Just got back from Disney World and had a wonderful trip. If you go then you will see kiosks and setups for the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). So what is it? Basically it’s Disney’s timeshare. If you buy points, you can use them to stay at Disney Resorts, Disney owned locations, Disney’s Cruise Line, and for those that want to step out of the Disney zone they can be exchange with RCI’s timeshare group to stay at locations around the world.
So you can buy points for a specific hotel, for example I did Bay Lake Towers at Disneyworld, and that is your home hotel. At your home hotel you can book rooms before anyone else starting at 11 months out. You can also book elsewhere but at 6 months out. So your chances of getting the room you want at your home location is better than the others. I chose Bay Lake Towers because the rooms are my style and I can book a room with a view of the Magic Kingdom (Fireworks show every night).
DVC members also get some perks like 10% off all shopping at the resort. If you have kids clamoring for toys then this will come in handy. At the same time I’m a DVC member, I’m also a Chase Disney Premier card holder. So all my purchases through the cards racks up Disney Rewards that I can use at the park. I also use the card at the park because you get extra reward dollars.
The DVC points are not cheap. They only really work out if you are willing to take the time to travel. Some resorts cost more points than others. Bay Lake Towers costs more points than Saratoga Springs. Depending on when you want to go, there are three or four seasonal adjustments as well. So going Xmas and New Years costs more as well. And then there is the size and view of room. Bigger rooms costs more. At Bay Lake Towers you can room view of the Parking Lot, Lake or Magic Kingdom and they cost is progressively more.
Don’t get me wrong, you can get a great set of points to use at good price depending on the options you want. For me, when I visit the Magic Kingdom, I want the ability to stay at one of the best resorts. But I also have the flexibility to book other spots and have more travel times. Right now I basically travel every 2 – 3 years and go all out. So if you have your DVC membership and book your room, what else do you have to pay for???
Dining plan. Get a dining plan. You can get the basic plan or ones with more options. You will use them up, we get the regular plans which includes a sit down meal and a quick meal for the day. One kid loves Lucky Charms so we brought a box and got a milk and used his quick meals for other stuff.
Park tickets. Last time I just got two days of park tickets with no options and went to Animal Kingdom one day and the Magic Kingdom the next day. This time we stayed longer and I end up buying two days of park tickets with both the hopper and the water park options. The hopper allows you to visit multiple parks on the same day. Because we stay in front of the Magic Kingdom, we went in at night for the parade, rides and fireworks. But during the day we went to other parks. The water park options is awesome because for the price of 1 day at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, you get access for two days. So two days at the parks and two days at the water parks. The water parks are awesome! And don’t forget to do the FastPass for the parks!!!
