Marriott vs. Disney

[tonygreggla]

Hello. We own four time shares in california and are looking at purchasing points in either DVC or Marriott. Does anyone have points in both that can let us know what they think. The marriott points run about 50% more than DVC, though marriott has more options. Have people been able to get reservations using points, since there still are so many owners with weeks. We are looking to have Aulani as our home DVC resort and would want to use marriott points for the resort next door. Anyone have experience in getting a reservation. Marriott sales quotes 96% can get their first choice, is that true. Any other insights and information is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[DeniseM]

1) I would only buy Disney to stay at Disney Resorts - Disney points are too expensive to use for traders.

2) Buy resale and save 50-99%.

 

[puckmanfl]

good afternoon....

Before you purchase Marriott points please be aware that the ability for any purchaser (resale) to use them after they are purchased from you (resale) is extremely limited... I would have the sales rep answer the restrictions on these points after you sell them in writing!!!!

IOW, the utility of points resold is very poor....

I believe your access to high quality resorts however,is extremely high!!!!

 

[presley]

Do you know what time of year that you plan on spending in Hawaii? The prices of points for Aulani during the summer/high season are very excessive. Here is a points chart :

http://dvcnews.com/index.php/resorts/aulani-villas/points-chart

So, if you like a one bedroom, you are looking at around 400 points per stay.
And the MFs are pretty high there, also. If you really want to stay there, it will be worth it to you, but if you end up wanting to trade it out a lot, you will never get back in trade what you are spending for the home resort.

 

[jimf41]

I don't know much about Disney resorts so I'll let others answer that.

As to the availability using the DC point system it has been very good for me. I have made 8 reservations with it so far and I received the exact resort, exact view and exact week that I requested. Four of the reservations were for Ocean Pointe in July 2012 and I needed the exact same dates for family reunion thing. It took a week to get these. The longest one I waited for was about 5 months for Frenchman's Cove in February.

I'm using legacy points. If you buy points from Marriott you'll be getting trust points. There are differences and a zillion threads discussing them with about two zillion opinions on the merits or demerits of each.

 

[m61376]

Since you mention that you want to use points for ko'Olina ("the resort next door"), if that is your intended destination most of the time you should consider a resale week there- it will cost much less than buying the points necessary to reserve a week there and the annual MF's will be much less.

 

[JimC]

Own both. Enjoy both.

Disney is much better at immersing its guests in a resort's back story and implementing that story in the design and theming elements of its resorts. DVC is very flexible with time of year, number of nights, size of villa. For 7 months to 11 months you have home resort priority. At seven months points can be used at any resort (a true internal exchange program).

We use DVC for DVC resorts only - it is the best use of the membership. Remember that DVC sells limited term interests that are 50 years. You must consider the remaining term on each contract.

We bought MVCI because we wanted comparable quality and consistency to DVC and a wealth of Marriott properties to visit if we chose to exchange. We use MVCI for our for non-Disney travels.

 

[kjd]

I'd be very cautious about purchasing trust points from Marriott before you know the full details and the restrictions. The program is not fully rolled out yet IMO and therefore is subject to changes that could be unfavorable for your situation.

Part of the Marriott motivation (and soon to be Spinco's) is to hamper the resale market. There are restrictions on renting, selling, trading and borrowing. Since time shares are a long term situation what doesn't affect you today can affect you tomorrow.

It's my opinion that these restrictions have also affected the value of these points. Notwithstanding, a bad economy. Right now the future viability of any resale purchase is unclear.

 

[chunkygal]

WE own both. I would buy used Disney points. Much more saleable than Marriott and rentable if you need to.

Marriott has more variety in locations.

 

[chunkygal]

Sorry my battery was running out.

My dream...Disney buys MVC and I get the best of what I like from both!

The locations and variety from MVC and the branding and trading/sale power of DVC.

Both have great properties.

DVC members who have drunk the pixie dust are a rabidly loyal bunch.
We bought DVC in the very beginning when there were only three properties.
With some people buying distressed contracts now for $25 or $30 a point, I almost think about buying one for the trade power and to use for 2months a year when we retire.

I always like the "points" system better than the weeks system and wish Marriott had had the points when we bought.I committed one of the 7 deadly sins of timeshares, we bought in hawaii so that we could trade for 2 weeks elsewhere when we didn't want to got to Hawaii (which we go rarely) and I didn't have to worry about "seasons", not because I wanted to vacation in Hawaii every year.