Disney Vacation Club
Since its start in 1991, the Disney Vacation Club has offered Disney fanatics a way to save on their future trips. According to Disney’s website, average savings of 50% can be achieved over the life of a membership.
But what does it mean to be a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member?
How expensive is it to join?
If you’ve ever considered joining DVC, you’ve probably asked yourself similar questions.
So if that’s the case or if you’ve ever considered joining, here’s a comprehensive guide to the Disney Vacation Club. And if you prefer an audio version, check out our podcast where we discuss the ins and outs of being a DVC Member.
How Does the Disney Vacation Club Work?
Simply put, Disney Vacation Club is Disney’s version of a timeshare.
As a DVC Member, you are actually purchasing a real estate interest in one of their resorts. However, unlike a normal timeshare where you purchase a certain week to visit, with DVC you are purchasing points.
With your points, you are able to book your stay at any time of the year. Plus, you aren’t limited to your Home Resort (this is the resort you initial buy into). You can use your points at any Disney resorts, to book an Adventure by Disney vacation, a Disney Cruise or at various hotels throughout the world.
Currently, Disney has 15 DVC resorts at its theme parks. Some of the non-Disney locations you could travel to using your Disney Vacation Club points include:
- Australia
- Italy
- Hawaii
- Japan
When staying at Walt Disney World, DVC Members also have use of the Magical Express and the option to purchase a Disney Dining Plan.
How Much Do Disney Vacation Club Points Cost?
The purpose of the point system is to essentially prepay for future vacations at today’s lower rates. Because you are paying a large lump sum upfront, becoming a DVC Member is a serious financial commitment. The specific price per point depends on your Home Resort.
Currently, Disney has two resorts accepting new members – Aulani and the Riviera.
As of 2019, the price per point at these resorts is $188. On top of this, you’ll be paying closing costs (around $500-600) and an annual maintenance fee per point.
Current DVC Resorts Accepting New Members
A Quick Word on Annual Maintenance Fees
Before we move one, let’s briefly discuss a cost a lot of people don’t factor in when deciding whether or not to become a DVC member.
Like other timeshares or even Homeowner’s Associations, maintenance fees are charged to help keep up the property.
While the annual maintenance fees vary by resort, right now they are about $7-$8 per point. However, Disney can increase these costs up to 15 percent per year. Since DVC began the maintenance costs have increased an average of 4 to 6 percent per year.
The Villas at the Grand Floridian
While you are paying a one-time fee to lock in a lower rate for your points, it’s important to remember that you’ll have to pay an increasing maintenance fee ever year. This becomes important when determining if joining the Disney Vacation Club is worth it. But we’ll get to that later.
How Many Points Do I Need to Purchase?
The number of points each family needs depends on a number of factors.
How many people are in your family?
What size room do you typically stay in?
How many days is your average stay?
How many times a year and what time of year do you plan on visiting the parks?
Do you plan on using your points for Adventure by Disney vacation?
All of these factors ultimately play into how many points you’ll need to purchase. Disney actually offers an excellent tool on its website to determine the number of points you’ll need.
To give you an idea, I used the calculator for 2 people for a 5 day annual stay during any month of the year. Based on that Disney recommended 100-124 points which is enough for anywhere from 6 to 8 nights at a Deluxe Studio all the way to 1 night at a 3-bedroom Grand Villa.
Disney Recommends 100-124 Points
One thing to note is that Disney appears to incentivize you to stay at DVC Resort properties over non-DVC resorts or even Disney Cruises. While you can use your points at other resorts, you’ll get the most value per point by sticking to DVC Resorts only.
Can You Finance Your DVC Purchase?
If you’ve done some quick math, you’ve figured out that it’s going to cost you at least $19,000 to become a DVC Member and that’s if you only purchase 100 points.
This is why DVC isn’t for everyone. Sure, you may be saving some money in the long term, but it’s a BIG upfront investment and even Disney mentions it can take 6 to 12 years to start recognizing the savings.
To help pay for your points, Disney offers financing options. While this may seem like a way to make the purchase more affordable, we really wouldn’t recommend it as it can significantly increase the overall cost and therefore reduce your long term savings.
If the initial cost is too much for you, there are some alternatives available.
Alternatives to Buying a New DVC Membership
Instead of buying new, you can purchase someone else’s points on the resale market.
There are a handful of websites that offer resale services. Since we’ve never personally used one, we’re not going to recommend any here. Just be sure to do your research before using any service to make sure it’s legitimate.
By purchasing points from an existing member, you can obtain some significant savings over the current rates.
While you used to be able to use these points at any resort, like you can new points, Disney recently changed the resale rules to only allow you to use the points at your Home Resort. As long as you are comfortable only staying at one resort for your vacation then resale is a great option.
The Bungalows at the Polynesian
Another alternative is renting DVC points. This is similar to resale, but in this case, you are only buying the points for one year, instead of becoming a full Vacation Club Member. By renting points you can get the benefit of lower hotel costs without the significant investment and ongoing maintenance costs.
But why would a current member rent their points for a year?
There could be many reasons, but the most common is when a Member rents their points to cover the annual maintenance fees. Many members don’t use their points every year but still want to keep their membership. Renting out their points is a great way to cover the annual maintenance costs.
Renting points is a great way to save on your hotel stay. It does have some downsides though, as you typically need to book earlier and you won’t be able to make changes your dates in most cases.
Do Disney Vacation Club Points Expire?
Yes and no.
How’s that for a clear answer?
Banking and Borrowing DVC Points
Let’s start with the yes portion.
As long as you are a Member in good standing (you’ve paid your annual maintenance fees) your points don’t expire. In fact, if you don’t take a trip one year you can roll over those points to use next year. If you typically only travel to a Disney park once every two or three years, being able to roll over points is a great way to save money by purchasing fewer points upfront.
In addition to banking points from one year to the next, you can also borrow points from a future year. You can also bank and borrow points in the same year.
By doing so, you’d be able to use three years worth of points in a single year. Disney provides this option so longer trips and the Adventures by Disney vacations (which can be 500-1000 points per person) are obtainable to Members.
Point Expiration
Now for the no.
While the points don’t expire per se, your Disney Vacation Club Membership does have an expiration. The initial contracts for each resort are only good for 50 years from when that resort opens.
So if you are one of the first members, you’ll have 50 years (unless you sell your membership) to enjoy being a Disney Vacation Club Member. If you purchase a few years after the resort opens, you’ll have less than 50 years since the clock starts from when the resort opens.
What are the Pros and Cons of Disney Vacation Club?
Besides being able to use points to book stays at hotels worldwide, being a DVC Member comes with a few other perks.
Pros
Discount on Annual Passes to the Theme Parks
10 to 40 percent discount on dining, depending on the location
20 percent discount at the Disney Store
There are also a few limitations to being a member.
Cons
The need to book early – with DVC most people say that you need to book your trip at least 7 to 9 months in advance.
Having to pay separately for Theme Park Tickets
Increasing annual maintenance fees
Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It?
Now that you know all the details and costs of being a DVC Member, the question becomes should I join?
While the answer to this question is different for each person, it really comes down to how frequently you visit the parks and the type of resorts you stay at. If you usually stay at Value or Moderate Resorts, then it’s going to be really difficult to see any savings as a DVC Member. If you typically stay at Deluxe Resorts, then joining may make sense.
Art of Animation is an excellent Value Resort
For a more detailed look into whether joining the Disney Vacation Club is worth it, check out this post where we dive into some specific examples.
As we mentioned earlier, the other factor depends on how you pay for your Membership. If you need to finance the purchase, then it’s really not worth it since the additional finance fees will eat into your savings.
Is there anything else about Disney Vacation Club that you’d like to know? Have you decided or are you already a member? Let us know in the comments below.
