MyDVC is shareware and is completely free to any DVC owner for their personal use.
Official Release Coming Soon!
Pre-Release Version Available for Download TODAY!
Several MyDVC Training Videos were previously posted. However, the tool used to create them caused memory issues and did not run reliably.
The new videos have been created in a different tool and will not cause these problems. Use them to learn how to use MyDVC after you've downloaded it, or to see if MyDVC is what you're looking for.
New videos will be added on a regular basis.
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Welcome and Background of the MyDVC Tool's development
Welcome to the MyDVC Tool.
This is a tool that will allow you to manage all aspects of your Disney Vacation
Club® membership. Plan how to use your points, keep
track of where they've gone, manage a comprehensive calendar of your vacations,
and plan all aspects of your Walt Disney World®
vacation.
All in one convenient package!
There are tons of Walt Disney World® references and planning tools available, and some very good DVC tools, as well. So why introduce another new one?
For my past few trips, I found I was having to go to many different places to do my planning. I'd have to search the DVC Member web site to find details on my contracts, use years, and point charts. I kept a Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet of how I'd been using my points. I'd make calendar entries in Microsoft® Outlook® to remind me when to bank points or book vacations. I'd visit Disney-related web sites to find information on resorts and restaurants. I had a second Microsoft® Excel® worksheet to track my Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) and tours. And finally, I'd compile a master trip itinerary using Microsoft® Word®. I had no single place to keep all this information organized.
At first, I didn't plan for the MyDVC Tool to have quite the scope
it has attained. My original plan was to have a tool that would allow me to view the
different DVC villa options, given the time of year we
wanted to travel and the number of points we had. (The "Where Can I
Stay?"
module of MyDVC represents this original concept.) At first, this module required the user to
enter the number of points available. This led to wanting it
to be able to track the number of available points -- which led to the
"Manage My Contracts" module. From that expansion stemmed all other
modules, and the eventual creation of this comprehensive tool.
In all honesty, I had no idea when I started programming a year and a half ago that this project would eventually entail literally hundreds of hours of work, dozens of tables, and more forms than I want to count. Being the computer and Disney geek I am, though, every one of these development hours was enjoyable. I love the challenge of making a computer do what I need it to do, and the creativity of designing screens and functionality that are hopefully easy to use. I also love researching and learning about Walt Disney World®, and spent many hours pouring through forums like DisBoards, Intercot, and AllEarsNet. I have to admit there was also some excitement in creating this tool with the prospect that others may find use in it.
The MyDVC Tool has several modules, which revolve around the major functions of managing your Disney Vacation Club® contracts, and planning your vacations.
Managing your Disney Vacation Club® Contracts
MyDVC provides you a place to record information about each of your contacts. A record for each use year keeps track of the points you've used and those you have available. A full range of possible points transactions is supported for managing your points:
A detailed listing of all transactions in the use year is also available. Drilling down on the items in this list will show the transaction details.
MyDVC includes a robust toolbox of DVC vacation planning tools. These tools provide varying levels of automated assistance, depending on whether you already know what you want or need some suggestions for your trip.
This form is for the vacationer who already knows the resort, type of room, and dates of the trip they want to take. Simply fill out a few fields and the points are calculated and the vacation is added to your calendar.
Perhaps you're like me when I plan a vacation. I want to know all the options before I choose where to go. This module provides a view of all the different resort and room type combinations that are available for the points you have and the size of your travel party.
Finding the "perfect" time to start your vacation is a complicated equation. Many factors go into making the decision. All too often, the decision is made solely on the number of points required. However, MyDVC gives you an easy way to sort through multiple factors to pick the check-in date that will be most "magical."
Using a mathematical method called the Analytic Hierarchy Process, MyDVC asks you to rate and compare ten different factors to come up with your own personal "Magic Index." This index weighs each check-in date against what is important to you, and recommends the dates that best fit your profile. Factors include number of points, average high temperature, average low temperature, average rainfall, hurricane season, crowd levels, number of days off work, day of the week to check in, dates on your calendar to avoid, and dates on your calendar to try to incorporate.
Different things are important to different people in finding the "perfect" resort at Walt Disney World®. This module offers a wide variety of resort amenities to select as important to you on a vacation. MyDVC will look at what you've selected and make suggestions as to which resorts you may or may not like.
Manage Your Dining Reservations
MyDVC has a built in calendar to keep track of the vacations you've booked and reservations you've made. You can also add personal appointments, birthdays, and other events to your calendar.
Monthly view:
Daily view:
If you have little ones in school (or a teacher in the household), the School Calendar tool allows you to quickly add their schedules to your calendar.
... which makes it easy to see at a glance when a vacation can be scheduled.
If you have Microsoft® Outlook® on your computer, MyDVC will interface with this calendar (if you like) and add your vacations and reservations automatically. It can also send a copy of your reservations to a second email address, such as your work email.
And much, much more!
Additional features are constantly being added to the MyDVC Tool. These include:
What are the minimum system requirements for MyDVC?
The MyDVC Tool is developed in Microsoft Office Access 2007, and requires the Microsoft Office Access 2007 Runtime to operate. This software is distributed as part of the download.
The Microsoft Office Access 2007 Runtime will only run in a Microsoft Windows environment. Unfortunately, there is no compatibility for Mac users.
See this page for additional system requirements.
Where can I get the MyDVC Tool?
The MyDVC Tool is still in development and pre-release testing. It has not yet been released for general download, however, the pre-release version is available to anyone. If you would like to be a tester of the pre-release version, please register here and you'll be sent a user name and password for the Beta Tester download page.
Registered Beta Testers can review information about the pre-release software on this page, and download the software here.
Users can access online training materials and video tutorials for MyDVC on this page.
MyDVC Forum
A place to post questions, comments, and suggestions about the MyDVC software. Access the forum here.
My name is Dave, and I've been a Disney enthusiast all my life. Over
the course of the past few decades, I've visited Walt Disney World dozens of
times. My first trips were with my parents in the late seventies and early
eighties. Those trips were to the Contemporary and Polynesian resorts.
Other trips through my school and college years were with my parents to one of
the several Orlando Marriott timeshare locations. Several years ago, my
roommate and I were fortunate enough to be able to afford our own timeshare - an
interest in Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa and a membership in the
Disney Vacation Club.
A
former Navy Supply Corps Officer, I have continued my service to the Navy as a
civil servant for the past seventeen years. Until recently, I was a
programmer and systems integrator in the areas of transportation and logistics,
with a focus on automatic identification technology. I was the program
manager for one of the Navy's first integrations of passive radio frequency
identification, using electronic product codes to track materials arriving at
and departing from warehouses and transportation nodes. Last year, I took
a promotion that moved me to a job that no longer has a computer or technology
focus. I guess I missed the programming and system development, because I
now find much of my free time is spent working on the MyDVC Tool.
Online in Disney forums, I'm known as BirdsOfPreyDave. This screen name comes from my other great passion: motorcycles. I happened to find a wonderful pin on one trip of Donald Duck (my favorite character) riding a motorcycle. On the back of his leather jacket, Donald had the name of his riding club - the Birds of Prey. I decided I wanted to be a member of Donald's club, and adopted the pin as my avatar.
Disclaimer and Research Assistance Request
I've spent a considerable amount of time researching and collecting the information that is used to populate the tables in this database. Information regarding resorts, room types, points schedules, and restaurants each required research. In some cases there were varying levels of, often conflicting, information. As I haven't stayed in many of the Disney resorts, I'm not able to personally validate this information. I hope those who have stayed in these resorts and who have personal knowledge will provide corrections and updates to the information I've compiled. The same goes for all other tables in the system. If you find a mistake, please contact me at BirdsOfPreyDave@cox.net to have the correction incorporated into a future update. I will make every effort to quickly correct problems with the software or tables, and will post a "Known Errors" listing if those corrections cannot be published immediately. Please note: To ensure your email doesn't automatically get deleted by my junk mail filter, please make sure the word MyDVC appears in the subject of any email! You can also post these on the MyDVC Forum.
Because Walt Disney World® changes so frequently, information that may have been correct at the time of publication may not be correct today.
With these things in mind, I can make no guarantees as to the accuracy or functionality of the MyDVC Tool. It is the responsibility of the user to validate any information in the MyDVC Tool with their travel agent or a Disney Cast Member when booking resort or dining reservations. Validate any calculations made regarding your DVC contracts and points with DVC Member Services. I cannot be responsible for any consequences of inaccuracies or miscalculations within the MyDVC Tool. Please see the Terms of Service for using the MyDVC Tool and the BirdsOfPreyDave.com web site.
Web site and content © Copyright 2008, BirdsOfPreyDave.com. All rights reserved. BirdsOfPreyDave.com and MyDVC are not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, the Disney Vacation Club, or the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney characters are the property of the Walt Disney Company.
BirdsOfPreyDave.com recommends the following sites:
