Cheapest way to get into the DVC?

[caryrae]

I am very interested in being a DVC owner. What is the cheapest way to become one? I am guessing it would be buying a studio at the Old Key West resort during the slow season. It would only be my wife and I. I would like to have enough points to stay for at least a week, then probably buy points a little at a time over the years.

Can you buy up points without actually owning a place yet?

Also if I were to buy one resale, I am guessing I would the remaining years left on the original contract. So if I bought one resale and the owner had it for 10 years I would have 30 or 40 years left for myself? (sorry I couldn't remember how long you own for, 40 or 50 years?)

[dlpmikki]

Each of the resorts finishes on a set date, regardless of when the person bought in. Until SSR they all finished in 2042. There is an extra 12 years with SSR and another 3 with AKL. The only way you own a place is to buy the points. Because OKW was the first one the points required per night are less than anywhere else. So a resale at OKW (maybe with this years points already used to bring the price down) would be the cheapest route probably.

There are a lot more choices to make than just price though!

[Horizon93]

Whether you buy resale or through DVC, it is worth it to take the tour. All questions will be answered and there is no pressure. DVC is very different from other time shares. You want to be sure that you own enough points to have the type of vacation that you want. Good luck with the search and don't hesitate to ask questions here!

[Maleficent's Dad]

Admittedly, the cheapest way to "get into DVC" would have to be resale.

You should ask yourself if this is the "best" way to do it.

There are pros and cons about resales - but if you're looking to save money, this is probably the way to go. One major problem would be: Can you get the number of points where you want, and buy them when you want them?

[FiggyFan]

With DVC, you don't buy a particular size accomodation or a particular time of year. Legally, you buy a percentage ownership of a particular unit at a particular resort, but practically that is not what matters.

What does matter is that every year you get a certain number of "home resort vacation points" that you can use for any sized accomodation at any time of year. DVC publishes point charts that tell you how many points a room costs per night. These vary by resort, time of season, and how big a place you want. You can reserve one day at a time or a block of days, one long visit per year or several short ones - whatever works for you. It is a very flexible system. You can even skip a year and bank the points into the following year, or borrow ahead from next year's points.

Home resort does matter - you can book there 11 months ahead, but you can only book the other DVC resorts 7 months ahead.

I think that the minimum purchase direct from Disney is currently 160 points. You will occasionally see smaller blocks of points available in the resale market.

As Horizon 93 said, take the tour - or at least call DVC and ask questions. They will be happy to explain it all, and they are very low pressure.

[MinnieMommie]

A week in a studio at Old Key West during the adventure season (I think this is what you mean by slow season) is Sunday through Thursday at 8 points a night and Friday and Saturday at 20 points a night. The total for the week would be 80 points for a week.