Pros/Cons DVS

[disneydiva727]

Just dabbling in the thought of buying into the DVC. We are a family of 5 that go to Disney pretty much every year. (Why vacation anywhere else, right?) I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the DVC benefits/drawbacks. Do DVC members get any perks? Dining discounts? Annual Pass discount? Is it worth paying annual fee? Can you buy DVC "resale" as I thought I read...just curious what some of your past experiences have been positive or negative on the whole DVC experience. Thank you in advance for your insight...

PS we are looking at AKL as our "home"

 

[chalee94]

Just dabbling in the thought of buying into the DVC. We are a family of 5 that go to Disney pretty much every year. (Why vacation anywhere else, right?) I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the DVC benefits/drawbacks.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2740145

here's the basic scoop: DVC works best for people who:

1) go to disney at least every other year
2) prefer to stay onsite at deluxes (or at least moderates)
3) can plan their vacations 10 or 11 months in advance
4) can limit Fri-Sat stays since weekend point costs are a little higher
5) intend to use DVC primarily for staying at a DVC resort at disney (rather than trading out for other timeshares or cruises, etc.)
6) need or prefer larger accommodations than a basic hotel room

if you’ll be upset when other people can pay cash for a room and get a discount or get “free” dining thrown in, then DVC is not for you.

also be aware that if you think you might keep DVC for 6-8 years and then sell it down the road, it may have little to no value as DVC has begun cutting perks that transfer when you sell your contract. resale contracts no longer qualify to trade for cruises and wdw hotels like the GF...(but those trades tend to be a poor value anyway.)

so resales are "worth it" for certain types of people...but if you have to pay direct prices...if you have to finance the contract...if you are looking to trade for cruises or non-DVC resorts, then i don't think DVC would ever be a good value.

remember that it's not a "membership" so much as a long-term real estate lease commitment with continuing costs. while you can stay in studios that are similar to hotel rooms (only OKW has 2 queen beds, though, and all the rest have 1 queen + 1 pullout sofabed), DVC is a better value if you want to spread out and get a 1BR villa or larger...

hang out on the DVC boards for a while and read through different threads to get an idea of what issues DVC owners are dealing with, and whether those issues would affect you. there's a lot to learn - don't be in a hurry...

Do DVC members get any perks? Dining discounts? Annual Pass discount?

sure. several discounts. but if the DVC resort accommodations aren't worth it by themselves, you are probably wasting your time. any of the perks can come and go at any time.

Is it worth paying annual fee?

if you want the grounds maintained, the rooms cleaned between guests, working electricity and water, and people at the front desk to help check you in, i would say so. that's part of what annual dues pay for (along with things like bus or boat transportation.)

 

[gladdiola]

Just dabbling in the thought of buying into the DVC. We are a family of 5 that go to Disney pretty much every year. (Why vacation anywhere else, right?) I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the DVC benefits/drawbacks. Do DVC members get any perks? Dining discounts? Annual Pass discount? Is it worth paying annual fee? Can you buy DVC "resale" as I thought I read...just curious what some of your past experiences have been positive or negative on the whole DVC experience. Thank you in advance for your insight...

PS we are looking at AKL as our "home"

Family of 5 here also. Just bought DVC resale last summer after renting points for a 2 bedroom villa for a week at OKW which we love. Finished my first trip as a member two days ago. I know the perks change from time to time, but this last trip I received 10% discount on all merchandise purchases. I am also a disney Visa card holder and received an additional 10% discount when I spent more than $50 in a single transaction. Took advantage of a limited time perk to purchase PAPs for $399 (perk ended 12/31/12). For me I like having the home like space for my family and the limited housekeeping services. The perks are a nice add-on when we get them; I check the member website for any updates on the perks monthly. Have fun researching!

 

[Missyrose]

Family of 5 here also. Just bought DVC resale last summer after renting points for a 2 bedroom villa for a week at OKW which we love. Finished my first trip as a member two days ago. I know the perks change from time to time, but this last trip I received 10% discount on all merchandise purchases. I am also a disney Visa card holder and received an additional 10% discount when I spent more than $50 in a single transaction. Took advantage of a limited time perk to purchase PAPs for $399 (perk ended 12/31/12). For me I like having the home like space for my family and the limited housekeeping services. The perks are a nice add-on when we get them; I check the member website for any updates on the perks monthly. Have fun researching!

Wait, they let you bundle both merchandise discounts?

 

[gladdiola]

Wait, they let you bundle both merchandise discounts?

Yep, I only asked for the DVC discount, but when I pulled out my Disney Visa they told me I get 10% more off since my purchase was over $50, this happened to me 3 times during my trip.

 

[Brian Noble]

Do DVC members get any perks? Dining discounts? Annual Pass discount?

The DVC value proposition is pretty simple:

You commit to regularly staying in DVC-class lodging (roughly equivalent to Disney's Deluxe category), paying a good chunk of your long-term costs up front. In exchange, Disney gives you a discount on the cost of that lodging.

Everything else---all the other discounts, etc.---are just gravy. They can come and go at any time. I would not base my decision to buy (or not buy) on the perks.

 

[BillyBuckner]

I guess I must be part of the "foolish minority" because the perks were an influencer in my decision.

My situation is that once my youngest son turns 3 (2014) we will outgrow the moderate/value resorts and were looking for alternative. I figure I can stay BWV standard for about the price of a value suite or I can stay in some higher priced rooms for less than 2 rooms at a moderate. Thought about Swan/Dolphin but didn't see much savings.

So my trade off is whether the "expected, but not promised" perks of DVC (i.e. AP discounts and TIW) plus my extra happiness with the resort would outweigh the possibility of missing big promotions with MYW packages (I.e. free dining).

If all the discounts go away then I am no worse off (on cost basis) with DVC than without and I got a better location for similar money. If free dining offers for regular resorts continue then I pay more to stay BWV than say AofA suites because I don't get free food. But I am betting that there is a better chance of getting AP discounts for DVC member than to get free dining for other resorts (after full rollout of Fantasyland and Fastpass+).

 

[Sammie]

One of the cons is you are committing for a very long time, vacations at Disney World, which gets more and more expensive each year.

Even after your points are paid for, fees continue to increase as does ticket prices, cost of food, gas or airline fares.

It is a very expensive vacation for many, many years.

The other con is that for some reason DVC does not do as good a job of maintaining and housekeeping the DVC units as Disney resorts does. For years they wanted to tell us it was to keep our dues down. But after the mismanagement of Aulani, I have to wonder if that is the truth at all.

I had great hopes that Claire Bilby was going to address maintenance and housekeeping at DVC but now she is gone and only time will tell what the new guy will do.

 

[joelp]

The DVC value proposition is pretty simple:

You commit to regularly staying in DVC-class lodging (roughly equivalent to Disney's Deluxe category), paying a good chunk of your long-term costs up front. In exchange, Disney gives you a discount on the cost of that lodging.

Everything else---all the other discounts, etc.---are just gravy. They can come and go at any time. I would not base my decision to buy (or not buy) on the perks.

Actually, if you hold on to a DVC membership for a long time, ultimately the biggest chunk of the cost will turn out to be the annual maintenence fees (which increase about 3-5% each year).

From the tone of your (OP) post, it sounds like you're just getting started with thinking about DVC.

So do a lot of research here on DISBoards and at DVCNews.com, and order the DVC DVD from Disney.

 

[Brian Noble]

ultimately the biggest chunk of the cost will turn out to be the annual maintenence fees

True, but the present-value contribution of those fees is not as big as it might seem by just adding it all up.