Book With A Travel Agent
Disney offers some pretty incredible discounts and promotions throughout the year. The promotions are released sporadically throughout the year and are limited to certain resorts during specific travel dates. Sure, you can follow the blogs and Disneys site and try to get the discounts on your own. However, if you book with a travel agent, you dont have to worry about any of that. Your agent is going to monitor the discounts for you and automatically apply the applicable promotions to your reservation. Believe it or not, there are a lot of really good agents out there who do not charge planning fees. Do your research and you may save quite a bit of money by booking with an educated travel agent.
There are a lot of other perks that come along with booking with a travel agent. Learn more about the benefits of using a travel agent for Disney.
Not Ready For The Financial Commitment
Disney Vacation Club can be a bad idea for anyone who needs to finance the contract long-term. If you dont have the cash to pay in the short term you may not want to consider DVC. It is a luxury purchase, not one to be financed to pay interest on. Cash is a great way to fund vacations especially if you wont miss thefunds used.
How To Buy Dvc Resales
Disney Vacation Club is a great way to enjoy vacation ownership with Disney through a points-based program. Disney always takes experiences to the next level and this is no different with timeshare. DVC provides families with savings and flexibility for Disney vacations as well as thousands of other vacation destinations around the world.
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List Of Dvc Properties Worldwide
Disney Vacation Club properties are usually based in the Orlando area near Walt Disney World, with just a few exceptions. As of 2020, the following resorts are DVC properties:
- Bay Lake Tower at Disneys Contemporary Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disneys Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas and Cabins at Disneys Wilderness Lodge
- Disneys Animal Kingdom Villas Jambo House
- Disneys Animal Kingdom Villas Kidani Village
- Disneys Beach Club Villas
- Disneys BoardWalk Villas
- Disneys Hilton Head Island Resort
- Disneys Vero Beach Resort
- The Villas at Disneys Grand Californian Hotel and Spa
You can book a stay at DVC-partner resorts all over the world online just visit the DVC website, and use the Beyond Disney World Collection filter.
Ways To Save Money On Your Disney Cruise Line Vacation
Beautiful ships, amazing ports of call, world-class service, and kids’ clubs that are second to none are only a few of the reasons that Disney Cruise Line is the most popular cruise line for families. Like most things in life however, with increased popularity comes increased cost. Saving money on a Disney Cruise vacation is challenging, but not impossible. If you put in the effort, and have a little bit of luck, you can save some real money. Here are 11 tips to help you get started!
1) Book early / Rebook onboard
Something all Disney Cruise Line experts already know is that booking your cruise early is going to get you the best price. Disney Cruise Line, like all other cruise lines, uses a tiered pricing system. The tiered pricing system is pretty simple: as the ship fills up, the price for a cabin goes up. A balcony stateroom that starts out at $3500 can jump in price to over $5000 on popular sailings. Disney Cruise Line normally releases their sailings twice a year and when they do, people are up early to book first and get the lowest possible price. Rebooking when you are onboard the ship is another way to cut the cost of your next cruise. Disney typically offers a 10% discount on future sailings when you rebook onboard. They will typically offer a half price deposit on itineraries that are 7 nights or longer. Sometimes though, it’s better to leave it to a professional – which brings me to #2.
2) Use a travel agent
3) Disney Chase Visa
4) The Target gift card trick
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Disney Vacation Club: How It Works Financing Costs And More
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the authors opinions and recommendations alone. It may not have been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.
If youre a Disney fanatic and love to travel, youve probably heard about Disney Vacation Club, a timeshare program that allows you to stay at Disney properties around the world. You can use your timeshare points to book vacation accommodations year after year and get discounts on Disney theme park tickets and merchandise.
However, joining DVC can be expensive. Youll need to have approximately $20,000 or obtain financing to get started, which is a substantial investment for most people. If you want to become a member but need help with DVC financing, heres what you need to know.
Financing Your Disney Vacation Club Resale
Theres no question that deciding to take the DVC plungecan be an expensive proposition. Forsome people, paying cash up front for their contract is the only way togo. For others though, financing the DVCcontract makes more sense. Regardless of your situation, there is a financingoption that is right for you.
Some people compare the purchase of a Disney Vacation Clubmembership to buying a car. They areroughly about the same price but the bigdifference is your car depreciates the minute you drive it off the lot. Not so with Disney Vacation Club. For example, the average price per point on aresale contract that we sold in 2014 was $88.50. Last year, that price was $120! Thats a 35% increase in just 4 years.
For those that want to finance, you have severaloptions. Many people choose to use ahome equity loan or a HELOC because they can get very low interest rates. There are several finance companies that wework with, and well outline four of them below and what they offer:
Competitive rates starting at 9.9%
Lightstream Financial Lightstream Financial is a division of Sun Trust bank. Lightstream offers loansfor people with good to excellent credit at rates from 7.44% to 13.9% .
Given the unique nature of each individualscredit situation, LightStream believes there is no single definition forexcellent and substantial credit. However, we find individuals with excellentand substantial credit usually share the following characteristics:
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Disneyland Tickets Layaway Program
Disneyland vacations are expensive. Period. Its hard to get around that. The average family saves for 5 years before taking their trip which typically costs several thousands of dollars. The last thing you want to do is put their trip to Walt Disney Resort on a credit card and pay interest on it. Of all the parts that make up a Disneyland vacation, the tickets can be the most expensive. Thats why Park Savers offers a Disneyland Ticket Layaway Program.
The layaway program is simple and easy to use. Its already built-in to our checkout so there are no additional steps outside of that process and its done completely online. Our layaway program gives you 6 months of no payments and no interest on your ticket purchase today. Thats right, no payments and no interest for 6 months. Thats half a year to pay on your tickets without worrying about missing a payment or building interest.
For details on using the layaway program during checkout visit our Terms Page. Each ticket page also has information on this program.
How Much Do You Have To Put Down On A Disney Vacation
So in order to lock in a Disney vacation, you only have to make a $200 deposit on the day that you book the package. This is great and makes it more affordable for guests to get their trip booked and locked in at a nice low rate. Once you have booked your trip, you have up until 30 days before your travel to pay off the trip. If you are going to need a longer time to be able to pay it off, that will be something that you will need to consider when choosing the date to book the trip. Payments do not have to be a set amount, or on a regular schedule. You get to choose how much and how often you make a payment, as long as it is paid in full by your 30 days mark.
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Stock Up On Disney Gift Cards
One of the best ways to save for a Disney vacation is to purchase Disney Gift Cards. You can find these at most grocery stores, pharmacies, and large retailers. If you start purchasing Disney Gift Cards months ahead of your trip, you will find that you have plenty of spending money when it is time to go. You can use the gift cards to make payments towards your package, as well as pay for dining and most everything while you are on vacation.
TravelingMom Tip: If you have a Target RedCard you can save 5% on your Disney Gift Card purchases. Other large retailers such as Sams Club offer gift cards at a discounted rate.
Disney Vacation Club Financing Options
- 6 months ago
- Buying
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Joining Disney Vacation Club is one of the most exciting decisions a family can make. Undoubtedly, DVC is one of the best vacation clubs out there and offers a points-based system that provides flexibility and freedom for owners. But its no secret that buying DVC points is not cheap. Even when you browse Disney Vacation Club points for sale on the secondary market, you will come to realize that DVC is one of the few brands that holds its value relatively well. Whether you are buying DVC resale or directly from Disney Vacation Club, it doesnt have to be a stressful experience. There are Disney Vacation Club financing options available for everyone.
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How To Budget For A Family Trip To Disney
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list ofour partnersandhere’s how we make money.
One of the biggest roadblocks for families when it comes to planning a Disney vacation is the high cost. But believe it or not, it is possible to pull off a Disney vacation on a budget.
Here are some money-saving tips to help you save at both Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Guide To Financing A Disney Vacation Club Resale Purchase
When you buy a Disney Vacation Club membership directly from Disney, you can obtain financing from them, as well as other lending institutions. When you buy resale, you do not have the option of getting financing from Disney but you do have other excellent choices.
Heres a guide on how you can obtain financing for a Disney Vacation Club resale purchase.
Loans from banks
The most popular form of financing for a DVC points resale is through a small home equity loan or signature loan from your local bank.
When your home is worth more than what you owe on the mortgage, you can borrow from the bank with your home as security. Small home equity loans often come with lower interest rates, and approval for one is generally easy to obtain.
A signature loan may be obtained with only the borrowers signature and promise to pay as security. This type of loan typically comes with a higher interest rate because of the lack of actual collateral.
Timeshare financing
There are several lending institutions that specialize in timeshares and offer attractive financing options for DVC points. These include:
- Vacation Club Loans
One of the leading vacation and timeshare financing institutions in the country, Vacation Club Loans offers an interest rate discount for DVC resale purchases. They can finance up to 80% of the purchase price at low interest rates, starting at 9.9% for DVC points only. Loans are payable up to 5 years.
- Monera Financial
- Timeshare Lending
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Discover The Joy Of Being Adisney Vacation Club Member
Disney Vacation Club purchased through resale allows families to vacation at all 15 different DVC resorts as well as thousands of resort options around the world through RCI. Rather than a traditional timeshare setup where you purchase an amount of time or date range, Disney Vacation Club runs on a points system which allows Members to exchange points for stays at different resorts. Different resorts and different seasons in the year can affect how many points a nights stay costs, so choosing the right size Membership is key to finding a magical fit for you and your family.
Disney Travel Agents Can Set Up A Payment Plan
A Disney travel specialist can guide you through every aspect of your trip from the planning stage to the booking stage. They can make your Advanced Dining Reservations, FastPasses selections, and even your stroller rentals. Plus, your personalized agent will monitor the new promotions for you and automatically apply the new promotions to your existing reservation.
Surprisingly, the services of most Disney travel agents are 100% commission-free. This means that youll never pay more than if you had booked the entire trip on your own .
And, since its the agents job to stay on top of the discounts and promotions, then theres a good chance that the cost of your trip will be less when all is said and done.
Working with an educated, commission-free Disney travel specialist can make all of the difference, and it makes your life A LOT less stressful.
If you use a Disney specialist, be sure theyll be able to handle a payment plan. The agency will be responsible for sending your payments directly to Disney. The agent will use your credit card number to book the trip and the payment will then be processed by Disney. No legitimate agency will hold your money. Rather, your payments should go straight to Disney.
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Dues Increases Vs Resort Rate Increases
The effect of annual dues increases on the total cost of DVC membership must be considered. One issue to keep in mind is that Disney can increase dues significantly from year to year, subject to a limit of 15% each year and a requirement to charge only for the actual operating expenses and reasonably expected necessary reserves.
A portion of your dues is allocated to a capital reserve fund for major refurbishments. Adjustments are always possible if the projected reserve needs vary from actual experience, although Disney has been in lodging business for many decades and has considerable experience in what long-term costs to expect. Special assessments are possible if something unforeseen occurs .
Here are some examples of historical increases:
- Old Key West Resort, the oldest of the DVC resorts had dues of $2.51 in 1991 and had dues of $7.84 in 2020. That means it has averaged a 3.87% increase, compounded annually.
- BoardWalk Villas went from $3.70 in 1996 to $7.37 in 2020, an average annual compounded increase of 2.79%.
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge went from $3.62 in 2000 to $7.78 in 2020, an average annual compounded increase of 3.71%.
Keep in mind, though, the cash cost of staying in one of Disneys resort rooms has also gone up significantly over time, and the cash cost of a resort room starts out much higher than the dues for an equivalent stay. Like the DVC resort dues increases, the rate increases at the Disney resort hotels are not consistent. For example:
Avoid Eating In The Park
Not everyone knows that you can bring your own food to the parks, store it in a locker and eat at one of the picnic areas outside the entrances.
Just dont pack it in a hard-sided cooler thats where Disney draws the line. Also, plan on packing snacks to keep in your bag and enjoy throughout the day, and bring a water bottle to refill at drinking fountains. And be sure to eat breakfast at the hotel before heading in to save money and to avoid wasting time once in the park.
» Learn more: 5 things to know about the Disney credit cards
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S To Finance Your Dvc Purchase
Whether you are financing a DVC resale or a direct purchase from Disney, the steps are mostly the same to secure a financing loan. DVC timeshare financing is simple with the right lender. Wondering how Disney Vacation Club financing works? Follow along: