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View Full Version : On the DVC fence ....



MamaLlama
05-31-2007, 02:20 PM
DH and I have been talking about DVC for ages now, and finally took the tour in April. That pretty much sealed it for dh (actually, he was ready to take the plunge on day one of hearing about DVC, lol) but I keep teetering back and forth --

If I tell you what I am looking for, can you (collectively ;) ) tell me if DVC will work for what I want?

We visit WDW at least 2 times a year. At least once as a whole family (me, dh, ds(11) go, and my mom comes along when the weather suits her and her church group is in a slow period), and at least once with just me and ds. If we bought in to DVC, I think we would only be able to visit twice on the points-- one week in a 2 br, and one week in a studio (which would work when just ds and I go) which is fine.

However .... realistically, how long in advance would I have to plan the mother/son trip to get a room? I have no issue planning the family trip well in advance (dh has to anyway to secure the vacation dates) but the mom/son trips are usually more spur of the moment. My question is: based on my not planning the mom/son trip 11 months in advance, would it be better to buy less points through dvc (say only enough to ensure we have enough for a 2 br) and just pay for the mom/son trip out of pocket using any AP code that may come out? These mom/son trips are usually only booked *at most* 2 months out.

I also have a question about resale -- I have been looking over the Timeshare Store site, and though the prices seem lower, a lot of the sales seem to not be getting any points until 2009 (I am guessing the owners borrowed all of 2008's points already), or say they cannot close until such and such a date (I called and asked what that means, and the fellow said that the owner is taking a trip and the sale cannot go through til the trip is over). Taking that in to consideration, it seems as though buying directly through DVC is the better way to go, or am I not perceiving this correctly?

Thanks for any info/insight you can share :)

dixielandings
05-31-2007, 04:39 PM
We are brand new members and I have just booked our first reservation through DVC member services. We did not get the exact dates we wanted but are just 2 days shy of it (meaning we were planning to stay a whole week but got a reservation for 5 nights instead - we're wait-listed for the rest). From what you're describing, you probably would be better off buying fewer points and paying for the shorter-notice trips outright. This gives you more flexibility. On the other hand, it's possible that buying MORE points would make better sense for you, even though it's definitely more expensive, since you plan to continue coming to WDW year after year, like we do. :mickey: But only if you can begin to make a habit out of planning earlier than you're accustomed - like we do now. :blush:

As to the other question, I'm probably uneducated on this and overly-cautious, but I would never consider buying something this big other than through the direct dealer - in this case, DVC.

Ian
05-31-2007, 07:57 PM
I'd buy the smaller amount of points and just book your other trip separately.

DVC members get room discounts anyway, so you'd still save on your trips. Also, you might be able to have a scenario where, say, you can get a DVC room for 2 or 3 nights of your stay with DS, which would cut down on the costs. You could just pay for the remaining nights (assuming availability of course).

HockeyKat
05-31-2007, 10:10 PM
If you take your mother/son trips in "down" times (May, September, mid-late Jan) then points are fine. If you want spring break, Nov/Dec, Easter, then cash is better.

We bought in Feb, closed in April, and were able to book 3 nights at VWL in May w/ 6 weeks notice. At the moment, you are almost always able to get OKW/SSR and waitlist for other resorts. OKW has huge studios that have 2 queen beds so that may be the way to go on the mother/son trip anyhow.

As to resale, in my opinion it is only a good deal if you get a "loaded" contract (comes with at least '06/'07 points) and you are buying a contract other than SSR/AKV. We waited until we found a good BWV one and put in an offer for a bit lower than advertised but still within ROFR limits. It took about 7 weeks from beginning to end (offer to close), but we saved about $2K over buying direct.