DVC vs Timeshare

[TiggerTime]

I'm confused about the vacation club and how many points it takes to stay at Disney.

I currently own a timeshare that I have registered with Interval International so I can trade away from my resort.

I own a 2 bedroom/2 bath lock out (full kitchen,W/D). The lock out is a studio with a full kitchen. (1 bedroom, 1 bath)

When I trade into another resort, the least I trade for is a 2 Bedroom/2 bath with a full kitchen with a W/D. Not all resorts have lock out's.

I pay $495 per year maintenance and the timeshare is a deeded piece of real estate.

I realize that staying on the Disney property is the most convenient, but it's hard to beat our accommodations.

If I buy into the vacation club, can I get a place as good as the timeshare? In dollars, how much would it cost in points for me to have an apartment like place in Disney? I assume like the timeshare, the place is ours for a week.

Second question. Is the dining plan connected to the vacation points? If I own at Disney and stay for a week, is the dining plan paid for separately or in more vacation points?

In the resale market it seems that I can buy points from just about anyone. Right now I am looking at the Bay Lake Towers. There are 2 different sellers that have hundreds of points to sell. Each are willing to sell me as many as I'd like. It ranges from $96 to $102 per point, plus $3.78 for annual dues per point.

If I were to buy 100 points from each seller (one is month of February and one is August) how many of these points would I need for a weeks stay and a dining plan? And am I guaranteed the accommodations I would want for the week in February or August.
My timeshare is mine for my week each and every year.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Thrill]

If I buy into the vacation club, can I get a place as good as the timeshare? In dollars, how much would it cost in points for me to have an apartment like place in Disney? I assume like the timeshare, the place is ours for a week.

Disney's accommodations are on par with what you'd find at other time shares. If you weren't to use points, it depends on which resort and at what time. Old Key West in value season runs at $555 per night, but it costs $1,695 per night during holiday season at Jambo House in Animal Kingdom Lodge. You don't get a room for a week on DVC, you choose where, when, what type of room, and how long you stay when staying on the Disney Collection and DVC Collection. (I believe the other collections are for a week at a time, aside from Adventurers which varies depending on which Adventure by Disney.)

Second question. Is the dining plan connected to the vacation points? If I own at Disney and stay for a week, is the dining plan paid for separately or in more vacation points?

The Disney Dining Plan is paid for using cash.

In the resale market it seems that I can buy points from just about anyone. Right now I am looking at the Bay Lake Towers. There are 2 different sellers that have hundreds of points to sell. Each are willing to sell me as many as I'd like. It ranges from $96 to $102 per point, plus $3.78 for annual dues per point.

If I were to buy 100 points from each seller (one is month of February and one is August) how many of these points would I need for a weeks stay and a dining plan? And am I guaranteed the accommodations I would want for the week in February or August.
My timeshare is mine for my week each and every year.

Again, it depends on when you stay and in what type of room. Different views and seasons will result in drastically different point values. Again, I'll give you the most affordable week in a two bedroom and the most expensive. Old Key West runs 217 points for a week in Adventure season (January, September, and the first two weeks of December). A week in a Magic Kingdom view room at Bay Lake Tower in Premier season is a whopping 616 points. Again, take these numbers with a grain of salt. You could get a two bedroom in a standard view room for 463 points at Bay Lake Tower in that same week, or a two bedroom at Old Key West over the holidays for 395 points. Keep in mind that you can bank and borrow points, which means that you could buy 200 points and stay at Old Key West in a two bedroom for a week in spring break every other year if you really needed to.

As for the dining plan, it depends on how many adults and children are in your family and which of the three dining plans you choose. You are not guaranteed accommodations, but if you book as soon as your home resort's reservations open up 11 months in advance, you have a good chance. The month just dictates when your points expire and when you get new points. If I remember correctly, it also dictates when you are allowed to stay on the Disney Collection.

I've read that Bay Lake Tower's dues are subsidized and will go up a bit when they sell out. This would bring the dues into range with most of the other resorts.

 

[slappy magoo]

As far as how many points you'd need to cover the amount of vacation time you want, do yourself a favor: on this very page, is a link to The Timeshare Store. Click on it. On top of the Timeshare Store's home page is a link to vacation point charts. From there you can figure out how many points you'll usually need based on the size of accommodations you'll need and the time of year you'll usually go.

Now the caveat, the point charts are subject to change. Because DVC is a timeshare where your piece of the resort is reflected in "points" instead of a fraction of a percentage, the points can't just go up across the board. If they raise points for certain dates, they have to reduce points other places. But if you buy EXACTLY the amount of points you need for your annual vacation, it would stink if that particular week went up a few points.

Another thing to consider is that DVC allows you to "bank" up to one year's worth of points at any time, and to "borrow" up to a year's worth of points at any time. Which means, if you don't think you'll be going to WDW every single year, you could bank and borrow when necessary to stretch out the points you get for longer. For example, maybe you'll only go for one week a year for TWO years, then take a year off. If you happened to buy, off the top of my head, 200 points, then that means by banking and/or borrowing, you'd have 300 a points to use for those 2 years, then spend a year doing something out of pocket.

 

[Phonedave]

To make it very simple, the DVC is NOTHING like your current time share.

Each year you get a number of points (given in the month your contract is for)

Each room 'costs' a certain number of points. It depends on where, when, and what type of room you want. (check the point charts Slappy linked to)

There are no set weeks, you can go for a day, you can go for a week. AS long as you have the points to cover it.

You can book at the resort you own at 11 months out. You can book at any other DVC property 9 months out. There is no guarantee that you will get a room (chances are you will if you plan in advance though)

There is more to it than that (banking & borrowing points, etc) but thats how the program works in a nutshell.

There is no dining plan with the DVC. You can buy one if you want.

There are other perks, discounted annual passes, dining discounts, etc, but they are subject to change at any time.

-dave

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I suggest taking a look at mouseowners.com where they have all of the details broken down into different sections.

 

[tjkraz]

If I were to buy 100 points from each seller (one is month of February and one is August) how many of these points would I need for a weeks stay and a dining plan?

Understand that sellers cannot split up existing contracts. If you have two sellers that are each listing 100-point contracts, then you can certainly buy both. However, if you are looking at an individual with a 300-point contract, you cannot simply take 100 of the points and leave the seller with the other 200.

As others stated, the number of points required for a week's stay will vary depending upon resort, season and view. You will have to consult the point charts to get an idea as the costs will vary greatly. Here is one resource for accessing the current charts:

http://dvcnews.com/index.php/points...dvc-resorts-program-information-105?task=view

And am I guaranteed the accommodations I would want for the week in February or August.
My timeshare is mine for my week each and every year.

Your current timeshare is a fixed-week or traditional timeshare. You get the one week per year in a single size unit with practically zero flexibility.

DVC is a point-based timeshare with much greater flexibility. But there are some trade-offs for that flexibility. The first is that there are absolutely no guarantees regarding availability. The resort(s) at which you own points are considered your Home resort(s). You can begin booking those locations 11 months in advance of arrival. If you choose to book 11 months out, the odds of getting what you want are nearly 100%. There are typically dozens--if not hundreds--of rooms in each resort/view category. If you call 11 months out to book a Lake View Two Bedroom at the Bay Lake Tower, chances are extremely high that you will be successful.

Some niche room categories have smaller inventory and will be booked very quickly by owners on high-demand dates. One example is the Concierge room at the Animal Kingdom Villas. There are only 5 units in this category so it's a race to get those rooms, especially for popular dates like Christmas week or New Year's Eve.

Everything is first-come, first-served in a point-based system. As an owner, you have a 4 month booking advantage at your Home resort and that is your best tool for combating the limited availability. You should NOT go in with the expectation that you can call 2 months out and book a room at any given resort. That can certainly happen but there are no guarantees.

Again, this is part of the trade off for a point-based system. With a traditional timeshare you get one resort, one week and one villa size. With DVC you have endless flexibility in terms of resorts, dates, views and villa sizes. You just need to be prepared to book early in order to have the greatest chance of success.

I've read that Bay Lake Tower's dues are subsidized and will go up a bit when they sell out. This would bring the dues into range with most of the other resorts.

That is not correct. As of 2010 there is no longer any developer subsidy for Bay Lake Tower dues.

The lower dues at BLT have more to do with the point charts than anything else. Higher points per night means more points in the system. More points in the system means each point pays a smaller share of the dues burden.

BLT dues for 2010 are $3.78 per point. There are approximately 4 million points at the resort. Do the math and you come up with an annual budget of roughly $15.1 million.

Now, if the point charts had been lower and there were only 3 million points sold at the resort, dues would be closer to other DVC properties: $15,100,000 / 3 mil points = $5.03 per point.

The low dues cost for BLT has little to do with subsidies or the fact that the building is a 16-story high rise. Dues are lower because the BLT point charts are so much higher than other previous destinations.