DVC Membership Do’s and Don’ts

My family joined the Disney Vacation Club (or “DVC” for short) when I was pregnant with my son in 2014. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to use our annual points as a way to fund my cravings for multiple Mouse stays per year. Covid put a major damper on everyone’s travel plans, but I think it also increased our wanderlust — at least it certainly did for me. Since we’ve been able to travel again, I have made a point of teaching myself as much as possible about how the DVC program works and how to use it most efficiently.

On the surface, DVC can seem a little intimidating. Keeping track of the point systems, translating the jargon, understanding the use years — it can all be deterring at first. But once you study it a little bit, you’ll realize it’s more manageable than it seems.

Whether you’re on the fence about buying into the Disney Vacation Club or you’re already a member, here are a few things I’ve learned about navigating the Disney Vacation Club system.

• The DVC Website: Make friends with the website! Familiarizing yourself with this site will help you navigate your membership with much more ease. Beware: the site has frequent issues, but when it isn’t glitching its design is very user-friendly.

• Plan Ahead: Your DVC Member Dashboard shows you how many points you have to work with each year for the next four years. If you’re going to make the most of your points, keep a list of possible trips you may want to book over the next four years. Check the points calendar and see how much rooms “cost” at various times of the year, and if you’ll have enough for each Use Year, or if you’ll be able to borrow from the next Use Year. Points can be banked for one year, so if there is a year you don’t plan on traveling or using your points, be sure to bank them in time so you can use them the following year!!

• Don’t Sleep on Off-Peak: DVC rooms are more points-effective at certain off-peak times of year and on Sundays through Thursdays (Friday and Saturday night stays are always more points.) Pay attention to the points calendar to see when your desired location may have better value stays.

• 7/11: Remember the 7/11 Rule: You can book at any resort 7 months in advance and at your home resort 11 months in advance.

• Use Your Discount: Don’t forget to upload your digital membership card to your My Disney Experience app and flash that ID every chance you get on your vacation! DVC members get 10-20% off of dining, merchandise, and some tours at all Disney Parks. Cast members usually ask if you have a discount, but sometimes they forget so don’t be afraid to speak up — everywhere! Ten percent off dining and shopping over the course of a week-long vacation adds up to some nice savings!

• Use the Free Perks: Just like your discount, take advantage of all the other perks of membership, including the lounges in the Disney Parks. DVC Lounges allow members with IDs and up to five guests to sit, have a complimentary drink/snack, and recharge themselves and their phones in a cool, comfortable, private space. In Walt Disney World, the Top of the World Lounge is located at the top of Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary (and a kids’ club on the first floor,) one in Epcot at the top of the Imagination Pavilion, a new one in Disney Springs, and a brand new one which just opened in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom (boy did we need one there!) Disneyland recently opened its Member Lounge in Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland and it’s awesome! The sparkly new space, called Star View Station, is a cozy, space-themed area for adults and kids to grab a fountain drink and sit back and relax to some Mickey toons.

• Special Events: Members have access to private Disney Cruise Line sailings and after-hours Member nights in the Parks, as well as discounts on parties like Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights. Keep an eye on the website and plan ahead to book paid perks like this.

• DVC Villas Points: One of the most important tips I keep in mind is that DVC points are most cost-effective for Villas! Essentially, you get more bang for your buck — and spend less points — when using DVC points for actual DVC villas.

• Non-DVC Disney Hotel Points: DVC points can be used to “pay” for reservations of regular Disney hotel rooms too, but they are converted into what’s called “reservation points” and are less cost-effective than booking DVC villas. In other words, Disney “charges” you more points per night for their regular hotel rooms (for example, at the Disneyland Hotel) than they do for their DVC Villa rooms (for example, The Villas at Disneyland Hotel.) Keep in mind that once you convert your DVC points into “reservation points” you can’t convert back and they must be used on a non-DVC room. Be sure you definitely want to reserve a regular Disney hotel before converting your points!

• Disney Cruise Points: While you can use DVC points for Disney Cruises, in my experience this isn’t the best use of your points. Points are even less cost-effective for cruises than they are for non-DVC hotel rooms. You may have to hand over your entire year’s worth of points just for one cruise, whereas using DVC points on Villas can allow to you stretch them out and potentially travel multiple times per year. Paying cash for cruises makes more financial sense, especially with the ability to pay in installments. However, if you haven’t traveled in a while and are banking points or need to spend your points before you lose them, a cruise is a great choice in those situations.

• Non-Disney Hotels: DVC points are least cost-effective when applied to non-Disney hotel reservations. Disney does partner with many other hotels throughout the world through their hotel exchange program, but I don’t recommend using your points because they don’t go far at all. We once had 24 reservation points leftover that had to be used somewhere non-DVC before they expired, but applying them didn’t even change the price of the hotel room we were looking at. We would have wound up spending more on the remainder of the hotel rate, so we just let them expire. It wasn’t ideal, but the hotel exchange program was just not worth it.

• Waitlist It: If you have a dream trip in mind but don’t see availability on the website, remember you can have up to two waitlists open at one time, so use them! As long as you set your waitlist to expire in an amount of time that you can manage, waitlists are a no-strings-attached way to potentially scoop up a stay when you really want to go. (Pro tip: splitting up a multiple night stay into 2 waitlists increases your odds of piecing together the stay you’re aiming for!) Once your wait lists “match,” you can call DVC and ask them to merge your reservations into one. I have gotten off several of our waitlists, so I’ll vouch for the fact that it can work. The only catch is that you must put a time limit on the waitlist’s expiration or you may jeopardize your points.

• Dial the Magic: If you’re ever confused about the system or your membership, I highly recommend calling the Membership customer service line. These cast members are always so kind and professional and make me smile by injecting a little Disney Magic into my day when I’m not on vacation. Speaking to them has truly taught me so much about how our membership works. Bonus: you’ll hear Disney tunes while you’re on hold and they usually sign off with “Have a Magical Day!”
  

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It always makes me giggle how joining the Disney Vacation Club is such a hot debate within the Disney Community, since most of the naysayers are not even members. I’ve seen people online arguing that it’s crazy to fork over $75,000 to only visit Disney every two or three years (insert my bulging eyes and confused brow here.) Your contract certainly doesn’t have to cost that much, and DVC actually allows you to travel more often. In short, I’ve honestly never encountered a member who said it was a bad decision.

Obviously, financial situations are very individual and personal, so it’s not for everyone, and I’m in no way trying to influence anyone to make a big decision without proper research and budgeting. But joining DVC also doesn’t mean you’ve signed a pact with Ursula for one of those infamous “timeshares” people love to complain about. Disney has wisely given members a ton of options and flexibility that allows us to travel the world with the peace of mind that is the Disney Difference.

If you’re a frequent Disney traveler, chances are the member math will be in your favor. Personally, I wouldn’t be able to stay on property as often as we do if it weren’t for our DVC membership. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving, and I’m so thankful to my parents for getting our family started with DVC back in 2014. As I said earlier, my number one piece of advice to prospective or current members is to teach yourself how to use your contract. This is the best way to make sure the program has value for you. Once you familiarize yourself with these basic do’s and don’ts and manage your account so you get the best use of your points, I’m sure you’ll find that membership is truly magical.