Which DVC Club to Join as Home Club?

[RussellSun]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am not sure which DVC club would be best to make as my home club. It would either be Orlando or Hawaii, I guess. I was thinking either Aulani to supplement our days at Marriott Ko Olina or the Polynesian for lower MFs and the convenience in the park. Or perhaps Animal Kingdom or Wilderness Lodge? I have family in Florida and Hawaii is just as close a flight as Florida for us. If we choose an Orlando home club for lower MFs, is it hard to book days at Aulani with the shorter booking window? Also, is it worth purchasing directly through Disney for the extra benefits such as the ability to use points at Disney hotels and the Collection and Concierge hotels? If you buy resale, do you get to use your points for the RCI weeks and can you sign up for the Registry?

 

[Dean]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am not sure which DVC club would be best to make as my home club. It would either be Orlando or Hawaii, I guess. I was thinking either Aulani to supplement our days at Marriott Ko Olina or the Polynesian for lower MFs and the convenience in the park. Or perhaps Animal Kingdom or Wilderness Lodge? I have family in Florida and Hawaii is just as close a flight as Florida for us. If we choose an Orlando home club for lower MFs, is it hard to book days at Aulani with the shorter booking window? Also, is it worth purchasing directly through Disney for the extra benefits such as the ability to use points at Disney hotels and the Collection and Concierge hotels? If you buy resale, do you get to use your points for the RCI weeks and can you sign up for the Registry?

We own Marriott and DVC. All DVC members can use RCI but I wouldn't plan to do so. The Registry is included but it's a boatload of points. Buying retail for the ability to use cash exchanges is a poor choice, it's always more expensive than buying less points and paying cash for the other options, often a lot more. SSR will be the cheapest but it may not get you in to all options consistently. Do you have to be on property, would buying Marriott and staying off property be an option in your situation? I'd never buy retail unless there we're savings for resale for the decided upon option. For a full sized contract of around 150 or more, IMO the current standard is to buy resale then do a 25 pt retail add on which gives you access to perks and special events. I'd consider VGC instead though if you're looking at Poly and Aulani, it'll give you choices.

 

[AnnieBets]

First, don't buy if you have to finance it, don't buy if happy with value resorts as you'll spend more with dvc, buy where you want to stay, and do consider resale with small direct add-on to get benefits.

Also, be sure to look at points required to stay. Poly requires more points than some other resorts. That would affect both buy in and maintenance fees. Run the numbers for a typical trip (studio, one bedroom, etc. and time of year). There is flexibility in how you use points - I thought I'd be going in January in a one bedroom but first trip is easter week and due to points needed, going with studio. You can go on DVC site, go to plan vacations, and look at availability in the next 60 days. Not much due to holidays and low point season but Aulini more likely to be available than other resorts so could get it easier at 7 months.

 

[chalee94]

the only real benefit to buying direct is for perks like the annual pass discount - but it doesn't sound like you'd be going for multiple weeks to Orlando, so resale is your best bet.

the old wilderness lodge (now boulder ridge) contracts expire in 2042, so you may prefer to stay away from that one.

DVC works best if you are planning farther out but if you are just looking for Aulani for a few days here and there to supplement Ko Olina stays, then that could work out for you.

 

[rhonda]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am not sure which DVC club would be best to make as my home club. It would either be Orlando or Hawaii, I guess. I was thinking either Aulani to supplement our days at Marriott Ko Olina or the Polynesian for lower MFs and the convenience in the park. Or perhaps Animal Kingdom or Wilderness Lodge? I have family in Florida and Hawaii is just as close a flight as Florida for us.

Heh, heh. You are kinda 'all over the board' there. How to you hope to use DVC? What are your goals?

• How often would you use DVC at Aulani?
• How often would you use DVC at WDW? Visiting Family ... are you likely to stay with family? Stay near WDW but off-site?
• Do you hope to use DVC at the Grand Cal? (Very small property ... somewhat difficult to book w/out 'home resort advantage')
• What unit size does your traveling party prefer? (Poly lacks 1BR units; the 2BR is an expensive bungalow configuration.)
• Do you druthers for/against certain Disney resort themes/decor? (Aulani, Animal Kingdom, Poly and Wilderness Lodge each use lots of 'dark wood' in their decor compared to Bay Lake Tower (Contemporary), Beach Club, etc.)
• ... ?

If we choose an Orlando home club for lower MFs, is it hard to book days at Aulani with the shorter booking window? Also, is it worth purchasing directly through Disney for the extra benefits such as the ability to use points at Disney hotels and the Collection and Concierge hotels? If you buy resale, do you get to use your points for the RCI weeks and can you sign up for the Registry?

FWIW, we live in San Diego and have owned DVC at SSR since early 2004. We've used our points all over the place including DVC at Aulani, Poly, Animal Kingdom, Wilderness Lodge, etc. We tend to book 1BR units which are easier to snag inside the 7-month window than studio units.

All DVC members have access to RCI exchanges, including Registry. Registry, as noted above, are expensive trades: they start at 300 points but are more often between 800-1100 points per exchange. Access to (all) RCI's rental weeks has been recently granted to DVC members and might be a nice benefit to you if you don't already have an RCI account.

I wouldn't advise buying developer points to use for the Disney Hotels, Disney Collection or Concierge Collection. For these, cash remains king. (That said, I've used my points for these ... but my points where purchased ages ago at an entirely different price point.)

Good luck with your research!

 

[RussellSun]

We own Marriott and DVC. All DVC members can use RCI but I wouldn't plan to do so. The Registry is included but it's a boatload of points. Buying retail for the ability to use cash exchanges is a poor choice, it's always more expensive than buying less points and paying cash for the other options, often a lot more. SSR will be the cheapest but it may not get you in to all options consistently. Do you have to be on property, would buying Marriott and staying off property be an option in your situation? I'd never buy retail unless there we're savings for resale for the decided upon option. For a full sized contract of around 150 or more, IMO the current standard is to buy resale then do a 25 pt retail add on which gives you access to perks and special events. I'd consider VGC instead though if you're looking at Poly and Aulani, it'll give you choices.

Thanks Dean. Sounds like resale is the way to go. What is VGC? I am new to DVC so I am not familiar with all the DVC acronyms.

 

[Dean]

Thanks Dean. Sounds like resale is the way to go. What is VGC? I am new to DVC so I am not familiar with all the DVC acronyms.

Villas at Grand California. Expensive but might be worth it. You need to spend time investigating. Do you have on property experience that you can pull from. I wonder if a trip or 2 rented privately might not be a good investment for you. IMO for DVC, and timeshare in general, you should be to the point where you can answer these type of questions for others fairly comfortably to be educated enough to buy. It usually takes several months and several on property stays to do so. While non DVC timeshare experience helps, it does so only up to a point.

 

[littlestar]

If you are not restricted to school schedules, SSR is a good value. Although I think there is a bit of a bubble right now as far as prices being a bit high.

We own 240 SSR points, along with an EOY Marriott 2 bedroom lock off and some Wyndham points. We book weeks with our Marriott via exchange and then use our points to add extra days to our trips. I have had good luck booking different DVC resorts at the 7 month window, but I book 1 or 2 bedrooms and do not need peak time.

 

[icydog]

My thinking is this: If the OP has money to buy a Disney Vacation Club timeshare he should buy one on the West Coast. VGC or Aulani. I have read that Disney might be building new units in CA. Of course DVC being DVC keeps everything hush hush to the bitter end. Schlepping back and forth across the country will get old fast. I think someone living in San Francisco would get tired of paying big bucks for airfare to go to WDW

 

[rhonda]

My thinking is this: If the OP has money to buy a Disney Vacation Club timeshare he should buy one on the West Coast. VGC or Aulani. I have read that Disney might be building new units in CA. Of course DVC being DVC keeps everything hush hush to the bitter end. Schlepping back and forth across the country will get old fast. I think someone living in San Francisco would get tired of paying big bucks for airfare to go to WDW

But the 'joy' of a points-based system is that you are not tied to one resort, one week or one unit type. At 7-months, points are points. No need to feel "tied" to a long-haul trip to WDW.

I suspect locals don't particularly plan ahead for a trip to Disneyland. Granted, SFO to Anaheim is, perhaps, sufficient distance to warrant some planning ... but likely not 11 months out.

 

[icydog]

It is very difficult to get into VGC. If you don't own there you are not getting in. Flying across the country to go to Walt Disney World will be fun sometimes but the better value would be to buy someplace closer to home. I live in NJ. I have tried to get to VGC with no luck. It just doesn't happen. I can get to Orlando in half a day from Newark but going to CA is a full day trip and by the time I get there I am exhausted. I wish I could get into VGC but I can't. I own at Marriott's Newport Coast and getting there is an excursion, so I rarely go. Most of the time I rent it out.

 

[Dean]

But the 'joy' of a points-based system is that you are not tied to one resort, one week or one unit type. At 7-months, points are points. No need to feel "tied" to a long-haul trip to WDW.

I suspect locals don't particularly plan ahead for a trip to Disneyland. Granted, SFO to Anaheim is, perhaps, sufficient distance to warrant some planning ... but likely not 11 months out.

So the sales staff says. IMO DVC is getting more difficult at 7 months out though it's still workable for someone who's willing to take the risks. In that case, the cheapest thing that works for WDW assuming that's the desired location, is the best option. That's normally doing to be SSR with BLT in second if one looks long term including dues.

 

[icydog]

So the sales staff says. IMO DVC is getting more difficult at 7 months out though it's still workable for someone who's willing to take the risks. In that case, the cheapest thing that works for WDW assuming that's the desired location, is the best option. That's normally doing to be SSR with BLT in second if one looks long term including dues.

Why BLT? Am I missing something? The buy-in price is very high even if the maintenance fees are better than the other resorts.

 

[rhonda]

It is very difficult to get into VGC. If you don't own there you are not getting in. Flying across the country to go to Walt Disney World will be fun sometimes but the better value would be to buy someplace closer to home. I live in NJ. I have tried to get to VGC with no luck. It just doesn't happen. I can get to Orlando in half a day from Newark but going to CA is a full day trip and by the time I get there I am exhausted. I wish I could get into VGC but I can't. I own at Marriott's Newport Coast and getting there is an excursion, so I rarely go. Most of the time I rent it out.

But the OP hasn't mentioned any need or desire to visit the Grand Cal. I tried pulling that string in post #5 and haven't seen any interest in that location?

We snag 1-3 nights at the Grand Cal well inside the 7-month window fairly regularly. As we don't need to coordinate airfare or even kennels ... we benefit from snagging the 'remnants' here and there.

 

[rhonda]

So the sales staff says. IMO DVC is getting more difficult at 7 months out though it's still workable for someone who's willing to take the risks. In that case, the cheapest thing that works for WDW assuming that's the desired location, is the best option. That's normally doing to be SSR with BLT in second if one looks long term including dues.

Seems the system is working well, as sold, for me at 7-months. Then again, we generally book 1BR units rather than studio. I'm not buying into this hype that 'one must own where they wish to stay.'

EDIT: Correction to my last line, above. Yeah, time for a reality check. Yes, I did eventually buy some DVC points so that I could stay at DVC properties. And yes, I own some WM points so I can use the WM resorts; and I own a Grand Pacific Resort property so I can trade w/in the GPR locations via RCI; etc. So, yes ... I do "buy where I want to stay" but with a fairly broad brush at the 'network' level rather than the 'resort level." Ok, I confess.

 

[Dean]

Why BLT? Am I missing something? The buy-in price is very high even if the maintenance fees are better than the other resorts.

BLT has been the second cheapest over the life of the contract due to the lower dues. Obviously with some assumptions. I haven't run the numbers since prices have gone up but it does include inflation on the dues and lost earnings on the up front.

Seems the system is working well, as sold, for me at 7-months. Then again, we generally book 1BR units rather than studio. I'm not buying into this hype that 'one must own where they wish to stay.'

EDIT: Correction to my last line, above. Yeah, time for a reality check. Yes, I did eventually buy some DVC points so that I could stay at DVC properties. And yes, I own some WM points so I can use the WM resorts; and I own a Grand Pacific Resort property so I can trade w/in the GPR locations via RCI; etc. So, yes ... I do "buy where I want to stay" but with a fairly broad brush at the 'network' level rather than the 'resort level." Ok, I confess.

I make it work for me as well but certainly the 7 month window has gotten more difficult and for many things it does require extra work and use of the wait list more than a few years ago. I think SSR is the main reason for this change but it's not the only one. I agree that often people over buy due to the emotions of thinking they want/need the hot new place. Certainly 1 BR villas are the easiest to reserve but actually the most expensive option compared to occupancy. But one isn't going to own SSR and routinely get into specialty options, VGF or BCV unless they're going at a truly lower time and there aren't as many of those as there used to be either.

 

[AnnaS]

Thanks Dean. Sounds like resale is the way to go. What is VGC? I am new to DVC so I am not familiar with all the DVC acronyms.

Sounds like the OP might not know that VCG exists? in Disneyland.......

 

[chriskre]

You might want to consider buying a small package in Aulani, Cali and Orlando.
For example, instead of buying 300 points in just one place, buy 100 points in all 3 places.
That way you can bank and borrow for every 2 or every 3 year vacations at each resort
or stay in studios to stretch points.
If I were to do it all over that is what I'd do.

DVC is not good for last minute ressies.
You will be disappointed if you can't plan ahead.
Because of this required planning you will want to own in the resorts that will give you
home resort priority. You get that from the 11th month to the 7th month mark.
After that your resort opens up to the rest of the club members.

 

[Hankmoon]

If you own Grand Californian as your home resort and book at the 11 month window, how likely are you to get a reservation for a 1 bedroom villa?

 

[vacationhopeful]

What I have noticed with DVC, MANY owners book the smallest size unit to get the MAXIMUM number of days at the parks. Studios sleep 4 as do 1bdrs; some 1bdrs sleep 5 (and might have 2baths). Older resorts require less DVC points to book. Prime seasons (Food & Wine, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring Breaks, Summer, and 3 night Holiday weekends).

I own at AKV ... even the studios with a bad view (not savanna views, but the parking lot views) get booked REAL QUICK!. But the 3bdr & 4bdr units get booked first ... beautiful units ... 2 story apartments with savanna views ... with very high AKV/DVC points needed to reserve. AKV studios sleep 4; 1bdr units sleep 5 (mostly), etc.

Actually, in MY personal exchange experience ... RCI seems to get 1bdr Savanna view units deposited.

 

[icydog]

If you own Grand Californian as your home resort and book at the 11 month window, how likely are you to get a reservation for a 1 bedroom villa?

If you own at VGC and book at 11 months from your check in dates you will be among the first trying to secure any size villa. I don’t see any reason if you booked at 11 months why you couldn’t get whatever you wanted there.

I just did a search on DVCMember.com for October 5-12, 2018 and I see FUll availability for studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms and three bedroom villas

 

[Hankmoon]

What I have noticed with DVC, MANY owners book the smallest size unit to get the MAXIMUM number of days at the parks. Studios sleep 4 as do 1bdrs; some 1bdrs sleep 5 (and might have 2baths). Older resorts require less DVC points to book. Prime seasons (Food & Wine, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter/Spring Breaks, Summer, and 3 night Holiday weekends).

I own at AKV ... even the studios with a bad view (not savanna views, but the parking lot views) get booked REAL QUICK!. But the 3bdr & 4bdr units get booked first ... beautiful units ... 2 story apartments with savanna views ... with very high AKV/DVC points needed to reserve. AKV studios sleep 4; 1bdr units sleep 5 (mostly), etc.

Actually, in MY personal exchange experience ... RCI seems to get 1bdr Savanna view units deposited.

Just out of curiosity, why would people deposit 1 bedroom Savanna view units? What could they possibly trade for that is better on RCI? Overall, I have not seen a lot of good inventory on RCI.

 

[Hankmoon]

You might want to consider buying a small package in Aulani, Cali and Orlando.
For example, instead of buying 300 points in just one place, buy 100 points in all 3 places.
That way you can bank and borrow for every 2 or every 3 year vacations at each resort
or stay in studios to stretch points.
If I were to do it all over that is what I'd do.

DVC is not good for last minute ressies.
You will be disappointed if you can't plan ahead.
Because of this required planning you will want to own in the resorts that will give you
home resort priority. You get that from the 11th month to the 7th month mark.
After that your resort opens up to the rest of the club members.

Good advice!

 

[vacationhopeful]

Just out of curiosity, why would people deposit 1 bedroom Savanna view units? What could they possibly trade for that is better on RCI? Overall, I have not seen a lot of good inventory on RCI.

The reasons is DVC decides what is deposited ... season and unit size. DVC goal is to SELL their vacation system to KNOWING timeshare owners. Most current owners with MONEY only want 1bdr and large unit. Those 1bdr savanna view units are killers ... my retired executive sister LOVED that view AND she slept on the sofabed in a 1bdr unit. She liked the VWL 1bdr unit also ... but just loved AKV. She asked about the MONEY needed to buy resale DVC points for Animal Kingdom Villas.

PS MANY die hard DVC owners will stay in STUDIOS to save points and to stay longer onsite ... their "Plan A" is barely sleep and eat in their DVC unit ... spend all day and night in the parks. Own DVC to get discounts for as much as possible.

 

[Hankmoon]

The reasons is DVC decides what is deposited ... season and unit size. DVC goal is to SELL their vacation system to KNOWING timeshare owners. Most current owners with MONEY only want 1bdr and large unit. Those 1bdr savanna view units are killers ... my retired executive sister LOVED that view AND she slept on the sofabed in a 1bdr unit. She liked the VWL 1bdr unit also ... but just loved AKV. She asked about the MONEY needed to buy resale DVC points for Animal Kingdom Villas.

PS MANY die hard DVC owners will stay in STUDIOS to save points and to stay longer onsite ... their "Plan A" is barely sleep and eat in their DVC unit ... spend all day and night in the parks. Own DVC to get discounts for as much as possible.

Oh, I get it now. Only problem is that DVC is not selling AKV retail anymore so they should probably deposit something they are selling. Now they are promoting Poly, Aulani and Copper Creek. I personally like 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units but will probably save points by using 1 bedroom units. I can’t do studios with my kids. They are about the size of a hotel room. Too small for us.