Am I doing the math right?

[Disney Dad ADL]

Thank you! Very helpful information. The plan would be to do a DVC trip every 1.5-2 years, but WDW specifically every 2-3. So, for example, I between the WDW trips every 3 years, we would use some points for a couple nights mid-week at VGF when we do a big trip to California, or a long weekend at Vero Beach, or a stay at Aluani when we plan our big Hawaii trip. That's how we would ideally use the points anyway ;-)

Sounds fun .

VGC can be a bit rough sometimes booking at 7 months. It can be done, but you have to be flexible regarding dates and room types. It's small and it's the only DVC at Disneyland. Since we live in California, we bought a contract there, but fortunately if you can't get in to VGC there are lots of close offsite options at DLR.

Aulani I hear is difficult during the summer, but I am going to try to scope it out and see what it's like. I definitely want to stay there at some point. I was able to book a stay at Aulani for April 8 for 5 nights in a 2 bedroom standard at 7 months for my sister's family, but it was the last one. The 1 bedroom non-standard views seem pretty easy to book though early in the year, but we will see in November about June bookings.

 

[MamaBear12]

Sounds fun .

VGC can be a bit rough sometimes booking at 7 months. It can be done, but you have to be flexible regarding dates and room types. It's small and it's the only DVC at Disneyland. Since we live in California, we bought a contract there, but fortunately if you can't get in to VGC there are lots of close offsite options at DLR.

Aulani I hear is difficult during the summer, but I am going to try to scope it out and see what it's like. I definitely want to stay there at some point. I was able to book a stay at Aulani for April 8 for 5 nights in a 2 bedroom standard at 7 months for my sister's family, but it was the last one. The 1 bedroom non-standard views seem pretty easy to book though early in the year, but we will see in November about June bookings.

Good to know! We're not ready to jump on a contract just quite yet...I'll probably mull it over for another year or two. Hubby can be an impulse buyer, so our next WDW trip there's a real risk of him deciding to buy in. I want to make sure I've really done my homework before that happens, lol.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thank you! Very helpful information. The plan would be to do a DVC trip every 1.5-2 years, but WDW specifically every 2-3. So, for example, I between the WDW trips every 3 years, we would use some points for a couple nights mid-week at VGF when we do a big trip to California, or a long weekend at Vero Beach, or a stay at Aluani when we plan our big Hawaii trip. That's how we would ideally use the points anyway ;-)

Don't plan on VB or HHI during the summer at seven months out. California villas are very tough to get at seven months out. VGF is small so hard to get at seven months out, especially the studios.

 

[z28wiz]

Regarding VB, during the summer months is not bad to get. I've booked a few times only a few months out, you just have to watch daily and put days to together.

 

[MamaBear12]

There are several spreadsheets out there that you can use to look at costs. If you google DVC_Point_Analysis.xls, you will find one (it was one of the easier ones to use that I found).
I'm not sure if it really helped us to decide to purchase, but it made it easier to justify it. Seriously, it does put in the costs you need to factor into purchasing or not and know what you final costs over the years will be compared to cash.

So, I just used this spread sheet to calculate the cost difference between staying early January (Adventure Season) at Pop (w/ currently offered undercover tourist "discount" rate $128/night including tax) vs. SSR (standard studio- 2017 point chart, purchasing a 100 pt contract resale for $85/point + $500 closing, cash), and the savings of owning and staying SSR vs. Pop over the life of the DVC contract was $2,475/year ($94,050 savings over 38 years). I also looked at MouseSavers 2016 "rack rate" prices and calculated a 20% discount, bringing the cost to $97/night for Pop, and even then DVC came out ahead, saving $1,500/year.

Staying "luxury" for less than the cost of "value"...can it really be? Oh dear, now I'm really convinced we need to start saving for DVC

 

[ColonialMouse]

If you really want to consider costs, remember that a Disney vacation entirely at Disney is the most expensive option. It's pretty common to get very low rates at e.g. Sheraton Vistana Villas---we recently stayed in a 2BR there for a week for about $1200. Now we had to drive every day and got 30 day FP window instead of 60 day, and only 6 month ADR instead of 6 month + 10 days, and no EMH. The room and resort were really about as nice as staying at an SSR 2BR (except for location).

I won't argue for a second that the Sheraton Vistana is as nice to stay at as BLT etc. But keep in mind that the difference in cost can be HUGE for that extra niceness, and if there's at all a question of affording it (i.e. if you have the cash b/c you put 7% into your 401K instead of 10%) I would really hesitate to say it's worth it.

Bruce

 

[Dean]

So, I just used this spread sheet to calculate the cost difference between staying early January (Adventure Season) at Pop (w/ currently offered undercover tourist "discount" rate $128/night including tax) vs. SSR (standard studio- 2017 point chart, purchasing a 100 pt contract resale for $85/point + $500 closing, cash), and the savings of owning and staying SSR vs. Pop over the life of the DVC contract was $2,475/year ($94,050 savings over 38 years). I also looked at MouseSavers 2016 "rack rate" prices and calculated a 20% discount, bringing the cost to $97/night for Pop, and even then DVC came out ahead, saving $1,500/year.

Staying "luxury" for less than the cost of "value"...can it really be? Oh dear, now I'm really convinced we need to start saving for DVC

Without going through the exact calculations it's hard to be sure but I suspect it's pretty close. A mistake people often make is forgetting that the cost of everything up front is more than it seems. Just make sure to use similar inflation for both the dues and the rooms and to figure the earnings on the up front money. For resale I use 4.5% (half short term money, and thus 1% on that and 8% on the rest after taxes), for retail I figure figure 1/3 short terms and 2/3 long term dollars. But ultimately compared to value or moderate, it should work out around the same depending on specifics and you'll get more value IF (Big IF) you stick with studios or 2BR compared to two rooms. However, most tend to forget securing those values over time once they're members with 1 BR & 3 BR and/or they spend more other areas. Their choice but it does erode the savings, none $$ value is more difficult to quantify.

If you really want to consider costs, remember that a Disney vacation entirely at Disney is the most expensive option. It's pretty common to get very low rates at e.g. Sheraton Vistana Villas---we recently stayed in a 2BR there for a week for about $1200. Now we had to drive every day and got 30 day FP window instead of 60 day, and only 6 month ADR instead of 6 month + 10 days, and no EMH. The room and resort were really about as nice as staying at an SSR 2BR (except for location).

I won't argue for a second that the Sheraton Vistana is as nice to stay at as BLT etc. But keep in mind that the difference in cost can be HUGE for that extra niceness, and if there's at all a question of affording it (i.e. if you have the cash b/c you put 7% into your 401K instead of 10%) I would really hesitate to say it's worth it.

Bruce

I wouldn't argue that Vistana is as nice as DVC but I would argue that there are Resorts in the area that are as nice and some that are nicer in some ways IMO. The draw for DVC is the fact it's on property and historically the theming but that may be changing if BWV and BCV are indications of the overall direction. From a room quality, amenity, size and pool standpoint, there are maybe 10-12 resorts that are nicer than DVC in some ways and the equal to DVC resorts in general. There are cheaper ways to get into Orlando than $1200 for a 2 BR.

 

[disneynutz]

DVC can save you money on your room buy IMO DVC is not like a cash stay.
No room upgrades.
No room moves if the room has maintenance issues. (health and safety you will be moved)
Banking and borrowing rules to deal with.
Possible availability issues requiring a waitlist that may not happen.
Possible required point changes. (they just increased the points required to stay at SSR congress park and springs)

Bill

 

[MamaBear12]

If you really want to consider costs, remember that a Disney vacation entirely at Disney is the most expensive option. It's pretty common to get very low rates at e.g. Sheraton Vistana Villas---we recently stayed in a 2BR there for a week for about $1200. Now we had to drive every day and got 30 day FP window instead of 60 day, and only 6 month ADR instead of 6 month + 10 days, and no EMH. The room and resort were really about as nice as staying at an SSR 2BR (except for location).

Bruce

Oh, I agree. The 3x we've been to Orlando in the past 4 years (1 universal trip and 2 WDW), we've stayed offsite. Much cheaper, but we always felt like we were missing out on some of the magic, and driving or dealing with a more limited hotel shuttle was a pain. Future trips, we definitely want to stay onsite, so just exploring the options.