DVC - Is It Worth It?

[AshleeH]

My DH and I researched them a little bit when we had our first vacation, but we weren't planning on returning for a couple of years (how silly we were!). Now that we've had a Disney-related vacation every year since our first trip, we might revisit the idea.

Is it worth it? Do you feel like you save money? Is it more or less of a hassle?

 

[Lynne M]

This is a good question for the Purchasing DVC forum, I'll move it over there.

 

[chalee94]

Is it worth it? Do you feel like you save money? Is it more or less of a hassle?

1) yes - for me. (but i bought at a price in the $80s - now direct contracts can start at $150+ per point.)
2) it saves money relative to paying cash onsite. but i do go for nicer accommodations onsite than i would have without DVC.
3) i like planning way in advance. if you prefer waiting to see what deals are available last minute (or love "free dining" or similar promotions), then DVC will seem restrictive. DVC works better if you can plan 8-11 months ahead.

for more detailed information, i would start here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3041038

 

[minnie mum]

Buying DVC or renting points? Big difference. We seriously thought about buying. We ran the numbers a couple of times, and they didn't add up for us. The only way we would have come out even was if we were used to always staying at deluxe resorts. But we usually stay at mods. Our family of 4 could have stayed at mods twice as often for the same cost of DVC.

Renting points can be worthwhile if you really need the extra space and amenities the villas offer but don't want to go off site.

 

[Shaden]

We aren't owners, but we did price it all out in quite a lot of detail. We are waiting to see how FP+ impacts our upcoming trip, which we are renting DVC as a trial run for ...

IF you are going to be making the trips anyway, its worth it, there is no question. Even if we bought from Disney at around 22000 with 900-1000 a year in dues, we would have broken even in 5 or 6 trips.

BUT, what we were, any maybe are, really looking to do, is to buy second hand points. The price becomes very attractive, looking at around $10 000 for 160 points, enough to do 10 Days at AKL during moderate/low season. With again, $900ish a year in dues. This would pay for itself in 3 trips.

 

[AshleeH]

Thanks, everyone! If we sign up, it would be to buy points. We do stay Deluxe, so it might be worth it for us now - and DH's favorite hotel is BLT, which is another point in it's favor. When we first looked at prices, we were thinking we wouldn't be taking another trip there until 2013 or '14 - after three consecutive trips (and one to DLR), we've embraced the Disney Family that we are . It might be worth it to run the numbers again.

 

[CMOORE185]

Real life example.. Have a room booked at Universal in June, (one of their nicest hotels) for just a regular room for $375 per night w/taxes...after we leave Universal we are going to WDW and have a standard DVC studio at AKL for 13 points per night. Now I would say the two rooms are very comparable as far as both being considered deluxe accommodations. So if I take the $375 and divide it by my 13 per point I get a value of about $29 dollars per point. My MF's average about $5 dollars per point....pretty good value IMO.

 

[chalee94]

even if you intend to buy, it might be a good idea to rent for your first DVC trip to get a feel for how well you like it (and what resort you might prefer).

 

[nalajms]

So if I take the $375 and divide it by my 13 per point I get a value of about $29 dollars per point. My MF's average about $5 dollars per point....pretty good value IMO.

Don't forget that there's room tax on the universal room, but none on the DVC


I'll follow that with my real life example. Booked SSR 2bd 7/19 - 7/26 last month when Disney had the summer room-only discount. Total price was $3,215. It would have cost me 372 points. So that's roughly $8.64 per point.

2 days later found out about Orbitz's 20% off on top of Disney's discount. Rebooked the same room for total price of $2,672. That comes out to $7.18 per point.

 

[Pumbas]

You can always save more if you were to purchase a resale contract instead of a direct purchase. Buying direct you have more options & a much quicker process, but buying resale you will save $$.

 

[CMOORE185]

Don't forget that there's room tax on the universal room, but none on the DVC


I'll follow that with my real life example. Booked SSR 2bd 7/19 - 7/26 last month when Disney had the summer room-only discount. Total price was $3,215. It would have cost me 372 points. So that's roughly $8.64 per point.

2 days later found out about Orbitz's 20% off on top of Disney's discount. Rebooked the same room for total price of $2,672. That comes out to $7.18 per point.

If checkout is on 26th I see a 2 bedroom for 315 points for those dates. This would be 10.2 amd 8.48 per point respectively. That being said that is sad you can get a 2 bd. for that cheap. It does devalue DVC a bit.

 

[skier_pete]

We are in the process of buying our first contract at DVC. For years I decided I wouldn't do it because it wasn't "worth it". Then I discovered the price I could buy at resale, and suddenly it was worth it, but only based on the following. (I apologize for those that have seen me post this before):

You should only buy DVC if the following apply:
1) You like Disney enough to go at least once a year to maybe every other year.
2) You vastly prefer staying on property AND staying at moderates or deluxes and you have the money to do so.
3) You can regularly schedule your vacations at a minimum of seven months in advance and preferably 11 months in advance. (Last minute and DVC don't go great together unless it's 1 or 2 nights.)
4) You would be 100% satisfied with staying at the resort at which you own points, because sometimes that's all you will be able to get with that long in advanced booking.
5) You don't mind not having maid service in your room. (This is sort of a hidden piece, but it's odd to be staying in such a nice resort and not get the high quality service.)
6) You don't care about trading points outside the DVC family of resorts. Anyplace else is a sucker's bet.
7) Once you spend the initial money, you better understand that you continue to have to pay maintenance fees, and these fees will continually rise. DVC will never be paid off.
8) The biggest thing to me - you have to foresee that you will want to continue stays at Disney World (on property moderate/deluxe) for at LEAST the next 10 years or more. The advantage to owning DVC is not today. When buying resale, the advantage is out about 10-12 years. (It's closer to 20 years if you buy DVC new from Disney.)

If only a few of these items apply to you, it might be wiser to RENT DVC points.

 

[nalajms]

If checkout is on 26th I see a 2 bedroom for 315 points for those dates. This would be 10.2 amd 8.48 per point respectively. That being said that is sad you can get a 2 bd. for that cheap. It does devalue DVC a bit.

You're right! 350 would have been for AKV Sav, bad Excel I don't think it devalues DVC. But Disney does have a lot of empty rooms at SSR this summer. They'd rather rent it cheaper than get nothing.

The $10ish per point from Disney I've seen several times in the past 3 years. But they are mostly limited to SSR and OKW, a few times at VWL, and one bounce back offer at BCV. The $8.48 per point is a special case because of Orbitz. At that price it made more sense to bank my points and use them elsewhere. Or rent them for a profit.

 

[rpk1951]

I think it is better if you can buy without financing (personal opinion), so you do not impact savings etc

 

[MouseWatcher]

We have been DVC members for just over 5 years and it is something we have never regretted. We have been able to travel to Disney World much more often and have stayed in much nicer accommodations than we ever could paying out of pocket. We have also used our points to take family/friends with us on trips and provide their room for them - it's been awesome. So, for us, it has absolutely been worth it

 

[HokieGCC]

If you are accurate with your purchase based on your needs/wants it is likely that DVC is barely a better deal. The rules of thumb are good guides:
- Stay only in Deluxe (if Moderates are what you want skip DVC)
- Visit once per year
- Can plan way ahead (11 months)
- Don't finance DVC
- Buy resale

If you do it right your break even point will be in the 8-10 year range.

So, if you know exactly what you want and are certain about it, then it will be an okay deal. Otherwise, no.

 

[ToddyLu]

I have committed the ultimate DVC sin and purchased 210 points at AKV...that's right bought them direct from Disney in 2009 and paid $93 per point with the incentives offered at that time. DH and I also financed the points...the horror...For various reasons this worked for us. We have used every single point and so far have rented over 10 studios for a week or longer. It was what we wanted to do and Disney is the only place we really travel. Yes, we have been other places but for us Disney is our happy place where we relax the most.

I simply wanted nicer accommodations after going every year since 2002. I would definitely rent points at BLT and stay there before I made a direct or resale purchase. We had one night at BLT 10/31/13 and while the studio was clean and the view fantastic...the decor was just sterile for us. We just weren't comfortable there...it is important that you are sure about the investment. I can't tell you the relief we felt driving up to AKV. Each resort is beautiful in its own way but I am going to be happy there for the price I paid. I wish the best for you and stay on here and read, read and read some more. Another good site for info is DVCNews.com and you can contact David's Rentals who specializes in renting points and is a sponsor of the boards.

We didn't know about renting before our purchase and luckily purchased at our favorite.

 

[Tdisney]

If you go every year and want nice accommodations then you should definitely buy. If you don't mind staying in value then I would not buy. Our family loved going every year and we get excited soon as some warm weather comes around. But we were going to Disney almost every year before our kids and plan on going even if they don't go.

 

[MouseyMin]

If you are accurate with your purchase based on your needs/wants it is likely that DVC is barely a better deal. The rules of thumb are good guides:
- Stay only in Deluxe (if Moderates are what you want skip DVC)
- Visit once per year
- Can plan way ahead (11 months)
- Don't finance DVC
- Buy resale

If you do it right your break even point will be in the 8-10 year range.

I've read time and again that DVC is only for people who stay in the Deluxe Hotels and you will break even at a certain number of years. I see this differently. I would appreciate comments on what I'm writing below.

Disney has raised the prices of the moderate hotels so much lately that they are now nearly double of the equivalent yearly dues for a studio at Bay Lake (where I just bought). I usually stay at Moderates, and doing this math is what finally convinced me to buy. So I can now stay at a studio at Bay Lake for just a little more than half the price of a room at Port Orleans.

I'm not counting the initial price of the contract here. The reason for this is that the contract can always be sold and most (if not all) of the resale purchase price will most probably be recovered.

What am I missing here?

 

[Msmithmd]

I've read time and again that DVC is only for people who stay in the Deluxe Hotels and you will break even at a certain number of years. I see this differently. I would appreciate comments on what I'm writing below. Disney has raised the prices of the moderate hotels so much lately that they are now nearly double of the equivalent yearly dues for a studio at Bay Lake (where I just bought). I usually stay at Moderates, and doing this math is what finally convinced me to buy. So I can now stay at a studio at Bay Lake for just a little more than half the price of a room at Port Orleans. I'm not counting the initial price of the contract here. The reason for this is that the contract can always be sold and most (if not all) of the resale purchase price will most probably be recovered. What am I missing here?

You're missing that the contract will be worth zero at its' end, and the time value of money if you do sell before then. This accounts for the fact that if you sell in twenty years, even for "more per point" than your buy-in, it's still less in inflation-adjusted real dollars.

That said, your basic premise is correct. DVC is still a good deal over staying deluxe or moderate. It's just a question of how much of a premium you place in staying "on property." Because neither is anywhere near a good deal versus many offsite locations that can be nicer and much less expensive. But offsite is a different vacation experience. No way around that.

There's also the stipulation of whether you purchased direct or resale, at least for BLT. For that specific property, resale is currently trending $70 or more below direct pricing. But yes, if you purchased BLT resale, it seems likely the resale market won't fall much from current pricing without some unforeseen major economic event.