-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
How does the DVC work?
- Thread starter Katherine
- Start date
AriBelle23
New Member
The Disney Vacation Club is something my family has always thought about doing, but we just never knew we were going to be coming back to WDW 6 years in a row. Yeah it is like a time share...you get special benefits being a DVC member, the speical resort that members stay at is Old Key West, and I am not exactly sure on how payments go and what not, but I would imagine it is just like any other time share, and you come visit durring your selected time like a couple times a year. If you have a family and go to WDW a lot, I think it would be very beneficial...but I am only 19, so I have a while to consider this lol 
Hope I helped!
Hope I helped!
Upvote
0
nikechic
New Member
DVC is a timesharer program through Disney. When you buy into the program you buy a certain number of points which can be used at Disney Resort, DVC properties, and other properties throughout the country. DVC members unlike many other timesharer properties have the luxury at making their vacation at their convience, in other words you aren't locked into a specific week that you have to make your visits. DVC member book vacations using their points and the point values are dependent upon many things, time of year, day of the week, type of accomadations, and location of the property.
DVC member also recieve other perks such as discounts around the world and at the Disney Store, the ability to trade for basically any outside location (in the borrowing network) with out much problems. Most people are dying to stay at a Disney Resort and will trade their timesharer if available.
DVC is different than other timesharers as this is a lease through the year 2042 and not ownership. A new set of leases will be release in 2042.
One of the biggest perks we have found using DVC is the amount of money you are able to save buy using the 2 bedroom villas. You are able to have breakfast and dinner in your room instead of having to pay at the Parks. Plus the two bedroom option gives everyone their own space since it slepts 8. My family has five people in it and we are really really tall and cramming everyone in one hotel room is not possible move. SO we are saving some money not having to reserve two rooms.
Just to give you an idea of the properties there are on site with the villas there are: Old Key West, The Villas at the WL, Villas at the Boardwalk, Villas at the Beach Club, and soon to be the Saratoga Springs Resort. Also Disney has two off site properties, Vero Beach and Hilton Head. YOu can also use your points to stay at any other Disney resort though it doesn't really make sense points wise.
I hope this helps
We have been DVC member since 1992 and let me know if there are any more question I could help you with
Laurel
DVC member also recieve other perks such as discounts around the world and at the Disney Store, the ability to trade for basically any outside location (in the borrowing network) with out much problems. Most people are dying to stay at a Disney Resort and will trade their timesharer if available.
DVC is different than other timesharers as this is a lease through the year 2042 and not ownership. A new set of leases will be release in 2042.
One of the biggest perks we have found using DVC is the amount of money you are able to save buy using the 2 bedroom villas. You are able to have breakfast and dinner in your room instead of having to pay at the Parks. Plus the two bedroom option gives everyone their own space since it slepts 8. My family has five people in it and we are really really tall and cramming everyone in one hotel room is not possible move. SO we are saving some money not having to reserve two rooms.
Just to give you an idea of the properties there are on site with the villas there are: Old Key West, The Villas at the WL, Villas at the Boardwalk, Villas at the Beach Club, and soon to be the Saratoga Springs Resort. Also Disney has two off site properties, Vero Beach and Hilton Head. YOu can also use your points to stay at any other Disney resort though it doesn't really make sense points wise.
I hope this helps
We have been DVC member since 1992 and let me know if there are any more question I could help you with
Laurel
Upvote
0
WendyOkada
New Member
ITA
DVC is a great timeshare program, although truly it does benefit Disney-goers the most. Couple clarifications - the current lease does end in 2042 (basically, they're 50 year contracts and they started in 1992 - so if you bought anytime after that, your contract still expires in 2042). However, the new Saratoga Springs resort will have new 50 year contracts starting from year of purchase. I was not aware of the new leases starting after 2042, although I do not doubt it. For some, they might find the perpetual ownership more attractive, but for us we'd be pretty old by the time 2042 rolls around so we were ok with it ending then... and also the benefits of it being Disney outweighed whatever benefits owning in perpetuity might bring. Also, the reservation process is very easy with DVC so we found that attractive as well.
DVC points are also good on the Disney Cruise Line as well as other properties (CA hotels too - Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier or Grand Californian) but like Nikechic said, the point cost is higher than at the Disney timeshare properties. However, it's still easy to book other hotels should you want to try something new. You get the biggest bang for your buck at one of the 6 timeshare properties. You can also reserve single nights at a selection of hotels in the country under the "Concierge Collection" which is nice since you don't have to commit a week's worth of points for those.
It's great because you can split up your points (it's not restricted to a week-period) and you can choose your start and end dates so it's great. I don't always want to go Sunday-Sunday or Wednesday-Wednesday like traditional timeshares run. The only time you're restricted to week-long periods is when you exchange out to Interval International for traditional timeshare exchanges.
It's also great because you are guaranteed the same point exchange rate for all future years (e.g., 126 points will get you a week in a studio at the Boardwalk Villas - and will ALWAYS get you a week at the Villas). The great thing about that is that you don't have to deal with the price of inflation (what cost you $2000 today will cost you $3000 next year, and so on) so you can guarantee yourself the same vacation year after year (generally speaking) because you will get your new batch of points each year to use.
We are using our points this year to get two 2-bedroom villas at the Boardwalk (11 more days!) so we are really excited about that.
It's really great - I highly recommend it.
Let us know if you have any more questions!
DVC is a great timeshare program, although truly it does benefit Disney-goers the most. Couple clarifications - the current lease does end in 2042 (basically, they're 50 year contracts and they started in 1992 - so if you bought anytime after that, your contract still expires in 2042). However, the new Saratoga Springs resort will have new 50 year contracts starting from year of purchase. I was not aware of the new leases starting after 2042, although I do not doubt it. For some, they might find the perpetual ownership more attractive, but for us we'd be pretty old by the time 2042 rolls around so we were ok with it ending then... and also the benefits of it being Disney outweighed whatever benefits owning in perpetuity might bring. Also, the reservation process is very easy with DVC so we found that attractive as well.
DVC points are also good on the Disney Cruise Line as well as other properties (CA hotels too - Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier or Grand Californian) but like Nikechic said, the point cost is higher than at the Disney timeshare properties. However, it's still easy to book other hotels should you want to try something new. You get the biggest bang for your buck at one of the 6 timeshare properties. You can also reserve single nights at a selection of hotels in the country under the "Concierge Collection" which is nice since you don't have to commit a week's worth of points for those.
It's great because you can split up your points (it's not restricted to a week-period) and you can choose your start and end dates so it's great. I don't always want to go Sunday-Sunday or Wednesday-Wednesday like traditional timeshares run. The only time you're restricted to week-long periods is when you exchange out to Interval International for traditional timeshare exchanges.
It's also great because you are guaranteed the same point exchange rate for all future years (e.g., 126 points will get you a week in a studio at the Boardwalk Villas - and will ALWAYS get you a week at the Villas). The great thing about that is that you don't have to deal with the price of inflation (what cost you $2000 today will cost you $3000 next year, and so on) so you can guarantee yourself the same vacation year after year (generally speaking) because you will get your new batch of points each year to use.
We are using our points this year to get two 2-bedroom villas at the Boardwalk (11 more days!) so we are really excited about that.
It's really great - I highly recommend it.
Let us know if you have any more questions!
Upvote
0
Figaro
New Member
I don't think anyone mentioned this, but you do have to pay maintanence fees/dues every year. The fees are based on how many points you own. We are brand new DVC members, so I am not writing this to discourage anyone. I just think you need to be aware that it is not just the initial payment you pay.
Upvote
0
WendyOkada
New Member
Oh that's right...
Thanks Figaro! I forgot to mention that. So if your maintenance fees are more than you'd actually pay for a vacation that year, then it might not benefit you to join. For us, it was much less than we pay out of pocket so it still saves us money in the end.
Thanks for the reminder! :wave:
Thanks Figaro! I forgot to mention that. So if your maintenance fees are more than you'd actually pay for a vacation that year, then it might not benefit you to join. For us, it was much less than we pay out of pocket so it still saves us money in the end.
Thanks for the reminder! :wave:
Upvote
0
GoofyMike29
New Member
whats the initial sign up fee???
and how much are the monthly, or yearly payments?
and how much are the monthly, or yearly payments?
Upvote
0
Figaro
New Member
You decide how many points you think you will need. Like DisneyPhD said the minimium is 150 points if you purchase through Disney Vacation CLub. (You can get less points if you go the resale route) You can also add on more points at a later date if you find you need more and if they are available. They also have special incentives sometimes like Magical Beginnings, where they 'buy back" your first year of points for about $10 a point. (Which gives you $1500 off purchase price) Plus, through DVC you can get financing.
Say you buy 150 points with a March use year, that means every March until 2042 you will get 150 points to use for your vacation. You can also bank you points one year or borrow from the next year.
I think the only DVC resort with availablity is Saratoga Springs right now. We just bought 210 points at the Beach Club Villas. I think our maint. fees are about $835 now. Each DVC resort has a different fee.
Upvote
0
Moustronaut
New Member
Disney offers a limited amount of information on their website:
http://dvc.disney.go.com/disneyvacationclub/home?id=Home&clk=11808
There's a FAQ page under membership information that gives you some basic info. You can also request the free video, but it's not a tremendous informational resource.
I've found a lot of the best information on the internet is provided by the resellers for DVC memberships. (http://www.dvcbyresale.com/Frequently Asked Questions.html). But the whole resale idea may confuse you even more.
My wife and I found the best source was to stop by a DVC booth in the parks or at your resort. We got to ask all the questions we had, pleasantly nice low pressure sales environment, and we got to tour a room.
We aren't members yet... but hope to be soon.
http://dvc.disney.go.com/disneyvacationclub/home?id=Home&clk=11808
There's a FAQ page under membership information that gives you some basic info. You can also request the free video, but it's not a tremendous informational resource.
I've found a lot of the best information on the internet is provided by the resellers for DVC memberships. (http://www.dvcbyresale.com/Frequently Asked Questions.html). But the whole resale idea may confuse you even more.
My wife and I found the best source was to stop by a DVC booth in the parks or at your resort. We got to ask all the questions we had, pleasantly nice low pressure sales environment, and we got to tour a room.
We aren't members yet... but hope to be soon.
Upvote
0
WendyOkada
New Member
Initial purchase = 150 points minimum. Additional purchases = 25 points minimum but then there's no minimum increment (like you could buy 26 or 27 or 28 points - they don't need to be in 25 point blocks like 25, then 50, then 75). The point cost for additional purchases is whatever the current point rate is, not what you originally purchased your points at.
You can finance through Disney (the lowest financing rate is if you pay 50% down and the other 50% at the end of 1 year), or you can pay cash and finance elsewhere (we financed subsequent point purchases with promotional 0% deals on credit cards for X months). You can choose whatever works best for you.
One problem is that each subsequent purchase may or may not be at the resort you originally purchased at (depending on availability), so you may end up having 150 points at BVW, then 30 points at BCV then 45 points at VWL. Which generally isn't a problem as long as they're all in the same use year, but only becomes a problem if you want to take advantage of the 4 month reservation window reserved for DVC owners at that resort.
Basically, you can book 11 months in advance at your home resort (before any other DVC members). If you want to book outside your home resort, you can do so 7 months in advance. However, you can only book with points you have AT that resort. For example, if you have 25 points at BWV, and 150 at VWL, but you want to stay at BWV, you can only use 25 points during that 7-11 month period and then at 7 months, you can book using the remaining 150 points. It's not like you can use your entire point balance to book anywhere you happen to have points.
Generally, we don't have a problem waiting until 7 months out because we go during low season - but if you tend to book during really busy seasons, you may want to keep that in mind if you really plan on utilizing that 4 months early booking window.
Just FYI. Not to discourage you, I still really LOVE DVC overall, but just something you need to be clear about before purchasing.
:sohappy: :sohappy:
p.s. oh - and although right now Saratoga Springs is the only fully "unbooked" resort now to buy points, I see every now and then that Disney is releasing some of it's non-timeshare rooms at the existing resorts for purchase. Generally, they allocated X number of rooms as "timeshare" properties, and reserved X number as just regular hotel rooms (for non DVC guests). But I think they're starting to sell some of those rooms as DVC properties now. You might see that option crop up now and then as a DVC member - encouraging you to buy more points.
just fyi.
You can finance through Disney (the lowest financing rate is if you pay 50% down and the other 50% at the end of 1 year), or you can pay cash and finance elsewhere (we financed subsequent point purchases with promotional 0% deals on credit cards for X months). You can choose whatever works best for you.
One problem is that each subsequent purchase may or may not be at the resort you originally purchased at (depending on availability), so you may end up having 150 points at BVW, then 30 points at BCV then 45 points at VWL. Which generally isn't a problem as long as they're all in the same use year, but only becomes a problem if you want to take advantage of the 4 month reservation window reserved for DVC owners at that resort.
Basically, you can book 11 months in advance at your home resort (before any other DVC members). If you want to book outside your home resort, you can do so 7 months in advance. However, you can only book with points you have AT that resort. For example, if you have 25 points at BWV, and 150 at VWL, but you want to stay at BWV, you can only use 25 points during that 7-11 month period and then at 7 months, you can book using the remaining 150 points. It's not like you can use your entire point balance to book anywhere you happen to have points.
Generally, we don't have a problem waiting until 7 months out because we go during low season - but if you tend to book during really busy seasons, you may want to keep that in mind if you really plan on utilizing that 4 months early booking window.
Just FYI. Not to discourage you, I still really LOVE DVC overall, but just something you need to be clear about before purchasing.
:sohappy: :sohappy:
p.s. oh - and although right now Saratoga Springs is the only fully "unbooked" resort now to buy points, I see every now and then that Disney is releasing some of it's non-timeshare rooms at the existing resorts for purchase. Generally, they allocated X number of rooms as "timeshare" properties, and reserved X number as just regular hotel rooms (for non DVC guests). But I think they're starting to sell some of those rooms as DVC properties now. You might see that option crop up now and then as a DVC member - encouraging you to buy more points.
just fyi.
Upvote
0