Any regrets for doing DVC?

[itsreally4mommy]

Plus, I miss the excitement of pondering which resort we'll stay it and enjoying the different experience each time.

WHy is this no longer an option, given the variety of DVC resorts?


Regarding difficulty booking @ 3-4 months is that difficulty in booking a particular resort, or getting anything at all?

 

[MagicalPins]

MagicalPins...While I am totally bummed out over the loss of Adventurers Club, I really can't say that you made a well thought out decision if you bought because of one attraction. An attraction can debut or be closed at any time, and an investment like this shouldn't be made over one attraction.

With the changes at PI, I am still holding out hope that they have something better planned. I have been very happy with the evolution of Disney over the past 20 years (more hotels, DVC, new parks, new attractions), and they haven't given me many reasons to doubt that another great addition is around the corner.

First of all, Disney Vacation Club is not an investment. Its just pre paying for vacations. You don't own anything. I did not buy because of one attraction. But once they realized that they announced the closing of the Adventurers Club, I realized that I was stuck with a resort I hated.

Have you even heard their "bold new vision" for Pleasure Island. Replacing entertainment with more shopping and dining opportunities. I can't even begin to count to many places there are to shop at eat at Walt Disney World. I am having trouble counting the number of night time entertainment offerings.

 

[Cmbar]

Plus, I miss the excitement of pondering which resort we'll stay it and enjoying the different experience each time.

WHy is this no longer an option, given the variety of DVC resorts?


Regarding difficulty booking @ 3-4 months is that difficulty in booking a particular resort, or getting anything at all?

I would really be interested in this answer. Is it really difficult to get into any of the resort 3-4 ahead of time?

Our only regret is we wish we'd paid more attention to what the UY would mean to us. We started with a FEB UY and we normally travel in the Fall. We added on at AK with the 100 min to start a better UY for us.

Oh how I wish I knew which use year is good for us. We like to travel in Feb/Mar or in June/July. What use year is good for us? and WHY????? Really confused

 

[crisi]

I would really be interested in this answer. Is it really difficult to get into any of the resort 3-4 ahead of time?

Any resort three to four months ahead - yes - there may be ZERO availability at ANY resort three months ahead (some nights in December were sold out six months ahead. At certain times of year, it can be difficult to book some of the resorts seven months out when the non-home resort window opens (Grand Villas at OKW most of the year, Boardwalk Standard View most of the year, any Boardwalk or BeachClub room from October through New Years. Wilderness Lodge in November and December). That doesn't mean it can't ever be done, it does mean you should have backup plans.

Regrets...I'm a Deluxe resort snob, and I wish I really understood the difference between DVC and Deluxes. I also wish I'd have understood better that - while I'm still an onsite snob - offsite at Disney nowadays can be very nice, and very affordable. For us, with our kids the ages they are now, and a small number of points to go every other year, DVC has been a wonderful value. I agree with Pearl that Disney does not inspire confidence in their ability to maintain what I enjoy - Dining in my opinion has really gone downhill in quality, up in price, and become a huge hassle - that was a huge part of our Disney vacations. While we like Disney, having "enforced" Disney vacations has meant that we've missed out on other opportunities. At the same time, we've been able to affordably vacation at WDW, stay onsite, and have the kids sleep in a different room. We've been able to take guests. I don't know that I'll own forever, but its been worthwhile to date.

 

[ACDSNY]

Oh how I wish I knew which use year is good for us. We like to travel in Feb/Mar or in June/July. What use year is good for us? and WHY????? Really confused

I would try for a Dec or Feb UY. They would work great for you as the banking deadline would be after your normal travel times. Either of these UYs would give you time to bank your points if you ever had to cancel a trip.

 

[kidcoos3]

No regrets here. We have enjoyed every Disney vacation and by joining DVC we are staying in nicer accommodations than we otherwise would and it has given us the flexibility to invite other family members to join us.

We have added on several times, so the only thing I would do differently is to add on with smaller contracts to provide more flexibility in the future. While we don't have any plans to sell any of our DVC contracts, I now understand that it would be easier to do with smaller contracts.

 

[DisMN]

My bigger problem is that I sincerely feel there is a decline in the "product" WDW is selling. I see maintenance and upkeep being neglected, infrequent and insipid expansion and development, and really obnoxious cost-cutting and money-grubbing.

I'm growing weary of endless hard-ticketed parties, inflated prices at mediocre restaurants, ever increasing ticket prices, and reductions in park/entertainment offerings (i.e. reducing Fantasmic showings to 2x/week, closing AC, etc.)
I feel like WDW is becoming more and more generic. They're closing PI to put in new shops and restaurants. I have plenty of shops and restaurants at home that I can visit anytime I want. I sure didn't have an Adventurer's Club. The menus at the restaurants are being consolidated and dumbed-down. So yeah, I'm starting to regret being tied to the next 45 years to a place that isn't serving me as well as it used to. There are, of course, things I like about my DVC membership and it's nice that I could sell it today for nearly what I paid for it.

But I'm just not an unequivocally happy owner these days.

Boy I couldn't agree with you more. We love our DVC but the go-along product (WDW) is showing some signs of not being QUITE what we were hoping for at this point in our lives.
The decline of the dining is a huge one for us as has been the removal of some real quality little acts and groups (remember Roland the balloon guy? How about Rondo Veneziano in Italy? Then there was the mime who walked around France inside a clear balloon!! The Living Statues???)........the things that made WDW unique to us are being whittled away and not being replaced. While we don't regret buying DVC we have certainly entertained the possibility of selling...when in fact we figured originally that we had bought it to keep.

 

[marcjmorris]

No regrets... it is expensive but knowing that you always have a vacation option each year is great. Also, you can alway rent your point for a year if the financial burden is too much.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have always thought of our DVC purchase as one of the best we have ever made. Sure, things change over the years, and the new booking priority has me really bummed, but it was still a good investment in vacation time, and that is how we use it. In 11 years of membership, we have grown to think of DVC as our "home away from home", and can't wait for each return!

 

[Cmbar]

We have always thought of our DVC purchase as one of the best we have ever made. Sure, things change over the years, and the new booking priority has me really bummed, but it was still a good investment in vacation time, and that is how we use it. In 11 years of membership, we have grown to think of DVC as our "home away from home", and can't wait for each return!

What is the "new booking priority?"

Thanks!

 

[chalee94]

What is the "new booking priority?"

Thanks!

perhaps you missed the 200+ page thread on the subject? here's the link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1861954

 

[WDWmom08]

Regrets...I'm a Deluxe resort snob, and I wish I really understood the difference between DVC and Deluxes. I also wish I'd have understood better that - while I'm still an onsite snob - offsite at Disney nowadays can be very nice, and very affordable.

I am interested in your thoughts on this. I posted earlier in the thread about not finding Disney deluxe resorts deluxe so how does DVC compare? The OP stated the not-everyday house keeping and room service make it less then deluxe. My concern is the room itself. I was surprised when we stayed at the GF in May how non-deluxe I felt is was. The bathroom especially. No oversized tub, the grout was mildew stained and the toilet in our connecting room broke and we could never get it properly fixed so we finally gave up and threw down towels. While I do feel like the overall resort was deluxe; I didn't feel as if the rooms were. What is it about the DVC resort rooms that fall short? The rooms look larger, the kitechens look nice and the master bathrooms have a whirlpool tub. I have never stayed at a DVC so I am just curious.

 

[Cmbar]

perhaps you missed the 200+ page thread on the subject? here's the link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1861954

Thank you for the link. Reading this link makes me very scared to buy into DVC. It seems like it is very hard to get any room at the 7 month window, which kinda makes DVC null and void unless you want to stay at the same resort for the rest of your 30-40 years. And some people are complaining about not even being able to get what they want at the 11 month window. Buying DVC is looking more and more like a bad decision. Now I am depressed

 

[crisi]

I am interested in your thoughts on this. I posted earlier in the thread about not finding Disney deluxe resorts deluxe so how does DVC compare? The OP stated the not-everyday house keeping and room service make it less then deluxe. My concern is the room itself. I was surprised when we stayed at the GF in May how non-deluxe I felt is was. The bathroom especially. No oversized tub, the grout was mildew stained and the toilet in our connecting room broke and we could never get it properly fixed so we finally gave up and threw down towels. While I do feel like the overall resort was deluxe; I didn't feel as if the rooms were. What is it about the DVC resort rooms that fall short? The rooms look larger, the kitechens look nice and the master bathrooms have a whirlpool tub. I have never stayed at a DVC so I am just curious.

The one and two bedroom units have a jacuzzi tub - which is nice. But the studios have a queen bed and a pullout couch (except OKW - and one of the offsites, I think) - plus the same sort of dinky bathroom you had (and a kitchenette). I've had very few issues like yours in Deluxe hotels, but every DVC visit has been one where drawers are not seated properly in dressers, cabinet hinges broken, towel racks hanging off the wall. Rooms have been acceptably clean (to my standards) but not terribly well maintained. For the money we spend in maintenance, I'm content (I wouldn't want to spend a lot more for perfect rooms), but not happy. Moreover, while I don't find Disney Deluxe hotels worthy of the word (I'm a Hilton fan myself - at least when it comes to chain hotels), the service received as a DVC member has always been a little less impressive.

I've generally been delighted with Hiltons or Hyatts
I've generally been happy with Disney Deluxe hotels
I've generally been content with DVC.

 

[crisi]

Thank you for the link. Reading this link makes me very scared to buy into DVC. It seems like it is very hard to get any room at the 7 month window, which kinda makes DVC null and void unless you want to stay at the same resort for the rest of your 30-40 years. And some people are complaining about not even being able to get what they want at the 11 month window. Buying DVC is looking more and more like a bad decision. Now I am depressed

It isn't at all hard to get ANY room at the seven month window. It is difficult to get certain rooms at certain times of year. There are VERY few VAKL Conceirge rooms, you need to be on the phone right away to get one.

DVC runs pretty much at 100% occupancy year round (its in the 90%s somewhere, but the other rooms are not necessarily available, they may be undergoing maintenance) Eleven months out, all the rooms are available. During peak times, at ten months out its possbile that 20or 30% of the rooms will already be booked. When the seven month window opens, you have hundreds of thousands of DVC members - some of whom are hoping to swap into the relatively small BCV. And if its Food and Wine, when everyone things "how nice would it be to stroll back to the room from Epcot" - well, you aren't the only one who had that thought - and there are a bunch of people who bought BCV points to do just that every year and call eleven months out to do so. By two or three months out, the resorts are pretty darn full - and a last minute stay may mean moving rooms, maybe even paying cash somewhere for a night or two.

But with all of that, availability in the Spring and Summer is often pretty wide open - people are not reporting a lot of issues with seven month booking for Feburary now - and we probably won't hear a lot of real time complaints until the calendar wraps back around to the DVC busy times of year (October - early January) - with the exception of a few people disappointed in availability only a few months out.

This is why around here we say "buy where you want to stay" (or my varient "buy where you won't be disappointed if you end up." If what you want to do is be able to book your trips by the seat of your pants with lots of options, CRO has much lower occupancy rates generally, and therefore its much easier to do so.

 

[kim_d]

The one and two bedroom units have a jacuzzi tub - which is nice. But the studios have a queen bed and a pullout couch (except OKW - and one of the offsites, I think) - plus the same sort of dinky bathroom you had (and a kitchenette). I've had very few issues like yours in Deluxe hotels, but every DVC visit has been one where drawers are not seated properly in dressers, cabinet hinges broken, towel racks hanging off the wall. Rooms have been acceptably clean (to my standards) but not terribly well maintained. For the money we spend in maintenance, I'm content (I wouldn't want to spend a lot more for perfect rooms), but not happy. Moreover, while I don't find Disney Deluxe hotels worthy of the word (I'm a Hilton fan myself - at least when it comes to chain hotels), the service received as a DVC member has always been a little less impressive.

I've generally been delighted with Hiltons or Hyatts
I've generally been happy with Disney Deluxe hotels
I've generally been content with DVC.

It is so interesting to me the different experiences people have encountered with DVC and with the resorts in general.

We have stayed at deluxe resorts. Personally, I like the villas better- aside from the additional space (we stay in 1 or 2 bedroom) I think the bathrooms at the villas are nicer and more “deluxe”- having a separate shower and tub is so nice especially with 4 people (2 adults and 2 young children) trying to get ready.

I have never had an issue with anything being messy, broken, cracked, etc.

 

[mom-mom2three]

The only regrets we have are that we didn't buy sooner and we couldn't afford more points!! We love it

 

[crisi]

It is so interesting to me the different experiences people have encountered with DVC and with the resorts in general.

We have stayed at deluxe resorts. Personally, I like the villas better- aside from the additional space (we stay in 1 or 2 bedroom) I think the bathrooms at the villas are nicer and more “deluxe”- having a separate shower and tub is so nice especially with 4 people (2 adults and 2 young children) trying to get ready.

I have never had an issue with anything being messy, broken, cracked, etc.

Yes, the bathrooms in the one and two bedrooms are much nicer than regular hotel bathrooms, but if you compare studio bathrooms to the regular bathrooms, they aren't any different.

I like the extra space as well. Once again though - if there is more of that when comparing a studio its a relatively small number of square feet.

 

[larry_poppins]

WDW standards have fallen. To remedy this, spend more time off property. SLeep at DVC, play at Discovery Cove, Islands of Adventure (when Harry Potter opens), visit Winter Park, Ringling Museum, and Cypress Gardens.


Larry

 

[madelyn]

sorry...did not mean to reply here...wanted to start a new post