Are these good reasons to sell?

[walkdmc]

With the upcoming changes to the DVC resale rules, I'm feeling an urge to sell our BLT contracts. I just got them last Summer and took 1 wonderful trip to the AKV in a 1BR. We had a great time but my DH and Kids (9,6) are not nearly as into Disney as me. We have an upcoming trip in Nov. and the kids aren't excited at all. Every time I talk about the trip (maybe once a month), the kids say, "Okay, mom, whatever". They're not spoiled, just not so into Disney. We visited in Nov. '09, June '10 and Nov. '10.

It's disheartening being the lone Disney fan in the house and it's finally wearing on me. The kids want to take other trips to national parks and such and I'm all for that.

I'm thinking now is a good time to sell as we'll pretty much get what we paid so the AKV trip was a little bonus (I say little b/c I already paid the dues for my 2011 points).

So, kids and DH not loving Disney and visiting is getting to be more of a hassle than a privilege <--they're good reasons to sell, right? If you've sold, or know of someone who has for that reason, how did they make out? Were they glad to sell?

I know this is an obvious answer but I'm a little sad to be contemplating selling. I already called MS to find out how many points would be in each contract if I cancel the upcoming trips

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Sorry if this sounds blunt... but if it wasn't a family desire, why did your family purchase the contracts in the first place?

If you just purchased last summer, you will lose some money... but if the contracts are paid off and you don't see your family enjoying their time at Disney, I don't see any point in keeping the contracts.

 

[kenny]

While we sold a contract it was for different reasons.

If your family is not going to want to visit Disney often, then I would think that DVC is not the right decision for you. Obviously cost of the sale is a factor, but if you feel that you have gotton your money's worth or just want to minimize losses then I would seriously think about selling.

If you sell, just take into account that there is a commission of roughly 10% that you need to factor into your net result.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[bfrosty]

Bummer, I know that before we took our first trip nearly 11yrs ago...we my DW and DS2 were not Disney fans at all. After about 4 more trips down, we bumped into a DVC kiosk at MGM Studios at the time. We bought a contract that trip and haven't looked back. Our DD came along and just extended our excitement to take her there.

We kind of grew into it with having young children, but before that we never really thought of disney much. A trip here or there...but never consumed like we are now.

You can use your points through RCI and stay at like Keystone lodge in Colorado and go to Estes Park and Yellowstone.

So, there are options to keep them to...you don't have to go to disney each year!

Good luck....you have to do what you have to do.

When our kids get a bit older, I see us visiting like Sea World, Universal and others like that.

Bfrosty

 

[walkdmc]

Sorry if this sounds blunt... but if it wasn't a family desire, why did your family purchase the contracts in the first place?

It was just one of those things that I really wanted and DH's response was, "Do whatever you want". Of course this is not a good reason to buy but I was so in love with Disney. Admittedly, it was more of an emotional purchase, than a rational one.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...
You can use your points through RCI and stay at like Keystone lodge in Colorado and go to Estes Park and Yellowstone....

You are going to have a long ride to Cody to get into Yellowstone from Colorado. Real long.

 

[Fatalbie]

If selling DVC ends up as the result, you can always pick up anohter timeshare for short dough. You can trade it for places in and around the places your family may enjoy going to. You will most likely get a better bang for you buck that way than trading out. Just a thought.

Jim

 

[Starr W.]

If selling DVC ends up as the result, you can always pick up anohter timeshare for short dough. You can trade it for places in and around the places your family may enjoy going to. You will most likely get a better bang for you buck that way than trading out. Just a thought.

Jim

Trading is not for the faint hearted, especially if you have a narrow time you can travel(ie kids summer vacation) and want a certain area or resort. You need to plan out, even longer than the home preference period in DVC.

I spent 17 days in Hawaii this summer, all but 3 days of that on trades. The first exchange was made in November 2008, the 2nd on a request came through November 2009. Placed the request in March 2009 for July 2010. And I had the help of using a great trader(ski week in CO) and my system internal preference.

A lot of us that do this regularly forget that a lot of people don't have the patience to wait, do the research on resorts or can plan that far out, or have pretty specific ideas of where they want to go. To me that's part of the fun, to see what I get or you see something online and let's go.

The OP might be better off being free of MF's and putting the cash from the DVC sale into a vacation savings account.

 

[littlestar]

If the rest of the family is wore out with Disney, maybe you can sell part of your membership off (if you have multiple contracts). We've downsized our DVC points from over 550 over the years to 175 now. That's about right for us. It's easy to go overboard with add-ons in the beginning of being a DVC member and then get burn out with Disney park trips.

We bought Wyndham points resale and have been using them for other trips beyond Disney. We just recently got back from Hawaii using our Wyndham points. It's a nice mini system with lots of resorts (especially on the east coast).

Of course, you can rent for cash and have the ultimate freedom to go where you want on vacation. Then you don't have to worry about maintenance fees or being locked into certain resorts.

 

[JimMIA]

You are going to have a long ride to Cody to get into Yellowstone from Colorado. Real long.

Yeah! Like two days!

 

[Sammie]

Honestly at this point unless you are into visiting Disney at least every other year, then I don't think DVC is a good idea.

With the recent changes and more to come, all you will sure is booking at your home resort.

There are better and less expensive ways to travel to other places than using DVC to trade out.

 

[bumbershoot]

It doesn't sound like YOU would be happy to sell. Is it OK to go on solo or friends trips? If so, maybe start doing that.

Or even if they aren't into the parks, do they like resort trips, using the pool, going to the community rooms, etc etc? You could run off and play in the parks while your family plays outside of the parks.

Since you mentioned contracts, maybe you could sell just part of your total points, get it to a level where you could take one family trip (if solo trips aren't cool in your family dynamic) every few years, and do other places during other years.

I hate the idea that you can't own DVC if the entire family doesn't agree, and I hate the idea that you have to sell just b/c they don't like it...you are a person too and hopefully get to have a say in things!

 

[lugnut33]

If you can, just do trips every other year. Sell off some of your points if you have multiple contracts. A comfortable spot to be is around 175 points so you can do a 10 day trip every other year.

 

[dairyqueenmom]

I am very sad for you , it would really break my heart if my kids didn't love Disney like I did. I feel very lucky my kids would rather be in Disney then any where else for vacation, but if they didn't love Disney like I do I still wouldn't sell. I plan on vacationing at Disney for many years without my children! I love to go with my sister, my best friend and my husband, I don't need to take my kids to enjoy Disney. It sounds like you have more then one contract, maybe sell one and keep the other to go and get your Disney fix.

 

[BBG-BLT]

DVC has great renting and priority if you trade it into RCI. Its the best timeshare value out there... on top of that well

I wouldn't sell because it's your life and your vacations as well. Maybe alternate and take one for them (maybe adventures by Disney) and then back to WDW. I have noticed that my kids like the resorts (and the quality of them) a bit more than the parks (which I really love). We've also started doing a few new things each trip. Like DisneyQuest - or a fireworks cruise - or renting boats. If you switch it up maybe they'll be into it a bit more.

For me it was listening to them and understanding that the kids didn't want to do the parks morning to night. And didn't want to be scheduled to the minute. Now that we spread around what we do at Disney chill out and don't overbook and everyone's happier.

I'm all for making your kids happy - and I know many parents live for their kids - but for me I've gotten to the point where I want to live with my kids. We should all get to do things and have experiences that we love. And when they're working 50 hours a week and can pay for it they can go anywhere their little hearts desire.

So I'll be at BCV this Aug - they will have 3 full days at the pool (which they will love) and 1 at the water park and I will see illuminations every night - alone or with someone - I don't care anymore.

So my vote is keep your DVC - see if there's a way to make it work for everyone and remember that you're a full member as well.

 

[DizDays]

I would vote to keep it, too. In addition to all the creative options outlined above, there is always the option of renting out the points and using that $$ toward the other vacations. Interests and situations will continue to change. I have no doubt in a year or two, there will be a new perspective on DVC and Disney.

 

[walkdmc]

Thanks DIS'ers! I liked reading through the responses.

I talked to DH tonight about selling and he said, "Do what you want", no kidding. My family likes very unstructured vacations. I like sticking to an itinerary. Maybe it'll take a couple of DVC trips for me to figure out I'm going back and we don't need to go commando. With only one DVC trip down, I may need to give it more time for my DH and kids to appreciate Disney more.

News of the upcoming changes makes me slightly nervous that I won't be able to sell our contracts after March, if needed. I guess we'll have to see. I would love to do an ABD trip and it would be nice to use points.

 

[eva]

Whether you sell now or after March 1, you are going to take quite a loss. Unless you are willing to take a pretty big loss, I would be surprised if you could get a sell through the process before March 1 anyway.

I would try doing some other trips outside WDW. Either trade your points or rent and use cash for other options for a trip here and there. Since we bought DVC we have tried to do a Disney and a non-Disney trip every year. Being a DVC member doesn't keep you from vacationing elsewhere. Also, if you have only been going commando mode, you really need to slow it down and give your family a more relaxing trip at WDW. Try doing BCV and only going to the parks a few hours each day. The kids will love SAB and some ice cream at Beaches and Cream in the afternoon.

 

[Mississippian]

I'm going to make a suggestion no one else has made. You own points in the most expensive DVC resort and can apparently get most of your money out of it. You apparently aren't dead set on staying at the Contemporary.

Why not sell your BLT points and buy some Vero points in a few months. Once the rule-change bottleneck is over, the prices are likely to drop even more. You can likely get these points for $40 each. Don't know that you would ever want a beach house at Vero, but if so, you might get enough points so you could bank and borrow to get one every three years.

Also, you say your family likes unstructured. That's Vero. Just a lot of fun, and easy to combine with a short WDW stay, so you get the best of both worlds. The Vero member dues are a bit higher, but it really doesn't matter when you're only paying $40 per point. Whatever you do, my opinion is that DVC points should be used for DVC only; no trading out or anything. If that means you'll only stay every three years, plan accordingly.

 

[bumbershoot]

My family likes very unstructured vacations. I like sticking to an itinerary. Maybe it'll take a couple of DVC trips for me to figure out I'm going back and we don't need to go commando. With only one DVC trip down, I may need to give it more time for my DH and kids to appreciate Disney more.

Might just take one entirely unstructured trip for the fam to decide they want your itinerary back!

There is a difference between having a plan and touring commando-style...you can plan in breaks etc. The biggest thing I did while traveling with my "no plans" brother and sis in law was to have a plan in my head, have contingencies, but not let them know. So when the map came out and the question "where do we go next?" was said, I would come up with my idea (that I'd already thought out). Since they never knew what they wanted to do, they went with my idea, and everyone was happy.