Hi Susan!
Welcome Home! I’m so happy you found the Disney Vacation Club Panelists here on planDisney. We have been a Member Family since 2009 and while we have stayed at almost every Disney Vacation Club Resort, we have not yet used our Vacation Points at a standard resort. One of these days I really want to try
The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.Currently, the
Disney Vacation Club Website does not allow you to book standard resort rooms with your Vacation Points online. This is something that needs to be done with a Cast Member over the phone at Member Services. It is a similar situation to booking Disney Cruise Line or Adventures by Disney Vacations because even though we may think of everything as Disney, they are actually different entities with different inventories and systems. Over the phone Member Services can search for availability for you, and make the conversion of your Vacation Points into Reservation Points. Those Reservation Points will then be used by the Cast Member to book your standard room.
There are a few rules and fine print things when it comes to
booking the Disney Collection, so before you call, you may want to review those. This is a final transaction and so please know that once you convert your Vacation Points to Reservation Points, you cannot convert those points back to book a villa should your plans change. Only Members who hold a blue Membership Card can book the Disney Collection. Also, booking Walt Disney World Resort Hotels is subject to a booking fee and the Rule of Four, meaning you cannot book
and stay during the last four months of your Use Year. You can stay during that time, but you need to book before that four-month window. If you are within your last four months or want to avoid the booking fee, you may wish to consider the hotels of the Disneyland Resort which are not subject to those policies.
If you haven’t already found them, you may want to check out the
Points Charts for the Disney Collection. This will at least give you a starting point to look at what type of accommodations you’d like to search for, and how many points you need to book your stay.
I hope this is helpful, Susan. I remember when we became Members we couldn’t even book DVC stays online. Hopefully, there will be a way for us to book the Disney Collection online in the future!
Wishing you
Membership Magic!- Kate