Places to stay other than Disney?

[yoyowife]

I am trying my hardest to convince my husband that buying in to DVC is the right choice. He says its a "cute idea" but he doesn't want to take a vacation every year and he doesn't want to go to Disney World/Land all the time. Even though I have told him that we can go anywhere he is still having a hard time seeing my vision.
Does anyone use their points to stay places other than Disney World/Land resorts? What is your favorite place to go?

 

[vicki_c]

The best other choices would be: Hilton Head, Vero Beach and the new Aulani, because they are actually DVC resorts.

Trading out to other places through RCI is more difficult and often not cost effective.

DVC is best using for staying @ DVC resorts the majority of the time.

 

[yoyowife]

So basically I would have to stay disney or some place tropic to get my monies worth? My biggest seller to my husband was the resort in Colorado because he likes to snowboard. What is the RCI exchange rate? Is it the same for different places or does it just depend on the location?

 

[Brian Noble]

Please please please don't buy DVC to use frequently in RCI. There are *much* less expensive ways to stay in those resorts. I am happy when people do it---I exchange *in* to DVC using my less-expensive timeshares elsewhere---but it is a poor use of points.

DVC is really only a good idea for DVC resorts. And, I'd go so far as to say that it's really only good for the resorts in Orlando, and maybe Anaheim. Disney simply doesn't have the "home court advantage" anywhere else to justify their premium pricing, IMO.

DVC---and any timeshare---really is a commitment to frequent vacationing. Not everyone is ready to make that commitment. But, if you want to mix destinations, you would be best served by a "portfolio" of ownerships---enough DVC points to visit WDW every other year or so, and some other ownership you can use in the "off years".

 

[yoyowife]

I am a frequent vacationer. My husband just isn't. He is also a service member so he is deployed a lot which give me and the kids free time to vacation. I would love to go on vacations to Disney every year or every other year but he says he wants to go other places also. Which is fine with me. So if I only used the DVC points for Disney vacations every other year would it be worth it? Are there any other timeshares that will allow me to rent Disney World resorts? What about cruises, do I have to pay rci exchange for them?

 

[vicki_c]

I am a frequent vacationer. My husband just isn't. He is also a service member so he is deployed a lot which give me and the kids free time to vacation. I would love to go on vacations to Disney every year or every other year but he says he wants to go other places also. Which is fine with me. So if I only used the DVC points for Disney vacations every other year would it be worth it? Are there any other timeshares that will allow me to rent Disney World resorts? What about cruises, do I have to pay rci exchange for them?

I can only speak to the cruise - that is part of the Disney Collection. You can use your points (I believe that is still a fairly points expensive option though - cash is normally more cost effective), and there is a $95 fee.

If you purchase a resale after 3/20/11 instead of direct through Disney, using the Disney Collection will not be available to you, though, so it would be irrelevant unless you purchase direct or resale prior to that date.

Using borrowing & banking of your points, you can buy less than what you need for 1 trip and visit every other year (using 2-3 years of points at once).

 

[JJSWDW]

Per PP...Maybe buy 1/3 of the points you'd need. In years 2,5,8,11,etc.. You would combine the prior year's points (by banking the year before) and the next year's points ( by barrowing). Then you only 'have to' go to Disney every 3 years. Plus you could always add on points if you start going more often.

 

[Dean]

I am trying my hardest to convince my husband that buying in to DVC is the right choice. He says its a "cute idea" but he doesn't want to take a vacation every year and he doesn't want to go to Disney World/Land all the time. Even though I have told him that we can go anywhere he is still having a hard time seeing my vision.
Does anyone use their points to stay places other than Disney World/Land resorts? What is your favorite place to go?

IMO, buying DVC for those other options outside of the DVC resorts is a bad idea in many ways. I'd suggest buying enough points that will work for you every 2-3 years (maybe a small cushion) and looking at other options for non DVC trips. You'll come out ahead financially and have more and better options.