Speaking Disney Vacation Club like a Pro

Disney is famous for creative if not confusing terms- I’m looking at you lightening lane and individual lightening lane!  Disney Vacation Club has their own language with terms just as confusing.  Let’s get you started  speaking Disney Vacation club, so when you rent or buy you sound like a pro. No Duolingo required!

DVC

DVC stands for Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s version of a timeshare.

Point

Disney Vacation Club uses a point system.  Think of points as the currency used in DVC.  Owners purchase a contract that entitle them to a certain number of points per year for the life of the contract. These points can then be used to make reservations. Each resort has a set number of points that are sold.

Home Resort

When you purchase a contract, it is for a specific resort.  This becomes your Home Resort.  At your Home resort you have priority booking window (see Booking window) Here is a list of all the DVC Resorts.

Point Chart

Point charts tell you how many points are needed to make a reservation for a specific time.  Each resort has their own chart, and each year there can be adjustments to the chart (but the overall point amount can’t change.  If one room or season has a point increased, then another must decrease)

Need to find point charts? click here

Use Year

This is the month that an owner receives their points each year. For instance if the contract has a June use year, then the points would be available for reservation June 1- May 31 of the next year.  Owners don’t need to wait for their points to make a reservation, it just needs to be within those dates.

Confirmed Reservation

When an owner has already made a reservation at resort, and then decides to rent it out instead.  When you rent a confirmed reservation, the owner must call and just change the name on the reservation.

Bank

When an owner decides to save their points for the next year, giving double the amount of points available the following use year.

Borrow

Terms used for when an owner want to use points from the next use year in the current year, giving the owner double points.  If an owner decided to bank and borrow, they could have triple points in one year.

Split Stay

When you stay at more than one Disney resort on your vacation.  This is usually at Walt Disney World.  You would check out and check in to a new resort and have your bags transferred to the new resort.

Our tips for a smooth split stay

Direct

When an owner purchases Disney Vacation Points from Disney, the points are called Direct points.  Purchasing a contract from Disney has perks like lounges, being able to use your points at all resorts, and discounts on annual passes.  It is also more expensive up front.

Resale

When an owner decides to sell their contract, they can sell their contract to a buyer.  These are classified as resale contracts, and are less expensive but come with restrictions, including not being able to book at new resorts. When you purchase a resale contract, Disney has the first right of refusal to the contract before the buyer can finalize the purchase and use their points.

How we compare resale contracts to get the best deal

Booking Window

Owners of a home resort are able to book reservations at 11 months from the check in date and 7 months at other resorts.  This is important to know when renting, because if you want a highly sought after resort (I’m looking at you Grand Californian!), you will want to rent from someone who owns at that resort so you have a better chance of availability because they can make that reservation months before other owners at other resorts.

Studio

Slightly larger than a hotel room, studios usually have a queen bed and either a queen murphy bed or a sofa bed.  Most sleep 4, some sleep 5 with a twin trundle.  Studios have a small counter fridge, microwave, coffee maker and toaster.  They will have one or two bathrooms.  Although there isn’t a laundry in the room, you have free access to the resorts laundry room. Studios are the most popular size to rent.

Find out the difference between a standard and preferred room at DVC.

Villa

A DVC room that has a full kitchen, living area, laundry with separate sleeping.  Villas come in one, two, and three bedrooms (called grand villas).  They can sleep anywhere from 4-12 people in a villa. The largest grand villa is the Grand Floridian at 2800 square feet!

Renting

When an owner can’t use their allotted points in a year, they can rent out their points to anyone.  You do not need to own DVC in order to use points and stay at a Disney Vacation Club resort. Want to learn more?  We have a whole post detailing renting DVC. 

Let us know if we missed any terms that are confusing!