An article on "Does DVC save you money?"

[Lumpy1106]

I prefer to see it as a regular on-site resort premium. Yes, you aren't committed to going every year, but you pay for that flexibility when you do go.

 

[AvidDisReader]

When we purchased I built a spreadsheet that factored in a "Disney Inflation" number for the room rate and a modest, albeit smaller rate of inflation on the MFs. The room I was using as a comparison was an 5 night stay, AoA 1 br suite, and we were getting enough points to stay 5 nights mid-week, 1 br, standard view @ BLT, late summer, buying resale. I am only 2 years in, and well, COVID, but so far my guesses on the inflation rates have been pretty spot-on. What did I determine with the spreadsheet? My "payoff" would be about 9 years. I did not compare studios as my family is 5 people and we are pretty locked in to our typical stay. The numbers could be quite a bit different - I really don't know. What I would guess though is if you think it takes a whole lot longer than that, you probably aren't figuring in inflation.

But wait!!
Say we get 5 years in and decide, nah, we don't want to do this anymore. OK, that's the beauty of resale. We can sell our contract, get back most, if not all what we paid for it and be out only MFs for 5 years. MF's are roughly $1000/year for the contract we own. The AoA suite is running about $422/night AFTER discounts, so for 5 nights that would be $2110 for the same 5 nights. Not only that, there is no way a 1br BLT room would cost the same as a 1 br AoA room. A Contemporary STUDIO is $771/night after discounts, $3855 for our stay. Does DVC save us money? I don't know on what planet you could argue it doesn't.

BUT....
DVC does not save you money, in the same way that going on ANY vacation does not save you money. If you want to save money, stay home. But that brings up what has truly been the most valuable thing about DVC - it commits us to going on vacation, and boy do we need that! Just this last year, everything got shut down, it didn't look like we were going to go, and then thankfully FL allowed WDW to open, but only DVC and a limited number of other accommodations, the AoA 1 br suites NOT among them. We would have cancelled FOR SURE, 100%, no doubt in my mind...but we had DVC. WE WERE GOING! And boy did we need it. You can't put a value on that. I hear you though, yeah, but COVID. It almost doesn't matter. There is always SOMETHING that keeps us from going on vacation. You book DVC 11 months out, you ARE going, it becomes your priority.

Yup, I agree. It goes to the old saying "Figures Lie and Liars Figure". So if you believe that DVC will save your money, you can find a set of logical data to make your case, but the reverse is also true. So I am going to make sure I book a DVC room, buy a nice cold beer, and make my own calculations-- I already know the result is I really love my DVC points.

 

[hcortesis]

The title of this thread is "Does DVC save you money?"

I said it before and I will say it again. If it saved people money, Disney wouldn't offer it.

Do you realize what you just said?

 

[smisale]

No one is saying DVC ownership is wrong. I think it's great that so many people find VALUE in ownership. However, value isn't the same as SAVING money. This is a question of saving money. The psychological aspects of ownership and how it makes you travel more cannot be ignored.

DVC is NOT a discount program. Honestly, why would Disney create such a thing? How would that benefit them?

For all the "accountants" on the DIS, just know that Disney has better accountants that have determined that they will get MORE money out of DVC owners than non DVC owners over a period of approximately 50 years (the contract period). If the math didn't work out in Disney's favor, DVC wouldn't exist. Bottom line.

Maybe it saves YOU money because you weren't getting the best deals that you could have before, and it's okay to admit that. But anything that forces you to pay money EVEN IF YOU DON'T USE IT is a liability. Sure, people rent out their points sometimes, but I will bet you there are people who don't use their points every year and just let them expire, because they DON'T KNOW they can rent them out, or don't want to bother. Disney counts on this. They sell these contracts using pixie dust promises and a LOT of people fall for it. Those same people were likely ALSO paying rack rate, and yet, Disney lured them over to DVC. Think about that for a minute.

Let talk investment grand Californian in 2009 sold for 112 per point 250 points =28000 dollars a listing just sold for 225 per point =56000 dollars I know what your gonna say but you never included the dues and what you spent but I chalk that up to expenses to taking my holiday so I would have spent that anyways so that a pretty good return on your money

 

[Ssplashhmtn]

The title of this thread is "Does DVC save you money?"

I said it before and I will say it again. If it saved people money, Disney wouldn't offer it.

That‘s terribly flawed logic. I really hope you don’t have a career in business. They offer various products for various reasons. In business, having a long-term fully committed asset normalizes the variability and seasonality of other products they offer. This is a good thing for them, and comes at a discount to buyers. Hedging for stability comes at a cost to Disney, but benefits the party providing the hedge (DVC buyers). In business this is called a win-win, something that provides value for both parties.

And on the question of cash hotel prices vs DVC on points. You are making declarations on something you are simply incorrect about. It’s just math. I’m sorry you are weak at math, but the math I’ve shown isn’t disputable - numbers are like that. There isn’t a scenario where a cash room at GF is less expensive for that week in a studio in that example. The ”good deals” you got years ago actually prove the point. Your cash rooms still cost a lot more than DVC.

 

[yaya74]

Let talk investment grand Californian in 2009 sold for 112 per point 250 points =28000 dollars a listing just sold for 225 per point =56000 dollars I know what your gonna say but you never included the dues and what you spent but I chalk that up to expenses to taking my holiday so I would have spent that anyways so that a pretty good return on your money

There is no doubt that DVC is a good investment for those bought it 10+ years ago... But is it still so for people like me who are looking into buying resale? If my DH likes our stay at OKW during our upcoming trip in July, I might get a 150 point contract at SSR if I can get something around $105 pp.

 

[Yinn]

The title of this thread is "Does DVC save you money?"

I said it before and I will say it again. If it saved people money, Disney wouldn't offer it.

I'm out.

For DVC? Or in general?

Let me guess, that's why they took away the annual pass. Because it was saving people money.

 

[heynowirv]

Very outdated article. Even though the article has a date of March 11, 2020, the figures used appear to be from 2013.

I thought so.

 

[Missingmypooh]

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.

I joined disboards just to learn about DVC, because we are a nuclear family of 6 and the math (resale with the right contract!) will certainly work in our favor. The kids are very young, and locking in for 20+ years is a no brainer (not saying the full 40, but I think so!)

This is such a personal question though, because families and finances vary wildly.

is your contract direct or resale and is it financed?
would you go anyways?
would an RV be a better investment?
have your factored this into retirement?
do you have higher interest loans that you should pay off first before investing in DVC? (Because if it saves you money at the resort but your still swamped in debt, are you actually saving money???)

 

[Meglen]

Dues + ticket prices (which would come in a normal disney package) will only be cheaper if u love and have to stay deluxe. If you dont mind value or mods I do not think it will save much.

 

[Yinn]

Dues + ticket prices (which would come in a normal disney package) will only be cheaper if u love and have to stay deluxe. If you dont mind value or mods I do not think it will save much.

We stayed at values and we're finding it's near the same. Some of it depends on time of year and which "value" resorts. AoA and Pop Century for example has gone up about 3x in price. But the All Star's are still ok.

 

[smisale]

There is no doubt that DVC is a good investment for those bought it 10+ years ago... But is it still so for people like me who are looking into buying resale? If my DH likes our stay at OKW during our upcoming trip in July, I might get a 150 point contract at SSR if I can get something around $105 pp.

yes I think so I bought 185 points at AKV at $95 dollars a point 4 MTHs later I could sell at $118 not a lot but its just gonna up from here. you can check our sponsor for DVC resale on there blog to get an idea where prices are headed and if you don't like it after awhile of trying it there is always some to buy it

 

[Heather07438]

DVC purchase can change the buyers perspective to be more Disney-centric when thinking about where their vacation budget and disposable income will go.

 

[smisale]

DVC purchase can change the buyers perspective to be more Disney-centric when thinking about where their vacation budget and disposable income will go.

meaning we are seeing with disney coloured glasses. does it not work both ways. I made a educated decision based on numbers and math and wish I bought long ago I wasted a lot of money I could have saved

 

[Heather07438]

meaning we are seeing with disney coloured glasses. does it not work both ways. I made a educated decision based on numbers and math and wish I bought long ago I wasted a lot of money I could have saved

I think it's not that DVC can't save a buyer money from what they would've spent regardless at WDW over time, it's that overall collectively DVC buyers likely spend more of their disposable income on Disney over time than if they had not purchased.

That's not to make a judgement in any way. Value is multi-faceted, not only about the money, and not the same for everyone. But I think DVC makes financial sense for TWDC. Would they continue forward if it actually caused them to make less profits?

I see any financial savings from DVC as being a reward for commitment. You have to commit to keep going if you want to see money saved on your lodgings. That also makes rising ticket prices and other costs an easier pill to swallow. That commitment also helps reduce competition for them.

 

[smisale]

I think it's not that DVC can't save a buyer money from what they would've spent regardless at WDW over time, it's that overall collectively DVC buyers likely spend more of their disposable income on Disney over time than if they had not purchased.

That's not to make a judgement in any way. Value is multi-faceted, not only about the money, and not the same for everyone. But I think DVC makes financial sense for TWDC. Would they continue forward if it actually caused them to make less profits?

I see any financial savings from DVC as being a reward for commitment. You have to commit to keep going if you want to see money saved on your lodgings. That also makes rising ticket prices and other costs an easier pill to swallow. That commitment also helps reduce competition for them.

yes I agree but I have been to disney too many times to count and I wish I would have bought some time ago. and now with both my kids married and one has a new baby <<<<<(my grandson-Pic left) it was costing a lot and this saved me at least with these struggling time I can at least give the a small vacation away. And hope a lot more

 

[Heather07438]

and now with both my kids married and one has a new baby <<<<<(my grandson-Pic left)

That's great! He's adorable. That's the value you can't put a price on.

 

[RoseGold]

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

It’s $11/pp/yr. Any of the top 6 or 7 resale contracts will be in that range.

The board sponsor does the math twice a year, updating for dues and resale cost. The math isn’t perfect, like it assumes your contact is depreciating evenly over X years, and obviously that figure will vary a little based on your resale deal, but I think it’s a good shorthand.

 

[amcnj]

It has been a long time since I looked at the figures. But over 25 years ago when I did, it made sense to buy. We were going to be a traveling group of five so were looking at two rooms or the Cabins at Ft Wilderness. Aside from the room rates, they were giving free park passes back then, two per bedroom I believe it was.

We also figured we would be going every other or every third year, so didn’t overbuy points. The ability to bank and borrow made it appealing and workable.

We have usually booked a two bedroom every other year, with a few variations here and there, such as transferring some points out twice and booking a lot of studios early on when the free passes were being given.

I doubt that today we would be staying in as nice accommodations as we do if we were paying cash, even at a discounted room rate.

I realize my ancient case history is not necessarily applicable today. But what is relevant is the need to look at what your circumstances are today and whether or not DVC makes sense in your particular case. It did for me back then, but maybe wouldn’t today.

 

[Lee Matthews]

We are going for an AKL resale contract atm which gives us what? 35 years?

Yeah it is still a lot of money but for us it's allowing us to stay in a Deluxe for what it would cost to stay in a cheaper hotel room. Not interested in the Direct benefits either as we wont be travelling annually, so no need for annual passes.