So this post has been a long time coming. I'm sorry for not being a better blogger of late -- especially since we are post Disney World and I have so much good stuff to share! Life has been busy lately with sick kids and a lot of other things so blogging has definitely taken a back seat to all the other things! But for today, I'm happy to carve out time and sit down and share with you guys about Disney Vacation Club. I have so much to say!
 |
| at Wilderness Lodge January 2012 |
This is an EXTREMELY basic overview... Disney Vacation Club is a program Disney started in the 90s. They built a resort on property (now called "Old Key West") that people could buy into in exchange for points. How many points you bought would translate to how big of a room you could stay in or how often you could stay. Buying points is a one time expense that gives you points for about 40-50 years from the time the resort you own at opens. Each year your points renew and you pay dues on your points. You use your points to book your hotel room only for your upcoming Disney vacation. You get discounts on merchandise, some restaurants, and annual passes as a DVC member. After building Old Key West, Disney built resorts at Hilton Head Island and Vero Beach and then focused on building more on their properties. At Disney World there are two exclusively DVC resorts: Old Key West & Saratoga Springs (we own at Saratoga Springs). There are also many deluxe level resorts that have DVC exclusive rooms built onto them including: Boardwalk, Beach Club, Animal Kindgom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary (Bay Lake Tower), Grand Floridian and coming soon Polynesian. There's also a DVC resort at Disneyland called "The Grand Californian" and a Disney resort in Hawaii called Alunai.
 |
| view from our room at Wilderness Lodge |
Explaining Points
Every year DVC members get a packet with charts of all the DVC resorts. The charts are broken down into seasons which simply put are: slow season to busiest season and everything in between. There is also a breakdown on the chart of each level of rooms within a resort: studios, 1 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms. In the charts are the points needed per night to stay in one of those rooms (the points will be x price Sunday-Thursday night and then a little higher for Friday and Saturday nights). Here's what that looks like:
So as you can see, if you stay at the Grand Floridian in a studio with a standard view in September, you would be using 125 points for that stay. Grand Floridian is the most expensive of all the resorts right now. You can stay a week in Old Key West at the same time for 64 points for the week.
You get new points each year. We get new points every October. If we know we aren't going to use our points that year for some reason, we can bank our points to have for the next year or if we want to take an extra trip we can borrow points from an upcoming year.
This looks like this, for example:
Banking
It's 2011. We just had a great trip with baby J but surprise! I'm pregnant with E. We had 40 points left in our use year and won't get to go again, so we call DVC Customer Service and bank the 40 remaining and now we have 160 points for 2012. Yay!
Borrowing
We used up all our points in 2012 and now it's February 2013. We want to book our September trip, but we don't get new points until October 2013 deposited into our account. We borrow 117 points for our trip out of the 2013 use year which means we have to wait until October 2013 to book anymore trips when we can now borrow from the 2014 use year.
 |
| the beach at Wilderness Lodge |
More often than not we borrow ahead because when we received our points we were behind a use year (this is because we bought through resale, not Disney, which I'll explain later). This is fine and only catches up with us if we're booking two trips for one year (which we are in 2014) because we have to wait until October to book a trip for January and there's not much left in the way of rooms available. Because our points are our property until 2048 at the rate we are going, we will just run out in 2047 one year earlier and be cut short that one year. Unless we have a year we don't go to Disney which may happen! You never know.
So, to recap, when you buy into Disney Vacation Club, you are buying points at a certain property to be used to book vacations at any of the DVC properties.
 |
| beach at Wilderness Lodge |
"OWNING" property and "HOME" resorts explained
We own at Saratoga Springs. But what does this mean? Why does it matter. Because we own at Saratoga it is called our "home resort." You can book a vacation at your home resort 11 months in advance. You can book a vacation at any other resort 7 months in advance. You don't need a big booking window to book at Saratoga. It usually has availability always. But there are other resorts that book up fast. Bay Lake Tower, for example, books fast. They also have value rooms which are significantly less points but that space is limited. We bought into DVC in 2010 and it wasn't until 2013 that we were able to get a studio at Bay Lake Towers when booking 7 months out because they fill up so fast. I have two friends who own there, however, who are able to book right away 11 months out and never have problems getting a room.
 |
| park at Wilderness Lodge |
When you buy through Disney, you can only buy where their selling so your options of were to own are more limited. When you buy through resale and can choose your home resort, you just need to keep the 11 vs 7 months booking window in mind. If being at the same resort every time is important to you, buy there. If you like to explore all the resorts, you have more options.
Dues
Also, because we own at Saratoga, that's where our dues go. Dues are due each January and are different for every resort. You pay per point on your dues and although point rates never increase (more later), dues do. Dues go to the upkeep of resorts, etc. Dues are more for newer resorts. Our dues are around $4 per point each year but when we toured the DVC facility in 2009 to consider membership and they were selling Animal Kingdom Lodge property, dues were starting around $7 a point.
Points Ending
I mentioned earlier our points are good through 2048. Every resort is different in when your points end. The idea is they'll last your whole life. In 2048 Josh will be 68 and I'll be 60. We will probably not be done with Disney World and although we don't know what options will be presented to members when their time runs out, there's rumors they will offer small extension packages which we may take or maybe when we're in our 40s we'll have more money to buy more points at a resort that's points last until 2060. Either way, that's a great run. We got the points when Josh was 30 so we have 30 years of only paying dues on our hotel stay at Disney World.
 |
| balcony at Animal Kindgom Lodge September 2012 |
 |
| balcony view |
Explaining Point Value
This part is complicated and I want to do my best to explain it but I may not. While dues increase with the economy, points do not. Remember how I said at Old Key West you pay 64 points for a week stay but at Grand Floridian you pay 125? OKW opened in 1995 but GF opened in 2013. In 95 new members could buy a lot less points for their buy in rate. I'm not sure the amount, but let's guess it was 85. So say I'm in 1995 with my white KEDS and high jeans and I'm signing the contract on that DVC sale. I know I can only afford 85 points and that they'll last me until 2040ish. I also have a guarantee that with my 85 points, I'll always be able to stay at least a week on property because even though my dues will increase, points will stay pretty consistent.
 |
| park at AKL |
Now fast forward to 2013. I'm signing on to buy at Grand Floridian. The minimum buy in is now 180 through Disney and I'm signing the contract for 180 points a year and I know I can always get a studio for about 125 or so for a week if I go in the off season.
Now fast forward to 2020 and some new resort is opening and the minimum buy in is 250 and a week is 200 points. Again, I know I'm safe. My 1995 self cannot afford this newest resort unless I bank and borrow or have bought more points, but I can still afford the older resorts.
I hope that makes sense! I think it's important because you know your investment is safe. You know 2020 won't roll around and you won't be able to afford anything without buying more points.
 |
| pool at AKL |
Financial Benefits of Buying DVC
This can best be explained through example, I think so I'm going to use our trips since becoming DVC and give you the current room rates (if you were to go in January 2014 which is off season) for what we would have paid to stay here:
January 2011 - Saratoga Springs & Animal Kingdom Lodge, 6 nights $2207.28
January 2012 - Wilderness Lodge, 7 nights $2425.50
September 2012 - Animal Kingdom Lodge, 7 nights $2940
September 2013 - Bay Lake Tower (compared to Contemporary), 7 nights $3997
January 2014 - Old Key West, 6 nights $2207.28
TOTAL = $13,777.06
(or $137,770.60 over the course of 30 years if rates didn't increase!!!!!!)
That is how much we would have paid for all our resort stays only (no tickets, food, etc) since becoming DVC. We paid less than half of that for our points so within 3 visits our investments had already paid for itself and let me remind you we have those points until 2048!
The reality is we would have NOT stayed at those resorts had we been DVC. So what if all those trips we had stayed at the value resorts? The CHEAPEST on property. For the 33 nights stayed, we would have paid $3897.96. Now that's less than what we paid for DVC, but within the 30 years we go on vacation at Disney World? We would pay significantly more than that. If rates didn't change, that value resort would add up to $38,979.60 over the course of 30 years and we definitely paid a LOT less than that for our points!
 |
| room time at AKL |
Is it worth it for ME?
If you go to Walt Disney World every year, it's worth it. If you go to Disney World every other year and stay at deluxe level resorts, it's worth it.
My Dad always told me your past is the best indicator of your future. Josh has been going to Disney World at least once a year since the early 2000s. From 2008 to 2010 when we bought DVC we had been to WDW 4x. We both loved Disney World and we knew even before we had a family that we wanted this to be our big family vacation every single year. Sure, we may want to go to the Grand Canyon but THIS, this would be our family's thing. So based on our history and our desires for our family's future, we bought into DVC.
Maybe someday something will happen and we'll stop going. Maybe our kids will hate it or we'll get tired of it or medically we won't be able to go. If that happens, we can always sell our points. Actually, because of inflation and the great deal we got, right now we could sell our points for more money than we paid for them. People love Disney. People have always loved and will always love Disney and so any investment will hold it's value.
Talking about the cost
If you buy points through Disney right now, say for Animal Kingdom Lodge (they're still selling ownership there), you have a buy in of 180 points (I think) and the points are about $150 per point. That's $27,000. You will definitely recoup the cost several times over in time, but it's a huge investment up front. In 2014, you could stay at AKL in a Savannah view studio room for 102 points for a week. You could stay at a standard view room that is a one bedroom (kitchen, dining area, living room with roll out bed, 1 bedroom with king sized bed, washer/dryer, jet tub, stand alone shower) for 160 points. So that's an idea of what that investment gets you.
If you buy Animal Kingdom through resale right now, you can buy 180 points at $79 a point for a total of $14,220. That is a SIGNIFICANT savings.
Buying resale points
We bought points through resale. We could have never afforded to buy through Disney even with the payment plans they offer. We bought through www.dvc-resales.com and had the BEST experience with this company and all the agents we worked with. Their reputable and have a good relationship with Disney. They did all the work for us and worked well with us. (And they're not paying me to say any of this, by the way!)
When we bought our resale points, Disney didn't have anything against it. We were no different than someone who bought through Disney because we bought through resale and because we bought before any changes, we'll always be that way.
Since then, Disney has caught on to the savings through buying resale and they've changed the rules. If you buy resale, those points are only valid at Disney properties (WDW, Hilton Head, Hawaii and Vero Beach). Those points CANNOT be used for the other perks DVC membership offers like Adventures by Disney (international travel) or used at hotels around the nation partnered with Disney.
The other factors of points and where you can use them
On that note, let me talk about those things. You can do "Adventures by Disney" as a DVC member which looks INCREDIBLE. Basically you go with a small group of DVC members to another country. Let's say it's Scotland. You get there and Disney covers transportation and you have an incredible tour guide and unique experiences including staying the night in a castle. It sounds amazing and if I ever traveled internationally I'd want to do it, but you know what? Those trips cost at least 600 points per person. PER PERSON. I'll NEVER EVER have that many points and you probably won't either (unless you're just really, really rich and reading this!). If you COULD afford this and you want to do it, don't buy resale. Buy through Disney. If you buy through resale, your points won't work for this.
As for using points at partner hotels... Say you're going to NYC. Disney has hotels there they're partnered with and you can use some points for a stay at those hotels. I've looked at this one time and thought "WHY in the world would I exchange points for THAT?" The rates are high. Maybe I would some day if our family vacation was less Disney and more NYC, but honestly it doesn't seem like a good value to me.
 |
| beach outside Bay Lake Tower |
Being a DVC Member
I'm going to wrap up this novel of a post now and just talk about membership for me. I love being a DVC member. I love that I get to stay at deluxe level resorts when I go to Disney World I couldn't afford otherwise. I love being around other members because we all love Disney and the community is awesome. I love the extra amenities I get while on property like free access to laundry (which wouldn't matter as much if we ever save up and stay in a one bedroom!), community hall (a DVC member area in each resort where you can rent movies for free, have activities and crafts for the kids, check out board games, hang out...), free wifi, discounts on annual passes, parks at the resorts, outdoor movies.... Just so much great stuff! I love Disney and being a member of DVC was a dream for Josh and me. It's exciting to be there now and we just really enjoy the amplified Disney experience.
 |
| kitchenette at Bay Lake Tower (there's one in every Studio!) |
Downside of being a DVC Member
The ONLY negative has been not getting "promo" packages. Before DVC we'd go to Disney under their promos (YOU SHOULD ALWAYS DO THIS!!!) so we'd have free dining or something neat. We'd also have our whole trip wrapped up in an easy package. Now we're responsible for saving money for food and buying our own dining plan (never discounted) if we want it. We also have to take care of our own park tickets. DVC Customer Service is EXTREMELY accommodating to help with these things, but we're independent and we do it ourselves. ON THE PLUS SIDE though, we now buy annual passes basically at the same rate a Florida resident would pay so this year we bought annual passes for 3 people for about $1400 and we will use them for 3 trips. So for this January trip we have annual passes, room taken care of and our only cost will be travel and food. So while we may miss promos and the ease of packages, I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to just go in January and not have to spend much money at all because things are already taken care of!
If you're really considering DVC, I'd recommend you do the DVC tour on your next trip to WDW. We did it and it takes about 2-3 hours but you get free ice cream at the end and sometimes they have other promos (a good friend did it and got a $50 gift card for their families time). You don't have to commit, but you get to tour models of the rooms, you get any question you have answered, you learn more about dues and points and just get a great understanding of the whole thing. You should DEFINITELY do it. It's really fun and I promise the sales people aren't too pushy! If you want, you can always ask for Jim McCoy. He worked with us and was fantastic. He is actually still our agent even though we bought through resale and gives us a call every time we check in to wish us a great vacation. Can't say enough good things about him!
So I hope this post helped you and answered any questions you had about Disney Vacation Club! I'm off to ice my fingers now. ;)
This is all my own opinions and research, by the way, Disney did not pay me to share any of this.
