Looking to maybe join Disney Vacation Club

[Spivey378]

I’ve had a few cocktails tonight and quite frankly I would sign anything at this point.

In all seriousness, I’m really looking forward to my guide hopefully calling tomorrow.

You all might appreciate that my oldest said we shouldn’t get the membership because we said it was not practical in the past! My youngest says go for it. Maybe I will will it to her…

 

[DonMacGregor]

I’ve had a few cocktails tonight and quite frankly I would sign anything at this point.

In all seriousness, I’m really looking forward to my guide hopefully calling tomorrow.

You all might appreciate that my oldest said we shouldn’t get the membership because we said it was not practical in the past! My youngest says go for it. Maybe I will will it to her…

You like her best anyway.

 

[RoseGold]

If you're set on CCV direct, you should read up on the fixed weeks. Assuming the point count lines up, there's not really a downside, even if you never use it and never plan to use it.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/all-about-fixed-weeks-riv-ccv-aul-vgf-poly-charts.3806985/

 

[Lorana]

This is great! I'm a runner as well and have always wanted to do a runDisney race.

The runDisney week also comes with 5 advance registrations for the races (excluding 5K and kids races), just FYI. (I have a Wine & Dine Fixed Week at CCV so happy to answer questions).

 

[bakerworld]

We joined DVC completely spontaneously and had no understanding of UY or the reservation process. We were big last minute vacationers so DVC was a learning curve we've adapted.

We ended up with a December UY because we visit Florida in March and October so no specific UY was overly beneficial for us. Yes, as we always purchased in the Fall, we automatically got the current year points which Member Services has to bank, because the banking window for December UY is July, and those points would be lost. If you do purchase and have reservations already in place for January and/or February you might be able to have the Guide convert them into DVC stays but I am pretty sure you have to do that at purchase for best availability opportunity.

So I'm a big fan of Buy Where You Want to Stay because we discovered the 7 month non-home reservation window doesn't work well for Fall. After 5 years we Bought Where We Wanted to Stay in the Fall. Expensive miss-step. We have been flamed for many of our decisions regarding DVC - here and among our families. We have never regretted our purchase and, as much as we try to resist, we've 4 contracts at 3 different Home Resorts. We use all our points and every few years end up with cash stays at the Dolphin.

I just have two bits of advice **cringe**: DVC is just a resort, it's only a resort, DVD isn't promising anything more so please do not hook parks to the DVC; Don't hook DVC to your kids because they'll go off and, college degree or not, they'll not be able to afford WDW vacations unless you continue chipping in well into their 30's. Our youngest two - 33 & 37 - were 'parked out' long ago and now their vacations are Florida resorts with the youngest buying one park day to enjoy whatever festival is going on at Epcot. We usually cover their air. Our oldest is swamped with mortgage and child care so we usually cover air and tixs. We all usually vacation separately although we've a 3N family vacation in February - 3N being all I could swing for 9 people in a 3Br at AK with the new borrowing restrictions.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

DVC is just a resort, it's only a resort

And "club" is marketing. It is a timeshare.

 

[Spivey378]

And "club" is marketing. It is a timeshare.

you all are my club.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

It sounds like you are leaning more to buying than not, but maybe think about renting points to check it out first. Renting points from another owner is a great way to experience DVC before buying.

 

[eandt]

It sounds like you are leaning more to buying than not, but maybe think about renting points to check it out first. Renting points from another owner is a great way to experience DVC before buying.

Agree we did this 2x's through a very accomodating owner, we were hooked and became owners in June.

 

[Spivey378]

It seems like prices will only go up. Disney Vacation Club seems pretty awesome. We love Disney and have been every year since 2006 (my first year was 1979). Why wait?

 

[RanDIZ]

We’re very happy with our purchase and you will be too. Once you visit CCV during the holidays, it’s over.

Very true! I wasn’t back a week from CCV during Christmas time and already had my offer in.

 

[FinallyFL]

I’ve had a few cocktails tonight and quite frankly I would sign anything at this point.

In all seriousness, I’m really looking forward to my guide hopefully calling tomorrow.

You all might appreciate that my oldest said we shouldn’t get the membership because we said it was not practical in the past! My youngest says go for it. Maybe I will will it to her…

Your oldest daughter is correct, it isn't practical; but it sure is fun

 

[DaveNan]

it isn't practical; but it sure is fun

Same can be said for going to Disney in general

 

[Sandisw]

It seems like prices will only go up. Disney Vacation Club seems pretty awesome. We love Disney and have been every year since 2006 (my first year was 1979). Why wait?

i don’t think you should if you feel you have all the info you need to be happy with your decision.

Renting would give you a chance to stay deluxe first, but that is a lot of money IMO to spend for something you know you will enjoy and have done your homework on!

 

[MickeyMouse3!]

We bought resale first. 150 points at AKL in 2016. We quickly learned that 150 points just wasn't enough for the vacation we wanted. We then bought 75 points direct at SSR. We had to get a blue card, although at the time we really didn't need it to still get any discounts. We now had 225 points, but could only book at the 7 month window if we needed the extra points. In hind sight, we wished we would have bought a minimum of 200 direct points on our first purchase and added a small resale contract later. Keep in mind resale now has several limitations. DVC direct usually has some points available at other resorts. I would suggest contacting them direct to inquire. They will also be able to answer any questions you have.

 

[TheGecko]

Before buying, you also have to take into account the extra costs of a visit that seem to be going up year after year more than inflation:

Airfare - Getting cheap flights to Orlando seems to be a thing of the past
Ground Transportation - You will need to get to and from the airport at a cost since Magical Express is gone
Tickets - Prices have gone up and now you have to pay for Fast Passes which used to be included. I only see these going higher. DVC used to have decent ticket deals outside of AP but these seem to be gone.
Food - Getting less and less inside the resorts now at higher costs.
Annual Maintenance Fees - These will almost always go up.

We owned DVC and sold for a gain, but the nickle and diming got worse and worse each year and it seems to be accelerating. You will feel committed to go each year and it forces you to plan 11 or 7 months out all the time. We now like the flexibility of not having to go to Disney, and shopping for deals when we do go.

 

[Mike9865]

Buy direct.

One of the best perks of doing so is that your account is created the same day and your points are loaded within hours. You can begin making reservations almost immediately. No waiting for offers to be accepted, 4 weeks for ROFR, or the seller taking weeks or months to sign their documents. I've read some horror stories here.

If you are wanting to go in January and use DVC, direct is your best option. When purchasing your contract you must insist that they help you book your welcome home stay because you've heard there is little to no availability. You're not interested in purchasing if you can't use your points asap. You can have them verify availability and reserve the room for your stay before signing anything, as we did. They booked us in a Riviera 1BR for Dec 17-27 next month when the system showed zero availability.

I also view DVC as a luxury purchase. If the price difference of direct vs resale is that significant to you, perhaps reconsider purchasing until you're in a better financial position.

You don't need to wait for your specific guide to return your call. If you're ready to purchase, call and talk to whoever is available.

Lastly, hold your ground on the UY and get the double points. They initially told me Dec UY wasn't available. So I told them if that was the case I was no longer interested in buying. They then put me on hold, spoke to their manager and voila I got what I was looking for. Not saying that will always be the case but it was for me.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Buy direct.

One of the best perks of doing so is that your account is created the same day and your points are loaded within hours. You can begin making reservations almost immediately. No waiting for offers to be accepted, 4 weeks for ROFR, or the seller taking weeks or months to sign their documents. I've read some horror stories here.

If you are wanting to go in January and use DVC, direct is your best option. When purchasing your contract you must insist that they help you book your welcome home stay because you've heard there is little to no availability. You're not interested in purchasing if you can't use your points asap. You can have them verify availability and reserve the room for your stay before signing anything, as we did. They booked us in a Riviera 1BR for Dec 17-27 next month when the system showed zero availability.

I also view DVC as a luxury purchase. If the price difference of direct vs resale is that significant to you, perhaps reconsider purchasing until you're in a better financial position.

You don't need to wait for your specific guide to return your call. If you're ready to purchase, call and talk to whoever is available.

Lastly, hold your ground on the UY and get the double points. They initially told me Dec UY wasn't available. So I told them if that was the case I was no longer interested in buying. They then put me on hold, spoke to their manager and voila I got what I was looking for. Not saying that will always be the case but it was for me.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

Those are all valid points about buying direct. But is all that worth the SIGNIFICANT cost savings of buying resale? We saved $20,000 on the 200 point BCV contract we bought by buying resale. The 5 week delay (from the time we put our offer in until the points were in my account) in having those points available to book was easily worth that money. That's just my opinion, obviously, and others might view having point immediately to book is worth $20,000.

 

[perchy]

What can you afford? I am starting with resale because it is what I can afford. I plan to add on direct in increments that I can afford. I hate that they raised the minimum to 150 pts.

 

[Spivey378]

Thanks again everyone!

I have another question - do you think it is a good idea to get a Disney Visa card and pay for the points that way rather than cash or other financing? I'm hopeful you get 6 months of 0% interest when buying points. The website says "select Disney vacation packages" for the 0%. I'd also get a $300 statement credit and Reward Dollars.

I would then pay it off over the course of the 6 months.