DVC- The Basics of Owing a Piece of the Magic.

Bungalow at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

DVC stands for Disney Vacation Club. It is Walt Disney World’s timeshare division. A timeshare for those who aren’t familiar with the term is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium style units, in which multiple people/parties hold rights to use the property, and each owner of the same accommodation is allotted a certain amount of use.

Disney Vacation Club Locations

At Walt Disney World there are currently 12 locations that are part of the Vacation Club. They are:

In addition there are 4 resorts which are part of the Vacation Club but are not located at Walt Disney World. They are:

Disney sells ownership to these resorts in the form of vacation points. Each point sells for a set dollar amount and may vary by resort location. Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort sits at the high end of the scale selling for $265 per vacation point. Disney’s Vero Beach Resort resides at the low end at $140 per point. The number of points you decide to purchase and the location will ultimately decide your initial investment.

The location you choose is known as your home resort. You are not restricted to using your points at your home resort. You may stay at any of DVC’s resorts as well as Disney’s other hotels, cruise ships, Fort Wilderness, as well as other hotels and resorts around the world.

Accommodations

At each resort, there are several different size units you can choose from. Not every location has every type of unit, but every resort has at least 2 different ones to pick from.

Studio– A studio is similar to a hotel room at other Disney hotels with a few notable exceptions. Studios are considerably larger than the hotel rooms you will find at the hotels. Some sleep up to 5 people. Some even have two bathrooms. All will have a small kitchenette with a sink, refrigerator, and microwave as well as other kitchen supplies/appliances.

One Bedroom Villa- A one bedroom villa consists of a full kitchen, full living room area and a separate bedroom. Kitchens are fully equipped with appliances (refrigerator, stove, toaster, coffee maker, etc.) as well as with pots/pans, dishes, utensils, and silverware. One bedroom units also come equipped with a washer and dryer. That’s right, you can still do laundry while on vacation. There is a king sized bed in the bedroom and a pull out sofa in the living room. They also often have a chair that will convert into a single bed. One bedroom villas typically sleep 5 guests.

Two Bedroom Villas- The two bedrooom villas contain everything that you would find in a one bedroom villa but with a second bedroom. They may be designed as a stand-alone unit or can be a studio and a one bedroom unit that are combined to create a two bedroom. This is known as a lock-off. The second bedroom will have 2 queen beds and come with its own bathroom. Two bedroom units sleep 9 guests.

Three Bedroom Grand Villas- These are the largest of all accommodations in all of Walt Disney World. Three bedroom grand villas are enormous units with the same kitchen, living room, and laundry facilities as the one and two bedroom villas. They also have large dining areas and resplendent bathrooms. Some are two stories. Some have media rooms. Some even have a steam room in the master bathroom. They are also some of the most costly units in terms of points per night.

Bungalows- Bungalows are unique to Disney’s Polynesian Resort. They are a type of two bedroom unit that sits on pillars over the waters of the Seven Seas Lagoon. The have everything you would expect from a two bedroom unit and have a deck that faces the Magic Kingdom with a plunge pool (albeit a small one) built in to the deck.

Cooper Creek Cabins- Cabins are another type of unique unit that can only be found at Cooper Creek Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. Imagine a hunting cabin in the deep woods of Maine and you’re on the right track for how this unit feels, but more modern. Equipped with features like a screened in porch, private jacuzzi and indoor/outdoor fireplace, cabins are some of the nicest units in DVC inventory.

The Dollars and Cents of It All.

There are two costs associated with DVC ownership- purchase price and annual dues.

Purchase Price The initial purchase price will be determined by which DVC location you choose and how many vacation points you decide to buy. You will have to purchase a minimum of 125 points if you purchase your DVC directly from Disney. Current pricing per point for DVC resorts are:

Disney will often focus their sales on a couple of resorts and offer a discount per point in an attempt to sell the inventory at that resort. Below is a sample discount chart that was offered for a purchase at Riveira Resort:

The discounts can add up if the location is one you are interested in. However, the discount should not be the number 1 factor in which resort you choose, but we will get into that more later.

Annual Dues – Annual dues are maintenance fees shared by all owners of a particular condo association. Each DVC location is it’s own association. The maintenance fees are set at a certain dollar amount per point. The more points you have the higher your annual dues will be. Additionally the dues from one resort to another can vary widely. The Grand Floridian Villas currently has a $6.5616 per point cost for annual dues. While the dues for Disney’s Vero Beach Resort are $10.1257.

The annual dues cost per point for each resort as of 2022 are:

Bay Lake Tower $6.5770
Old Key West (OKW) $7.8363
Beach Club Villas (BCV) $7.0634
Boardwalk Villas (BVR) $7.3650
Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House( AKL) $7.6685
Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani Village (AKL) $7.6655
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (BRV) $7.7808
Copper Creek Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (CCV) $7.4471
Grand Floridian Villas (GFV) $6.5616
Polynesian Villas and Bungalows (PVB) $6.7912
Riveira Resort (RR) $8.3082
Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (SSR) $6.7650
Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (VBR) $10.1257
Disney’s Hilton Head Resort (HHR) $9.1010
Disney’s Aulani Resort (Aulani) $8.3312
Disney’s Grand Californian Resort (GCR) $6.5985

As with any real estate purchase, there will also be closing costs and other assorted financial expenses, especially if you will be financing your purchase.

So I have points, Now What?

Once you have purchased an allotment of points you will you those points to make reservations at the DVC resorts. Each day of the year has a point total associated with it for each room type at each resort. Disney publishes these point costs in Point Charts. The two images below show a point chart for Disney’s Bay Lake Tower and Disney’s guide for use of points directly taken from their marketing materials.

Based on the chart above, you would need to spend 136 points for a family of 4 to stay in a Theme Park View (T) studio from Sept 12-19, 2023. That same room and view would cost 188 for the week of Dec 24-31, 2023.

Each year a new points chart will be released by Disney. The points for a particular time period and room accomodation can change from year to year. However, the total point cost for a particular room cannot change annually. This means if Disney decided to increase the point cost for a Theme Park view studio from 188 points for Dec 24-31 to 195 points in 2024 then they would need to lower a different time period during 2024 by the same number of points.

What is a Use Year?

When you purchase a real estate interest in one of DVC’s properties, you are buying a certain number of points to use for making resort reservations. The use year is simply when DVC grants the allotment of points for use. A February use year means each year on Feb 1, DVC deposits the number of points you purchased into your account for you to use in making reservations. These points can be used from Feb 1 of the year through Jan 31 of the following year. Any points not used by the end of the use year will expire and are lost (unless you bank them)

Banking and Borrowing

DVC allows you to bank your points from one use year to another OR to borrow points from a future use year to an earlier one. This feature allows the DVC owner to accumulate up to 3 years worth of points for use in a single year. It also provides a mechanism for you to save points from expiring if you wouldn’t be able to use them prior to them expiring at the end of a use year.

This feature also allows the DVC owner to enjoy accommodations that they normally might not be able to enjoy. A 1 night stay in a Bungalow at Disney’s Polynesian Resort can cost from 112 to 226 points per night. Being able to bank and borrow points might make it possible for the DVC owner who bought 125 points to enjoy a 4 day/3 night weekend at the right time of the year by banking points from one year into the next and borrowing points from a future year to give the DVC owner 375 points to use in a single year.

There are additional logistical details to consider once you have made the decision to buy a DVC timeshare such as Buying Direct or Resale, What DVC property should I buy?, what is 11-month vs 7-month resort priority and how many points should I purchase?, but those topics would be best served in a separate post.

Member Benefits

When you purchase your membership directly from Disney, there are ancillary benefits that come along with it. A famous credit card once had the tag line “Membership has it’s benefits.”. This applies to DVC ownership also. It should be noted that Disney discloses that all ancillary membership benefits are not guaranteed and may be altered or discontinued at any time.

Typical benefits have included:

Welcome Home

The decision to purchase a DVC time share is one that should not be taken lightly. There is a significant money investment. While DVC sales pitches are not high pressure by any means. They should be taken with a bit of skepticism. After all it is not unusual for a salesperson (Disney or otherwise) to bend the truth or flat out lie in order to get you to sign on the bottom line. It is best suited for the individual/family who enjoys Disney enough to be able to return every 1-3 years for a vacation. If used correctly, it can allow you to save significant money on the cost of resorts. In my own personal case, It has allowed me numerous opportunities to taken my family of 6 on vacation to our favorite destination. I have brought friends on vacation with us, using my points to cover the cost of our and their resort rooms. I have sent my college age daughter on vacation with her friends using my points. I have surprised my wife with a last minute weekend to Disney for her birthday. You can get as little or as much mileage out of your points as you want. Hopefully this information was helpful in preparing you for a decision of your own.

One Response