Advantages of DVC? I don't get it

[daltonsdodisney]

We've done Disney trips a few times and really have enjoyed the experience. WDW and the resorts are so magical, I'd never stay off-site and we took the cruise in May and loved it, but why would I become a DVC member? Aren't you paying about the same for your trip once you figure in dues and maintenance fees and the overall cost of membership? Are the rooms much nicer than what you'd regularly stay in with Disney? Is it just a vacation option for people who'd rather pay for all their vacations up front, so they don't have to budget it our annually?
It sound exciting and exclusive, but convince me of the better value/investment.
Thanks

 

[mb168]

You will definitely be able to stay in nicer rooms at nicer resorts than All Stars or the moderates. Depending on when you go, for how long, and how you do math, you should be able to break even in 5-10 years. Then you only pay maintenance fees until 2042.

 

[SamS]

See recently returned thread by ekghutton on this board. It gets right to thre point of what's special.

 

[DVCDAVE]

First I'd direct you to the top of this forums thread page, and urge you to read the FAQ's.

In General our positions is;

1) Most of us go reguraly, at least every other year.

2) By purchasing an interest, we don't worry about future price increases in accomodations.

3) Our accomodations are extremely nice, the studios are roughly the size of a regular hotel room, but we have a mirowave, coffemaker, and refidgerator.

4) The need for vacation budgeting is gone, as our vacations are now paid for.

5) Depending on when you bought in, the breakeven point is around 5 to 10 years. It also depends on what type of resort you usually stayed at (value, moderate, or deluxe).

 

[jmminarik]

A few other people posted while I was organizing my brain and tapping the keys....but I typed it, so I'm posting it!

Originally posted by daltonsdodisney
We've done Disney trips a few times and really have enjoyed the experience. WDW and the resorts are so magical, I'd never stay off-site and we took the cruise in May and loved it, but why would I become a DVC member?

That's a question which only you will be able to answer.

Aren't you paying about the same for your trip once you figure in dues and maintenance fees and the overall cost of membership?

Assuming ALL things being equal, being in the DVC vs. paying cash for a room(s) at a 'home away from home' resort, after an initial period of time (anywhere from 5-15 years depending on many variables) will start to save you money on room accomodations. THis break-even period also applies to staying at any of the WDW "moderate" resorts. If you only ever stay at an All-Star, it will not likely ever break-even, but if you're staying at an All-Star, you're staying in the Motel-6 of WDW hotels.

There's a whole lot of differing view points to how to make the numbers favor your arguement (which everside you take)...for most of the DVC faithful, the financial end is only a part of the bigger picture.

I will say that buying into the DVC right now is harder to justify on a price only basis because of the discounting going on across the travel industry...including WDW hotel cash rates. However, even with this less favorable price comparison, the current DVC resort (Beach Club Villas) is on track to selling out quicker than ever. Obviously, a whole lot of somebodies seem to see the value of a DVC ownership.

Are the rooms much nicer than what you'd regularly stay in with Disney?

Is French Vanilla better than regular old vanilla? The answer is maybe. Most of us faithful think so, but it's a matter of personal opinion. We like having larger rooms...and seperate bedrooms...and access to cooking/washing facilities and an in-room whirlpool bath (1,2 br and grand villas) or a room with a wet-bar/fridge/microwave. We also like knowing that our rooms costs are potentially thousands less than our next door neighbor who is paying cash.

We also seem to like the 'extra-extra' sparkle in the resort's cast-members eyes and smiles when they realize we're members when checking-in and then 'Welcome us home'.

Is it just a vacation option for people who'd rather pay for all their vacations up front, so they don't have to budget it our annually?

Not entirely. 1) you still have to budget everything else (tickets, transportation, food, etc 2) We use our membership to treat our family and friends to vacations they'd never afford/take. 3) Our membership gives us great incentive to actually use our 4 weeks of vacation to do something other than visit my in-laws.

'Pre-paying' is the way many people view their DVC, and not as an 'investment'. For us, and for what we want to do, it is an investment...in our lives. Not everything can be equated in dollars (not even in Disney Dollars!).

It sound exciting and exclusive, but convince me of the better value/investment.
Thanks

It is exciting, but not for everybody. It isn't exclusive...if you have the $12000 (or so) to buy in, or good enough credit, anyone can join the DVC.

As to convincing you....only you can really do that. You need to look at your lifestyle and financial situation. If you do go to WDW at least every other year, and are committed to going well into the future, DVC may be right for you. If you only go to WDW every 5 years, or plan on going less once the children are grown, or decide you think you might like to do Europe more, than DVC may not be right for you.

 

[EileenAmI]

My DH and & bought our first points (in BWV) about 3 years ago, and then just bought more (at HH) last year. We manage to go on 2 trips a year, a 5 day and an 8 day. We figured that staying at Boardwalk would cost approx 325-350 per night, which would be $2275 for 7 nights. We were paying less per year for our BWV points than it would cost to stay there for a week. It has definitely paid off for us. And, though we've only stayed in studios so far, I enjoy those rooms much more than All Star.

 

[crisi]

Keep in mind inflation and room tax. Those are often what turns a "I've run the numbers and we break even" analysis into "hey, this is a pretty good deal."

Also, the ability to stay in a multi-room unit (a suite by hotel standards) is not something you are going to get for nearly the same cost. For those of us with families - its staying in a studio for ten days with teenagers, or staying in a one bedroom - having the kids sleep on the pullout in the living room, and having a little space - for pretty much the same money - it will cost you more points (and more in maintenance fees) but not compared to what you'd pay rack for such a room.

 

[Richyams]

OKW Grand Villa for well under $150 a night.

That does it for me.

The break even can be WAY earlier, at least it was for me.

We bought 230 points in '92 for $12,000, had two years of points and stayed 12 nights in the OKW GV for our first stay in '93. That unit is near $1,000 per night plus tax. We broke even on our first trip....not even counting the free passes.

In '93 we realized that we were going to need the GV every year, we bought 200 more points for less than $12,000 and stayed 12 more nights in '94, we broke even again.

Every year since '95, we have spent 10-12 nights in the OKW GV for the cost of dues, way under $150 per night.

 

[DemoBri1]

I put this rationalization down on paper to help convince me to buy into DVC, and I don't think I am very far off, if off at all:

I bought in a BCV with 170 pts, which cost $13,600.

Over the 40 year life of the DVC contract I have 6,800 pts available to use.

Taking 13,600 and dividing by 6,800 you come out with a per point cost of $2.

Say I wanted to use my 170 points to stay in a 1 bedroom villa at BCV. I could stay for six nights during the DVC Choice season, which is equivalent to Value Season for cash paying resort guests.

The room rate for a 1 bedroom villa during value season at BCV for cash paying customers is $385/night currently and is going up to $390/night in 2003.

Taking the $2/pt cost for me as a DVC member and adding on my maintenance fee for the year of approx $686, I am paying $1,026 [2*170 pts + 686 maintenance fee] for a room that would cost the cash paying guest $2,310 for a six night stay at rack rates.

Granted you are probably going to get a better room rate with a package deal, but I'd doubt that you can come close to the $1,026 rate that I am paying via DVC.

Yes...you have to budget for passes, air, ground transportation, and food, but even with all of that I am coming fairly close to the total price that I would receive from a travel agent for standard or water view deluxe resort rooms, and with these rooms you aren't even getting the microwave, refrigerator, and sink that you get in a villa studio.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

I am another one trying to figure out if its a fit for us - we stayed 5 nights in a studio at vero in June - it costs us a little under 700.00 using the disney club, (it would have been 86 points if I was with DVC) I booked and canceled 4 nights in November in a 1 bedroom at the Beach Club Villas $1416.00 with the disney club discount - (something like 142 points) so I would need about 230 points per year, this is pretty much what we do each year, if I bought direct it would cost me $18,400.00 to purchase and 867.10 in dues. In the long run it would probably work out to save money, our problem is we always travel weekends and would be using points up for fridays and saturdays, thats when it becomes costly. I have no desire to move around, once I'm there I want to stay. So we are on the fence also, we usually stay at the Contemporary or Wilderness Lodge, but it seems during off season you can get some great rates with the Disney Club Card, but I do enjoy the kitchens and laundry in the room, so it becomes a great dilemma!!! We are still going in November for 4 nights renting points - 1 bedroom at OKW for $1,000.00, great deal, this will be our first time staying in a DVC resort (other than Vero) so we will probably make the call then. Then start searching resales - What I do wish is that we bought back when it was new (51.00 per point)!!! but don't we all

 

[Richyams]

I do wish is that we bought back when it was new (51.00 per point)!!! but don't we all

Some of us did.

I just wish I bought all my points that first year instead of getting raked over the coals with my add on in '93 at the ridicously high price of $56 per point.

 

[Dean]

As to whether it will save you money, it depends on how you compare. If you normally stay in moderates, it will not save you money but will give you better resorts and units for about the same amount making the appropriate long term assumptions on dues and rental price increases. If you are going to go every year or 2 and not just stay weekends, I'd recommend it. Those that say it will pay for itself in 6 years or so are usually comparing to the rack cash price of the same type of units as you would get with DVC. While in some ways this may be apples to apples, it is not unless that's where you would stay otherwise. Personally, I'd compare to what you would spend otherwise even if the rooms you would normally get are a different quality/price level.

want2buydvc, I can't come up with any combination of points for a studio or inn room for VB in June that would have been 86 points (unless it crossed into another month) but either way I assume it included 2 weekend nights. DVC will never be a good value for long weekends. If one is going to pay points for Friday and Saturday night, you must equal it out by staying at least a week total. Otherwise minimize or eliminate the weekend points by avoiding one or both of the high points nights. If one plans on doing mostly weekends, DVC is not appropriate.

 

[DeeP]

I used a much more basic/no frills method to figure out if DVC would be worth it for me then some of the very impressive methods other members post using. I have always gone to WDW a lot so once they built BWV and I fell in love with this DVC resort and I knew I would be very happy staying at this resort, I just sat down and totaled up what I had spent on WDW rooms for the past couple of yrs when staying at YC, Poly etc and realized paying for a DVC membership vs paying for deluxe rooms was a win -win situation for me. I have never regretted this decision. I don't think I actually save money because even though I don't pay for accomendations now I go to WDW even more times a year, but that is also a good thing!!

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by DeeP
I just sat down and totaled up what I had spent on WDW rooms for the past couple of yrs when staying at YC, Poly etc and realized paying for a DVC membership vs paying for deluxe rooms was a win -win situation for me. I have never regretted this decision. I don't think I actually save money because even though I don't pay for accomendations now I go to WDW even more times a year, but that is also a good thing!!

This is one of the points I've tried hard to make in several threads but I think it always gets lost in the overall post. That one must really compared to what they would have spent otherwise. The other part about spending more money in the long run on other things and more trips is also a valid one.

 

[DebbieB]

The 1 bedrooms are way nicer than any deluxe room. That's what sold me. I love having a separate living room, full kitchen, huge bathroom, washer/dryer, big porch. I added up the rack rate of our five 6 night 1 bedroom trips and it added up to over $12,000. I paid $14,750 in 1999 for my 250 BWV points (after magical beginnings) and paid roughly $3,000 so far in maintenance. So another 2 or 3 years and I should be even. But it was never about the money, it was about the luxury.

 

[ripleysmom]

Yeah, pretty much what Debbie said. Our numbers are different but the sentiments are exactly the same!!

 

[WDWLVR]

I agree with Debbie is that it is more about what you get than what you pay. We were to the point where we were going down every year. We have stayed everywhere from the Grand Floridian to All Stars. It was finally on our cruise back in '99 where I was talking to a DVC member while waiting in line for Disney Dreams. I had already read some trip reports from DVC members and it just started to make sense to us. I called and requested info and our guide sent us the video and book, then only called once again a few months later asking if we had and questions - no pressure at all. We decided to go for a quick trip in Jan. of 2000 (to see the Main Street Elecrtical parade) and asked our guide to set up the paperwork (we were already 95% sure at that point) and a tour for us. Seeing the models convinced us it was right. That trip we were in All Stars so it really had an impact. We signed the papers that morning and that December were back for our first trip as DVC members.

We got a 1 bedroom overlooking the Boardwalk (BWV is our home). How nice to be able to spread out and enjoy. My favorite memory of that trip is relaxing in the big tub after a day of walking around and watching the Winston Cub banquet on TV!

Having a full kitchen is great since we can do breakfast when we are ready (DH and I aren't always on the same schedule in the morning - I wake up faster). Having two TV's is great for both evening and morning (I'm in bed first and he can watch in the other room and the opposite is true in the morning). Having a washer and dryer in the unit is great - really worked well for us that trip when we got caught in a storm while doing Osbourn lights.

All in all DVC reosrts just offer so much more. In addition we have been able to share our points with my in-laws and sent them for 5 nights at Vero Beach - they loved it.

Best investment we ever made and like so many others I just wish we had done it sooner (but for us sooner just wasn't practical).

 

[CaptainMidnight]

If you don't "get it" that's OK. We're not here to sell you, if in your own calculations it doesn't look like a good deal, your OK with non-deluxe resorts, whatever your reasons, if it's not right for you, then don't take the plunge. You can probably do pretty good just by renting points from other members if you'd like to try it out for yourself. Enjoy your vacations.

 

[wordzylady]

It was an easy decision for us to be DVC'ers. We too sat down and added up all we had spent in the last 5 years on Disney vacations for hotel and food and kicked ourselves for not joining sooner and having it paid for already. The food bill savings will be well worth it. And the accomodations aren't bad either compared to what we were staying in. LOL When our DS walked into the model of a one bedroom and threw his hands up and said, "Oh my gosh, is this what we're going to staying in!!", it didn't take long for us to take the plunge.

 

[MAC3]

Ditto wordzylady. Our daughter almost fell over when we stayed in a 2bdrm at the Boardwalk for the first time. Not to mention all those child friendly things they do at the deluxes. I have nothing to regret except not buying sooner. With all our trips to ASMu (not putting it down I still like it there) we could have paid it off.