The process of researching Disney Vacation Club can be overwhelming. Terms like RofR and Use Year aren’t a part of the normal vernacular, even among Disney fans. Researching and understanding Disney Vacation Club, and the DVC Resales process in particular, is crucial to making an informed decision about what is right for you and your family. Here are some terms and explanations you may come across that might help you in that process.
Annual Dues (Maintenance Fees) – In addition to the cost of your DVC resale contract are annual dues that are charged by Disney. These dues are for the maintenance and upkeep of the resort and are paid by all members, regardless of whether your contract has been paid off or not. These dues are payable every year that you hold your contract. Dues can be paid in one lump sum by Jan 15th, or can be paid monthly via a checking account or debit card.
Dues vary from resort to resort. For example, dues at Animal Kingdom Lodge tend to be higher than those at Saratoga Springs. One reason for this is that Animal Kingdom Lodge has a savannah with animals that needs to be maintained and DVC members are responsible for part of that cost. Annual dues are highest at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort in Florida and Disney’s Hilton Head Resort in South Carolina. The main reason being that these are beach-front properties that are more susceptible to adverse weather (hurricanes) than other resorts in the DVC portfolio. Here is the current list of Annual dues at each DVC property.
DVC Resort Annual dues 2024
| Animal Kingdom Villas | $9.08 per point |
|---|---|
| Aulani Resort - Hawaii | $9.76 per point |
| Bay Lake Tower | $7.59 per point |
| Beach Club Villas | $8.63 per point |
| Boardwalk Villas | $8.67 per point |
| Grand Californian Villas | $8.55 per point |
| Grand Floridian Villas | $7.58 per point |
| Hilton Head | $11.32 per point |
| Old Key West | $9.87 per point |
| Polynesian Villas | $8.23 per point |
| Riviera Resort | $8.85 per point |
| Saratoga Springs Resort | $8.14 per point |
| Vero Beach Resort | $13.87 per point |
| Villas at Disneyland Hotel | $9.53 + $2.82 Transient tax per point |
| Wilderness Lodge - Boulder Ridge | $8.68 per point |
| Wilderness Lodge - Copper Creek | $8.10 per point |
HOME RESORT – Your home resort refers to the resort that you purchase with your resale contract.
HOME RESORT PRIORITY – Your home resort priority allows you to use your points at that resort up to 11 months in advance of your check in date. At 7 months you may book any other DVC resorts. This allows owners at a specific resort an advantage, especially for popular dates. So, for example, if your home resort was Bay Lake Tower and you wanted to plan a Walt Disney World vacation from Dec 24 – Jan 1 (the busiest week of the year at Walt Disney World), you would be able to make your reservation starting on Jan 24th of that year (11 months in advance of your check-in date).
If another DVC member who owns at another resort besides Bay Lake Tower wants to book the same week, they would have to wait until May 24th (7 months prior). At certain resorts, the 11 month home resort priority is almost a requirement. Resorts like Disney’s Grand Californian Villas, Grand Floridian Villas and Beach Club Villas are among the more difficult resorts to book at certain times of the year without the 11 month booking window. USE YEAR – the term ‘use year’ refers to the month of the year in which your annual allotment of points are deposited into your account. For example, if you have a 200 point contract at Saratoga Springs with a February use year, then every February 200 points will be put into your account for use that year. Valid use years are February, March, April, June, August, September, October and December. There are no January, May, July or November use years.
BORROWING POINTS – Disney Vacation Club gives you the option to borrow points from the following use year to use in the current one. Lets say you have a 150 points a year, but are planning a longer vacation than usual, or you’re planning to bring family along and need more rooms but don’t have enough points in the current use year. You can borrow up to your 150 points from the following year. It’s important to remember, however, that borrowing is a ‘final transaction’ and once you transfer those points they must be used in that use year, or you will lose them.
BANKING POINTS – Banking points is similar to borrowing, just in reverse. If you don’t think you’ll use some or all of your points, you can bank them to the next use year. Like borrowing, this is a final transaction and must be used in that use year, or you will lose those points. Banking and borrowing are often used together by families who don’t normally travel to Walt Disney World every year. If you plan to travel every three years, for instance, you would be able to bank and borrow your points into the current use year. So, with a 100 point contract, you would have 300 points available every three years to use for your vacations. BANKING WINDOW – This refers to the timeframe in which you can bank your points. The banking window is determined by your use year. You must bank your points no later than 4 months before the start of your next use year. If you don’t bank your points by the deadline, they will have to be used in the current use year, or you will lose them.
| Use Year | Banking Deadline |
|---|---|
| February | September 30 |
| March | October 31 |
| April | November 30 |
| June | January 31 |
| August | March 31 |
| September | April 30 |
| October | May 31 |
| December | July 31 |
EXPIRATION DATE – All DVC contracts have an expiration date that is based on when the resort was opened. The expiration date refers to the year in which ownership of your contract will revert back to Disney. Below is a list of each DVC resort and its current expiration date.
| Animal Kingdom Villas | Jan 31, 2057 |
|---|---|
| Aulani Resort - Hawaii | Jan 31, 2062 |
| Bay Lake Tower | Jan 31, 2060 |
| Beach Club Villas | Jan 31, 2042 |
| Boardwalk Villas | Jan 31, 2042 |
| Grand Californian Villas | Jan 31, 2060 |
| Grand Floridian Villas | Jan 31, 2064 |
| Hilton Head | Jan 31, 2042 |
| Old Key West | Jan 31, 2042 |
| Polynesian Villas | Jan 31, 2066 |
| Riviera Resort | Jan 31, 2070 |
| Saratoga Springs Resort | Jan 31, 2054 |
| Vero Beach Resort | Jan 31, 2042 |
| Villas at Disneyland Hotel | Jan 31, 2074 |
| Wilderness Lodge - Boulder Ridge | Jan 31, 2042 |
| Wilderness Lodge - Copper Creek | Jan 31, 2068 |
HOLDING POINTS – If you cancel a Disney Vacation Club resort stay less than 30 days before your scheduled check-in date, your points will be put into a holding account. Points in holding can only be used for a reservation up to 60 days in advance of check-in and must be used in the current use year or they will be forfeited (they cannot be banked). If you cancel a reservation more than 30 days in advance, those points return to your account without penalty.
WAITLIST - On occasions where the dates you want for a specific room/resort are not available, you can add your name to a waitlist should the room become available. You can have no more than two active waitlist requests at any one time. Waitlist requests will remain open until 7 days before the requested check-in date. If you have not cleared the waitlist in that time, the request will cancel. Disney will notify you if your waitlist request is approved.