If you've ever googled anything about DVC, there's a high chance that you ended up reading a page, article or news post from DVCInfo.com. We've all read the articles and news stories. But how much do you know about the DVC members behind this site? Having spent many hours on the site and in their forums, I can tell you there's a dedicated team of people whose combined efforts make that site a pillar of the DVC community.

In episode 018 we get a chance to meet the team leader and prominent member of the DVC Community, Russ Clark. Russ not only owns Disney Vacation Club contracts at Saratoga Springs Resort, Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, and Aulani and is also a member of the Hilton Grand Vacation Club.

Russ began his timeshare journey with Hilton Grand Vacation Club. His Disney story starts with RCI exchanges into the Disney Vacation Club. He received numerous bonus points when joining HGVC. They deposited the extra points into RCI. At the time, you could book any of the DVC resorts using RCI exchanges. Currently, DVC restricts people to Saratoga Springs when exchanging into DVC from RCI. (This benefits DVC members, as reserves inventory for members at resorts DVC members deem most desirable.) Russ and his family tried out most DVC resorts before joining DVC with the RCI exchange program. After DVC made the transition to SSR only, Russ and his family decided to become DVC members to ensure they could continue coming to DVC resorts.

Russ explains that having done numerous resort exchanges in the HGVC program and within the RCI program, he decided the best resort to buy is the most economical resort to own, so they bought into DVC at SSR. In the DVC community, SSR is well known for being a network resort as a significant amount of owners prefer to stay elsewhere.

Russ has a clearly defined booking strategy at the 7-month mark:

Beach Club – 1 BedroomBay Lake Tower – 1 Bedroom Lake ViewBoulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge – 1 BedroomAnimal Kingdom – 1 Bedroom Savanah View

Generally speaking, they try to book at the Beach Club or a Magic Kingdom resort. If neither are available, they know they will enjoy a Savannah view room at Kidani.

A typical trip home for the Clark family lasts nine nights and goes from Friday to Sunday. They like coming in the spring and fall that align with their children's school schedule. Getting nine contiguous nights in the 7-month mark at Beach Club is somewhat tricky. They usually can stay at Bay Lake Tower, and if that's not available, they're always happy with Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village. The family avoids split-stays whenever possible.

Russ discusses the sticker shock of comparing DVC annual maintenance fees to the rest of the timeshare industry and the value of the Disney experience. DVC dues are sky high compared to any other timeshare program. However, when you compare the yearly dues to the cost of staying in a cash room, they look a lot more reasonable. For him, this was the hardest factor to get around when buying into DVC. However, he points out that his first Disney trip was off property at an HGVC resort. He values coming to Disney and staying inside “the Disney Bubble.” When you leave the Magic Kingdom and start driving past all the same stores and restaurants you have back home, it breaks the immersive theming experience of Disney. 60-day fast pass windows, Disney transportation to and from the resorts are crucial elements of staying on property. At Disney, all cast members are on stage. Every worker in a restaurant is wearing a costume at a themed restaurant. Russ points out that once you're committed to staying on property, DVC is a becomes a cost-effective approach to staying in the best resorts Disney has to offer.

Back when the Clark family started exchanging into DVC, they were able to get two weeks back-to-back in DVC resorts. The RCI exchange was not as well kn