Not to incite a DVC riot, but there is no way for ANY of us to know the actual severity this will cause. It will be a large, but not insurmountable obstacle. From my understanding, DVC points hold a three-year usable window. I would imagine that the number of points lost in the expiring category are minimal compared to points returned to the current or next year categories.
To say the line starts at DVC is most likely not as accurate as most would think. DVC and AP people tend to not generate as much profit due to deep discounts for their continued patronage.
Granted this falls into the “Not my money” category, but wouldn’t the easiest solution be to first offer current and future year points to return later this year and to offer an equivalently valued gift card to expired points. Yes the total value of gift cards issued would be in the hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, but that money would be re-invested in return trips. One could make the case that Disney prefers the gift card route as it could increase the likelihood of higher than usual “spending“ from its DVC guests.
I know, I know. The DVC Avengers are going to Assemble and fight me but not all the points “lost” during the pandemic are truly lost. Is it unfortunate and unfair to the ones who lost a years worth of points. Definitely. I just don’t see how this becomes the nightmare scenario some make it out to be. If the points “lost” are current or future year points, just reschedule. Yes, the availability may be tighter until the end of the year or even until the beginning of next year, but the points are on the owner to use appropriately.
I am not DVC, but I know many people who are. Not one has told me they are concerned about this or that they think legal action may/will be required. Do I think Disney will go out of their way to accommodate DVC as much as possible? Definitely. Do I think the prioritization will be far more geared towards DVC? Not in the slightest. Maybe towards actually lost expired points, but to think this will cause a DVC revolution seems a little silly.
“There’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!”
See ya real soon, folks!