Mother, Son, Giraffe, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Animal Kingdom, Savannah
  • On Feb 27, 2008
    Stacie from MI Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    We took a tour of the DVC on our last trip and are extremely interested. Being a big planner, how hard is it to get a hotel if you can only book 7 mths in advance for a hotel that is not your home hotel? What is the overall take of the DVC?

    Hi!

    I am one of the four moms on the Panel who is a Disney Vacation Club owner. (Up until a few weeks ago there were only three, but Michelle just joined us!) Because of the large financial commitment with DVC ownership, I think all of us would hesitate to give you specific purchase advice. I will say that for my family, the DVC has been a great value for us. The DVC is the reason that we've been able to take so many wonderful trips to WDW. We have also used our points to treat my parents to a WDW vacation. And we have used our DVC points for the Disney Cruise and at Disney's Vero Beach resort, as well as at other fabulous non-Disney hotels including the Mandarin Oriental in Washington DC and Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, CA. We love the amazing amount of flexibility the DVC offers us. I am also anticipating that my girls will use our DVC points on their own as they get older and have their own families.

    As far as booking goes, the answer to your question really depends on where you want to stay and what time of year you are traveling. To give you an example ... our home base is the Wilderness Lodge. We always come to WDW during President's Week in February. This is a fairly crowded week at WDW. We always make our reservations at the WL 11 months in advance. We have never had any problem with this. However, my kids really like to stay at the Beach Club Villas. So, at the 7 month mark, my hubby calls the DVC and asks to switch us to the Beach Club. It is never available. So he asks to be put on the waitlist for the Beach Club. Three of the last four years, we have been taken off the wait list at some point and ended up staying at the Beach Club. The other year we just stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, which is a great place too.

    Good luck with your decision.
thumbnail image for Erin

Meet the Panelist: Erin, New York

I have three teenage daughters. We're DVC members obsessed with Disney travel. We've been to Walt Disney World countless times and have visited Disneyland & Disneyland Paris. We've taken several Adventures by Disney and Disney Cruise trips. Learn More About Erin

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