Hello from No Cal!!

[disneymom4]

Hello all,
I've been lurking on the site for a few weeks and thought I would introduce myself. We (me, DD 25, DD 14, and DGS 5) are from Northern California and are seriously looking in to the option of a DVC ownership! Before I dive in, I want to get all the info I can on how it works! We have friends and family who have been members for years and LOVE it! We mostly only travel to Disneyland due to costs and have only once been able to stay on site at the Paradise Pier due to the costs of the rooms and have been to WDW twice (1998 and 2004) with a trip in the planning stages for my DD high school graduation in 2014! Thinking seriously about the purchase before the 2014 trip! Not sure how often though we would get to Florida (due to airfare mostly) and not sure if the DVC would really be benefit for us so I want to know EVERYTHING!!

[marzyar]

For all the Basics, start here.

http://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com

Since DL is where you go most often I would try to buy at the Grand Californian Villas, The 11 month window is a real advantage here. Though it can be cheaper up front I recommend buying directly from Disney over resale. Previously there was no difference but now Resale members do NOT receive all the benefits and travel ability that Direct purchase members do. (There are many opinions on this topic though.)

And remember, Since you lodging will no longer be a major financial consideration during your trip it will free up money in other areas for more flights to Florida or even Hawaii.

[denlo]

Welcome to the DVC News. People on this board are pretty knowledgeable about the in and out of the DVC.

First I'd recommend you read the information TimK has compiled about the DVC. Here are the subjects that are covered:

Screen Shot 2012-05-09 at 12.12.00 PM.jpg And here is the link to that section on the DVC News Home page.

Then you might have an idea of what questions to ask here on the DVC News.

My questions to you would be:

• How often will you take a Disney vacation? Once a year, once every other year or every three years, or will it be longer between trips?
• Will everyone in your family be traveling together at the same time? Or will you share the points between you for more trips.
• Do you have money saved to join the DVC or will you be financing. And will you finance through Disney (only available for direct buys) or through a private lender?

Based on what you are saying it sounds like you will be mainly using your points to stay at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, with an occasional trip to WDW. I would recommend you try to purchase points for the Villas at Grand California. They have officially sold out so there are wait lists to buy the points through Disney. You can buy it via resale but there aren't very many contracts available for sale. I only know of resale companies in Florida. We have used the TimeShare Store a couple of times and have been quite satisfied with our experience. They have an ad on the main forum page here on the DVC News. If you buy a VCG contract it will give you a chance to make reservations as early as 11 months out from your check in date. Whereas if you purchased, say OKW (at WDW) you could only book a room in California at the 7 month mark, so you are competing not only with other VGC owners but every owner in the DVC that decides to travel to DLR. Another reason to own at VCG, is that there are only 48 vacation homes which are the equivalent of a 2 BR (or a studio plus a 1 BR) and 2 GVs. So it could be if everyone booked only 2BR villas only 46 families could stay at the resort in addition to the 2 Grand villas. But usually some pick a studio, others a 1 BR until the rooms are filled up.

And have you thought about ever going to Hawaii in future? There is a new Disney Resort there called Aulani. Half of the rooms at Aulani are DVC villas. And you will be able to use your DVC points to book a room there.

Lastly you could rent points and see how you like staying at a DVC resort versus Paradise Pier. You can rent points from another member. The DISboards.com has a rental of DVC points thread. But you need to be active on that board before you can rent. There is also a DVC member that owns a company that connects owners to renters called, David's Vacation Club Rentals, see his ad on the main forum page. You could rent points through him to stay at VGC for that September trip if you want just to check it out. I know others no more about renting than I do so if you are interested hopefully they will post advice about that.

Currently the price of buying into the DVC really varies depending if you are buying direct from the DVC (very high) or buying on the resale market and what resort you buy. Often you can save hundreds of dollars by buying resale depending on the number of points you buy. However the points you buy via resale are not eligible for use of your DVC points through the Disney Collection which includes staying at regular Disney resorts, all Disneyland resorts overseas, and Disney Cruise Line and some other exchanges through some smaller timeshare chains. It does not prevent those points from being used at another DVC resort nor through RCI. However, the DVC has the right to change those exchanges at anytime. The only guarantee you really have when purchasing DVC points is that you are guaranteed to be able to make a reservation at your home resort if a room is available for the dates you want.


Hopefully, I have not overwhelmed you with too much information. Just ask if you have any questions.

[disneymom4]

thanks to you both for all the info! If the VGC are sold out, how do i get on a wait list? I would buy direct from Disney i believe, i know the interest is very high but i would hope to pay it off sooner rather than later!

My family just came back from the Aulani and loved it!! I haven't been to Hawaii since 1984, it would be amazing to have that too, though i think i would probably go to Florida more than to Hawaii ...

Also, when i stayed at the Paradise Pier 5 years ago, we got a VERY good deal (pay 3 nites get 2 free) and it was really inexpensive (like 1500 for 3 adults/2 kids INCLUDING 5 day passes) - i have not seen that deal since, and doubt it will happen again.

[marzyar]

Go to the web site I linked to earlier and push Contact Us. The DVC Representatives are Very helpful and can answer any questions you have as well as put you on the wait list if you wish.

[disneymom4]

Go to the web site I linked to earlier and push Contact Us. The DVC Representatives are Very helpful and can answer any questions you have as well as put you on the wait list if you wish.

will do! thanks so much!

[KNWVIKING 2.0]

Never had a Diet Pepsi tell me "Hello" before.

[Ron_Robin]

Hi, if it looks like the waiting list for VGC is a long shot, purchasing another location is not a bad idea. My daughter has no problem booking at the VGC at the 7 month window (they own at Aulani), however if you do not get your reservation in at the 7 month window, it might be tough. We missed by a week and could only be be put on waiting list for a studio at the VGC.

What you would need to look at is the cost of ownership at one of the other properties (initial cost and dues)

As for the wait list for VGC, we were on the wait list for only 2 months for an add-on contract for 50 additional points, but that might have had something to do with our guide, our first guide was really not much help at all.