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Disney Vacation Club: Welcome Home… Now Pay Your Dues · The Worst: Beyond the Magic

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the worst beyond the magic, where we love Disney enough to tell you everything wrong with it.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: Today we're talking about Disney Vacation Club, the magical world where you spend thousands of dollars to guarantee you'll spend thousands more.
0:12
SPEAKER_04: And then every year Disney sends you a bill just to remind you that you own it.
0:16
SPEAKER_04: Welcome home.
0:17
SPEAKER_04: And now pay your dues.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: Jimmy and I are both Disney Vacation Club owners, and we love it.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: I just happen to have more points.
0:25
SPEAKER_04: You you have to bring that up every opportunity when we talk about it, don't you?
0:29
SPEAKER_04: That's because I have more opportunities.
0:30
SPEAKER_04: I have more points.
0:33
SPEAKER_04: Congratulations.
0:33
SPEAKER_04: You're the Warren Buffett of Mickey Mouse Timeshares.
0:37
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
0:37
SPEAKER_04: I'm also in debt.
0:39
SPEAKER_04: As we are.
0:40
SPEAKER_04: Today we're breaking down what DVC actually is and what the benefits are, the costs, and whether or not we'd buy it again.
0:47
SPEAKER_04: And then we're going to rank the best and worst of DVC resorts.
0:50
SPEAKER_04: Because nothing says financially responsible.
0:52
SPEAKER_04: Two grown men arguing about who owns more imaginary Disney currency.
1:00
SPEAKER_04: Let's explain what the Disney Vacation Club actually is, because I think a lot of people hear DVC and have absolutely no idea what the heck we're talking about.
1:09
SPEAKER_04: No idea.
1:10
SPEAKER_04: So what is it?
1:11
SPEAKER_01: Or they just think it's a timeshare.
1:13
SPEAKER_04: It it is a fancy, is a fancy timeshare, for sure.
1:17
SPEAKER_04: It's vacation ownership.
1:19
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
1:20
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
1:20
SPEAKER_04: With Mickey Mouse.
1:21
SPEAKER_04: Come on.
1:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:23
SPEAKER_04: Anyway, what he wouldn't cheat us.
1:25
SPEAKER_04: No, he absolutely would not cheat us.
1:27
SPEAKER_04: Has our best interest of mind in everything he does.
1:29
SPEAKER_04: A hundred percent.
1:31
SPEAKER_04: What is Disney Vacation Club?
1:33
SPEAKER_04: DVC is Disney's points-based vacation club ownership program.
1:38
SPEAKER_04: That's a lot of words.
1:39
SPEAKER_04: It's structured at very official, straight from the bullet points itself off DVC's website.
1:46
SPEAKER_04: Structured, structured as a timeshare.
1:48
SPEAKER_04: Members purchased a real estate interest, a vacation club ownership interest associated with a home resort.
1:55
SPEAKER_04: My home resort, as I mentioned many times, is Oak West, and Bougie P.
1:59
SPEAKER_04: Morrison over here, his home resorts are what?
2:02
SPEAKER_04: I mean the Pali and the Riv.
2:04
SPEAKER_04: Of course you are.
2:05
SPEAKER_04: That is the Polynesian and the Riviera.
2:08
SPEAKER_04: Bouge.
2:10
SPEAKER_04: Instead of owning a instead of owning a fixed vacation week like most timeshares, members are given a receive an allocation of points every single year.
2:20
SPEAKER_04: Those points can be used to reserve eligible accommodations, subject to availability, and of course membership rules.
2:26
SPEAKER_04: All right, Pete, you want to take the basics?
2:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: So you you pick your, like you said, you pick your home resort, and I've got two, you've got one.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: Sorry.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: You may have mentioned it, yes.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: You may I'm gonna get up and leave because you you've hurt my feeling already.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: You've you've hurt my feeling.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: The one feeling?
2:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, just the one I have.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: Um so but members get the 11th month booking window if you have a contract with that resort.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: So if I wanted to book a Polynesian, um, I would I I have the ability to book 11 months early.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: But if I don't own at that resort and I want to go, so when we go to January and we want to stay at Bay Lake, we have to wait till the seven-month booking window to use those points uh at the hotel that we were not members at.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: And so we've got those points, we can use them at 11 months, we can use them at seven months.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: And if we for some reason don't want to, like during COVID, I didn't use points, I banked them.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if we're gonna talk about selling points.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: We can we can bring that up at some point in time, but you can bank unused points.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: I wish I'm so often borrowing, which I'll tell you about.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: So I get like 200 a year.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: And so if I didn't use those 200, I could put them in the bank and save them for next year, and then you use like 250, 300 points.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, however, I'm always borrowing because borrowing, because we get them in December.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: When's your use month?
3:44
SPEAKER_04: My use year is July, I believe.
3:46
SPEAKER_04: So my points hit my bank every year in July.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and mine hit me every year in December.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: So we get those new points added into our account, and so from December you use the 200 points.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: And so that's the the point system, which we'll get more into.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: So it's basically you purchase your contract, get a certain amount of points, and bank them or use them or borrow them from the previous year or the following year.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: What's the other big catch to this that we're not talking about yet, Jamie?
4:19
SPEAKER_04: That we are forever indebted to Mickey Mouse, and that's we well, not only financially, but with points-wise, uh, like you mentioned, I am always not so much banking my points.
4:30
SPEAKER_04: I am always borrowing my points from future use years on in the future, which is not which is not a good way to do business, but it gets to where you want to go when you want to do it.
4:40
SPEAKER_04: So that's that's one that's one way.
4:42
SPEAKER_04: The other way is just to buy more points, and that one you won't have that problem.
4:45
SPEAKER_04: But you know, that costs that costs real dollars, not Mickey Mouse dollars.
4:49
SPEAKER_04: But speaking of dollars, let's talk about the part that nobody wants to talk about, and that's annual dues.
4:56
SPEAKER_04: I just got my annual dues slip uh for this year.
4:58
SPEAKER_04: Uh that's no fun to look at.
5:00
SPEAKER_04: But what annual dues are by the year or month to month?
5:04
SPEAKER_04: I do pay month to month, so I get receive a statement every month.
5:08
SPEAKER_04: And for uh homeowners, that's pretty much just like paying it via escrow, just like you would your insurance on your on your on your home that you own.
5:15
SPEAKER_04: So I depend on the monthly that covers annual dues cover operating costs, expenses, maintenance on the properties, reserves, uh, of course, the golf courses that are there, and other association costs.
5:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh, like any other timeshare or like any other HOA, really maybe be a better way to explain it.
5:33
SPEAKER_04: Those costs do and can can go up every single year.
5:37
SPEAKER_00: All right, so it gets super confusing.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: So we've got points at this point.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: We get a certain amount every year, we can use them.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: So if we've paid for the contract up front, that's it.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: We've got it.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: Or if we've taken out a loan through Disney to pay for the points along the way, um, we're paying our loan each month, and then we're paying our annual dues each month, right?
5:57
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
5:58
SPEAKER_04: That's exactly right.
5:59
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
5:59
SPEAKER_04: The key is to get that loan paid off as quick as you can if you do finance it.
6:03
SPEAKER_04: Of course, Disney does offer financing like any other thing, but the key is to get that paid off as quick as you can.
6:08
SPEAKER_04: So that way you'll only owe your dues every month and or every year, uh and you no longer have that monthly fee in that that loan.
6:16
SPEAKER_04: All right.
6:16
SPEAKER_04: This is the best part.
6:17
SPEAKER_04: This is what I like.
6:18
SPEAKER_04: How long do we have our DVC points or our timeshare for?
6:23
SPEAKER_04: So we are not indebted to Mickey Mouse forever.
6:26
SPEAKER_04: And it's based on how long you purchased your DVC membership.
6:32
SPEAKER_04: So my DVC membership expires in 2075.
6:37
SPEAKER_04: What years I now?
6:38
SPEAKER_04: 2026?
6:38
SPEAKER_04: Man, how old will I be then?
6:40
SPEAKER_04: I don't even want to think about it.
6:41
SPEAKER_04: But that's how long that's telling me you've only had it for a year.
6:45
SPEAKER_04: Because what the point I'm trying to make is the contracts are for 50 years.
6:51
SPEAKER_04: See, that's the math I didn't do in my head just now.
6:53
SPEAKER_04: Uh we've definitely had a longer than a year.
6:55
SPEAKER_04: We've had we bought it really awful timing.
6:57
SPEAKER_04: We bought it uh we came home from Disney in February of 2020, just before the pandemic happened, and we bought it that very first week in March of 2020.
7:06
SPEAKER_04: Then what happened, Pete?
7:08
SPEAKER_04: The world ended.
7:09
SPEAKER_04: The world ended.
7:10
SPEAKER_04: And so nobody went anywhere.
7:12
SPEAKER_04: Yep, it sure did.
7:13
SPEAKER_04: Awful timing on my on our part.
7:15
SPEAKER_04: But um, we thought it was a good decision at the time, and we didn't know the world was gonna end, and here we are so many years later, still doing it.
7:22
SPEAKER_04: Luckily, Disney was very forgiving during that time, as much were allowed of vacation properties during COVID with bending the rules and what was allowed and what wasn't allowed, as far as like like Pete said, or banking your your points, so they allowed that during that time a little bit more than they would have what they would have normally.
7:39
SPEAKER_04: But your contract expiration is a thing.
7:42
SPEAKER_04: Um, I and I thought mine was 2075, maybe it's 2065.
7:46
SPEAKER_04: I have to look at it now, but for a long time.
7:48
SPEAKER_04: There it's it's it's for a long time.
7:50
SPEAKER_04: And uh the key obviously is it's just like a car loan.
7:53
SPEAKER_04: You don't want to keep paying that monthly payment for that amount of time.
7:56
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, you want to pay as quick as you can to get rid of it.
7:59
SPEAKER_04: There is a break-even point, which we can talk about as well.
8:02
SPEAKER_04: Uh, but typically those those contracts do last for 50 years, like Pete mentioned.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: So if you got in in 2020, you're you'll expire in 2070.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: That's 50 years.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I knew it was somewhere around there.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: Somewhere around there, yeah.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: So we know you I I got mine, I got my first contract in 2016.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: I can't remember when I got my second contract.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: It was like 21, maybe to add up to the 210 points.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: But uh you we've got our we how many do you own?
8:34
SPEAKER_04: I own a hundred and six yes, it's it's it's less, Pete.
8:38
SPEAKER_04: It's less.
8:39
SPEAKER_04: Again, I'm gonna you hurt my feeling just now.
8:42
SPEAKER_04: I have I have a tired feeling and a hungry feeling and a sad feeling, and you hit the you hit the sad feeling.
8:48
SPEAKER_04: Right.
8:49
SPEAKER_04: Um I have a hundred, we have we own 175 points at Old Q West.
8:52
SPEAKER_04: So again, every every July, those reset every single year, and you can bank and borrow it should you choose to do so.
8:59
SPEAKER_04: You can stay at any DBC resort you want to.
9:02
SPEAKER_04: Now, we'll get a little bit more detail into this later.
9:05
SPEAKER_04: Just because you own a DBC at OQS or P owns at the Polynesian of the River, doesn't mean we have to stay strictly at those.
9:12
SPEAKER_04: We can stay at any single one of them that we want.
9:14
SPEAKER_04: Again, we'll we'll get into this a little bit later.
9:16
SPEAKER_04: But um, to answer your questions, I've owned since 2020.
9:20
SPEAKER_04: Home resort is old QS with 175 points.
9:23
SPEAKER_04: And tell me why you decided to purchase.
9:25
SPEAKER_04: How did you get into it?
9:26
SPEAKER_04: How'd you fall into the mouse trap?
9:29
SPEAKER_04: That's a great question.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: I and it it people get confused.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: So I started going when Mia was four, and so we went before a deployment, and I was like, well, I'm gonna go deploy, might as well go and make this a big deal and go to Disney.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: So she was four.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: And then when I came back, I was all excited.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: I had all that deployment money, and I'm like, you know what, let's go again.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: And so she was five.
9:53
SPEAKER_00: And then at that point, it was cool.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: We had a great time on both, and then we ended up going when she was six, and around that same time, we started thinking, you know, is this sustainable going to shades of green?
10:04
SPEAKER_00: We ended up going to the contemporary, which is a lot more expensive, but we got the military discount, so they talked me into because I'm an easy target, they talked me into upgrading to the club level at the contemporary.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: And at that point, I was like, this is the way to live.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: This is amazing.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: Shades is amazing for all our military folks.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: Shades is amazing.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: But I was like, the the contemporary, the monorail, we're a Disney family now.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: And so let me go to this meeting.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: They're like, they're gonna give me some fast passes.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: And so I went to the meeting because they offered me a free drink and fast passes.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: And so we did it.
10:38
SPEAKER_00: And I so yeah, I mean, at that point I was kind of sold.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: And then fast forward about six months later, I did get their information and everything.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: Fast forward about six months, six months later, and we ended up coming into a little bit of money.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: And so we were set up.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Well, this is great.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe we should look back at the DVC thing and put that money towards that.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: And we did, and it was by far one of the best decisions because every year, and we're not trying to sell you on DVC, we're trying to tell you about it, but every year has been the ability to have a first class vacation with those points that we use.
11:10
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, exactly.
11:12
SPEAKER_04: I couldn't have said it better myself.
11:13
SPEAKER_04: That's perfect.
11:14
SPEAKER_04: Best way to explain that.
11:15
SPEAKER_04: There's a difference between playing rack rate a rack rate at Disney's Polynesian versus DVC, or staying at one of the value resorts or staying at one of the modern resorts, or staying in your own deluxe DBC villa.
11:27
SPEAKER_04: There's a huge difference.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: And I I'll talk about selling points too.
11:32
SPEAKER_00: I really do want to bring that up.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: I know Disney's kind of cracking it down, but we'll wait a little bit longer.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: So stay with us if you want to hear about selling on DVC as well.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: But Jamie, I did want to ask you a couple questions.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Was your when you purchased, um, and I've done this twice now, so I know the answer, but I want to tell the people, did you think the process was overwhelming?
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Was it difficult?
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Did you have to show up in person?
11:52
SPEAKER_00: Can you tell me about that?
11:54
SPEAKER_04: No.
11:54
SPEAKER_04: So because the world was starting to end and our DVC salesperson was West Coast based in a California Disneyland, we did everything online.
12:04
SPEAKER_04: Uh, it was super easy.
12:05
SPEAKER_04: And of course they would they make it, they want to make it very easy for you.
12:07
SPEAKER_04: We did everything via Zoom call, we did everything via online documents, e-signing, all just like just buying a house.
12:14
SPEAKER_04: It's it truly is a transactional experience, just like buying a home.
12:18
SPEAKER_04: It's essentially it's a deed to the property, is what it is.
12:20
SPEAKER_04: So you must have done the online notary as well, then.
12:24
SPEAKER_04: I believe we did, yes.
12:26
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
12:26
SPEAKER_04: So the process was now overwhelming at all.
12:29
SPEAKER_04: Now, also to add insult to injury, we had never stayed at Old Key West before at all, and I had never seen it.
12:35
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we normally we normally stayed at uh Pop Century and/or we stayed at Art of Animation in one of the family suites.
12:41
SPEAKER_04: I had never seen Ole Key West.
12:43
SPEAKER_04: I bought that site unseen.
12:47
SPEAKER_04: I I don't know, looking back at it now, was it a really good decision?
12:50
SPEAKER_04: It was the smartest financial decision I could make at the time.
12:52
SPEAKER_04: They were the the 175 points for OQ West were that were the cheapest per point that DVC had to offer.
12:59
SPEAKER_04: And in addition to that, my sister with whom you've met was a cast member at the time, and I was able to use her cast member discount to purchase that contract as well.
13:06
SPEAKER_04: So we had a little bit more off the top than people normally do, in addition to getting that uh cheap price per point at the at the essentially the cheapest DBC resort there was to buy at the time.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: I gotta be honest with you, I don't, unless you're like a diehard for a certain resort, I do not see the point of picking a resort.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: You I for me, it's picking the best deal.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: So we like the poly, and I I like to be able to book well in advance, but most of the time that I'm going in at that seven-month mark, I still get what I'm looking for.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if I want a two-bedroom at Animal Kingdom at the seven-month mark, I still manage to get it.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: So if I'm throwing out advice and you know, you can listen or not, because you know, here we are.
13:50
SPEAKER_00: I would say go with the value, go with whatever the deal is versus whatever your favorite resort is.
13:57
SPEAKER_04: See, I'm gonna disagree with you.
13:58
SPEAKER_04: We uh shocking.
14:01
SPEAKER_04: Shocking.
14:02
SPEAKER_04: Uh I think we have to, right?
14:03
SPEAKER_04: That's the whole premise of the podcast.
14:04
SPEAKER_04: We we we have to pretend to like each other and agree to disagree sometimes.
14:08
SPEAKER_04: Uh so I would say if you want to buy look into DVC, you want to book or you want to buy where you want to stay.
14:17
SPEAKER_04: So if you want to stay at the Riviera, if you want to stay at the Polynesian, you want that 11-month booking window.
14:22
SPEAKER_04: So that's that's the benefit to buying where you want to stay.
14:26
SPEAKER_04: Is yes, you may pay more of a premium to buy that contract because it's more uh a luxurious or it's more of a more popular resort, but you're gonna you're gonna get that 11-month booking window, and you almost have a guarantee that you're gonna get that same room or whatever room you want at that home resort every single time you go to book because you own there.
14:44
SPEAKER_04: So, pros and cons, right?
14:46
SPEAKER_04: You could go the cheap route like I did, or you could go based on what's your favorite resort to stay at.
14:52
SPEAKER_04: Again, you could stay at any resort with the amount of points that you have, uh, but it just depends on your booking window of where uh where you own.
15:02
SPEAKER_02: When you bought, did you have the rare remorse?
15:05
SPEAKER_01: Did you have no buyer's remorse?
15:11
SPEAKER_00: I haven't yet.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: Um there's days where I'm like, what am I doing?
15:14
SPEAKER_00: But I I think I've talked about this quite a bit on this podcast and just in life.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: Like a lot of our milestones and a lot of the things we do involve around Disney.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: We went to Disney um in Paris, we went to Disney for me as graduation.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: We've gone for birthdays, we've gone for celebrations.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: We it's a part of our life.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: So again, it goes back to I wouldn't be able to sustain the level of quality and the bouginess that I like without this contract.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Agreed.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: And we haven't even talked about discounts yet, which is great.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they it's not just like a give me, like, here's some you know, back in the day you got a lot.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: You used to get park tickets and you used to get all kinds of things, but that DVC discount on merchandise is 20% off.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: And as you know, there's that merchandise is pretty damn expensive.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: So 20% is pretty significant.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a decent chunk for sure.
16:04
SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
16:05
SPEAKER_04: Have you had any remorse?
16:07
SPEAKER_04: No remorse.
16:08
SPEAKER_04: I wish I would have I wish I would have seen or stated Oaky West prior to me buying that contract, but again, I wasn't looking for, oh my god, this is where I want to stay every year.
16:18
SPEAKER_04: I was looking more so for the value.
16:20
SPEAKER_04: What is what is what is the most value contract that is that is out there?
16:25
SPEAKER_04: And Oakie West was that for us.
16:27
SPEAKER_04: And again, we've we've since stayed there and we love it because the rooms are giant.
16:31
SPEAKER_04: They are the largest rooms on Disney property.
16:34
SPEAKER_04: They're huge.
16:35
SPEAKER_04: I've had a three-bedroom grand villa there.
16:37
SPEAKER_04: I we normally stay in a two-bedroom.
16:39
SPEAKER_04: We're going in a couple weeks here with our friends.
16:41
SPEAKER_04: We're going to share a two-bedroom villa with them.
16:43
SPEAKER_04: It's a it's a nine people in a two-bedroom villa.
16:46
SPEAKER_04: That's a lot of people.
16:47
SPEAKER_04: And it's another cost that we don't have to pay on top of tickets, on top of the dining plan, on top of anything else.
16:54
SPEAKER_04: That cost is already taken care of because we're DVC members.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: And with those villas, I think it's a big point to.
17:01
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're not saving money on DVC.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: You're paying you're paying for DVC.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: But one of the things that we also really, really love is that you can afford those one and two bedroom rooms when you have DVC points, and those one and two bedroom rooms all come with the kitchenette and the fridge.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: So you can literally fill it with food.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: We never buy the meal, well, we hardly ever buy the meal plan because we get groceries delivered as soon as we get there, fill that refrigerator up, and you can do several meals or just snacks right there in the room.
17:30
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
17:31
SPEAKER_04: No, I agree.
17:31
SPEAKER_04: We do we do normally a splurge for the meal plan just because we have our families have little ones and they're like doing character meals.
17:38
SPEAKER_04: And character meals for the for those who don't know, we're like the rack rate cost for those, like paying out of pocket, is insane.
17:45
SPEAKER_04: Like it's like it could be over six or seven hundred dollars for a family of four or family of five to eat at a character meal.
17:51
SPEAKER_04: So when you break down the the dining plan, the way to get the most out of that is to buy the the dining plan for specifically for a character meal.
17:59
SPEAKER_04: So that's that's a whole different episode than we've talked about in the past.
18:02
SPEAKER_04: Go back to our dining episode and listen to that one if you want to know more about that.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: So we'll counter that point.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: I'll counter that point before you move on because DVC does also offer up usually a 10% discount on meals.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: So if you're using your dis DVC card or point uh identify that you're a member, they'll also give you a discount on the meals.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: So if you're doing that math problem of am I getting enough from the meal plan, am I eating enough?
18:27
SPEAKER_00: You also have to take into consideration that you get a discount at the restaurants because of DVC.
18:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and that's that's not all restaurants.
18:34
SPEAKER_04: That's only some of them specifically, but it never hurts to ask.
18:38
SPEAKER_04: If you're not on the meal plan, certainly, and if you are a DBC member, ask before you check out.
18:42
SPEAKER_04: Ask, do you are you have it, do you have any annual passholder discounts?
18:45
SPEAKER_04: Or are you having DBC discounts?
18:46
SPEAKER_04: What discounts do you offer?
18:48
SPEAKER_04: They may say none.
18:49
SPEAKER_04: At least you asked.
18:51
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
18:52
SPEAKER_04: So DVC isn't an investment.
18:56
SPEAKER_04: It's a way to prepay for vacations you haven't already taken yet.
18:59
SPEAKER_04: Is that how they sold it to you?
19:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I do remember Megan, and I won't give her last name, but she was amazing.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: She she had me hook, line, and sinker.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: She was just fantastic, a great saleswoman.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: I hope she has risen the DVC ranks and is doing really well.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: If you're listening to this, Megan, thank you for introducing DVC to us.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: And I will say one of the things that she said over and over again is if you're enjoying your vacation at the contemporary, this is a way that you can keep having those vacations over and over again.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: And then you can eventually, when you're tired of going, you can hand it down to your kids.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I'm at an age where eventually I may not want to go every year, but because we have it for 50 years, like I can hand it off to my daughter Mia, and she and her friends can start going, or her and her family can start going, and it's continues to be a tradition.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: You know, there Disney's buying into our bloodline.
19:51
SPEAKER_04: That's what that's what you're doing.
19:52
SPEAKER_04: You can you can put it in your will and and deed it down to your kids.
19:56
SPEAKER_04: It's like Pete said.
20:00
SPEAKER_04: It's a deed that you own.
20:02
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, do with it what you want.
20:05
SPEAKER_04: That brings me to reselling.
20:07
SPEAKER_04: Let's say you come upon the time, and not that Pete and I would ever give out parts, but if you want to put yours on the resale market, they Disney does a really great job of keeping their valued timeshare at a certain level or certain cost uh on the resale market.
20:23
SPEAKER_04: So they don't let that dip below a certain level.
20:25
SPEAKER_04: So they keep the value of your contract very, very high.
20:28
SPEAKER_04: If you look at it compared to like Hilton timeshares or Marriott timeshares or any any other or IHG timeshares, any other timeshare company you can think of out there, the the cost-benefit analysis versus DBC versus your cost benefit analysis is any one of those other ones over period of time is significantly more with DVC than it is any other one.
20:49
SPEAKER_04: So you're if you buy into any one of those other timeshares, you're you're uh it could it could drop your value could drop over time significantly versus DVC.
20:58
SPEAKER_04: It hold it holds its its head above water pretty well.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, let me throw this out there too.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: If you are considering selling, you you you you have a good chance of recouping or not losing the farm or making it worth making it so it's like you you failed at this.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: Like you can sell it, you can get out of it, and you're not gonna be miserable.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: It's not like a car, like Jamie's saying, it you're you're gonna get your value back.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: However, if you're buying a secondhand DVC contract, you're not going to have the same level of privileges as buying it straight from Disney.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: So just keep that in mind as you're buying things secondhand, you will not get the same level of privileges.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: So if you're thinking about buying it, I would consider going right to the source.
21:40
SPEAKER_04: So if if for your number one contract, if you're seriously thinking about doing this, I would go direct, like Pete said, buy direct through Disney, that very first contract.
21:47
SPEAKER_04: If you want to buy a follow-up contract, which I would love to do one day, add on point, add on itis is a thing.
21:52
SPEAKER_04: You I would suggest, and this is what I would do, I would go on the secondary market on DVC resale and buy a secondary market.
22:00
SPEAKER_04: DBC for a lot lower cost, but the same amount of points.
22:04
SPEAKER_04: Again, you're there are restrictions.
22:06
SPEAKER_04: We don't have two hours to tell you to talk with you about what the different restrictions are at different types of resorts.
22:12
SPEAKER_04: But Disney, in order to protect their own product, they do place restrictions and other benefits that you don't get, like Pete's mentioning, on those resale contracts for those, and they reserve those for people who buy direct through Disney.
22:26
SPEAKER_04: All right, Pete.
22:27
SPEAKER_04: So we've explained what DVC is.
22:29
SPEAKER_04: Now let's explain why two reasonably intelligent adults decided to spend this much money on Disney vacations.
22:35
SPEAKER_04: Reasonably intelligent is doing some heavy lifting there.
22:38
SPEAKER_04: That's that's fair.
22:40
SPEAKER_04: I think I think we're reasonably intelligent and and good looking.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: I agree with that.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: Ruggedly handsome.
22:47
SPEAKER_04: All right.
22:48
SPEAKER_04: Our benefit one, and you already hit this, you already hit the nail on the head when you talked about it.
22:52
SPEAKER_04: Why don't you talk about deluxe accommodations?
22:54
SPEAKER_04: Oh my gosh.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: I I hate to sound bougie, and I well, I don't mind.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: I I I don't want to sound entitled.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: But you know, to own DVC is to be able to get those Zilla style accommodations.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: So if you're gonna bring family, you want one two-bedroom clubs, not always available.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: So if you're a club person, I would think twice about DVC.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: But but to but depending on the resort and the room category, your options are the deluxe studios always.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: Um you get the one bedroom, the two-bedroom, the three-bedroom grandvias, that's a that's a bucket list of mine, especially for the Ruby era.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: I get a whole apartment out of that one.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, you get special accommodations such as the cabins, the bungalows, and the unique villas that Disney has to offer.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, and like we were talking about earlier, those large villas, they have that full kitchen, which is super helpful.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: There's a washer and dryer.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: So if you're there for a time and you don't have huge help.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, huge help.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've done laundry twice.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: I have typically, yeah, in the middle and then right before we go home getting it done.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: There's separate bedrooms so family members who don't always get along.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, you've got places to play cards and games.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: I know if you're watching the videos for Disney, they make it seem like you're in the room all the time and you're not.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, when you're talking about how great the day was or how tired your feet are, or you want to just play some gin rummy while you're hanging out, eating snacks, they have a space for that.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: Like it's a social space.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: You get the additional bathrooms.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: You know, I brought four girls with me on the last trip, and there were three bathrooms in the two-bedroom that they were all able to do it.
24:19
SPEAKER_00: Um and you and you survived.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: And I survived.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: And there's no way, there's no way I would have been able to afford that year to year without these points.
24:28
SPEAKER_00: And I again, I'm not trying to sell you on DBC.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm just trying to inform you what my perspective is.
24:33
SPEAKER_00: Maybe a little bit you are, maybe a tiny bit.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: Maybe a little bit.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: But I don't get any kind of kickback.
24:38
SPEAKER_04: So Yeah, there's no there's no commission on that for us.
24:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
24:41
SPEAKER_04: So once you've stayed in a two-bedroom or three-bedroom grand villa, which we have at at Oak West, and staying with a full full kitchen, a laundry room, going back to a regular hotel, like Pete is saying, with three kids, for me, it's a tough sell.
24:55
SPEAKER_01: What's your favorite category?
24:58
SPEAKER_04: We always go for the two-bedroom villa.
25:00
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we whether whether or not if it's just our family or we're bringing friends of ours, or we try and go for the grand villa if I have enough, if I can swing it.
25:08
SPEAKER_04: I only had a year's worth uh points that I could put towards a two-built bedroom grand villa, that's fine.
25:13
SPEAKER_04: Uh, it'll fit all nine of us just fine.
25:16
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, the grand villa we could spread out a little bit more, but a two-bedroom is just fine.
25:20
SPEAKER_04: But even if it's just my family five, we always go for a two-bedroom grand villa.
25:23
SPEAKER_04: That way the kids have their own room.
25:24
SPEAKER_04: Ani and I have our own room, and then with our friends this time around, they have their own room, and our kids can share the living room where they have a nice big pull-out couch and a twin uh chair that pulls onto a twin bed.
25:37
SPEAKER_04: So there's space for everybody.
25:39
SPEAKER_04: So tell me about the kitchen, though.
25:41
SPEAKER_04: Is that useful for you?
25:42
SPEAKER_04: Have you ever used it?
25:44
SPEAKER_04: No, it is.
25:44
SPEAKER_04: We we stock that thing full of some adult beverages, of course.
25:48
SPEAKER_04: Uh we stock it full of water, which is also something that you definitely need in Central Florida.
25:54
SPEAKER_04: We stock it full of snacks.
25:56
SPEAKER_04: Not all the time do we use it, it's the kitchen to its full capacity, like using the stove and the stovetop and whatnot.
26:04
SPEAKER_04: We generally use the microwave, we'll or we'll use the refrigerator and freezer, obviously.
26:09
SPEAKER_04: But uh it's certainly there if we if we want we would like to use it one time while we were there for Thanksgiving, and we hosted Thanksgiving at our at our two-bedroom villa.
26:17
SPEAKER_04: And because we had all the food catered uh and we brought all the catering stuff in, and we used the oven to warm stuff up, and we use it to bake pies.
26:25
SPEAKER_04: And so again, that's something I could never do if we were staying at a just a regular room, let's say at Pop Century.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: That sounds pretty magical.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go with the magical on that one.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I I know DVC allows members to plan different types of vacations.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: So you get the different resorts, you get the different room sizes, you can pick your stay, banking and borrowing, all of those things.
26:50
SPEAKER_00: Has has owning DVC changed the way that you vacation?
26:56
SPEAKER_04: Not only do you and I go once a year for Travel Emissions Retreat, right?
26:59
SPEAKER_04: So we use our DVC points for that.
27:00
SPEAKER_04: A lot of the other travel advisors in our group are DVC members, so they have to pay rack rate, uh, whatever the TA rate is for and try and fight for that space.
27:09
SPEAKER_04: Pete and I don't have to fight for that space, and we stay at the resort that the retreat is at, that the conference is at.
27:14
SPEAKER_04: So all I do is wake up and put on some fresh clothes and walk downstairs.
27:18
SPEAKER_04: It's it's pretty nice.
27:20
SPEAKER_04: Um even if we weren't travel advisors with Travel Mation, it's still, I think it still sells itself in your in your location.
27:29
SPEAKER_04: We it allows you to go to Disney more than once a year.
27:33
SPEAKER_04: Certainly we go we go twice a year with once with the family and then once for Travel Mation.
27:37
SPEAKER_04: With the amount of points that we have, could we stretch it a little more, go for a little bit less uh of a category of a room?
27:42
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, absolutely.
27:44
SPEAKER_04: We could go, we could go at least twice or three times a year if we wanted to, based on the type of room that we wanted to get.
27:49
SPEAKER_04: So it's a it's a great benefit if you want to stretch out and be fit be fiscally responsible with your points, which of course none of us want to do, but yeah, uh certainly, certainly that's an option.
28:00
SPEAKER_04: There is another benefit you and I have taken advantage of at least one time.
28:03
SPEAKER_04: Uh I think it was last year over a retreat.
28:06
SPEAKER_04: That's Moonlight Magic.
28:08
SPEAKER_04: You want to tell the people about Moonlight Magic?
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Moonlight Magic's great.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: We went and we when we did it, we went to Hollywood Studios.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: And so DV Disney will put out an email saying, hey, this is coming up.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: If you'd like to sign up for it, you have to be online at this time and you're gonna enter a queue and submit your name, and you get randomly selected based on how quickly you were able to respond to the queue.
28:30
SPEAKER_00: And so if you're picked, you are selected and you can bring up to I want to say five.
28:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a hundred percent sure certain, but I think it's you can bring up to five people.
28:39
SPEAKER_04: I think five is a number, yeah.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you can bring five people with you.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, they don't have to be DVC members, just as long as you're there as the DVC owner, um, as long as you were there and can bring them in, then you're okay.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: And these are uh that you get access to the park.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Um there's a there's a party that goes on, there's character experiences, um, there was music there.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: We had free snacks that night, which was amazing.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we did.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh but I I want to throw this out.
29:05
SPEAKER_00: Not all of them are great.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: So the one that we did for Hollywood Studios, we had a great time.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Not everything was open, but we we certainly didn't have any lack of things to do while we were there.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: However, I went to and uh the name of it's blanking on me, Typhoon Lagoon for their Moonlight Madness, and it was it was crazy.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: There were too many people.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: The snacks were terrible, the lines for the snacks weren't great.
29:30
SPEAKER_00: So I'm 50-50 on that one.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: Have you that is the one you went with me the only one you've been to so far?
29:37
SPEAKER_04: It it is the only one that I've been to, and I think I would definitely sign up for that.
29:41
SPEAKER_04: And just so people know, what is the cost with Moonlight Magic?
29:44
SPEAKER_04: Is there any cost to get into that?
29:46
SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, we totally skipped that.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: It is completely free.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: If you get on the raffle, completely free.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: And those snacks free.
29:53
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
29:53
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
29:54
SPEAKER_04: It's a part of your DVC membership.
29:56
SPEAKER_04: Uh now, again, you are paying for your DVC membership, so it's not technically free, but it is a uh it feels like a it's a free day in the park essentially for DVC members only.
30:05
SPEAKER_04: And like Pete's saying, uh, if you have a vacation already planned, DV Disney will email you and say, hey, we're gonna do a Moonlight Magic over this day.
30:12
SPEAKER_04: Do you want to come?
30:13
SPEAKER_04: If so, submit your interest here, and then you'll get picked out of a lottery of people.
30:17
SPEAKER_04: Usually it fills up pretty quickly, but I've never had it.
30:20
SPEAKER_04: The one time that we did do it, I we didn't have an issue getting into that at all.
30:23
SPEAKER_04: It's my favorite park.
30:24
SPEAKER_04: I had we had a great time.
30:26
SPEAKER_04: I would 100% do that again.
30:27
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if I would do it at one of the water parks.
30:29
SPEAKER_04: Do you have it at all the different parks?
30:31
SPEAKER_04: So every Disney park you can think of, including the water parks, they do have Moon Lamp Magic 4, and they change that every year.
30:37
SPEAKER_04: And it's multiple times a year, by the way.
30:40
SPEAKER_04: So basically, what Disney does is they throw a private party for DVC members.
30:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, assuming you can get a reservation, because it's not always easy.
30:47
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
30:48
SPEAKER_04: Which is sometimes harder than getting a reservation at Cinderella's table, but worth it.
30:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: All right, and here's one thing we haven't talked about yet, which is another great thing with DVC, is the lounges.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: Um can you talk about the lounges?
31:03
SPEAKER_04: We do love a lounge.
31:04
SPEAKER_04: We do love a lounge.
31:05
SPEAKER_04: So eligible members can access designated DVC lounges, subject to operating rules, of course, capacity, and eligibility.
31:12
SPEAKER_04: What are the the DVC lounges that we have out there?
31:15
SPEAKER_04: There is a membership lounge at Epcot.
31:18
SPEAKER_04: There is the top of the world lounge at Bay Lake Tower, which we've also been to.
31:23
SPEAKER_04: Other designated member spaces are offered.
31:25
SPEAKER_04: Uh, there are potential amenities that include comfortable seating, uh, air conditioning, which is a huge bonus.
31:31
SPEAKER_04: Select complementary refreshments are included in those.
31:34
SPEAKER_04: Uh, unfortunately, there isn't any alcohol that's involved in that, but you can certainly purchase it if you want to.
31:40
SPEAKER_04: But there is free water, there are free snacks, there are uh free soda fountains that you can get your own uh fill up, get your own soda, whatever you whatever kind you want to make, it's there.
31:52
SPEAKER_04: Basically, pick your own.
31:52
SPEAKER_04: There are no.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we were there in June and it was super, super hot.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: And we were able to get on the list at the new one at Magic Kingdom, the one right there in Frontierland, and it was really great.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: The new one, it's it's super nice, it's real chill.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: It's not as big as the Epcot one, but they do have the free snacks in there, and they're like, you know, little packets of Oreo cookies or chips and whatever in that soda and water fountain.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: But just having a place for free and less crowded because they keep a minimum number, a maximum number of people that can go in there, just having that seating area and phone charging area and just a second's recoup, cool down, get that body temperature down, I think it's it was huge.
32:28
SPEAKER_04: So we've spent thousands of dollars at DVC just so Disney rewards us with the free soda and somewhere to sit.
32:34
SPEAKER_04: And somehow we're both excited about it.
32:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
32:36
SPEAKER_04: That's how you know Disney's won.
32:38
SPEAKER_04: Mickey Mouse has won the fight, won the battle.
32:40
SPEAKER_04: They did.
32:41
SPEAKER_04: We enjoy it that much.
32:42
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
32:44
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, I use them.
32:46
SPEAKER_04: Do you use them?
32:47
SPEAKER_04: I have used them, and I've used them, of course, we use them when we go together in January, but I've used uh the Epcot one, and we use the one, the top of the world hours, which is great for viewing the fireworks at Magic Kingdom.
32:58
SPEAKER_04: They have a huge giant overserved there.
33:00
SPEAKER_04: You you I may or may not have been witness to that, but yeah.
33:04
SPEAKER_04: That's you can go back and listen to our Epcot drinking around the world episode for more of that.
33:08
SPEAKER_04: That's a great place to go.
33:10
SPEAKER_04: It's not crowded at all, and it's a wonderful place to view the fireworks out there uh for Magic Kingdom.
33:16
SPEAKER_04: All right, so next we're gonna talk about annual pass opportunities.
33:19
SPEAKER_04: I am not an annual pass holder, and Pete's not an annual pass holder either, so we're shooting from the hip on this one.
33:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so while I don't use um the annual pass either, there is the source of a pass, which has meaningful perks um for outer staters because there's a lot of ones.
33:32
SPEAKER_00: I personally, for my my military friends, have taken advantage of what came out last year in 2020 or this year in 2025.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: We haven't released it for 2026 yet, but they did give us the 2025.
33:44
SPEAKER_00: I call it the annual pass, but it's a year-long pass that you can use.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: There are some blackout dates, um, but for just above the amount that they want you to pay for the four-day parkopper salute to service ticket for$50 more, you can get a pass that will allow you to use it the entire year.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: So it's really a good deal, much better than DVC.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: So for my military friends out there, look for that annual pass if you're gonna make it more than one time a year.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: And it's just great because you're not just stuck with, you know, if you get that four-day park hopper and you're there for five days, you have to figure out which days you're going to go to the park.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: But if you have that pass and you want to go just for breakfast on one day and not do like a whole park day, but like you just want to go to the castle and that's your big thing, is you do the castle breakfast, and then you spend the rest of the day at your hotel room.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: You haven't burned up a pass for the next day when you want to spend a whole day at the park.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, moving on.
34:36
SPEAKER_04: That's an awesome benefit.
34:37
SPEAKER_04: That's so cool.
34:38
SPEAKER_04: I wish I was eligible for that.
34:40
SPEAKER_04: Unfortunately, I'm not.
34:41
SPEAKER_04: But I know I've taken advantage of that with you before.
34:43
SPEAKER_04: So it's it's great to have a friend in the military and be eligible to use that with you.
34:48
SPEAKER_04: It's pretty cool.
34:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, as long as you go with the military member.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: So when we travel together, you and I, and I and I know when your wife came, as long as you're with me, I can buy you that pass because they're gonna check my military ID to validate your pass on the first day.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: And then for the rest of the year, if you want to go without me, you're absolutely able to, because as long as I was able to validate that on the first day, you're good to go.
35:12
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
35:14
SPEAKER_04: So so we're both out of state, right?
35:16
SPEAKER_04: We're not we're not Florida locals at all.
35:18
SPEAKER_04: So how long do you think would it would it take to justify buying an annual pass?
35:23
SPEAKER_04: Let's say you weren't in the military and you were buying one of these annual passes that they offer, how long would it take to pay for itself on one of those things, you think?
35:29
SPEAKER_04: How many times would you have to go a year to make that that value worth it?
35:33
SPEAKER_04: I think you need seven park visits.
35:36
SPEAKER_01: Ooh, that's a lot.
35:37
SPEAKER_01: It's a bigger number than I thought.
35:40
SPEAKER_04: We'd have to do had to do the math on that.
35:42
SPEAKER_04: I was gonna say two.
35:44
SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
35:44
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
35:46
SPEAKER_04: Not trips, but park visits.
35:48
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, park visits, yeah.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: Because if you go on one trip and you go four times, that four-day park hopper is gonna be five or six hundred dollars.
35:56
SPEAKER_00: If you because the the pass, the sorcerer pass for out of state for DVC, I think is about a$900 price point.
36:03
SPEAKER_00: Um so you are doubling that.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: So you need eight days in the parks to be more than your two four-day parkopper passes.
36:14
SPEAKER_04: I think you're right.
36:15
SPEAKER_04: I think what I was thinking of was visits, not park days.
36:18
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, two visits, at least two visits, two visits a year, I think is what I was thinking about.
36:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's how you make that worth it.
36:24
SPEAKER_04: All right, so we talked, we talked about our annual pass that we don't have.
36:30
SPEAKER_04: All right.
36:30
SPEAKER_04: Next thing is dining, merchandise, and experience discounts.
36:35
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: We talked about dining, we talked about merch.
36:37
SPEAKER_00: Um there is you get that additional.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: You're you're my local and revered VIP tour guide.
36:46
SPEAKER_00: So tell me, do you get a DVC discount on the VIP tours at Disney?
36:50
SPEAKER_00: You do.
36:51
SPEAKER_04: You do.
36:51
SPEAKER_04: And I they just ran one this past couple months here now.
36:55
SPEAKER_04: They ran 20% off a VIP tour.
36:58
SPEAKER_04: And I hope to God they do that again, because I'm gonna jump on that.
37:01
SPEAKER_04: But that's a huge discount, 20% off a VIP tour.
37:05
SPEAKER_04: For those that don't know, those could be anywhere from$500 to$900 an hour based on the time you're going for a minimum of seven hours.
37:12
SPEAKER_04: That's a lot.
37:13
SPEAKER_04: It's a lot of change.
37:14
SPEAKER_04: It's uh and if you get 20% off that price, that's a huge chunk.
37:18
SPEAKER_04: So that's yet another benefit with DVC for that.
37:22
SPEAKER_04: So VIP tours, discounts for that, special event offers, other limited time membership promotions that they offer.
37:29
SPEAKER_04: Disney gives us a great discount on merchandise, which is great because we now could justify buying the things we never needed in the first place.
37:37
SPEAKER_04: Do you remember to ask for your DVC discount?
37:39
SPEAKER_04: That's what I'm trying to say.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've I've created a monster with my daughter too, because she has a copy of the card.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: And so everywhere she goes, whatever she's buying there too, I hear her in the background.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: Is there a DVC discount?
37:53
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I mean, we're we're not shy about it.
37:55
SPEAKER_00: And with that 20%, I we use it all the time.
37:59
SPEAKER_00: It is definitely an excuse to, like you just said, an excuse to buy more things.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: Disney's got us and they they know the trick.
38:05
SPEAKER_00: Like, how do we keep them coming back for more?
38:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we'll hover 20% discount over the popcorn buckets on them.
38:11
SPEAKER_04: That's how we'll get them.
38:13
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
38:15
SPEAKER_04: They've got you sold on that.
38:16
SPEAKER_04: They don't have me sold on that.
38:17
SPEAKER_04: But there is some there's some nice uh benefits, and there are some nice discounts with their with their DVC membership for sure.
38:24
SPEAKER_04: Let's talk about beyond Walt Disney World.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've done this a couple times.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: So I know we're we're deep in the weeds on this.
38:31
SPEAKER_00: If you're still with us, thanks for staying with us.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: But you can use them everywhere.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, you can use them in California, you can use them in Hawaii at Alani.
38:38
SPEAKER_00: You can use them at Hilton Head.
38:39
SPEAKER_00: I gotta warn you, Hilton Head is very hard to get.
38:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's hard to get.
38:44
SPEAKER_00: Super hard.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: You gotta get that like a year in advance.
38:47
SPEAKER_00: You gotta really be paying attention and really get in there to get that.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh Vero Beach is also good.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: But I'll tell you, when I when I've gone to Paris the other two times and then Japan, I'm gonna use my DVC points.
38:58
SPEAKER_00: I've used them in the past, I'm gonna use them.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: While they're not specifically DVC points, they are you have the ability to transfer them to whatever their points are, they're like omnipoints, you know?
39:10
SPEAKER_00: And so you can transfer your points to their omnipoints and then use them at those European and overseas resorts.
39:17
SPEAKER_00: So I would do that over and over again.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to avoid the transfer fee because they're they get you wherever.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: So when I go to transfer my DVC points to these omnipoints, and that's not the name of them, but that, you know, but when you do transfer them to those, you have to pay this like$90 fee to do that.
39:35
SPEAKER_00: But if you end up buying the what's it called, Jamie, the year-long thing, the the DVC magic extra magic bonus magic, what's it called?
39:45
SPEAKER_00: Beyond membership beyond Beyond the Magic.
39:47
SPEAKER_00: And I should know because I bought it the past two years.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: But if you do the Beyond the Magic, you can um get that$90 fee to change your points over removed.
39:56
SPEAKER_00: So if you know you're gonna travel to Europe, travel to Paris, travel to Japan, and you know you're gonna move your DVC points, go ahead and buy that magic uh extra magic because it will allow you to do that for free.
40:07
SPEAKER_04: Membership beyond or something like that.
40:09
SPEAKER_04: I forgot the exact terminal, but that's yeah, let's call it Beyond the Magic.
40:13
SPEAKER_04: I like that.
40:14
SPEAKER_04: It's a nice ring to it.
40:17
SPEAKER_04: So, in addition to what Pete's mentioned, all those other resorts that are out there, a Disneyland Resort uh does have a DVC Tower at Disneyland that we've stayed there.
40:25
SPEAKER_04: It's beautiful.
40:26
SPEAKER_04: And in addition to Hilton Head and Bureau Beach and Olani in Hawaii, which I would love to go to myself, quick point for a Hilton Head, like Pete mentioned, that's one of those places where you have to own to stay there because they grab that inventory like that, and it is gone at that 11-month mark.
40:42
SPEAKER_04: Good luck trying to stay at that resort that's not a cash stay.
40:45
SPEAKER_04: If you're a DVC member for that, you have the ability to get there at 11 months.
40:49
SPEAKER_04: That's a very quick one that goes.
40:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
40:52
SPEAKER_04: All right, so one other thing that we didn't talk about is you can use your DVC points to buy Disney cruises.
40:58
SPEAKER_04: Now, there's a bunch of different information out there if your DVC points are worth the price of a cruise or membership cruise.
41:04
SPEAKER_04: I know they uh D uh Disney offers uh your ability to use your DVC points for your Disney cruise.
41:11
SPEAKER_04: And the answer to that is no.
41:13
SPEAKER_04: Um it is a yeah, don't do it.
41:16
SPEAKER_04: It sounds nice because you don't have a whole lot of cost up front.
41:19
SPEAKER_04: You're just basically giving away your DVC points for that cost of that cruise.
41:22
SPEAKER_04: But in the long run, uh your DVC points are much more valued at the resort or any of the resorts in Walt Disney World or Disneyland property or anywhere else, not on a Disney cruise land chip today.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: One of the ways to work around that, what I would say to you is sell your points.
41:38
SPEAKER_00: So get on to I I like doing it direct.
41:41
SPEAKER_00: So you get onto one of those Facebook groups or chats and you find people that are looking for points, and then you sell your point based on your resort.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: Usually they start around$18 a point and go up from there, depending, right?
41:53
SPEAKER_00: So you can use a third-party vendor that help you sell your points through DVC.
41:57
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to do that, it's easy, that's fine.
41:59
SPEAKER_00: But I've got a little contract that I've written up, and it's just a basic contract.
42:03
SPEAKER_00: It's not hard.
42:04
SPEAKER_00: Don't let that scare you.
42:05
SPEAKER_00: Your chat can help you make one.
42:06
SPEAKER_00: Just do a little contract.
42:08
SPEAKER_00: How many, how much money for points, um, you know, non-refundable or whatever you're gonna do.
42:13
SPEAKER_00: And then you sell your points.
42:14
SPEAKER_00: So if I were to sell them, I've made a few thousand dollars selling points, and then you take those few thousand dollars and you put it towards your Disney cruise.
42:20
SPEAKER_00: Because the value of the points on the cruise are terrible.
42:24
SPEAKER_00: They're you're not gonna have enough, and then it's just not worth it.
42:28
SPEAKER_00: It that is definitely throwing money away.
42:30
SPEAKER_00: I would recommend not doing that.
42:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, that's that's definitely the voice.
42:35
SPEAKER_04: If you if you listen to nothing else during this episode, that's the word advice that we want to leave you with is that don't use DVC points for Disney cruises.
42:42
SPEAKER_04: End of story.
42:44
SPEAKER_04: All right, so the big question here What's the single greatest benefit of we've personally received for owning DVC?
42:52
SPEAKER_04: Can you think of yours, Pete?
42:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: For me and and for us, I think we get a little sappy sometimes with this, but it it's the nostalgia.
42:59
SPEAKER_00: It's the the it's the having the tradition.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: We'll go and do something else.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: We'll go somewhere else in vacation somewhere else.
43:05
SPEAKER_00: We'll see the world and we'll, you know, we'll go see a mountain, we'll go hiking.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: But we have a family tradition that is built around Disney.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: And it's those things that we know we're gonna go to the Hoop Dee De Review and get stuffed on chicken.
43:19
SPEAKER_00: We know we're gonna go walk around Epcot and see all the countries.
43:23
SPEAKER_00: We have family tradition that brings us there and bonds us together.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: So for me, it's that like it's traveling and being able to do this, it's to bring family members with us.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: I brought my mom, I brought my sister.
43:34
SPEAKER_00: You and I have gone, we brought our families together.
43:37
SPEAKER_00: So it's really just for me, it's it's just enjoying being with friends and having that predictability.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: How about yourself?
43:47
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I think I think you said it is bringing people that I never bring before and getting to see the look on their faces and experience that resort that you had the ability to experience every year if you want to.
43:57
SPEAKER_04: Like I said, we're bringing our friends uh this time to Oakie West with us.
44:00
SPEAKER_04: West is a beautiful resort where we stay in near the hospitality house by the main pool, by the main bar, the main check-in area there.
44:06
SPEAKER_04: It's gorgeous.
44:06
SPEAKER_04: And walking around there going, This is this is home.
44:10
SPEAKER_04: This is home for me.
44:11
SPEAKER_04: When they say welcome home, it really means I know we joke about it, but it's it really is it really is your home and it make you feel like that when you're there.
44:19
SPEAKER_04: And that's I'm getting goosebumps talking about it now, but that that's how that that's that's the feeling.
44:25
SPEAKER_04: That's the that's the set, the scene that they're setting for you, is that this is this is a part of of your life and they want to make the best part of it that they can.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: It is truly your home.
44:37
SPEAKER_00: Here's another big take I have for you.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna tell this, so there's another one that I want you to remember along with don't spend your points on a cruise.
44:45
SPEAKER_00: DVC is not going to save us money.
44:48
SPEAKER_00: It's just going to make us spend more money at Disney.
44:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it sounds like it, doesn't it?
44:52
SPEAKER_04: It sounds like it's saving us a bunch of money, but it really it it can't be.
44:56
SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
44:56
SPEAKER_04: You you we have to have a whole nother math episode.
44:59
SPEAKER_04: I I we said there'd be no math on this episode, but there's math.
45:03
SPEAKER_04: And uh unfortunately you have to you have to do math in order to see the breakdown of what cost versus benefit versus whatever, right?
45:10
SPEAKER_04: What is the cost of a DVC contract or the life of time or the lifespan of your of your contract?
45:15
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, like Pete's saying, it gives you an opportunity to spend more money at Disney, is what it does.
45:20
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
45:22
SPEAKER_01: All right, we've spent all this time talking about why DVC is great.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about the pitfalls.
45:29
SPEAKER_01: All right.
45:32
SPEAKER_00: The initial cost, you're gonna purchase price for points, you're gonna get a total number of points, you've got closing costs, you've got financing costs, you've got direct versus resales costs, which we talked about.
45:42
SPEAKER_00: You don't get all the membership.
45:44
SPEAKER_00: You get those annual dues, and those dues are not cheap.
45:47
SPEAKER_00: With me with two hotels, I pay two separate sets of dues.
45:51
SPEAKER_00: So what what are the what are the warning signs that you're gonna tell people before they uh do this, Jamie?
45:57
SPEAKER_04: To do your homework.
45:59
SPEAKER_04: To do your homework.
46:00
SPEAKER_04: Certainly listening to this episode is gonna open your eyes to to what's out there and what's what you're capable of with DVC.
46:06
SPEAKER_04: Um, but Pete and I are not here to sell you a DVC vacation.
46:10
SPEAKER_04: We're here to shoot you straight and tell you what it all involves.
46:13
SPEAKER_04: I think we've done a pretty good job of that so far.
46:15
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, I think we've we've opened Pandora's box and people have questions.
46:20
SPEAKER_04: Please, please email us at the worst beyond the magic at gmail.com if you have questions for any of us.
46:25
SPEAKER_04: Of course, we're both DBC members.
46:27
SPEAKER_04: Pete owns more than I do.
46:28
SPEAKER_04: I know I I I beat him to the punchline because I knew he was gonna say before I did.
46:34
SPEAKER_04: But we can honestly give you those answers for DBC.
46:37
SPEAKER_04: If you we're not, again, we're not salesmen for DBC.
46:39
SPEAKER_04: We're not here to try and and and rip the carpet off from underneath your feet.
46:43
SPEAKER_04: We're gonna we're gonna shoot you straight on on what it is.
46:45
SPEAKER_04: And we we truly do love it.
46:47
SPEAKER_04: And I think we've displayed that throughout this entire podcast today.
46:50
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, we get all sap, we get all sap you when we talk about it.
46:53
SPEAKER_04: Your your points may vary.
46:55
SPEAKER_04: It depends on it depends on what you're what all you're looking for.
46:58
SPEAKER_04: Disney says welcome home, and then they send you a bill every January because of your your dues are owned.
47:04
SPEAKER_04: So it depends on what you want to do.
47:05
SPEAKER_04: But it's just uh a harsh reality of what you purchased.
47:09
SPEAKER_04: Right.
47:09
SPEAKER_04: It's it's just part it's just part of the package deal, that's all.
47:12
SPEAKER_00: All right, my brother, we've been at this for a minute.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: We're almost at an hour here.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: Let's uh let's do the the best and worst.
47:18
SPEAKER_00: Let's do a couple of our favorites and then a couple of our worst.
47:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna start.
47:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna start because I love this one.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: My favorite, absolute favorite today, because it changes, is the Polynesian.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: And the Polynesian's great.
47:32
SPEAKER_00: It's got uh monorail access, it's got good dining, the proximity to Magic Kingdom is really nice.
47:38
SPEAKER_00: We like the Aloha Spirit vibe while being here.
47:41
SPEAKER_00: And with the new um restaurants that just are included, I'm gonna put Polynesian as my number one of my two favorite.
47:47
SPEAKER_00: How about you?
47:49
SPEAKER_04: Number one for me, I should say my home resort to Old QS, but I'm not.
47:52
SPEAKER_04: I'm gonna say it's the Riviera.
47:54
SPEAKER_04: I love the Riviera.
47:56
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I love the Riviera.
47:57
SPEAKER_04: The proximity to on the Skyliner, uh, when we talked about that last episode, the Skyliner on our last transportation episode, we go back and listen to that one.
48:08
SPEAKER_04: The proximity to that, Talib Studios, to Epcot's, the quality of the room that you have there, whether it be uh Deluxe Studio or Grand Villa or two-bedroom or what one bedroom, whatever it is there, the level of service and attention to detail at that resort is is can't be beat.
48:25
SPEAKER_04: I I've never stayed at the Grand Floridian.
48:27
SPEAKER_04: I've I've walked in there like I own the joint, but um there's DV, there's DVC there as well.
48:33
SPEAKER_04: The nicest place I've stayed is the Riv.
48:35
SPEAKER_00: All right, my number two, since this would have been a tie, but you took Riv, so I don't have to worry about it.
48:40
SPEAKER_00: But my number two is Animal Kingdom Villas.
48:42
SPEAKER_00: With those savannah views, the wildlife, we love animals, the themings, the restaurants are amazing there.
48:48
SPEAKER_00: We go, whether we're staying there or not, we will go and do the bread service at, you know, the great restaurant that I can't remember the name of right now.
48:56
SPEAKER_00: Got it.
48:57
SPEAKER_00: But the bread service is no, nope, it's the other one.
49:02
SPEAKER_00: I'll think of it in a second when I'm done talking about it.
49:04
SPEAKER_00: But uh the you wake up in the morning, you get your little uh Joffrey's coffee from the pot, and you can open up those curtains and you're look out there and you're looking right at the uh giraffes, you're looking at the zebras.
49:15
SPEAKER_00: It's it's amazing watching those animals drinking your coffee and in the in the morning.
49:19
SPEAKER_00: It's really good.
49:20
SPEAKER_00: And the rooms are great, they all have that really great theming.
49:23
SPEAKER_00: And while you answer, I'm gonna think about the damn restaurant.
49:27
SPEAKER_00: It's okay.
49:28
SPEAKER_04: Where else can you spend your morning with giraffes other than not in your your deluxe villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge and drinking your coffee?
49:35
SPEAKER_04: Like that's that's a heck of a view for sure.
49:38
SPEAKER_04: That's a great place.
49:39
SPEAKER_04: Uh the only downfall to that one is that Animal Kingdom Lodge is in the middle of nowhere, and it there's no other way, good way to get to it.
49:46
SPEAKER_04: Again, we talked all about in our transportation episode last week, other than the bus.
49:50
SPEAKER_04: We hope that they extend the Skyliner to that resort one day and then take it there to Animal Kingdom itself, but we'll see what that happens.
49:56
SPEAKER_04: That's just a wish list down the road.
49:57
SPEAKER_04: But it is a beautiful resort.
49:59
SPEAKER_04: It is a beautiful resort, and the restaurants there, like Peter's saying, are fantastic.
50:03
SPEAKER_04: I think uh the yes, that's right.
50:05
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
50:06
SPEAKER_04: How can I forget that one?
50:07
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
50:08
SPEAKER_04: That's a good one.
50:08
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
50:10
SPEAKER_04: So number two for me, I said Riv.
50:13
SPEAKER_04: I think our our second one is Polynesian.
50:16
SPEAKER_04: I think the Polynesian is, and and I haven't mentioned my home resort yet.
50:20
SPEAKER_04: Have you noticed that?
50:21
SPEAKER_04: But uh we stayed at Polynesian.
50:22
SPEAKER_04: We yeah, yeah, uh we stayed at Polynesian because you're getting you're getting that that tropical atmosphere, not be not that you're not getting that at Oaky West, but the reason why I like Polynesian is because I love Dole Whip and they have Pineapple and I right there, and then they have Trader Sam's.
50:40
SPEAKER_04: I don't have Trader Sam's at Oak Key West.
50:42
SPEAKER_04: I want Trader Sam's.
50:43
SPEAKER_04: So Trader Sam's is at Polynesian.
50:45
SPEAKER_04: So yet another benefit to staying at the Polynesian there.
50:49
SPEAKER_04: And then your proximity to the park, of course.
50:51
SPEAKER_04: You had you're right on the monorail.
50:53
SPEAKER_00: All right, my least favorite, I I hate to do this to you, brother, but Oak Key West, I just don't I don't love Oak Key West.
50:59
SPEAKER_00: Um I mean it's it's it's large uh in not in a great way.
51:04
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you gotta really travel to get anywhere.
51:06
SPEAKER_00: It's one of those ones that's got all the bus stops.
51:08
SPEAKER_00: Um it's it's an older resort.
51:12
SPEAKER_00: It just doesn't have the same feel to me.
51:13
SPEAKER_00: It's very disjointed.
51:16
SPEAKER_04: It is the oldest DVC resort.
51:18
SPEAKER_04: It was the very first DVC resort that they built.
51:20
SPEAKER_04: And because of that, they built the rooms huge and then realized quickly after that the fact that we could build rooms much smaller and charge people more money for them, and they will still come.
51:31
SPEAKER_04: Uh so because of that, the DVC rooms at OQS are huge.
51:35
SPEAKER_04: And when that's again why we choose that resort, because we like to spread out and enjoy our space, especially when we're traveling with friends.
51:44
SPEAKER_04: The bottom one of the the I would say the worst one for me, the I believe is the resort of last resort.
51:51
SPEAKER_04: And uh you and I have stayed there, and that of course is by Old Key West.
51:57
SPEAKER_04: It's Saratoga Springs.
51:58
SPEAKER_04: It's a neighbor to Old Key West.
52:00
SPEAKER_04: I love Oldoga Springs.
52:02
SPEAKER_04: Why?
52:02
SPEAKER_04: Why do you love Saratoga Springs?
52:04
SPEAKER_00: There's it's it's the proximity to Disney Disney Springs.
52:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, this one is spread out um and it has a lot of bus stops, which sucks, but it does have more of like an intimate feel where you're at.
52:16
SPEAKER_00: Like I can get to the pool, I can get to the hot tub, I can get to the snacks, and I can get to uh DVC.
52:21
SPEAKER_00: Or not DVC, um Disney Springs.
52:23
SPEAKER_00: But additionally, I can always find a room there.
52:28
SPEAKER_04: Resort of last resort, indeed.
52:30
SPEAKER_04: That's what that is.
52:31
SPEAKER_04: That's exactly what that is.
52:32
SPEAKER_04: There's always gonna be space.
52:33
SPEAKER_04: Well, what he basically said is that nobody likes it there, and that there's always space available, which there is.
52:39
SPEAKER_04: There's always space available.
52:40
SPEAKER_04: If you want to stay close to uh Disney Springs, that's where you want to go.
52:44
SPEAKER_04: And if you if you enjoy horse racing, random, uh, that's also that's also where you want to go.
52:51
SPEAKER_04: You want to go to Saratoga Springs because it's uh decked out head to toe and in horse racing.
52:55
SPEAKER_04: So if your thing is Disney Springs and horse racing, Saratoga Springs is the place you want to stay.
53:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're also a horse family, so I'm in.
53:03
SPEAKER_00: I like it.
53:04
SPEAKER_00: But I've got a hot take.
53:05
SPEAKER_00: I know you're I I know if anybody's still listening, they're gonna disagree with me on this one.
53:10
SPEAKER_00: My least favorite, although one that I frequent the most, my least favorite is Bay Lake Towers.
53:16
SPEAKER_00: I do not understand Bay Lake Towers.
53:18
SPEAKER_00: It feels like a Sheridan, like an afterthought, like it's the Ramada that's just hanging on because they got conventions going on.
53:27
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand.
53:28
SPEAKER_00: The contemporary is so good, and then they're like, uh, go hang out with the help at Bay Lake.
53:33
SPEAKER_04: Go hang out with the hired folks over at Bay Lake Tower.
53:36
SPEAKER_04: We we stay at Bay Lake Tower, man.
53:39
SPEAKER_04: We are good, we are those hard folks.
53:40
SPEAKER_04: We are those blue-collar guys.
53:41
SPEAKER_04: That's us.
53:42
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
53:42
SPEAKER_04: I like the rums are good, yeah.
53:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, they are.
53:46
SPEAKER_04: They're they're okay.
53:47
SPEAKER_04: They're okay.
53:48
SPEAKER_04: What you're what you're paying for there is proximity.
53:50
unknown: Yeah.
53:51
SPEAKER_04: That's what you're paying for.
53:52
SPEAKER_04: Zero theming.
53:53
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
53:54
SPEAKER_04: Like, I don't know.
53:55
SPEAKER_04: I think they have like futuristic type theming, right?
53:58
SPEAKER_04: Kind of so you don't even know.
54:00
SPEAKER_04: They have the incredibles.
54:01
SPEAKER_04: They have the incredible themes.
54:03
SPEAKER_04: That's what they have.
54:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
54:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
54:05
SPEAKER_00: I love the lounge on the top.
54:06
SPEAKER_00: Top of the world lounge is great.
54:08
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, there's just it needs something.
54:11
SPEAKER_00: It needs more.
54:13
SPEAKER_00: All right.
54:13
SPEAKER_04: So we're gonna get into the DVC awards before we end the thing.
54:17
SPEAKER_04: We're gonna give this our Cinderella Award, which is our most underrated DVC resort.
54:22
SPEAKER_04: Will you give me that one?
54:24
SPEAKER_04: I think we just talked about it.
54:26
SPEAKER_00: Most underrated DVC resort is um, I'm gonna go with the cabins at Fort Wilderness.
54:36
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, okay.
54:38
SPEAKER_04: Okay, yeah.
54:38
SPEAKER_04: Never stayed there.
54:40
SPEAKER_00: They're there, you the points are reasonable.
54:42
SPEAKER_00: You can fit a whole family in there.
54:44
SPEAKER_00: You got a separate room, you get the kitchenette.
54:46
SPEAKER_00: It's not nearly the cost of the one or two bedrooms, and you're out in the woods, which is really nice.
54:53
SPEAKER_04: I and they just they're completely revamped now.
54:56
SPEAKER_04: They're all brand new, right?
54:57
SPEAKER_04: They just they just revamped them, what was it, last year, I think, or last summer.
55:00
SPEAKER_04: I think they completely uprooted the old ones and put down new ones.
55:03
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, they're good, they're completely new.
55:05
SPEAKER_04: If you're looking for more of that wilderness feel out in the woods, that's that's where you want to be.
55:09
SPEAKER_04: I didn't even think of that one.
55:10
SPEAKER_04: That's that's it's a good, it's a good low-key hit right there.
55:13
SPEAKER_04: I like that.
55:14
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
55:15
SPEAKER_04: Most underrated DBC resort for me, I think, and you love to hate it, you just mentioned it, is is Bay Lake Tower.
55:22
SPEAKER_04: Is big because you are you have that proximity to the contemporary in the monorail, and it's not pretty, it's not spectacular by any means.
55:30
SPEAKER_04: But if you want a quick resort walk over to the Magic Kingdom, that's where you're gonna stay, is Bay Lake Tower if you're a DBC member attached to the contemporary.
55:40
SPEAKER_04: It's basically the same thing as the contemporary, it's just two different buildings attached to each other.
55:44
SPEAKER_04: One is DBC, one is one is a hotel rack rate.
55:47
SPEAKER_04: It's the same.
55:48
SPEAKER_04: Um I think that's it's not the same.
55:51
SPEAKER_00: You've got the riffs and then the hojo out back.
55:54
SPEAKER_00: We're staying at the hojo.
55:57
SPEAKER_04: I think the hojo is Saratoga Springs, man.
55:59
SPEAKER_04: I'm sorry.
56:00
SPEAKER_04: Uh Hojo.
56:02
SPEAKER_00: Saratoga Springs.
56:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh you're giving it a bad rap.
56:05
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
56:06
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I am because it deserves that.
56:07
SPEAKER_04: Anyway, moving on.
56:09
SPEAKER_04: This this the uh the catfish award, it looks better in pictures than it is in person.
56:13
SPEAKER_04: What do you think?
56:14
SPEAKER_04: Well, that's a tough one.
56:15
SPEAKER_04: Oaky West, definitely.
56:16
SPEAKER_04: I'm gonna I'm gonna hate on that one.
56:18
SPEAKER_04: That's fine.
56:19
SPEAKER_04: I I'm gonna agree with that.
56:20
SPEAKER_04: I'm gonna hate on my own home resort for a second.
56:22
SPEAKER_04: Yes, yeah, that it definitely looks better online than it does in some of the rooms themselves.
56:29
SPEAKER_04: All the single rooms have been completely redone and they all have been revamped and remodeled, and I think they're up to date, I think.
56:37
SPEAKER_04: But the ones before that, we definitely stayed in a room that wasn't updated and it was trash.
56:43
SPEAKER_04: It was not nice at all.
56:45
SPEAKER_04: Uh it was spacious, but that's where it ended.
56:49
SPEAKER_00: I would like to talk about the Grand Floridian because it's so nice.
56:52
SPEAKER_00: I would give most of the awards there, I think, but I've never stayed there.
56:56
SPEAKER_00: You know, like we both walked in like we've owned the place, we've enjoyed some uh I've enjoyed the tea party there, we've enjoyed the bar there and restaurants, but never actually stayed.
57:04
SPEAKER_00: So we'll see about it once we once we make it big with our with our grand podcast here at the worst.
57:11
SPEAKER_04: Waiting for that sponsorship to come in, folks, so we can afford more DVC points.
57:15
SPEAKER_04: You're heard it here first.
57:16
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
57:17
SPEAKER_04: Alright, so it's expensive, it's complicated, and sometimes booking the room you want feels harder than getting a lightning lane at a brand new attraction.
57:27
SPEAKER_00: But for those who love it, there's something special about knowing we're going back.
57:33
SPEAKER_04: Whether you're walking up to the drafts at Animal Kingdom Lodge or walking into the Epcot from the Beach Club.
57:39
SPEAKER_04: It's fantastic.
57:41
SPEAKER_04: It sure is.
57:42
SPEAKER_04: That has been the worst Beana Magic.
57:44
SPEAKER_04: Remember, we're here to give you the real deal.
57:47
SPEAKER_01: Mouse droppings included.
57:49
SPEAKER_02: See you next time.