Talk DVC with the Dis Dads

[AirGoofy]

I have been looking into renting some points for our trip in 2012 to stay at AKV. Been looking at the Savannah view studio, anybody know if this is actually part of the villas or just a special part of the lodge or what?

They are all in same area. AKL has rooms for cash guests and villas. They're types of villas - value, standard, savannah view, club concierge, in studio, 1 br, 2 br, or GV. Think of it as 2 semi-circle hotels located in football end zones with the playing field as savannah. The two hotels are Jambo House and Kidani Village. You will have a savannah view at either hotel. Kidani advantages are the 1st bus stop to parks (not DTD), splash park & bigger water slide, Sanaa restaurant is there, and the 1 br and above have an extra bathroom. Jambo was the first built and has a bigger pool, kids water slide, QS at Mare, Jiko, and Boma restaurants. The values are only at Jambo and are less points, but smaller and views of parking lot. The others are same number of points.

 

[RodBelding]

I've been debating the DVC membership for a while now. We go about every year, and stay in deluxes most of the time, but I still can't get past the down payment. Would love to hear from current owners about why it makes fiscal sense... Thanks guys...

 

[dadio]

well your gonna save going re-sale, but your gonna need the $$ or a home equity line of credit/personal loan, ect......If your tapped in those regards, Disney will be the bank and finance you directly, and from what I read , they are pretty generious on who they finance


now as a fer-instance....we are going next month....my father has been talking about taking all the grandkids there when they get older...now we love disney, so we bought into it SIGHT UNSEEN....we actually came into a little bit of cash and used it....but the upcoming trip was the main reason we bought in...now with 15 people, a grand villa and a deluxe studio for a week, would have cost $10500 for the week,which is about half of what we paid for our contract..granted we are using up all of this yrs and next yrs points for the trip, but it will be worth it....and if we are jonesing to go next yr, we can borrow a bit from 2013....now that isn't taking into account we will pay about $1200-$1300 a yr in fees...but I feel that it is a good deal...plus our rooms are taken care of till 2042!

 

[AirGoofy]

I've been debating the DVC membership for a while now. We go about every year, and stay in deluxes most of the time, but I still can't get past the down payment. Would love to hear from current owners about why it makes fiscal sense... Thanks guys...

We did resale the 1st time through Time Share Store, and they were great. You have to find the right contract (where you want to stay, UY, # points). Look at how many points you would need for your stay and fund a resale contract that meets it. Once you own a DVC, you can add on points in increments of 25 w no financing or 50 w financing through WDW. You may be able to get a resale contract for around $7500 or less. The financial piece for us was that we own outright, bought 1 add on contract for BLT. And, since we go every year (or twice), we spend less time at parks and more enjoying the resort.

 

[RodBelding]

We did resale the 1st time through Time Share Store, and they were great. You have to find the right contract (where you want to stay, UY, # points). Look at how many points you would need for your stay and fund a resale contract that meets it. Once you own a DVC, you can add on points in increments of 25 w no financing or 50 w financing through WDW. You may be able to get a resale contract for around $7500 or less. The financial piece for us was that we own outright, bought 1 add on contract for BLT. And, since we go every year (or twice), we spend less time at parks and more enjoying the resort.

Thanks! That's helpful, I'll look into the Time Share Store.

One more Q; didn't Disney change the perks you get if you buy resale as opposed to through Disney recently? Anyone know what the changes were?

 

[dadio]

pretty sure the big perk to change, is the ability to swap out your points into RCI.....which would be using your timeshare to stay in say las vegas or the like.....if you plan on just using @ the world, I do not believe anything has changed...
I'm sure stopher will chime, he is def. more knowledgeable than I..

 

[AirGoofy]

Thanks! That's helpful, I'll look into the Time Share Store.

One more Q; didn't Disney change the perks you get if you buy resale as opposed to through Disney recently? Anyone know what the changes were?

Yes. If you buy resale now, then you cannot exchange those points for Cruise or other adventure collection. I did not think the exchange points for either was a great deal as you had an exchange fee associated with that. I bought DVC to stay at WDW, and maybe a trip to Vero Beach or Hilton Head (DVC resorts) every now and then. From talking with others, DVC has taken perks away over the years and increased the price of points.

 

[dlhvac]

at one time the ap was free to dvc

 

[stopher1]

I've been debating the DVC membership for a while now. We go about every year, and stay in deluxes most of the time, but I still can't get past the down payment. Would love to hear from current owners about why it makes fiscal sense... Thanks guys...

For us it makes a lot of sense, in that a) we go regularly anyway and are going to pay to stay; b) we are a family of 5, and those dinky traditional hotel rooms don't work for us and I don't want to pay for 2 rooms or get the "quasi" suite at ASMusic. True, there are annual dues to be paid with any timeshare - not just DVC. So true, I'm paying something each year, but the reality is, that I am paying much less per year for my multiple vacations than I would be by paying cash - even if I had a nice discounted rate. When I figure my cost analysis, I end up getting a week's worth of VALUE nights for 2.5 weeks worth of DELUXE level accomodations. I spread the cost of tickets out over 2 years with AP's (at a nice discounted price) and we eat IN the room a LOT, so our meals cost is diminished. With 5 trips to to the World and 3 trips to the Land last year... I would never be able to afford all of that at rack or even slightly discounted cash rates.

Thanks! That's helpful, I'll look into the Time Share Store.

One more Q; didn't Disney change the perks you get if you buy resale as opposed to through Disney recently? Anyone know what the changes were?

pretty sure the big perk to change, is the ability to swap out your points into RCI.....which would be using your timeshare to stay in say las vegas or the like.....if you plan on just using @ the world, I do not believe anything has changed...
I'm sure stopher will chime, he is def. more knowledgeable than I..

Yes. If you buy resale now, then you cannot exchange those points for Cruise or other adventure collection. I did not think the exchange points for either was a great deal as you had an exchange fee associated with that. I bought DVC to stay at WDW, and maybe a trip to Vero Beach or Hilton Head (DVC resorts) every now and then. From talking with others, DVC has taken perks away over the years and increased the price of points.

at one time the ap was free to dvc

THere have been a few misconceptions here and yes, I will step in and respond. So the BIG change that went into effect on March 20, 2011 with DVC is this...

... points that are purchased on the RESALE market (vs. direct from DVC) are no longer eligible to be used for the DISNEY COLLECTION of resorts - i.e. the WDW Resorts, DL Resorts, Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney. They ARE still eligible to be used/traded out with RCI and any other collection available. This only affected contracts that closed AFTER March 20th - so everyone with an existing re-sale contract prior to that date was grandfathered in and can still use their points for a Disney Collection stay. Resale points going forward are ineligible for stays at any Disney Collection offering - but they CAN still be used at non-Disney locales within the RCI network (such as Las Vegas, Europe, Hawaii, etc)

One of the big rumors swirling in the DVC community is some sort of a pending "Tiered" Loyalty program that DVC is coming up with... only time will tell on that front, but by stripping away the ability to use those resale points for at least one classification of "trade" offerings within the DVC system... it's a pretty safe bet to say that more changes are coming.

DVC can and does change the perks offered fairly regularly. DON'T buy in for the perks. They are nice - but just that... perks. All you are buying are accomodations for the next 40-50 years. Period.

I first looked at DVC back in 1991 when it was brand new, and again in 1994 on our honeymoon. I wasn't able to join until 2007 - but sure wish I'd been able to do so early on. The first few years, DVC gave "Length of Stay" Tickets that were good through the year 2000, which as I understand them, were a ticket good for the number of nights associated with an individual trip, but I recall reading/hearing of some kind of cap on the number of entries per calendar year...so while like an AP, it wasn't a true AP good for 365 days. And with that, I cannot say definitively whether AP's have ever been free or not... but everyone that I've spoken with that joined during the 1990s have all said that AP's have never been free, and I've never been able to find anything in print about such a claim. The AP's have been discounted by $100 for the past several years, and those of us on the DVC boards hope and pray it continues - because like any other perk - they can take it away in a heartbeat.

 

[cj9200]

What Christopher said. Plus I will add this. I am able to invite friends and family to stay with us. I don't charge them for the room but they usually buy a dinner or a souvenir for DD. One trip, I took both sets of Grandparents with us for a couple of days to celebrate DD's 4th birthday. 4 of the 6 adults on that rip are no longer with us but we have the memories and pictures to relive the fun we had.

I can also get rooms that there is no way I could regularly afford even if they were available. Took a mega trip with DD and 6 of her friends for her Sweet 16. We stayed in a Grand Villa that would have cost us a gazillion dollars.

 

[RodBelding]

THere have been a few misconceptions here and yes, I will step in and respond. So the BIG change that went into effect on March 20, 2011 with DVC is this...

... points that are purchased on the RESALE market (vs. direct from DVC) are no longer eligible to be used for the DISNEY COLLECTION of resorts - i.e. the WDW Resorts, DL Resorts, Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney. They ARE still eligible to be used/traded out with RCI and any other collection available. This only affected contracts that closed AFTER March 20th - so everyone with an existing re-sale contract prior to that date was grandfathered in and can still use their points for a Disney Collection stay. Resale points going forward are ineligible for stays at any Disney Collection offering - but they CAN still be used at non-Disney locales within the RCI network (such as Las Vegas, Europe, Hawaii, etc)

One of the big rumors swirling in the DVC community is some sort of a pending "Tiered" Loyalty program that DVC is coming up with... only time will tell on that front, but by stripping away the ability to use those resale points for at least one classification of "trade" offerings within the DVC system... it's a pretty safe bet to say that more changes are coming.

DVC can and does change the perks offered fairly regularly. DON'T buy in for the perks. They are nice - but just that... perks. All you are buying are accomodations for the next 40-50 years. Period.

I first looked at DVC back in 1991 when it was brand new, and again in 1994 on our honeymoon. I wasn't able to join until 2007 - but sure wish I'd been able to do so early on. The first few years, DVC gave "Length of Stay" Tickets that were good through the year 2000, which as I understand them, were a ticket good for the number of nights associated with an individual trip, but I recall reading/hearing of some kind of cap on the number of entries per calendar year...so while like an AP, it wasn't a true AP good for 365 days. And with that, I cannot say definitively whether AP's have ever been free or not... but everyone that I've spoken with that joined during the 1990s have all said that AP's have never been free, and I've never been able to find anything in print about such a claim. The AP's have been discounted by $100 for the past several years, and those of us on the DVC boards hope and pray it continues - because like any other perk - they can take it away in a heartbeat.

That's really helpful, thanks for the response. Based on the above, I guess it makes much more sense to buy from Disney direct now, so that we can trade into other Disney resorts (which is all we'd really do anyway). Good to know.

Thanks again!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

That's really helpful, thanks for the response. Based on the above, I guess it makes much more sense to buy from Disney direct now, so that we can trade into other Disney resorts (which is all we'd really do anyway). Good to know.

Thanks again!

Just to be clear, the DISNEY COLLECTION that Stopher is talking about are current non-DVC Disney World Resorts like the Poly, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, etc and other Disney Properties such as the Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney.
No matter where or when you buy your points (from Disney or from the resale market) you can still use them at any of the DVC resorts on property (Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Bay Lake Towers, Boardwalk, Beach Club Villas, Animal Kingdom Villas, Villas atWilderness Lodge) or the off-site locations (Hilton Head, Vero Beach, Aulani in Hawii, Villas at Disneyland's Grand Californian)

 

[stopher1]

That's really helpful, thanks for the response. Based on the above, I guess it makes much more sense to buy from Disney direct now, so that we can trade into other Disney resorts (which is all we'd really do anyway). Good to know.

Thanks again!

You're welcome.

That change is something DVC made banking on trying to drive more sales direct rather than resale. It really isn't so bad at WDW, but can be a real problem if someone wants to stay at VGC at DL... being the smallest DVC resort in the system with only 50 rooms, many get shut out and need to book @ the DLH or the PPH, but with this change can't do that any more at all. If you're a points cruiser too, you'd be out of luck.

 

[stopher1]

Just to be clear, the DISNEY COLLECTION that Stopher is talking about are current non-DVC Disney World Resorts like the Poly, the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, etc and other Disney Properties such as the Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney.
No matter where or when you buy your points (from Disney or from the resale market) you can still use them at any of the DVC resorts on property (Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Bay Lake Towers, Boardwalk, Beach Club Villas, Animal Kingdom Villas, Villas atWilderness Lodge) or the off-site locations (Hilton Head, Vero Beach, Aulani in Hawii, Villas at Disneyland's Grand Californian)

Good point of clarification Barry, thanks. I did mean the non-DVC resorts, moderate and above with NO DVC componentattached... so that would be excluding the Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Boardwalk & AKV at WDW and the Grand Californian at DL.

The Disney Collection includes: Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, DL Paris, Tokyo DL, Hong Kong DL, DL proper in CA (except for the Grand Cal) and the following WDW resorts... Carribean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans, polynesian, Grand Floridian, and the Ft Wilderness resort. To stay at any of these requires a trade-out fee of $95 per reservation (except the DL hotels), and the points required are fairly high compared to the DVC resorts.

 

[trennr]

So the BIG change that went into effect on March 20, 2011 with DVC is this...points that are purchased on the RESALE market (vs. direct from DVC) are no longer eligible to be used for the DISNEY COLLECTION of resorts - i.e. the WDW Resorts, DL Resorts, Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney.

That change is something DVC made banking on trying to drive more sales direct rather than resale. It really isn't so bad at WDW, but can be a real problem if someone wants to stay at VGC at DL... being the smallest DVC resort in the system with only 50 rooms, many get shut out and need to book @ the DLH or the PPH, but with this change can't do that any more at all. If you're a points cruiser too, you'd be out of luck.

Ouch!!! That hurts the resale market. Unless there is a price drop in the resale market?

Seems a little harsh since Disney does not offer a "Buy back" program...where people can unload a DVC if they financially could not afford the property anymore. DVC Resale is the only method for those people to get out of that.

DVC Resale also offers a great value for those who are interested in DVC, but are not in "a rush" to get in. Before the only reason (for me anyway) to buy directly from DVC would be if time was an issue...or simply if you could not find a newer property via Resale Market (i.e. Aulani).

While typing all this a thought occoured to me.

What if smeone bought say 200pts via resale at SSR...then they bought 200pts at BLT from DVC total of 400 pts...how would DVC look at that as far as if you wanted to use points on a Cruise. Could you use all 400pts then or could you use only the 200pts from the DVC direct purchased property? ( I think I know the answer...and I already don't like it.)

 

[stopher1]

Ouch!!! That hurts the resale market. Unless there is a price drop in the resale market?

Seems a little harsh since Disney does not offer a "Buy back" program...where people can unload a DVC if they financially could not afford the property anymore. DVC Resale is the only method for those people to get out of that.

DVC Resale also offers a great value for those who are interested in DVC, but are not in "a rush" to get in. Before the only reason (for me anyway) to buy directly from DVC would be if time was an issue...or simply if you could not find a newer property via Resale Market (i.e. Aulani).

While typing all this a thought occoured to me.

You’re right Nate, it is a bit harsh, IMO, but as Ebeneezer Scrooge might say, “It’s business!” As far as I can tell, DVC sees the secondary market as a necessary evil, and from what I can tell through casual observance, is the resale market has taken on a huge life that DVC never truly anticipated, or desired. So in a means to squash it down a bit, they’re taking steps to ensure their own continued viability instead of anyone else’s. It’s not customer friendly to not have a buy-back program, but honestly, they probably don’t care if an owner cannot use their points – what they care about most is selling more points and keeping their profits flowing. Even if they have to foreclose and take a contract back, they can turn around and resell it for a profit. The company has gotten very, VERY used to the cash that DVC has continued to bring in shoring up the bottom line, even through the recession, and one of the primary reasons why most new construction over the past decade has been DVC related only. A harsh reality of the mouse it is.

What if smeone bought say 200pts via resale at SSR...then they bought 200pts at BLT from DVC total of 400 pts...how would DVC look at that as far as if you wanted to use points on a Cruise. Could you use all 400pts then or could you use only the 200pts from the DVC direct purchased property? ( I think I know the answer...and I already don't like it.)

If those 200 SSR resale points were purchased prior to March 20, 2011 cut-off date – then all 400 including the BLT points purchased direct could be used for any Disney Collection trade. If not, then only the 200 BLT purchased direct could be used for a Disney Collection trade.

 

[AirGoofy]

Disney also has a ROFR policy that effects the resale market. That said, if I try to sell Barry my DVC for $5.00, then Disney has the right to buy it back before I sell it to Barry,then sell that to Barry for whatever the current price is. If you look on EBay, you see timeshares for $1.00, but not DVC. Sometimes, that is out of annual dues, but Disney resales are effected by ROFR and a time limit on the time share.

 

[brattosa]

Late joining in on the thread but we're SSR owners, too. It took us about 6 years to finally get past the initial shock of the cost and think of the long term value and savings. On our 2007 trip, we stopped by the Frontierland kiosk and spoke with a DVC person who was a former AK Tumble Monkey (that was a hoot). It was our last day of our trip so we sat through the presentation at Exposition Hall that afternoon and then had to leave to pack for home so we didn't have time for the resort tour. We ended up buying into DVC SIGHT UNSEEN! Our first trip "home" was last summer to a two bedroom villa in the Paddock. We walked in and our jaws dropped. Watching the DVDs, viewing YouTube room tours and reading the threads gave us an idea of what we had bought into but WOW!!! We were amazed at the space and amenities and we're looking forward to our second trip "home" next December for the Christmas holidays (any hints on making sure we get a room during that season???)

 

[unclescrooge_0707]

I can also get rooms that there is no way I could regularly afford even if they were available. Took a mega trip with DD and 6 of her friends for her Sweet 16. We stayed in a Grand Villa that would have cost us a gazillion dollars.

That was a great trip report, by the way.

 

[ospopo5]

DVC member at BLT. Taking our first trip home in August!

I have a great guide that can work with you if you are looking direct from Disney. He is direct from Doorway to Dreams here and can really help you figure eveyrthing out.

He worked with us for over 2 years until we were able to make the purchase. Very responsive, owns DVC himself and has a family he takes on multiple vacations there.

If you want to talk it through with him send me a message and I can put you in touch.

We have a very small contact (special promotion) but are already wanting to up the points soon! Getting that addonitis.