If you’re trying to figure out how Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points work, chances are that you’re either a new Disney Vacation Club member or simply looking to purchase a DVC membership to give yourself and your family a wonderful vacation opportunity.
As a Disney Vacation Club member, you can use your vacation points at some of the most amazing Disney resorts all around the world.
The Disney Vacation Club points, which you’ll receive each year, allow you to book your vacations with the freedom to choose when, where, and for how long.
- Disney Vacation Club allows you the ease of making reservations at Disney resorts.
- Being a member of the Disney Vacation Club, you acquire DVC points.
- You can use DVC points to manage your vacations freely.
NOTE: We will use DVC as the Disney Vacation Club abbreviation throughout the article.
You’re pre-paying for the next 50 years of unforgettable vacations with Walt Disney World by spending your DVC points. In the following paragraphs, we will be focusing on answering two key questions:
1. What is a Disney Vacation Club?
2. What are the benefits of using DVC points?
What Is a Disney Vacation Club?
First things first. To know how to use your DVC points, first, you need to know what a Disney Vacation Club is and how it works.
A Disney Vacation Club is a timeshare program where you invest in a real estate property and become a member. In simple words, it is a shared ownership program of Disney’s vacation real estate, having multiple owners.
Each owner (DVC member) is allotted a specific time slot of ownership of that particular vacation property.
Therefore purchasing a real estate interest in one of the Disney resorts allows you to get ownership of a unit in that particular resort. That unit can be a Deluxe Studio, a Grand Villa, or a Cottage. It will also be called your ‘home resort’.
However, unlike other real estate programs, the timeshare program allows ownership only for a definite period.
How To Get a DVC Membership
While purchasing a DVC membership, you would sign a contract. The contract is your most essential item, and it will contain details about your home resort, expiration date, use year, and how many DVC points you’ll get.
The DVC points represent the ownership of a DVC resort unit.
There Are Two Basic Ways of Getting a DVC Contract:
The most common way is to purchase a DVC contract directly through Disney. Buying directly from Disney is less time-consuming and has some benefits attached when you spend your DVC points.
We will discuss these benefits in detail in the next section.
Another way of buying a DVC contract is through the resale market. Purchasing a DVC membership from a third party costs much less than buying directly from Disney. Besides saving a good amount of money, you’ll get the same number of DVC points.
The number of DVC points required for booking a vacation depends on these factors:
- Which resort you choose.
- Type of Accommodation.
- Duration of stay.
- What time of the year it is.
- Room view.
What Are the Benefits of Using DVC Points?
1. Easy Booking
DVC points allow easy booking at your home resort 11 months before your check-in. You can also book 7 months in advance at any other Disney resort. This is one of the most exclusive benefits offered only to DVC members.
Bookings for non-members start way too later.
Besides booking accommodations, you can also make flexible reservations for Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney.
2. Discounts and Perks
One of the perks of using Disney Vacation Club points is getting discounts on various Disney attractions like annual passes for Water Parks and Disney restaurants, attending Moonlight Magic, and other fun activities.
3. Consistent Value
The value you get for your DVC points will never change. Usually, you would have to pay more every year for the same service due to the rising cost.
Your DVC membership provides refuge against inflation.
4. Transfer Your DVC Point (Banking/Borrowing)
You can have the flexibility to manage your vacations by saving the current year’s points to be added and used next year.
You can also borrow some of the points from next year’s quota and use them in the current year.
- Your DVC points can only be banked for the 1 following Use Year.
- Once you’ve banked your points, you can’t get them back for the current Use Year.
- The deadline to bank your points is 4 months before the end of the current Use Year.
You can also make the best vacation deal by banking and borrowing into the same year and double the fun!
Takeaway
Disney Vacation Club is an exclusive membership program that offers its members plenty of perks and benefits, formally known as “Disney Extras”. The most essential tool that enables the members to manage their vacations freely is the Disney Vacation Club points.
These points can be spent in various ways; book accommodations at your home resort and other Disney resorts, make reservations for Disney Cruise trips, and avail discounts on selective restaurants.
So don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to get the most out of your Disney Vacation club benefits. Roll out those DVC points and discover the Disney magic revealing itself!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Use Year?
A use year indicates the month when you receive your annual allotment of DVC points. There are 8 use years: February, March, April, June, August, September, October, and December.
Can I Get Additional DVC Points?
Yes, there is an option for the DVC members to buy additional 24 points per Use Year.
What Is a Home Resort?
Your home resort is any Disney resort where you purchased a real estate interest.
