seriously thinking of DVC About This Page:

[DisneyRunnerGirl]

So I am seriously thinking of buying into DVC and really wish I spoke to someone while I was just here last week.

I am trying to read over all the information but have a few quick questions.

does it really matter where your home is? I would like beach club but they say its not available. Will I pay more to stay at the beach club if my home is AKL?

Also, if we buy a resale, do we not get to go to the other locations that are not Disney?
I thought I read somewhere that there were restrictions from buying resale.

and, once we are done paying the $16-$20K into it.. that's it right? all we have to do is pay our yearly fees and we get our yearly points forever? or does the timeshare expire?

Can we transfer our TS over to a child?

I think thats it for now!! : ) thank you!!

[moneyhappy]

You can book your home resort 11 months in advance and other resorts 7 months in advance. Because all other resorts are 7 months out you may not get the reservation you want. Most people buy at a home they want to stay at the most. There are no additional cost for staying at another resort.

If you buy resale you and use the point for the Disney Vacation resorts and RCI but cannot use them for the Adventures Collections ( Adventures by Disney), Concierge Collection, and Disney Collection (Cruise line, etc)

You pay maintenance dues increase every year. They are based on a number of factors. DVC News does a good job listing the dues information DVCNews.com - The essential Vacation Club resource! - 2012 Resort Budgets | DVCNews.com - The essential Vacation Club resource!

Yes, Disney is different from most other timeshare companies because you are getting a lease not ownership for ever. The contract depends on the resort, for example The beach club ends in 2042 and Animal Kingdom in 2057.

Yes, Disney points can be transferred to others.

[Twain18]

As moneyhappy said, home resort gives you a booking advantage. The other big differences for home resort are contract length (as moneyhappy alluded to) and dues.

Home resort for most resorts is 2042, but Saratoga is 2054, SOME Old Key West contracts are extended to 2057, which is also what Animal Kingdom is, and Bay Lake is 2060. I'm not sure if Aulani is the normal 50 years or not, but I'm sure it's easily found on dvcnews.com (a GREAT website for DVC information).

Furthermore, dues can be much different as well. Some of the newer resorts are much cheaper, especially the ones that are less spread out. Bay Lake's dues are much cheaper, and that's something you should consider when buying. A difference of a dollar a point over 30 years if you've got a big contract can make a big difference in the price you'll have paid. It might make some resorts more palatable to buy into or some less so.

The resale restrictions are better published elsewhere, and someone else will probably give a more complete answer, but basically, if you buy resale, you should plan to use your points at one of the DVC resorts, because I believe everything else (or virtually everything else at least) is closed off to people who have bought through the resale market. If you intend to vacation at WDW or DL and only use your points there, in most cases, the resale market is a much better bargain, but if you wanted to use your points on cruises, Adventures by Disney, etc., you'd be out of luck.

And again, as moneyhappy said, until the contract expires, you can transfer contracts to your children or whoever you choose. The contract expires at the end of the term, even if something were to happen to you.

One thing to consider with that part though is that contracts can NOT be split up, so if you have 2 children and you buy a contract with 200 points, it cannot be split to 100 and 100 for each kid. You'd have to specifically have 2 different contracts in order to do that.

[LLaffinPlace]

I heartily recommend the Passporter DVC book. It really explains the aspects nicely. I used it, this web site, and Mouseowners.com to do my research before I bought in. Of course, the folks here are happy to help. But I appreciated having the information presented in an organized fashion because it made it easier to formulate questions for the folks here and the DVC sales rep (guide).

[Twain18]

I'm looking forward to getting the Passporter book myself. I keep putting it on lists (birthday, Xmas) and no one buys it for me!

I'm just going to have to order it myself one of these days.

[chezp]

Just to let you know that there will be a brand new, fully updated version of PassPorter's Disney Vacation Club, hopefully within the next few days. With the appearance of the 2013 points charts, we're just making the final set of changes and hope to have it out as soon as we can, with completely up to date information.

As for your home resort, I'm of the camp that says "make it somewhere that you're happy to stay". We love the Beach Club Villas and were fortunate enough to buy in there when we first joined ten years ago

The Beach Club Villas are still available through Disney, but they don't really represent good value, as compared to resale prices, although obviously you have to balance the restriction on points now if you buy through resale. According to DVCnews.com, the Beach Club Villas cost $115 per point, with a minimum buy-in of 160 points, while Animal Kingdom Lodge is $120 per point, with a minimum buy-in of 100 points. Keep in mind as well that, as they're actively selling Animal Kingdom Lodge right now, they're offering promotional discounts of at least $8 (for 100-159 points), which makes the overall initial investment much cheaper than in the Beach Club Villas. I hope that makes sense.

I think all your other questions have already been answered by others.

[HollyH]

Originally Posted by Twain18

If you intend to vacation at WDW or DL and only use your points there, in most cases, the resale market is a much better bargain, but if you wanted to use your points on cruises, Adventures by Disney, etc., you'd be out of luck.

Just to clarify, if you plan on using DVC points to stay in a DVC villa at WDW or DL, you can use resale points to do that. However, if you want to use DVC points to stay in a hotel room at WDW or DL, that would be the Disney collection and you cannnot use resale points for those stays. So, for example, if you want to take a trip to the DLR and cannot get a reservation at the Villas at the GC, you won't be able to use your resale points to book a room at any of the other Disney hotels at DL. You would be able to use direct purchase points to do so (pending availabilty of course).

I would highly recommend the PP DVC book as well.

[ChukkerB]

I happen to LOVE this site,and it is has SO much information that you could get a PhD in Mouseology,BUT sometimes it is advantageous to go to the source. DVC has many wonderful people to talk to and they LOVE talking to you. We had some issues last trip with our stay.I called and they talked me down from the ledge,and even told me some things I never knew,and haven't even thought to ask. Travis was the man I talked to there,and he was wonderful. Read the boards here,ask plenty of questions,call DVC,and make the best informed decision you can make.It's the best vacation money DW and I could have ever spent!

[DisneyRunnerGirl]

thank you everyone! I really appreciate all your replies. We love Disney.. and will probably go every year for a while (my boys are 8 and 5) but I am also interested in it for the other options that are NON Disney related. Over seas, skiing in Colorado, etc.
I do get a TA discount so I need to think of that as well... so much to think of!!!! We are going on a cruise in June, I may go to a DVC meeting there for more information.. thank you all again!!

[Pack my bags]

Just left Orlando this morning & had our fourth DVC model walk thru since 2003. On the road home -- Very sad. Reading rampantly through posts & strongly considering buying AKL through resale despite the Concierge or Adventure restrictions. ALSO point prices go UP in 3 wks.

Does anyone know if you buy resale points if you are still offered the OTHER PERKS offered to DVC members such as:

* Discounts on annual park Passes
* Sneak preview Invites to new events or attractions
* Vacation tips from dvcmember.com
* Discounts on dining, shopping & recreation.
* Access to member services for vacation planning?

Any info in this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

[kurtholley]

since you are a pass holder go into the reading room and you can download the DVC book. We bought the book before buying in and it seemed to answer all the questions we had.

When we bought in the resale restrictions just started so we thought with those it was not worth it.We just bought from Disney
And look for promotion stuff. When we bought we got last years points as well as a point cost reduction and a $500 gift card,which help pay for dinning plan this year