Do they still have the 100 point packages available at Animal Kingdom?

[rickandcindy23]

I am trying to talk Rick into this. He is a tough sale, I tell ya! He loves Disney, but our trades are good enough for him. I told him if we go on a cruise, I want to do the Disney cruise, not a cruise with Carnival or Princess. He says, "so let's pay for the cruise."

So I showed him the cost per point and the cruise brochure for points needed, and he said, "So you really save money with the DVC points?" Well, of course, but you still have to BUY the points. We haven't done it yet! Gosh darn it.

I talk him into it, then I go to call Mario today (our salesperson), and he says, "Did we decide to do that?" Well, YEAH! He said, "How many points do we have to buy?" Now I am back with this question--AGAIN! He wants to play around a bit with a smaller amount of points. I talked to richardm here on TUG, who is a salesperson with GMAC that sells Disney points, and he said if we want them soon, we need to go directly through Disney. Honest of him, and I like that. I need to just call Mario and ask, I guess.

I think I want to own at Saratoga Springs. Are they sold out? Love the decor in those units.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

I think SSR is officially sold out, but I am sure you can always buy direct from Disney as they always have ROFR inventory.

I never find the DCL worth the points. It is better to rent your points for $11-12 pp and then pay cash for the DCL.

If you are NOT a DVC owner, you must buy the minimum 160 point contract. Current owners can buy as little as 25 add-on points.

SSR is the best priced DVC with the lowest annual dues IMHO.

 

[laxmom]

We purchased our first contract thru GMAC and they were terrific! It does take about 6-8 weeks to go that route. We did our add on direct and our points were there in less than 24 hours. If you buy resale the minimum does not apply.

SSR sold out a couple of weeks ago but there is a huge number of contracts on the resale market right now so I am sure Disney has inventory. SSR is really nice. We toured a Grand Villa there a couple of weeks ago. Wow!!

When using your points for a cruise, one thing you have to remember is that you are comparing apples and oranges when you compare the cost of points for a resort stay verses a cruise. The cruise includes food. You still have to buy it at a resort. Same for entertainment. Most is covered on the cruise. My thought is, they are your points and if that is how you want to use them, go for it. Use your MF's as the guage as to whether it is a good deal or not. You can always rent them as Steamboatbill said. You would have no problem renting DVC points.

 

[alwysonvac]

Buy for DVC resort stays

Only buy DVC if you're planning to use it mainly for DVC resort stay.

From Mouseowners.com - see this link

In general, using DVC points for cruises is a rotten deal from several perspectives. It should be avoided to a greater degree than you would avoid Mad Cow or Bird Flu!! This is why

1) DVC gives you the equivalent of $6-8 per point

2) You DVC points are "converted" to reservation points. Which means that you can NEVER use these points for DVC resorts in the event that you cancel.

3) You are charged an additional $95 fee which cash customers don't pay.

4) You may only make your reservations for tours, etc, through DVC. You cannot call DCL directly to book or change anything.

5) In the event that you cancel, even if it is greater than 90 days out, you lose the $95 and also, you must use up those points within 1 yr. You cannot use them for DVC, but only for DCL and adventures by Diseny, etc. (note: this depends on the type of cruise, some have a 90 policy, some have 75 days etc. In any scenario, you are treated much worse than paying cash)

6) If you cancel less than 90 days out, you take a much more severe hit!! (note: see above note in #5 above).

7) You get none of the discounts that the cash paying customers do.

In any case, I'm sure there are other downsides, but these are the major ones.

Also see Analysis for DVC pt. usage for DCL

 

[ctydisneyfan]

Hello Cindy,
Firstly, Per my guide the 100 point initial contract is still in play. But with the added incentives of $500 with a referral, the 160 contract may be the better deal. That depends on your intended usage.

Which brings me to the second thing. I agree with all others when they state that DVC points should not be used for the Cruises as they are cost prohibitive.

I can tell you for sure because this is exactly what we have done for a trip in June 2009. But, as others have stated DVC points can be used in such a way, such as renting that you get the best of both worlds. Here is my example which is the exact situation I have done:

We have a 200 point contract at SSR. I want to take a 3 nite in a CAT 6 room with balcony. Points needed were 552. OK I have the points with banking and borrowing but not a good deal. Here is why... Got a quote from Disney Unlimited for the same 3 nite CAT 6 room. Quote came back at $3380 (2 Adults/2 Kids 13, 7) 13 yr old is considered adult for pricing. $3380 divided by 552 is $6.12 per point. Not a good deal for your points. So, I rented 420 points for $11.50 each $4830 total, paid cash for cruise and have $1450 to purchase my annual passes for the land portion of which I used 108 of my points to book the 4 nights at SSR. And I still have 72 points I can use or rent. Now you can see the value of DVC to stay on property but not necessarily to use for outside of the resorts.

So, DVC points are a great value and as you can see, very flexible to use within the system. I booked a 4 night land and a 3 night cruise and have enough money left over to buy my passes. A free trip! The only thing I need to do is show up and enjoy it! Oh...one more thing, I got a shipboard credit of $200 plus an additional credit of $25 from DCL so I have 225 to spend on the ship as a plus...I would have not gotten anything if I used my points...

My recommendation is to purchase when you are ready, even a small contract can be used effectively with the ease of banking and borrowing. Balance that with the other timeshares you have and your set!

If you need a referral I would be happy to do so, our guide was so fantastic I'm ready to buy more!

Jill M Rovito

 

[rickandcindy23]

Thanks, Jill!

That was a wonderful explanation of why using points for a cruise is not the best use of points.

We already talked to Mario at Saratoga Springs about two years ago, and I believe we will need to call him, because he is our salesperson.

 

[ctydisneyfan]

Hey Cindy,
Use Mario for sure if you have been in touch, but be sure to use the referral so you get the goodies! You just have to be referred by a member but you can use any guide so if you like go ahead and use our name so you can get the extra incentive! We love our DVC and would encourage you to purchase a small contract. You have the good trader timeshares so using a small contract DVC is perfect for what you want to do within the Disney system.

PS: My DH was hard at first to convince, but in the end, once he saw the villas and the enjoyment it brought to our kids. He just melted and bought part of the mouse..without question it has been one of the best investments yet. Ironically, we are looking for that good trader timeshare...it seems we are in opposite situations...Good luck and thanks for the comments! Jill & Ron

 

[sfwilshire]

I've never seriously looked at DVC because of the high maintenance fees. I also own at least two more timeshares than I can comfortably use.

On the other hand, we were thinking of buying annual passes for Disney next year and I recall that DVC owners get a discount.

So, I know there are experts here. Should I buy a 100 pt package (I'm a little unclear on what it takes to get one that small) just for the pass discounts and to use a couple of nights before or after our other scheduled Orlando weeks?

Are there any other DVC general perks when you're not staying there?

A crash course on the particulars of borrowing or saving points would also be nice.

Thanks for any advice.

Sheila

 

[rickandcindy23]

DVC owners get $100 off of their annual passes, for all of those who live in your household.

The maintenance fees on Saratoga Springs are $4.32 per point, I believe, and that is not bad. If four people get annual passes, that's a big savings.

 

[GrayFal]

I am a big fan on DCL - go every year - sometimes twice - and all I hear from the DVC owners is that is it NOT a good use of your points to use them for the cruise - most rent their points instead and use the proceeds to pay for the cruise....more bang for the buck.