☆ ★ THE DVC INFORMATION CENTER ★ ☆

[The DVC Moderators]

★ ☆ ★ The DVC Information Center ★ ☆ ★

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Welcome to the DVC Information Center! The DVC Moderators have created this as a table of contents or index to much of the information about DVC here on the DISboards DVC forums.

We hope you find this index useful!

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Purchasing DVC

• A Comprehensive Introduction to DVC - Perhaps you have wondered whether buying into Disney Vacation Club is actually a good idea for your family. We can't give a definitive answer to that question that fits everyone, but we can supply you with the information you'll need to make an informed decision.

• Does buying DVC make sense? - Since most people consider purchasing DVC a large investment, time should be spent before making such a big decision evaluating the pros and cons, the costs and benefits. The initial cost of joining DVC is significant. So, is it worth it?

• Should I buy direct from DVC or buy resale? - Most people who first hear about DVC hear directly from Disney, and may not even be aware that there is an active resale market where DVC contracts may be purchased - just like you can purchase a new or used home.

• Choosing your home resort: what to consider? - One of the first decisions a prospective Disney Vacation Club member has to make, after deciding to buy into DVC, is which resort they should purchase and make their home resort.

• Annual Dues - There are two cost components to DVC ownership: the initial purchase price and Annual Dues. This thread explains what annual dues are, provides the dues for each DVC resort - as well as historical dues back to 1991.

• Why buy DVC if I can keep on renting points? - So, you’ve been renting DVC points and getting a great discount off the cost of booking a reservation with Disney. Should you consider buying DVC now that you’ve discovered you enjoy staying at a DVC resort?

• Adding on points and owning at more than one home resort - Considering adding on more DVC points? What should you consideration? Why would you own at more than one home resort?

• History of DVC direct sales prices - A record of the price per point that DVC has charged over the years.

• Purchasing a Guaranteed Week? - This option may sound the same as a traditional fixed week timeshare – but it’s not.

• Understanding Your Use Year - What is a Use Year? How does it relate to when I can make a reservation? Why does it matter which one I have?

• Understanding Use Year - The one and only original thread covering Use Year

• A financial analysis of buying DVC - a detailed financial analysis of buying DVC, factoring in the time value of money and opportunity cost.

• Choices in deeding your DVC purchase - If you’re getting ready to close on a DVC purchase, please be aware that your decision on how to deed your real estate interest might affect your rights and/or tax liability depending on if you live in a community property state, or an equitable distribution state.

• What were your concerns about becoming a DVC member, and how did you overcome them? - Some people give considerable time to working through the pros and cons of buying DVC. What were your concerns, and how long did these reservations about becoming a DVC member delay you signing on the dotted line?

• How familiar were you with your home resort when you first joined DVC? - Before you made the initial decision to purchase your first ownership interest in a DVC resort, and make it your home resort, how much investigation did you do, if any, in regards to your home resort?

The History of DVC

• The history of the Disney Vacation Club - Ever wonder when DVC started? This thread covers the significant events in the history of DVC from 1991 to the present.

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DVC Point Rentals

• An explanation of renting points - READ BEFORE RENTING. There are significant differences between renting points and booking a hotel reservation with Disney. It is your responsibility to educate yourself on the process of renting points and perform the necessary due diligence prior to entering into any agreement to rent points.

• DVC Point Rental Primer - Another primer on renting points.

• Sample DVC Point Rental agreement - It is important for the DVC Member and the Renter/Guest to have set clear expectations surrounding a particular rental. A written contract or letter of agreement, signed by both of you, spelling out exactly what the rental will cost, when payment is due, dates of the stay, etc. will go a long way towards setting clear expectations and responsibilities of both parties.

• Effective DVC Point Rental Agreements - A discussion of rental agreement language.

• Guide for members to rent out their points - So, you have some excess points that for some reason you’re not going to use and you either can’t bank them or you don’t want to. Maybe you have other plans this year and want to turn your points into cash and use the cash for another vacation experience. Maybe you just need a year away from Disney. Instead of letting them go to waste, you can rent them out to others and pocket the cash for whatever you need. Yes, renting IS allowed.

Using Your Membership

• DVC Point Charts - for all the DVC resorts

• Guide to point transfers between members - Transfers allow a DVC member to assign all or a portion of their points to another DVC member.

• How difficult is it to book a reservation? - How hard will it be for me to book "xyz" resort? Find out about peak DVC usage times and hard to get reservations. Good summary of resort availability rules of thumb.

• Predicted DVC booking patterns - Predicting studio availability based on a sampling over a year.

• Historical resort availability - An analysis of usage patterns and seasons.

• Why are you not able to book with points when there is availability to book with cash? - Why is there no availability when booking a DVC resort through DVC, but there is availability for everyone else on the WDW web site? Is Disney unfairly holding back rooms to rent via cash? Why can't I book a DVC room that is clearly available - using my points?

• Wait Listing a Resort - If there is no availability when you try to book, you can go on the wait list. We explain how it works.

• How to make a room request - How to communicate room requests for DVC reservations.

• Split Stays - A split stay is any stay that involves checking out of your room and checking back into a different room during your trip – whether that room is at a different resort or not. A split stay may involve moving resorts, changing room sizes or just changing the view. What do you need to be aware of?

• Should a Member Use Points to Pay for non-DVC options? - The answer is, it depends on how you value your points.

• Exchanging your DVC for another timeshare via RCI - Disney Vacation Club has a multi-year affiliation agreement with RCI that offers it’s members access to thousands of RCI affiliated timeshare properties across the globe.

• Dining discounts and plans for DVC Members - Let's face it: Walt Disney World is expensive, and the cost of most meals carries a stiff price tag.

• Getting groceries to your room - Some DVC members cook in their rooms or, if not, get snacks and other items so that they don’t have to eat at a Disney counter service or table service for every meal or snack. We cover the various options.

• Room Occupancy - A thread dedicated to discussion of room occupancy limits.

• Walking a reservation - DVC allows members to add and remove days from an existing reservation. While this provides great flexibility to members if their plans change, it also creates opportunities to potentially “manipulate” the system.

• Do DVC Members deserve better perks? - A “perk” is, by definition, something that is incidental to our DVC membership. Perks come and go.

• DVC Point Reallocations - Do the number of points needed for a stay change year over year? It could. DVC can make adjustments to the point chart for a resort to better reflect supply and demand.

• Point Chart Inflation - Why do the points required to book a particular room size generally keep rising for each new resort built?

DVC Resorts

• DVC Resort Information - Here you'll find useful information about each DVC resort, including rooms, room floor plans, resort maps, age of each resort, and more.

• DVC Room Inventory: Counts, Sizes and Views - This covers the complete DVC inventory of rooms: including the count by room type and view, as well as size.

• DVC Resort to Park transportation time - How long does it really take to get from your resort to the parks?

Old Key West (OKW)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• OKW Owners & Lovers thread

Vero Beach Resort (VB)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• VB Owners & Lovers thread

Hilton Head Island (HHI)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• HHI Owners & Lovers thread

BoardWalk Villas (BWV)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• Room descriptions and views
• BWV Owners & Lovers thread

Villas at the Wilderness Lodge (VWL)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• VWL Owners & Lovers thread

Beach Club Villas (BCV)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• BCV Owners & Lovers thread

Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (SSR)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• SSR Owners & Lovers thread

Animal Kingdom Villas (AKV)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• AKV Owners & Lovers thread

Bay Lake Tower (BLT)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• Room descriptions and views
• BLT Owners & Lovers thread

Villas at the Grand California (VGC)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• VGC Owners & Lovers thread

Aulani

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• Room descriptions and views
• Aulani Owners & Lovers thread

Villas at the Grand Floridian (VGF)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• Room descriptions and views
• VGF Owners & Lovers thread

Polynesian Villas & Bungalows (PVB)

• Maps, Room Information, Floor plans
• PVB Owners & Lovers thread

Resort Comparisons

• Boardwalk Villas vs. Beach Club Villas
• Old Key West vs. Saratoga Springs Resort
• AKV: Jambo House vs. Kidani Village
• Bay Lake Tower vs. Villas at the Grand Floridian

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