The Disney Vacation Club is another one of the timeshare systems that gets a lot of attention. We thought we would take a quick look at some of the ins and outs of this system.
We have stayed at the Disney Animal Kingdom Villas, visited two other Disney timeshare locations, and have attended two Disney timeshare sales presentations over the years. One recent action was a switch by Disney to move to the RCI trading company from II. The talk from the Disney sales staff was they made the switch because RCI would let you make nightly bookings and not hold you to a full week as II does. All of our current timeshares are in the RCI system, so we are happy they came over to RCI.
Generally, in the timeshare world, the Disney timeshares are considered the Cadillac of timeshares. All the Disney resorts get top rating in the rating system at TUG-the Timeshare User Group. You can see the ratings and read reviews of the Disney timeshares at the TUG site and we suggest you take a look. Just click here to go to the TUG site.
The Disney system consists of 10 resorts. Most are on the Disney World property in Orlando, Florida. They also have resorts in Hilton Head, South Carolina, Vero Beach, Florida, a new property at Disneyland in California, and one on the drawing board for Oahu in Hawaii. All resorts are top of the line with wonderful accommodations, typical Disney staff people, great amenities and excellent activities, especially for kids.
They operate on the points system. You buy so many points into the system and then use those points to book your stays. As usual, more points for larger units, fewer points for smaller units. They have units from studio size up to 3 bedroom villas which sleep up to 12 people. At some resorts you need more points for a better view. As with most point systems, more points are needed for certain times of the year– they have five levels for different times of the year. You can book less than a weeks stay, with more points needed for the weekend.
The Disney system is a ” right- to- use” for a certain number of years. You do receive a deed, but that deed expires after so many years. Most of the older resorts can be used until 2042 and the newer ones will expire in 2054 or 2060. This might be a concern if you are younger, or if you want to pass on the timeshare to your children. You need to work this into the cost of ownership, knowing that your use will end at a given date.
Another unique feature in the Disney timeshare system is that if you want to sell, they have the right of first refusal. That means that if you sell or buy a Disney timeshare other than from Disney directly, Disney will look at the offer and if they feel that the price is too low, they will buy the deed. Then they will resell the points through the Disney sales system. This keeps the price on the resale market higher than most other timeshares.
You do buy points at a given resort, and this gives you priority booking at that resort over other Disney owners. They also allow you to use your points to exchange into the RCI system, as well as for Disney cruises, Disney hotels, and other adventures.
All in all, they are excellent timeshares that will allow you to enjoy numerous years of great vacations, but be aware that maintenance fees are on the high side and that your deed will expire after a certain number of years.
