Newbie trying to figure it all out - VGC??

[ClaraOswald]

Okay....more questions. I'm trying to wrap my head around banking/borrowing and booking within the right window.

I wanted to basically run a scenario where use banking and borrowing in order to stay in a 1-bedroom without needing a ton of points. But I'm unsure on timing of booking and whatnot.

In the scenario...I was booking trips for December 2025, February 2027, and June 2028. I was working with a June UY with 160 points.

But one part I'm getting stuck on is this....
Let's say we're looking at that June 2028 trip. To book at the 11-month mark, it would be July 2027. If I had banked 130ish points from 2027, would they be expired and therefore unavailable to use for a June 2028 trip?

 

[intamin]

Okay....more questions. I'm trying to wrap my head around banking/borrowing and booking within the right window.

I wanted to basically run a scenario where use banking and borrowing in order to stay in a 1-bedroom without needing a ton of points. But I'm unsure on timing of booking and whatnot.

In the scenario...I was booking trips for December 2025, February 2027, and June 2028. I was working with a June UY with 160 points.

But one part I'm getting stuck on is this....
Let's say we're looking at that June 2028 trip. To book at the 11-month mark, it would be July 2027. If I had banked 130ish points from 2027, would they be expired and therefore unavailable to use for a June 2028 trip?

The easiest way to think about it is you can use points from the year prior to a trip(through banking), the year of the trip and the year following the trip (through borrowing). So since those points (2027) are being used in 2028, yes, they can be used for your trip.

At any one point, the maximum amount of points you can use in a single UY is 3 times what your contract is (160*3=480).

I'm planning a trip for 2025 that's going to use nearly all of my Animal Kingdom points (125 pts), the reservation I want costs about 370 points. In order for me to do that, I can't use any of my points in 2024 and have to bank them. Then once the window for me to book comes around, I have to borrow from 2026 to get to my theoretical maximum of 375 (125*3).

Since I have a March UY, if I bank my 2024 points which are given to me on 3/1/2024, they can be used all the way until 2/28/2026. If I don't bank them, they will expire on 2/28/2025.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Okay....more questions. I'm trying to wrap my head around banking/borrowing and booking within the right window.

I wanted to basically run a scenario where use banking and borrowing in order to stay in a 1-bedroom without needing a ton of points. But I'm unsure on timing of booking and whatnot.

In the scenario...I was booking trips for December 2025, February 2027, and June 2028. I was working with a June UY with 160 points.

But one part I'm getting stuck on is this....
Let's say we're looking at that June 2028 trip. To book at the 11-month mark, it would be July 2027. If I had banked 130ish points from 2027, would they be expired and therefore unavailable to use for a June 2028 trip?

My understanding is that June 2027 UY points are available for trips after June 1, 2027 and expire on on May 31, 2028. If you bank them then they are good until May 31, 2029.

 

[Sandisw]

Okay....more questions. I'm trying to wrap my head around banking/borrowing and booking within the right window.

I wanted to basically run a scenario where use banking and borrowing in order to stay in a 1-bedroom without needing a ton of points. But I'm unsure on timing of booking and whatnot.

In the scenario...I was booking trips for December 2025, February 2027, and June 2028. I was working with a June UY with 160 points.

But one part I'm getting stuck on is this....
Let's say we're looking at that June 2028 trip. To book at the 11-month mark, it would be July 2027. If I had banked 130ish points from 2027, would they be expired and therefore unavailable to use for a June 2028 trip?

A June 2028 trip is in the June 2027 UY…it can be booked with banked 2027 points, 2028 points, and borrow 2029 points to complete the trip.

Easiest way is to first figure which UY the trip happens and go from there since every trip can be booked using banked points from the UY prior to the trip, points from the UY of the trip, and borrowed points from the UY after the trip.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Thanks. I think I get it. It's just so confusing as I try to write it down.

I might come back here later and write up the whole scenario to get opinions on if I'm doing it right.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

Not to shake your resolve for VGC even more but.....

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...yland-hotel-reveal-first-look-at-guest-rooms/

 

[NVDISFamily]

Not to shake your resolve for VGC even more but.....

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...yland-hotel-reveal-first-look-at-guest-rooms/

I’m shaken

 

[ClaraOswald]

Yeah....I'm definitely keeping my eye on the VDH. But my husband seems more set on VGC. We are also still throwing around the idea of just trying to rent points when we go and then never buying DVC. But I don't know. There's a lot to consider.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah....I'm definitely keeping my eye on the VDH. But my husband seems more set on VGC. We are also still throwing around the idea of just trying to rent points when we go and then never buying DVC. But I don't know. There's a lot to consider.

The cost to rent will probably go up over time along with the cash rate…

 

[ClaraOswald]

True. That's one of the reasons I still keep going back to DVC. At current prices, if we were to rent a studio villa...it would take a LOT of trips to 'break even' with a VGC contract and annual fees. But we honestly have no clue how many years we'll want to keep doing Disney vacations. My husband and I love it. But our son is the tricky one. He's only 9. But he's autistic with developmental delays and most likely will live with us forever. He loves Disneyland now but who can say if he'll like it in 10 years.

Plus, we know we generally like to space trips out 18 months....give or take. So when looking at banking/borrowing and whatnot on that timeline...it starts to get confusing.

 

[AstroBlasters]

True. That's one of the reasons I still keep going back to DVC. At current prices, if we were to rent a studio villa...it would take a LOT of trips to 'break even' with a VGC contract and annual fees. But we honestly have no clue how many years we'll want to keep doing Disney vacations. My husband and I love it. But our son is the tricky one. He's only 9. But he's autistic with developmental delays and most likely will live with us forever. He loves Disneyland now but who can say if he'll like it in 10 years.

Plus, we know we generally like to space trips out 18 months....give or take. So when looking at banking/borrowing and whatnot on that timeline...it starts to get confusing.

The value is much better when looking at the larger accommodations.

For a studio on a weekday in early June you are at about 20 points a night. If you buy points at $240pp then it works out to about $14-$15pp amortized over the life of the contract or $288/night.

That’s pretty good when the current magic key spring special rate is $600/night for a standard room.

So you save $312/night (if you qualify for magic key) and paid $4800 upfront, so it’s a 15-year break even.

Of course, my guess is that you could sell your grand cal contract if you don’t want to go to Disney anymore and get your entire upfront cost back…but, who knows what the future may hold.

 

[ClaraOswald]

The value is much better when looking at the larger accommodations.

For a studio on a weekday in early June you are at about 20 points a night. If you buy points at $240pp then it works out to about $14-$15pp amortized over the life of the contract or $288/night.

That’s pretty good when the current magic key spring special rate is $600/night for a standard room.

So you save $312/night (if you qualify for magic key) and paid $4800 upfront, so it’s a 15-year break even.

Of course, my guess is that you could sell your grand cal contract if you don’t want to go to Disney anymore and get your entire upfront cost back…but, who knows what the future may hold.

If we don't buy DVC at all...we'd likely just stay on Harbor. Or if possible, rent via a site like David's...where 6 nights in a studio villa works out to just under $3000. So when I compare DVC to that...it takes a little longer to make it worth it.

Do most people just put money down and do a monthly payment? Isn't the interest crazy high? We were thinking we'd just pay in full to avoid the high interest (which is why we wouldn't be buying a crazy amount of points.)

So let's say we were to get a contract now for $40,000. There's really no way to know how much of that we might "get back" if we have to sell in 10-20 years. (We are also already in our 40's and I have an autoimmune disease so who knows what our health will be down the road either.) But if we were pretty sure we'd see a decent amount back, then that does make it more worthwhile. Of course, by then there will only be maybe 15-20 years left on the contract.

 

[AstroBlasters]

If we don't buy DVC at all...we'd likely just stay on Harbor. Or if possible, rent via a site like David's...where 6 nights in a studio villa works out to just under $3000. So when I compare DVC to that...it takes a little longer to make it worth it.

Do most people just put money down and do a monthly payment? Isn't the interest crazy high? We were thinking we'd just pay in full to avoid the high interest (which is why we wouldn't be buying a crazy amount of points.)

Definitely a lot to consider as it is a very expensive club to join. We paid upfront cash for ours.

Remember that there is no guarantee you can get studio rooms through the rental sights since there are not very many of them.

However, if you are OK with Harbor rooms then those will always be more economical.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We have always been fine on Harbor. But after this recent stay at the GC...not gonna lie...it will be hard to go back. Ha! I've never even been one of those "Disney bubble" people either.

Since we know we won't be buying DVC anytime soon, we are thinking we will try renting for June 2024. I'll be curious to see if we will be able to get a studio or not. If not...that might make us lean more toward DVC. I can see us switching to a 1-bedroom when our son is older too.

I REALLY hope they get rid of the fold out couch and move to a murphy bed ASAP though.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

If we don't buy DVC at all...we'd likely just stay on Harbor. Or if possible, rent via a site like David's...where 6 nights in a studio villa works out to just under $3000. So when I compare DVC to that...it takes a little longer to make it worth it.

Do most people just put money down and do a monthly payment? Isn't the interest crazy high? We were thinking we'd just pay in full to avoid the high interest (which is why we wouldn't be buying a crazy amount of points.)

So let's say we were to get a contract now for $40,000. There's really no way to know how much of that we might "get back" if we have to sell in 10-20 years. (We are also already in our 40's and I have an autoimmune disease so who knows what our health will be down the road either.) But if we were pretty sure we'd see a decent amount back, then that does make it more worthwhile. Of course, by then there will only be maybe 15-20 years left on the contract.

$40k is obviously no small thing. But if you have the money, I'd say just take the plunge. Disney vacations are 1000000% more fun with DVC. And the larger villa acommodations are AMAZING. And as Astro mentioned, you really do get the most bang for your DVC buck by booking 1BRs and higher. You know your personal finance situation best. All I can say is, I've never been happier since I bought our contracts. Especially our VGC because of our love for Disneyland and DCA.

 

[ClaraOswald]

You are all a bunch of enablers!

Seriously though...if we do it, we'd probably wait a year. So I'm just going to be hanging out on the board asking 50000 questions between now and then. And just talking it all out because I think my husband is already bored of hearing about it.

I wish I had a crystal ball to know if the price for resale is going to go up or down between now and this time next year.

 

[crazydad123]

If this has already been said, I apologize for the repetition. I own at VGC and have been very happy with 100 points in a March UY. It allows my wife and I to get a studio once in a year, then twice in the next year. We usually spend 3 nights and 4 days, which lets us satisfy our need for Disneyland. Be sure to check every resale broker site on a regular basis, as you never know what will come up. I regretted not buying VGC when it was new, but got a sale at a great price a few years later.
Enjoy the hunt!

 

[CarolynFH]

You are all a bunch of enablers!

Truer words have never been posted.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

You are all a bunch of enablers!

Seriously though...if we do it, we'd probably wait a year. So I'm just going to be hanging out on the board asking 50000 questions between now and then. And just talking it all out because I think my husband is already bored of hearing about it.

I wish I had a crystal ball to know if the price for resale is going to go up or down between now and this time next year.

uh, if you were looking for an interventionist group, you've come to the wrong place. This is where crack addicts come together to push each other to snort more!

 

[intamin]

uh, if you were looking for an interventionist group, you've come to the wrong place. This is where crack addicts come together to push each other to snort more!

Crack addicts and people with bipolar disorder who encourage each other's exuberant spending