DVC Tips and Tricks

Whether you’re brand new to the Disney Vacation Club program or a long-time veteran, you’re always on the lookout for new ideas. You want to maximize the value of your contract(s) as much as possible.

So, we’re starting a new series to help you achieve that goal. Here are a few DVC tips and tricks that you may have never considered.

Go Low

Are you someone who owns hundreds of DVC points, or are you a member with a 50-point contract? Either way, you should adopt the same approach when deciding which room to book. You should always go low. Here’s why.

While many DVC members own 200 plus points, some buy cheap contracts just to be in the program. These members can only afford the least expensive rooms. Because this statement applies to a large number of members, the cheapest DVC booking options tend to sell quickly.

As an extreme example, Value Accommodations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas book so quickly that you often need to own at the resort and book during your 11-month window. The cheapest rooms at most resorts are the first ones to sell their allotment.

Yes, exceptions exist, but the underlying logic makes perfect sense. Not everyone can afford the most expensive rooms at DVC resorts. For this reason, the cheapest rooms go quickly.

So, when you want to book at a resort, you should look at the cheapest rooms first, lest you get shut out. You’re more likely to be able to upgrade later than you are to find something cheaper after the fact.

Animal Kingdom Lodge – Savanna View

Split Stays Add Convenience

I swore off split stays after my last Walt Disney World vacation because I realized I’ve outgrown living out of a suitcase. Having said that, I used to swear by split stays due to their convenience. 

In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, you take a split stay vacation when you book a room at one DVC resort for a few days but then switch to a different hotel for the rest of your vacation. I have been a split stay aficionado in my lifetime, one choosing four resorts during a single vacation. 

My thought process is that split stays maximize vacation efficiency. Like many of you, I’ve experienced some frustrating waits for Disney buses. In an extreme example, we waited 45 minutes for our hotel bus, while buses for Disney’s Coronado Springs passed us six times. I wish I were joking. Eventually someone called the hotel and they sent a shuttle.

Walt Disney World hosts millions of guests each month, so their transportation systems will never be perfect. The best way to control the process is by staying at a resort right beside the theme park you intend to visit. Split stays add convenience because you can plan your hotels like this:

• One day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas
• Two days at Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
• One day at a Magic Kingdom area resort like Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

You have just positioned yourself to visit each of Walt Disney World’s four theme parks in four days, and that’s not even the best part. You can walk or ride the Disney Skyliner to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Then, you can ride the Monorail or take a boat to Magic Kingdom. You’re still stuck waiting for a bus at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but it’s a short five-minute trip.

The beauty of split stays is that you can park your belongings right beside your preferred theme park and thereby reduce your reliance on the mercurial bus system.

Boardwalk Resort

Don’t Overlook the Non-Park Resorts

You join the Disney Vacation Club program, not the Disney Theme Park program. This is a misconception many fans make during their first few years as members.

With most DVC contracts, you can book at all DVC resorts. So, your options include Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort, and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. You may not realize it now, but you won’t always want to vacation at a Disney theme park. Sometimes, you just want to relax, unwind, and sit beside the ocean for a while.

These three resorts prove ideal for an entirely different kind of DVC trip, one where you’ll enjoy peace and tranquility rather than going hard all the time. I’m traveling to Disney World in two weeks, and my itinerary seems ludicrously intense, even to me.

Conversely, if I were going to Hilton Head, I’d just sit on a beach and read the new Dungeon Crawler Carl book all day. Both vacations make me happy in their own ways, and that’s why I recommend this approach. Sometimes you need to change up your vacation habits to maximize your enjoyment.

Access all available Disney Vacation Club resale listings, or learn more about buying and selling with DVC Resale Market.

If you’d like to make an offer or request a free consultation about buying or adding to your DVC contract, the DVC Resale Market team is here to help!