Any annual visitors not DVC?

[jlnten17]

I realize there is a DVC forum but most of the people on there are DVC members and I am looking for general opinions. I see many of you visit nearly every year, are you DVC members and if not why did you decide against it? On our last trip we met several DVC members that just raved about it so we started looking into it and I'm really torn. I understand the obvious pros (savings after a breakeven point, villas with kitchens, etc) and cons (money tied up that could be invested elsewhere, housekeeping, not eligible for other discounts like dining). But my biggest concern is just not liking the DVC options as much as we do the standard hotel rooms. Has this been an issue for anyone else? For example the Poly and GF do not offer DVC with guaranteed TPV. And the location of the DVC buildings at these resorts seem less desirable than the hotel rooms. And of course there's only studios at the Poly and as our kids get bigger we may need to book 2 rooms ( or the 1 bedroom villa at GF is double the points so not a lot of savings). Would love some input on those that were or are in our situation and what the deciding factor was for you to buy or not buy DVC.

 

[gwynne]

I realize there is a DVC forum but most of the people on there are DVC members and I am looking for general opinions. I see many of you visit nearly every year, are you DVC members and if not why did you decide against it? On our last trip we met several DVC members that just raved about it so we started looking into it and I'm really torn. I understand the obvious pros (savings after a breakeven point, villas with kitchens, etc) and cons (money tied up that could be invested elsewhere, housekeeping, not eligible for other discounts like dining). But my biggest concern is just not liking the DVC options as much as we do the standard hotel rooms. Has this been an issue for anyone else? For example the Poly and GF do not offer DVC with guaranteed TPV. And the location of the DVC buildings at these resorts seem less desirable than the hotel rooms. And of course there's only studios at the Poly and as our kids get bigger we may need to book 2 rooms ( or the 1 bedroom villa at GF is double the points so not a lot of savings). Would love some input on those that were or are in our situation and what the deciding factor was for you to buy or not buy DVC.

We don't buy DVC because we like to keep our travel options open. We don't want to be locked into anything. It works for some folks and that's great.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

But my biggest concern is just not liking the DVC options as much as we do the standard hotel rooms.

That's a perfectly valid reason not to buy DVC. DVC works best with a certain style of touring. If it's not your style, it's not a value.

And of course there's only studios at the Poly and as our kids get bigger we may need to book 2 rooms ( or the 1 bedroom villa at GF is double the points so not a lot of savings).

You could buy at Bay Lake Tower via the resale market. Per-point costs are MUCH lower in resale, and the 1BR units at Bay Lake are nice. You can book a TPV at Bay Lake. Because the points costs (and annual dues!) are lower, you can also buy MORE points.

Via resale, you can buy into any DVC resort at a much lower price. Disney try to make resale sound filthy and scary, and unless you want to stay at Poly most of the time and use an 11-month booking window there most of the time, the points are overpriced and the resort too narrow in scope (studios + absurd bungalows). Grand Floridian studios are very limited in quantity, so booking them can be a challenge even at 11-months as an owner there, and when you start looking at 1BR units, the points costs to stay at Bay Lake, Wilderness Lodge (once it's out from construction) or an Epcot resort are much cheaper.

If you've rented points for a 1BR and found them not to your liking, that's a perfectly legitimate reason to keep on as you are, though. If you've not, I'd recommend at least considering a booking via a DVC rental agency for a BLT 1BR TPV to give it a try, or possibly a 1BR at Boardwalk or Beach Club.

 

[I Love Pluto]

We didn't buy DVC because we are completely satisfied with the Mods & Values. We actually like to resort hop for meals & in the room we prefer to have real beds for all, not pull-outs.

DVC puts us in a higher category of resort - Deluxe - that we may not be comfortable in. I guess the answer is that there is no right or wrong, but where you "feel" correct.

No matter how you choose - enjoying the Disney atmosphere at the parks is most important to us.

 

[TeamSy]

I realize there is a DVC forum but most of the people on there are DVC members and I am looking for general opinions. I see many of you visit nearly every year, are you DVC members and if not why did you decide against it? On our last trip we met several DVC members that just raved about it so we started looking into it and I'm really torn. I understand the obvious pros (savings after a breakeven point, villas with kitchens, etc) and cons (money tied up that could be invested elsewhere, housekeeping, not eligible for other discounts like dining). But my biggest concern is just not liking the DVC options as much as we do the standard hotel rooms. Has this been an issue for anyone else? For example the Poly and GF do not offer DVC with guaranteed TPV. And the location of the DVC buildings at these resorts seem less desirable than the hotel rooms. And of course there's only studios at the Poly and as our kids get bigger we may need to book 2 rooms ( or the 1 bedroom villa at GF is double the points so not a lot of savings). Would love some input on those that were or are in our situation and what the deciding factor was for you to buy or not buy DVC.

We visit annually and are not DVC members, but in the past have rented points. I would never buy, but that's just me, because for us there's no value in it. Everyone is different though. I think you need to take the cost of buying and compare it to renting points, travel agency discounts, etc. It seems a lot more worth it when you compare against rack rates, but I don't really know anyone who actually pays rack rates. See where YOUR break even point is. At about $200 per night for deluxe, which is what we always tend to pay, we're happy with that amount and don't have to deal with shelling out a chunk of money and maintenance fees yearly. You also have restrictions as far as booking windows at your non-home resort. We like to split our time at the hotels and this just seems like a headache - to book one portion 11 months out and the next 7 months out and there be a chance you don't get it. We also would add in the housekeeping option (it's a vacation!), so that's additional money per day. I'm not familiar with Disney's deed/contract, but I would also look into long-term terms and conditions. Some timeshares are deeded, other's contracts run out after a certain period of time. My parents have had their Marriott timeshare since the 80s (even they say it's not worth it anymore), but I remember them looking into dvc when that first started, just to compare (they were going to buy another week at Marriott but thought maybe they would shop around) and they didn't like their contract terms, among other things. I definitely wouldn't rush to purchase.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We visit annually (sometimes twice a year), but we are not DVC. We have looked into it, but right now (and for the past several years) we have been happy to use the 40% military discount off of deluxes and that works out better for us right now.

We have said that if the military discount gets discontinued at some point, we will revisit the idea of DVC.

 

[AngiTN]

We are not DVC and we go multiple times a year, not just annual.

We've considered it, taken the tour twice, but we prefer the regular Resort side, so far.

We may revisit that later.

 

[kashzan]

We visit every year(25 years) and like AngiTN, we have considered, but have chosen not become DVC.

 

[TJA]

One of the biggest reasons for us is because we enjoy staying Club Level too much.

 

[Dreamin192]

We considered it since we are planning on going every year, this coming trip will be our second. It's just not our touring style though. I can see the benefits of a kitchen but when I'm on vacation I don't want to cook, I also don't want to clean haha.

*editing to add that we like club level as well. I know you can get DVC CL at AK but my understanding is it's hard to book and we have no interest in staying at AKL, we like the monorail resorts.

 

[AngiTN]

We considered it since we are planning on going every year, this coming trip will be our second. It's just not our touring style though. I can see the benefits of a kitchen but when I'm on vacation I don't want to cook, I also don't want to clean haha.

*editing to add that we like club level as well. I know you can get DVC CL at AK but my understanding is it's hard to book and we have no interest in staying at AKL, we like the monorail resorts.

Same! A kitchen is NO benefit to me on vacation. Nor is a bedroom in most cases. I know there are studios but most often I can get a regular room for less than a studio. That's why DVC doesn't fit us

I will say if we do ever take the plunge it will be resell as I do not want to own at Poly or GF. If the new WL stuff is ever sold I may relook at that.

 

[JWigs]

We have an almost 3 year old and since she's been born we've been to DL twice, DW twice and going back to DW next month.

We didn't think we'd become "so" Disney but it is so easy to go with your kids and make new memories.

That being said, we've stayed at GC, BLT as well as off-site. We decided a few mos ago to buy into DVC for 2 homes resorts as we feel with her being a Disney kid plus another baby being planned that we'll be Disney folks for a while.

It made sense to us since we can buy DVC through resale that it's cheaper for us in long run since we know where we want to stay and what we'll be doing. I agree it's not for everyone but getting our points and being able to resell the ones we didn't use and book future trips (Xmas for 2017 is in the plans and Aulani for this Sept). It makes me feel happy to know we have a place to stay and the only thing we pay are dues.

 

[buzznina]

We are annual 2-3 times a year visitors and would have liked to have bought it 10+ years ago when the price was not as inflated as it is now. The main issues for us not doing DVC is:
Do not want to fork over $10,000+ up front, and no way is it worth it if you have to finance it.
We like having 2 real beds and you do not get that except in a couple of resorts(which are not really ones we like)
DW likes having daily mousekeeping or at least towels and products, not having to pay extra for it
The majority of our trips are put together under the 7 month window, forget about at 11 months
I did the calcs and the break even point(upfront cost) for us was right at 10 years

 

[senadler]

We decided to buy DVC when our family outgrew staying in a single room. We are a family of five, and our oldest (DD15) has also brought a friend with on our past few vacations. We purchased BCV resale when the price was very reasonable, and are able to use points for a 2BR. If we were still comfortable in a single deluxe room, I don't think we would have made the investment.

 

[cvjw]

If regular Disney hotels work for you, and you are happy with the discounts offered, than DVC probably isn't for you. This is especially true for people who stay in the value and moderate hotels.

We have visited Disney at least once per year since our boys were young, always staying onsite. We got to a certain point when they were in middle school that one regular Disney room didn't work for us anymore. I know some people are fine with putting 5 adults in a value room, but we aren't. We decided to purchase DVC so we could have larger villas when we visit Disney. For us, having a nice "home base", with the amenities of home really appealed to us. And with two growing boys, it is wonderful to have a separate bedroom area away from them.

I also used to think that I would never want a kitchen or washer and dryer while visiting Disney. That was before we started staying in the DVC 2 bedroom villas. Now, I love having those amenities. It is so great to only bring a small amount of clothing to Disney and just throw it in the washer before a day at the parks. Always having clean clothes at Disney is awesome Although we don't cook at Disney, it is great having the full size refrigerator and freezer and microwave. It is easy to prepare a quick breakfast, or lunch in the villa. We stay for 2 weeks some trips and do get tired of eating park food after a while.

DVC isn't for everyone. Yes, it is expensive, and the maintenance fees go up every year. We have owned since 2008, and consider it a great addition to our family

 

[Disneytam]

We are at least once a year visitors and sometimes twice a year and are not DVC owners. We did take the tour (more for the $100 and fast passes) and it just reaffirmed that it is not for us. We are AP holders so we tend to get in two trips per pass holder year, and have never paid rack rate. We also love CL and since it's a vacation I have no interest in cooking or cleaning so that is no benefit to us. We also tend to go during the slower times of the year and seldom book more than 6 months out.Once you take the emotion out of the equation (you can own a piece of Disney forever!) it makes no sense to us at all, for others it might. The few people that I know who own Disney "time shares" always seem to me like they are trying to convince themselves that it is a good deal after the fact.

 

[loves to dive]

I have an AP, have had for 3 years now, and am not a DVC member. My son and ex-DIL (she got the DVC) were but they bought directly from Disney even though I tried to talk them out of it. I don't buy for a number of reasons. I've run the numbers two ways to Sunday and I still come out better not owning, when you factor in annual fees and payments if you finance or up front cash that could have been earning if you don't, I just can't make it come out positive for me. I go by myself more often than not, twice a year for F&G and F&W (which is why the AP) so only a studio would make sense to me. I've stayed in some of the studios by either renting points or getting them through Disney and just don't like the size of them. I'm another one when I'm on vacation I don't cook, I don't do laundry and I don't clean. That's not saying some time in the future when I sell the house that my moocher brother is living in for free, I won't take what little profit I get and pay cash for a resale but I would buy unless I could go that direction. I don't think I've booked a vacation sooner than 3 months out since I've been going to WDW, 9 months would be a huge stretch, I don't know where I'm going to be tonight much less what I'm going to want to do 9 months from now so I don't like the restrictions of having to book so far out.

 

[pixarmom]

Many of the same reasons:

• We travel to non-Disney locations frequently in addition to Disney trips, and would never want to lock in to Disney for so long. I'll always love it, but the frequency of visits will definitely change as our kids grow older.
• The frequency of our Disney trips over the past several years is related to our youngest son's needs and the proximity to my parents' winter home. Disney is a quick and easy place to vacation with him. As he grows older (and we have more experience!) we're able to increase our non-Disney travel.
• For a while, we were staying CL frequently.
• I really don't want a kitchen on vacation.
• The room-only AP rates used to be quite good. I didn't do the math (for the other reasons listed here) but I would be surprised if it DVC would have been a good value for us. We don't need the extra space at Disney because we're on the go most of the time, and can fit our family of five in a traditional room (and sometimes I travel with just the kids, giving us even more options.)
• The DVC properties are looking better recently, but for quite some time the regular rooms at the resorts we chose were more updated than the DVC side.

We'll stay at Poly villas - cash reservation - later this month. Even if we love them (and I hope we do!) we'll stick with cash reservations.

 

[L&Lfan]

Who needs a kitchen on vacation? My boyfriend and I surely don't. We are not DVC because we think it's kind of a rip off and we want to do other things with our money and we may not choose to do Disney every year.

 

[AngiTN]

Who needs a kitchen on vacation? My boyfriend and I surely don't. We are not DVC because we think it's kind of a rip off and we want to do other things with our money and we may not choose to do Disney every year.

LOL.. the words vacation, laundry and kitchen (cooking) never belong in the same conversation. Unless it's to say "I never cook or do laundry while on vacation"