| What
are the benefits of membership?
There are a number of benefits to joining the DVC.
First, the value of the points that you purchase will
never change. The same value you receive today, will
be the same value you receive in 30 years. While the
cost of staying at a Disney hotel rises by 5-10% per
year, this is a great hedge against inflation. Members
also receive discounts at Pleasure Island and Disney
Water Parks as well as 10% off merchandise at The
Disney Store nationwide. DVC offers discounts for a
variety of WDW restaurants, recreational programs and
tours. A complete list is provided to members when
they check in at their resort. Members also receive a
10% discount on Unlimited Park Hopper passes, that
allow unlimited admission to all WDW Theme Parks,
Water Parks, Pleasure Island and Disney Quest for
every day of your stay. These passes must be purchased
at a DVC resort during your stay.
You also have the
benefit of being able to book at your home resort up
to 11 months in advance of your check out date. Your
home resort is the resort at which you purchased your
interest. Current DVC resorts are Old Key West (OKW),
Boardwalk Villas (BWV), Vero Beach (VB), Hilton Head
Island (HH), Villas at Wilderness Lodge (VWL), Beach
Club Villas (BCV) and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
& Spa is due to open in May, 2004. You can reserve up
to 7 months in advance at any DVC location that is not
your home resort.
Membership in DVC is included with ownership at a
DVC Resort. The program is currently scheduled to
end on January 31, 2042- for OKW, BWV, VWL and BCV.
After that date, the present resorts
will revert back to Disney ownership. Ownership
rights may be transferred to others in a will or by
a direct sale, after consult with DVC.
DVC can add additional resorts in the future which
could have a different end date. This has recently
occurred with Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (SSR),
where DVC will offer membership until January 31,
2054. All of the discount programs
are subject to change and may be modified at any time,
but the DVC resorts and their total points may not
be changed.
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How does
the point system work?
When you buy into the DVC, you purchase a certain
number of points per year. The current price (retail)
is $89 per point, for purchases at SSR -with a 150
point minimum for initial purchase and $84 per point
for add-ons at the other DVC resorts-with a 25 point minimum
for DVC members. Let's say
you purchased 200 points. You would be assigned a
"use year" (that is the month of the year
in which your points would recycle). For example,
my use year is February, and I own 200 points. Every
February, 200 points are available for me to use that
year. When I decide to book my vacation, I choose
the dates I want to visit, and the type of room that
I want to stay in. That will determine how many points
that visit will cost me. I also have the option of
banking my points into the next use year, or borrowing
points against next year for this year. Which leads
to the next question...
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How
do I know how many points to purchase?
This depends on how often you plan to visit Disney
World, what size accommodation you would need, and
what times of the year you want to visit. The Disney
Information Station maintains a
DVC Point Calculator and a DVC Point
Chart. I suggest
that you enter in some sample information, based on
what type of vacation habits you have, to find out
how many points would be appropriate for you.
Many ask if DVC will
change the point requirement for a stay at a DVC
resort. While the total number of points sold at the
resort is a fixed number and cannot be changed, point
needs for stays can be changed. However, if points
needed for some nights (or room types) are raised,
other nights (or room types) must be lowered, as the
total points required to stay at the resort for the
year cannot be changed. This has
occurred only once, in 1996 at OKW, and is likely to
happen only if necessary to keep resort utilization in
balance for the benefit of DVC members. At that time
some nights were raised a few points, some were
lowered a few points and most were not changed at all.
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Can
I use my points at other resorts?
The DVC is part of Interval International (a large,
worldwide timeshare organization). Your DVC points
can be traded for accommodations at many of the Interval
Internationals resorts nationwide. You can also use
your points to stay at other Disney resorts, as well
as the DVC locations at Vero Beach, FL and Hilton
Head, SC. and a number of other vacation opportunities
such as the Disney Cruise Line and special Adventure
programs.
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What
if I decide not to keep it?
You are free to sell your interest in the DVC just
as you would any other real estate property. Many
people list their DVC properties with companies such
as the Timeshare Store, Inc. The Timeshare Store is
a licensed Florida real estate company that acts as
the broker for the sale and purchase of timeshare
interests. You can get more info on The Timeshare
Store by visiting their web site at http://www.timesharesale.com
and info on their DVC Resales specifically at http://www.dvc-resales.com
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What
should I know about buying timeshares through a resale
company?
There are a couple of points you should keep in mind
when purchasing resale. First, watch out for companies
who want to charge you any up front fees. You should
never pay anything until a sale is final. Second,
make sure that the resale agent you are dealing with
is a licensed real estate agency. This lends a great
deal of credibility to that agency, and gives you
direct recourse (through the state board of realtors)
should anything go wrong. We recommend The Timeshare
Store in Orlando, FL. Many people who have visited
this site have purchased DVC through them and have
had excellent experiences in doing so.
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Once
a DVC resort is sold out, if I buy through resale,
will there be problems trying to book rooms?
Disney Vacation Club resorts are busy places, there
is no question about that. However, if you plan far
enough in advance, you should be able to get the dates
you want without much of a problem. Remember, at your
home resort, you can reserve up to 11 months in advance
of your check out date and 7 months in advance at
other DVC resorts.
All members have the same benefits and restrictions
regardless how they joined the DVC. There is no negative
to a membership purchased through resale.
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Still have Questions?
If you have other questions that are not listed here,
pay a visit to our DVC bulletin board. There you can
ask any question you like of other DVC members. CLICK
HERE to go to the boards!
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