Any annual visitors not DVC?

TeamSy said:

At about $200 per night for deluxe, which is what we always tend to pay, we're happy with that amount.

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That looks like a good deal. How do you find rates like that? Do you pay that at all the deluxes, or only WL and AKL?

Another annual visitor with no interest in DVC. I don't think it's a value and I don't like being locked in to a vacation destination. While we do end up at WDW every year, I would have to feel obligated to go because I've got this timeshare that I'm paying for. I also don't need the kitchen or laundry, and I like the daily mousekeeping.

My two cents....I am an Annual Passholder & visit WDW 2-3 times/year. I have also considered buying DVC, but at this point I also can't make the numbers work in my favor. I choose to either rent points or just stay in a moderate and that works for my family. I would suggest before you make a decision one way or the other that you rent points from somewhere like David's DVC rental, or The DVC Rental store (i've rented from both) and try out at least a couple villas. I've stayed at The Beach Club Villas (April '15 for about $225/night with rental), and will be doing a split stay in May - 4 nights at the Pop on the super cheap, then moving over to AKL into a savannah view studio via point rental for about $235/night. Also just booked a 9 night stay at OKW via point rental in October and that works out to a measly $155/night, which is slightly less than if I were to get a 25% discount at a moderate - CRAZY!! Anyway, I would definitely say don't rush into a decision to buy and also agree with the other folks that if you do buy, buy resale!! Good luck with making whatever decision works for your family

Not DVC owners either. We go at least 2, if not 3 times a year. I too like to keep our options open.
For me I can't justify the cost. We live 2 1/2 hours away, so not a grand idea for our family.
I have read a lot of people love it, not knocking them in any way. It just isn't a value for our family.

This may be over-simplifying, but DVC has always marketed itself as being a "home away from home." But, simply put, I don't want a home away from home. I want a resort away from home. I don't want it to feel like I've rented an apartment. I don't want a full kitchen. I want daily housekeeping. Etc. But, again, that's just me any my family. DVC works for many others, and that's fine.

We have consider it but decided against it. The main reason is as much as we love Disney we don't want to be tied down to only Disney we love seeing the world and while we enjoy Disney now we might not in a year or two. Financially doesn't make sense. I can rent points and in the long run still save money (over buying dvc). I stay at home and the last thing I want to do in my vacation is cook. Honestly having a kitchen doesn't bother us, at the end of the day you don't have to use it. We do enjoy the bigger room. We often bring back food and it is nice to seat in peace and quiet after a loud, hectic day. Picking up sushi at the poly is one of our favorite things to do.

We never have stayed at a room bigger than a studio so the feeling is not much different than a regular hotel room, but I can understand why people don't like the apartment feeling. Although most hotel suites and president suites are more of that style than a regular hotel room.

My family has thought about DVC because we do tend to go every year, but some years things come up and we might not want to go so we like to make sure we aren't tied to anything so we always have options, Thus DVC is not super beneficial for us for a few reasons. Usually we can get pretty good deals on regular hotels at Disney with military discounts, travel agency's, and other general Disney discounts so that allows us to travel every year. Also we eligible to stay at SOG so even if Disney doesn't offer discounts we know there is a place on property we can stay at for a very reasonable price. With so many options like that we don't really feel like we need the security of DVC to be able to do WDW every year.

Like others have said, a kitchen on vacation isn't something I need or want, vacation means no cooking/cleaning, so kitchen, laundry, etc. is not a draw for our family.

Also DVC doesn't really offer a setup that our family could really use and we travel a lot with some extended family, we like our own spaces and usually end up with three rooms, this means most DVC setups wouldn't work for our traveling party. Also, no one in our group likes sleeping on pullout sofas or chairs and things of that nature.

We also like to take a longer vacation (usually two weeks at a time) so I'd imagine if our family bought into DVC we would need an exorbitant am

So while I do think DVC is a nice option, it doesn't work for every family for various reasons.

I go all the time and don't even think about DVC - I don't need a time share when I go on vacation I pay what I have to pay. I just personally don't find one ounce of value in it

jlnten17 said:

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.

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AP holder and we go several times a year. DVC does not work out for us with all of our frequent trips, plus we like the regular resort rooms over a mini-apartment.

We go two or three times a year and aren't DVC. I've priced it out but it doesn't work for us. Especially now that my kids are adults, we would need a 2BR villa in order to get real beds for all four of us. We are happy with 2 value or moderate rooms. (Always use a discount for the rooms- AP or general public) We'd rather spend money on dining than a room. Laundry facilities are available at all resorts and work fine on longer trips. Don't need a kitchen! And we can't make plans too far out- with college schedules- and it's nice to be able to change our plans at the last minute( and necessary alot).

We bought our DVC on the resale market several years ago and it absolutely saves us money. It is not for everyone but we love it. I don't use the kitchen, even when we go for two weeks like we have planned this summer. I have eight weeks vacation every year so we have traveled all over the U.S. And have been to most of the National Parks so I don't feel limited to Disney at all. If we don't go for a year or two we can bank our points.

We are in Pennsylvania is and we visit at least 3 times a year, but often more. We are not DVC members and probably won't ever be...I don't like time shares and restrictions and points. We don't grocery shop on vacation or cook anything in a kitchen; we do table service for every meal. And I definitely like someone to come clean my room and make my bed each day and don't want to do laundry! LOL We also like to stay club level, which I can't do with DVC.

It's just too much for me and I'd rather just book what I want when I want it, and not have to think about t beyond that. For some people I'm sure it saves considerable money and is great, but since I'm super picky about which rooms I book and views, when we go, and stuff like that, I just prefer to not do a time share. We also do lots of trips not to Disney properties so we wouldn't want to be obligated to Disney in any way.

I'm in WDW 3-5 times a year and I've stayed in DVC resorts many times. When I'm in need for that type of accommodation they suit their purpose perfectly. I've never had trouble renting points from an owner for a good bargain. So I've never seen a reason to buy in and pay dues and fees for something I can have whenever I want with no commitment.

The main reasons I don't buy into DVC are:

- I don't plan my trips far in advance, and sometimes they are very short notice
- I often make resort changes and/or date changes so I need lots of flexibility
- I desperately need daily maid service because my vacation is not meant for cleaning and tidying up
- I don't want to cook or have facilities where people will ask me to cook
- I love staying club level, there is no better way to have a true vacation
- I love staying in value resorts when money is tight and I need a Disney fix

I could think of more but these are what immediately come to mind.

I guess for me its the commitment of having to go all the years to break even. I never really thought about DVC until they offered it at the Polynesian, which is my favorite themed resort. Even though I don't stay there, I always make time in my schedule to visit every time I'm at WDW. However, the price of $33,000 was just too much. Even though I could have paid upfront, which I've been told many times is the only way you should buy into any timeshare and not finance, I just couldn't say I would definitely go to Disney for that many years in a row to make it worthwhile. I have a friend who bought at AKLV and she has a hard time justifying the monthly fee with what she paid up front. She also has moved a lot of her points to RCI, which she is finding is a mistake because she can never seem to get what she wants with them either. In the end, it's a very personal decision--can you afford to be without all those funds for so many years? Some people have no problem at all. Do you want to commit to Disney for that many years? I think it also is easy if you have a young family and need the additional space and see you and the kids continuing to enjoy the Disney experience for years to come. Good luck deciding. No matter what you decide, you'll always have fun at WDW!

I would like to add that saying I don't want to pay extra for maid service is exactly what you are doing when you make a cash reservation. You can rent points and add housekeeping service and still will be cheaper.

Housekeeping service doesn't really work for us because we are people that take middle of the day naps and do late nights. Many times even in cash reservations we don't receive service, because when we go back to the room the room is not done and we have our do not disturb sign at the time they come. Making the bed takes 2 sec and DH doesn't mind. There are two us so we have extra towels, we reuse towels to save water anyway. We never have a trash can full or even half way by the third day.

The other thing I've notice is that availability is very limited a few months in advance for DVC members. DH is in the military 11 months out I don't even know if we will be living in the same place let alone if we are going to Disney, so that idea is laughable at best.

If you enjoy staying value/moderate with the packages and discounts that are offered than I agree that DVC is not worth it.

We bought into DVC as we we had the money upfront to purchase at the time (no financing) and we like the space of the 1-bedrooms. Even though we are only a family of three it's nice for DH and I to have our own room! Also we enjoy lots of resort time so having the more deluxe accommodation works for us. There are times when we've stayed on site and never stepped foot in a park!

I also enjoy having the washer/dryer as we fly and it cuts down on amount of clothes we need to bring. The full kitchen is good as we sometimes like a break from the restaurants and just make some spaghetti or some other quick and easy meal in the room. We don't care much about not having daily housekeeping, it's kind of nice to not have someone knocking on the door if you've decided to sleep in one day.

We own at AKL and love it there but have also used our points to stay at Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Bay Lake, and the Treehouses at SSR. We've also used our points at Aulani, something that we would've had to save for quite some time before being able to go there without DVC.

My grandparents bought dvc in the early 90's and we bought about 10 years ago as well so we have a healthy amount of points. We are however in the process of selling. we have come to the conclusion that we just dont like to vacation that way. we don't like the location of the dvc rooms at the resort or just the not quite on vacation feel that WE get when we stay there. We don't like the studios and we never use the kitchen in the larger villas. we're going to use the $$ as a down payment on a beach house in destin. so we aren't opposed to the vacation home v. hotel feeling but disney isn't the place where WE go for that.

I'm not saying that dvc is never the way to go. We have had many lovely vacations at the various dvc properties over the years so I'm sure for some it's great.

ETA- we usually do disney 3-4 times a year often paying cash or using points to stay cl which isnt very economical. after selling we will do disney 1-2 times a year which is plenty for us.

I wouldn't want to be locked into a DVC plan, even though I visit WDW about once a year.

I like to visit places other than WDW too. I think having DVC would make me feel like I shouldn't visit any place other than WDW, from a financial standpoint.

I find it amusing that there are so many people who think that owning DVC somehow locks you out of vacationing elsewhere! I own at DVC but spend a week at the Jersey Shore every year as well as traveling internationally at least every other year.

I purchased small contracts on the resale market years ago with the intention of using my points every 2-3 years while vacationing elsewhere in the alternating years. I've had some very nice stays at my home resorts (BWV and AKV) and have even stayed CL on my points. I've also been able to book other DVC resorts inside of the 7-month window at OKW, BCV and VWL.

And you know what? I can make cash reservations just like anyone else, if I don't want to use my points. I stayed at the GF last fall on a fantastic rate when we had a meeting at their convention center.

I can bank my points if we don't want to visit this year and borrow from next year if I don't have enough to cover the entire stay in the villa of my choice. I've stayed in studios, 1-bedrooms and 2-bedrooms. Next fall, I'll be staying in a treehouse villa, having transferred enough points from an SSR owner into my account to cover the reservation. Non-owners cannot do points transfers.

And guess where those points that some of you rent come from? Owners like me who decide not to use our points. We're not "renting" them out to you to break even. We are actually charging you more than they cost us. Although I would never purchase DVC with the intention of making money by renting out my points, it's nice to know that the option is there when or if I find that I'm in a situation where I have no use for them before they expire.

I don't need daily housekeeping and, in fact, I don't want housekeeping entering my room. I don't find it to be that big of a deal to make my bed and straighten the towels every day. Mousekeeping service is provided based on the length of your stay.
And as someone else pointed out, full mousekeeping is available for anyone who wishes to pay for it.

The full kitchen in the larger villas are nice to have, but there are no rules that require owners to do any cooking. Nor do we have to do laundry if we don't want to. But, it's nice to have them available if we need them. Throwing my damp clothes in the dryer after being caught in the rain is much nicer than draping them over the shower rod to dry. But for us, the much bigger benefit of having a 1- or 2-bedroom villa is having that "living room" space for relaxing, rather than trying to get comfortable in a cramped resort room.

Naturally, my reasons for purchasing DVC will not be the same for the next owner. And the things that I find to not be important are essential for some people. The decision to sink a considerable sum of money into DVC is not something that should be done without serious thought. It took us years before we decided to jump in and then several months before we found the right contracts for us. We even vacationed with other DVC owners in order to test the waters. What we found to be critical in the decision-making process was to become very informed as to how DVC works and specifically, how it would work for us.

We are in the process of saving to purchase DVC and expect to do so by the end of the year. Financing it is not something we want to do.

The reason we DO want to buy DVC is because we visit annually and would love to be able to do 2-3 smaller trips a year rather than one longer trip like we currently take. Once we own DVC, we can purchase APs at a discounted rate. After that, the only expense (aside from dining of course) would be airfare for us a few times a year, which is very manageable from our area. We don't feel "locked in" to anything because it's very easy for owners to bank their points for use the next year - which means the next year you can do a longer stay, stay at a more expensive property or during a more expensive time of year, or get a larger unit which may open up bringing family or friends and covering their resort cost. If you don't see yourself going for a few years, it's also very easy and quick for owners to rent their points either through a broker who facilitates the process, or on your own while earning a few extra bucks per point. You can then use that rental income to pay your annual dues for the year, while using the rest of the money to fund whatever other vacation you are taking that year.

We've been going to WDW for a while now and will be visiting Aulani in the Fall. We'd like to visit DL in the next 2 years or so. Since we know we love Disney vacation properties and will likely visit annually, it makes sense for us. If we ever outgrow it, the resale market for DVC has only gotten stronger and we can just sell it. Whether or not we lose money on the value by selling it is not something I'm concerned about.