Greetings from planDisney, William! Thanks for stopping by with this very important question.
William, as a fellow
Disney Vacation Club Member, I love helping others make the most of their Membership, so let’s talk about your "
use year"!
William, when my husband and I first were learning about Disney Vacation Club I remember spending a lot of time talking with our guide about the “use year” and how it affects vacation planning. Specifically to your question, while you can plan ahead and anticipate the allotment of points, you don’t have access to your September 2021 points until September 1st. To add more clarity, if you don’t have any points available from your 2020-2021 use year and you’re planning to use only the points from the September 2021 use year, your vacation will need to occur between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022.
Now, William, since you were hoping to arrive at
the Most Magical Place on Earth in August, you might feel as defeated as Aladdin when he found himself trapped in the Cave of Wonders. But… fret not! Consider me a friend like Abu, with a few tricks up my sleeve.
William, my first recommendation is to
check out the One-Time Use Points that you can purchase through Disney Vacation Club. If you need less than 25 points to make your vacation happen, this might be a great option. For example, if you were planning to arrive August 31st and only needed points for one night, you could purchase points to create your reservation. Officially these would be assigned to your previous use year, but would work to set up your reservation.
Another idea would be to book the first part of your vacation as a
cash reservation through Disney Vacation Club. Currently there is an
offer that allows Members to book a stay at a discounted rate. I was able to use this perk to book a discounted room for
Disney’s Riviera Resort for this summer! If this interests you,
give a call into Member Services and ask what resorts are currently available to book with the discount. You will need to put down a deposit equal to one night’s stay and then pay the balance at check-in.
William, I hope this helps as you are thinking ahead to your fall vacation. Please come on back and see us here at planDisney with any other questions you might have. We love to channel our inner Genie when he said, “Let’s make some Magic!”
Lauren