Is DVC really worth it?

[jockotaco]

See my post regarding non monetary factors above. Only you can make the choice.

[BBG-BLT]

We had gone 8 times in 7 years when we bought. Now that there's 6 of us and we have to stay in a 2BR for us it's totally made sense. We love the deluxe villas - like the idea that we can try different resorts etc.

We were going to WDW anyway and now getting to stay on property all the time is something we've gotten spoiled by. But if you don't LOVE Disney I'm not sure it is worth it.

[mickeysbestfriend]

I stayed at moderates using the AP or Florida resident discount, but the discounted rooms became very hard to find and when free dining began...they disappeared almos completely.

I looked at the value closely. I looked at how much the Disney hotels go up in price every year....mine will never increase except for maintainence fees. When the moderates hit $300 a night and the values $200 a night, my value will be even more.

We do have to pay airfare but always buy annual passes for our 3-4 trips a year. We eat breakfast in our villas and have the option of making lunch or dinner there too. WE don't dine at signatures or V&A and our tables in Wonderland keeps our meal costs down.

It also insures us 35 more years of relaxing Disney vacations!

[Deb & Bill]

Darn, another hit and run. We'd like to help people but they have to give out some information to get good information.

[Micca]

Yes!

[Snow Shoe]

For our family it made since and was well worth the cost. After our first stay at BWV in 98, in a 2-bdrm villa, we asked ourselves why we hadn't bought it sooner. Its been wonderful ever since.

We started going to Disney every year beginning in 86 with three kids. We always stayed at the CR in one room. Eventually we had to go to connecting rooms. Costs just went up big time! Now the kids are all grown up with families of their own. We go our selves every other year now. Off years one of the kids usually wants to use it for their family. This coming June we have a 3-bdrm villa for all of us to stay in. We're all looking foward to this family vacation!!!

There's many reasons as to why some choose to purchase or not to. You can do all of the math to justify purchasing or not, and you can get lots of advice. The one reson I can give to not purchase, is for an "investment" reason.

Now for us, it was a no brainer, it was all about our family having fun together.

[TheDalys]

To us, it is well worth it. On our travels we are not picky people. We take advantage of the staying onsite transportation, cuts out the rediculous car rental price. The flight for us is only 2 hr 30 mins. So the flight doesnt need to be comfortable, a $50 Spirit flight is just fine. And a full kitchen cuts back on the restaurants.

We are heading to Saratoga Springs in January for a week. Our kids (4&2) love it, it will be the 4 yr olds 3rd disney trip. We only do 3 days of the main parks each trip, just incase too much disney kills the experience. Most likely would not, but kids get tired and need breaks also.

We will be back for the christmas season in november with our family of 4 and my neice (disney virgin), which will be awesome.

[Donna M]

It has been worth it for us.

Our house and cars are paid off. I received an inheritance which we used some of to pay for the points, so we don't have a loan.

Now we stay in a one or two bd and enjoy the space that is not available in a standard hotel room. We also invite friends and family to join us.

We would not have bought if it wasn't for our situation because the money would have been used in other ways, but if you can afford it, I say go for it. I love it!

[Donna M]

Originally Posted by BBG-BLT

But if you don't LOVE Disney I'm not sure it is worth it.

I totally agree with this statement.

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

It has been more than worth it for us.

[snarlingcoyote]

We just went into ROFR with ours, but I ran a very OCD spreadsheet over the purchase. (One portion of my job is data mining, another portion is accounting, another is program review, among other things.)

There are three major factors involved here:


Are you looking for an investment (something that will gain value over the years) or a depreciating asset (something for which you've paid the value up front and will lose value over the years)? If you only want the first, put your money into a good investment account and stop here.

DVC only makes sense when you accept that it will depreciate over time. Cars, computers, clothes, furniture - we buy them all with the understanding that their value will depreciate. As a depreciating asset, though, DVC is an extremely good value. In less than 9 years, on my and DH's purchase, we will, including projected maintenance fees to that point, be at break even on our purchase. But we will still have sooooo many more years to use that investment, with only maintenance fees in payment.

Even if you accept that it is a depreciating asset, there are still two other factors, or this is not a wise purchase.

The first is your vacationing style. If you don't care if you're on property or not or if you're perfectly content in the values, this is probably not a wise purchase for you. It makes best fiscal sense for folks who stay in the deluxe accomodations or who would otherwise rent DVC points from an owner, although, if you don't do deluxe or rent from a DVC owner, over time, you will still wind up on the positive, but it will take many more years. (Note: I figured our value out at DVC rental rates, not deluxe rates. At rack rates for the same room we will get in our DVC membership, we would be to the positive much, much, much sooner, but that's not an honest figure for our vacationing style. If we didn't own, we'd just rent points.)

The second is your love for Disney. If you don't actually USE your points every year (okay, so one or two years you take the kids to see Yellowstone or Mesa Verde or to follow the Freedom trail and rent your points, that's fine.) it's not a good investment. The value is predicated on actually using your DVC membership.

[brucerob62]

Just my opinion we always rent off DVC members ..its a pain sometimes.but never a problem .we have gone to DW the past 12 years and pay less than or the same as maintenance fees are..so to us doesnt make sense to be tied down to a timeshare..but once its paid for and just the dues its probably worth it..if someone were to give me a DVC membership i would take it..but wouldnt pay upfront several thousand for it..just an opinion

[Missyrose]

Originally Posted by brucerob62

Just my opinion we always rent off DVC members ..its a pain sometimes.but never a problem .we have gone to DW the past 12 years and pay less than or the same as maintenance fees are..so to us doesnt make sense to be tied down to a timeshare..but once its paid for and just the dues its probably worth it..if someone were to give me a DVC membership i would take it..but wouldnt pay upfront several thousand for it..just an opinion

Couple of things here. If you've found owners who will rent you points for $4 or $5 a point, then it will never be in your financial interest to buy.

The sticking point for many in the renting vs. buying debate is the issue of control. Renters have no control over their reservations until they check in and everything (requests, dining plan, etc.) goes through the owner. So some folks (myself included) bought to regain control over their DVC reservations.

[zavandor]

Originally Posted by snarlingcoyote

If we didn't own, we'd just rent points.

I don't agree on this. I'm not confortable with renting points. Even if renting from trusted sources lowers the risk a lot, I would be too anxious to get in WDW and find I don't have a reservation.
Not saying that renting is not a good idea (it is for many people), it is not for me.

[bobbiwoz]

Originally Posted by zavandor

I don't agree on this. I'm not confortable with renting points. Even if renting from trusted sources lowers the risk a lot, I would be too anxious to get in WDW and find I don't have a reservation.
Not saying that renting is not a good idea (it is for many people), it is not for me.

Renting is not an option for me, either. I am glad to be an owner.