An article on "Does DVC save you money?"

[4luv2cdisney]

I'm arguing the general point that DVC doesn't save you money. If your math says it does, you are using numbers that aren't based in reality, especially at today's direct prices for points. There is NO way to make a direct sale justifiable when given the plethora of discounts that continue to be offered at various times of year. It's even hard to justify a resale purchase.

I have occasionally been emotionally swayed by DVC, and have run the numbers using ACTUAL prices I paid in the past, and extrapolating it out to the future, and at the end of the day, being on the hook for 40 years worth of maintenance fees is where they get you. It's not the initial cost of the contract.

This topic comes up cyclically here on the DIS. This is just another one where posters try to justify a luxury purchase as some sort of smart financial move. It's not, no matter how you spin it. DVC means money out of your wallet, and almost always MUCH more money given to the Disney company than you otherwise would have.

Sorry, but that simply isn't true.

When I bought I had been planning and hoping I'd get a Free dining offer for a moderate resort for 2 trips I had planned. Ran the math a thousand times and free dining was always best for my family with 4 adults. And then I started considering DVC and looking at costs.

I bought DVC direct in 2017 and kept careful eye on what was spent on those first 2 trips via DVC points and other discounts (DVC and AP) vs what was available for the Mod I would have stayed in with the best available discount. Because of buying DVC APS, we broke even on the "upcharge" for direct very quickly and I didn't even care anymore, so I stopped keeping track. But I was being conservative and only comparing what the DVC room cost us (price per point + dues) to a moderate because we never paid for Deluxe. If I compared to cash prices for BW with a discount, I'm certain that we have almost recouped all of our upfront costs already.

For my January 2022 trip, booked for 5 nights in a BWV studio for 9 Pts / night, my dues cost is $331.

The reality is, if held for long enough, everyone will eventually break even on their upfront costs and once you've reached the point that dues is your only remaining cost, you're talking about HUGE savings.

Even when factoring in my price per point paid upfront, that room is just over $600 for 5 nights vs over 2K. You can't even get 5 nights in a value resort for $600 anymore.

 

[Ssplashhmtn]

We only visit WDW during school breaks. Last time we stayed was 4th of July week, 2018.

That trip was at the Tower Club Level of the Contemporary. Our AFTER TAX price per night? $597.43. This was for 7/3-7/7. We followed on at the Beach Club- Deluxe Room CL...7/7-7/14/2018...$497.98 per night.

I maintain my position that someone who routinely paid over $700/night "after discounts" was either not getting any discounts, or was staying in a suite or something. Definitely not normal discounted rates for Deluxe resorts.

But wait...$700/night after tax was stated as the cash price at *GF*. You can’t change the quote to “Deluxe Resorts” generally. That’s not what was stated. $700 after tax ($600 pretax) WAS the discounted price of GF just before Covid. It just was, and is roughly that today - go check. A few years before that, it was $500/$600 per night. In all cases, the math on a resale deluxe studio is less expensive.

 

[DLgal]

Any time! I booked the 2 bedroom lake view at GFV just recently, in mid or late December 2020 for May 2021. I don’t own at GFV so I could only book there within the 7 month window. Obviously, everything is a little wonky due to the pandemic but I jumped on shifting our stay to this as soon as I saw it available.

I definitely would be booking the two separate rooms if we didn’t have DVC since the two bedroom suite at $15k isn’t a villa; it’s just a suite with a common sitting area. It doesn’t have a kitchen or washer and dryer like the villa does.

You cannot compare a SUITE at a Deluxe resort with a DVC villa. The suites are club level and you get daily housekeeping and a lot of other niceties for the price (better quality furnishings, better linens, etc).

What was the CASH price for a 2 bedroom DVC villa after discount? Those are routinely offered at 35-40% off as well. That would be a more direct comparison.

 

[DLgal]

But wait...$700/night after tax was stated as the cash price at *GF*. You can’t change the quote to “Deluxe Resorts” generally. That’s not what was stated. $700 after tax ($600 pretax) WAS the discounted price of GF just before Covid. It just was, and is roughly that today - go check. A few years before that, it was $500/$600 per night. In all cases, the math on a resale deluxe studio is less expensive.

LOL. Try again.

6/5/21-6/12/21

7 Nights

General Public 30% discount offer

GF Outer Bldg Garden View

Total for 7 nights with tax: $3995.80

That's $570/night.

 

[DLgal]

Even when factoring in my price per point paid upfront, that room is just over $600 for 5 nights vs over 2K. You can't even get 5 nights in a value resort for $600 anymore.

Sigh. Really? Took me all of 2 minutes. It's like you guys aren't even trying. This is what I'm talking about. People claim that prices don't exist anymore when they CLEARY do.

Here is a value room in May, 5 nights, under $600 all in.

 

[Ssplashhmtn]

Sigh. Really? Took me all of 2 minutes. It's like you guys aren't even trying. This is what I'm talking about. People claim that prices don't exist anymore when they CLEARY do.

Here is a value room in May, 5 nights, under $600 all in.

Yes, prices have come down a bit post-Covid, which is why I said $4000-$5000 per week (after tax). But that’s still a lot more expensive than $1400 all in at VGF with DVC in a deluxe studio. That’s the comparison. It’s just math. DVC resale is still a huge savings in that scenario.

 

[Bruggok]

The biggest advantage of booking cash is flexibility; the ability to cancel up to 1 month before arrival for full refund cannot be understated. I don't think DVC will be cheaper than cheapest onsite rooms in 100% of cases, but for many if not most cases, it is cheaper.

For example, last Oct WDW emailed me a code that quoted $900 tax incl. at POP for 7 days and checking out Dec 25. Close to 60% off rack rate for value was a ridiculously good deal on the level of price error. Even then, for the same week BWV or OKW studio standard was only 88 points ($968 at $11/pp cost). Basically, with DVC I'm locked into visiting at least every other year and mostly booking 11 month ahead of my trip, but at the same time I'm also locked into great room rates that aren't dependent on WDW's mercy.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Sigh. Really? Took me all of 2 minutes. It's like you guys aren't even trying. This is what I'm talking about. People claim that prices don't exist anymore when they CLEARY do.

Here is a value room in May, 5 nights, under $600 all in.

Sigh. Really?

You have 4 nights vs my 5. I also said my kids were adults, so I have to pay additional fees for them hotel side.

Total for All Star Movies with the correct # nights and to accommodate my party the week you're quoting is $865. Would still be $695 if I had younger kids.

Now find me Boardwalk for that.

Just like you know what you were paying for rooms in your trip history, so do I. DVC has been less money or about the same money for nicer resorts / rooms. So, keep looking if you want. Even if you somehow find 5 nights in a value for less than $600, it's not typical, it's not going to include extra adults, it's not going to include parking.

 

[npatellye]

You cannot compare a SUITE at a Deluxe resort with a DVC villa. The suites are club level and you get daily housekeeping and a lot of other niceties for the price (better quality furnishings, better linens, etc).

What was the CASH price for a 2 bedroom DVC villa after discount? Those are routinely offered at 35-40% off as well. That would be a more direct comparison.

There is NO 35% to 40% discount during the dates of my trip. There is up to a 30% discount and I priced my stay online using that since it is the only discount available for my dates.

Next, there is no advantage to club level right now. There is no food or drink being put out for club level. Housekeeping isn’t every day anywhere on property right now (it’s light housekeeping every other day at most) either. Having stayed both club level and DVC before at AK, I didn’t notice a difference in the sheets between club level and DVC. The furnishings were all fine but none stood out or were so amazing in club level that I would say I absolutely HAD to stay club level again.

Anyway, this was NOT a club level suite that I priced out for my stay at GF; the club level rooms and suites were not available to price out last night with the 30% discount. This was listed in the “Rooms and Suites” section and NOT in the “Rooms and Suites with Club Level Service” section of the room search listing.

Finally, there are no DVC villas at GF available to price out for my trip via WDW’s site at this time.

To address this idea of value and moderate rooms being so much cheaper, I found a plain family suite at AoA for 6 of us for my dates for $3,331.58 (room only). Having already stayed in one of these family suites at AoA with just 2 adults and 2 then very young children (one age 3 and one age 1), I would never do it with 6 people in my party, 4 of whom are adults and children who are now older. And AoA is no way comparable to GF. The price you noted above for under $600 for 4 nights at ASM is not one I would ever consider. I have a party of 6 and I would never stay in a regular room at ASM again even with 4. The four of us (including two then young kids under 5) found our room at ASM in 2018 (pre-DVC times for us) to be incredibly tiny and we felt as if we were on top of each other for 7 nights. We decided we would never book again based on money. I wouldn’t even normally compare a moderate or value to any deluxe because they’re completely different. As @4luv2cdisney said, this isn’t anywhere close to that $600 stay you found above at a moderate and we are a staying 7 nights, checking in on Thursday and checking out on Thursday.

So, for my trip, DVC is $2,000 cheaper than even two regular hotel rooms at GF with the 30% discount. AoA and other options really aren’t part of this discussion and neither is renting DVC points because I didn’t do that before buying in and would never do that. My statement that DVC saves me money holds true.

I think that, for those who are against DVC, DVC will never make sense. Similarly, for those who love DVC, it will always makes sense. For my family, we started considering DVC in 2017 and took years to make a decision. What clinched it for us was a combination of the experience at ASM, realizing that we needed more space, and realizing that we go there every year as one of our longer vacations. We like the ease of having essentially prepaid our lodging and having the larger rooms that we need to have comfortable 7+ night stays each year. We knew we needed larger rooms than values and we appreciate that DVC allows us that at prices that we know are more affordable for us than paying cash each year.

 

[yaya74]

For example, last Oct WDW emailed me a code that quoted $900 tax incl. at POP for 7 days and checking out Dec 25. Close to 60% off rack rate for value was a ridiculously good deal on the level of price error. Even then, for the same week BWV or OKW studio standard was only 88 points ($968 at $11/pp cost). Basically, with DVC I'm locked into visiting at least every other year and mostly booking 11 month ahead of my trip, but at the same time I'm also locked into great room rates that aren't dependent on WDW's mercy.

I don't think it is possible to get a resale contract that would only cost $11/pp. The current resale for BWV is going for $125 per point, which is about $15/pp. BCV is even higher. To get a studio at those two resorts, you really need to own there to get it.

with the current 30% discount on cash stay, the saving on a 1BR at BWV for the 4th of July week is about $100 per night when using DVC points. So the question that I have to ask myself is if it is worthwhile to give Disney $30-35k in order to save $100 per night for the rest 20 years and deals with unused points, banking, borrowing, etc.

 

[Rustygirl84]

There are pros and cons of every situation. Comparing the hotel lodging to a villa is like comparing apples to oranges. Yea, they both are fruit but they taste very different.

it is comical reading people argue over getting a deal. Personally I am happy with my DVC purchase, I kick myself for not doing it sooner. It makes planning Disney a lot easier and makes my family happy.

In the end, you do you. If you feel like you get a better deal booking a hotel room than staying in a Villa, that is fine. But stop comparing the two as if they are the same because they are not!

 

[Matty B13]

I think if you are a family of 5 or greater, then there are real savings because you have to get a second room after your youngest kid turns 2. Most times a 2 bedroom villas including MF's and original point costs is still cheaper than getting 2 rooms at a value resort.

 

[Rustygirl84]

I think if you are a family of 5 or greater, then there are real savings because you have to get a second room after your youngest kid turns 2. Most times a 2 bedroom villas including MF's and original point costs is still cheaper than getting 2 rooms at a value resort.

This is exactly why we bought in. We are now a family of 5 and we always have additional family coming with us. So DVC was an easy choice

 

[Ssplashhmtn]

I don't think it is possible to get a resale contract that would only cost $11/pp.

What is the math pp on Poly?

 

[crisi]

DVC adds value. Very few of us SAVE money. And the reason for that is because it is very likely to change the way you vacation. Who pays for a hotel room for their sister and brother in law? - but DVC members pick up that bill all the time. DVC members tend to go more often. They will spend the points for a one or two bedroom rather than a studio. Without a room bill at the time of the trip, its easy to add extras - tours, nicer dinners, souvenirs. Then there is the risk - we anticipate losing a year or two worth of points due to Covid - we won't travel and I'm not going to dive into the rental market because lack of rental dollars is a price I'm willing to pay to do my part for less travel. But there are trips cancelled for less global reasons - your kid breaks a leg the day before the trip, your Dad ends up in the hospital after a heart attack. And there is the "we have the points, we should use them" in years where if you didn't have a timeshare, you probably would staycation and save some money. The psychological factors that make DVC members spend money are incessant....but....we have had great vacations, in larger rooms. We've been able to treat friends and family and share Disney with them. And the author is right about a few things - there are LOTS of less expensive options for stays near WDW....they may not be walking distance to Epcot or have giraffes out your deck.

Now, I bought twenty years ago - and got BWV at $63 a point. I could sell tomorrow for easily double that. But I also bought Disney stock in 2012 for $47 a share and could sell that for $184 a share. In general, my portfolio over the past 20 years has outpaced DVC value.

If you NEED to save money to make it work, there is too much risk.

 

[quandrea]

DVC adds value. Very few of us SAVE money. And the reason for that is because it is very likely to change the way you vacation. Who pays for a hotel room for their sister and brother in law? - but DVC members pick up that bill all the time. DVC members tend to go more often. They will spend the points for a one or two bedroom rather than a studio. Without a room bill at the time of the trip, its easy to add extras - tours, nicer dinners, souvenirs. Then there is the risk - we anticipate losing a year or two worth of points due to Covid - we won't travel and I'm not going to dive into the rental market because lack of rental dollars is a price I'm willing to pay to do my part for less travel. But there are trips cancelled for less global reasons - your kid breaks a leg the day before the trip, your Dad ends up in the hospital after a heart attack. And there is the "we have the points, we should use them" in years where if you didn't have a timeshare, you probably would staycation and save some money. The psychological factors that make DVC members spend money are incessant....but....we have had great vacations, in larger rooms. We've been able to treat friends and family and share Disney with them. And the author is right about a few things - there are LOTS of less expensive options for stays near WDW....they may not be walking distance to Epcot or have giraffes out your deck.

Now, I bought twenty years ago - and got BWV at $63 a point. I could sell tomorrow for easily double that. But I also bought Disney stock in 2012 for $47 a share and could sell that for $184 a share. In general, my portfolio over the past 20 years has outpaced DVC value.

If you NEED to save money to make it work, there is too much risk.

Very true. We truthfully don’t think about if we are saving money or not. We know that we would not pay cash prices for one, two or three bedroom villas. We bought most of our dvc points at $60. Our money gets us multiple bedrooms, a full kitchen, laundry, a living room. There is no way I’m vacationing anywhere in a hotel room, so comparing hotel room costs with dvc is useless. I agree that if you are looking for a deal, it’s probably not worth the purchase. We bought so we could enjoy comfortable, frequent vacations for many years to come. Dvc makes us happy. We don’t run the numbers beyond that.

 

[Eric Smith]

The author is a bit of a jerk. Most DVC members are not wealthy and do not fly First Class (unless you swing an upgrade). I think most DVC members are solidly middle class, perhaps towards the upper levels, but still not what you consider wealthy.

I agree with that. If I was wealthy enough to fly first class without a second thought, I would pay cash and stay at the Deluxe resorts.

 

[Eric Smith]

So I guess the figure in 2020 would be much higher than those mentioned in the article... That makes DVC cost even more.

For direct purchases it would, not the case for resale though. You can get some resorts for $110 per point or lower.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

What is the math pp on Poly?

Poly direct in anything other than a Feb UY is currently $12.48 not considering closing costs, time value of money, etc etc. Feb UY $12.61

Poly resale will probably save you about $2 / point. Depends on the contract.

 

[crisi]

I agree with that. If I was wealthy enough to fly first class without a second thought, I would pay cash and stay at the Deluxe resorts.

Disney suites look lovely - and come with daily housekeeping (in non pandemic times) if you are really wealthy. DVC is an upper middle class thing. But one of the truisms is that while to the upper middle class the difference between them and the wealthy is obvious, its a lot less obvious to the people who are still middle class with less than half the household income. They think "if I made $50k more than I do now, I'd fly first class"