With all Disney Vacation Club resorts set to be reopened by May 2nd, 2021, DVC is taking this opportunity to return to some sense of normalcy by reinstating pre-pandemic booking policies related to reservation cancellations and holding points.
In their announcement earlier this week on the Member website, Disney Vacation Club states, “Some of the temporary adjustments made last year to certain Disney Vacation Club policies will end April 30. Previous policies will be reinstated on May 1. Please visit the Member website for details about policies related to reservation cancelations, the borrowing and holding of Points, exchange fees and more.”
Confused about what this means? Here are some of the important details you need to be aware of when planning a trip for after May 1st:
Guests looking to cancel or make changes to an upcoming reservation will need to be more cautious as Disney Vacation Club reverts to their previous policies regarding vacation points and holding accounts.
Throughout the past year, members making a last-minute change of plans have seen their points return to the use year in which they came from. This policy change will end on May 1st with the following reinstated rules applying to vacation points:
| 31 Days Before Check-In or More | Vacation Points are returned to the Use Year of the reservation. |
| 30 Days to Day Before Check-In | Vacation Points placed in Holding Account in the Use Year of the reservation. |
| Check-In | Vacation Points are forfeited. |
Points placed into a Holding Account are bound to certain use rules due to the timeframe in which the cancellation or modification occurred. These points are bound to the following restrictions:
Disney Vacation Club never officially changed their vacation point banking policies but did extend some banking deadlines and point expiration dates due to last year’s closures. As we return to a new sense of normal, members should be aware that these policies have returned to normal. DVC Members can bank their current Use Year points into the next Use Year if they do not plan to use them. Points must be banked four months before the end of your Use Year and then expire at the end of the next year. Be sure to follow this handy chart so that you don’t miss out on your vacation point banking deadline:
| Use Year | Banking Deadline |
| February | September 30th |
| March | October 31st |
| April | November 30th |
| June | January 31st |
| August | March 31t |
| September | April 30th |
| October | May 31st |
| December | July 31st |
Now for the news that no one wants to hear. While Disney Vacation Club remained vague in their announcement, they made sure to emphasize the ongoing 50% borrowing restriction that has been in effect since April 2020. In their release, DVC states, “As a reminder, Members who want to borrow Points to complete a reservation will temporarily only be able to borrow up to 50 percent of their future Use Year Points per contract. Doing this will help manage inventory and accommodate more Members who want to schedule their vacations. Learn more about these policy changes.“
We are making a small assumption here, but it appears that the 50% borrowing restriction will remain in place when these changes go into effect on May 1st. Fun Fact: When Disney Vacation Club first opened, the borrowing rule was that only 50% of your vacation points could be borrowed. It is unclear when this changed but emphasizes that this new normal may be sticking around for a while.
Hopefully we were able to clear up any confusion you have regarding the upcoming changes to Disney Vacation Club cancellation and holding policies. Keep in mind that these policy changes will not go into affect until May 1st. Until then, the more relaxed rules that have been the norm throughout this pandemic will continue.
We want to hear your thoughts! Share with us in the comments what you think about these policy changes. Do you think the borrowing restrictions should be removed? Should cancellation policies remain more flexible? Also, feel free to ask us any comments you may have!
Amy and I are new Orlando, Florida residents where we live with our dogs Odie the greyhound and Hermès the Spanish galgo. We are DVC owners at Animal Kingdom Lodge, BoardWalk Villas, Grand Californian, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian, Disney World Annual Passholders, and love educating Disney Vacation Club members on how to both use and maximize the value of their DVC points!
