I have a question that I've looked for the answer to but haven't been able to find exactly what I was looking for for an answer. My wife and I have been considering purchasing dvc through resale and we are aware of the limitations of using the point toward the resort collection, cruises, etc. My question is about adding on points after buying from resale. If you decide to add on, is that done through Disney, resale again, or either? And if it is done through Disney do you still have the limitations in how you can use those points; or would just the original points be limited with the addition not having any limitations?
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Resale question
- Thread starter Corylancaster
- Start date
You can add on anyway you like. If you buy direct from Disney for your second round, those points will have no restrictions on use, only the original points will have the restrictions.
Vipor51
Active Member
If you add on via resale I would also advise that you add on with the same use year. If you select a different use year for the new points not only will you have to manage banking your points for each contract separately but you also will have two separate member numbers for each contract.
I have to agree. We kept the same use year when we added on as it is much easier to manage since we get all of our points at the same time.
Thanks for you help. Now we just have to decide if it is worth it for us or if we are better off renting points / paying cash. We've been going to wdw once a year up until this year (wont be able to make it this year). The thing that worries me most is that there are always so many contracts up for resale...is that because it is a pain to try to manage planning, banking, and borrowing the points or do that many people just decide it's not for them? Also how difficult is it to get a reservation for the resort you want, is it much different than just booking a normal room?
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I think a big part is just that 50 years is a long time to commit to something. What made sense when your kids were 4 may not when they are 24. I'm sure there are some that think it's too restrictive, but it's a timeshare and as far as timeshares go, it's reasonably flexible. Timeshares aren't for everyone.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
There's also the other life-getting-in-the-way excuses - some people divorce and it's easier to seel the points than it is to decide who gets to keep them. People might lose jobs or otherwise need money. The actual holder of the deed might have passed away and the kids aren't as interested in DVC or opt to sell versus fight over who gets it or need the money more than the points.
But in the grand scheme of things, there don't seem to be more DVC deed up for resale compared to allllllll the other timeshares out there, and DVC actually retains more value - if it doesn't actually increase in value, as it has for some of the early members. Seriously, go to ebay and look up Orlando timeshares. You'll find many many people literally giving away the deed to the timeshare for a penny or a dollar. All you have to do is assume control of the deed and pay the maintenance fees...which you might wind up doing forever, versus DVC where the deed eventually reverts back to Disney. And if you think timeshare owners are desperate to sell in one of the premiere vacation cities in the world, imagine people whose timeshare is in a less-visited locale, or a ski chalet that hasn't seen natural snow in years, or a beach resort that's now considered to be in a flood zone so the price of insurance (and thus your fees) have skyrocketed. As these deed owners pass on, their kids/heirs now have this albatross of an expense hanging over their heads.
As far as the difficulty of booking a room, a lot of the issues involve the resort, the type of room and the time you want to go. There's a post right now for someone trying to get a 2BR lockoff unit at Beach Club Villas (which is a popular resort AND with few total room compared to resorts like OKW, SSR, BLT and AKV), in mid August (which is still when many people have their summer vacations). On the flip-flop, my last 2 vacations, I originally booked at our home resort, Saratoga Springs, where there is almost always room at the inn, at the 11 month window. In fact, both times I was able to snag treehouse villas. But at the 7 month windows, each time I was able to successfully move to a Lake View 1BR unit at Bay Lake Tower. Once in mid-May, once in mid-August.
Slappy and Mansion detailed why there are resales. As far as difficulty getting reservations, that is a question of many factors.
When do you want to go? Where do you want to stay? What type of room are you looking for? If you own at SSR (like we do), and you want to go to F&W, and you want to stay at BCV, and you want a 2 bedroom - well, you probably won't get it. Certain resorts fill up with owners at the 11 month mark depending on the time of year and the size of the resort. BCV and BWV during F&W are extremely hard to get unless you own there. On the other hand, we were easily able to get a 1 bedroom at BWV in March at the 7 month window. You also have to look at the points charts. The first 2 weeks of December are traditionally lower crowd levels, but they are also pretty much the lowest points needed to stay for DVC, so most resorts completely fill up. You can't always look at a slow time for WDW, since the points may be lower, and DVC members will flock to the parks then to maximize their points. You also have to look at the size of the DVC part of a resort. The VGF does not have as many rooms available as OKW and SSR, and it's on the monorail, so the rooms tend to book quickly during busy times of the year. You really need to be flexible and understand that you may not always get to stay where you want to. The maximum you can book is at the 11 month mark for your home resort, and 7 months for all others. Right now, I can book on the WDW website up until Dec. 31st 2016, so 14 months out.
Our strategy has always been to book our home resort right at the 11 month window to ensure that we have a room when we want to go. Then at the 7 month mark to the day, we call MS to see if we can change over to what we really want that trip. So far, we have gotten what we wanted every time, but we also tend to go at slower times. Of course, we haven't tried for BCV during F&W, but we will try for it at some other time of year on a different trip.
If you cannot plan a trip at least 7 months out, then DVC may not be for you. Unless it is a really slow time, booking at less than a few months out is next to impossible, though it can happen if you don't mind OKW or SSR as these fill up last. You might find a day or two here and there, but not a week long stay.
We are here to help, so ask any questions that you have!
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Booking BCV on a Fri/Sat night during F&W fest? Pretty darn hard to do, you had better own there and be booking 11 months out. Booking SSR/OKW mid week mid January? You could possibly call a few weeks beforehand and have no problems.
And resales just happen. Look at how many points were sold/are available, and you can see that there will definitely be people trying to resell. It's really easy to get swept up while on vacation and buy in, and then 4-5 years down the road Johnny/Suzy doesn't want to go to WDW anymore and so Mom & Dad try to unload it.
jsrausch22
Member
In 10 years we have only ever stayed at our home resort, SSR, 2 times. In December we will be staying at the Poly and will have stayed at all of the DVC resorts. We can usually find something other than SSR at 7 months. Sometimes we have to wait list what we want but it usually comes through.
How do the wait lists work? Do you make a secondary reservation just in case or is it a complete gamble?
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Depends on your needs. Most people will book a fallback while they have their wait list search underway, others will choose to simply not go.