10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Purchasing Disney Vacation Club (DVC)

[@angiesanderson7715]

I just came across your channel & it has been so helpful in my DVC research. Thank you!!

[@ShannonFord]

You are very welcome. Feel free to ask questions.

[@TheMagicInTheMusic]

Great info! 👍 I 100% agree about splitting up larger contracts when purchasing direct. Unfortunately Disney has increased their closing costs in recent years, making this strategy a bit less convenient than it used to be. Still I'd take that approach, especially if purchasing Riviera (which IS one of our home resorts).

[@johnc7149]

Nice summary. Great info. The recommendation for how many points to get and how much more often families will go is so true. I think a mid resale contract initially for families to explore different resorts is a good start. If they enjoy it they can further add on and if they end up liking a resort like Saratoga then continued resale instead of direct would be pretty good. Less regret to go resale first.

[@ShannonFord]

Well said! That's pretty much what we did. Purchased at Saratoga Springs and have only stayed there once in the 8 years we have been DVC members. It's not that we don't like Saratoga, we just always try to switch because we know there are times when it may be our only option.

[@markreynolds9135]

Shannon, this is fantastic information. I bought direct from Disney at the Polynesian and am now looking at buying resale and you have certainly clarified many things that I had been wondering about.

[@ShannonFord]

Thank you. I am glad you found it helpful

[@zoeskyla]

I cannot believed i watch this 45 min video but u gave me more info and probably tinkin of gettin DVC. Tnx u

[@ShannonFord]

You are welcome. Feel free to ask questions

[@CruisingWithElena]

Sending u vibrational flowers full of appreciation ❤❤❤❤❤❤Thanku you took my family over the line yayyyyy Dvc❤

[@ShannonFord]

Yay! Congrats! I hope it brings you many wonderful years of memories

[@mikeszlashta6763]

Thank you for another informative video! I have couple of questions. 1) Do you manage all your contracts through the DVC dashboard app? In other words, you see your DVC direct contract and resale contract? If so are you able to choose which contract you wish to use for booking and which to bank? 2) If you have 2 contracts one direct for SS and 1 for resale for OKW does that mean you have 2 home resorts and therefore I could book either at the 12 months and use all my pts from both contracts? Hope this makes sense!

[@ShannonFord]

Yes, I only have 2 so it's not complicated, but yes, you do pick which one you use. as for the 2nd question, yes you would have 2 home resorts, but only the points from the home resort can be used at 11 months. so if you need to use 200 points and you have 100 at each, you can book the first part of the trip with the 100 points and then you would have to wait until 7 months to book the rest.

[@mikeszlashta6763]

@@ShannonFord THANKS!!

[@TheMhamel]

This was hands down thee most informative and in depth DVC deep dive...so thank you!

[@ShannonFord]

Aww, thanks! That means a lot.

[@TheMhamel]

@@ShannonFord do you have any advice for those that would need to finance their points?

[@ShannonFord]

@@TheMhamel monera financial has great rates. If you go through DVC Resale Market, ask for Humberto. He was my rep and was fantastic. We still keep in touch. Monera is owned by the same company so it’s all seamless

[@TheMhamel]

@@ShannonFord thank you!

[@fourrs2105]

Thank you for this helpful video!!

[@ShannonFord]

You are very welcome

[@thomasblaszak8016]

Shannon, Thank you for you channel. You content about DVC is the best! Love the Touring Plans videos. We have been researching DVC for about a year now. You channel helped us to realize our dream of DVC ownership. We just found out we passed ROFR with Disney for a 150 pt resale contract at OKW. THANK YOU Shannon for your TOP NOTCH content for DVC. We are subscribers and look forward to your future posts.

[@ShannonFord]

That’s fantastic! Thanks so much for your kind words. If you have any ideas on topics you’d like me to cover, let me know. I’m kinda stuck at the moment on what to cover next.

[@sabrinarebollar3931]

Amazing we are on this path so happy for y’all this post gives me hope for finding a resale contract!

[@karens8633]

10:18 Those aren’t “use years” those are when the contracts end! “Use years” start when you get your points annually! Those “years” can start in different months!!

[@ShannonFord]

Correct, I misspoke here.

[@sade66119]

Something else with the use years to consider, you can purchase travel insurance for the entire year for like $99, if you purchase the insurance within I believe 30 days of your use year, it can cover your annual dues if you have a qualifying event that caused cancellation

[@sade66119]

Oh and anyone can purchase the insurance, right now I only have a resale contract and I was able to purchase the travel insurance

[@fidelbaca5616]

What a great video literally saw this all I’m from Texas the info worked out great so the gold animal pass is the way to go ?

[@MrSuperTatti]

Hi Shannon, My family is notorious to book vacations without planning ahead. We’ll discuss a trip and a month later be at the destination. With this type of lifestyle, will it be difficult to get our 1-2 bedroom?

[@ShannonFord]

Sorry for the delay. We were actually at Disney World. Yes, it would be very difficult. With this type of traveling style, DVC would not be a good investment. Being from South Florida, that is how most of my friends travel to WDW. One friend did buy into DVC before us and ended up selling because they weren't planners. They actually tried to convince me that it was a horrible decision to buy. My advice is, if you can't plan 7-8 months out, it's not for you. This doesn't mean, we don't plan last minute trips 1-2 months out, but it's rare and it's usually only 2-3 nights.

[@disneyfan2937]

This is a really good breakdown of DVC. Thanks.

[@ShannonFord]

Glad it helped!

[@whatwherethere]

31:25 actually, it’s not really clear what you’re buying with this contract and Disney can change the rules at any time. You’re not really buying an opportunity to stay at the hotels as much as you’re buying a very specific percentage of hotel occupancy time. I would say it’s even up to Disney how they allow you ultimately to use that percentage of time. Once the perks become tang general to the central contract, then lot of the elements that you think are central to the contract become at the discretion of Disney. I’ve been a DVC member for over a decade. Compared to staying at the resorts. It’s been a good discount. However, without the perks staying in Disney hotels becomes a little suspect as a good expenditure. In 2024 for families that want to go to Disney often I still think it’s a good deal. Not as good as in 2014, but still good

[@sade66119]

Maintenance fees include property taxes! That is important because it could be a tax deduction! Disney will give you documentation breaking down your maintenance points by property tax and actual maintenance expenses every year. Save that for tax season

[@SuperTopher01]

Yes!! Living in beautiful Florida. We are moving March of 2022.

[@ShannonFord]

Congrats

[@lroberts689]

This was great info! Thank you.

[@ShannonFord]

Thank you

[@nicholas_scott]

Great content. I’d add I wish I bought a tiny direct contract when the minimums were very small. Also, if you really want that non-home resort room, what we often did is rent off our points, and use that to rent from someone else, who is willing to walk it in, 11.5 months out

[@ShannonFord]

That sounds like a lot of work, but when you want something badly enough, it can be worth it

[@Ethernet480]

Renting out points seems like the way to go for staying at off-resorts....otherwise you pay 3 to 8 times the amount for a room. You can pay 450 a night at boardwalk in retail market, no one in their right mind would pay 2600 a night

[@nicholas_scott]

@@Ethernet480 No. Yes, the "retail" sale price of a boardwalk vill is $450. You can also rent points for $15 a point. The same room is 15 points. 15x15 = $225!! That is literally half the price. The catch is that those rooms are hard to get, which is why we sometimes rent-off our home resort, and use those funds towards those quick-to-sell rooms at the 11-month window.

[@Ethernet480]

@@nicholas_scott you misunderstood what I was saying or I was bad at explaining. I was saying if you own DVC, and you want to stay at a non-DVC resort and you want to use points to stay there, you are likely going to pay 3-8 times the amount point-for-point. Then I was saying that’s the equivalent of paying retail for the same multiple amount because you bought your points relative to the current market. So I agree, renting your points out is the way to go if you want to stay outside of DVC stays.

[@idadelucia7779]

Thanks. I decided that DVC is not for me. This is the third video on DVC I’ve watched. I understand it, but it seems like something hard to get out of once that contract is signed.

[@ShannonFord]

It’s actually not. I could sell our contract today and actually make money. However, I do agree that it isn’t for everyone. Everyone has to make the best decision for themselves

[@Ethernet480]

Don’t finance and you win

[@chelseascott1538]

Why is this?

[@tammymiele5447]

You misspoke and said use year when you meant deed expiration in section 10 when talking about buying a contract. Other than that everything you said is correct and very informative and well explained

[@ShannonFord]

Where? Time? It’s been a while since I filmed this?

[@valtom2926]

Great video, thank you for sharing that you are not compensated my Disney, makes a difference in the reliability of what you share in your video. Also, Thinking about buying a Rivera but the yearly cost is $2,500. This sounds very expensive for a Time Share. Do you pay the same amount or does Disney adjust all time shares to the current maintenance fees?

[@ShannonFord]

All properties get updated maintenance fees yearly. Riviera is expensive because there are fees for the Skyliner. It’s a beautiful resort, my biggest issue with Riviera is the point cost to stay there. It’s sooo high.

[@kirstinfutty6508]

Can you use DVC to stay at the Wilderness Lodge Cabins? That's the only place my hubby likes stay. So we would be staying there every other year.

[@ShannonFord]

Are you referring to the Fort Wilderness Cabins? They are not part Disney Vacation Club properties. There is a way to stay there with points, but my understanding is that it’s not cost effective. Now the Cascade Cabins at Wilderness Lodge are part of DisneyVacation Club

[@Turiboy77]

Great video!

[@ShannonFord]

Thank you

[@kamelot511]

Hi! If I buy Animal Kingdom Lodge Re sale can I stay at other hotels?

[@ShannonFord]

Yes, you just can’t book them until 7 months and it’s based on availability

[@timkeith7201]

My wife and I go once a year around Thanksgiving time or after Thanksgiving is purchasing DVC you worth the cost for a one and a half week day thank you

[@ShannonFord]

Yes I think so. We purchased with the intent of going for 1 week in a 1 bedroom once a year.

[@andrewhall5263]

Thank you for making this video! If you had made this 2 years ago you would have saved me a lot of research in trying to figure this all out. I am in ROFR for a 150 AKL August use year.

[@ShannonFord]

Glad you liked it. Sorry I didn’t make it sooner. LOL Good luck with ROFR. I know they are taking long these days, which can be so stressful.

[@seven471]

Thank you this is super helpful. Where can I find out who has the cheapest annual dues at Disney World DVC resorts question mark or a list in order the cheapest to most expensive dues

[@ShannonFord]

Thanks, I’m glad you found it helpful. Here you go: www.dvcresalemarket.com/buying/annual-dues/

[@doodsanddudes]

Wish I new earlier that it made amazing memories that will last a lifetime. I would have bought sooner

[@ShannonFord]

I hear that all the time.

[@doodsanddudes]

@@ShannonFord right!! I bought back in 2006 so glad it was a while back. I started doing some dvc overview and room tours also. Love membership. It’s magical :) who is ready for an add on

[@zatyoudisney9935]

Fantastic Video. Thank You!!

[@ShannonFord]

Glad you liked it. I hope you find it helpful

[@atropos0754]

Good stuff😀👍🏼

[@blaster-zy7xx]

OH wow, there is a shock. The sales guy tells you you can use your time share to go to all these great places, but there is never availability AFTER you buy. Shock!

[@ShannonFord]

That’s not entirely true with DVC.

[@dougconley]

I've considered DVC numerous times over the years but usually just end up staying at Pop Century 😬😊

[@ShannonFord]

That’s our go to resort when we are out of points

[@Steve-xp8we]

I’ve never stayed on property at all because it’s always way too expensive. The cheapest All Stars resort room we found was almost $200 per night. When we compare that to $40 per night 5 miles down the road in Kissimmee it’s a no brainer. But I might consider buying DVC. Can anyone tell me what the actual cost is? I would definitely need to finance my contract cuz I can’t afford a 1 lump sum. How much is the monthly payment? How much is the maintenance fees and are those monthly or yearly? I have so many questions. I know you can’t answer them all. But All I know is I’ve been to Walt Disney World twice in my life. Once for a friends wedding at Epcot and another just this past November ( I’m gonna be praying for a pandemic next time I visit because the crowds were almost none existent and the lines moved very quickly. Got on and off everything we wanted every day at every park. Who else can say that?) and I absolutely love Walt Disney World. I love it so much I’m trying to convince my wife to move to Florida. She’s not budging but i seriously want to. So if I can buy a piece of Disney and be able to stay there at least once a year if not multiple times per year I would love it.

[@Steve-xp8we]

Sorry for writing a novel. I’m just so ecstatic at the idea of going to WDW more frequently than I have been

[@ShannonFord]

@@Steve-xp8we check out TouringPlans’ Blog. They have a monthly feature on rooms you can find on Priceline and/or Hotwire. You can sometimes get incredible deals

[@Steve-xp8we]

@@ShannonFord thanks for the info. Being a WDW fanatic doesn’t always go hand in hand with being on the lower end of the financial spectrum. I’m not poor but I’m definitely not wealthy either. Lol. So anytime I can find deals I take them. Do they give prices on Disney resort rooms or just area hotels?

[@RobinAngel61]

nicely said my friend!

[@rbazemore]

Such great content..ty ty ty.

[@ShannonFord]

Thanks so much! I have to give a lot of credit to the My DVC Points Community

[@nanyt888]

Thank you for this video. So helpful. If we get 2 x 150 pt direct contracts for best incentive offerinf, same home for all points considering Aulani or old key west… are we able to use 300 points for one reservation across 2 different contracts?

[@ShannonFord]

Yes. Now if they are different resorts they can only be used together at 7 months. But same resort, it’s seem less.

[@tpg5974]

All right. I've watched the use year section twice and still don't fully get it. If my family typically vacations at WDW in spring (April, May), I would want to avoid Jul / Aug use years as this would conflict with banking deadlines?? Would I want Feb / Mar / Apr use year since it would give me more options to reschedule, or bank if necessary???

[@ShannonFord]

You would want an August, September or end of the calendar year use year. Just to give you some wiggle room if you needed to cancel.

[@tpg5974]

@@ShannonFord Yep, still don't get it, but thanks for the response.

[@SuperSam1298]

Very informative. Thank you. If you have 2 different contracts with the same use year but different home bases, will you be able to combine the points and allocate all of them to either home base at the 11 month mark?

[@ShannonFord]

Nope. Home resort only applies to the points owned at that resort. If that were the case, people would buy 300 points at Vero Beach and 25 points at Grand Floridian

[@SuperSam1298]

@@ShannonFord makes sense. Thanks for your input!

[@Douglas-1994]

What’s better purchasing through Disney vacation club themselves or resale?

[@ShannonFord]

It really depends on the individual. There are some definite benefits of buying direct. You get all the membership perks, no restrictions, discounts etc. The real benefit of buying resale is cost savings. So everyone has to evaluate what their needs are.

[@UniversidadKerygma]

Hi there! Is there any fees associated with booking a room out of your home resort in the 0-7 window? Is there any discounts for like last minute trips? Im thinking in buying resale

[@UniversidadKerygma]

You are amazing btw ❤

[@ShannonFord]

Well first off, thanks for the compliment. I just like sharing information and helping others. So there are no fees for booking a resort outside of your home resorts if it is a DVC resort. You are just limited to what is available at 7 months. And same with last minute trip. Now you can sometimes get great deals for last minute trips on the rental market. But you are limited usually to a prebooked trip that someone had to cancel.

[@garrettjackson449]

With the points do you have to pay anything on top of them to get your room Example I am staying at a resort and it’s 10 points to use to get it and I have 12 will I use the 10 and then 100 dollars on top of it? I apologize if that doesn’t make since. My wife and I are looking at becoming members and I found this video helpful we have a meeting with a sales rep this coming Saturday

[@ShannonFord]

Nope, just the points. Only thing you pay for every year are the dues

[@ShannonFord]

And feel free to ask questions. Happy to help. I also have 2 more recent videos that discusses point charts and how much it costs to stay at all of the WDW DVC resorts

[@garrettjackson449]

Wow thank you for the quick response. My wife and I are planning to start a family. Our next time we go in less than a year we are wanting to do a split stay trying out the different dvc resort to figure out where we are going to buy into. We want to have a resort that is immersive for our kids and her thing is she wants to put her feet in the sand from your experience which resorts would you recommend?

[@ShannonFord]

@@garrettjackson449 I have an older video on my favorite resorts for family with toddlers. It’s one of my very first videos. Right now our favorite resorts are still Boardwalk & Old Key West. The size of Old Key West rooms can’t be beat.

[@garrettjackson449]

Thank you so much I’ll keep asking if I have any questions. I keep getting people saying old key west. I just don’t like when the contract ends I wish it was longer than what it is. The other resort we like actually just got back from a trip is the poly but that’s a game changer with it only being studios absolutely loved it tho

[@stevewalle1465]

You may have answered this and I didn't catch it but do I have to own a minimum number of points to book 11 months out? Say I buy 50 points at Saratoga Springs and 100 at Bay Lake Tower can I book Saratoga Springs 11 months out?

[@ShannonFord]

11 months out is the amount of points you own at that resort. You could only book 50 points at 11 months at SSR

[@stevewalle1465]

@@ShannonFord thank you for the fast response. Say I buy 100 points today for a property with a March use year. We don't go to Disney in 2022 so March of 2023 we have 100 points plus a 100 banked. I want to take my family in April of 2023 so I'd like to book that in May of 2022. I don't yet have the banked points I will need to get the room I want. Can I book the room before receiving the banked points or do I have to wait till I have the points to book the room?

[@ShannonFord]

@@stevewalle1465 I really don’t understand what you are asking

[@stevewalle1465]

@@ShannonFord no worries I figured it out. Just put in an offer for 100 points at Bay Lake Tower. I know it's not enough but I want to pay it off and then buy more. Thank you for your content. You helped me decide to buy.

[@ShannonFord]

@@stevewalle1465 ok great! Good luck! My friend in Canada travels every 18-24 months, so they do a lot of the banking and borrowing. There is a borrowing restriction right now of 50%. Personally I don’t expect it to go away anytime soon

[@JoeCosentino]

We have the treehouse for oct 2 thru 8. First time there

[@ShannonFord]

That’s awesome. We are there that weekend too

[@karendecosimo1069]

Thanks

[@sarahdelcampo9932]

“Use years” are not the same as contract end years. “Use years” are when your points ‘reload’.

[@ShannonFord]

Yes, that’s correct

[@sarahdelcampo9932]

At 10:19 you say ‘use year’- do you mean when the contract ends?

[@ShannonFord]

@@sarahdelcampo9932 no. Use year is the month of the contract. Ex. My Use year is August, so I get my points every August 1st.

[@bridgettturner7787]

@@sarahdelcampo9932 I see what you mean Sara.

[@aruth51485]

Are the two different contracts for two different properties?

[@ShannonFord]

Not sure what your exact question is, but yes every property has a different contract.

[@aruth51485]

@@ShannonFord I was wondering if the two properties are under the one account number to keep track of your points. Also I guess if you went and bought multiple contracts for different resorts you can’t use all those points together to book a resort out 11 months. I guess if you could everyone would buy a small contract at more expensive resort and then buy a cheaper resort to build up the points.

[@ShannonFord]

@@aruth51485 ah ok, it really depends. I have 2 contracts but they are the same resort and use year, so it’s the same member number. I know if you have 2 contracts with different use years you get a separate membership number. Not sure if you have 2 resorts but same use year.

[@CruisingWithElena]

Thnku

[@jawojnicki]

@11m29s This ALONE is enough to make me NEVER do DVC! For 30k up front and about 120 K TOTAL over the life of the membership, you should be able to stay WHERE YOU WANT, WHEN YOU WANT! ALWAYS.

[@ShannonFord]

I respectfully disagree. Some resorts are more expensive than others. I love the Polynesian, but the contract was much more expensive, so we chose to purchase at Saratoga. That was our choice, fully knowing that booking at the Polynesian at 7 months would be difficult. We have gotten in, but usually it is sold out. And if anyone could book when they want, where they want, there would have to be unlimited amount of hotel rooms which is physically an impossibility.

[@choreomaniac]

I was thinking of buying a 100-125 point resale contract at Polynesian and adding on a 25 point direct at Hilton Head (about $3800) for the perks but also because we live in Pittsburgh and could stay there on the drive down to Orlando. Is this a good plan? It seems the best of both worlds and a great annual one week vacation at WDW.

[@ShannonFord]

In order to get perks now, you have to purchase 125 points direct. But I’ve heard great things about Hilton Head.

[@choreomaniac]

@@ShannonFord ok. I did not know that! Thanks. I guess i will do HH on the resale market too.

[@ShannonFord]

@@choreomaniac if it makes you feel any better. There aren’t many perks at the moment anyway

[@choreomaniac]

@@ShannonFord we just came back from Art of Animation this past week and are renting points for AKL in December. We will probably rent for a few years until we’ve visited most of the DVC properties in our budget. We have 2 small kids and a third could happen. Floridian and Riviera are out of our range. I like the Polynesian for the theme, character breakfast and location. I think the kids would love the AKL. So we might do 100 points in each. We are also weighing the fact that we have access to Shades of Green because my dad is retired Army. So much to navigate and it is great that there is so much info on KZbin! I am subscribing to you now.

[@ShannonFord]

@@choreomaniac happy to help.

[@dobermangroundzero82]

Is 115/point a good deal for aulani ?

[@ShannonFord]

I honestly don't know. I haven't kept up with the pricing. I know it's a buyer's market right now. I would suggest joining the My DVC Points Community Facebook group and asking there. The folks in that group will have a better insight on what is a good deal.

[@dkrol997]

I’m kinda dumb and I’m still really confused how all this works lol

[@ShannonFord]

Dvc can be very confusing

[@Querenciatv]

Nice ☺️ ❤️&✌️

[@ry58cha29]

Excellent! Pretty woman.

[@jordancastillo2296]

Wow you’re beautiful 😍

[@ShannonFord]

Thank you very much

[@thomassimpson3934]

She RAMBLES on for FORTY-FIVE MINUTES. Here it is in a nutshell. 10. Wish they knew about resale. 9. It's difficult to book more than 7 months ahead. 8. Use year matters. 7. You can buy direct at "sold out" resorts. 6. Break contracts into smaller contracts. 5. Think about your growing family. 4. You will underestimate how many times you will actually go. 3. Perks come and go and they are never guaranteed. 2. Maintenance fees go up every year. 1. Points charts go up every year.

[@ShannonFord]

Thanks for copying and pasting the list I have in the description box

[@disneyfan2937]

I don't think she rambled at all. She gave information on each on the 10 things. If you don't like the content, then don't watch.

[@choreomaniac]

@@ShannonFord lol

[@anncorvine9598]

@@ShannonFord thank you so much!! Very helpful! Can I ask why you bought direct and non direct?? Just wondering, my husband and I are on the fence about which one to buy! And can you used them jointly on the same trip if you wanted to?

[@ShannonFord]

@@anncorvine9598 we have both direct and resale. But we wanted to perks which is why we have direct points

[@joygarland5214]

Great information! thank you for sharing