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The benefits of joining the Disney Vacation Club

Filed under Disney Vacation Club by Cheryl Pendry on August 4, 2012 at 12:26 pm {no comments}

Would it be beneficial for us to join the Disney Vacation Club? That’s a question that no doubt many people have agonised with over the years, and one that I was asked by Les and Jill Taylor on one of my recent blogs.

The first, and most important, thing is to understand exactly what the Disney Vacation Club is, and that’s something I covered in a previous blog. To sum it up, essentially it’s Disney’s version of a timeshare, but it’s a much more friendly version. You’re certainly not going to get any high pressured sales if you do want to learn more and take a tour when you’re next at Walt Disney World or Disneyland – and in fact, I’d encourage you to do that, if it’s something that appeals to you.

Disney's Saratoga Springs, the biggest Disney Vacation Club resort to date

Of course, the other thing I would say, as the co-author of PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide, is that this will be essential in making your decision on whether to buy in or not. It’s packed with answers to every question you may have about how the DVC works, and probably questions you didn’t even know you had!

There are some other useful sources in previous blogs as well. I posed the question does the Disney Vacation Club make sense for us? and also looked at what to know before buying into the Disney Vacation Club, both of which should give you more information.

Now going back to Les and Jill’s question to me, they explained that they’d like to take the entire family to Disney in the next few years, a total of 15 people. With that big a group, you’d certainly need a huge accommodation! Even the three-bedroom villas available at many of the Disney Vacation Club resorts only house up to 12 people, so even those wouldn’t be enough. However, perhaps a couple of two-bedroom villas, which each sleep at least eight people, might be an option.

Larger rooms, such as a one- or two-bedroom villa at the Beach Club Villas will drain your points allocation

Those will take a lot of points though, with the number varying, as always depending on the time of the year you visit, the property you choose, and what nights you say, with Fridays and Saturdays pricier. Two-bedroom villas range in price from 54 to 98 points a night, so that’s something worth knowing before going ahead with any purchase of points to buy into the Disney Vacation Club, as you need to know roughly how many you’ll need to use.

Something else Les and Jill mentioned, and I hope they won’t mind me saying this, is that they’re retired seniors. The Disney Vacation Club has a minimum contract length of up to 2042, with contracts now going up to 2062. Of course, if you’re making a purchase of this length, you want to know that either you, or your family, can enjoy it. As it’s something that you own for the length of the contract, then you can bequeath it in your will for other members of the family to enjoy.

What I would say is that the Disney Vacation Club can give you some amazing savings on Disney vacations over the years, but it is a long term commitment, and you need to know that you, and your family will be happy to travel to Disney for many years to make the best of it.

Disney Files Magazine for DVC Members – summer 2012

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on July 8, 2012 at 4:22 am {6 comments}

Hooray, it’s that time of year again, when the latest edition of the Disney Files magazine rolls up for Disney Vacation Club Members, and this one is excellent. If you haven’t already received it, and as always we’re behind the States, living over here in the UK, then it’s well worth the wait.

As you may remember, when the spring 2012 issue showed up, I reviewed that (insert link) and I wasn’t overly impressed with the contents. Well, it’s almost as if Disney listened to what I said, and really upped their game for this issue. Wow, what an improvement!

Unsurprisingly, the first thing that struck me when it came through the letterbox was the front over. It’s a photo montage, made up of Member photos, illustrating the new Cars Land at Disneyland. That piqued my interest immediately, as ever since this was announced, we’ve been desperate to experience it – and finally we will later this year.

The front page is followed up by a four page spread about this amazing new land, with lots of new information that I hadn’t come across before. In particular, I loved the information about the covered queue, and how you get to learn more about Stanley, a character only shown as a statue in the original film. I also hadn’t appreciated that the new Radiator Springs Racers are also competitive, adding a little something different. The fact that Cars Land is the largest rock work project outside of Tokyo DisneySea also fascinated me, and I can’t wait to see it in person.

Aside from Cars Land, there’s plenty more to enjoy in this issue. Even before I read the report on the results of a survey about the magazine, I’d noticed they’d changed the content. Sure enough, towards the end of the two pages, looking at the comments from Members, and I noticed that they’ve made a point of reducing the Disney Diversions section, which looked at news from the Disney studios, and publishers. In its place more Member news, which to me is a really good move.

This issue, that covers the renovations that are being carried out inside the rooms at Saratoga Springs. Although we’re not going to be staying there on our next visit, I may have to try and sneak a look at the rooms, as from the photos, they look lovely, with some wonderful touches. While we’re over there, we’ll also have to check out the new fire pit at that resort, with Old Key West also getting a similar addition.

Turning back to Disney destinations, the Disney Files looks at the other major work taking place at Disney parks around the world. Of course, that has to include the expansion of Fantasyland, with the focus very much on the Beauty and the Beast theme to it, including the Be Our Guest restaurant. Now that I’ve seen the menu for that, we are so going to have to try that out in December!

However, I was probably more interested to read about the massive expansion that’s taking place in Hong Kong Disneyland, as since the plans were first announced, I haven’t heard that much more about that. Having read the article, I think I definitely need to plan in a return visit back to that park to sample the new additions there.

There’s so much more to this issue, including a fascinating read about Epcot’s creation by Disney legend Marty Sklar, which you have to read, the neighbourhood notes (boy have they been busy at Hilton Head!) and lots more updates from the Disney parks around the world.

If you haven’t had your summer copy of the Disney Files yet, then you’re in for a real treat. If you already have received it, hopefully you’ve read, and enjoyed it, and if not, then why not?!

PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide – what’s changed and been updated?

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on July 1, 2012 at 9:39 am {one comment}

With the publication of the latest update to PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide for Members and Members-To-Be, you may be wondering what’s changed. After all, it can’t be that much, can it? Well, you’d be surprised….

It’s six months since the last update, which saw the addition of all the 2013 points charts for the Disney Vacation Club resorts. Things like that are headline news, so you’ll be aware of them, but here are some things that you may not have spotted….

More Member perks

More Member perks have been introduced at Aulani (copyright Elaine Masters)

There have been so many member perks added that we’ve had to put more pages into the book… seriously!

The vast majority of the new additions are at Vero Beach, Hilton Head, and especially at Aulani. Perhaps that’s not as much of a surprise, as it’s a brand new resort and Disney have been busy arranging as many special offers as they can for members who are lucky enough to visit. Hopefully we’ll be able to sample some of those offers someday soon….

Even at Walt Disney World and Disneyland there are constantly changes to the offers available to members, with some added while others are removed.

 

The addition of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel to the Member portfolio

Recognising that the Villas at the Grand Californian’s 50 two-bedroom-equivalent villas may not be enough for their members, the Disney Vacation Club is now allowing members to stay in the Grand Californian Hotel itself on points.

Members can now use their points at the Grand Californian Hotel

To my mind, it’s a great change, as it is tough to get into the Villas, but is it a great deal, and what is the hotel like compared to the Villas? Well, we’ve added a brand new section into PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide covering exactly that topic. That means even more pages again!

Changing prices of DVC resorts

With the Disney Vacation Club raising its prices three times in the last six months, we’ve recalculated the break-even point for people considering joining DVC, with some interesting results. The resale price of each resort is also constantly changing, and we’ve gone back and double checked all those figures to give you an idea of how much buying through resale will set you back.

Adventures by Disney

Adventures By Disney have announced their 2013 itineraries, including new ones for DVC members only in Scotland, South America, and Southeast Asia. I’ve already covered this in detail in a previous blog.

We’ve added all of those into the book, along with the new points charts for 2013. All I’m going to say is if you want to go to places like Australia, you’re going to need a lot of points!

More 2013 points charts..

The Disney Vacation Club is literally changing all the time, and within the last few days, the 2013 points charts have appeared for the Walt Disney World resorts other than the DVC resorts. We’re talking the likes of the Polynesian, Yacht Club, Fort Wilderness, and Port Orleans here, and those details have been added into PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide.

2013 points charts are now out for Tokyo Disney

Equally, the World Passport Collections points charts are out for next year, so we’ve checked for any changes in those. In fact, we delayed publishing the latest edition, as at first only Tokyo Disney had their 2013 charts out, with no sign of those from Paris, and Hong Kong. However, as soon as those appeared we added them in, holding publication for a few extra days to ensure you had the most up to date information.

And, just in case you’re thinking is that it?, those are only the major changes in the latest edition. There are also a huge amount of small changes, so small you may not even notice them, as they’re not highlighted in the way that changes to PassPorter’s Walt Disney World and PassPorter’s Disney Cruise Line are.

In fact, since the first edition of PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide was published back in 2009, now we’re on the tenth edition, and a total of 23 additional pages have been added, bringing the page count up to 191. Soon, the way the Disney Vacation Club is growing, we’ll be way over the 200 page mark…. and we’ll ensure that it’s fully updated with the latest changes for all Members and Members-To-Be….

What’s your favorite Disney Vacation Club resort?

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on June 24, 2012 at 9:03 am {13 comments}

That’s the question posed this week on the Owning The Magic forums on the PassPorter message boards,  and wow, what a great question!

Hilton Head is one of those I'm not including, although you can in your replies, if it's your favorite!

It’s one that’s certainly got people thinking, and many are discovering it’s not that easy to give an answer. Of course, with Disney theming, you’d expect it to be tough to make a choice between which resort is your favorite. I’ll say here that Vero Beach, Hilton Head, Aulani, and the Grand Californian at Disneyland, wonderful as they all are, are out of the running here. The criteria is going to apply to Walt Disney World, and I think that’s probably only fair. After all, how can you compete with having four Disney theme parks on your doorstep?!

I’ll say straight off that Old Key West, and Saratoga Springs don’t appeal that much, simply down to location, although I noticed from the response to the original question that Old Key West was mentioned a number of times. It’s certainly got its fans, and I can’t deny that it has a lovely, laid back atmosphere, perfect especially if you’re planning that much park time, and the huge rooms are a definite bonus.

Now that's what you call a great location! Bay Lake Tower, as seen from the Magic Kingdom monorail station

Let’s look next at the Magic Kingdom resorts. Of those, we prefer Bay Lake Tower for its location – nothing beats being able to walk back to your home for the night from the park or walk to one of our favorite restaurants, the California Grill, and the views are quite something, especially if you can snag a theme park view. However, the rooms are on the small side, and there are problems with the wear and tear on the furnishings in some of the rooms, although thankfully we’ve never experienced that ourselves.

The Villas at Wilderness Lodge get a lot of fans, because of the rustic theme to them, and I enjoy that, but our stay there was marred by being located in the furthest possible room from the main building. Not a great introduction to the place!

Another Disney Vacation Club resort with a real feeling of nature are the Villas at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Now how can you compete with having a savannah right outside your room? Well, in fairness, you can, because location wise, understandably, they’re pretty much on the edge of Disney property, which can be a pain, something which was pointed out in answer to the original question.

The lovely lobby of the BoardWalk

So it’s over to the Epcot resorts finally, home to the BoardWalk Villas, and Beach Club Villas. Location wise, you can’t really beat them, within walking distance to both Epcot, and the Studios. The difference really comes down to the theme of each, with the Beach Club Villas perhaps being slightly quieter, and a little bit further away from the evening action on the BoardWalk. We enjoyed our stay at the BoardWalk, although I’d really hate to be in one of the end villas, as a bit like the Wilderness Lodge, they’re so far from the action.

Not a problem you’ll encounter at the Beach Club Villas, where even the end villas are either close to the parking lot or the walkways to Epcot. Ah, now this is home to us! Why? Well, location, location, location first off – as someone said on the message boards, you can dine out every night on World Showcase. What finer endorsement can there be? But, perhaps more than that, this is the place that always feels like home to us, and isn’t that what we’re all looking for from a Disney Vacation Club resort?

Of course, the final thought to leave you with is one response to the original question, which is probably also a key consideration. Your favorite can change, depending on what your plans are for your trip. Want to spend time away from the parks? Saratoga, Old Key West or Animal Kingdom Lodge all may suit… If your focus is Epcot, perhaps during the Food and Wine or Flower and Garden Festival, then your attention will turn naturally to the BoardWalk and Beach Club Villas. Got young kids who want to spend all their time in the Magic Kingdom? Then perhaps Bay Lake Tower or Wilderness Lodge will work better…

So, how about you? What’s your favorite Disney Vacation Club resort, and why?

Increasing ticket prices and what they mean for Disney Vacation Club Members

Filed under Disney Vacation Club by Cheryl Pendry on June 17, 2012 at 3:21 am {8 comments}

As you’re no doubt aware, Disney ticket prices have recently gone through their annual increase, but there was good, and bad news for Disney Vacation Club Members.

Perhaps one of the better perks that Members enjoy is the discount on a Walt Disney World Annual Pass. I still remember being delighted when it was first announced, immediately realising how much it would save us, as we usually spend at least 10 days a year, and preferably more if we can, at the resort.

The Premium Annual Pass adds in water park admission

For as long as I can remember, the discount on an adult Annual Pass has been $100, with $125 off the adult price of a Premium Annual Pass, which adds in admission to DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney, both water parks, and general admission to Disney’s Wide World of Sport.

As usual, there wasn’t much notice of the ticket prices increasing, and I wasn’t around to take advantage of buying them at the lower price, so when I discovered that an adult Annual Pass had gone up by $55, I groaned, not having yet purchased ours. Just as I was about to start calculating this increase into the cost of our December vacation, I discovered that for Disney Vacation Club Members, there was at least good news. The saving on these passes had been raised from $100 to $149, effectively meaning adults only pay a few bucks more after the price rise.

That’s great news for us, as we don’t have children, but for families, the news wasn’t quite so great. The discount for Members remained the same as it did previously, despite these prices going up as well.

Children now pay the same as adults to play in the parks at Walt Disney World

With Disney Vacation Club discounts, Annual Passes for both adults, and children are now $425 plus tax, while the Premium Annual Pass is $559 for anyone aged three or over. That’s the same price as adult Annual Passes. However, this is in line with all Annual Pass prices, with those available to the general public following exactly the same pattern.

Essentially, everyone is now going to be paying the same amount of money for a price, once you’re over the age of three, regardless of whether you’re an adult or a child. Is this fair? Perhaps not, but that’s the way Disney have decided to go….

On the other side of the States, there was no protection for any Disney Vacation Club Member from the increase to the price of Disneyland tickets. Members don’t fare particularly well with perks on Disneyland tickets, and never have done. The only discount available at present is $20 off the price of new Deluxe, or Premium Annual Passports, not really any use if you’re only heading out there for a few days.

The changes at the California Adventure, including the addition of World of Color, mean admission prices have seen a steep rise

The price increases at Disneyland were also more eye watering, perhaps not surprisingly, given the massive investment that’s been made in the California Adventure. That’s culminated in the newly opens Cars Land, which will no doubt draw the crowds, but over the last couple of years, there have also been improvements to much of the rest of the park, with upgrades to existing attractions, along with completely new ones, like the Little Mermaid.

Of course, Disney needs to recoup that money, and part of that’s going to come through increased ticket prices. The Premium Annual Pass, which Disney Vacation Club Members get their $20 discount off, rose from $499 to $649 – an extra $150. This gives you access to the park year round with no blackout dates.  Even the Deluxe Annual Passport, which gives you 315 days access to the parks, is up almost $100 from $379 to $469. Somehow the Member discount isn’t going to help much on purchasing either of these….

I’m just relieved we won’t be paying anymore for our adult Annual Passes at Walt Disney World for our next trip, although that relief is offset by the fact that we’ll also be visiting Disneyland. Ouch, those increases are going to hurt!

So what did you think about the latest price increases and what it means for Disney Vacation Club Members? Over to you….

The price of buying into the Disney Vacation Club

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on June 14, 2012 at 3:14 am {5 comments}

Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much it costs to become a Disney Vacation Club Member these days.

Prices to buy points at Bay Lake Tower are increasing again

Part of that is down to the latest announcement that prices will be increasing again for anyone who wants to buy points in either Bay Lake Tower or Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas.  If you’re going to be buying points after 15 July, you’re looking at $165 for Bay Lake Tower, and $135 for Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, another $5 on the price, compared to the present rates.

I have to say I was surprised by the latest move, especially given how many price rises there have been recently for Disney Vacation Club points. As Tim points out in his article, it’s the third increase in just six months. In the current economic climate, it’s not what I expected Disney to be doing, but I guess it says something for how well sales must be going. That’s born out by Tim’s details of monthly sales for May 2012.  My goodness, I never thought I’d be seeing headlines about the “highest number of point sales in a month” for almost two years.

Prices are also rising for buying into Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas

Personally, I’m annoyed about the price rises (and I’m sure I’m not the only one!), as I’d really like to add on another few points at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. However, until some money comes through to pay for it, it’s not going to happen, and in the meantime, I’ve been watching those prices go up and up. If only the exchange rate was going up at a similar rate to offset the increase, but sadly it isn’t. I guess I’m going to need to either stump up more money than I originally planned, or think very carefully about the addition of more points.

And, let’s be honest, the Disney Vacation Club almost have you over a virtual barrel. If you now want to go down the cheaper route of resale, then you have restrictions on you, with those points only now available to use for Disney Vacation Club resorts, RCI exchanges, Club Cordial or Club Intrawest. Since March 2011, resale points can no longer be used for Disney cruises, Adventures by Disney or for stays at any of the international Disney parks. As we like to use our points for both cruising, and sometimes visits to Disneyland Paris, resale isn’t an option for us.

However, I can’t help but think that the price rises also have something to do with the latest project in the works – the Grand Floridian Villas.  There’s already speculation in the Owning the Magic forum of the PassPorter boards about how much the Grand Floridian Villas points will start selling for, and I have no doubt that the price increase, particularly at Bay Lake Tower, is starting to pave the way for a much higher introductory price than we’ve seen before.

Of course, Disney Vacation Club points have always increased, like most things, although there are often discounts, and special offers to be had. I was fascinated to find a DVC Price History on Mousesavers. When we first bought in, back in 2002, we’d have paid $84 a point, although I do remember there being a discount off that price. Although the chart stops in 2006, that’s roughly the time period when we purchased most of our points, so it was really interesting to see how much we would’ve paid. Of course, at the time whenever we added points, we always thought the price was expensive! With today’s prices, somehow they suddenly don’t look that bad!

In 1992, points at Old Key West only cost $56!

It’s also interesting, now that the Disney Vacation Club is more than 20 years old, to look at the rate of price increases over that time. Comparing December 1992 to December 2002, prices rose from $56 a point to $84 a point, a 50% increase. If we now look at July 2002, and compare it to the prices that will be in effect from next month, we can see that prices 10 years ago were $80, while from 15 July, the most expensive points will be $165. That’s an increase of 106%, showing just how much faster prices are rising now. I dread to think how much we’ll be looking at paying by 2022….

So how do you feel about the recent price rises? Are you thinking about buying into the Disney Vacation Club for the first time, and have the price increases made you think again or consider going the resale route? If you’re an existing Member, would you add more points at the new rates, and are you thinking of investing in the Grand Floridian Villas at whatever price they may be?

Staying concierge at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on May 31, 2012 at 12:15 am {14 comments}

A recent question in the Owning Your Magic forum on the PassPorter message boards asked about whether it was worth staying concierge at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas.

So what are the benefits of staying concierge?

The first benefit you get is before you even arrive at Walt Disney World. A concierge planner will get in touch with you to offer their services, if there’s anything they can do to help you beforehand. For me, I was fine with arranging my own dining plans, but you may want to ask them to do this on your behalf.

An elephant keeper keeps an eye on his charges on the Sunrise Safari

One thing I did ask them to do was to book us on to the Sunrise Safari, which is only available to concierge guests at Animal Kingdom Lodge, including cash guests. It takes place twice a week on Sunday, and Thursday, and I made sure that our stay included one of those dates. It’s $65/adults, and $32.50/children, and while it’s not cheap, it’s the most amazing experience. It’s an early start, as you’re out on safari before Animal Kingdom opens to the public, but you get your own private, in-depth tour around the safari, before a lovely breakfast rounds your morning off. Definitely something well worth doing, if you get the chance.

Then there’s the food, and drink on offer in the concierge lounge all day long. At breakfast, you get a variety of juices, pastries, muffins, bagels, and cereal. Then this gives way to snacks throughout the day, which includes crackers, fresh fruit, chips, and nuts. Early evening brings a selection of cheeses, while later on you can sample some of the desserts from Boma, which were wonderful. Add to that, there’s wine, and beer on offer throughout the evening, with drinks available all day.

One of the concierge DVC studios on the sixth flor of Jambo House

Of course, you will have to pay extra for this, but to be honest, the number of additional Disney Vacation Club points required isn’t that much. If you want to stay in a studio during Adventure Season, you’re looking at 23 more points, 125 as opposed to 102. If you need a one-bedroom villa during the more expensive Dream season, it’s another 50 points, 292 versus 242. Move up to a two-bedroom villa in the even more expensive Magic season, and we’re talking another 71 points to take you from 372 points to 443 points.

It sounds too good to be true…

If you’re thinking that, then yes, you may be right. Of course, the biggest downside is that you have no guarantee in what view you get. The wonderful DVC news website  (if you haven’t checked it out, you really should!) sets out how many rooms are available. For concierge at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, you’re looking at a total of just 10 rooms, just five studios, and five one-bedroom villas. But even then, the numbers can get even lower, as people can also book a two-bedroom villa, made up of a studio, and a one-bedroom villa. If you can get a concierge room, you’re doing pretty well!

That’s not the only downside. If you don’t own points at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, you may struggle you get in here at the seven month mark. As you’ve already seen, there aren’t many villas available, so they may all have already gone to those who own points at this resort.

The concierge lounge at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Although the food, and drink are very nice perks, from our stay in concierge, it’s not going to be enough to satisfy you for a meal, unless you’re very light eaters. As we only tend to snack at breakfast time, we found that we could get by on the breakfast offerings we grazed on. One day, we had a late lunch booked, so we were able to eat something to keep us going until we had that. But would it substitute an entire meal? In all honesty, probably not. Sure, it’s a nice perk to have, but in harsh terms, it’s not going to save you any money on food costs during your Disney stay….

All in all, should we go for concierge if we’re able to?

Like just about every other experience at Walt Disney World, my answer has to be yes. Well, you’ve got to try everything at least once to see if you like it or not, right? I’d stay concierge at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas again in a heartbeat, if only to do the Sunrise Safari again. To me, that was worth it on its own. Of course, all the other perks you get are nice little extras as well. For the few additional points it takes, it’s worth it in my eyes…

How about you? Have you stayed concierge at Animal Kingdom Lodge? If so, what did you make of it?

Wait listing for Disney Vacation Club properties, worth it or not?

Filed under Disney Vacation Club, Fresh Picked Posts by Cheryl Pendry on May 21, 2012 at 3:09 am {13 comments}

Wait listing is a subject very close to my heart right now, having just gone through the process again.

For those who don’t know, or perhaps aren’t Disney Vacation Club members, let me explain it in a nutshell for you. If you can’t get the reservation you want at one of the Disney Vacation Club resorts, then you can obviously book an alternative, but you can also ask to be put on what’s called the wait list. It pretty much does what it says on the tin. You wait to see if your request becomes available, and if it does, then you’ll get it, with your reservation automatically confirmed.

Of course, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Chances are there’ll be more than one person with the same request, and if you wait list for multiple dates, and maybe only one or two comes free, then anyone who wants just those couple of dates will get them ahead of you.

It used to be the case that people would put in multiple wait list requests to ensure that they got what they wanted, particularly at popular times of the year. Perhaps they’d put in requests for maybe three or four different places for the same night, or maybe they’d ask for a studio, and one-bedroom in a couple of different resorts. But that soon became too much, with the Disney Vacation Club changing the rules, as they can do. Now you can only hold two active wait list requests at any one time, so you may have some decisions to make.

Imagine you want to stay for seven nights in say a savannah view studio at Jambo House of Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, and you can only get nights one, three and four, and six. You still need nights two, five, and seven. Under the new rules, you can only wait list for two out of the three. Logic suggests you’d go for nights two and five first, and if either of those come through for you, then you could next wait list for the final night.

So that’s how wait listing works in theory. What about in practice? I will say here that we are, according to some Disney Vacation Club sources I’ve spoken to, unusual in the way we do things. We always book something at our home resort at 11 months out, and then if we want to change bookings, we move at the seven month mark. Apparently, a lot of people tend to book a lot closer to their vacations than that. Doing it this way means we’ve usually got some form of accommodation.

Our next trip is in early December, which is a hugely popular time of year to visit for Disney Vacation Club members. You get to enjoy all the extra holiday events, but also get to enjoy one of the lowest seasons for members, meaning you don’t have to use many points.

The first night was our problem. I couldn’t even get a studio at the Beach Club Villas at the 11 month mark, never mind the seven month mark. I checked around at seven months for anything else, and basically all that was left was Saratoga Springs. Nothing else going anywhere. Oh boy, this was not a good start.

I had resigned myself to paying out of pocket for another resort, and had even investigated where to stay. The Hilton at Bonnet Creek seemed like a good bet, well rated on TripAdvisor, yet priced at only a few more dollars than a value resort at Disney. I figured I’d put in a wait list request for that night for the missing studio at the Beach Club Villas, but I only took this decision at seven months out. I figured it was a long shot at best.

Imagine my shock then when just a couple of days later, I logged into the Disney Vacation Club website, and found that our wait list had come through. Unbelievable. Well, I guess Disney is the place where dreams come true…

It’s not the first time the wait list has surprised us. A couple of years ago, not long after Bay Lake Tower opened, we wanted to spend a couple of nights there, again in early December. So, hugely popular time of year to visit, and a new resort, which a lot of people wanted to check out. There’s no way we’d get in, surely? We waited a lot longer, and then finally the request came through.

In truth, we’ve had a lot of luck with our wait list requests. The only time we didn’t was during the Food and Wine Festival, when we’d run out of Beach Club Villas points, and couldn’t spend the whole of our time at our beloved home resort. We ended up with a few days at Old Key West, which worked out Ok in the end, but it did show how popular this resort, no doubt along with the BoardWalk Villas, during this time of the year.

So what’s been your experience with the wait list? Have you had to use it often? How successful have you been with it? And how do you find the new rules about only having two active wait lists at any one time? I look forward to hearing your thoughts…

Want to find out more about wait listing and how the Disney Vacation Club points system works? Then PassPorter’s Disney Vacation Club Guide will tell you everything you need to know.

Grand Floridian Villas, the newest kid on the Disney Vacation Club block

Filed under Disney Vacation Club by Cheryl Pendry on May 9, 2012 at 2:09 am {7 comments}

With the announcement that the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) would be building a set of Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, interest is already high in the latest addition to the DVC family.

At this early stage in construction, there aren’t any definite answers, simply because we don’t know that much.

So what do we know?

The Grand Floridian will be the newest addition to the Disney Vacation Club portfolio of properties

In late 2011, the Disney Vacation Club announced what a lot of people had suspected for a long time, that a stretch of land near the spa and wedding pavilion was going to be used for a new DVC development. It would contain “an estimated 147 villas” and would open at the end of 2013. One thing we know straight away from that is that it’s the smallest Disney Vacation Club development at Walt Disney World. Currently, the smallest is the Villas at Wilderness Lodge, with just 181 villas, while the Beach Club Villas are the next smallest with 282 villas.

So does that mean it’s going to be hard to get reservations when the Grand Floridian development opens?

Again, like so much else, at this stage no-one knows for sure. Of course, it’s going to be tough if there aren’t many available, but having said that, we’ve been able to get into the Villas at Wilderness Lodge before at the seven month mark.

The stunning lobby of the Grand Floridian

In case you’re not familiar with the DVC and are wondering why I’m talking about the seven month mark, a quick explanation… Whenever you buy into the Disney Vacation Club, you buy into what’s called a “home resort”. Ours are the Beach Club Villas and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. That gives you the ability to make bookings at your home resort 11 months before your vacation. You can then transfer that reservation, if there’s still availability to any resort that you don’t have an ownership interest in at the seven month mark.

With the introduction of the wonderful online booking through the Disney Vacation Club website (add in link), it’s now even easier to see how easy it is to make bookings at your non-home resorts. A quick look through at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge availability shows some interesting results. Booking for mid February, I could get two nights out of seven for a studio, or a one-bedroom villa, or one night for a two-bedroom villa. Move into April, and I can secure five nights out of seven for a studio, all seven nights for a one-bedroom villa, and six out of the seven for a two-bedroom villa. It’s even better when you pick a random week in June, with full availability for a week for both a studio, and a one-bedroom villa, while four out of the seven nights are available at a two-bedroom villa. Move into August, and there’s full availability for the whole week at all the different types of accommodation at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge.

That tells us two things. Firstly, unsurprisingly, the further ahead you book, the more chance you’ve got of getting what you want. Secondly, it may not be as hard as you think to get into the Grand Floridian Villas when they open. Some of you may, by now, be screaming “but it’ll be new – it’ll be popular”, and yes, you’ve got a point there. However, bear in mind that we were able to secure reservations with no issue at both Bay Lake Tower, and the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas a few months after they both opened, and we don’t own points at either resort.

Buying points

One question already being asked by PassPorter members is whether people will either buy into the Grand Floridian Villas and join the Disney Vacation Club or add on points there, if you’re an existing member. A lot of people are already saying that they won’t, but they’d like to stay there, so the above exercise may give people like them-and I have to say I’m in that group too!-some heart.

No doubt buying into the Grand Floridian Villas will be pricey...

For those interested in buying in, how much are the points going to be? Again, it’s another great unknown. We don’t even know for sure when they’ll start selling them, although if it’s due to open in late 2013, we can fairly safely assume, based on previous developments, they’ll start selling a year before, so maybe fall 2012? The best guess is that’s when the model rooms will open at the DVC sales center as well.

As of writing this, Bay Lake Tower points are now $155, and it’s a safe bet that points for the Grand Floridian Villas will be at least that much. Given that there’s a good few months before they go on sale, they could even cost more. There was a certain amount of sticker shock when the price of the Bay Lake Tower points were announced, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same thing again with the Grand Floridian Villas. After all, you’d pay more cash to stay at the Grand Floridian than the Contemporary…

Who is going to buy into the Grand Floridian Villas?

Given all the above, you might be forgiven for wondering who’d buy into the Grand Floridian Villas, when the price is likely to be pretty high, and there’s a chance you could stay there, even if you don’t own there. I think there’s probably a fairly straightforward answer to this one. In the same way that we bought points at the Beach Club Villas, because we loved everything about the Beach Club, I don’t doubt there’ll be a range of people feeling the same about the Grand Floridian.

That’s the great bonus of adding on to an existing resort. You already have people who love the theme, and location of these resorts, who will want to own a piece of the magic. It’s much easier, in marketing terms, to sell a product that people are already familiar with, and that some will like or love, than to market a brand new product, so I don’t doubt there will be plenty of people lining up to become Grand Floridian Villas owners whenever the points first go on sale.

 

Want to Party at Walt Disney World? Buy Your Tickets (Now on Sale)!

Filed under Grown-Up Disney by aliceinwdw on May 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm {one comment}

I just wanted to post a quick reminder that as of today, May 1st, tickets for Walt Disney World’s (“WDW”) very popular holiday parties, Mickey’s Not Scary Halloween Party (“MNSSHP”) and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (“MVMCP”), are now officially on sale and can be purchased on the Disney website (see links below) or by phone at (407) WDISNEY.

Party Time!

These parties are “hard ticket events;” i.e. they require a separate ticket for entry to the party as it is not included with your regular park admission.

However, certain party nights offer a discount on the admission ticket for advance purchases, available to everyone; Annual Passholders (“APs”), who can purchase up to 4 discounted tickets; and Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) members, who can buy up to 6 discounted tickets. There are usually discounts available for military personnel as well, and I would suggest calling Disney directly for purchasing these tickets.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

MNSSHP Sign * photo taken by jarnolddancer

Party Schedule and Ticket Prices

MNSSHP, which is held in the Magic Kingdom (“MK”), is scheduled to take place on the following nights:

September 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28, 30;
October 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31; and
November 2.

Day of Event Ticket Pricing:
• September (except September 30) nights are $62.95 (adult)/$57.95 (ages 3-9);
• September 30, October-November (except October 31) nights are $64.95 / $59.95;
• October 31 is a “Premium Night” available for $69.95 / $64.95.

Discounts

Discounted tickets, bought in advance, can be either purchased online or over the phone (DVC members will need to call Member Services), and are available for the following nights:

September 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28, 30;
October 4, 8, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30; and
November 2.

Advance Purchase Tickets:
• September (except September 30) nights are $55.95 (adult)/$50.95 (ages 3-9);
• September 30, October-November nights are $58.95 / $53.95.

AP/DVC Discount Tickets (in bold above):
• September (except September 30) nights are $52.95 (adult)/$47.95 (ages 3-9);
• September 30, October-November nights are $54.95 / $49.95.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

MVMCP Banner * photo taken by aliceinwdw

Party Schedule and Ticket Prices

MVMCP is also held in the MK; however, it is scheduled for the following nights:

November 9, 12, 15, 16, 25, 27, 29, 30; and
December 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 & 21.

Day of Event Ticket Pricing:
• Tickets for these nights (except December 21) are $64.95 (adult)/$59.95 (ages 3-9);
• December 21 is a “Premium Night” available for $67.95 / $62.95.

Discounts

These tickets, also available for pre-purchase online or over-the-phone, are available for the following nights:

November 9, 12, 15, 25, 27, 29; and
December 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16 & 18.

Advance Purchase Tickets:
All of these nights are $58.95 (adult)/$53.95 (ages 3-9).

AP/DVC Discount Tickets (in bold above):
These party nights are $54.95 (adult)/$49.95 (ages 3-9).

** Please note that all prices above do not include tax. **

What Will You Be?

I also want to make mention that all adults, as well as children, are welcome to attend the parties in full costume — with a few caveats: 1) You cannot impersonate any of the characters and 2) costumes cannot be “obtrusive or offensive;” i.e. no full face masks, no items that would encumber you on a ride, and nothing too risque, etc. Obviously utilizing your best judgment — and remembering that you are in Walt Disney World! — is your best gauge for choosing a costume. :-P

See? Adults can dress up too!

Also, remember to keep in mind the time of year you will be attending either party. Florida weather can be especially unpredictable; September and October can be hot and humid to mild or rainy whereas November and December can be hot, mild, or downright cold!

DH and I like to use festive accessories to get into the holiday spirit instead of full-fledged costumes. Themed t-shirts and/or make-up, headwear, jewelry, etc. doesn’t expend a lot of space should we decide not to wear them, or, if we do use them, they’re more comfortable if, for example, the weather decides not to cooperate.

A good planning tool for trying to decide what party night you might want to attend is the historical weather data (use “Kissimmee, FL” for your search) for that date. This should give you a better idea of what would make an appropriate costume to ensure you will enjoy the evening comfortably! (Just make sure you double-check the weather forecast before heading down on your trip — so you can make any adjustments as needed.)

Also, remember that this doesn’t just apply to MNSSHP. Many folks dress festively — think jingle bells to reindeer or Santa hats! — for MVMCP as well! ;-)

What are good suggestions for grown-up (but family-friendly!) costumes?

DH and I will be attending one of this year’s MNSSHP, and we’re really excited because it’s been awhile since our last one! While we’ve been fortunate enough to attend the last couple MVMCPs, MNSSHP really is our favorite! I mean who doesn’t love “free” (ignoring the whole “cost of the ticket” thing!) candy? YUM!

Which party will you be attending?

Good luck getting tickets for your trip this year if you’re lucky enough to be visiting in the autumn! Tickets don’t usually sell out as soon as they go on sale, but keep in mind that those parties — the ones scheduled closer to the actual holidays — are the busier party nights and have a higher potential to eventually sell out (read: “Premium Nights”)! :-D

So, until next time…

Hypersmash.com

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