actually picked up at our offsite hotel and dropped us back. It was pretty funny.

 

[ELMC]

The minimum buy in for new members is 75 at Copper Creek. I could have bought in at that and went with 100 instead (2 contracts @ 50)

Yeah, Copper Creek is going to be a different story. It's brand new and the shine is still on it. They're not likely to make any considerations there.

 

[DenLo]

I'd ask why Copper Creek's, the new resort, maintenance fees are set so high.
Realize that while your annual out of pocket cost to vacation at WDW goes down once you own DVC, it still costs to use those points. There's travel costs to get there. Annual maintenace fees whether you go or not. And the ever increasing cost of tickets and dinning.

Because they are estimating the property taxes to be real high.

Keep in mind Reedy Creek needs those taxes to pay for all that road work that started around Disney Springs and has moved up towards MK. I doubt they qualify for state or federal monies since they are private entity.

 

[disneynutz]

Because they are estimating the property taxes to be real high.

Keep in mind Reedy Creek needs those taxes to pay for all that road work that started around Disney Springs and has moved up towards MK. I doubt they qualify for state or federal monies since they are private entity.

I don't think that they are considered private, knowing Disney they have put in place what's required to receive funding from the State and Feds. I know that they also collect and receive sales tax revenue for anything sold in their jurisdiction.

Bill

 

[jayfo]

I keep toying with the idea of buying into Poly and I know if I go on a tour I'll be suckered in. I'm a wallet wuss for a good, shiny sales pitch. So I just stay away and do my research from afar.
My hesitation is booking the actual resort itself. I'd hate to buy and then come to find out nothing is available when I go to book. I live in FL so last minute trips are not out of the question.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

I keep toying with the idea of buying into Poly and I know if I go on a tour I'll be suckered in. I'm a wallet wuss for a good, shiny sales pitch. So I just stay away and do my research from afar.
My hesitation is booking the actual resort itself. I'd hate to buy and then come to find out nothing is available when I go to book. I live in FL so last minute trips are not out of the question.

If most of your trips are last minute, DVC is probably not for you. If you can plan 11 months ahead, you will be happy. If you can plan 7 months ahead you will be mostly happy. If you plan 2-3 months ahead, you will have very limited selection, and maybe not Poly. See this thread for booking statistics that may help. (Unfortunately does not include Poly, yet, but it will give you an idea.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-some-1-bedrooms-vgc-update-10-21-15.3419112/

 

[jayfo]

If most of your trips are last minute, DVC is probably not for you. If you can plan 11 months ahead, you will be happy. If you can plan 7 months ahead you will be mostly happy. If you plan 2-3 months ahead, you will have very limited selection, and maybe not Poly. See this thread for booking statistics that may help. (Unfortunately does not include Poly, yet, but it will give you an idea.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-some-1-bedrooms-vgc-update-10-21-15.3419112/

Thanks for the info! I love Poly, stayed there a bunch of times after it first opened as a kid and once for a "big bang" celebration trip as an adult. The rest of my trips have been looking at Poly with green envy from afar. A little too pricey at cash rates. So my train of thought is to have that big bang Poly trip every 1-2 years and supplement it with Pop or something for last minute Disney withdrawals if need be. I know I could easily plan a 7 or 11 month trip. I just wonder how to make all these scenarios work and I appreciate all the reading material from you guys.