Anyone feel locked in with the DVC?

[betslinc]

How about getting a small package (50-75 points?) resale and trying it out? If you go somewhat regularly, with banking and borrowing you can stretch those points way out. If you find it's not enough you can always do an add on of any size (minimum 25 points) through Disney. We did this and it's worked out great for us. The nice thing about small packages is that you can sell them off incrementally (or add on) as interest waxes and wanes. It is a very large investment, and the small resales are a great way to get a taste of it.

 

[DebbieB]

Locked in and loving it! You are forced to make vacation plans in advance, which is a good thing! Otherwise, you think about...go back and forth.... This way, plans are made, room paid for, no excuse not to go!

We go twice a year (at least ) and do take it at a slower pace now. No need to rush, you can see it next time!

 

[westjones]

This is why we are holding at 150 points. We know we love WDW now, and we have stayed at HH and can see many vacations there as well (want to try VB sometime). We don't want to ever feel 'locked in', so that is why we went with a small contract and don't plan to add to it.

The monthly dues are not bad for 150 points, so we don't really notice it. We have fun thinking of future trips. We love that you can 'bank' points and skip a year. We love that you can splurge and try different places (we have already used points at AKL and for a 3 day Disney Cruise---now we are thinking of using them for 3 nights at the Disneyland Hotel in CA).

My 'small' contract is fun. A large contract would make me feel more 'locked in'. You can always add more points later if you decide you want more. But maybe starting with a small contract is a good way for you to go if you are concerned.

DJ

 

[Northwoods]

I'm going to run the risk of getting slammed here - but we have felt locked in. We bought 350 points at WLV two years ago after 3 visits to WDW staying in DVC accomodations. Thought it made more sense to buy in. We don't regret our decision but have felt locked in. Reasons:

1. Air fare from MN is expensive
2. Can't always take more than one trip a year and typically only want to go to WDW every other year.
3. There are so many places to go and so little time.


This year we found ourselves with 323 points that needed to be used by Nov and didn't want to go to WDW. So we started looking to exchange out. Kids want to go to Washington D.C. but there are no convient II exchanges near there. Then thought maybe we should do an Alaskan Cruise. Point value isn't the greatest.

We finally found the best solution - We sold the Points on the Rent/Trade board and now we are free to go where we want. So as long as we can easily rent out our points when we don't want to do Disney we are happy.

We wouldn't be able to take DH's family to WLV next Christmas if we didn't have DVC! No regrets here now that we know how to get around feeling locked in.

 

[mickeyc]

I hate to sound like a comercial; however, DVC is very flexible. DVC has made exchanges easier to understand by publishing the total number of points needed for an exchange in various parts of the country including HA.

Also, as mentioned above you can rent the points. The rate of $10 to $12 per point is win-win for all. The renter is getting a good deal since they do not have to pay rack rates. The DVC member gets some cash.

As it turns out I may end up renting some points and will consider donating to the make a wish foundation.

DVC although expensive I think is worth the price considering all the options. The biggest problem has been trying to settle on vacation dates in advance considering our family's busy life style.

Bottom line...we don't feel locked in.
Good luck!

 

[JeffPort]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that DVC is unique in that it has a very viable RESALE market. None of us are "locked in" because we can fairly quickly cash out of our DVC lease for whatever reason -- whether it be burnout, financial distress, change in family status, etc.

To me, this fact alone convinced me that buying into DVC was nearly a risk-free proposition. I know several people who have bought into timeshare properties and later regretted it. They keep the property anyhow because their investment cannot be recovered. This is not the case with the DVC membership.

That said, Disney will never by our sole family destination, so I don't think we'll experience any burnout. While it is a very special place to share family memories, there is so much more out there in the world that we want to share with our children. While we are happy to be able to visit Orlando every year or two, we also cherish trips to the mountains, the beach, or just to go visit relatives in different parts of the country.

 

[chris1gill]

We've been members for five years now & we're not feeling locked in at all. The reason, is that there is a high demand for rental points, if we don't use our points, we can rent them. For instance, we just took a 3.5 week trip to Australia, so a long Disney trip this year is out of the question... so I easily rented the points we wouldn't be using... Earlier this year we went to Hawaii & the prior year we also went to Hawaii... Until this time we have fit in our annual trip... so our travel needs did change... DVC is really very flexible between the optional trading, renting & selling, there's no reason to ever feel locked in....

Now, if I were still in Australia I'd be REALLY happy

 

[Simba's Mom]

As a previous poster said, "locked in and lovin' it". Actually, a big reason DH wanted to buy DVC was to be locked in. Why? He's always been a "workaholic-the big (not so funny) joke at the end of each year was how many vacation days did he not take this year. He knew this was wrong, but hadn't been able to change. He saw DVC as a way to "force" him to take a vacation each year (well, we've already paid for it, might as well go). Not only has it worked, he looks forward to his vacation, relaxes, and enjoys himself. And me? I could never get too much Disney! So I guess we're locked in, but we're loving it!

 

[mikesmom]

We're going on 6 years and not feeling locked in. For us, it has meant different kinds of vacations (sometimes at short notice) with no worries or surprises as to the accomodations we may find. Some of the trips we've done (not all in the same year).

- a post tax season (late April) 4 day getaway for me and DH (who was burned out on tax returns). We stayed at OKW in a Studio, tried a different pool every day, only spent fewhours at the parks , and mostly relaxed. It was great!

- 1 quick trip (4 days) down with friends for the Food & Wine Fest. 2 bdrm at BWV. Never went anywhere but Epcot, loved the F&W, hung out on our balcony in the evenings visiting with our friends.

- 6 day trip with extended family, all 3 kids (20,26 and 29) and one grandchild. All parks, all the time!

- Upcoming May trip with DH, our 21 year old DS and his buddy. Have reserved 2 bdrm at WLV. They are looking forward to the Bike & Boat (along with the parks). DH and I love to sit on the edge of the lake and relax.

As I said, it's a different vacation each time, with no worries and no surprises!