A Few More Questions About DVC

[dcravey]

My wife and I are looking at purchasing (resale) a DVC membership. When crunching numbers to compare DVC versus traditional vacation packages, we came across a few questions that I haven't seen addressed elsewhere.

First, a bit about our situation. We are likely to visit WDW only once every couple years. With point banking and borrowing, we figure 100-120 points should be sufficient. We generally travel during off-season times, such as during the Fall break of our daughter's private school. We don't have much preference as to which resort we stay at. We like bring on the monorail, although we also like the feel of the BC/YC/BW area, and of course very little compares to a savanna view room at AK.

Given the above, I think we'd be fine with purchasing the cheapest points possible, regardless of the Home Resort. Any flaws in that logic?

Now, on to my specific questions regarding crunching numbers for cost comparisons.

1) In the past, we've almost always booked vacation packages that offer discounts off rack rate or free dining plans. Does anyone feel like the lost opportunity to book packages with special offers has been a significant factor? What dining discounts are typically offered to DVC members?

2) We live in Texas, and aren't quite up to a 22-hr road trip with the 4-yr old. Flying is the only way to go. Is Disney's Magical Express available to DVC members, who purchase stand-alone air fair to get to MCO? While not a deal breaker, DME is a nice bonus to vacation packages.

3) We're planning on getting 10-20 years of use out of DVC. Afterwards, is it reasonable to assume that we could sell or give it to someone else - so that even if there is no equity in the remaining years before the lease expires, at least we won't have to worry about annual fees?

4) My understanding is that DVC club members only get housekeeping services on every fourth day. Has anyone found that to be a problem? How much does adding daily service cost?

Finally, any thoughts as to other pros and cons would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Brian Noble]

1: Most of the time, if you are staying in Deluxe or DVC resorts, the ownership value proposition is still better vs. prevailing discounts. If you are staying in Moderate rooms, the ownership value proposition is generally a better room/resort at about the same cost.

2: Yes.

3: Probably. It's hard to imagine you could not at least give it away.

4: Personally, I don't miss daily housekeeping (and many timeshares don't even do midweek trash & towel). I don't make my bed or swap towels every day at home, I can do without here.

 

[disneybeachprincess]

Good to meet you...a fellow Disney lover I am guessing

We were saving for the chance to purchase a DVC contract for many years now & are awaiting our closing in early March

I did A LOT of reading & research - buying resale just made $$$ sense to us. There are 3 excellent companies that specialize in DVC resales. The price differences are mostly because of the age of the property vs. brand new.

I would definitely purchase AKL as my home resort if I were you - you can book 11 months ahead of time which means you are almost assured of booking the dates & room view you desire. There are so many AKL contracts out there for sale. The savings outweigh the price increases for sure. DME should be available - some of our family from MN use it everytime. When you are "done" using the DVC, it transfers to your daughter just like any other property. We plan to add our son's name to the deed when he turns 18. You can add daily service anytime or request items like soap you might need. It is no problem at all. The only "daily" thing we need is trash taken out, so we do that on our way out. They leave us extra trash bags on day one at our request. Hope this helps a little bit!

 

[GrnMtnMan]

We generally travel during off-season times, such as during the Fall break of our daughter's private school.

Is this break in early-September? Otherwise, the fall is not off-season.

Food & Wine books up the Boardwalk area resorts in the home resort period during these times of year.

We don't have much preference as to which resort we stay at.

Make sure you really mean this if you decide to buy the cheapest points. If you're counting on being able to get BLT, be prepared to be frequently disappointed.

 

[chalee94]

i'd be wary of buying for an every-third-year deal. if something happens, you'd risk losing 3 years of points. your banked and borrowed pts are "stuck" in their new UY and cannot be moved again, remember.

every-other-year is a little more workable IMO.

but fall is super popular for the epcot resorts (BCV/BWV), so those would often be booked up at the 7 month window.

if you plan to book at 7 months out, make sure you are ok with staying at SSR. AKV is also a large resort. other resorts will often be available, but you'll probably wind up with SSR or OKW as your only options at least a few times...

1) Does anyone feel like the lost opportunity to book packages with special offers has been a significant factor? What dining discounts are typically offered to DVC members?

if you are going to get frustrated when cash guests are offered 40% off or "free dining" deals, then DVC is not for you...

DVC dining discounts have been pretty minimal in the past.

2) Is Disney's Magical Express available to DVC members, who purchase stand-alone air fair to get to MCO?

it's an on-site perk, so DVC stays qualify. if they stop doing DME for other onsite guests, DVC members won't get it either...

3) is it reasonable to assume that we could sell or give it to someone else?

seems reasonable to me. the future is always a bit murky, though.

4) My understanding is that DVC club members only get housekeeping services on every fourth day. Has anyone found that to be a problem? How much does adding daily service cost?

it's nice not having anyone else in the room IMO.

Pay As You Play
With Pay As You Play service, you'll be provided with the following amenities free of charge at the start of your stay. After that, you may purchase more for the following fees:

Toiletries Package, $5.00 - 1 facial soap, 1 bath soap, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 shower gel
Coffee Package, $3.00 - 1 package of coffee, 8 sugars, 8 creamers, 8 artificial sweeteners
Towel Package, $6.00 - 4 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 4 washcloths, 1 bath mat
Laundry Detergent (only in One-, Two-, and Three-bedroom Vacation Homes), $1.00 - 1 box

Additional Full Cleaning Rates:

Studio/Inn Room - $30.00 per day requested
One-Bedroom - $45.00 per day requested
Two-Bedroom - $60.00 per day requested
Three-Bedroom - $75.00 per day requested

Additional Trash & Towel Rates:

Studio/Inn Room - $15.00 per day requested
One-Bedroom - $20.00 per day requested
Two-Bedroom - $25.00 per day requested
Three-Bedroom - $35.00 per day requested

Note: Rates are subject to change

but some people are hotel people and some are timeshare people. timeshare types don't miss the daily housekeeping.

 

[gonzalj1]

1)I advise that prospective members not use discounts as a decision factor for purchasing DVC. They are not guaranteed and can be taken away (or improved upon) at any time.

2) DME is currently available to DVC members. As with the discounts above, this is subject to change. But I doubt they'd take it away as it is a nice moneymaker for Disney. They get a captive vactioner.

3)This depends on what dues are at the time and the state of the WDW resort as a whole. With annual dues increasing at 3-5% a year my dues will be over $2000 a year in 2032 assuming a 5% average increase.

4)Not an issue for us. We get along fine without the housekeeping .

My remarks are not meant to disuade you, or anyone, from purchasing DVC. In fact, my family and I are VERY happy with our purchase and plan to use it for years to come. For us, it was a way to prepay for vacations and a hedge against inflation. Where our dues have gone up 3-5% a year average hotel rates have exceeded that increase.

In my opinion, if you want deluxe accommodations every 2 years at least on WDW property and wish to be able to predict the costs of accommodations DVC is a good purchase. If you are OK in mods or values and can't commit to WDW every 2 years then there are probably better options for you.

 

[Missyrose]

As far as dining discounts go, you can pay for the dining plans (added any time up to 48 hours before check-in). Or you can buy a Tables in Wonderland card which gives you 20 percent off food and beverages (including alcohol) at the participating dining locations. The card costs $75 if you have an annual pass or was just offered for the first time to DVC members without an annual pass at $100.

We've found TIW to be the better option than dining plans, ourselves.

 

[Sandisw]

Before DVC, I used to hate having to wait for the Disney discounts and hoping and praying I might get lucky and get one of those coveted pin codes.

Now that we own, I don't miss that at all! When we ran the numbers, we looked at DVC as a way to enjoy larger rooms than what we were used to staying in for no more than we were paying to stay in deluxe resorts. It wasn't so much about the savings, but rather upgrading to a more relaxing situation.

If you truly mean you are okay staying at any WDW and will not be disappointed if you can't get BLT, BWV, or BCV during those fall trips--very difficult because of Food & Wine in October--then I might go with a different one.

However, the only thing you are truly guaranteed with DVC is the right to stay at your home resort, because DVC can (though not very likely but technically possible) remove any resort from the "club" and then there would be no other resorts to trade to.

IMO, you must be okay with this when deciding where to make your home. We bought BLT, and spent more for it, because we decided we would rather spend more for something we love, then save money and buy something we weren't even sure we liked.

In terms of housekeeping, we actually like knowing no one will be in the room. I don't feel the need to make sure that everything is hidden, etc. In terms of towels, during the times we stayed in studios, I paid the additional $6 for an extra towel pack which worked out nicely.

Good luck!

 

[dbs1228]

On the discounts/deals the only deal I got staying at Ft Wilderness Cabins was pay for 4 nights get 3 free! I was thrilled until I looked at our paper work from the previous year exact same time frame and realized we were paying 20.00 more to stay 3 nights free!

 

[Deb & Bill]

My wife and I are looking at purchasing (resale) a DVC membership. When crunching numbers to compare DVC versus traditional vacation packages, we came across a few questions that I haven't seen addressed elsewhere.

First, a bit about our situation. We are likely to visit WDW only once every couple years. With point banking and borrowing, we figure 100-120 points should be sufficient. We generally travel during off-season times, such as during the Fall break of our daughter's private school. We don't have much preference as to which resort we stay at. We like bring on the monorail, although we also like the feel of the BC/YC/BW area, and of course very little compares to a savanna view room at AK.

Given the above, I think we'd be fine with purchasing the cheapest points possible, regardless of the Home Resort. Any flaws in that logic?

Now, on to my specific questions regarding crunching numbers for cost comparisons.

1) In the past, we've almost always booked vacation packages that offer discounts off rack rate or free dining plans. Does anyone feel like the lost opportunity to book packages with special offers has been a significant factor? What dining discounts are typically offered to DVC members?

2) We live in Texas, and aren't quite up to a 22-hr road trip with the 4-yr old. Flying is the only way to go. Is Disney's Magical Express available to DVC members, who purchase stand-alone air fair to get to MCO? While not a deal breaker, DME is a nice bonus to vacation packages.

3) We're planning on getting 10-20 years of use out of DVC. Afterwards, is it reasonable to assume that we could sell or give it to someone else - so that even if there is no equity in the remaining years before the lease expires, at least we won't have to worry about annual fees?

4) My understanding is that DVC club members only get housekeeping services on every fourth day. Has anyone found that to be a problem? How much does adding daily service cost?

Finally, any thoughts as to other pros and cons would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!!!

First you need to realize that the only off season time for DVC is late January (after MLK holiday), early February, late April, early May, mid-September. Every other time of the year, point requirements may vary, but it can be harder to book at 7 months out. So you really need to buy where you wouldn't mind staying if you couldn't change at 7 months out. And if you can't book from 7 to 11 months out, it only get harder. And as DVC gets bigger, it gets harder to get the newest resort at 7 months out.

So don't buy Vero Beach or Hilton Head Island if you don't plan to ever stay there. And if you don't like the looks of OKW or SSR (which are not on the monorail and are not directly connected to a theme park), don't buy there.

Like others have said, don't buy DVC for the perks like dining discounts because they are not that great and sometimes are only good for select restaurants for lunch. And there is no guarantee that they will be there tomorrow.

We use our towels all week long at home (hang them up to dry) and we make the bed every day. Just like when we stay at DVC. If you don't want to come back to a messy room and you don't like to pick up after yourself, you don't want a timeshare.