Has anyone regretted becoming a DVC member?

[sleepydog25]

This seems to be a subjective topic because a major factor - in addition to the financials - is if you'd be taking these trips if not for DVC. I've seen many posts on other threads from people who regret it because they would've stayed at a moderate resort otherwise or wouldn't have gone to wdw so frequently without DVC. Personally, we intend to visit wdw every other year and always stay at deluxe resorts, so for us DVC represents a cost savings. And so far I've enjoyed getting to know the world of the points system. It just depends on what type of vacation you plan to have.

The bold portions above say exactly what we think. My wife has been going to Disney for over 30 years--at least once each year, usually twice--and I've been on that same pattern for the last decade. We have no intentions of slowing our visits, and with grandkids entering the picture, the demand will certainly increase. We've maximized our DVC points, and we enjoy deluxe accommodations (how deluxe DVC rooms are certainly can be debated); ergo, we have no regrets. However, as others caution, do your research; be diligent; and I urge you to visit a few of the resorts first. If you do these things and still buy, then you will be less likely to become one of those who regret that decision.

 

[bellablue2]

this is not a life/death purchase. also, it has been pretty easy to get out off since the beginning, even during the great recession. start small, buy resale, and give it a whirl is my suggestion.

 

[deedisneydream97]

No regrets here, except I wish I had purchased a few more, smaller resale contracts are few years ago. We started out in the late 90's with direct purchase from DVC. Once we found out about the resale market, we've never looked back. We sold Beach Club in order to direct purchase BLT. Our first direct purchase was BoardWalk. It was considered very expensive back then....so I guess everything is relative. We have been able to use our points from Saratoga to go to Hawaii twice. And we've also gone on three very inexpensive cruises....DVC lets us know when a ship is not filled to capacity and we can pay a greatly reduced rate. Doesn't happen often, but their cruises are wonderful.

DVC works for us. We make two or three trips a year. We have not tired of Disney yet. I am not really happy about the AP price increase....and a lot of their restaurants have gotten very pricey. Getting additional discounts for being a member and an AP holder, along with the tables in wonderland card, helps, but we also get a one bedroom so we have a full kitchen. We make breakfast and lunch and sometimes dinner (nothing fancy...but we do love using the grills at BLT).

I agree with Bellablue2. But I would also say make sure you buy where you want to stay. Also, smaller contracts are easier to sell (but more expensive to buy). Make sure you do your research regarding "loaded" or "stripped" contracts.

 

[momto3pirates]

We are selling one of our contracts now. We do not regret buying, we have loved every minute of it. We bought at AKL right before BLT went on sale. After numerous trips to AKL, we realize we really want to be at BLT.

 

[JimMIA]

There is a good bit of turnover among DVC owners, although I agree turnover alone doesn't indicate dissatisfaction. Over the years, I've seen three main categories of sellers:

• Probably the largest group is those who simply outgrew DVC. Their kids got older, school and athletic activities interfered with frequent vacations, and the kids interests changed -- for example, preferring a visit to NYC or Washington, DC, national park vacations, skiing, etc. WDW and DVC simply became less relevant to those families. We are in this group to some degree -- last year we were in Orlando for a figure skating competition with our Ice Princess. We had annual passes, but DD didn't want to spend an off day at WDW. She loves WDW, but she preferred to stay and watch other girls skate. We've actually made four Orlando trips in the last three years with no WDW visit, and we're going out West for our big vacation this year. (But DD still wants to go back to WDW this year as well if we can work out the scheduling.)
• The second biggest group, I think, is those who suffered some type of setback -- loss of job, divorce, financial setbacks, etc. We saw a ton of those cases during the recent recession. A LOT of those sellers took huge losses, often because they had financed something they couldn't really afford and ended up in foreclosure.
• The third group, and we see it fairly often, are those who got caught up in the pixie dust and bought a timeshare that really doesn't meet their needs well -- and about which they have little or no understanding. Terms like "joining the club" or "becoming a member" are often tipoffs to those folks. The good news for those owners is that they can learn the ropes here on the DIS, and can make the best of their purchase even though it might not have been their best financial decision ever.

I also think anyone asking "Is anyone dissatisfied?" should expect a resounding chorus of "best thing we've ever done." The DIS DVC boards are the habitat of fervent WDW and DVC fans. Don't expect any dissatisfied buyers to post their issues with DVC -- they don't come here.

 

[Sanchez]

There is a good bit of turnover among DVC owners, although I agree turnover alone doesn't indicate dissatisfaction. Over the years, I've seen three main categories of sellers:

• Probably the largest group is those who simply outgrew DVC. Their kids got older, school and athletic activities interfered with frequent vacations, and the kids interests changed -- for example, preferring a visit to NYC or Washington, DC, national park vacations, skiing, etc. WDW and DVC simply became less relevant to those families. We are in this group to some degree -- last year we were in Orlando for a figure skating competition with our Ice Princess. We had annual passes, but DD didn't want to spend an off day at WDW. She loves WDW, but she preferred to stay and watch other girls skate. We've actually made four Orlando trips in the last three years with no WDW visit, and we're going out West for our big vacation this year. (But DD still wants to go back to WDW this year as well if we can work out the scheduling.)
• The second biggest group, I think, is those who suffered some type of setback -- loss of job, divorce, financial setbacks, etc. We saw a ton of those cases during the recent recession. A LOT of those sellers took huge losses, often because they had financed something they couldn't really afford and ended up in foreclosure.
• The third group, and we see it fairly often, are those who got caught up in the pixie dust and bought a timeshare that really doesn't meet their needs well -- and about which they have little or no understanding. Terms like "joining the club" or "becoming a member" are often tipoffs to those folks. The good news for those owners is that they can learn the ropes here on the DIS, and can make the best of their purchase even though it might not have been their best financial decision ever.

I also think anyone asking "Is anyone dissatisfied?" should expect a resounding chorus of "best thing we've ever done." The DIS DVC boards are the habitat of fervent WDW and DVC fans. Don't expect any dissatisfied buyers to post their issues with DVC -- they don't come here.

Excellent points here.

Some are focusing solely on the number of resale contracts available and not considering foreclosures. As a real estate attorney with a fair number of clients who went through foreclosures in the last 5-7 years I saw a number of financed timeshares in the mix. I have also been involved in several scenarios where clients' ability to refinance their homes were restricted due to timeshare ownership. While Disney does not report loans to credit agencies you must still disclose these on a loan application (failure to do so is loan fraud.) Further, with the current regulatory climate lenders often request bank account statements and notice payments made for a timeshare.

On a personal note, I will add that NOT purchasing a Disney timeshare was one of the best decisions we made. Like many here we started regular trips with our young children and in 2003 looked into purchasing. For many reasons we decided against it and though we made regular trips for a few years our young children grew up and became involved other things. Also, it gets more difficult to take them out of school as they reach middle school.

We were able to take many trips and collect the same memories as those with DVC and avoided the rigid planning requirements. While a purchase would not have been a disaster for us the timeshare experience would certainly not have suited our needs.

 

[DVCcurious]

Another way to look at the question is "how can I lower the probability I will regret my DVC purchase"? I think there are a few things you can and should do.

buy at a resort you want to stay at
buy fewer points than you think you'll need (200 instead of 250 for example)
buy resale
buy a loaded contract (contract with all 2015 points and 2016 points at a minimum, and preferably some banked 2014 points)

 

[Dean]

Just wondering as my finger is itching on the pulse of it.

If your all emotional about this purchase, you likely shouldn't be buying yet. Emotions will often cause you to make a less than stellar decision. Many buy and are happy and most that are unhappy will not be here on DIS. For the rest you might look on the net in general and at other timeshare boards like the Timeshare Users Group. Most that are unhappy or selling are due to financial issues and the realization that using points for other non DVC options is not reasonable or they don't travel to Disney in such a way that using points works out. Few are truly unhappy with DVC or the system itself but a few are.

 

[Sanchez]

This thread is on another forum.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/it...e-to-look-forward-to-year-after-year.3382888/

 

[gdrj]

No regrets except for not getting more points. While any Timeshare is about selling timeshares (It would be naive to think otherwise). I personally have never had the feeling of that I'm not on equal status of "cash guests". There are always going to be things that people can bring up that are negative.

Personally DVC has enhanced our vacation experience, allowed us to vacation in 1 and 2 BR villas instead of packing into a hotel room, possibly off site. Has allowed us to visit more often for long weekends as well as regular trips. We have always been able to book with advance notice as long as we are flexible. I have booked resorts within 5 or 6 months and been able to do so. We have used DVC at times Sun-Thurs and hotels for weekends to give us better use of our points.

Bottom line for us it has worked well for 15 years!

 

[AnnaS]

No regrets - going on 15 years. Like many others, wish we had bought sooner. As long as you see yourself wanting to go at least every other year and know you can afford DVC and those trips for many years to com............

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I haven't been able to find the benefit in it. Even if you just pay the monthly $100 fee mentioned earlier and nothing else, that's $1200 a year. I can get a week's hotel for that off site at a nice place. Tack on the actual purchase price and it becomes a waste of money.

My vacations are planned every year too. And I'm not tied down. To disney, in the event my priorities change.

Timeshares are a bad idea. Timeshares where you don't actually own anything are an even worse idea.

 

[AnnaS]

We are all disney addicts and drank the kool aid . I think this is the term everyone uses. We don't need to look or wait for discounts. There is a break even point (but many like me also paid cash up front). Once the initial purchase is paid - we are just prepaying for accommodations and don't worry too much about hotel price increases. Yes the dues do go up. I like to think we stay in nicer accommodations for maybe less than the price of the value resorts. Yes we do like and prefer to stay on-site. There are a few other things we might get - but not a guarantee (AP discounts, tour discounts Dining discounts and yes - can get same discount other ways). I will use my son as an example - he has 100 points. He can stay 8-10 nights for the price of his dues now . Just throwing a number out there, if dues at SSR are $500, depending on when he travels, he can get 8-10 nights for that price. I am not trying to justify the purchase - it's definitely not for everyone and not everyone "has to get it". The important this is that for those who purchased are happy with it, creating some wonderful memories and are forced - a good force - to vacation. Not many can also plan so far in advance and that needs to be the norm. You are tied down to it - no doubt about it. There is no right or wrong, good or bad.
Enjoy!!

 

[RipperSB]

Nope.

 

[DebbieB]

A ton of people have regretted it. That's why there's such an active and healthy resale market.

Not necessarily in all cases. Many people sell because their kids have grown up or they decided to go in another direction. I have a friend who sold because they wanted to buy an RV so that they could go camping.

For myself, I bought in 1999 and never regretted it for one minute. The only thing I would have done differently is bought a 150 and 100 point contract instead of one 250 BWV. I would then have sold the 100 and bought VGC when it opened. But I'm 4 for 4 at 7 months so it hasn't been an issue.

 

[Fastpassminus]

I am buying because we have gone at least every year for 6 years. Sometimes twice a year. I have never stayed off site and have no intentions of starting now. I like the space a 2 bedroom affords me since we usually have one set of grandparents with us. Our plan is to go every other year ( this was part of the draw to H that he could get me to go other places on the alternate years) and rent out the alternate years to pay for dues. We are buying at SSR just to get in. We are pretty flexible about where we stay, and are looking forward to trying all the resorts ( and HHI and VB too) I have wanted to be a member for about 10 years so I am so so so excited. If we regret the purchase I could always rent all of the points and use the money for other things. It's something I don't see myself regretting, but who knows... I am not madame leota!

 

[skier_pete]

Disney since day one has created an experience of magic and memories and most assume that DVC would be the same.

Sadly IMO DVC is a wake up call. DVD/DVC is all about selling DVC contracts and service after the sale isn't a priority. Disney has DVC owners under contract to vacation at Disney often so they aren't on equal status as cash guests.

Long telephone hold times, website issues, rooms that could use additional attention, room availability, no control over what DVC does and when they do it including room color and how often rooms are refurbished, and of course the ever increasing prices are negatives.

Bill

...says the guy with contracts at five different resorts.

I personally think you have to be pretty foolish to think that Disney is not going to treat DVC owners a little different than paying guests. Timeshares always will be EXTREMELY favorable propositions to the resort owners, and to a degree they are "taking advantage" of the buyers because they are essentially getting you to pay their profit up front to them. In fact, I would expect DVC to treat buyers slightly better after the transaction only because you will continue to spend money at Disney, but on the other hand they have essentially "locked you in" to going there, so they KNOW they've got you.

To the OP: I think you are unlikely to find too many people here that are dissatisfied with DVC, else they wouldn't be posting regularly on the board. I have no doubt there is a considerable level of dissatisfied customers, though exactly what percent I don't know (realistically I would guess at LEAST 10 %). PP mentioned that there are only a 500 contracts on the market, but I don't know how they would know that. What I do know is there are 1000s of resale contracts sold each year, and though not all of them are sold because of people being dissatisfied, that is certainly a factor.

However, I think that likely the main reason people are dissatisfied is that they went into it without really understanding what they are getting into. This is human nature, or at least human nature for a large portion of humanity. Direct timeshsare sales are mostly done spur-of-the-moment, and there is often regret from people in not really knowing what they were getting into.

"Buyer beware" is what I would advise - really understand what you are getting into...both the pros and the cons. You'll be much more likely to be happy with your decision if you do.

 

[MsTessP]

I haven't been able to find the benefit in it. Even if you just pay the monthly $100 fee mentioned earlier and nothing else, that's $1200 a year. I can get a week's hotel for that off site at a nice place. Tack on the actual purchase price and it becomes a waste of money.

My vacations are planned every year too. And I'm not tied down. To disney, in the event my priorities change.

Timeshares are a bad idea. Timeshares where you don't actually own anything are an even worse idea.

I'm the first one to urge folks considering buying DVC to do their research, as membership is NOT a good choice for many families. However, some of the blanket statements above are not true for many of us.

I have 140 points, member fees are just over $800/year, and we generally take 3 long weekends a year using those points in BWV, including during F&W. We stay in a studio for two of these trips, and a 1 bedroom during F&W. Could we stay in the Motel 6 on Irlo Bronson during those times for less than $800 (including tax - don't forget that!)? Perhaps, but then our definition of "nice place" will be different. We also have the option to not rent a car for the times we are there, as we get transportation around WDW, as well as from the airport, provided at no extra cost.

To the OP: We have no regrets. But we also knew we would be going to WDW anyway at least every year, we bought at our favorite resort, we bought resale, and we paid cash and did not finance a luxury timeshare. And, although it just may be my warped perception, I *do* feel special but not entitled when we vacation at WDW as DVC members.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

MsTesP- how much is your timeshare in addition to fees? How long have you owned? Is it paid off? Do you pay anything besides the $800/year?

You say 3 long weekends, how many night total are you meaning?

 

[chalee94]

I haven't been able to find the benefit in it. Even if you just pay the monthly $100 fee mentioned earlier and nothing else, that's $1200 a year. I can get a week's hotel for that off site at a nice place. Tack on the actual purchase price and it becomes a waste of money.

there's not a $100 per month fee, per se.

my 40 pt contract works out to monthly fees of $19. but that does only work out to 7 nights in a studio every other year.

if you are happy staying offsite, you can always get a better deal (i've stayed in marriott/sheraton 2BR villas with granite countertops and what-have-you offsite for 7 nights for about $350, tax included) but that's pretty good for onsite at wdw.

timeshares have a very narrow window of value. they are not for everyone. but for some of us, it's possible to get really good value from them if you do your homework. (i've gone to vegas, st kitts in the caribbean, newport beach california and beachfront at hilton head, SC with my $1 non-DVC timeshare...all nice 2BR marriotts for less than $80 per night.)