Use Year for a teacher (& 1st time buyer)?

[WiggleWorm]

We have been seriously considering DVC and have been reading as much as we can (mostly on this site and a few others) about it since it's such a big decision. One point that is still really confusing to us is the Use Year. We usually go to Disney in the summer since I am a teacher. Usually August, since school starts here in Massachusetts in Sept. and Florida kids go back in August, so it's less crowded at Disney. We spoke with an agent at the Timeshare Store, who said that we should stay away from Sept., Oct., and possibly Dec. Use Years. Then we spoke with a DVC member friend who said to stay away from the summer months. Help!! What months does that leave us with? Could someone please explain in the most simple way possible what Use Year we should be looking for and how exactly having that Use Year could help/hinder us (in terms of booking reservations and cancelling)? Despite all our research, we still don't get it!! Thanks so much!

 

[DeeCee735]

If you change a ressie 31 or more days before check in the difference in points (if any) goes back to your account in the use year in which the ressie was for

If you cancel a ressie 30 days or less your points go into a holding account with restrictions on when they have to be used....I believe by end of use year with only a 2 month booking window and if they are not used by end of use year they are forfeited.

If you cancel a ressie 31 days or more before check in the points go back to your account in the use year the ressie was for.


So you'd be better off avoiding use year months in the summer. I think June would be okay if you travel in august though because then you'd have the entire year to rebook your travel. If anyone out there can explain this better, please do!

 

[thepops]

I agree. A June use year would be good. You'd get a new allocation of points and then use them shortly after.
Also to get the incentives out there, make sure you have a referral from a current member. I'd be happy to let you use me if you don't already have one.

 

[hellerjw]

We have a March UY and chose it specifically because it allows us to travel during the 2 biggest school year holidays (Spring Break and Summer Vacation), as well as gives us until the end of October to bank any points into the next year. It may be a good choice for you as well if you have to time your travel around these same holidays.

 

[Doug7856]

My wife is a teacher and we have a June use year (points are available June 1). Many of our vacations are during the summer, Thanksgiving week, and every few years we take a long weekend in early December. The June use year accommodates this travel pattern well.

 

[WendyinNC]

I wanted a March use year since we travel either during Spring Break or Summer. I found a contract with a February use year and it has worked well. If you only think you will travel in the Summer then June would be good. If you think you are going to travel during Spring Break then March would be good.

 

[WiggleWorm]

Thanks so much for the advice. Okay, so Feb., Mar., or June seem to be the consensis?

 

[Sandisw]

I am a teacher and I have June UY. We also travel in August every year, but sometimes it is the last week in July. I think this works out very well for me because we get our points right before travel.

With this UY, I also have until January 31st every year to bank points which means all my travel in the summer and the other time I might go (February break) would be covered if I had to cancel 31 days or more in advance.

If I ever had to borrow points for a summer trip that got cancelled, since they could not be returned to their UY, I would still have time to use them during Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, February break, and even during April break.

So, this UY really gives me the best case scenario for all my breaks. The only break that I could possibly lose out on is April--and if that was the case, I have plenty of family and friends who could take the reservation in a heart beat!

Good luck!

 

[La2kw]

DW and I are both teachers, and we usually travel in June or July. Our use year is February. It works for us.

 

[jekjones1558]

If you are a young teacher then all of the above advice is great.
I am a retired teacher and we bought DVC on a whim with no research. We have an October use year. Because I was old (51) when we bought and we traveled during spring break, this use year was okay. Now that I am retired, I LOVE this use year because we travel in October, December and during the spring months. We have multiple health issues in our family now which have made trip cancellations a frequent necessity, so use year matters a lot more to me than it did when we first purchased.
Good luck!

 

[Tigger1]

I am a teacher with a Dec use year. I would like to go in Dec someday and if I would have to cancel, I could more likely go in the summer.

I do also want to travel in Oct someday for F & W festival. It wold be difficult with a Dec use year to have to cancel a Oct trip and use the points by Nov 30. Maybe I will get a small contract with a Oct use year someday.

I would base it by your age and when you will travel in 10 to 20 years.

I think that March would be a good time also as I could go spring break threw summer.

 

[chatchdvc]

Just chiming in--

I'm a teacher is MA, also.
My use year is April, and it hasn't been a problem at all.

We usually go in April, (using nice fresh points), but have also gone in Feb as well as a few trips in the summer. Heading down at the end of the month, in fact.

 

[jmurphy625]

We have a June use year (MA teacher as well) and it has always worked well. We usually travel in June/July. We did have to cancel our June 07 reservation-which included some borrowed points that couldn't be banked. So we went in October 07 (Columbus weekend). And then in May 08 my Mom went down last minute to use the last (30) of them before they were lost. Wasn't a big deal, but I am a bit more careful now when making reservations, adding on days or changing reservations.

 

[WiggleWorm]

Who knew so many teachers (a bunch in MA too) were DVC members? Wonder why so many are drawn to Disney. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I have about 35 more years until I can retire, so I don't think I have to worry about my vacationing habits (season wise) changing any time soon.