do you ever regret buying

[Lisa P.]

I would suspect that most of the people who regret purchasing would sell their membership. Then (or if they keep it but don't use it much or care for it much) you are very unlikely to find them here... regularly reading a members' forum!

That said, the program is a good one, with many, many satisfied members. If you understand how it works and who it suits the best before you buy, you are likely to make an informed decision. Most of the happiest members seem to be folks who vacation onsite at WDW at least every other year, rarely during Christmas/Easter times, for more than just long weekends, usually in deluxe hotels or onsite condos and who can usually plan pretty early. So, if that describes you, then you are likely to be pleased with a purchase too. HTH!

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by princess lovers mom
we are only beginning of thinking to buy, but wanted your opinion of whether you ever feel cheated with some of the recent discounts that disney has offered...such as this past FTP the room at BC was about what the maintenace fee would have been for enough points to stay at BCV...

I'll take a different approach--where did you get the idea that a week at BCV under the FTP costs the same as the maintenance fees on the applicable number of BCV points?

Let's look at week-long stay in October at a BCV studio. Such a stay would cost 106 BCV points (12 ppd Sun to Thurs, 23 ppd Fri & Sat). The 2003 dues at BCV are $3.97 per point. So the net maintenance cost for 106 BCV points is $420.82.

If memory serves, under the Fairy Tale Package guests would receive a 7-night stay for the price of a 4-night stay. The rack rate for a studio in October at BCV is $329 per night. Thus the promotional price for the 7-night stay would have run you $1316 plus tax.

The FTP also required that you purchase the Unlimited Park Hopper pass for your entire traveling party, which is not always the most economical ticketing option. But since DVC does not include park admission media either, we can just omit this from the discussion.

So, using your method of comparison, $420 for a week in a BCV studio is just a BIT cheaper than the $1316 price under the FTP.

If you have numbers that are different than mine above, please feel free to share them so that we can discuss the specifics.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Originally posted by tjkraz
I'll take a different approach--where did you get the idea that a week at BCV under the FTP costs the same as the maintenance fees on the applicable number of BCV points?

Let's look at week-long stay in October at a BCV studio. Such a stay would cost 106 BCV points (12 ppd Sun to Thurs, 23 ppd Fri & Sat). The 2003 dues at BCV are $3.97 per point. So the net maintenance cost for 106 BCV points is $420.82.

If memory serves, under the Fairy Tale Package guests would receive a 7-night stay for the price of a 4-night stay. The rack rate for a studio in October at BCV is $329 per night. Thus the promotional price for the 7-night stay would have run you $1316 plus tax.

The FTP also required that you purchase the Unlimited Park Hopper pass for your entire traveling party, which is not always the most economical ticketing option. But since DVC does not include park admission media either, we can just omit this from the discussion.

So, using your method of comparison, $420 for a week in a BCV studio is just a BIT cheaper than the $1316 price under the FTP.

If you have numbers that are different than mine above, please feel free to share them so that we can discuss the specifics.

Hmmmm....... seems like pretty solid Ohioan "Buckeye" rational.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Nope, never regretted it. We've added on four times since we bought our original 175. We go twice a year.

 

[pwoodham]

We only go on "DVC" about once every two years, but we actually have enough points to go twice a year for a week in a two bedroom. So what happens to all those points?

We had a great time with the 17 person group in 2002, and we'll have a wonderful time on our week long cruise in 2004 (three cabins to get everyone in). Granted, I'm renting points and paying cash for the cruise, but what a great benefit to be able to use them in that way!!

And I don't always use them in the most financially advantageous manner, either. In Dec 2002, my 2 oldest boys and I had a four-day mom & sons trip. We stayed at the Contemporary overlooking the Magic Kingdom. We used 192 points for that long weekend, and every night I went to sleep with the colors changing on the castle as my nightlight. It was truly a vacation I will never forget.

Regret? No way. Our guide told us when we purchased that they figured over the life of the contract, we'd save about 50% over the rack rate of the same accomodations. I haven't heard anything yet that really disputes that. But the real wonder of owning DVC is that I'm always in touch with a place that brings my family so many wonderful times and memories. Irreplaceable, even with codes!!

 

[disneydom]

NO NO NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MickeyCrazed]

Nope. Never!

 

[Mic]

One day out of every month(the 1st, to be exact), I regret that BIG payment coming out of my checking account. The other 29 or 30 days of the month, I regret not buying sooner . If I'd purchased sooner, DVC would be paid for by now!

 

[huey duey & luey]

The only regret I have is not adding BCV when it was available
Tara

 

[Doc and Family]

NO!
Only regret, as mentioned earlier, was not buying in sooner.
Have bought, added on, and considering adding more.
If you vacation at Disney frequently, or plan to, then I'd strongly recommend considering buying in. If not, it may not be best for your particular situation. But, if you think it will fulfill your wishes, I don't think you will regret it either.
Good Luck with your decision.

 

[cubsfan]

nope.....still wondering why we waited as long as we did!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

You know, every time I have made a large purchase I have had some level of buyer's remorse..... that is until DVC. It has simply been awesome in every way. Granted, it helps if you are a Disney fanatic, as this ensures you will get your fix.

A short story:
I was walking out of VWL villa #3535 just the other day, and there was a younger couple holding hands as they walked down the hallway. I heard the woman say "I love this! This is one thing you definitely did right!".

I think that says it all.

 

[Mouse Ears]

Great story, Gracey!

My only regret is that now I spend even more time on the DISboards when I should be doing other things. Of course, I get to read the fun stuff and not spend my time hunting for discount codes.

One of my favorite things about DVC is that I can book at 11 months and know that I got a good deal. This frees me up to book flights whenever I can get a deal and not worry about needing to change plans to get the latest 'discount' at the last minute. What a relief!

33 days and counting till our first trip home!

 

[BillPA]

No regrets, not even for a heart beat.

Still the second best thing I've done.
DW is the first by far.

 

[twinglefam]

We have been enjoying our membership very much

- until this year. Now that my children are 9,9, and 11, the choice of pulling them out of school for our Disney trip is no longer an option. We also have been reconsidering keeping our membership because of the cost of flights from NY - together with the rental car.....even at the cheapest rate is $1,000.00 for a week for the five of us.

We use the kitchen for breakfast and lunch, and an occasional dinner, but mostly eat dinners out while there. We've been weighing the expense of the park tickets for the five of us, together with food, etc., flights; it's an awful lot of money to spend for one week in Disney.

We love our rooms, we love our resorts, those aren't the issues. The issue for us now is do we want to spend this kind of money for a week vacation each year now that it will be during the school breaks when the rest of the world is also there?! We've gone in Oct. and Nov. over the past 4 years (2000-2003) and are pretty spoiled by that. We also would like to take our kids to some national landmarks; ie. the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Niagra Falls.....and are noticing that the World Passport and other exchange areas are not at these places. We're also thinking that $15,000.00 would buy a nice Spa in our backyard with a deck around the pool, etc.

Whatever we decide, we've enjoyed our membership and it's nice to know we could sell and get back every penny we paid for it.

Signed, still up for discussion........................

 

[DisneyPhD]

I wish we would of got more points to start with. I wish we would of held out for BCV instead of VWL (but I can live with this fine, I just LOVE BCV.) I wish we would of joined sooner.


I recenlty lost my job (part time and a 1/4 of what my hubby makes, but it was our save and play money.) I am happy to stay at home with DD now, (maybe have another) but I am sooooo happy we bought DVC when we did. Now the next 40 years of vacation are mostly paid for. When we told friends we were going to be cutting out some things they said "Oh no more annual trips to WDW." We said "No those stay, less eating out and new cothes and things." I am so gald we joined when we did.

DVC is one the best things we have ever done for ourselves.

However the add on we were considering if off for now.

 

[Barb]

Not one single solitary regret except for the "we should have bought sooner" regret. Now my only regret is that I'm not in the financial position to add on at SSR right now.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Bought into DVC in 99 ...........and have not had 1 regret. Especially since we only have "dues" for the next 38 years of stays.

 

[colleen costello]

Twinglefam, just to address your post... We do LOTS of budget trips. DVC for me means SAVING money. We have a lot of fun at WDW for not too many dollars...

First of all, we drive to WDW. We have a minivan with a dvd player and we go for it. We make lots of stops and use the AAA guidebook to find nice, but cheap, hotels. When we arrive at WDW, we do a shopping trip and buy breakfasts, snacks, soda, water, milk. We bring snacks into the parks and take drinks and pretzels to the pool in a tiny cooler. We eat some meals out, but many are off-property at Perkins ($3 kids meal!), McDonald's, etc. We order Pizza Hut to the room for some meals. We don't go to the parks every day unless it's a year where we have annual passes. We pool-hop and sightsee and ride boats and do a lot of free stuff. This results in a vacation that is not only reasonable, but more "laid back." Disney has a lot to offer that commando-type visits cause you to miss out on!

You guys could save points and visit WDW every OTHER year, and do the national monument thing on off-years. Nohting like a 2-bedroom for 10 nights... Just wanted to point out that it IS possible to do Disney "on a budget" and still have a wonderful time!

 

[twinglefam]

Thanks for the input/advice. We did a "budget" trip this year, aside from the driving from NY! That I just can't justify....our last flights were 59$ each way, but yes, for 5 that adds up too. We only did two days in the park and a cheap trip to Sea World. We used a lot of the resort immenities and enjoyed having time to swim at the pool each day.

One thing you didn't comment on - the crowds during the breaks from school and/or the heat in the summer....not trying to nit pick, just looking at the future visits from all angles, really. It's not an easy thing for us to consider.

The every other year thing is definately part of our decision making process, and we are considering that. We are also looking into trying a World Passport vacation in Feb. to the Keys....don't know anything about doing that and have to see about the time frame, it being so close, the fees. Like I said in my last post, we've enjoyed the membership but didn't look too far into the future. We've also considered renting for a while until the kids are older.