Which DVC Club to Join as Home Club?

[vacationhopeful]

Hankmoon,

I did multiple RCI exchanges several years ago into AKV ... I would bet they are 'marketing' some elements of your 3 listed resorts at this point in time ... to sell retail and to drive up renting/buying direct those DVC resorts.

Renting those units direct from Disney is clever marketing,

 

[Dean]

Oh, I get it now. Only problem is that DVC is not selling AKV retail anymore so they should probably deposit something they are selling. Now they are promoting Poly, Aulani and Copper Creek. I personally like 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units but will probably save points by using 1 bedroom units. I can’t do studios with my kids. They are about the size of a hotel room. Too small for us.

No. Over the years their approach has changed. At one point any deposit had to be from the home resort. For a while they were depositing all resorts that were established. I've had as many as 10 villas at one time split between BCV & BWV. After that and until 2-3 years ago it was mostly SSR, AKV & OKW but studios through 2 BR. The last couple of years it's been almost exclusively SSR and essentially all 1 BR. They've NEVER targeted exchangers for purchase though they should IMO. I suspect the reason they do it this way is to eat up points that members exchange using the villa size and resorts that are least in demand in the system, esp since they're generally reassuring them at under 7 months currently.

 

[Hankmoon]

How hard is it to book at Grand Floridian at 7 month mark?

 

[Dean]

How hard is it to book at Grand Floridian at 7 month mark?

Difficult to impossible for standard view and studios plus certain times of the year. While I think one can get in at times owning elsewhere, I would not buy elsewhere expecting to get in routinely.

 

[Hankmoon]

Difficult to impossible for standard view and studios plus certain times of the year. While I think one can get in at times owning elsewhere, I would not buy elsewhere expecting to get in routinely.

Is it possible to get into a 1 bedroom at the 7 month mark for a few days once in awhile in the summer?

 

[Dean]

Is it possible to get into a 1 bedroom at the 7 month mark for a few days once in awhile in the summer?

Likely es though probably not standard view. Would still need to be looking at day 1 7 months out and be prepared to use the wait list. 1BR are the easiest to get. The more flexible you are the more likely you'll be successful. VGF is the most difficult WDW resort and possibly the most difficult in general along with VGC. Certain room types at other locations are as difficult like AKV value or concierge but there are other options there.

 

[vacationhopeful]

There are 2 type of DVC owners .... Those who will sleep 4 in a studio to get the MOST number of days at WDW with EMH. And THOSE who brought Disney as the 'Family Magical Stay' .... extended family, but not unlike in purpose like the Lake House in "On Golden Pond" but an updated vision of a GRAND penthouse/condo with the perfect view at a Walt Disney World resort. Hence, and that is WHY there are many 1bdr units deposited into RCI.

I brought my little pile of DVC points to stay every 3 years onsite .. but getting my DVC discounts when I stay nearby (not onsite Disney). Esp if I rent a condo for snowbird season in Central Florida (whenever I get to 'retire').

 

[Dean]

There are 2 type of DVC owners .... Those who will sleep 4 in a studio to get the MOST number of days at WDW with EMH. And THOSE who brought Disney as the 'Family Magical Stay' .... extended family, but not unlike in purpose like the Lake House in "On Golden Pond" but an updated vision of a GRAND penthouse/condo with the perfect view at a Walt Disney World resort. Hence, and that is WHY there are many 1bdr units deposited into RCI.

I brought my little pile of DVC points to stay every 3 years onsite .. but getting my DVC discounts when I stay nearby (not onsite Disney). Esp if I rent a condo for snowbird season in Central Florida (whenever I get to 'retire').

DVC has never used RCI deposits (or II before that) as an enticement for new owners though I feel they should pursue that group. They currently don't even contact them in any way and ask them to tour.

 

[Deb & Bill]

What I have noticed with DVC, MANY owners book the smallest size unit to get the MAXIMUM number of days at the parks. Studios sleep 4 as do 1bdrs; some 1bdrs sleep 5 (and might have 2baths). Older resorts require less DVC points to book. Prime seasons (Food & Wine, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring Breaks, Summer, and 3 night Holiday weekends).

I own at AKV ... even the studios with a bad view (not savanna views, but the parking lot views) get booked REAL QUICK!. But the 3bdr & 4bdr units get booked first ... beautiful units ... 2 story apartments with savanna views ... with very high AKV/DVC points needed to reserve. AKV studios sleep 4; 1bdr units sleep 5 (mostly), etc.

Actually, in MY personal exchange experience ... RCI seems to get 1bdr Savanna view units deposited.

We are owners who usually book one bedroom villas. We are not sun up to sun down park goers. We enjoy being in the villa. So we seldom book studios. And if we do book a studio, it will be an OKW studio so we each get a bed. We are too old and set in our ways to try to sleep in one queen sized bed and neither of us like the sleeper sofas.

By the way, there are no four bedroom villas with DVC. The three bedroom Grand Villa is the largest. They sleep twelve plus one under the age of three. RCI actually gets more one bedroom SSR units deposited by DVC.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just out of curiosity, why would people deposit 1 bedroom Savanna view units? What could they possibly trade for that is better on RCI? Overall, I have not seen a lot of good inventory on RCI.

Owners don't deposit units. The member turns over their points to DVC for the RCI trade and DVC selects the unit(s) that the points represent to turn over. My guess is they deposit the units that are available the most at seven months out.

 

[Deb & Bill]

How hard is it to book at Grand Floridian at 7 month mark?

We have gotten a GFV one bedroom villa in late May and early May but right at seven months out. If we waited any longer it might not be possible. Both times we booked standard one bedroom villas.

 

[Deb & Bill]

There are 2 type of DVC owners .... Those who will sleep 4 in a studio to get the MOST number of days at WDW with EMH. And THOSE who brought Disney as the 'Family Magical Stay' .... extended family, but not unlike in purpose like the Lake House in "On Golden Pond" but an updated vision of a GRAND penthouse/condo with the perfect view at a Walt Disney World resort. Hence, and that is WHY there are many 1bdr units deposited into RCI.

I brought my little pile of DVC points to stay every 3 years onsite .. but getting my DVC discounts when I stay nearby (not onsite Disney). Esp if I rent a condo for snowbird season in Central Florida (whenever I get to 'retire').

We didn't buy to visit the parks all day long. We didn't buy to share with all our family members. We bought to have a nice vacation in an enjoyable space. A hotel room for a week is awful. A one bedroom villa for a week is like being at home with a full kitchen, a washer and dryer right in my villa and a king sized bed in a separate bedroom. One bedroom villas usually are the last booked because they require twice the points for nearly the same length of stay. DVC has been selling at an extremely high price per point to young families and making it possible squeeze as many people as possible into a small space. Hence the studios that now sleep five plus one under the age of three. When we bought in 1997, studios and one bedroom villas slept four and there wasn't any "plus one under the age of three". So studios get full early and with widespread "renting" going on now through point brokers, you have all sorts of renters booking those same studios as soon as they can. If they book a one bedroom, it is going to cost as much or more than a moderate hotel room that sleeps five. They can go deluxe with the studio and still get five in the space for a bit less.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Oh, I get it now. Only problem is that DVC is not selling AKV retail anymore so they should probably deposit something they are selling. Now they are promoting Poly, Aulani and Copper Creek. I personally like 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units but will probably save points by using 1 bedroom units. I can’t do studios with my kids. They are about the size of a hotel room. Too small for us.

Disney can make a lot of money renting out the inventory that has not been converted to DVC points at the Polynesian, Aulani and Copper Creek. Legally, they probably can't even turn any of that inventory over to RCI since it isn't timeshare property until it gets sold. It's developer inventory and they are going to sell those new units to Disney paying guests. That's why those won't show up on RCI. Once they sell out, members will book those units leaving very little for RCI deposits.

 

[Lisa P]

... getting my DVC discounts when I stay nearby (not onsite Disney). Esp if I rent a condo for snowbird season in Central Florida (whenever I get to 'retire').

What DVC discounts do you get when you are not staying onsite with your points?

 

[qwerty]

I read all the posts but I may be asking a question already answered. If I bought Disney points, I would only have an interest in staying at Beach club or Boardwalk so I would want to get either as my home resort for the expanded reservation window. Am I right when I think that you can no longer buy DVC points with these two as the home resort?

 

[chalee94]

What DVC discounts do you get when you are not staying onsite with your points?

these can change at any time:

http://allears.net/pl/disc_dining.pdf

the big one is the annual pass discount:

https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...deals/walt-disney-world-ticket-discounts/#dvc

edited to add: these discounts are currently available only to direct purchasers

 

[Dean]

I read all the posts but I may be asking a question already answered. If I bought Disney points, I would only have an interest in staying at Beach club or Boardwalk so I would want to get either as my home resort for the expanded reservation window. Am I right when I think that you can no longer buy DVC points with these two as the home resort?

All resorts are available both resale and retail potentially but availability will vary. BCV and BWV are mostly available resale. BWV is considerably cheaper than BCV but both are quite expensive right now. BWV is cheaper per point AND has the option of the standard view rooms so one could do the same with less points. But BWV does not have dedicated 2 BR, all the 2BR are lockoff's so no 2 queens in the second BR for BWV if that matters. BCV may be the most expensive option for DVC when you take into account, price, dues and RTU expiration and that's considering the new resorts retail as well. SSR is cheapest but BLT should be second cheapest if dues escalate at reasonable inflation assumptions. SSR will almost certainly remain the best $$$ value for WDW and the system in general. For BCV/BWV getting the retail 25 may be tough so it may be better for those, plus VGF & VGC, to buy what one needs resale and just add on somewhere retail maybe HH or SSR. It might take a couple of years to find the retail points for those mentioned to match up to what one owns already.