Disney Vacation Club

[Alison3]

Where can I find the prices to become a DVC member? :D

[OKWTink]

Contact DVC directly. They'll tell you the purchase price per point, how many are needed minimum and if there are any incentive deals going on right now.

[BigThunder]

To me, it was actually being at WDW & going through the tour that sold me. I had received the book in the mail & stuff & that didn't do it for me. Our sales guy was just really nice & took so much time with us & the little tour was so much fun, not at all what I expected. If you are going to be at WDW I highly recommend doing one of these.

[Mickey Maniac]

My parents took the tour and thats what sold them on it.

[Sweet_girl99]

i feel like a dummy for asking this question. confused:
how do u become a member. and can you switch with other people if need be? also how many times are u requried to stay per year?
:whistle: :whistle:

[Slowhand]

Hi Sweet_girl99,


Click on http://dvc.disney.go.com/disneyvacationclub/home to find out further information re the Disney Vacation Club.

Basically you buy a number of points for use in your "use year"[how many is up to you to decide] which you can then use for your vacations, not only at WDW but at many other places throughout the world.

We have been members since 1992 and it`s one of the better decisions we`ve made.

It`s very flexible, any unused points can be "banked" until your following "use year" to give you increased spending power in that year.

If I said any more at this stage it would sound very confusing.

I suggest that you click on the link and all will be explained in greater detail.

If you do need any more info. you only have to ask us here on the boards.

Don`t feel a "dummy" for asking the question...you should see some of the things I`ve asked over the last couple of years!

:wave:DVC (http://dvc.disney.go.com/disneyvacationclub/home)

[ebud32]

do the tour. it is what sold me on it. No hard sell they just lay it out for you and let it sell itself. good luck.

[PumbaNY]

We did a tour & it convinced us that we were very intrested but we still had some concerns so we booked a 4 day weekend at the Boardwalk (which is our home base) to not only see the sales side but actually stay and feel what you are getting is what we expected. We know that anything Disney gets involved in in on the level, but maby it was just an excuse for a quick getaway? On the Weekend stay we singed the deal

[Slowhand]

Hi PumbaNY,
Glad to read that you became a member, it`s certainly one of the better investments I`ve made.

Welcome home!

:bounce:

[ukwdwnut]

i sent off for the video, and additional info from DVC, will this info tell me how much it will cost to holiday at one of the six resorts, as there is no mention of this on the website, any help would be appreciated

mike

[Slowhand]

Originally posted by ukwdwnut
i sent off for the video, and additional info from DVC, will this info tell me how much it will cost to holiday at one of the six resorts, as there is no mention of this on the website, any help would be appreciated

mike

Hi ukwdwnut,
This is a difficult question to answer precisely. I doubt whether the video will be too specific regarding exact points usage for all of the resorts, although it may give you a few examples..I have not seen the video so I do not know for sure.

The amount of points you use at each resort varies according to the time of year when you decide to go and also upon the size of the accommodation you require. These vary quite considerably, with Christmas for example being one of the most costly in terms of points usage.

You will be able to bank your points from one year to the next, and also to borrow points from the following year if you want to have a "mega" vacation using your points.
For example, we have 310 points, and by banking and borrowing in 2002, we did a 7 day Disney Cruise, 4 days at VB and around 8 days at the GF. [After all it was our 25th anniversary!]

I hope this helps but if you need any more info before or after you have seen the video then ask away!

:wave:

[ukwdwnut]

thanks slowhand

how much does each point cost?

[Slowhand]

Originally posted by ukwdwnut

how much does each point cost?

Sorry, can`t help you with this one.
We joined way back in 1992...I`d guess that it would currently be around $80 per point.

I have seen some recent posts from some members who have recently joined, no doubt one of them will be along soon with a more positive reply.

:wave:

[OKWTink]

I think it's up to about $87 or so per point, but like Slowhand, I bought in years ago and haven't kept up with the price increases.

[ukwdwnut]

Originally posted by Slowhand


For example, we have 310 points, and by banking and borrowing in 2002, we did a 7 day Disney Cruise, 4 days at VB and around 8 days at the GF. [After all it was our 25th anniversary!]

I hope this helps but if you need any more info before or after you have seen the video then ask away!

:wave:

so 310 points @ $87 per point equates to $26970/£14486

phew a tad too dear i think

[Slowhand]

Originally posted by ukwdwnut


phew a tad too dear i think

I can understand where you are coming from ukwdwnut, it does at first glance seem an awful lot of money.
When you work it out though, most people reckon that it pays for itself in around 4/5 years.

Also the amount of points you purchase is up to you, there is a minimum figure but I`m not sure what it is.

I guess we were lucky to sign up when we did. From 1992 [the year we became members] up to 2000, we had free unlimited access to the parks, as did our guests [ie 50% of the max. occupancy of our chosen accommodation]. As you can appreciate this was a very useful perk.

Taking account of the many times we`ve used our points for our vacations at WDW, it has certainly paid for itself in our case.

Obviously, you need to do your own sums and find out if it`s right for you.


:wave:

[OKWTink]

I think the minimum is 150 points. One thing to keep in mind, the concept of the DVC provides a hedge against the continuously rising cost of lodging. Your DVC won't raise in cost (the dues may go up however) but the resorts will.

Also, if you think about it, the cost of one trip to WDW, especially coming from the UK could pay for a decent down payment in many cases.

[ukwdwnut]

yeah i suppose so, once you've got the points, you've got them. do the points last for life? if so then its money well spent indeed, as you say even after a few years it pays for itself, its not as if you have to buy them all in one go. example if you buy the minimum of say 150 points can you put that towards a stay of your choice and pay the rest?

will have to look into this more now i've got the gist of what happens

thanks slowhand/okwtink, much appreciated :)


mike

[Slowhand]

Originally posted by ukwdwnut
do the points last for life? if so then its money well spent indeed, as you say even after a few years it pays for itself, its not as if you have to buy them all in one go. example if you buy the minimum of say 150 points can you put that towards a stay of your choice and pay the rest?

The points do not exactly last for life, although they will probably see me out! If I recall, they last until 2050 or thereabouts.
When we joined, we were told the reason for this was that Disney`s lease on the land expired at this time.

Yes you can use your points and "top up" any shortfall at your chosen resort by paying cash. We did this on our trip I mentioned in an earlier post when we had to pay for one of the nights at the GF.
When making the booking, the DVC lady in reservations really helped us to get the best deal. This involved checking in and checking out of the GF a couple of times [although this was only a paperwork exercise], so that we paid cash for a week day at the GF, not over the weekend which would have used up more points.

Hope this helps.

[Philharmagic]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this board and I have been reading a lot of posts here about DVC. I just returned home from my First trip to WDW at age 20 and I can't wait to go back. I went with my boyfriends family and I am determined to take my family of 8 very soon. I am interested in DVC because it sounds like I can use the points for various places outside of WDW as well. However, I am worried about the costs. I have ordered my video from Disney and I should be receiving it any day now, but I am just too curious about the costs. How much will I have to pay per month or per year? I have read about price per point and how many points are required to book a one week vacation and it has me worried. Do I have to buy the points every year? Or do i pay one large upfront fee and a small yearly fee for the same number of points each year? I am kind of short on money these days and can't afford to pay thousands of dollars per year.http://www.wdisneyw.com/ubb/smile.gif


Thank You for the help,
Nicole Hubbell

[dcfromva]

Nicole,
Those are some really thoughtful questions. Before you consider DVC, you have to decide how often you plan to go to WDW and what type of accomodations you enjoy staying at.

The conventional wisdom regarding DVC is that you should only buy the points if you are planning many more visits to WDW --at least every other year. Yes, it is absolutely true that you can use your points to stay at many other non-Disney places. However, DVC upfront costs and maintenence fees make it one of the more expensive timeshares. There are timeshares that are part of a much larger network and are given preference in trades (A Marriot TS is one that comes to mind. An example, if you own at Marriot and your heart's desire is to trade into a Marriot in Hawaii, you would be given preference over any other TS groups. )

The last time I checked Saratoga Springs Resorts (SSR) had gone up to $95.00 per point--although Disney generally offers some incentives to bring the price down (usually, it is 5-10 off depending on the incentive and Disney pays closing costs).
All of the other DVC properties would have to be purchased as a resale, so the price is by negotiation. The prices I have seen on those have been around the $70 range. (The reason for the price difference is because SSR has 50 years on the contracts and the others have 38 years remaining.) Generally the buyer pays closing costs for a resale and I have heard it is in the $400.00 range. Sometimes, the buyer pays some more for maintence fees (but it is all according to the agreement between the seller and the buyer).
Once you get past the intitial outlay, you have the annual maintence costs which are really your major cost as they amount to about 60-70% of your costs. Currently, SSR is $3.80 per point (per year). Disney has a convenient monthly payment plan for the dues.
Another factor, if you normally stay at a value resort and you really enjoy staying at a value resort, DVC can not begin to compete cost wise.

-DC :ears: