Potential New Buyer Questions

[ATCal]

After 13 straight years, and over $100k, we are finally thinking about the DVC now that it has come to the Comtemporary (our favorite place).

I know that the per-point prices go up over time. My big question when trying to determine how many points to buy initially is whether Disney raises the number of points required for a certain room type/time period? In other words, if I bought in at 160 points (min) and it got me a week in a studio in value season, could this cost me 170 points next year, 180 the following, etc?

Thanks,

-Al

 

[DisneyPhD]

They cannot arbitrarily raise the point costs. There is a fixed number of points sold at each resort. What they can do is reallocate the points (only once has this been done since DVC began). For example if it costs 15 points to stay on Thursday night and 25 points to stay on Friday night, in theory they could raise the Thursday night up 5 points to 20 but they would have to lower the Friday night cost by 5 points (or take them from some other day of the week) to keep the total constant. It's an oversimplification but hopefully that makes sense.

What does increase is the annual dues, which have gone up between 3-5% per year. Of course they also raise the purchase price each year too, which is why so many people wish they had bought in sooner.

 

[Cubs Brian]

Simple answer no they don't raise the points . They have a certain amount of value use days, premier, adventure and so on. If the number of value days for example is 100, it will always be 100, but it may not always be the same 100 days. Hope this helps, but I'm sure DVC Dave can explain it better.

 

[ATCal]

Thanks. That makes sense. I'm hedging on how many to buy in at.

-Al

 

[slappy magoo]

The points you buy represent a percentage of the resort itself. It's a teeny-tiny fraction of a percentage, but it's a fixed amount, and the deed/title/CONTRACT you get when you purchase will reflect that. Techincally, unti the deed reverts back on Disney, you own that teeny-tiny piece. It's why you can deduct the financing like a mortgage. It's why you're paying maintenance (why should you have to maintain something you don't own?).

For Disney to arbitrarily say something like "OK, every single room across the board will now cost 2 points more a night" is the exact same thing as saying "hey, remember when you bought your points, and we said you own THIS much of the resort? Well, you now own less than that!" It would constitute fraud, as your contract says you own X amount of the resort, and Disney would be saying you now own X percent minus Y.

 

[ATCal]

We certainly have a little skepticism regarding the whole point system itself.
So you buy in at the minimum 160 points, which will get you "x" nights, in level "y" room during "z" time of year. How many "y" rooms are available during "z" time of year for "x" nights? Is there a lot of compettition for these rooms? Which begs is it really realistic to buy in at the minimum?

How has your experience been with the managing this point system? Is it more trouble than the perceived savings?

Thanks greatly for your feedback.

-Al

 

[slappy magoo]

Look, it's always going to be potentially tricky to book a room during peak times, even in your "home resort" (which you can book 11 months ahead, as opposed to 7 months ahead in the rest of the resorts). It's one of the drawbacks to Disney's point system, instead of being locked in to a specific week or 2 week window at a specific resort that you know you'll always have. But on the flip side, you're NOT LOCKED IN TO A TIME-WINDOW. You can be flexible with when you go and where you stay.

However, many people have an idea as to when they're most often going to be able to go, so as far as the amount of points you should buy, you can look at the point structure, and the kind of accommodations you think you'll need. You might find that the minimum is enough for your needs in most seasons. Also, bear in mind, you have the option of a: borrowing some or all of your next years' points (but only the next year, based on when your "use year" starts). And b: banking unused points from one "use year" to the next (but only from the previous year, and I believe if you wait until your "use year" is almost done, you may lose some of those points for that year). Let's say your use year begins in May. So if you want to take a trip in October that'll cost you 200 points, but you have 160 points (which I believe is the minimum buy-in now), you can borrow 40 points from next year. When the following May rolls around, you'll have 120 points. You can opt to take a shorter trip, or get a smaller room (120 points would still get you 8 nights in a studio in Old Key West during the 2nd-most-popular block of dates, the "magic season"), OR you can bank those points and have 280 points the following year for a bigger trip.

 

[DisneyPhD]

We certainly have a little skepticism regarding the whole point system itself.
So you buy in at the minimum 160 points, which will get you "x" nights, in level "y" room during "z" time of year. How many "y" rooms are available during "z" time of year for "x" nights? Is there a lot of compettition for these rooms? Which begs is it really realistic to buy in at the minimum?

How has your experience been with the managing this point system? Is it more trouble than the perceived savings?

Thanks greatly for your feedback.

-Al

Each resort has a certain number of studios, 1BR and 2BR units it varies from one to the next. Only some have the grand villa units. Competition for the rooms is somewhat limited because you get priority booking from 11 to 7 months out at your resort, that is only people who own at that resort can reserve during that time period, at 7 months any DVC member can book available rooms. There is more competition at 7 months at the smaller resorts like BCV and VWL.
The number of points you "need" should be based on your vacationing habits. How long do you typically stay? Do you go every year? What category resort do you stay in? What size room do you want? What time of year do you go?
If there are only two of you and/or if your family up to 4 are fine staying in a studio (normal size hotel room), then the minimum is enough for 6-10 days at the most point expensive resorts. For example, 7 nights during spring break at BCV is 134 points. Or the new BLT MK view is 182 points for 7 nights during the same time.

The point system is a little intimidating when you first start out, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly. When you join you will be given a book with all the point charts for all the resorts, you can also access them from the DVC website. I actually use a program created by a DVC member that allows you to put in your dates you want to go and it will tell you how many points it costs. It can also compare the point costs at all the resorts and room types for your dates.

 

[jim1051]

One thing to consider is the number of points needed use the interval international exchanges. Disney may be all you need right now but someday you might want to echange for that trip to lower slobovia and it would be good to have enough points to cover an echange. We bouught 280 and I think you need 270 for a 2 BR echange "in season".