What about other resorts beside Disney

[jdlawler]

I got a great response on my last set I hope this one is as good.

Is the club a good idea if we do not use Disney every year ?

We were thinking about the many in the Northeast. are they okay places . Has anyone used them ?

We would probably go to Disney ever two years. Does that make sense?

I was thinking the club would give use access to many different resorts and because it was Disney the resorts would be okay.

 

[bwvBound]

Originally posted by jdlawler
Is the club a good idea if we do not use Disney every year ? ... We would probably go to Disney ever two years. Does that make sense?

Sure - but I would recommend that you only purchase the number of points you would need for your "every other year" visit. Said another way, "Use all your DVC credits for DVC vacations ... even if the vacations occur every other year."

We were thinking about the many in the Northeast. are they okay places . Has anyone used them ?

If you are referring to the resorts available through DVC exchanges (World Passport collection, Buena Vista Trading Co., etc) -- then I'm sure the quality is generally "top notch." Of those listed for the NE, I've walked around the Trapp Family Lodge and would be delighted to stay sometime!

However, trading "out" may not be the best use of your money. Why not consider two different purchases?

a) buy a smaller DVC contract that can meet your "every other year" visit through banking/borrowing

b) buy a high quality, local resort that you will enjoy using or trading on the off years. The local resort may trade through one or more of the well known exchange companies (II, RCI and others) allowing you greater flexibility.

If you seek both purchases through the resale markets you'll save money both on the initial purchases and (hopefully) on the related annual fees.

I was thinking the club would give use access to many different resorts and because it was Disney the resorts would be okay.

The wording in this statement leads me to believe that DVC is somewhat less than 50% of your intentions. As such ... buying DVC can get you into the other properties ... but might not be the best route. You may want to create a mix of properties. (In timeshare speak this is a "vacation portfolio" LOL!) Look for "the right products for the right reasons" so that you have maximum flexibility with minimized costs/effort.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Going to Disney every two years makes sense. You could bank your points and stay for a long time in a nice location.

Using your points for timeshares outside of DVC does not often make sense. There are some timeshares that are worth it but it seems from reading things on this board and on TUG that trading Disney for the northeast is not the best use of points.

I'm sure someone with more timeshare experience outside of DVC will chime in.

HBC

 

[Maistre Gracey]

What about other resorts beside Disney?

There are other resorts beside Disney?

MG

 

[Dean]

If your talking about buying DVC and then trading DVC EOY, I'd strongly recommend against that. If you're talking buying DVC but less points plus another timeshare choice, it would depend on specifics but overall I'd encourage that as far superior with your stated use plans.

 

[rocketriter]

Mostly you want to buy Disney to stay with Disney. Our family intends to trade out from time to time, but we'll use points to stay at WDW more often than not.

 

[erikthewise]

I always feel uncomfortable with the notion of buying DVC if you plan to go to WDW "every other year". The math usually works out OK, but I'm not sure about the "commitment" aspect.

If you are already very comfortable with timeshares (e.g. already own one), and are absolutely sure you will be going to WDW at least every two years, then fine.

But if you are unsure about timeshares, or your WDW plans are a little mushy, I'd say skip DVC, or at least postpone the decision.

 

[linco711]

We've been DVC members for about 10 years. At the beginning when our daughter was young we would visit 3 or 4 times a year. We have gotten a little bored with that much disney and have ventured outside with our points. We've discovered some wonderful places, mostly in the concierge collection. Don't see how you could go wrong with all disney points. The possibilities are endless!

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by linco711
We've been DVC members for about 10 years. At the beginning when our daughter was young we would visit 3 or 4 times a year. We have gotten a little bored with that much disney and have ventured outside with our points. We've discovered some wonderful places, mostly in the concierge collection. Don't see how you could go wrong with all disney points. The possibilities are endless!

Yes, you'll be able to stay in very nice places and there are many possibilities. However there are less expensive timeshares out there that also have good trading power.

That's why most here say to use DVC only for DVC resorts and to buy another timeshare if you plan to trade often. It will cost you less!

Best wishes -

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by linco711
The possibilities are endless!

So are the costs. And there are actually more possibilities using non DVC timeshares than DVC timeshares.

 

[linco711]

I don't find the points used to be out of line at all. That said, I do think Disney Cruise lines are very costly in points....

 

[DisneyMim]

I'll give you another perspective. We bought into DVC when it first started, in 1991. We have always gone at least once a year, sometimes 2X, but no more than that. We knew from day one that although we are HUGE Disney nuts (some would say just plain nuts!) we wanted to do other vacations as well. We have always done at least one other vacation every year and have paid cash for it. IMHO and this is just MY OPINION, DVC is great for Disney resorts, and if you are looking to buy to use a lot of points to go to other places outside of Disney you are better off (as some other people have said) to buy another timeshare. Every other year may work for you and I would just buy enough points to use every other year. Then you may want to either buy another timeshare, less expensive to use in the "off" year or just pay cash. We have many friends who own timeshares (not DVC) and have spoken of wonderful trips outside of their "home" resort. I think that whatever you do you need to really look into what will work for your family. We are doing a cruise soon (I may evaporate into thin air, it's "gasp" NOT Disney) and we would not be able to use our points for this cruise. Just to give you an example. We like to keep all our options opened for other places, sometimes points work and sometimes they don't. Do your homework.

Good Luck!!

 

[bwvBound]

Supporting the notion of "other resorts" ... please consider that each vacation ownership (aka timeshare) may offer different benefits. Again, I'm suggesting maximizing flexibility ... minimizing costs (but possibly increasing efforts of juggling multiple ownerships).

Some benefits to look for when considering "other resorts":

• Day Use. Look for a property w/in an easy drive from home offering access to pools, fitness equipment and other ammenties.
• Exchange Company Affiliations. You may enjoy having personal memberships with RCI, II or other exchange companies. Look for resorts offering "preferred exchange status" w/in a family group of properties. Look for resorts offering discounted member rates to their exchange partners. Know that both RCI and II offer Bonus/Getaway weeks at attractive rental rates (especially for off-season travel).
• EOY Ownerships. Consider buying an "Every Other Year" (EOY) ownership. Pay roughly half the dues ... use or trade during the appropriate years (either ODD or EVEN) and still reap the other resort ownership benefits!
• Bonus Time. Look for a resort that offers discounted nightly stays w/in a 14-30 day window ("last minute"). This can be a great benefit if the participating properties are w/in an easy drive from your home.

These are just a few ideas. In addition to our (small) DVC ownership we have an EOY at Grand Pacific Palisades (30 minutes from home). The resort offers us year-round access to all facilities (pools, fitness center, activities, etc), bonus time at the resort as well as additional rentals in a larger pool of properties, preferred exchange status into a group of Southern California properties, discounted RCI membership rates, etc. We tend to use the week itself for trading ... but sometimes trade back into the same resort.

Yes ... there are other resort properties out there ... and it may make sense to mix'n'match.

Just my $0.02

 

[jade1]

I reserved a 1BR at VWL for my buddy this October $5 per point because he is interested in DVC and wants to check it out, and I am not in it to make money. He also wants to go every other year and obviously knows renting points is OK-because he is doing that from me even though he knows $5 is generous and $10 to $12 is generally more like it.
Obvious question came up: If I rent every other years points, that would cover my dues and original purchase right, meaning I could go every other year for 50 years free? Took a calculater and he is pretty close.

HOW DO YOU ANSWER THAT?

 

[erikthewise]

Renting every other year would pay for your dues, but it wouldn't pay for your original purchase!

If you rent every other year for $10/pt, and pay $4/pt annual dues, that leaves $1/pt each year left over. That doesn't even begin to pay the interest on the original purchase, let alone make payments on the principal.

So no this is not a scheme that gets you anything for free. You put down the big money to buy the contract, and you're only using half of the points you paid for.

 

[wintergreen]

Another thing that you may want to think about is whether you always do vacations in one week increments. One of the things that we like about DVC, both with the DVC resorts, and the Concierge Collection resorts, is that you can book stays of less than a week. Many other time shares require one week stays. Depends upon how you vacation.

 

[jade1]

"Renting every other year would pay for your dues, but it wouldn't pay for your original purchase!

If you rent every other year for $10/pt, and pay $4/pt annual dues, that leaves $1/pt each year left over. That doesn't even begin to pay the interest on the original purchase, let alone make payments on the principal.

So no this is not a scheme that gets you anything for free. You put down the big money to buy the contract, and you're only using half of the points you paid for."

Well thats kind of what I thought, but if you buy 200 points for $18,000 then pay $40,000 (50 years at $800) in dues the total is $58,000. If you rent 25 years at $2400 ($12 X200) thats $60,000 right?

 

[erikthewise]

Originally posted by jade1
Well thats kind of what I thought, but if you buy 200 points for $18,000 then pay $40,000 (50 years at $800) in dues the total is $58,000. If you rent 25 years at $2400 ($12 X200) thats $60,000 right?

You go right ahead and do that then.
Seriously, talk to an accountant. Over a fifty year period the effect of compounded interest completely swamps everything else. If you invest that $18000 and make 4% annually on your investment, it would be worth over $125000 in fifty years. In other words, paying $18000 today is very different than paying $18000 fifty years from now, and your reasoning assumes it's the same.

 

[jade1]

"You go right ahead and do that then."

Ouch, Not good news for him (or any of us). So basically the cost is $125,000 (if invested somewhere else) plus $40,000 in dues for a total of $165,000 for 200 points. I may not pass this information on to him just yet but thanks.