[tinkerbelle24]

Hi all! I was wondering if anyone can give me some info on the DVC. I am getting interested but wanted to know some more about it.

How much will it cost me?
Where can we stay?
Is it Disney property?
Can I still be on the DDp if DVC members?

Just a little basic info and if it is worth it for only going to WDW every year only once a year.

Thanks all!

[tinkerbelle24]

Nevermind. I just read about this on All Ears and I dont think this is for me. 150 point min for $14500.00???? I dont know how many points you need per week oer year but I think I will just keep booking thru Disney and stay at the values till the kids arnt small anymore then move up to something bigger.. Thanks!

[ranedrops]

Hi. We just became DVC members on our trip this past August.
We purchased into Saratoga Springs - which is what Disney is selling now and is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!- but we can stay at any of the DVC resorts as well as the regulart resorts such as POFQ and AK to name a couple. The neat thing with DVC is that you always have the option of staying not only at WDW and DL but there are many, many place all over the country and the world that you can book with your points. You also have the option of using your points for Disney Cruises.

Here is a link to Disney DVC so you can research:
Disney Vacation Club - The Worlds Best Family Vacation Club Membership


For our 160 points we can stay in a studio (retails for app. $295 per night) for about 10-12 days in the fall (around value season). Each DVC resort has different point charts so you may get more or less time depending on the time of year, the size of the room and the resort you are staying in. The good thing is they never raise the point amounts needed to stay for the length of your ownership. So you should always get your full value of the points you purchased.

You can look at point charts here:
DVC Point Chart, Disney Vacation Club Points


If you purchase through Disney you have to buy in with at least 150 points. The points were priced at $101 each. They had an incentive going on which would give you $10 per point towards your down payment (so each point would then be $91) BUT if you use the name of a DVC member as a referrel they were offering a $15 per point incentive (so it would make it $86 per point). Buying into Saratoga Springs we are members through 2054.

There is a maintenance fee which varies on the resort you buy into and make your home. I beleive SS is app. $3.98 per point per year. You can pay your fee in a lump yearly sum or monthly. As far as purchasing your points Disney does offer financing. I believe if your credit score was 650 or above there was no income verification, etc. You were approved. If it is below then there is more paperwork involved.

Yes, DVC members can still purchase the DDP too. I believe you just have to have it added to your reservation before you check in as it cannot be added on at check in.


Hope I of was of some help. If you are going to WDW check out the DVC tour. It is a no obligation tour and they explain everything and do not hassle you to buy. But use the name of a DVC member you know or get the name of someone off of this board so you can get the best deal should you opt to buy in.

[tinkerbelle24]

OK so this is what I DONT GET ------ $101 per point... 150 points to use for 12 nights at $300 per night doesnt equal $14000.00 that I need to buy the points.. Am I thinking abou this wrong..

[Elmo]

Originally Posted by tinkerbelle24

OK so this is what I DONT GET ------ $101 per point... 150 points to use for 12 nights at $300 per night doesnt equal $14000.00 that I need to buy the points.. Am I thinking abou this wrong..

I am not sure I am getting your question here. Are you looking at renting points or buying in entirely? You need to look at the life of the contract. $14,000 is for 40 years now I think. (I could be mistaken on the exact contract length.) The price per point is just that, the purchase price. It does not relate to the typical room rate or how many points per stay. The $300 per night is the normal rate.

Your are essentially pre-paying for your accomodations at WDW. You can run your own numbers, but we've found it will pay for itself very soon. Also, you have the opportunity to use your points outside WDW.

FWIW, we bought 200 points at the Beach Club. We've been able to go twice a year since we bought in - each time between 5-7 days. The typical room rate is $500 per night. In just under 3 years, we would have spent over $11,000.00 at the typical rate. These are just rough estimates.

There are many other very detailed explanations, so I won't strain my brain beyond this. We are happy we bought & unhappy we didn't buy sooner.

[tinkerbelle24]

So $14000.00 is for over 40 + years???

What will it cost me for say 10 nights at the place dana just stayed at??

[Elmo]

I missed where she was staying. But whatever that price is for the entire contract. I'll plead ignorance here, but I think the newer contracts may even be 50 years. There is an annual maintenance fee based on the number of points.

There are pro's and con's to membership. We checked with an Aunt and some friends who are all members and they were very happy.

Do your homework. How often do you expect to go? Do you want/need a larger space (having your own laundry in the room is sweet!)? Consider ticket prices - we've gone with annual passes. You do get some discounts as DVC members - check them out. Travel expenses for more frequent trips.

We researched and researched. Then we jumped in with both feet.

[tinkerbelle24]

Thanks for the info! I will look into it some more! Thanks again!!!!!

[ranedrops]

Saratoga Springs is what Disney is selling now. If you purchased 150 points it would be 150 points each year until 2054 - that is app. 48 years.

If you purchase another DVC home resort from a broker the length would be shorter as the previous DVC resorts have been around longer than SS. I beleive it is until 2042 but I am not sure.

So if you purchased directly through Disney in at 150 points at SS the cost with the $15 DVC member referrel would be app. $86 per point = $12,900. (plus app. $200 closing costs) Plus your yearly dues.
You would get 150 points each year until 2054.

Like was previous posted - you do have to factor in your variables of how much you would use it, etc. Everyone we know of are very happy with their membership too.
If you do get the chance go through Disney's presentation and see the models. That is what convinced us.

[mrflorida74]

It is tricky to provide all the info in a short space. Hope this helps:-

1. You are buying points from Disney. For your $14,500 they will give you 150 points every year until the year 2054.

2. A key term you will come across is USE YEAR. Each set of 150 points Disney give you will fall in an assigned year. It really doesn't matter too much what your use year is. As much as anything it is there to assist Disney so their admin work is spread over the year.

3. In my case I have 170 points at Wilderness Lodge with a use year of June meaning that on the 1st June each year they add 170 points to my account. I have until 31st May the following year to do something with these points.

4. One obvious thing you will do is book a vacation. Forget all the $$$ on the usual reservation websites. You book a vacation using your points at ANY of the Disney resorts or any of the worldwide hotels in the DVC brochure. Each resort is given a daily value. As an example of what you could get, a 10 day stay at Saratoga Springs from 1st to 10th June would cost 148 points (there are lots of websites showing the points charts). The points for the main Disney resorts never change so it will still cost you just 148 points in 2054.

5. One year you may decide you don't want a Disney vacation or just want a mini-break that only uses 100 of your 150 allocation. No problem. You phone Disney up and ask them to 'BANK' any spare points to your following use-year. Once the following year comes around, you will have your new 150 allocation PLUS however many points you BANKED from the previous year. This means you could have as many as 300 points for your next year. This will get you an awesome vacation!!

6. You may decide you want that awesome 300 point vacation NOW. No problem. Disney also allows you to BORROW points from the following use year.

7. Better news to come!! You can BANK and BORROW all in the same year so if you organise yourself you could end up with a massive 450 points to use on just one vacation. When you look at the points chart you will see 450 on one vacation would get you the holiday from heaven.

8. You can then look on the regular Disney reservation website and smile to yourself when you see the same 10 night vacation would cost you $3,450 if you were not a DVC member. The $14,500 you paid out giving you a holiday every year until 2054 suddenly seems a massive bargain.

9. Please note though that I've just touched the tip of the ice-berg here. Ensure you ask Disney all the questions you will have. Ensure you find out how much the annual maintenance costs will be that you also have to pay (on top of your $14,500). Be sure in yourself that you will be taking regluar Disney vacations. Ask lots of questions on here to other DVC members. I have come across very few people that have regretted joniing and before long people are looking to buy additional points.

I hope this has helped. I have not been on Musebuzz for very long and so a more experienced poster like Cavey will probably be able to provide you will more information if you need it.

[tinkerbelle24]

Thanks for all the help. I will be looking into this more after the holidays.

[Boss Mouse]

Hey Tink,
My input is not as detailed as the others. We are a family of 7. We approached the DVC as a means of 'Financing' our vacations for the next 50 years. We would never be able to travel every year if we didn't. So we pay the $$ every month and go every year.

Then consider the other locations to which you can travel. Den and I plan on a big family WDW vacation in 2008, then use our points for Hawaii for the next trip.

[llama]

Tink - Dana stayed at Old Key West and she rented the points from a DVC owner. The average cost to rent points is approximately $10.00 a point. This can vary from $9 to $11 per point, depending on whom you are dealing with.

[KingOMiami]

John, I think that is one of the best overall descriptions of DVC that I have read

Originally Posted by mrflorida74

It is tricky to provide all the info in a short space. Hope this helps:-

1. You are buying points from Disney. For your $14,500 they will give you 150 points every year until the year 2054.

2. A key term you will come across is USE YEAR. Each set of 150 points Disney give you will fall in an assigned year. It really doesn't matter too much what your use year is. As much as anything it is there to assist Disney so their admin work is spread over the year.

3. In my case I have 170 points at Wilderness Lodge with a use year of June meaning that on the 1st June each year they add 170 points to my account. I have until 31st May the following year to do something with these points.

4. One obvious thing you will do is book a vacation. Forget all the $$$ on the usual reservation websites. You book a vacation using your points at ANY of the Disney resorts or any of the worldwide hotels in the DVC brochure. Each resort is given a daily value. As an example of what you could get, a 10 day stay at Saratoga Springs from 1st to 10th June would cost 148 points (there are lots of websites showing the points charts). The points for the main Disney resorts never change so it will still cost you just 148 points in 2054.

5. One year you may decide you don't want a Disney vacation or just want a mini-break that only uses 100 of your 150 allocation. No problem. You phone Disney up and ask them to 'BANK' any spare points to your following use-year. Once the following year comes around, you will have your new 150 allocation PLUS however many points you BANKED from the previous year. This means you could have as many as 300 points for your next year. This will get you an awesome vacation!!

6. You may decide you want that awesome 300 point vacation NOW. No problem. Disney also allows you to BORROW points from the following use year.

7. Better news to come!! You can BANK and BORROW all in the same year so if you organise yourself you could end up with a massive 450 points to use on just one vacation. When you look at the points chart you will see 450 on one vacation would get you the holiday from heaven.

8. You can then look on the regular Disney reservation website and smile to yourself when you see the same 10 night vacation would cost you $3,450 if you were not a DVC member. The $14,500 you paid out giving you a holiday every year until 2054 suddenly seems a massive bargain.

9. Please note though that I've just touched the tip of the ice-berg here. Ensure you ask Disney all the questions you will have. Ensure you find out how much the annual maintenance costs will be that you also have to pay (on top of your $14,500). Be sure in yourself that you will be taking regluar Disney vacations. Ask lots of questions on here to other DVC members. I have come across very few people that have regretted joniing and before long people are looking to buy additional points.

I hope this has helped. I have not been on Musebuzz for very long and so a more experienced poster like Cavey will probably be able to provide you will more information if you need it.