DVC resale

[Mosescan]

Just as an investment it will be more risky and have a lower long term return than simply buying the lower amount of points and investing the difference. Otherwise if one thinks it makes sense they should be thousands rather than hundreds. As I noted, there are other reasons it might make sense but not as a financial investment IMO.

You are 100 % correct. From a financial standpoint it makes absolutely no sense. The $50k in stocks I’m selling to make this purchase would, conservatively be worth $200k in 20 years. If I’m lucky and can sell my points for what I paid for them in 20 years I will have my original $50k back and $50k more and have had 6 or 7 weeks of free Disney vacations. But what I’m investing in is memories with my family. If I’m lucky I’ll get to spend a few years with my grandchildren before I die. I’ll be 49 this year so to me, family memories for my kids is more important than money.

 

[Jayco29D]

Just as an investment it will be more risky and have a lower long term return than simply buying the lower amount of points and investing the difference. Otherwise if one thinks it makes sense they should be thousands rather than hundreds. As I noted, there are other reasons it might make sense but not as a financial investment IMO.

I agree with Dean here. Buy Disney stock (or another stock) if you want a good return on investment. Or buy a mutual fund. Over the long run, the stock market is the best investment. Or buy a house and rent it out to cover your mortgage. I could argue my points are all free too since we made most of our money “for free” in the stock market. I guess everything we own is free if I looked at it the way Mosescan is looking at this.

 

[Jayco29D]

You are 100 % correct. From a financial standpoint it makes absolutely no sense. The $50k in stocks I’m selling to make this purchase would, conservatively be worth $200k in 20 years. If I’m lucky and can sell my points for what I paid for them in 20 years I will have my original $50k back and $50k more and have had 6 or 7 weeks of free Disney vacations. But what I’m investing in is memories with my family. If I’m lucky I’ll get to spend a few years with my grandchildren before I die. I’ll be 49 this year so to me, family memories for my kids is more important than money.

I agree with this. The only reason to buy DVC is to enjoy yourself and make memories. All of us may have nothing left from our initial investment in DVC points in 20 years. We will be lucky if we get something back when we are ready to sell our contracts.

 

[frank808]

Because I have twice as many points as I need for a 1 week stay, so even on the years we stay for a week I don't have to pay maintenance fees. I can rent half my points to cover all my maintenance fees. From what I can see a lot of people buy smaller contracts and bank and borrow for a stay. That means they are using more than 1 years worth of points for a 1 week stay and so if you own a 100 point contract and bank and borrow to get 150 points for a stay then they have to pay their maintenance fees themselves for that stay. In my case as I have 320 points and need less than 150 for a 1 week studio in the summer then I can rent my extra points for enough to cover my fees. Points rent for slightly more than twice my maintenance fees. On the years we don't go then I recoup $7/point on my initial purchase price. In the long run this will pay for my contract. If I had purchased a smaller contract I could get the same amount of stays but would be paying my own maintenance fees. In 20 years I should have recouped all my initial investment costs without having to pay any more money for maintenance fees ever. The only time I will have to pay maintenance fees is if we want to stay longer or in a 1 or 2 BR unit. Otherwise in 20 years if I can sell my points for what I paid then I will have actually made money and vacationed for free.

Assumption that you will always get at least $7 a point more than your maintenance fee. If you do make $7 profit then you are looking at a roi of 5% over a 20 year period. Plus whatever the points will be worth with 20 years left before they expire. Yearly profit does not take into consideration taxes and such.

Too many ifs for me. About 4 years ago rental rates were about $10-$11 and profit was about $5 a point. Me, i wouldnt buy DVC points as a financial investment to make a profit. I would rather invest in an index fund for 20 years.

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

 

[Mosescan]

Assumption that you will always get at least $7 a point more than your maintenance fee. If you do make $7 profit then you are looking at a roi of 5% over a 20 year period. Plus whatever the points will be worth with 20 years left before they expire. Yearly profit does not take into consideration taxes and such.

Too many ifs for me. About 4 years ago rental rates were about $10-$11 and profit was about $5 a point. Me, i wouldnt buy DVC points as a financial investment to make a profit. I would rather invest in an index fund for 20 years.

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

You are correct. I didn’t buy them as a financial investment. In fact I’m selling $50k worth of shares to pay for them. I bought them for my family to have some great vacations and build lasting memories. Rather than buying just enough points to have my vacations and having to pay money in maintenance fees every year, I bought enough so that we can vacation and rent the remaining points to pay all maintenance fees. With that many points, even after I retire and my income is fixed, I’ll still be able to afford this timeshare. Between my HGVC and Disney TS I have almost $7k/yr in maintenance fees. By renting some of my Disney and a couple of my HGVC units, I have <$2k and can still take some great vacations. And as they are almost all resale, they should come pretty close to holding their value.

 

[Dean]

You are correct. I didn’t buy them as a financial investment. In fact I’m selling $50k worth of shares to pay for them. I bought them for my family to have some great vacations and build lasting memories. Rather than buying just enough points to have my vacations and having to pay money in maintenance fees every year, I bought enough so that we can vacation and rent the remaining points to pay all maintenance fees. With that many points, even after I retire and my income is fixed, I’ll still be able to afford this timeshare. Between my HGVC and Disney TS I have almost $7k/yr in maintenance fees. By renting some of my Disney and a couple of my HGVC units, I have <$2k and can still take some great vacations. And as they are almost all resale, they should come pretty close to holding their value.

IMO there are valid reasons to buy extra points and some of those may lead to renting in some situations or for a period of time. But simply financially the numbers compared to risk doesn't work. Buying extra just to pay dues is simply a financial investment and the numbers don't work there long term compare to the risk. DVC is a high risk investment and if I'm going to do it as such, I want a return of principle over no longer than 10 years AND a 20% return. If it made sense to buy 100 or 150 extra just to pay maintenance fees, it'd make sense to buy 5000 to rent. But there are situations where it does potentially make sense to rent where there are other benefits. They would include when it allows you to buy a full sized contract, say 150-170 rather than smaller, when you may need more later but not now and the contract parameters make that reasonable (say you find a great 250 pt contract but only need 150 now), for a periodic larger trip that you can't do with a smaller contract like a big trip every 4 years (at 3 years you can make it work without having to rent) and in some cases, to have additional home resort priority.

 

[Dean]

You are 100 % correct. From a financial standpoint it makes absolutely no sense. The $50k in stocks I’m selling to make this purchase would, conservatively be worth $200k in 20 years. If I’m lucky and can sell my points for what I paid for them in 20 years I will have my original $50k back and $50k more and have had 6 or 7 weeks of free Disney vacations. But what I’m investing in is memories with my family. If I’m lucky I’ll get to spend a few years with my grandchildren before I die. I’ll be 49 this year so to me, family memories for my kids is more important than money.

I wanted to address this separately because it's a position I see from time to time with DVC, generally not as much with other timeshares.. This is far more general than your post but it's a good place to get this issue out there. I believe that often people take a leave on math and sometimes, from their senses in general, buying DVC (or keeping it) in the name of memories. It might take the form of financing DVC or buying a higher end resort, or more points or just buying DVC in general. DVC, and any timeshare, needs to be money one could throw away and not miss it financially. They want to use the memories as a trump card and I don't buy it. One can and should have lots of good memories with or without DVC. DVC is only a tool to savings to an on property housing option, no more and no less.

I think you'd be extremely lucky if you could sell your points in 20 years for what you paid and I think it's essentially guaranteed you couldn't indexed for inflation but one shouldn't buy to resell, they should buy to use. However, it is smart to at least consider an exit strategy if it's truly needed later and unexpected.

 

[Jayco29D]

I wanted to address this separately because it's a position I see from time to time with DVC, generally not as much with other timeshares.. This is far more general than your post but it's a good place to get this issue out there. I believe that often people take a leave on math and sometimes, from their senses in general, buying DVC (or keeping it) in the name of memories. It might take the form of financing DVC or buying a higher end resort, or more points or just buying DVC in general. DVC, and any timeshare, needs to be money one could throw away and not miss it financially. They want to use the memories as a trump card and I don't buy it. One can and should have lots of good memories with or without DVC. DVC is only a tool to savings to an on property housing option, no more and no less.

I think you'd be extremely lucky if you could sell your points in 20 years for what you paid and I think it's essentially guaranteed you couldn't indexed for inflation but one shouldn't buy to resell, they should buy to use. However, it is smart to at least consider an exit strategy if it's truly needed later and unexpected.

The only reason I bought into DVC is to make unique Disney-oriented memories with the kids while staying onsite at the Disney resorts. I preferred the DVC membership over other alternatives. It was not a financial investment nor did I see it as a money saver. If saving money were the primary motivator, I would not buy DVC or go anywhere. We could stay home and make memories watching Disney movies in our family room (which we do, BTW). We purchased DVC and all our timeshares to use ourselves and with money we know we may never recoup. If we have points or weeks we can’t use ourselves, then we will bank or rent it out. We plan many vacations and we make many types of memories at various places. Of course, you don’t need to buy into a DVC timeshare to make Disney memories. People go to Disney primarily for fun and memories, regardless of whether they pay a small fortune upfront to buy DVC points, pay exorbitant nightly rates using cash to stay on site, or choose to save money by staying offsite. In our case, I believe my spouse and I will enjoy our experience more as DVC members staying onsite. We would not go at all if we had to stay offsite and fight the traffic and crowds with no place to take a break during the day. The kids do not care where we stay so we did it so we could balance convenience and semi-luxury with fun for the kids. So our choices were buy DVC or pay cash as we go. We decided the DVC membership sounded more fun and we liked a lot of things about it.

 

[Dean]

The only reason I bought into DVC is to make unique Disney-oriented memories with the kids while staying onsite at the Disney resorts. I preferred the DVC membership over other alternatives. It was not a financial investment nor did I see it as a money saver. If saving money were the primary motivator, I would not buy DVC or go anywhere. We could stay home and make memories watching Disney movies in our family room (which we do, BTW). We purchased DVC and all our timeshares to use ourselves and with money we know we may never recoup. If we have points or weeks we can’t use ourselves, then we will bank or rent it out. We plan many vacations and we make many types of memories at various places. Of course, you don’t need to buy into a DVC timeshare to make Disney memories. People go to Disney primarily for fun and memories, regardless of whether they pay a small fortune upfront to buy DVC points, pay exorbitant nightly rates using cash to stay on site, or choose to save money by staying offsite. In our case, I believe my spouse and I will enjoy our experience more as DVC members staying onsite. We would not go at all if we had to stay offsite and fight the traffic and crowds with no place to take a break during the day. The kids do not care where we stay so we did it so we could balance convenience and semi-luxury with fun for the kids. So our choices were buy DVC or pay cash as we go. We decided the DVC membership sounded more fun and we liked a lot of things about it.

It seems you view this as an all or none, either off property or DVC. And in large part my point is that there are both a number of options and a number of ways to get there. I've owned DVC since 1994 and we have many stays a year on average with as many as ten 1 & 2 BR villas between BWV & BCV at one time. I'd estimate that at least 80% of our stays and 90% of the room nights have been by exchange. Specific to buying DVC, unless DVC saves money over either a private rental or what you would do if you didn't own there OR it doesn't add a true additional value that has some monetary component; it makes no sense to buy. To pay more just to own at DVC than you could do so by private rental would be foolish. Certainly it's going to be more expensive in many cases than off property though not always so. And there is a spread between off property and DVC where it'd would be unreasonable to participate but that's more of a personal preference.

 

[Jayco29D]

It seems you view this as an all or none, either off property or DVC. And in large part my point is that there are both a number of options and a number of ways to get there. I've owned DVC since 1994 and we have many stays a year on average with as many as ten 1 & 2 BR villas between BWV & BCV at one time. I'd estimate that at least 80% of our stays and 90% of the room nights have been by exchange. Specific to buying DVC, unless DVC saves money over either a private rental or what you would do if you didn't own there OR it doesn't add a true additional value that has some monetary component; it makes no sense to buy. To pay more just to own at DVC than you could do so by private rental would be foolish. Certainly it's going to be more expensive in many cases than off property though not always so. And there is a spread between off property and DVC where it'd would be unreasonable to participate but that's more of a personal preference.

I am a happy DVC member/owner with both resale and direct points. My point is that DVC is foolish to buy, period. The only reason to buy is for non-monetary reasons. The breakeven point is far off compared to many alternatives. Those of us fools (me included) who do buy at DVC try to enjoy it to the fullest - and recognize we will be lucky if we get most of our upfront purchases costs back when we sell. It is a premium product compared to other wonderful vacations we can spend our money on. Given your financial values, I do not understand why you visit Disney when it’s a foolish place to own and go. It is one of the most expensive money-sucking vacations in the world. So why did you buy DVC and why do you keep going back to the Capital of America’s consumerism? (I am exaggerating for emphasis.)

It is like why do people pay a premium to buy a Tiffany diamond necklace over a non-branded necklace? There are other reasons. Like your spouse can untie the ribbon on the blue box. LOL Most economists realize that consumer decision making is irrational from an economic point of view. And marketers capitalize on that - especially Disney!

If Tuggers really want to focus solely on the most sound financial ways for vacationing, then buy the cheapest and best week you can get on the resale market that you will use every year or, better yet, rent and don't get stuck with a timeshare at all. (Okay, I admit this is a very black and white way of looking at timeshares. The point made is for emphasis.)

P.S. What are the alternatives between staying on or off property? You either stay in WDW (by owning at DVC, or paying cash through DVC, or renting points from a reseller - and hoping you get the dates you want and you can’t cancel, or exchanging in through RCI - if you are very lucky maybe you can stay at Saratoga Springs) or you stay offsite and fight the traffic and crowds (through an exchange, or by owning an offsite TS, or renting through AirBnb or elsewhere).

 

[Dean]

I think my point is that DVC is foolish to buy, period. The only reason to buy is for non-monetary reasons. Those of us fools (me included) who do buy at DVC better enjoy it to the fullest. It is a premium product compared to other wonderful vacations we can spend our money on. Given your financial values, I do not understand why you visit Disney when it’s a foolish place to own and go. It is one of the most expensive money-sucking vacations in the world. So why did you buy DVC and why do you keep going back to the Capital of America’s consumerism?

It is like why do people pay a premium to buy a Tiffany diamond necklace over a non-branded necklace? There are other reasons. Like your spouse can untie the ribbon on the blue box. LOL Most economists realize that consumer decision making is irrational from an economic point of view. And marketers capitalize on that - especially Disney!

If we really want to focus solely on the most sound financial decisions for vacationing here on TUG, then buy the cheapest and best week you can get on the resale market that you will use every year or, better yet, rent and don't get stuck with a timeshare at all. (Okay, I admit this is a very black and white way of looking at timeshares. The point made is for emphasis.)

P.S. What are the alternatives between staying on or off property? You either stay in WDW (paying cash, using DVC points or exchanging - if you are lucky) or you stay offsite (through an exchange, owning an offsite TS or renting).

Not necessarily. Certainly DVC, Disney in general and vacations globally are an expense and not a true investment. For DVC to make sense one has to value on property sufficiently to pay extra to do so. That is the big leap here. Once one has made that leap, DVC then might or might not make sense. For it to make sense one has to be able to afford it (to me that's pay cash), value moderate or above accommodations, be able and willing to plan at least 7 months out preferably 11 months, plan to go AT LEAST every 3 years and be OK with the compromises of a timeshare. To pay more for DVC as a studio compared to staying in a comparable hotel room doesn't make sense. The proper comparison there is a hotel room to a studio or 2 hotel rooms to a 2BR. Obviously they are different somewhat and sometimes those differences make sense for a given party and not for others. Or to pay more for DVC than one could rent long term wouldn't make sense. If there's no monetary savings, just pay cash through Disney, rent privately or stay in Disney suites. A timeshare has far too much aggravation and risk to fool with it if there isn't either a savings or true and real added value.

 

[Jayco29D]

Not necessarily. Certainly DVC, Disney in general and vacations globally are an expense and not a true investment. For DVC to make sense one has to value on property sufficiently to pay extra to do so. That is the big leap here. Once one has made that leap, DVC then might or might not make sense. For it to make sense one has to be able to afford it (to me that's pay cash), value moderate or above accommodations, be able and willing to plan at least 7 months out preferably 11 months, plan to go AT LEAST every 3 years and be OK with the compromises of a timeshare. To pay more for DVC as a studio compared to staying in a comparable hotel room doesn't make sense. The proper comparison there is a hotel room to a studio or 2 hotel rooms to a 2BR. Obviously they are different somewhat and sometimes those differences make sense for a given party and not for others. Or to pay more for DVC than one could rent long term wouldn't make sense. If there's no monetary savings, just pay cash through Disney, rent privately or stay in Disney suites. A timeshare has far too much aggravation and risk to fool with it if there isn't either a savings or true and real added value.

So why do you own so many DVC points still? You mentioned at one point you have owned over 900 DVC points and have sold about half but have not gotten around to selling the the rest. Maybe I am wrong but I get the impression that you are very wealthy, yet preach against DVC.

 

[Dean]

So why do you own so many DVC points still? You mentioned at one point you have owned over 900 DVC points and have sold about half but have not gotten around to selling the the rest. Maybe I am wrong but I get the impression that you are very wealthy, yet preach against DVC.

Neither but I have planned fairly well over the years. The truth is that selling most of my points and keeping a few for the perks would likely be the best choice but DVC was my first love in timeshares and we still enjoy going and staying. Sometimes we use the points to supplement a second unit or additional days with an exchange. You misread the intent of my point, it's not to preach against DVC but against poor choices so that DVC will be a blessing. You're an adult, you can do what you want, but you need information to make an informed decision.

 

[Jayco29D]

Neither but I have planned fairly well over the years. The truth is that selling most of my points and keeping a few for the perks would likely be the best choice but DVC was my first love in timeshares and we still enjoy going and staying. Sometimes we use the points to supplement a second unit or additional days with an exchange. You misread the intent of my point, it's not to preach against DVC but against poor choices so that DVC will be a blessing. You're an adult, you can do what you want, but you need information to make an informed decision.

Hi Dean, I am glad to hear DVC was your first love in timeshares and you have an emotional connection to it. I am happy your motivation is to share your knowledge so DVC can be a blessing for others.

 

[NewbieMom]

Hello. I just want to say I really enjoyed reading this thread. I've been going back and forth on whether DVC makes sense for us. This thread laid out some very good points. We do not own any timeshares at the moment, and I've only recently discovered this board. I don't plan on "jumping in" at least for another 6 months as I'm the type of person who needs to read and research long and hard before making a decision.

I have two young children (4yo and 9 months) and I like the idea of giving them the full Disney experience so there's definitely an emotional factor/value to weigh here. But I can also see a financial value. I don't see us going every year or even every other year. My current thinking is every 3 years. As we'll most likely go during spring break since my eldest will start school soon, it'll cost us about $2500/week to rent. That is about 3 years worth of maintenance fees on a small point package that'll allow me to stay for 1 week with banking/borrowing. Does it make sense to buy (and have the lifelong commitment)?

My kids are young right now and we're fine staying in a studio room. But as they get older, we'll need 2 br. A small point package would not be enough even with banking/borrowing. If we buy, should we go for more points to account for this now and rent them out in the meantime? Or wait and add on more points in the future when we actually will use them? What would be some pros/cons to each path?

Thanks for all the interesting insights! We are taking the kids on their first WDW trip in a few weeks. I can't wait to see their reactions. We are staying offsite at Marriott but will make a point to tour BLT and AKV, as those are the two that looks the most appealing to us.

 

[Dean]

Hello. I just want to say I really enjoyed reading this thread. I've been going back and forth on whether DVC makes sense for us. This thread laid out some very good points. We do not own any timeshares at the moment, and I've only recently discovered this board. I don't plan on "jumping in" at least for another 6 months as I'm the type of person who needs to read and research long and hard before making a decision.

I have two young children (4yo and 9 months) and I like the idea of giving them the full Disney experience so there's definitely an emotional factor/value to weigh here. But I can also see a financial value. I don't see us going every year or even every other year. My current thinking is every 3 years. As we'll most likely go during spring break since my eldest will start school soon, it'll cost us about $2500/week to rent. That is about 3 years worth of maintenance fees on a small point package that'll allow me to stay for 1 week with banking/borrowing. Does it make sense to buy (and have the lifelong commitment)?

My kids are young right now and we're fine staying in a studio room. But as they get older, we'll need 2 br. A small point package would not be enough even with banking/borrowing. If we buy, should we go for more points to account for this now and rent them out in the meantime? Or wait and add on more points in the future when we actually will use them? What would be some pros/cons to each path?

Thanks for all the interesting insights! We are taking the kids on their first WDW trip in a few weeks. I can't wait to see their reactions. We are staying offsite at Marriott but will make a point to tour BLT and AKV, as those are the two that looks the most appealing to us.

I’d plan for a 1BR as they get older not a 2 BR. If you decide that purchasing is a good choice I’d likely get a good sized cushion. You’re likely looking at around 170-200 pts or so to give you a nice cushion and split the difference. I’d suggest you stay on property before deciding at the resort you favor, maybe as a privately rental. If you need a 2 BR later for expanded trips with family or similar you could look at adding on and/or a second resort option, a transfer of points or one of several options to accommodate a larger single trip.

 

[Jayco29D]

Here's an article from DVC Resale on their view of the most economical DVC resort to own:

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/best-economical-dvc-resort-to-purchase-spring-2018/

 

[Jayco29D]

I just changed a reservation at Aulani from August to October. Fortunately, there was still availability for 1 bedrooms. I wanted to get a 2 bedroom island view (since it was the same points as a 1 bedroom in August) but they were sold out so I stuck with a 1 bedroom island view for fewer points. Out of curiosity, I did a search on what is available at WDW at 7 months out on Sat-Mon for 1 bedrooms and all I found was Kidani Savannah View, Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. There might be other days and some higher view/room size categories that I did not look for. But this seems to show that there is value in owning at DVC to get what you want on the days you want with the 11 month booking window. I would guess it is very hard to trade into DVC if members can't get in easily at 7 months. It is not easy to rent points and get the reservation you want either because the rental agent needs to call DVC and check for availability just like owners do so you need to plan early and hope you do not change as I think if you rent points, you may lose quite a bit if you cancel. I was surprised at my search results because October is shoulder season and kids are in school. Perhaps there would be 3 consecutive days if I had searched for all mid week days. I am guessing that anyone visiting from out of town would need more than 3 days. I just used 3 days as a sample to see what I would find at 7 months. Since we are from California, when we go to WDW, we will stay for 7-10 nights so we absolutely need the 11 month booking window to plan ahead and get the days we want at the resorts we want.

 

[Mosescan]

Did your Animal Kingdom offer pass ROFR?

Just got the news today we passed ROFR. Now. 3 or 4 week wait for the estoppel.

 

[littlestar]

I was surprised at my search results because October is shoulder season and kids are in school. Perhaps there would be 3 consecutive days if I had searched for all mid week days. I am guessing that anyone visiting from out of town would need more than 3 days. I just used 3 days as a sample to see what I would find at 7 months. Since we are from California, when we go to WDW, we will stay for 7-10 nights so we absolutely need the 11 month booking window to plan ahead and get the days we want at the resorts we want.

October is "Fall Frenzy" at Walt Disneyworld. Lots of schools have fall breaks during October and the Food and Wine is going on at Epcot, not to mention the Halloween parties.

Congrats on passing ROFR Mosescan.

 

[Jayco29D]

Just got the news today we passed ROFR. Now. 3 or 4 week wait for the estoppel.

Congratulations Mosescan! You will have loads of fun for years to come at Animal Kingdom. I suspect that will be my favorite park since we are an animal lover family. We have 3 dogs and a cat and my kids are asking for more!

 

[Jayco29D]

October is "Fall Frenzy" at Walt Disneyworld. Lots of schools have fall breaks during October and the Food and Wine is going on at Epcot, not to mention the Halloween parties.

Congrats on passing ROFR Mosescan.

I just switched on Wednesday to go to Hawaii in the Fall instead of the Summer out of necessity for family reasons but it turned out great bc Marriott Ko Olina was still available for a week in late September and we saved 34 points at Disney Aulani since it is shoulder season in Hawaii (summer is peak season in Hawaii). So we will do our 10 day Ko Olina vacation in the Fall instead of the Summer. If we were not owners at these timeshares, we would not be able to change plans so easily. So I see this as a big advantage of owning over renting. Especially since we are combining two different timeshare companies - Marriott and Disney for this vacation. We bought MKO and Aulani to work together. Not sure if this is the thread discussing the topic of owning vs renting but just thought I would mention the benefit of the flexibility of changing reservations.

 

[blondietink]

I just changed a reservation at Aulani from August to October. Fortunately, there was still availability for 1 bedrooms. I wanted to get a 2 bedroom island view (since it was the same points as a 1 bedroom in August) but they were sold out so I stuck with a 1 bedroom island view for fewer points. Out of curiosity, I did a search on what is available at WDW at 7 months out on Sat-Mon for 1 bedrooms and all I found was Kidani Savannah View, Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. There might be other days and some higher view/room size categories that I did not look for. But this seems to show that there is value in owning at DVC to get what you want on the days you want with the 11 month booking window. I would guess it is very hard to trade into DVC if members can't get in easily at 7 months. It is not easy to rent points and get the reservation you want either because the rental agent needs to call DVC and check for availability just like owners do so you need to plan early and hope you do not change as I think if you rent points, you may lose quite a bit if you cancel. I was surprised at my search results because October is shoulder season and kids are in school. Perhaps there would be 3 consecutive days if I had searched for all mid week days. I am guessing that anyone visiting from out of town would need more than 3 days. I just used 3 days as a sample to see what I would find at 7 months. Since we are from California, when we go to WDW, we will stay for 7-10 nights so we absolutely need the 11 month booking window to plan ahead and get the days we want at the resorts we want.

We have been to Aulani twice in the fall and have always been able to get a reservation even less than 7 months out. Last time we got an island view to stay longer and save on points and it was the best room we ever had. It was top floor (14 I think) overlooking the golf course and we could see all the way to Diamond Head in the distance. Great sunrise shots.

Earlier this week I cancelled our SSR for 7 nights starting 10/21 and was able to book BLT for 7 nights on the same dates. There was plenty of availability at 8 am which included not only BLT but also Grand Floridian, AKV Jambo and Kadini, BWV, OKW, Wildrness Lodge and SSR. Usually the schools that do have an October break are in the middle two weeks of the month. This is also true for the people coming from England which we have run into in the past.

 

[Jayco29D]

We have been to Aulani twice in the fall and have always been able to get a reservation even less than 7 months out. Last time we got an island view to stay longer and save on points and it was the best room we ever had. It was top floor (14 I think) overlooking the golf course and we could see all the way to Diamond Head in the distance. Great sunrise shots.

Earlier this week I cancelled our SSR for 7 nights starting 10/21 and was able to book BLT for 7 nights on the same dates. There was plenty of availability at 8 am which included not only BLT but also Grand Floridian, AKV Jambo and Kadini, BWV, OKW, Wildrness Lodge and SSR. Usually the schools that do have an October break are in the middle two weeks of the month. This is also true for the people coming from England which we have run into in the past.

Aulani is a little easier to book at 7 months because most DVC owners are East Coast folks. For Orlando resorts, you do have to be online right at 8 am, I have heard. I was looking at 6.5 months and most of the 1 bedroom Orlando resorts were booked and the 2 bedroom island view at Aulani was booked too. I could not get exactly what I wanted so I rebooked what I had and I was happy by saving the points for next year.

 

[icydog]

You get all perks c/w staying on property like early/late access, free park parking and the like including the BLT lounge.. You lose out on the option to trade for DCL, ABC, Disney hotels and the concierge collection. You also lose out on the shopping/dining discounts, pass discounts, EPCOT long, access to the members cruises and access to member events. The 2010 set of restrictions removed the cash exchange options and IMO did the members a favor. The 2016 restrictions removed the other items and any future benefits. The 2018 change to 75 pts to qualify essentially made it where buying FOR the perks/discounts was essentially never going to be reasonable unless buying retail without the perks would make sense. You still get RCI access.

Wait, What's that you say? When did this happen? Is it on the dvcmember.com website? Last year, I bought a 25 point contract at Disney's Old Key West just to have all the benefits. I guess I was lucky to have done so!