Following are some questions and answers related to the day-to-day operations of Disney Vacation Club.
Yes. Disney Vacation Club introduced a realtime reservation on DVCMember.com in 2012. Reservations can be made beginning at 8am eastern exactly 11 or 7 months prior to arrival.
Most transactions can be completed via the member website including banking points, borrowing points, making reservations, modifying reservations, cancelling existing reservations, entering waitlist requests and more.
Some transactions--such as purchasing one time use points or transferring points--still require a phone call to Disney Vacation Club Member Services.
DVC maintains a "waitlist" system which allows members to go on a waiting list for rooms which are not available when they initially attempt to book. Requests are satisfied on a first-in, first-out basis. As members cancel existing reservations, attempts will be made to match the now-vacant accommodations to requests on the waitlist.
Each membership is permitted only TWO active waitlist requests for any combination of dates, resort and room type.
Given the limitation of only two active requests at a time, members must make reasonable decisions about the resorts and views for which they waitlist.
A member who has no secured reservation would be wise to waitlist for the largest resorts / views available. Included in those groupings are the likes of Saratoga Springs, Old Key West (non-Hospitality House) and Animal Kingdom VillasSavanna View. Those categories have the highest chances for waitlist success given the number of villas available.
In other cases, members have a confirmed reservation but use the waitlist in an attempt to switch to a more favored resort or view. This is a valid approach, but success depends a great deal upon size and demand for the target accommodation. For example, a waitlist request for a BoardWalk Preferred Garden / Pool View room has much greater chances for success than the Preferred BoardWalk View or Standard View categories at the same resort.
That's a very difficult question to answer because no two waitlist requests are the same. The primary factors in determining success are:
Many people report surprising success in using the waitlist. Those who are using the waitlist in an attempt to obtain a different resort from the one currently booked (i.e. have a reservation for Old Key West but would prefer to stay at BoardWalk) have little reason not to give it a shot. There is no cost associated with using the waitlist and the process is entirely hands-off.
However, those who have no current reservation and require a room confirmation before making other travel arrangements should be more cautious. Simply going on the waitlist is no guarantee for success.
Active waitlists will be listed on the owner's dashboard on the DVC members-only website. Due to the complexity of matching waiting members with all cancellations, DVC cannot give any precise information on where members stand in the waiting list queue or the odds for success.
When entering a waitlist request online, members can specify whether the request should be left active until 31 days prior to arrival or 7 days prior to arrival.
The purpose of the dual option waitlist is most likely to address the Holding Account rules. Cancellations on less than 31 days notice are placed in a Holding Account. Holding Account points must be used by the end of the Use Year (they cannot be banked) and they can only be used for accommodations booked on 60-days notice or less.
Members who are waitlisting an accommodation which costs fewer points than what they currently have booked are advised to use the 31 day option. Any points saved if the cheaper accommodation comes available will be subject to the Holding rules.
All DVC room requests should be communicated to DVC Member Services prior to arrival at the resort. Renters must ask that the DVC member communicate their requests to Member Services.
Guests may also be able to specify some requests in the My Disney Experience app when completeing the online check-in process.
Remember that while the resorts will try to accommodate all member requests, they cannot guarantee their ability to do so.
DVC members (and their guests, including renters) staying on points receive limited housekeeping services. A housekeeing Cast Member will stop by daily to empty the trash and recycling cans.
For stays of 8 days (7 nights) or less, guests will receive replacement towels on Day 4. Consumables like toiletries and laundry detergent are also replenished during this visit.
For stays of more than 8 days (7 nights), guests will normally receive a full cleaning on Day 4 and Towel service on Day 8.
Service continues to alternate for each additional 4 days of the stay.
Guests who would prefer that the services be performed on a different schedule can simply request it at the front desk. Services can be moved to different days at no charge as long as there is no increase in frequency of service.
Disney Vacation Club resorts previously offered additional cleaning services for a fee. However this was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not yet resumed. When offered, fees were as follows:
Towel service:
Studio/Inn = $15 per service
One Bedroom = $20 per service
Two Bedroom = $25 per service
Treehouse Villa = $25 per service
Grand Villa = $35 per service
Full cleaning:
Studio/Inn = $30 per service
One Bedroom = $45 per service
Two Bedroom = $60 per service
Treehouse Villa = $60 per service
Grand Villa = $75 per service
At present time, no. DVC previously charged modest fees to replenish coffee and laundry detergent, and to supply clean towels in between the scheduled room servicing days. However, beginning in early 2020, fees associated with those items were eliminated.
Other consumables have always been replenished at no charge including paper plates and plasticware, liquid dish soap, dishwasher detergent and paper products including facial tissue, paper towels and toilet paper. These items can be obtained by calling the resort's housekeeping department.
Those staying in DVC Studio accommodations may not have a washer and dryer right in their room but they do have free access to public facilities. Each resort has washer and dryers available to members at no cost. Use is first-come, first-served. Locations vary by resort—at Saratoga Springs and Old Key West they are located near each of the pool complexes.
Note that some of the washer / dryer units have coin slots, but money does not need to be inserted in order to operate the machines.
Availability of public washers and dryers can be found on the website Laundryview.
Maximum occupancy varies by resort and room size. Generally speaking:
Several of the older resorts like Disney's Beach Club Villas and Disney's BoardWalk Villas allow 5 guests in a One Bedroom villa despite only having sleeping accommodations for 4.
One child under age 3 is permitted beyond the stated capacity. Otherwise, Disney does not allow parties to exceed the maximum capacity of any DVC villa.
Sure. Disney will move your luggage from one Disney-owned resort to another at no charge (gratuities expected.) Contact bell services on the morning of the move and when they arrive, let them know your final destination. Expect luggage to arrive at your new resort after 5pm. You will have to call bell services to request delivery to your room as they will not do so automatically.
Note that as of this writing, Disney will no longer keep groceries frozen or refrigerated when moving between two resorts. Guests may wish to use a cab or rideshare to transport those items themselves. Bell Services at the destination resort will store items if delivered by the guest, and given explicit storage instructions.
Expect to be without a room between 11am and 4pm on the day of the move. Staying at multiple resorts may have a negative impact on the Disney Dining Plan (credits cannot be carried over from one resort to another), so consider that before booking a split stay. Also note luggage delivery to/from the Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island resorts is not available.
When Disney Vacation Club points are used to book a non-DVC destination, they are converted into something called Reservation Points. Reservation Points cannot be later used to book stays at any of the native DVC resorts. For this reason members should be cautious when committing points to non-DVC resorts, particularly if they do so due to a lack of availability at the DVC resorts.
Functionally a member cannot book (for example) a Disney Cruise Line voyage on points, then cancel and use the points toward a stay at Disney's BoardWalk Villas or Disney's Old Key West Resort. As soon as the cruise reservation is secured, the points used are converted to Reservation Points. And even if the cruise is cancelled, the points remain Reservation Points and are no longer valid for bookings at the DVC properties.