New member

[haredi]

We are supposed to send out our docs tomorrow after purchasing 480 points for AK on our DC in the Med. We are a family of 5 with 3 small kids 11, 9, 5. I have a few questions:

1. Do they ask how many are staying when you send in the res. to book somewhere? We were told by the salesperson that we could stay in a studio if we wanted and that there was not an issue like there is at the resorts where they make you get two rooms if you are over 5 people. (At those resorts which will not allow 5.)

2. We did three contracts for 160 pts. per contract. We go to Disney with the FL resident rate every other month or so during the seasonal pass time. (That was the one thing that was misrepresented to us during our sales meeting. He forgot to tell us that the $100 off per yearly pass really meant nothing to us because it does not save us anything off the FL resident rate.)
Anyway, is this a reasonable amount of points, and is it worth it at the rate of $104 per point with the maintenance fees? Has everyone found that it really does save them money in the long run?

3. Does anyone have any suggestions for reserving another resort that is not Disney? Do you get your $75 back if the reservation cannot be confirmed? And how long does it take for you to hear back once the reservation is put in? We had a call yesterday asking us to call back regarding questions about our docs, and we still have not received a call back.

Sorry for all the questions, but we want to make sure this is really a worthwhile purchase. We do stay at AK often and would love the ability to stay at the Contemporary if they decide to build there. Thanks for any suggestions you can give!

D

 

[Doctor P]

I will only answer #1. If you don't see it in the written documents you sign, then it is not binding. The official stated limit for occupancy on studios and 1BR's is 4 persons at resorts other than AKV (and some units at AKV have this occupancy as well). While MS has been unofficially allowing 5 occupants in a 1BR at the other DVC resorts, this is not supported by the legal documentation and could be discontinued at any time. MS DOES NOT allow five persons over the age of 3 in studios. I'm sorry that you misunderstood or were misled by the salesperson.

 

[haredi]

I will only answer #1. If you don't see it in the written documents you sign, then it is not binding. The official stated limit for occupancy on studios and 1BR's is 4 persons at resorts other than AKV (and some units at AKV have this occupancy as well). While MS has been unofficially allowing 5 occupants in a 1BR at the other DVC resorts, this is not supported by the legal documentation and could be discontinued at any time. MS DOES NOT allow five persons over the age of 3 in studios. I'm sorry that you misunderstood or were misled by the salesperson.

Thanks for your response. We were more than misled by the salesperson. We asked several times about this specifically and made sure that we told him this was a deal breaker for us because this was our #1 issue. I just put in a reservation, we will see how it goes with the response. I will make sure if it does not go through, that I either get it added to the contract, or we take the issue directly to the salesperson and his supervisor.

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks for your response. We were more than misled by the salesperson. We asked several times about this specifically and made sure that we told him this was a deal breaker for us because this was our #1 issue. I just put in a reservation, we will see how it goes with the response. I will make sure if it does not go through, that I either get it added to the contract, or we take the issue directly to the salesperson and his supervisor.

If it's a deal breaker then I am sorry to say the deal is broken. Disney will not modify their contract, period. DVC will save you money compared to normal resort rates. Good luck.

 

[mikesmom]

They not only ask for how many, they want all the names. If you try and slip an extra person in without telling them, that child would not have a room key (probably not a big deal for a child), but could also not get into Extra Magic Hours (probably a VERY big deal).

Doctor P is right on about the occupancy limits.

That being said, 460 should be enough to comfortably get a 2 bedroom for your crew. You will be very comfortable at the ability to spread out. The right amount depends on how many times a year you go.

Many here will tell you that you don't save money because you go more often, thus spending more on tickets, etc. In our case, since we don't go more often (more trips, but shorter than before), we do save money. We have run the numbers (DH is an accountant/economist) and we broken even at about year five. Our big money saver was the kitchen. With teen boys the amount spent on drinks, snacks, meals at WDW was something to be reckoned with. With the kitchen we cook a big breakfast and keep the fridge stocked with fruit, ice cream, sodas, deli meats, cheese, etc. Since I keep the fridge stocked on home the grocery bill was the same and we spend far less on food in the parks. We still have a couple of table service meals in a trip, but we did that before. And now we can bring the leftovers "home" to enjoy later.