Where have you been with DVC?

[A10560]

We are going to Disney World in a couple of weeks. I usually have a couple of vacations planned but after this one I have nothing scheduled for us. I am wondering where others have went with the DVC membership that is not Disney.

We have done Hilton Head, Disney Cruise and will be going to the World. I would love to hold out for Hawaii but I just can't wait that long!

We have a 4 year old and a 2 year old so we feel limited on some of the things we would like to do.

 

[CandyMandy]

We have faced the same issue and here is what we did:

Our membership started in 2000 with a purchase at BWV. On all of our previous three trips to WDW on points we have solely stayed there (using our 11 month ressie rights to grab those precious two bedroom boardwalk view villas). However, our next trip (this May) we are doing WLV, which will be interesting - a "close to park" property other than the Epcot ones!

Like you, we then thought about -- and eventually did -- move to using points outside WDW. At first, we stated "within the family," using them to take a seven day Eastern Caribbean cruise on DCL and to stay at the Grand Californian at Disneyland (years ago prior to the development of the DVC property there; nice hotel, albeit the smallest rooms I've ever seen at a Deluxe Disney property).

But like you we became eventually became interesed in going beyond Disney properties. So we have traded out of the program twice, once to stay at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, the other time to stay at the Marriott's Manor Club at Ford's Colony in Williamsburg, VA. Contrary to the "trades are never a good idea" gospel you usually hear here, both these particular "swaps" were into properties that were at DVC standards and relative deals, in terms of comparative point cost (note - the Marriott time shares -- some of which arguably exceed DVC standards -- are unfortunately no longer available through DVC, since their switch from II to RCI).

The gospel I would preach on trading is to:

- Really do your homework on resorts, so you are sure on what you will get before you pull the trigger.
- Be picky but realistic. The best of the Caribbean options are available -- but no, not for trips over Christmas.
- Cast a large net . Make requests on mutiple targets for multiple dates.
- Think years out, not months. Make said requests as far in advance as possible.

We have also used the Concierge Collection option twice, once to stay at the Sagamore in Lake George, NY (absolutely incredible resort, highly recommended) and the other time at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston, MA (which is no longer offered). In both those cases we used the Concierge program primarily to use up points which -- due to unexpected events -- had not been used as originally planned and were approaching expiration.

 

[oct2014]

We have done some trips using the Disney Collection (pre-VGC) and Concierge Collection. It might not always be the best use of points, but we used them for places that we would like to stay but have a hard time paying the room rates. We have also tried to combine reservations to get the most bang out of the fee. For example, we took our mothers to Grove Park Inn and reserved 3 rooms at once. We also took a trip to California and reserved 2 rooms at Shutters (no longer available) and 1 room at Hotel del Coronado all in the same reservation. I agree with all of the research tips above. I also recommend doing your non-DVC reservations early on in your contract. The CC choices have changed over time and the points will increase over time.

Good luck!
Caroline