Everything You Need to Know About Disney's Timeshare Program

Updated on 6/26/2018 at 8:25 AM

Courtesy of Disney

If you already dig bringing your family on Disney vacations (or visiting sans kids!), we've got news for you. Disney offers something called the Disney Vacation Club, and it can make these trips more cost-effective — and way more fun. This month, Disney World invited me to spend a week living like a DVC member (that's what the cool kids call it), and it's definitely something every Disney diehard should know about. Here's how it works, what perks to expect, and why it really ups the magic.

It’s basically a flexible timeshare program.

DVC launched in 1991 with a points-based system (instead of the traditional "you get this week, in this space, every year" approach), and today it has more than 220,000 member families from about 100 countries. What's cool is that you're never locked into a specific resort, length of stay, accommodation type, or time of year, so you can always work your trip around your budget — and life.

So how much does it cost? The starting price to become a DVC member is $18,200. That's not an annual cost — it's a one-time fee for your "timeshare," and it entitles you to up to 50 years of DVC membership. (For context, the average sales price for a one-week timeshare in the US is $20,040, according to the American Resort Development Association.) With Disney, the fee gets you 100 flexible points per year to use for vacations, although some people opt for bigger point packages. You can pay this as a lump sum or in monthly payments — like a mortgage on your own little slice of Disney.

It means access to exclusive lodging at Disney.

Disney Vacation Club has 14 properties in the US: 10 at Disney World and one each at the nearby Disney's Vero Beach Resort, Disneyland, Hawaii, and South Carolina. Across the board, members (and their guests) pick between Deluxe Studios and one-, two-, and even three-bedroom villas at most locations, and all come with a kitchenette or kitchen and other amenities. I stayed at the elegantly rustic Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney World's Wilderness Lodge (shown here!), which opened late last year, and loved the private hot tub, washer and dryer, and full kitchen.

You can use your membership for a far-flung adventure, too.

Ready for a break from your favorite park? DVC members can use their points to book vacations at Disney resorts around the world (oh hi, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong), on Disney Cruises (such as on the Disney Dream, pictured here), and on Adventures by Disney excursions around the world, from Cambodia to Costa Rica and Iceland to Italy.

It’s your ticket to truly luxurious lounges around the park.

Need a little air conditioning and some coffee midway through your epic Epcot exploration? There's a DVC member lounge for that — it's only open to members and their guests. At Disney's Contemporary Resort, members can also enjoy the Top of the World Lounge at Bay Lake Tower — a rooftop parlor with eye-popping views of the Magic Kingdom (as you can see from my photo here!).

It comes with discounts galore.

DVC members save on annual park passes, backstage and other VIP tours, spa bookings, golf outings, meals at certain restaurants, and merchandise from select shops.

It’s your ticket to exclusive weekly events (and seasonal ones, too).

Every week, members and their guests can book fun activities — think a fireworks cruise, a mixology class, chef demonstrations, and the like. At both Disney World and Disneyland, members also get access to special events around the holidays.

On certain nights, it’s like getting the keys to the park.

My favorite perk is regular Moonlight Magic nights, when (for no additional fee) members get to enjoy a park for hours after it's closed. I ran around Animal Kingdom until I got kicked out at 1 a.m., taking in rides, shows, and character sightings with a thinned-out crowd of only DVC members. (Did I ride Expedition Everest three times in a row at midnight because there was no line? Yes, yes I did.)