Andrew joined Disney Vacation Club in 2008 by purchasing at Animal Kingdom Villas. Shortly after buying in addonitis kicked in and the Darden family purchased a second contract from the resale market at Old Key West. Later on Disney cruises, he added on at Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek Cabins and Villas. We've included some of the Darden's family's favorite Disney photos below.

Multiple Use Year Problems!

It wasn't until the resale contract closed that Andrew discovered that he had inadvertently purchased multiple use years. The AKV contract was a September UY. However, the OKW contract was a June UY.

A DVC member number is limited to one use year. As a result of multiple use years, Andrew ended up with two member numbers. Andrew quickly discovered that combining points at the 7-month mark was extremely difficult. He had to call member services and get the points transferred. (This is the reason that when buying direct, they always suggest you keep the same use year. It makes booking a room at 7-months a lot easier. If you have to cancel, all the points return to their original contracts as well. You can see all of the points from the DVCMember.com website.)

Andrew's solution involves banking one use year and using the other. He calls this concept leapfrogging his points. In this scenario, Andrew banks the June points from this year to next year. Last year, he did the same thing on the September contracts. This approach ensures one of the use years has double points available every year. When everything is said and done, Andrew wishes he had known about the problems with multiple use years and bought all of his contracts in the same use year.

One of the benefits of having two member numbers is that each member number gets two waitlists. Andrew uses the waitlists; however, he continues to stalk the website and usually finds his desired rooms are available before the waitlist functionality assigns him the villa.

Copper Creek Cabins

Andrew tells us all about a recent trip to the Cabins at Copper Creek. He highly recommends the cabins and believes it's well worth the points if you take the time to enjoy the room. Andrew profoundly believes in spending time at the resort and enjoying all of the amenities the resort has to offer. The cabins are a terrible point value if your touring plan involves spending all of your time at the parks. Andrew points out his favorite plan on Disney property to enjoy a drink or dessert is the pools at Wilderness Lodge.

Andrew talks about being on the Disney Fantasy in 2013 and attending the DVC member program. He adds that he likes to participate in these meetings for free mimosas and free swag. While on the Fantasy, he signed up for Boulder Ridge. In 2017, Andrew once again was on the Disney Fantasy while purchasing into Copper Creek Villas and Cabins. He mentions he did this for two main reasons. He wanted the 11 month home advantage and wanted the eleven-month window to book cabins at Copper Creek. Andrew then shares his memories of his first time staying in a cabin in December 2018. “It was phenomenal!” He did also have some advice for anyone that is interested in staying in a cabin. “Do not waste your time on one night in those cabins because you will hate yourself when you have to leave.” He believes you should stay in a cabin for a minimum of 3 days. Andrew also talks about how you need to enjoy the resort and amenities if you are using those points for a Copper Creek cabin.

However, if you are someone that likes to spend most of your time in the parks, Andrew talks about using points on what he calls a flophouse. A flophouse is a basic room that you use to sleep, brush your teeth, and comb your hair,” Andrew describes. Andrew mentions that his regular trips are nine days, eight nights and he goes to a park one day and takes a down day the next day. This touring plan allows him time to enjoy the re