Understanding Use Year - Updated February 10, 2021

[disneynutz]

DH mentioned we should look into Poly DVC. Yeah! I am just starting my research (actually in car now driving home from visiting family out of town). I am very green in my DVC knowledge and will be going back to read this entire thread.

Ok, UY.....we have historically gone in October. Went in August this year. Interested in visiting on May too. Best UY for us would be April?

TIA,
Debbie

You want to pick a UY where it's first 8 months cover the months that you usually vacation.

Bill

 

[supersnoop]

DH mentioned we should look into Poly DVC. Yeah! I am just starting my research (actually in car now driving home from visiting family out of town). I am very green in my DVC knowledge and will be going back to read this entire thread.

Ok, UY.....we have historically gone in October. Went in August this year. Interested in visiting on May too. Best UY for us would be April?

TIA,
Debbie

Ok, UY.....we have historically gone in October. Went in August this year. Interested in visiting on May too. Best UY for us would be April?

Will you ever travel in December, January, Febuary or March? To be fair, December is less of a concern. If not, then April would be perfect.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

You want to pick a UY where it's first 8 months cover the months that you usually vacation.

Bill

Thanks Bill

Will you ever travel in December, January, Febuary or March? To be fair, December is less of a concern. If not, then April would be perfect.

As things stand now we would not travel December-March. We like to stick close to home during the holidays and January-March are busy for me at work so I don't take vacation in those months. Of course that will change once I am retired but that's 15+ years away. We are most interested in October, August, and May travel dates.

So, another question - when you buy DVC do you get to pick the use year or are they allocated in some way?

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

One more question for now and then I'll go do some more homework/research:

Assumptions - Say we buy:
...a 100 point contract with an April UY
...at home resort: Polynesian
...direct thru Disney
...sometime in February 2016

Since February 2016 falls in the 2015 UY (4/1/15-3/31/16) we would get 100 points for 2015 that we could bank immediately (or use) in addition to 100 points for 2016. Correct? That's how I am understanding it after reading the first post. I assume if we keep all the assumptions above the same except we change the purchase date to, say, May 2016 we no longer would get the 2015 points since that UY is over. Correct?

TIA again,
Debbie

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks Bill



As things stand now we would not travel December-March. We like to stick close to home during the holidays and January-March are busy for me at work so I don't take vacation in those months. Of course that will change once I am retired but that's 15+ years away. We are most interested in October, August, and May travel dates.

So, another question - when you buy DVC do you get to pick the use year or are they allocated in some way?

You might want to rethink December.
Here are my thoughts, we don't like hot weather, we don't like crowds especially in hot weather, we want a good value for our money, we want Disney to be something that we don't get at home.

Early December has cool weather, the crowds are low, point season is low, you can't beat the free holiday decorations at Disney. We vacation at WDW every December.

Our UY is October and it covers our favorite vacation months, the cool months, Oct - May.

Just a thought.

Bill

 

[supersnoop]

One more question for now and then I'll go do some more homework/research:

Assumptions - Say we buy:
...a 100 point contract with an April UY
...at home resort: Polynesian
...direct thru Disney
...sometime in February 2016

Since February 2016 falls in the 2015 UY (4/1/15-3/31/16) we would get 100 points for 2015 that we could bank immediately (or use) in addition to 100 points for 2016. Correct? That's how I am understanding it after reading the first post. I assume if we keep all the assumptions above the same except we change the purchase date to, say, May 2016 we no longer would get the 2015 points since that UY is over. Correct?

Yes, that's correct. But I must stress that a direct purchase only makes sense if you will always stay at PVB. If you'd like to stay elsewhere, look at the resale market. You can find loaded contracts at other resorts for $40-$80 less per point, which means $4,000 to $8,000 less than direct for a 100 point contract.

 

[supersnoop]

You might want to rethink December.
Here are my thoughts, we don't like hot weather, we don't like crowds especially in hot weather, we want a good value for our money, we want Disney to be something that we don't get at home.

Early December has cool weather, the crowds are low, point season is low, you can't beat the free holiday decorations at Disney. We vacation at WDW every December.

Our UY is October and it covers our favorite vacation months, the cool months, Oct - May.

Just a thought.

Bill

I know that standard answer is to choose a use year where you don't travel in the last four months. But I think the last three months are all that really matter. Using an April use year as an example; if you cancel that December reservation after your banking deadline, your points are going into holding. As long as you cancel before that point, you'll still have time to bank your points. I guess 7-day wait lists would still be a problem, but 31-day wait lists would still be safe.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Yes, that's correct. But I must stress that a direct purchase only makes sense if you will always stay at PVB. If you'd like to stay elsewhere, look at the resale market. You can find loaded contracts at other resorts for $40-$80 less per point, which means $4,000 to $8,000 less than direct for a 100 point contract.

OK, thanks. Sounds like we would need to be mindful of the purchase month in relation to the UY month.

We are dedicated Polynesian fans. We've been to WDW many times and have always stayed at the Polynesian - the only exception being 2014 when we stayed at the GF due to the Poly's construction. We didn't consider purchasing DVC before since the Poly wasn't one of the DVC resorts. Now that it is we're interested in learning more about DVC.

Thanks for all your input - I appreciate it and want to know everything that I can - good, bad & ugly.

 

[disneynutz]

OK, thanks. Sounds like we would need to be mindful of the purchase month in relation to the UY month.

We are dedicated Polynesian fans. We've been to WDW many times and have always stayed at the Polynesian - the only exception being 2014 when we stayed at the GF due to the Poly's construction. We didn't consider purchasing DVC before since the Poly wasn't one of the DVC resorts. Now that it is we're interested in learning more about DVC.

Thanks for all your input - I appreciate it and want to know everything that I can - good, bad & ugly.

I must caution you, we were fans of BLT and bought there right after it was built, it's one of our least favorites now.

How can you pick a favorite if you haven't stayed at all of the resorts? How do you know that you will even like the DVC and how it is run?

Food for thought.

Bill

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

It's me again.

I'd like the teachers to make sure I am understanding things.

Let's say.....
I have an April UY
I have a trip booked for late October
In early September I have to cancel that October trip
I cancel more than 31 days in advance so the points go back to the current UY
(If I cancel 1-30 days in advance the points go into a holding account (which I need to learn more about))
If I am going to bank the current UY points I need to do so on or before November 30
I cannot bank points in December-March
I cannot bank the same points more than once (so the banked current UY points would need to be used in the next UY)
Once I bank my points I cannot go back and use them in the current UY. So, after I bank points on November 30 I can't use those banked points to book a trip in December-March.

Is anything inaccurate?

TIA,
Debbie

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

I must caution you, we were fans of BLT and bought there right after it was built, it's one of our least favorites now.

How can you pick a favorite if you haven't stayed at all of the resorts? How do you know that you will even like the DVC and how it is run?

Food for thought.

Bill

Thanks Bill. This is a good point. Just more to research!

 

[CarolMN]

It's me again.

I'd like the teachers to make sure I am understanding things.

Let's say.....
I have an April UY
I have a trip booked for late October
In early September I have to cancel that October trip
I cancel more than 31 days in advance so the points go back to the current UY
(If I cancel 1-30 days in advance the points go into a holding account (which I need to learn more about))
If I am going to bank the current UY points I need to do so on or before November 30
I cannot bank points in December-March
I cannot bank the same points more than once (so the banked current UY points would need to be used in the next UY)
Once I bank my points I cannot go back and use them in the current UY. So, after I bank points on November 30 I can't use those banked points to book a trip in December-March.

Is anything inaccurate?

TIA,
Debbie

All correct. You've got it!

 

[disneynutz]

It's me again.

I'd like the teachers to make sure I am understanding things.

Let's say.....
I have an April UY
I have a trip booked for late October
In early September I have to cancel that October trip
I cancel more than 31 days in advance so the points go back to the current UY
(If I cancel 1-30 days in advance the points go into a holding account (which I need to learn more about))
If I am going to bank the current UY points I need to do so on or before November 30
I cannot bank points in December-March
I cannot bank the same points more than once (so the banked current UY points would need to be used in the next UY)
Once I bank my points I cannot go back and use them in the current UY. So, after I bank points on November 30 I can't use those banked points to book a trip in December-March.

Is anything inaccurate?

TIA,
Debbie

Looks like you got it!

If you have holding points you can only use them to book a reservation 60 days or less prior to your check in date.

An interesting issue is that 60 days prior to any date, DVC can transfer un-booked rooms to Disney for cash reservations.

Bill

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

All correct. You've got it!

Looks like you got it!

If you have holding points you can only use them to book a reservation 60 days or less prior to your check in date.

An interesting issue is that 60 days prior to any date, DVC can transfer un-booked rooms to Disney for cash reservations.

Bill

Yeah!! Thanks!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

And like a bad penny...I am back.

Say we close on a 100 point PVB April UY contract direct from Disney at the end of January 2016.
We'd get 100 points for the 2015 UY since we would still be in that UY (4/1/15-3/31/16).
We'd plan to stay in a PVB studio Sun 8/14/16 - Thu 8/18/16.
This would require 109 points according to the 2016 rate chart (23+23+21+21+21).

How does all the initial banking and usage work? I am assuming we'd bank the 2015 UY points at closing then would use them to cover 100 of the required 109 points for the 2016 UY trip. Correct? (Then in November 2016 we would bank the remaining 91 points from UY 2016 and use them in UY 2017). What if we didn't take a 2016 UY trip -- I assume the banked 2015 UY points would be forfeited?

Also, what are the chances we'd even be able to reserve a PVB studio for August 2016 in January 2016 since it's less than 7 months out? Does DVC MS help new owners with their first reservation?

Can you purchase in increments other than 25? Could we purchase 110 points instead of 100 points?

Lastly, it is my understanding that point requirements don't increase over the years. Disney can reallocate points year to year for high peak times - like Easter, since it falls at different times each year - but then point requirements are lowered at other time(s) to make up for the reallocation. Is that correct? Did I even make sense??

TIA yet again!
Debbie

 

[disneynutz]

And like a bad penny...I am back.

Say we close on a 100 point PVB April UY contract direct from Disney at the end of January 2016.
We'd get 100 points for the 2015 UY since we would still be in that UY (4/1/15-3/31/16).
We'd plan to stay in a PVB studio Sun 8/14/16 - Thu 8/18/16.
This would require 109 points according to the 2016 rate chart (23+23+21+21+21).

How does all the initial banking and usage work? I am assuming we'd bank the 2015 UY points at closing then would use them to cover 100 of the required 109 points for the 2016 UY trip. Correct? (Then in November 2016 we would bank the remaining 91 points from UY 2016 and use them in UY 2017). What if we didn't take a 2016 UY trip -- I assume the banked 2015 UY points would be forfeited?

Also, what are the chances we'd even be able to reserve a PVB studio for August 2016 in January 2016 since it's less than 7 months out? Does DVC MS help new owners with their first reservation?

Can you purchase in increments other than 25? Could we purchase 110 points instead of 100 points?

Lastly, it is my understanding that point requirements don't increase over the years. Disney can reallocate points year to year for high peak times - like Easter, since it falls at different times each year - but then point requirements are lowered at other time(s) to make up for the reallocation. Is that correct? Did I even make sense??

TIA yet again!
Debbie

I must say you have a really good grasp of point usage. Direct you can buy any amount of points that you want. There have been different minimums through the years and if you look at resales you will see a repeated amount which was the minimum. I don't know what the current minimum is but if DVD is hungry they will change the policies to make a sale.

Why direct? Why PVB? Have you thought about buying a less expensive resort resale to get your feet wet?

Bill

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Hi Bill ~

At this point I am just doing research --- Phase I is studying direct from Disney. Phase II will be studying resale.

And as for PVB - it's a matter of "buy where you want to stay". For 20+ years that's where we've loved to stay. I know that could change someday but for now it's the Polynesian for us.

Thanks,
Debbie

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Also, what are the chances we'd even be able to reserve a PVB studio for August 2016 in January 2016 since it's less than 7 months out? Does DVC MS help new owners with their first reservation?

I'm quoting myself. How crazy is that??

Does anyone have feedback on my question regarding first reservations?

 

[LisaS]

Can you purchase in increments other than 25? Could we purchase 110 points instead of 100 points?

As Bill stated, if you purchase directly from Disney you can purchase any number of points over their minimum purchase (and the minimum changes from time to time). For example, if the minimum is 100 points you could purchase 102 or 113 if that happened to be the number that worked best for you.

Lastly, it is my understanding that point requirements don't increase over the years. Disney can reallocate points year to year for high peak times - like Easter, since it falls at different times each year - but then point requirements are lowered at other time(s) to make up for the reallocation. Is that correct? Did I even make sense??

The number of points to book every room in the entire resort every night of the year cannot change. Actually I think it's that the total points within a Unit cannot change. A Unit is typically a group of rooms (ex: in AKV it might be two 2BR lockoffs or four studios or a GV, in resorts like OKW I think each building in one Unit).

A few years ago they reduced the cost of weekend nights (Fri, Sat) and increased the cost of weekday nights (Sun-Thu) to even out demand. Those who purchased just enough points to stay Sun-Thu nights found themselves short of points after that change. Another change made at a couple of resorts was to reclassify some rooms from one booking category to another. For example, some rooms at AKV were reclassified down from Savanna View to Standard View. To re-balance the points across the resort they increased the cost of Savanna View rooms for nearly every booking season. Similar changes occurred at BLT where some rooms were reclassified down to Standard View and at SSR where the cost to book the treehouses were increased. In both cases, the cost to book other rooms were adjusted up or down to re-balance.

 

[LisaS]

Does anyone have feedback on my question regarding first reservations?

I have no idea about availability at PVB since it's so new. If you purchase directly from Disney, they will try to help you get your first reservation at your home resort if they can. When a resort is not yet sold out, they may have some inventory they can tap to get a room for you but it's not guaranteed.