A Word to the Wise

[Chic]

For those wondering whether it is financially wise to buy into Disney Vacation Club, let me share some advice. If you enjoy visiting Disney and plan to continue visiting in the years to come, do it. My father is retired and living on a fixed income for the remaining years of his life. He had made some investments which ended up falling apart and losing money. He did not purchase a timeshare during his younger years and worked until retirement. He is still healthy enough to travel and enjoy life but doesn't have the financial means to do so. If you currently are paying $150-$400 a night for a Disney resort, consider what that rate will be when you are retired and living on a fixed income. When the Contemporary opened in the 1970's, rooms were $36 a night. Now, those rooms are $400 a night which is about 25 years later. Do the math and that's an 1,100% increase. Will you be able to afford a Disney resort room in the next 25 years if the rates increase as in the past? If history repeats itself, the cost of a room at the Contemporary will be $4,400 a night during the year 2035. This rate seems exagerrated but my dad never dreamed rooms would be $400 a night when he used to pay $36 a night in the 1970's. We purchased our first DVC contract in 2007 and it is absolutely the best decision we have ever made. After our Disney vacations are complete this summer, we will have broken even with our purchase. That simply means that, aside from maintenance fees, our future vacations are free until I'm 90 years old.

 

[ToddyLu]

I am sure you Dad comes along....My DH and I do not have children. We so enjoy taking my MIL and my parents to WDW. My MIL has been able to stay in her own studio last year and this year. My parents will go with us in 2011. DH and I were both raised in happy homes, in the same community. I treasure my time with them and try to offer it as a gift to them for all their efforts throught the years.

My parents are on a more "fixed" income than my MIL, so I considered that when we purchased. Our DVC affords them the opportunity to vacation with us every other year in a deluxe WDW resort. It only takes a couple of tragic moments in life to put priorities in order. Our last trip to WDW with my FIL was in 2004.....and worth every penny, second and memory. It is always good to hear that your DVC decisions are good ones.

 

[Dean]

For those wondering whether it is financially wise to buy into Disney Vacation Club, let me share some advice. If you enjoy visiting Disney and plan to continue visiting in the years to come, do it. My father is retired and living on a fixed income for the remaining years of his life. He had made some investments which ended up falling apart and losing money. He did not purchase a timeshare during his younger years and worked until retirement. He is still healthy enough to travel and enjoy life but doesn't have the financial means to do so. If you currently are paying $150-$400 a night for a Disney resort, consider what that rate will be when you are retired and living on a fixed income. When the Contemporary opened in the 1970's, rooms were $36 a night. Now, those rooms are $400 a night which is about 25 years later. Do the math and that's an 1,100% increase. Will you be able to afford a Disney resort room in the next 25 years if the rates increase as in the past? If history repeats itself, the cost of a room at the Contemporary will be $4,400 a night during the year 2035. This rate seems exagerrated but my dad never dreamed rooms would be $400 a night when he used to pay $36 a night in the 1970's. We purchased our first DVC contract in 2007 and it is absolutely the best decision we have ever made. After our Disney vacations are complete this summer, we will have broken even with our purchase. That simply means that, aside from maintenance fees, our future vacations are free until I'm 90 years old.

LOL, fees are the big expense in the long run.

 

[JHM]

Yes, the fees are where the real cost is, but using that logic it wont matter b/c I will not be able to put gas in my car or pay for auto insurance when they are 10x what they are today.

 

[dizfan]

FWhen the Contemporary opened in the 1970's, rooms were $36 a night. Now, those rooms are $400 a night which is about 25 years later.

The Contemporary opened Oct 1, 1971 so it's almost 39 years later, not 25 years later.

 

[DVCinderella]

I agree with everything you said. We bought into DVC in 2001, when both DH and I were working. In 2005, I left work to become a stay-at-home Mom. In 2008, economy crashed, DH's business dried up, and any vacation to Disney would now require 2 more plane tickets and 2 more park tickets, as kids were 3yo

Thank goodness for DVC...we wouldn't have been able to vacation without it! Wisest investment we've made.

Btw, just curious...how did you break even after only 3 years?

 

[msmayor]

That simply means that, aside from maintenance fees, our future vacations are free until I'm 90 years old.

Well, not really. There's transportation, ticket and food costs to consider. Hardly free.

I realize that DVC is a wise investment for some. But in my mind that holds water if you're planning on making most of your vacations to Disney.

 

[icydog]

For those wondering whether it is financially wise to buy into Disney Vacation Club, let me share some advice. If you enjoy visiting Disney and plan to continue visiting in the years to come, do it. My father is retired and living on a fixed income for the remaining years of his life. He had made some investments which ended up falling apart and losing money. He did not purchase a timeshare during his younger years and worked until retirement. He is still healthy enough to travel and enjoy life but doesn't have the financial means to do so. If you currently are paying $150-$400 a night for a Disney resort, consider what that rate will be when you are retired and living on a fixed income. When the Contemporary opened in the 1970's, rooms were $36 a night. Now, those rooms are $400 a night which is about 25 years later. Do the math and that's an 1,100% increase. Will you be able to afford a Disney resort room in the next 25 years if the rates increase as in the past? If history repeats itself, the cost of a room at the Contemporary will be $4,400 a night during the year 2035. This rate seems exagerrated but my dad never dreamed rooms would be $400 a night when he used to pay $36 a night in the 1970's. We purchased our first DVC contract in 2007 and it is absolutely the best decision we have ever made. After our Disney vacations are complete this summer, we will have broken even with our purchase. That simply means that, aside from maintenance fees, our future vacations are free until I'm 90 years old.

1. You are assuming a lot. You are assuming your dad wants to travel to Disney each year (or any other timeshare for that matter).
2. You are assuming he would be vacationing each and every year vs staying at home and say, fishing
3. You are assuming that if he bought into DVC when it first came out, like I did, at $52 a point he could afford the high DVC maintenance fees each year. That is a big assumption.
4. You are assuming your Dad has lost his ability to spend his discretionary income. If he wanted to buy into DVC my guess is that he could.

My biggest complaint is number 3. As a retired person, also on a fixed income, it has become a costly venture each year for me to pay DVC's high maintenance fees. Nobody forced me to buy all the points I own; but with the market being what it is, and no chance of renting my points for anything near what they are costing me, I am stuck with a big nut to pay each year.

That's the issue with DVC. It is not the cost to buy in, although that is not paltry, it is the cost to own year in and year out. Figure that in your equation and see if you come up as happy as you are now.

 

[jessicaerv]

Ummmm, I spot another problem with the math. You are not taking inflation or the cost of living adjustments into consideration. Back in 1971 wages were a fraction of what they are now, so the lodging costs increased along with discretionary income of the average person. You are looking at NOMINAL dollars as opposed to REAL dollars.

http://www.dallasfed.org/data/basics/nominal.html

 

[lugnut33]

It's not expensive if you don't buy a lot of points.

 

[nunzia]

This is one of the main reasons we bought. We want to prepay for our Disney vacation accomodations. Over time we feel this will save us over what it would have cost anyway. Paying with todays dollars for tomorrows vacations. Yes, we still have to have tickets, transportation and MF, but that is much more doable on a lower income than having to pay for what a room will cost down the road. I did a comparison to what we spent at the Beach Club way back when and so cheap looking back, but not so cheap when we did it.This is another reason why I won't buy as many points as I'd like..those MF go on and on. I don't know why the PP says they can't rent points out to cover their current costs, I'd think it would be pretty easy to get $10pp and pay even $5.00pp MF and come out ok. I also have my contracts split in small increments which will hopefully make them easier to sell if need be. I think DVC is so adaptable, there are many ways to win at the game.

 

[gfyjny]

For me there is no better to visit Disney World or Disneyland than staying onsite. Anywhere I travel, I like to stay at a minimum four star rating hotel or resort. For our last trip to Disney World (Bay Lake Tower, two bedroom suite, Magic Kingdom View), we rented the points from another DVC owner ($11 per point). This was a cheaper option than booking directly through Disney. When we decided to purchase DVC, we did a simple math and figured out that it would cost us roughly $6 per point (for now and the price per point would increase with the maintainence fee increase.) I think we purchased about 500 points or so (at $11 per point, $5500, if we were already a member, the cost for our stay would have been about $3000.) For a nine night stay at a two bedroom suite with an awesome view, $3000 is a deal, for me anyway.
I know DVC is not for everyone, but for us it was the right decision to buy and we will be looking forward to many wonderful stays at Disney Resorts and other wonderful vacation places, DVC offers.

 

[hsmamato2]

we thought about buying,I LOVE Disney,but stayed away b/c it is never free.
I didn't want to be tied for 50 years to a contract that I was responsible -especially b/c if I had to pay the fees alone on a decent sized contract yearly,I wouldn't have much left to go on other types of trips. And I wanted to do other things too! I had a problem with paying fees yearly on something I'd feel obligated to use if I were paying for it...etc etc the circle goes on.....
Your Dad,if his income is fixed,and he owned DVC,would be in trouble if for some reason he could no longer afford the fees,or the costs associated with every Disney trip. And yes, my Mom owned for many years,shared with all of us, we LOVED it- but her own finances forced her to sell- she more than reouped all her money spent on buying in very early on, but the costs that never stop coupled with the cost of 'using' her vacation was too much.
I much prefer to wing it and have the flexibility to go where and when we want,instead of trying to 'get our money ' out of the deal.
to each his own.