DVC Tour: Questions to ask

LuigiSpice

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 2, 2019
I'm gonna be down in the World starting Sunday and am planning on hitting up a DVC tour. I've done a ton of research and have some ideas for questions I'd like to ask. What I'm wondering is if there are any questions you'd recommend asking that are not so obvious? Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks
 
I think most people will say here that you honestly don't want to ask important questions to your tour guide. Instead everything important should be asked here for actual legit and honest feedback. The only things to ask your tour guide are specific to you actually possibly purchase. Like "what is the current wait list for XXXXX" or "what incentive is available for XXXX resort for XXXX points".

Just saying there is whole threads on how uninformed certain guides are.
 
I was thinking of a similar reply. If we told you questions to ask we'd also probably just answer them! :)

Do this though - come back here after the tour and ask questions about what you learned on the tour. And take some time to think about it. It's not too common but sometimes the guides will imply that you can only get the deal if you sign then and there but that is not true.
 
I get what youre saying and I guess there is no good question. I've gotten all i need to know from here, but didnt know if there were specific questions for sales people that could glean any info. I was kind of interested in how they respond to the whole resale restrictions at Riviera and possible booking issues if resale buyers can only book there.
 


I get what youre saying and I guess there is no good question. I've gotten all i need to know from here, but didnt know if there were specific questions for sales people that could glean any info. I was kind of interested in how they respond to the whole resale restrictions at Riviera and possible booking issues if resale buyers can only book there.

Reports of that vary but seem relatively consistent in that they down play it. It would be something interesting to ask and see what the guide you get says. Be aware that there have been reports of some real ridiculous answers to that that border on being very aggressive in a bad timeshare sales experience type of way. Most guides are not that way but something to keep in mind if it starts happening.
 
I was kind of interested in how they respond to the whole resale restrictions at Riviera and possible booking issues if resale buyers can only book there.

They only get paid if you purchase direct. They will spin it as a benefit to purchasing direct. They are not going to want to talk about whether the restrictions might limit your ability to book RIV (as many resale owners will be forced to book there) or what sort of damage the restrictions might do to the resale value if you have an unforseen crisis arise and you are forced to sell. Not to mention DVC's recent attempt to raise point costs across the board for studios and 1BRs. Those discussions just emphasize the adversarial side of DVC, which won't tempt you to open the wallet like shiny pictures and professionally produced videos.

If you want the honest truth about DVC, taking the tour is a waste of time.
 
They only get paid if you purchase direct. They will spin it as a benefit to purchasing direct. They are not going to want to talk about whether the restrictions might limit your ability to book RIV (as many resale owners will be forced to book there) or what sort of damage the restrictions might do to the resale value if you have an unforseen crisis arise and you are forced to sell. Not to mention DVC's recent attempt to raise point costs across the board for studios and 1BRs. Those discussions just emphasize the adversarial side of DVC, which won't tempt you to open the wallet like shiny pictures and professionally produced videos.

If you want the honest truth about DVC, taking the tour is a waste of time.
I have to disagree with one small thing. Riding slinky dog 3 times in 20 minutes with my son, that’s usually a 3 hour wait, was not a waste of time. I knew i was buying but did it to get the fast passes. 👍🏻
 


I'm gonna be down in the World starting Sunday and am planning on hitting up a DVC tour. I've done a ton of research and have some ideas for questions I'd like to ask. What I'm wondering is if there are any questions you'd recommend asking that are not so obvious? Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks
Honestly, if you go into this whole process thinking that this IS NOT a financial investment and it’s an investment into the most important thing in life, your family, you’ll have a lot easier of a time making a decision. My DVC salesperson was very honest with my wife and I. He said if this is a money investment for you don’t do it. If you’re not coming to go to WDW every year or other year, don’t do it. I had a good experience. I hope it goes as well for you. And enjoy it. I had a lot of fun shopping around for my DVC and taking the tours.
 
Ask them how easy is it to book a value studio at AKL with Riviera points. They will show you how few points the value studio uses. The correct answer is. You’ll probably never be able to book a room. There are few of them and disappear at or before 11 months most of the time. Most guides are also members, the 3 or 4 I have dealt with are members. They hype everything up, just don’t get carried away. Know what you want and the nice people on this forum will answer any questions you have.
 
Ask them what resorts you can buy points at. If they say only RIV CCV and Aulani then say oh but I really like XX resort. If they tell you that you can’t buy points at XX do not buy from that guide!
 
I get what youre saying and I guess there is no good question. I've gotten all i need to know from here, but didnt know if there were specific questions for sales people that could glean any info. I was kind of interested in how they respond to the whole resale restrictions at Riviera and possible booking issues if resale buyers can only book there.

I have a question for you - what's you're purpose of the tour? If it's to view the rooms, get FP's and get some pricing info then great. If it's for the experience, ok. If it's to get good, correct information on the product and what the reality of it is then I reiterate to come back here to learn more and even verify what you are told. The DVC guides are all far from equal and some are less than forthcoming and really verge on lying. And some are fine and what they outline is good info. And a surprising amount don't fully know the product.
 
I would not go in being confrontational about anything, especially Direct vs. Resale. They are there to sell you on direct DVC - let them do it. Thank them for the FP's, the gift cards, the ice cream, and especially their time, then come back here for the details. The good guides will expect you to go home and think about it - but do that no matter what.
 
Don't buy during the sales presentation. Tell the guide you need to consult with your financial adviser, get your fast passes, and leave without buying. Then, come back here and we'll help you out understanding your potential purchase.
 
Ask them if you'd be able to book BWV Standard or AKV Value with your Riviera points.

Their answer will tell you everything you need to know about their trustworthiness.
 
Ask nothing. Make a list of questions the tour causes you to have, then come back here.

No one here has a financial interest in your decision, its all done out of love......
 
If you want the honest truth about DVC, taking the tour is a waste of time.
I have to disagree with one small thing. Riding slinky dog 3 times in 20 minutes with my son, that’s usually a 3 hour wait, was not a waste of time. I knew i was buying but did it to get the fast passes.

^^^ This - even though ours were restricted FPs, we rode a lot of stuff!!

I did find the tour (April 2019) informative. We went in having done the research and pretty sure we were going to buy RIV. We were already owners and told our guide, and we did talk about the resale restrictions. To his credit, he didn't downplay them, and he seemed to have a good working knowledge of how it was supposed to walk. He didn't oversell. For us, it was a bit of a belt-and-suspenders check, especially my DH, and a chance to take a look at the models. One thing that our guide *was* actually fairly knowledgeable about was the differences in layouts among various resorts, the type of storage space, etc. He had stayed at many himself, and was very well versed in comparing the RIV villas to VGF (which he called "the Grand").
 
Ask if you were to purchase 107 points to stay in a CC studio for a week every Adventure season is that 107 points guaranteed to never increase?
 

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