Dining and Ticket Question

[HazelsGenie]

Hi...

We are strongly considering buying into Saratoga Springs. But, of course, I have a couple of questions.

We go down every year but with lots of codes and discounts. Is there any other way? So, I've heard you really don't get that with DVC because (as I've been told) you are already getting a deal.

How does the dining plan work with DVC? Is there ever a discount on it? We use it all the time and love it.

Are tickets any cheaper when you are a DVC member? By how much?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

 

[erionm]

There is no discount on dining plans with a DVC points reservation except that (currently) you don't pay the seasonal adjustment.

The only ticket discount with DVC is a savings on the Annual and Premium Annual Passes. There is also a small discount on the Water Parks and DisneyQuest.

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

I've read that DVC members don't have to pay the peak rate for the dining plan.
*********************************
2011 Disney Dining Plan prices:

Basic Dining Plan

* Adults
o $45.99 (regular season)
o $47.99 (peak season*)
* Children
o $11.99 (regular season)
o $12.99 (peak season*)

 

[DenLo]

Perks are minimal for DVC members. They come and more often go. The best is the AP Discount (currently $100 off an adult AP at WDW, less for children) but it's strictly for immediate family members living in your household and Disney wants proof when anyone's 18 or older. Everything else is just 10% off meals or shopping and some entertainment discounts like for tours or renting boats or mouse racers, sometimes discounts on tickets for La Nouba or Richard Petty's Car Racing. DVC members also can receive discounts on cash reservations of a DVC villa when rooms are available. We do not get discounts at regular Disney resorts except when they are offered to everyone else.

The real reason to join as a DVC member is to get a larger deluxe room at todays prices. And you see that when the discounts are great prepaying does not sound like much of a bargain. You might feel differently when the discounts go away. I know I did. I keep wishing I had purchased 15 years earlier.

If you're happy with your discounts and don't want a DVC villa every time you travel to WDW I'd stick with your current method.

 

[Lynne M]

Hi...

We go down every year but with lots of codes and discounts. Is there any other way? So, I've heard you really don't get that with DVC because (as I've been told) you are already getting a deal.

While it's true that you're not eligible for the codes and discounts when staying on your membership, it's not because you're already getting a deal wtih DVC...that's why Disney resorts don't let you apply more than one discount at a time, but DVC is a different animal altogether.

DVC is a timeshare - when you buy into DVC, you're making a real estate purchase, buying an ownership interest in a specific resort. That ownership gives you the right to stay, subject to availability, in your home resort, and to use your points to stay in other DVC resorts, and to trade out to some other resorts and vacation experiences.

You can't get a discount on something you own , and at any rate, there's nobody to give you a discount. You arrange for your stays through DVC Member Services, using your points, and paying for the dining plan separately if you want to add it. You won't do business with to the Disney Reservation Center at all, you're not giving them any money, so you're not eligible for the discounts they offer on the resort rooms that they own.

Don't even consider the current discounts on restaurants, APs, etc, when you're considering whether or not to buy. They come and go all the time, and the paperwork you get with your contract will tell you very clearly that discounts and perks are not considered part of your ownership. They're usually offered by third parties (restaurants, stores, Disney Parks, etc.), and are subject to change at the whim of those third parties.

 

[cvjw]

DVC is a great way to get a much larger villa on Disney property for less than rack rates. If you are happy staying in a regular Disney room, and can go when there are discounts, you should continue to vacation as you normally do. If the regular Disney hotel rooms are too small for your family (like mine), and you want to stay in a 1 or 2 bedroom villa, then DVC may be for you. We didn't buy DVC for discounts, we bought to be able to enjoy vacationing at Disney in a much larger villa with separate sleeping spaces for our kids. A larger villa can change the way you vacation at Disney!

 

[HazelsGenie]

Thanks everyone!

I guess I'm just trying to weight out the difference between going every year with a package and a discount verses DVC, then purchasing tickets and dining. That is why I was curious if there were discounts on the tickets and dining.

I think initially it is close the the same but DVC would win in the long run after it is paid off.

 

[SnowWhite2]

The best thing about DVC is a zero hotel bill when checking out

Now that our kids are older, we need two bedrooms/two bathrooms. It's just too cramped for us to stay in one room. It's nice to be able to spread out and have a nice place to come back to.

We also plan no-park vacations and just enjoy the resort and Orlando.

 

[Pirate Speedy]

The other dining plan benefit I have heard of for DVC is that you do not need to buy the plan for your whole stay you can break it up any way you need. Like just day 3 and 4 of your trip and change the level of the plan.

here is a link to a new discussion about this.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2701227

 

[erionm]

The other dining plan benefit I have heard of for DVC is that you do not need to buy the plan for your whole stay you can break it up any way you need. Like just day 3 and 4 of your trip and change the level of the plan.

here is a link to a new discussion about this.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2701227

And there's no ticket purchase requirement to add the dining plan to a DVC reservation.

 

[crisi]

Thanks everyone!

I guess I'm just trying to weight out the difference between going every year with a package and a discount verses DVC, then purchasing tickets and dining. That is why I was curious if there were discounts on the tickets and dining.

I think initially it is close the the same but DVC would win in the long run after it is paid off.

Know yourself.....

Of all the reasons people are disappointed in DVC, I think the biggest may be the folks who delighted in the deal. From a long term perspective, I think people sometimes (not always) are better off with DVC - but not everyone is capable of looking at their DVC dues for the year (and financing payments if you financed), looking at another offer for free dining, and believing in a long term payoff.

There is an emotional component to DVC - "owning a piece of the magic" - and that emotional component can make DVC worthwhile even if you end up spending a little more. But there is also an emotional component to getting a deal - and if you are the type of person who gets a lot of satisfaction in snagging a bargain, you'll loose that.

 

[HazelsGenie]

I'm not into getting a bargain as much as not paying that much money.

How is it after you pay off the financing? It must feel nice to only pay the dues and still stay on property. I'm trying really hard to think long term here.

 

[crisi]

I'm not into getting a bargain as much as not paying that much money.

How is it after you pay off the financing? It must feel nice to only pay the dues and still stay on property. I'm trying really hard to think long term here.

My guess (maybe I should do a poll) is that the majority of DVCers on this board don't feel like they are saving money. Or rather, they are getting a good value, but they are spending more than they would have without DVC.

Most of us would be in a single hotel room without DVC. Owning points makes those multiroom units very attractive.

Most of us wouldn't ever treat friends and family with DVC. Many of us do now.

Some of us (me, but I don't think this is a majority stance) would not go to Disney as often with DVC.

Many of us feel that now that we don't have all those expensive rooms to worry about, we spend more than we would per vacation on the extras at Disney. Any savings is eaten up with signature dinners and Cirque and tours.

Some of us would occasionally try offsite, or stay in values.

I'm not saying that some people don't manage to save money. If your travel patterns are currently DVC compatible - and you have the discipline to maintain them (no bigger rooms! no travel you wouldn't take without your points!) you can save money. But DVC is a really expensive way to save money.

We didn't finance, so I don't know if its better once you get a loan paid off - we didn't have one. However, I will say that our trips are not cheaper post DVC. We are completely guilty of bigger rooms, guests and add ons. I'm not complaining, its a good value for us.

 

[Sandisw]

When we decided to look at things, one thing we tried to do is to see if we could own DVC so we could stay in bigger rooms for NO MORE than we were paying for our yearly trips.

We looked at all expenses--tickets, dining, etc.--and compared a cash stay to the cost of owning DVC, initially with financing and everything.

We started at rack rate and then compared with some discounts. What we realized is that for what we paid to stay yearly in a CR room, we could now go and stay in a 1 bedroom. For us, that was enough to make the difference.

We ended up not financing so in the end, it will work out cheaper. But, the beauty of DVC is it just does not FEEL like we are spending as much any longer for our yearly trips.

I love not having to worry about discounts, pin codes, etc. I just book with my points and go from there. Everyone looks at the value of DVC different. In the long run, DVC will save in terms of a cash stay providing you still visit the same way as before.

Of course, one of the biggest benefits, I think, is that we can now visit WDW more often, and as I said, it just feels cheaper to me.

Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Dues continue to go up each year. Ultimately you will pay more in member fees than you do to initially buy into DVC. So if you think member fees are high now, they continue to go up.

At one point we were thinking we should be doing a direct debit to Disney because of all the money we were spending on trips. We wound up selling two of our contracts and actually made money on both of them. It wouldn't be so now. Especially with the cost per point that Disney is asking now. We bought in at about $50 a point in 1997. The most we ever spent on points was about $70 a point. I can't even begin to imagine spending $120 or more per point.

We bought our DVC on our very first trip to WDW. We never expected to go again because of how much it cost us on the first trip. After we bought we were going at least twice a year, once or twice we did three or four trips in a year. Our budget was busted and we were going into debt. Now, we don't own anything to Disney. We seldom us our Disney VISA card. And we also take other trips.

I'd bet we'll sell the rest of our points in a few years, especially if we decide to retire to Montana.

 

[margitmouse]

We bought after renting points from a member. we were WOWed by our stay at OKW, and kept watching the resale board for a smallish contract.... I couldn't imagine needing the whole 160 point initial buy in. Since buying we have consistently used more than the current years points!
But to get more to the thread, I was a value vacationer like yourself. Purchasing DVC was a way for us to really upgrade our vacations.... we have always stayed in values, only once in a moderate.
I have never thought of this as a bargain, more of an investment in my family. My kids are getting older and are venturing from home. This is a place my family will come to for years. we love OKW and have had the opportunity, because of ownership, to share our vacations with some special people, something that would never have happened had we had a hotel style room

We used to feel fortunate just to go to Disney, now we feel fortunate to go and stay in a really nice place that we all enjoy, a place that is very special to us.
I now satisfy the bargain hunter getting great airfares, car rentals, taking advantage of the split dining plan, etc. but am assured of already being happy with our DVC accommodations.
This year split stay Kidani/OKW can't wait to try a new resort
good luck with your decision!