January 7th, 2012 
Peter Indeed, is Disney Vacation Club worth it? This vacation program is the subject of a lot of skepticism and mystification. Before deciding if the DVC is worth it or not, it is useful to understand how it works.
Based on generated revenue, the Walt Disney Company is the world’s largest conglomerate of media companies to date. In line with this, the Disney Vacation Club is also one of the largest vacation ownership programs in the world. Started in 1991 by a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, Disney Vacation Development, Inc., the Disney Vacation Club programs offer tens of thousands of vacationers some very exquisite getaways every year. The DVC programs allow a real estate interest in the Disney Vacation property for a specified period of time. During the term the owner can use the property for himself or lease it out to other vacationers. There are annual fees levied per DVC ownership point (you will see about this later) and these depend on the particular property. Let us first clear up a few points on the program in general.
How Does One Become A Member of The Disney Vacation Club Program?
To begin with, you must purchase Disney Vacation Club points. If you buy directly from the program, the minimum number you can purchase is 160 points and the maximum number is 2000. As long as you attain the minimum 160 points you are a member of the DVC program.
Once you complete a one-time purchase, you will be allocated the corresponding value in DVC points which you can spend for accommodation at any of the Disney Vacation resorts. How much these points are worth varies depending on the property, the time of the year, day of the week and the size of the unit(s) you wish to purchase.
If the unit has three bedrooms, it will cost more DVC points than one that has two. During weekdays, the costs are much cheaper than during weekends and during the holidays, they are much costlier than regular times.
What is the Disney Vacation Club Use Year?
Once your purchase your DVC points, the date marks the beginning of your use year. On that date the next year, you will be reimbursed the same number points you purchased. This will be the routine until the year when your contract with the DVC program comes to an end. During your use year, annual fees will apply per point depending on the particular resort you bought points for. The most costly presently are points for the Vero Beach resort whose fees are at $6.40 per point, per year.
What is the Disney Vacation Club Home Resort?
The DVC Home Resort is the property that you purchased your points for. You can schedule your stay ahead at the Home Resort for up to 11 months but for other resorts, only up to 7 months. What does this mean?
If you bought your points for resort A, for example, you can book your stay there for 11 months ahead but if you want to add on extra points for say resort B, you can only book 7 months ahead. It is called the DVC Home Resort Advantage.
What is the DVC Point Banking and Borrowing Concept?
A question that will be going through most users’ minds at this point is what happens when they have not used up a DVC use year’s points or when they run out of points and still need to continue with vacations.
The answer to this is the Banking and Borrowing Concept. The program allows vacationers to ‘bank’ points for use in the next use year and the reverse; to borrow points from the next use year for use in the current one. This concept is alien to a lot of other similar vacation ownership programs and is quoted by many vacationers as proof that a Disney Club Vacation is worth it.
Other less popular programs have ways of getting refunds on expiring points but usually, money can not be recovered in full. In others, there are no refunds for expired points.
With the Disney Vacation Club program, you can transfer 100% of points in your current use year to the next or from the next use year to the current one.
So, Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It?
You will find that the Disney Vacation Club programs offer great savings especially if you have the guile to make subtle use of vacation points. Being a member of the DVC programs also bestows upon you some advantages benefits not otherwise available if you were to book a place at any of the Walt Disney Resorts the regular way.
For one, the program helps with planning for vacations for free. Advice is given on flight bookings and renting cars. Room requests of DVC members are prioritized and the program also assists in organizing delivery of utility products like groceries directly to the rooms.
A lot of discounts are also offered for services like spas, shopping and golf. Tickets for water parks, Pleasure Island and Disney Quests are also available at discounted prices for Disney Vacation Club program members.
Therefore, DVC is really worth it if you know how to utilize it maximally. Also, it will depend on your vacation plans, your personal tastes and preferences and how seriously you take your vacations. For people who love to get away from it all and indulge in leisure enjoyment, there is basically no better vacation program!
