Reconsidering purchase - Ideas??

[superpug]

We purchased DVC at BLT and have not sent the paperwork back. I probably should be putting this question on a non-dvc board but what the heck, any info will be useful. My concerns are as follows:

Cons

1) Not getting home resort 7 months out
2) I noticed that BLT is available for nightly rate through CRO in August but I can't book through my DVC (this is a real problem for DH) - no availability
3) Dues cost over 50 years - Is this going to break even?
4) Saratoga Springs is selling rooms at $169 per night through a Disney promotion for August and September. This is very inexpensive and it appears my DVC points would be more in terms of a cash sale.
5) Appears service is declining throughout Disney. Is this temporary?
6) Noticing some issues with people here booking through RCI. The other vacation destinations was the reason dh agreed to the purchase.

Pros

1) Love the idea of being able to pre-pay my vacations and have a place for my family for 50 years.
2) Disney normally does it the best.
3) Got a fantastic deal on points, yet I noticed points at other resorts are cheaper. Pro or con?
4) We vacation in Disney yearly so it just makes sense, but would we be better served just vacationing at the Polynesian since we have no need for anything other than a studio?

So, I'm a newbie really looking for thoughts from families who have owned DVC for a long time or who decided not to purchase. Have things changed for the worst? If you knew then what you know now would you have purchased DVC today? We jumped into this quickly and all the questions are starting to pop up.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sandisw]

I just became a DVC member in February so fairly new. We have been going to WDW since 1994, almost yearly and love it. Always stayed at the CR and bought because of BLT. But, we know that we want to be at WDW for years to come, even as our kids are older now (DS20, DD16, and DS13).

One of the reasons there are rooms at BLT through cash is that the developer still owns those rooms (and always retains a small percentage) since the resort is not sold out.

I agree there are deals out there that could make the value of DVC in that particular instance, not a good. However, I ran the numbers and based on what I have been paying for my room over the last 15 years, DVC is going to cost me less in the long run--how much less, I don't know as it depends but I know for sure it won't cost me more.

Of course, I am a teacher and we go to Disney in late July/early August every year and will for at least the next 11 years until retirement so planning at the 11 month mark will be easy for me. But you are right, home advantage goes away at the 7 month mark and for BLT, depending on the time of year, I think there will be certain rooms that may be difficult to book unless you take advantage of the home resort window.

If you are on the fence at all, IMO, I would hold off on buying DVC right now. Many members buy DVC to stay at WDW and not use the points for trades. From what I understand, it is not the best use of points and if that is one of your main goals, then you may want to consider other timeshares.

Good luck!!

 

[browniemtb]

We wished we purchased sooner......but had to wait for many reasons. The only draw back to ownership for me is the yearly dues. But all things said our stays in a 1 bed or larger in a deluxe resort far outways that cost. You mentioned many promotions going on now for cheaper room rates but remember those won't last long. Availability at BLT will be tight as well since it is a brand new resort and many, including myself, would like to stay there at least once. CRO will always have rooms available even though you, as an owner can't book, thats because of others trading and after so much time rooms will revert to CRO. Cost of ownership over 50 years can be calculated 50 different ways but figure on a break even after 7 or more stays depending on your purchase price and time stayed. Also remember you can not compare moderate and value rooms to your studio at the BLT, you mentioned the Poly which can be a close comparison. Just make sure BLT is where you want to stay the most......all the other resorts are available even though Disney calls them sold out.

 

[tdsbu]

In general, my DW and I are big fans of DVC - for families that consistently make the trip to Disney once every 2-3 years or so, the math does work out. I'm always a big fan of seeing what the market is like for points from current DVC owners through TSS or other sites. Our home resort is SSR, but we will most likely not stay there much in the future - the 7-month window vs 11-month window has not had an impact on us being able to stay at other DVC resorts - we have never had trouble getting rooms at other resorts through waitlists/persistent calling, even 2-3 months out. One thing to keep in mind is that the DVC room inventory at a particular resort does not match the "cash" room inventory - two separate systems - so you will often find rooms available through Disney even though none are available through DVC.

 

[ccgirl]

We decided not to purchase a timeshare in Disney. We own two others (1 in Hawaii, 1 in Gatlinburg). The big question to ask yourself is if you are buying it to trade for somewhere else or are you buying it to essentially pre-pay for a Disney vacation every year. We decided we wanted to see other parts of the country and world so we did not buy into DVC. That said, we were able to trade our Hawaii timeshare for a 2BR at BWV in May 2010. If you are a family who likes to vacation frequently, I like the idea of timeshares. Check out resale timeshares too. Some of those prices (non DVC) are ridiculously low right now ($3,000) and they are deeded. Meaning, you own them forever rather than 50 years. I know...people are saying why worry about vacations 50+ years down the road. This way, each of my children get a timeshare and they can have accommodations for their family vacations. Just my two cents.

 

[superpug]

Responses so far have been very helpful. Keep em' coming.

 

[CarolA]

1) Not getting home resort 7 months out. Depends on your resort, time of year etc. But at 7 months your "home" is open to everyone so competetion can get tougher.
2) I noticed that BLT is available for nightly rate through CRO in August but I can't book through my DVC (this is a real problem for DH) - no availability There are seperate inventories. Those are rooms that have not been sold for example so Disney still owns them and can "rent them. Others will explain this better I am sure.

3) Dues cost over 50 years - Is this going to break even? Hard to say.
4) Saratoga Springs is selling rooms at $169 per night through a Disney promotion for August and September. This is very inexpensive and it appears my DVC points would be more in terms of a cash sale. Note; This is temporary. See the economy. Will they be that price next year? Not if Disney has it's way, thier continually escalting prices are one reason I am glad I bought DVC.

5) Appears service is declining throughout Disney. Is this temporary? I have not noticed this except at the hotels. No, I don't think it's tempoary. Disney is selling those places out providing a sub par product. Until the consumer wises up and quits paying top dollar for sub par hotels, why should they change?
6) Noticing some issues with people here booking through RCI. The other vacation destinations was the reason dh agreed to the purchase.I have not tried RCI. But my experience with attempts to exchange before were not good. I don't recommend DVC for trading with "other" spots

Pros

1) Love the idea of being able to pre-pay my vacations and have a place for my family for 50 years.
2) Disney normally does it the best.
3) Got a fantastic deal on points, yet I noticed points at other resorts are cheaper. Pro or con? Since you seem concerned about the resort choice then it could be
4) We vacation in Disney yearly so it just makes sense, but would we be better served just vacationing at the Polynesian since we have no need for anything other than a studio?OK, if you are staying at the Poly why are you worried about pricing at SSR (see above) Woudl I pay the Poly prices? Sorry but $300 to $400 a night for a three star hotel with those features? NOT ME!

 

[sarhenty]

SOMETIMES it comes down to matters of the heart. Obviously, budgets should always prevail but if money isn't a HUGE issue, pay where you want to stay. If you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE BLT and are willing to take advantage of the home resort window AND again money isn't a huge issue, then go ahead with your purchase. Like others have said, trades through RCI is not a good return on your investment. It has to be about where you want to stay and how many times you do it!

I personally own at VWL. We stay there and the BCV. We love those two resorts and those places make it home away from home for us. Paying those dues are never easy but knowing that we can go back to those two places soon makes it all worthwhile.

 

[Crystal_27]

It seems like a lot of your concerns have already been covered, but I will tell you that in terms of BLT renting out for cash points, keep in mind that Disney will always own 5% (and will always be the majority owner) of any DVC, and can choose to rent out that 5% for cash. That said, keep in mind that until BLT sells out, DVC owns the remaining undeclared inventory and, again, can rent that out for cash. As BLT continues to sell, however, DVC will release that inventory for members' use, as just happened in June. And, as to exchanging through RCI, I agree that if you want to do that frequently, there are better timeshares out there for you. Either way, best of luck with your decision!

 

[crisi]

1) Not getting home resort 7 months out

I think if you expect BLT to be available once your home resort priority ends, you will be disappointed. Sometimes it will be - sometimes it won't be. DVC works best for those people who can plan at LEAST seven months out.


2) I noticed that BLT is available for nightly rate through CRO in August but I can't book through my DVC (this is a real problem for DH) - no availability

This is separate inventory as has been mentioned - the members don't OWN those rooms yet because we haven't bought them. So we can't use them.


3) Dues cost over 50 years - Is this going to break even?

Its the $100,000 question around here. Maybe. If that is a major factor to you, you probably shouldn't buy. I know I've spent MORE money with Disney owning DVC than I would without it. But I get more VALUE for my dollars.

4) Saratoga Springs is selling rooms at $169 per night through a Disney promotion for August and September. This is very inexpensive and it appears my DVC points would be more in terms of a cash sale.

The economy is cyclical. When the economy is bad, Disney offers great deals and DVC looks like a poor choice. When the economy is good, Disney's deals dry up and DVC looks like a bargain. What do you think the economy is going to be like for the next 50 years - more good years than bad? More bad than good?

5) Appears service is declining throughout Disney. Is this temporary?

Service has also been cyclical. I think the quality has been going down for the past ten or so - mostly in Dining. But then, it was bad twenty years ago as well. I suspect this is cycle will be fairly long.

6) Noticing some issues with people here booking through RCI. The other vacation destinations was the reason dh agreed to the purchase.

Don't buy DVC to trade. There are far better timeshares to own if you aren't going to use your points at Disney.

Pros

1) Love the idea of being able to pre-pay my vacations and have a place for my family for 50 years.

Maybe another timeshare?

2) Disney normally does it the best.

That is why a lot of us own DVC.

3) Got a fantastic deal on points, yet I noticed points at other resorts are cheaper. Pro or con?

Buy where you want to stay - if you can plan ahead. If you like BLT and end up buying somewhere else and can't stay at BLT, you'll kick yourself for not spending the extra money. On the other hand - if you are content anywhere, buy the best value (I'd say SSR resale right now - maybe OKW).

4) We vacation in Disney yearly so it just makes sense, but would we be better served just vacationing at the Polynesian since we have no need for anything other than a studio?

Depends on what you like. I like HOTELS, not timeshares - and if all I needed was a studio, we wouldn't own DVC. But with two kids, the extra space and privacy is worth what we give up in a hotel.

So, I'm a newbie really looking for thoughts from families who have owned DVC for a long time or who decided not to purchase. Have things changed for the worst? If you knew then what you know now would you have purchased DVC today? We jumped into this quickly and all the questions are starting to pop up.

I wouldn't purchase today at today's direct prices with kids the age mine are. However, I don't regret purchasing eight years ago when we did and paying the prices we did back then resale.

 

[Lynne M]

1) Not getting home resort 7 months out

Timeshares work best for those who can plan well in advance. If you can't book a vacation at in that 7-11 month window, then you'll never have the home resort advantage, and it makes no difference where you buy. If you can't plan at least 7 months in advance, you're likely to find DVC ownership a frustrating experience.

2) I noticed that BLT is available for nightly rate through CRO in August but I can't book through my DVC (this is a real problem for DH) - no availability

The few rooms that are available through CRO come from a few sources. First, DVC retains ownership of a small amount of inventory (<10%). Also, if an owner trades out for RCI, CC, etc., a comparable villa must be sold to CRO to pay the exchanging company. And, if DVC villas are not booked by 60 days out, they're sold to CRO to help offset our dues. Bottom line: these villas either were never part of member inventory, or are being used to pay for trades - exchanging would not be possible without this. Other bottom line: this should not be an issue for you if you book at 7 months or earlier.

3) Dues cost over 50 years - Is this going to break even?

Whether or not you 'break even' depends on what you're comparing your costs with. Compared to staying at a value? No, you won't break even. Compared to staying at the Poly? Trust me, you'll come out way ahead.

4) Saratoga Springs is selling rooms at $169 per night through a Disney promotion for August and September. This is very inexpensive and it appears my DVC points would be more in terms of a cash sale.

It's also very temporary. These deals are definitely not the norm; expect them to go away when tourism recovers.

6) Noticing some issues with people here booking through RCI. The other vacation destinations was the reason dh agreed to the purchase.

DVC is a good value for stays at DVC resorts. If you see yourself trading out a significant amount of the time, DVC is going to be a very poor value for you. You can buy timeshares on the resale market for a fraction of the cost of DVC that will let you trade into the same RCI resorts that DVC offers. Consider buying just enough points to cover your DVC stays, and either pay OOP for your other trips, or get another timeshare.

4) We vacation in Disney yearly so it just makes sense, but would we be better served just vacationing at the Polynesian since we have no need for anything other than a studio?

That's exactly why I bought in. I wanted to stay in a deluxe, without deluxe prices. I primarily do solo trips and stay in studios most of the time. I stayed in a savannah view studio at AKV in March for a fraction of the cost of a cash reservation. By any analysis I could come up with, that room 'cost' less than $100 a night.

 

[superpug]

Thank you for the feedback. You have all been so helpful.

I think at this point we're leaning towards waiting, only because I'm not 100%on the idea. I'd really hate to get into a situation where I regret it down the road. I'm going to wait it out for a few months, book a stay at a DVC resort for our next vacation and see how we like it. It's a big decision so I want to make sure my family is making the right choice.

 

[logan115]

Thank you for the feedback. You have all been so helpful.

I think at this point we're leaning towards waiting, only because I'm not 100%on the idea. I'd really hate to get into a situation where I regret it down the road. I'm going to wait it out for a few months, book a stay at a DVC resort for our next vacation and see how we like it. It's a big decision so I want to make sure my family is making the right choice.

Great decision - DVC isn't going anywhere (I hope ). Much easier to buy-in later when you know it's the right decision for you than to buy now and have to sell later.

It is a big decision and not one that should be taken lightly, best of luck to you - you're doing the right thing for you at this point in time.

Chris

 

[round2mom]

I am more of a lurker and rarely post, but we were in your exact situation last week. We got all our paperwork and were really, really excited. But something about it just didn't seem right for us - AND we were financing our purchase which for us was a problem (we worked for a lot of years to get out of debt). In the end, we have chosen to save our money and pay cash when we can (most likely early 2010) and buy a re-sale contract. I love BLT but I also want to sleep at night, and I agree with everything everyone else has said - it's a huge purchase and if you're not 100% sure best to wait until you are. Even if you end up paying MORE per point, you'll have peace of mind and I'm not sure you can put a price on that. At least we couldn't.

Jen

 

[gkrykewy]

We bought DVC because we knew we wanted to go to WDW at least every other year, and my wife got spoiled by deluxe resorts. When the opportunity opened up to buy into pretty much our favorite resort in the world (the real one, not just WDW) -- AKL -- it was pretty much a no brainer.

Thus far, we (and my parents, who share the membership) have stayed at savannah view rooms and value AKV rooms, and we have a 10 day trip in August in which we'll be staying at Kidani (savanna view) and BLT... what a dream trip!

Could not be happier with our membership!

 

[Poorman]

If you do want to stay in a DVC room, try renting it first from a member. It will save you some money .

Good luck with your decision.

Rich

Long time member of Dean fan club.

Thank you for the feedback. You have all been so helpful.

I think at this point we're leaning towards waiting, only because I'm not 100%on the idea. I'd really hate to get into a situation where I regret it down the road. I'm going to wait it out for a few months, book a stay at a DVC resort for our next vacation and see how we like it. It's a big decision so I want to make sure my family is making the right choice.

 

[rowbear]

Thank you for the feedback. You have all been so helpful.

I think at this point we're leaning towards waiting, only because I'm not 100%on the idea. I'd really hate to get into a situation where I regret it down the road. I'm going to wait it out for a few months, book a stay at a DVC resort for our next vacation and see how we like it. It's a big decision so I want to make sure my family is making the right choice.

Well then you don't need my advice because I was going to do EXACTLY what you plan to do. It took us 3 months to sign off on it. We never get swept up in the moment when it comes to a large purchase. We are methodical and we make an earnest effort to talk ourselves out of it.

It was the right decision for us. Only you can decide it will be for you. We bought 300 points 8 years ago. It was the exact right number of points (again because we are so methodical) and we have never wanted or needed to add more.

As far as will it pay for itself or when? Depends on you. If you are a coupon clipping wait for a good deal vacationer it could take a very very very long time. I am not that person. I want to go and stay in a very nice room every time I go. I don't want to stay in a "hotel" room. Some people would say that what difference does it make because you only use it to sleep. I am not that person. I like to relax and have a comfortable place to do it.

So what it comes down to is what do you like? Do you want to feel like you are home even when away? Be able to play games around a table, have snacks warming in the oven, a nice jacuzzi to soak in after a day of parking? Cuz that is what I want. No. That is what I demand. Nothing less will cut it now.

 

[rowbear]

I am more of a lurker and rarely post, but we were in your exact situation last week. We got all our paperwork and were really, really excited. But something about it just didn't seem right for us - AND we were financing our purchase which for us was a problem (we worked for a lot of years to get out of debt). In the end, we have chosen to save our money and pay cash when we can (most likely early 2010) and buy a re-sale contract. I love BLT but I also want to sleep at night, and I agree with everything everyone else has said - it's a huge purchase and if you're not 100% sure best to wait until you are. Even if you end up paying MORE per point, you'll have peace of mind and I'm not sure you can put a price on that. At least we couldn't.

Jen

Another good point. We did finance it for 7 but knew we would have it paid off in about half that time. I think we went a tad over 4 years so it was easier for me to really see it as a long-term financial commitment (other than the dues). If you are staring down a 10 year loan it is something to make you step back and reconsider.

 

[5forDiz]

op take your time because DVC isn't going anywhere - - in fact they just

keep expanding with new resorts at WDW and offsite as well. When

it feels really right you will know it and you may even want to take

this opportunity to research the resale market where you may

buy into DVC often at quite a savings over direct purchase through

Disney and with resale you can purchase membership with a contract

with less than minimum number of points Disney requires buying direct

so it could be a more cost-effective way to ease into membership.

Best wishes to you

 

[slowly]

*I had posted this on another thread but I think you are right in thinking about it because this is a major purchase and each person's situation is different. Like everyone has said, you need to be comfortable with it.


We are recent owners of the Villas at the Californian. No, we are not rich but we are "OK". Here was our thought process and maybe it can help your DH:

1)How many times have we visited DL or DW in the last 5 yrs? We have gone every year for the last 7 yrs and we live in HI. In addition we took 3 DCL cruises the last 3 years.
2)Are the kids going to enjoy it? We have a 9 and 6 yr old and we can give it to them as wedding gifts.
3)Is the level of service and amenities worth it? It's Disney!
4)Can we seriously afford it without having to "worry" about the cost? Yeah, because the money we spent the last 7 yrs would have paid for a DVC property!

I went into DVC more for research for my friend than anything else. Had very little intention of buying! I thought the price was a lot more than what we paid which was a good thing. Our purchase was such last minute we bought during our cruise on the Magic in June! You and your DH have the luxury of reading the threads and researching. We are so new that our mortgage hasn't even closed yet. I only commented because I wanted to share our thought process. Now if you had asked any other question, I have no idea but will definitely share after our first experience.