We were just introduced to DVC on a recent trip. We stumbled upon a DVC seminar and were interested in purchasing. We are a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 young children) living in Southern California with annual passes to DL which may or may not be an annual purchase. We live close enough to DL where we don't stay overnight so DVC would not be used primarily for that purpose. However, we are planning a special weekend trip this year and plan on staying on site for three nights (expected cost of standard hotel room being $2000-3000 for the weekend). If the kids really enjoy the experience compared to a standard day visit to DL and we had DVC points, we'd possibly consider doing this every other year or so. We do vacation in Hawaii yearly for a week at a time, renting a one bedroom condo for $2000-3000 each week and were therefore looking at the Aulani resort as our home resort. Here now are my questions: 1. would DVC points make sense to use for our yearly visit to Hawaii? 2. we are not entirely familiar with Aulani (only stayed at Waikiki in Oahu), is it pretty isolated on the west side? do visitors just stay on the resort or are there things to do nearby? how far (distance/time) is it from Waikiki? 3. I believe there's a kids club at Aulani (that's what we loved most about our one and only cruise on DCL recently). Is it similar to the kids club on the cruise ships and is it an additional expense or included for resort visitors? 4. would you purchase direct from DVC or on the resale market? 5. could you use resale points for occasional/rare use at other DVC resorts such as at DL? (I've read conflicting information about whether resale points can be used for stays away from the home resort) 6. What is the current discount for annual passes for DVC point owners? and are resale point owners eligible for this? (I believe this is not a permanent benefit but just curious none the less) 7. I've looked into resale brokers (TSS) after reading a bit on DISboards and can't determine how many years remain on the deeds to the properties listed. It seems to me that you can't compare the resale market to DVC direct sales without this information. Is there anyway to determine this information? 8. we are planning a second cruise to the mediteranean in 2014 or 2015 and determined dvc points for cruising is not practical, any thoughts on this? Thank you in advance.
1). If you travel to Hawaii annually, DVC can certainly be a good benefit for your family. 2). & 3). There is a lot of information about Aulani and the resort activities on the DVC Resorts board. That would be a great place to ask specific questions about recreational programs at DVC resorts. 4). I'd look at both options - resale will likely save you some $$$. 5). DVC points purchased thru resale may be used at all DVC resorts and for the World Passport Collection. They cannot be used for Disney Collection options (Disney Cruise Line, non-DVC resorts at WDW and DL). 6). Yes, resale purchasers are eligible for all current DVC member discounts, including purchasing APs. 7). Non-extended OKW contracts, VB, HH, BWV, VWL, BCV all expire 1/31/2042. SSR expires 1/31/2054, extended OKW contracts expire 1/31/2057, BLT and VGF expire 1/31/2060, ARS expires 1/31/2061 and VGF expires 1/31/2064. The DVC Resource Center, linked at the top of each DVC discussion forum, has a lot of information about DVC resorts, history and other mousecellaneous information. 8). Just do the math when comparing the cost of a DCL cruise using your DVC points. If you use the cost of the annual fees, it may be OK, but if you use what you could receive by renting your points you will find a large discrepancy. Of course if you purchase a resale, cruising using your points will not be an option anyway. Be sure to compare the point cost of staying at VGC using points on weekends. Weekend point costs are always higher than weeknights at all DVC resorts. Good luck with your decision!
Thanks for the quick reply Doc, very informative! I didn't realize that all contracts expire at the same time, this certainly allows an apples to apples comparison between direct purchase vs aftermarket. It seems that there is no significant advantage to purchasing direct so long as you plan on using the points exclusively for DVC properties in the United States.
When buying direct (DH and I went that way) you can split the contract into smaller ones. So if you wanted a 300 point Aulani contract you could have 3-100 point contracts. One for each child later or would be easier to resale later if needed. Have a small VGC would give you home booking priority for a quick weekend trip during more popular times when kids are out of school too.
There is (was) another advantage to buying direct: ease Until earlier this year when there was a "run" on DVC points, it always was faster and easier to buy direct. It still is true at most DVC resorts. However, rather lengthy direct sales waiting lists have formed at BCV, BWV, and VWL. For these 3 resorts, it's probably quicker to purchase resale.
If I were going to buy a timeshare primarily for annual visits to Hawaii, it certainly would NOT be DVC. DVC has one resort in Hawaii. Other systems can be purchased much less expensively (often for pennies) and offer many times more options in Hawaii. For example, Wyndham has 11 resorts on three islands in Hawaii, including two at Waikiki. If Hawaii is what you are looking for, I would go to TUG and do my research there. Hopefully Dean or one of the more experienced Hawaii folks will come on this thread and give you some ideas.
I believe most of your questions have been answered. Just wanted to mention that the DVC discount on Disneyland annual passes is only $20. The same price as a renewal discount. If you think you may want to stay at VGC more than one time, you may want to pick it as your home resort due to the difficulty to obtain rooms once the 7 month window opens up. If you purchase resale you will not be able to stay at the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier with your points. Points are not a good value for the rooms anyways. Whatever resort you pick as home resort will give you the opportunity to book rooms at 11 months out. Once you are 7 months out you can book rooms at any resort. We live an hour away from Disneyland and have our home resorts are in Florida. Purchased two contract direct from Disney, one resale and in the process of obtaining another one in resale.
