Annoyed at how much the "nice" Disney hotels cost

[Eeyore1954]

WL and AKL are deluxe resorts and with codes the per night cost has dropped to as little as $119. My DW and I were able to stay for 10 days in May by applying a code ... we originally we planning to stay only 7 nights, but added on because the price dropped so much with the code.

However, it's a bit of a game of "chicken." Make the reservation now, so you know you get a room, and hope that a code comes out before you have to pay the balance. In our case, we lucked out and the code came out ahead of time.

Part of the cost is the extra amenities. And you do have to be careful ... as many people say on the DIS, once you stay deluxe it's hard to go back to mod or value.

 

[floridaminnie]

When you purchase into DVC you are purchasing points. The least amount of points that you can purchase at first is 150 points.

You have an account, like a bank account, that these 150 points will be deposited in at the same time every year.

Instead of using money to rent a room you use your points. Just like a hotel they have different rooms starting from a studio all the way up. The more room you want the more points you will pay. They also have different seasons. The slower seasons cost less points then the high season.

Where it gets complicated is when you bank and borrow. Just like with a bank you can borrow next years points. So lets say you start off with 150 points this year, you can borrow up to 150 points that you will be given in 2005.

The other side also works called banking. You decide that you aren't going to use any of your points this year. Instead of losing them at the end of your use year, you can bank them...which means save them till 2005 and use them there.

Hope I didn't confuse you any more.

 

[wvrevy]

Ok, let me try to help

You don't buy into the DVC like you would most timeshares. You aren't buying a specific week, or even a specific number of days. What you are buying are "reservation points". Each point costs (I'm guessing here, but it's close to this...I don't have my owners manual with me) around $79, and the minimum buy-in is 150 points. Each year, you receive the same number of point to do with as you will (including banking them to the next year). So, say your "use year" starts in January...Each January you are given 150 points that you can use whenever you want throughout the year. You buy-in to a "home" resort, and you can use your points to pay for that resort, or you can transfer them (for a small fee) to any other disney resort on property. So, that's basically what "points" are.

In addition to the Disney properties, DVC also has partnerships with hotel chains around the world that you can transfer these points to, or even different "adventures" (bike trips through Europe...white water rafting trips) that you can use the points for.

Basically, with 150 points, you could stay at the Boardwalk during "peak" season (busiest times of the year) in a "studio" room (close to a normal hotel room) for a week, and it wouldn't cost you anything other than your "points". You could also bank your points for one year, and the next year you'd have 300 to spend on a different hotel or a longer stay.

We bought in at 200 points, and we basically go down for two weeks every year. We've stayed at several different resorts on the points alone, including the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, but our "home" is the Boardwalk. In December, we're staying in what amounts to a 1 bedroom condo, complete with jacuzzi tub...and believe me, we ain't THAT well off We also banked one year and took the Disney Cruise (which we're going to do again in a few years).

I hope any of this helps....If not ask whatever you want and I'll try to make a little more sense

 

[beattyfamily]

What you can also do is rent the points from a DVC member if you can't afford to buy right now! Many people do that and get big savings on rack rates!

The way that works is you'd pay the DVC member approx $10. a point (price does vary but $10 is the average) for the room.

As an example, I'm renting out for the first time next year...I'm calling for them this November for the following October. They are renting 90 points for 2 studios for 5 nights next October. The total will be $900 for 5 days for TWO studios. That's a big savings over rack rates.

It's something to consider if you want to try one of the DVC resorts.

 

[Planogirl]

You could also watch some of the discount on-line travel agents. I just got AKL for $117 per night through Expedia. It's not a great view but I don't care, especially for that price.

The Disney dreammaker passes or whatever they're called do come up as an add on when you check rates on Expedia. However, you can uncheck that option and refigure. You do end up paying Expedia a per day fee but the price still rocks IMO.

 

[PatriciaH]

Originally posted by Christine

I have been reading a lot of trip planning boards and am AMAZED at the kinds of Disney vacations people can take. And I wonder what kind of $$$$ they must be pulling down to be able to do so. My parents are taking my kids on a cruise. I know I could never do it. Some of the people are cruising every year AND also doing Disney trips. WOW!!

My DH and I both make a good salary each, so I really don't now how it is done. It is depressing....

DH and I make ok salaries but not a lot for the Boston area. We are planning on moving to Florida to buy a house -they are too expensive for what you get here. Some of the reasons we can travel a lot:

-I am a travel agent so I get good discounts and commission back on trips I book for DH and I. Our Royal Caribbean cruise in February was $50pp per night. Our trip to Punta Cana in September is $399pp (7 nights) all-inclusive (air, hotel, all meals, all drinks, tips, transfers, water-sports, tours) at a 5 star hotel. Plus it could be free if I sell enough trips with the company I am taking the trip with! The tour companies/cruise companies like us to visit the ships/hotels/destinations they sell so we can tell people what they are like first hand. We paid $469pp for 7 nights all-inclusive last year in Mexico. I got a free one day ticket for Universal/IOA for October.

-Annual pass discounts, Disvey Visa, DVC- whatever it takes to get the best price on a trip! I love to research and mousesavers.com, DISboards, etc.. help so much with finding the discounts. When I was not a travel agent, Magic Kingdom Club, AP discounts, Food-N-Fun package, etc.. always got us the lowest price. It does take some work but the savings are worth it! We were very lucky to get the Disney Visa 7 for 4 package this year so we are doing Poly GV concierge.

-Lifestyle. DH and I have no children. This lets us travel, invest, save a lot, be able to go out to eat/to the movies, etc.. whenever we want and we will probably retire before we are both 50. We drive an older car that is paid off. We put money away for when we will need a newer one. We will probably never buy a new car unless we have a ton of money. 2 or 3 years old when we buy is fine for us. We do not shop a lot. We buy clothing to last. We like electronics but wait till the latest and greatest has come down in price. We do not like a lot of "stuff" lying around the house. I hate figurines and junk that I have to dust.

These are just some of the reasons we are able to go to WDW every year and sometimes twice a year. Some people would not choose to do the things we have. Some people love new cars or large houses or a lot of children-those are their priorities! We also hate debt and would never go into debt to travel but some people feel it is worth it. And there are a lot of wealthy peeople here on the DIS too

 

[KristaTX]

I know how you feel. I've been to WDW 10 times since 1997 and stayed on-property every time. I've visited all the Disney resorts (except Saratoga Springs now) to shop, eat, and look around. But so far I haven't been willing to spare vacation nights in order to stay at a deluxe since I spend so much time at the parks. I've stayed at POR many times, CBR, Movies, and Music, and usually I've gotten great deals with AP rates. I love POR, but I just want to try someplace new. I don't really like CSR, and CBR was just okay, so POFQ may be next on my list. One of these days (probably next time DH goes with me) I'm bound and determined to stay at the AKL or WL. The GF is beautiful, but I don't really care if I ever stay there, and I have no desire to stay at the Poly, or Contemporary. I would like to do an Epcot resort sometime, though.

There must be a lot of people who go to WDW who 1) don't know that discounts are available, 2) buy whatever package their travel agent gets them, or 3) are wealthy enough that they don't have to worry about how much money they are spending. And perhaps some people are willing to go into debt to vacation (and I'm NOT talking about DVC kind of debt). The crazy thing is that we have more money than most of our friends here - most of whom can't afford to go at all - and we still have to budget our trips wisely. Of course it helps that we don't have any kids. I wonder where all these rich people are who can afford to pay full price at the deluxes ? I don't seem to know any of them.


My only advice for you is to keep watching www.mousesavers.com and the resorts board here on the DIS. That is how I and many others here find the great room rates that we do. Also, if you like to go to WDW at least once a year, you might consider getting APs and taking your trips 50 or 51 weeks apart - that way your passes would be good for 2 trips .

 

[aprincessmom]

We are not a 6 figure household. But neither is my brother & his wife and neither are a lot of the people I know who take extravagent trips each year. Maybe they are just running up mega debt, I don't know.

Could be they are running up debt or it could be that, like me, travel is a priority for them and they forgo other things to pay for it.

In my case I make a comfortable living for DD and I. Travel is a priority to us. We lived without living room furniture for three years (just brought in the patio furniture in the winter) because it was more fun using that money to go places instead of just sitting on the couch talking about where we wanted to go.

We live in a very small house (by local standards) and live relatively frugally by local standards. Any left over funds we have we use to go places and do things. I take full advantage of discounts when I can and we plan and save/pay for big ones in advance (like our CA and Maui trip later this month) when we can. Travel isn't always expensive.

For some people having things is a necessity -- big houses, fancy cars, good "toys". For us, travel is a necessity so we budget accordingly. And later on, when I am older, I'll have lots of memories from the times my daughter and I shared and the people we met and the places we went. And, in my book, that is much better than any couch I could buy

 

[caitycaity]

Could be they are running up debt or it could be that, like me, travel is a priority for them and they forgo other things to pay for it.

travel is a big priority for me and dh so we budget accordingly. we do other things less because we want to be able to travel.

 

[aprincessmom]

Hi Caity!

DD is still talking about our DC trip last year and meeting you. She wants to go back again soon so we may be heading your way later this year.

See what I mean...you meet the nicest people when you travel

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Esmerelda, I can NOT recommend the Disney Vacation Club highly enough We stay every year at the Boardwalk...usually for a week...and believe me, there's no way we could afford those prices.

Seriously, I know it comes off as a sales pitch, but you really should check into it. It's an investment that I know we have never regretted.

I second what wvrevy said. Just got back two weeks ago and all it cost us was park tickets, meals, and incedentals (used miles for airfare). We even bought an additional 100 points at Saratoga Springs (that place looks great!). We stay every year at OKW, because we like the seclusion and space.

They are not all that high pressure and, like wvrevy said, if you can swing it, it really pays off. We've been 5 times now and have already recouped our investment.

As for the costs of the Disney properties, well. location location location.

 

[Tina]

Another DVC question: Do you have to pay any dues (monthly or annual) like other timeshares? Are there any other costs involved above your point purchase?

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by Tina
Another DVC question: Do you have to pay any dues (monthly or annual) like other timeshares? Are there any other costs involved above your point purchase?

There is a monthly maintenance fee, but it isn't much (can't remember the amount, but it's dependant on the number of points you own and wouldn't pay for a single night in the room we stay in at the Boardwalk).

Basically, once you pay for the points, that small fee is all you have to worry about.

 

[SC Minnie]

Another for DVC. We are not wealthy either but made the decision that it was best for us. It has forced us to take nice vacations that we would not normally have been able to afford.

I am using some of our points this fall for a long weekend at OKW. Taking 2 friends from work for Soap Weekend. We would not have been able to afford to go otherwise.

 

[caitycaity]

Originally posted by aprincessmom
Hi Caity!

DD is still talking about our DC trip last year and meeting you. She wants to go back again soon so we may be heading your way later this year.

See what I mean...you meet the nicest people when you travel

I had a great time meeting you guys. Your daughter was really fun. Drop me a line if you want to meet up next time you guys are in town.

 

[Lisa F]

Here's another vote for DVC. Even if you can't buy in, you should check into renting some points on the rental boards here. Last I checked they went for around $10 per point. Not the most cost effective on the weekends but during the week a bargain.

We joined DVC 5 years ago (I can't believe it's been that long) and we financed as well and it was one of the BEST decisions we've ever made. I, too, have a taste for the deluxe hotels but the prices are just too high to make them a regular thing w/o DVC. I figure including finance charges, we are still averaging well under $100/night for lodging in a studio (even including weekend nights, which cost more points). Isn't rack rate at the value resorts higher than that nowadays?

 

[palmtreegirl]

Another member of DVC, one of the best decisions we ever made, just wish we made it a lot sooner!

 

[Alice28]

Boy, would it be a dream for me to invest in DVC. Maybe when the kids are older. But I know what you mean Esmerelda about the prices of the Deluxes. Every time I dream up a trip to WDW, I picture myself staying in the Beach Club or the Poly...then I price it out. Because DH is in the military, we get Shades of Green access, so that's how we were able to stay at the Contemporary twice last year at $77 a night. But from now on it will most likely be Shades or using their overflow discount (if we can get it) at a mod or WL. Check www.Mousesavers.com for discount codes---it seems 2-3 times a year they appear for room only rates, available to anyone. And I too have seen WL and AKL for about $120 a night on that website. We are staying a POFQ next time with a Shades overflow rate of $89 a night.

 

[Simba]

Another DVC'er!!! We LOVE the BWV but normally wouldn't be able to afford to stay there. We always used to stay at AS and POFQ and loved it, but there is just something about staying in a deluxe. Thanks DVC

 

[SalandJeff]

After going to WDW every year and staying in a moderate, we also bought into DVC at BWV. We love it and regret not doing it sooner. It allows us to stay at a nicer resort. We financed through Disney and they debit the monthly payment from our bank. We will most likely pay off the balance soon.

We puchased the minimum number of points, 150, and that has worked out fine for us. We usually go during the "value season" times of year, so it costs us less points. This year we are using some banked points from 2003, our 2004 points and borrowing a few from 2005 and are treating my 2 sisters, DH's brother and their families. We are so excited about being able to do this...we could never if we had to pay for the rooms.

On our minimum number of points, which is 150, we pay around $600 a year in fees. Those are also debited from out account monthly.

But we also like to stay at some of the other resorts and sometimes spend a night or two paying cash before moving to the BWV. In December of 2002, we paid $189 for the GF and we've stayed at AKL and WL for $119 per night. So watch for those great specials...they do come along from time to time.