How Does Disney Vacation Club Work? [All You Need to Know]

Have you ever visited Disney World and wished you lived there? While you can’t make Cinderella’s Castle your home away from home, you can get pretty close! In fact, there’s a way that you and your family can return to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland year after year: Disney Vacation Club. This vacation ownership program unlocks a whole new world of vacation experiences. With a Disney Vacation Club membership, you’ll enjoy spacious accommodations, luxurious amenities, and more! Want to learn more? Then you’ve come to the right place! From DVC points to exclusive perks, we’ll help you answer the question, “How does Disney Vacation Club work?”

What Is Disney Vacation Club?

Before we talk about how Disney Vacation Club works, let’s go over what the club actually is. Disney Vacation Club (also known as DVC) is a timeshare ownership club under Disney Vacation Development. DVC works by giving owners priority access to stay in top Disney resorts in Orlando, Hilton Head Island, California, Hawaii, and Vero Beach. With its first resort opening in 1991, Disney Vacation Club has grown in size over the last 30 years, becoming one of the best vacation clubs to join. In fact, there are now 17 DVC resorts across the country! To become an owner, known as a Disney Vacation Club member, you must purchase DVC points either directly from Disney or on the DVC resale market.

Disney Vacation Club is one of the first timeshare brands to introduce a points-based system to owners. When you become an owner of Disney Vacation Club, your contract will indicate how many DVC points you will receive every year. How many you purchase is entirely up to you and really boils down to your vacation preferences.

How Do Disney Vacation Club Points Work?

So, how do Disney Vacation Club points work? DVC points can be used to make reservations at any one of the 17 Disney Vacation Club resorts. All owners can stay at any resort anytime, depending on resort availability. While this benefit is great for travelers who want some variety on their vacations, it can also be difficult to make last-minute reservations. This is because there is a lot of demand, and DVC reservations can fill up quickly.

All DVC contracts are attached to your “Home” resort, where you have priority booking windows before other DVC members. The best way to make Disney Vacation Club points work for you is to plan your vacations ahead of time. This way, you won’t miss out on booking the dates or resort you want. DVC members can also use their points to book a Disney Cruise Line voyage. So, you can sail across the ocean with the magic of Disney!

Banking Disney Vacation Club Points

If you don’t plan on using all of your points this year, bank them for next year’s use to take more vacations. This is also a great way to book one longer, better vacation the next year. Points must be banked within the first eight months of your Use Year. Otherwise, you must spend them, or they will expire. Furthermore, banked points cannot be banked again, so be sure to use them the following year so they don’t go to waste.

Borrowing Disney Vacation Club Points

Owners can borrow points at any time to complete a reservation that will require more points than they currently have. If you are planning to take an epic vacation but don’t have enough points, simply borrow them from the following year. Keep in mind that you can’t borrow points unless you are out of points for a reservation. Also, you can only borrow from the next year, not any afterward.

How Does Disney Vacation Club Use Year Work?

Disney Vacation Club points work by giving owners their annual allotment during their DVC Use Year. DVC Use Year actually refers to a month in the year, and there are only eight Use Years to consider: February, March, April, June, August, September, October, and December.

No Use Year is better than another. In fact, not all Disney Vacation Club resorts will offer every Use Year contract. It’s best to consider when you plan on vacationing with your family. Ideally, you will want to travel early in your Use Year. This is because if you cancel your reservation within 30 days of your check-in date, your points will be put into a holding account. They must be spent by the next Use Year, or they will expire and cannot be banked. The points in your holding account can only be used to make a reservation that’s no more than 60 days in advance. Use Year is also important to keep in mind for banking points. If you do plan on banking your points this year, they must be banked within the first eight months of your Use Year.

DVC Home Resorts to Choose From

Choosing your DVC Home Resort should be one of your most important decisions. One of the key factors of how Disney Vacation Club works is the flexibility to use your points on reservations at any of the fifteen properties within DVC’s portfolio. However, popular dates and accommodations sell out very quickly, making your Home resort priority access all the more important. Every DVC contract is attached to a Home resort, which is where your points are deeded and where you have priority access to make reservations before anyone else. While most Disney Vacation Club Resorts are near Walt Disney World in Orlando, there are also properties in California, Hawaii, Vero Beach, and Hilton Head! Here’s a list of all of the resorts so you can decide which Disney Vacation Club resorts might work best for you.

All DVC Resorts:

How Far in Advance Can You Make Reservations at a DVC Resort?

Home resort owners can make reservations up to 11 months before check-in. So, if you are looking to make a reservation during high seasons like Christmas or spring break, you should plan to make your reservation in January.

If you are hoping to stay at a different DVC resort other than your Home resort, you have up to 7 months in advance to make reservations. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to make reservations during highly popular weeks outside of your Home resort because rooms fill up so quickly. This is why you should carefully consider your Home resort if you plan to travel during the most popular seasons.

How Do Disney Vacation Club Expiration Dates Work?

Disney Vacation Club works by offering points, but it’s also important to keep in mind that all DVC contracts expire. Contrary to popular belief, DVC is not an RTU timeshare. It’s actually considered leasehold ownership. This is because Disney Vacation Club leases the land each resort is on from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. RTU timeshare is meant for timeshare buyers that do not live in the country where they own. Furthermore, most RTU contracts will have varying expirations, depending on when the owner purchased them.

Every DVC resort contract, however, has the same expiration date for every owner, no matter what. DVC contracts last normally up to 50 years from the time of opening.

DVC Resort	Contract Expiration
Vero Beach	1/31/2042
Hilton Head	1/31/2042
BoardWalk Villas	1/31/2042
Boulder Ridge at Wilderness Lodge	1/31/2042
Beach Club Villas	1/31/2042
Old Key West	1/31/2042 – or – 1/31/2057
Saratoga Springs Resort	1/31/2054
Animal Kingdom Villas	1/31/2057
Bay Lake Tower	1/31/2060
Grand Californian	1/31/2060
Aulani	1/31/2062
Grand Floridian	1/31/2064
Polynesian	1/31/2066
Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge	1/31/2068
Riviera Resort	1/31/2070

Notice that Old Key West Resort has two different expiration dates. This is because Old Key West owners were given the option in 2007 to extend their contracts for 15 years. When you are browsing the resale market, you’ll find both expiration years floating around, and that’s because some owners did not choose to extend their contracts.

Remember, if you purchase Disney Vacation Club on the secondary market, your contract will still expire by the same date listed above. Even though the ownership is new to you, don’t forget that all DVC contracts expire within 50 years of the resort opening.

How Do Disney Vacation Club Member Benefits Work?

Of course, the resorts are the main draw of Disney Vacation Club, but there are other benefits for DVC members too. So, how do these DVC benefits work? When you buy 150 points directly from DVC, you get access to exclusive discounts on annual passes, dining, and shopping. You also get access to member-exclusive events like Moonlight Magic and DVC lounges with complimentary food and drinks.

What to Consider When Buying Points

Larger families will need to plan to have more points for larger accommodations with multiple bedrooms. If you plan to travel during high seasons, it will also cost more points since demand is so high. By looking at the DVC point charts for every resort, you can get a rough idea of how many points you’ll need every year, depending on the time of year and how much space you need. This changes yearly, but you can always buy DVC points resale for less.

Looking at point charts can also help you choose your Home resort, as some don’t offer as many multi-bedroom units or cost more in points. For example, the Riviera Resort has three-bedroom accommodations available, and it’s the newest DVC resort, which can make it cost more in points. Meanwhile, less visited resorts tend to be cheaper overall. Fortunately, all DVC resorts have great amenities and accommodations, so there’s bound to be one that works best for you!

Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It?

The first thing to remember when you buy any timeshare is that timeshares are not financial investments, and DVC works the same way. While the DVC resale market has seen prices increase and some owners have made a profit on their ownership, it should not be your end goal when you purchase a contract. The timeshare resale market can be volatile, and DVC can change its resale restrictions at any time.

Disney Vacation Club is worth it if you can make it work for your travel preferences and lifestyle. If you plan on using your DVC points every year and you love all things Disney, you’ll probably love DVC.

Some families may not find the product worthwhile anymore, and if this is you, you can choose to sell your DVC points. Or before you purchase, you can even take a look at DVC resales to find a great deal. Keep in mind that you will likely break even within a few years of using your ownership as opposed to booking a hotel reservation at a Disney resort every year.

How Much Does DVC Cost?

The cost of Disney Vacation Club can differ between buying directly from DVC vs resale. If you decide to buy DVC points directly from Disney, a baseline to expect is at least around $22,500 for 100 points. However, buying a resale can save you thousands. For example, when you buy a timeshare directly from DVC at Bay Lake Tower Disney, the cost per point is $275.00. Yet, on average, in 2024, buying a resale with Fidelity Real Estate at Bay Lake Tower costs $124.84 per point. That’s a $150 difference per point! For more information on the cost of Disney Vacation Club and how prices have changed over the years, you can find our historical data on the cost of DVC when purchased directly vs. resale.

Finance Your DVC Purchase

Some families don’t think it’s worth it to spend so much all at once, which is why our friends at Vacation Club Loans offer financing for DVC, regardless of whether you are purchasing directly from Disney or resale. Vacation Club Loans offers fast loan approval with rates as low as 11.9 percent, no prepayment penalties, and no loan origination fees. In addition, they immediately approve 100 percent of all Disney Vacation Club credit applications!

Buying DVC Resale Vs. Direct from Disney

There are pros and cons of buying DVC resale, as well as buying directly from Disney. Namely, the savings you receive when you buy resale points. However, buying DVC resale vs. direct also comes with certain restrictions that all owners must be aware of.

As of January 2019, DVC resale owners have more restrictions when it comes to using their points on reservations outside of their Home resort. With the grand opening of the Riviera Resort, Disney no longer allows resale owners to spend their points at any of the original fifteen properties. For example, If you purchase a points contract from Animal Kingdom Lodge on the resale market now, you can make reservations using those points at any of the DVC properties except for the Disney Riviera Resort or any new resorts that open in the future. Furthermore, if you purchase Riviera resale points, you can only make reservations using them at the Riviera resort. You can stay up to date with DVC resale restrictions before purchasing to make sure you’re not missing out on any of the benefits you want to receive.

So, which is better? Ultimately, that’s up to you! If you want to save thousands of dollars, buying on the resale market is a great deal. Meanwhile, if you want total access to all Disney Vacation Club destinations, buying direct might be more your style. You can even purchase your points directly from DVC first and then use the resale market to add to your ownership without losing the benefits!

Browse DVC Resale Listings from Fidelity

Now that you know how Disney Vacation Club works, you might be wondering where you can go to save big on DVC timeshares. Well, you’re already in the right place! Fidelity Real Estate has an expansive online marketplace with plenty of DVC listings. As Disney Vacation Club’s Recommended Resale Brokerage since 2005, our licensed real estate agents are experts on the brand. You can browse by resort, point allotment, Use Year, and more. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, make sure to create an account on our website and create a saved search. This will ensure you get all our latest listings that match your preferences. Need assistance? Feel free to give us a call at 1 (800) 410-8326 or email us at [email protected]. Our licensed agents are always happy to help!

What if I Don’t Want My Disney Vacation Club Timeshare Anymore?

On the other hand, if for any reason you don’t want your Disney Vacation Club timeshare anymore, we can help you too! In fact, we’ve been helping DVC owners sell their timeshares for decades. So, if DVC doesn’t work for you anymore, our licensed agents are here to help. Fill out the form below, and one of our agents will reach out to you about the next steps.