To Buy or Not To Buy DVC?

[trudis]

Hi,
My husband & I live in Bristol with our 2 daughters who are now 16 & 13 and we are serious Orlando junkies, we've been staying @ WDW since they were 6 & 3 as often as we can afford!
We are now seriously considering buying into the DVC but obviously would like as much insight as possible so excuse me but this could be a longwinded post!
We prefer to stay for at least 12-14 nights(due to distance) plus 2 nights tagged on at one of the Universal resorts & usually aim for end May or in August, quite flexible about accommodation size & like the look of OKW & SSR as we have always stayed at POFQ.
Have noticed that people are not so keen on the options available to staying elsewhere to WDW which for us is very attractive as we are keen to see as much of the US as possible.... we do stay in New York quite often although for only 4-5 nights. Have been told we would be looking at around 270 points to stay elsewhere which seemed very good??
We were thinking of spending $40k-$80k on points to give us as much freedom as possible, are we mad??
Any advice would be most welcome!!
Thanks Trudi

 

[Young Pooh]

Go for it.

If you are happy to spend that amount of money then you would be able to get enough points for a decent stay each year.

You can also bank and borrow points, so in effect could have 3 years worth of points to spend on one holiday

A lot of people don't feel using the points elsewhere is good value and would suggest you rent out the points and use the cash for the stay, but each to their own. We couldn't use our points on two occasions due to me being pregnant and then our DD being too young for WDW, so we used them for DLRP. OK, we used as many points for a short stay as we would have used for a longer stay at WDW but to us it was worth it.

I have never stayed at OKW but we stayed ar SSR last year and thought it was fine, although we do prefer our home resort of BCV for location.

Hope this helps.

 

[Callum]

Hi Trudi

I'll just echo what Young Pooh said - GO FOR IT!

We have been visiting WDW since 1991 and only bought into DVC last year. We so wish we had done it sooner.

As there are only the 2 of us, we have minimum points but this still gives us 10 days or so at WDW each year. Our preferred itinerary is 7 days on site, 4 or 5 days on the Gulf Coast and another 3 back in the heart of things. You obviously know your own budget and requirements so that is certainly a positive first step.

We made our first trip in January this year and stayed at SSR and Vero Beach. Both great places. Our "home" resort is AKV but, because of our business, we can't really book 11 months in advance, so haven't been able to secure a reservation there. It doesn't bother us though, as there is plenty of choice elsewhere.

Hoping (really hoping) to go again in November. Our APs and DDE card are still valid so we won't have to budget for them.

Good Luck

 

[Pootle]

I've also responded to your post on the other thread urging caution about buying into DVC, but I think this current thread would make good reading for you http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1837445.

It's not someone in the same situation as you, but some of the advice given is definitely relevant to questions you ask about using points for anything other than DVC.

 

[trudis]

Again thanks for all the advice!
I think it's a case of looking at everything from all angles. We are off to Spain this year & the accommodation alone has cost us £1700 then we have to look at airfares, car hire etc.
Was thinking that with DVC although we will have annual maintenance costs, our accommodation will still be paid for & we know we have a choice re size etc depending on who is coming along
Have to say that we are really keen and have noted about DLP, we've never gone as we felt it wasn't good value compared to WDW but with DVC feel it's a better option.
Also we were thinking long term that if we are lucky to have grandchildren in the future then we could all have some great holidays & memories to share on a regular basis.
Trudi

 

[CustardTart]

Hi!

I just wanted to say that we purchased DVC points in January 2008 and it has definitely been a great experience for us. We looked at it as a way of pre-paying for our future WDW/Disney holidays and TBH we're expecting to have covered the outlay (against what we anticipated spending on conventional WDW holidays) within 5 years!

The DVC promos and fab recent exchange rate have both made this even more affordable than we expected - we have 530 points spread over 3 different resorts and find this amount is perfect for our needs as we like to stay in the one bedroom accommodation. We've stayed at 2 of the on-site DVC resorts and have another 2 booked for over the next year - as well as a stay at Disneyland Hotel in California this summer. We have some points left over so will soon be making a Disneyland Paris booking for next year - it's very easy and the DVC people are great to deal with...

Good luck with your decision...
Karen.

 

[Frances999]

As was mentioned in the thread Pootle linked to, if you are planning on staying in DVC resorts then it is worthwhile. After much deliberation we decided against DVC, since we like having the majority of our stay in a Magic Kingdom resort at the Polynesian or GF - and using points for this doesn't make financial sense. The new Contemporary DVC did make us reconsider, but we don't like the Contemporary much so counted it out. However, once the Grand Californian DVC opens at Disneyland Resort we will be right there

 

[mikki.young]

I have been a member since 1992 and it has been right for us. Having said that it costs twice as much a point now and it is not such a straightforward question. The way you swap out of DVC has changed several times over the years and not always for the better. I have been to California and Paris (Disney) hotels on points at a good rate but that has also been changeable. I don't want to put you off and if you have that much spare money then fine - but just look before you leap.

 

[crux]

We've got 222 points (at a cost of approx £10K / $20K), which is enough for 14 nights in a studio every year in Sept/Oct at either VWL or BCV. I've always thought that DVC was excellant value for staying at WDW in DVC accommodation, but using the points for anything else was probably not worth it. However, as we could only afford the 222 points at the time, we've never really looked at using the points outside DVC.

 

[Ian.Whiteley]

Hi,
We purchased points initially in 1998 and have added on 4 times since then so I guess we like it!!! We are a family of 4 and now we all like our privacy and therefore tend to go for 2 bed accomodation. I have always looked at DVC as pre-purchasing 5* accomodation in advance and avoiding the usual annual price hikes although during economic downturns this isn't always the case.
We have used our points for WDW many times along with DLRP and this year Grand Californian Hotel. In addition we have used points for the Disney Cruise and have used it for 1 weeks Concerige in San Francisco plus Interval International in Sarasota plus Gran Canaries. Also this year we are using a Club Intrawest Resort in Palm Springs. Some people may say this has at times been a poor use of points but all I know is that I haven't had to dip my hand in my pocket each time we go on holiday. I certainly feel that the points cost for the Interval International and Club Intrawest exchanges were very good value. For us it has certainly helped with many memorable trips and if you are happy with the cost...go for it. Our original points in 1998 were $68 each. Wish I had bought all our points then.

 

[RDP]

Just remember the big annual dues that go with big point purchases. We have stayed at nearly all the Disney delux hotels over the last 8 years and have recently bought into DVC , it will be roughly ten years before we start reaping the cost savings, it may be a lot longer with such a big purchase.

 

[LORNA ANN]

We bought 3 yrs ago & have added on twice already, 200 points to start with now have 400 points we love the fact that we have 5* accomodation on every stay and can stay once a year in one bed or twice a year in studio loads of options, have never regreted it don't think we ever will
Oh one regret we should have done it sooner ! DS 16 now but our suprise DS no.2 is only 20mths so get to have all the fun all over again and hopefully again when DS 16 is older and gives us lots of granchildren !though not for along time I hope

 

[paulh]

since we joined in 1999 we have paid disney so far for points an dues around £11,500, so for accomadation it works out at £1277 a year for a delux for at least 2 weeks a year,but we have been more than twicw in a year before now,and without dvc we wouldent have been able to have dont it or a 7 night cruise on points as well.the longer were in dvc the cheaper it becomes as we have paid for our points and its now just dues
Paulh

 

[lam]

Hi,
My husband & I live in Bristol with our 2 daughters who are now 16 & 13 and we are serious Orlando junkies, we've been staying @ WDW since they were 6 & 3 as often as we can afford!
We are now seriously considering buying into the DVC but obviously would like as much insight as possible so excuse me but this could be a longwinded post!
We prefer to stay for at least 12-14 nights(due to distance) plus 2 nights tagged on at one of the Universal resorts & usually aim for end May or in August, quite flexible about accommodation size & like the look of OKW & SSR as we have always stayed at POFQ.
Have noticed that people are not so keen on the options available to staying elsewhere to WDW which for us is very attractive as we are keen to see as much of the US as possible.... we do stay in New York quite often although for only 4-5 nights. Have been told we would be looking at around 270 points to stay elsewhere which seemed very good??
We were thinking of spending $40k-$80k on points to give us as much freedom as possible, are we mad??
Any advice would be most welcome!!
Thanks Trudi

We recently bought into DVC at AKV and are very happy with our purchase. We hope to use it every year (or every other year).

This is what we considered before buying:

1. HOW often do we go away?During what period and what are our accommodation requirements?
2. What season does that fall into on the DVC points chart
3.What is our favourite location?(that changed 3 or 4 times during discussions)
4. Are we likely to rent out points we don't use?
5.Which resorts seem to have NO problems renting points?
6.What are the annual dues
7.Can we 'bank' points or use following year points for hols instead of buying more points?
8.If we don't need all points now, should we buy a smaller contract and 'add on'' later?
9.Would we be happy to stay in a Value or Moderate resort instead?costs comparison?
10.Flight costs going up and must be factored in.sometimes 'package' cheaper.
11.What are closing costs and is it cheaper to do re-sale OR buy direct through Disney.
12.Are we looking for most points at cheapest price OR LOCATION??

We did the DVC tour whilst there at Easter and had visited some of the villas, so had a good idea what we wanted before we bought.

We were also given 3 very good recommendations for re-sale co's plus website for florida justice dept where we could check validity of agents licence and whether or not any convictions or complaints made both past and present and pending.

We started off looking at BWV but points for the time of year we wanted was quite high and my DH doesn't like 'street entertainment' so scored that 1 off.

Then we looked at OKW-beautiful and peaceful but we have that where we stay so were looking for somewhere we could go downstairs for a drink or meal and have some company.

Finally we settled on Jambo House & were lucky enough to see a contract we could afford (just).
My DS is thrilled (mad into animals)

So lets hope your decision works out


lam

 

[trudis]

Thanks everyone for all your comments, they've all been really useful
We've decided we are going to go ahead & purchase although initially we've decided to buy less points & then add on later.
Still deciding whether to go with Disney or resale altho' DH not so keen on resale as worried about legalities etc. The advice about the Florida Justice website was very useful & this might go a long way to reassuring him!
We'd love to get SSR as our home resort if we can but to be honest we'd be happy with OKW or AKV as well
Will let you all know as soon as everything gone through