Are things changing?

[tvwalsh]

I bought 230 points in 1992, but added on numerous times over the years. Each time I felt wonderful about adding on... until this year. After buying 50 points in April of this year (bringing my total to 500) I started to feel like DVC was no longer such a good deal. Why? High yearly fees, fewer new things at WDW, overbuilding of WDW resorts, the large and difficult to sell new SS resort looming on the market, concerns about maintenance and housekeeping, new 7 day specials at WDW for the price of four days, concerns about the end date (2042) not allowing much of a legacy for my grandchildren, intense competition and wonderful products from Marriott and others, $95 exchange fees, rising point prices for WDW resorts and on and on.

I used to envy DVC salespeople because they had such a wonderful product to sell. I don't think is is anywhere near as wonderful as it used to be. Caveat emptor!

 

[CarolA]

Personally I am just as happy.

I don't think it is my job to leave ANYTHING to anyone so the prospect of having nothing to leave my heirs is really thier problem not mine.

As for the dues, even with the Fairytale package I get a lot more for my dues than the 7 nights for 4 deal. I figure the minimum for that would be around $1000. For my 300 points I get a lot more than 7 nights!

I also don't do much exchanging. I have always suscribed to the fact that DVC is a great deal to stay at Disney. If you want to exchange a lot, I strongly recommend a Marriott resale.

 

[SlyHubby]

High yearly fees

I doubt the maintenance/point has gone up so much over the years. But, paying $3 on 230 points vs. $4 on 500 points, that's a problem you got yourself into - no?

overbuilding of WDW resorts, the large and difficult to sell new SS resort looming on the market

Are we not in one of the biggest real estate bull markets in a decade? Do you feel the overbuilding has cheapened the value of your DVC membership? The price continues up. And, how would you get the impression that SSR is going to be difficult to sell? With BCV almost sold out, it would seem that it is as normal a progression as building BCV was. Personally, I think Disney did the right move corporatewise building the property into a DVC resort, because as the Disney Institute it was clearly a failure. On the chance that SSR is large and difficult to sell, who cares? It would just mean that they don't have to go and build yet another resort because of a shortage of capacity - right?

I think you are blowing the whole thing out of proportion. My own belief of your real problem - you have now reached the point of having too many DVC points.

 

[PamOKW]

It seems as if the change in your perception of DVC value is coming as much from your own personal feelings as it is from some of the outside influences you mention.

There have been unprecedented changes in our entire way of life. These changes have been reflected in Disney's ability to fill their resorts so they have offered discounts some of us never expected to see. I still think owning DVC is far better than chasing down these discounts. On the plus side, they are getting people to come to WDW. Without all those other people, the parks could really suffer.

Concerns about maintenance and housekeeping have been expressed as long as I've been on the boards (quite a few years now). All in all....it's about the same.

Purchasing new today the cost savings are not as great as they were if you bought earlier. But that can be said about many things. It's still a great WDW vacation. I also don't feel any threat from SSR. Worst case scenario, it becomes primarily a Disney resort rather than a DVC owned property.

 

[Laurajean1014]

We have over 700 points and it's never enough. My co-worker and I can talk for lots of time, about WDW!

I am even happier than when I originally bought. I see friends spend $200-330/night for rooms I get with points already paid for. And any one thinking of buying is paying almost 40% higher than what I paid.

If you want to sell, let me know!

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Originally posted by tvwalsh
I bought 230 points in 1992, but added on numerous times over the years. Each time I felt wonderful about adding on... until this year. After buying 50 points in April of this year (bringing my total to 500) I started to feel like DVC was no longer such a good deal. Why? High yearly fees, fewer new things at WDW, overbuilding of WDW resorts, the large and difficult to sell new SS resort looming on the market, concerns about maintenance and housekeeping, new 7 day specials at WDW for the price of four days, concerns about the end date (2042) not allowing much of a legacy for my grandchildren, intense competition and wonderful products from Marriott and others, $95 exchange fees, rising point prices for WDW resorts and on and on.

I used to envy DVC salespeople because they had such a wonderful product to sell. I don't think is is anywhere near as wonderful as it used to be. Caveat emptor!

Well, I think you make some pretty good points. The value of the points for non-DVC resorts and cruises is not as good as it used to be, and seems to be declining. I also have concerns about overbuilding with SSR coming on board.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Originally posted by PamOKW
There have been unprecedented changes in our entire way of life. These changes have been reflected in Disney's ability to fill their resorts so they have offered discounts some of us never expected to see. I still think owning DVC is far better than chasing down these discounts. On the plus side, they are getting people to come to WDW. Without all those other people, the parks could really suffer.

Good points. It may be the cause and DVC still a good deal, but ut seems like it is less of a good deal than it used to be.

 

[SlyHubby]

Originally posted by Laurajean1014
We have over 700 points and it's never enough. My co-worker and I can talk for lots of time, about WDW!

that's good for you, but do not believe for one moment that there is nobody that can have too many points - tvwalsh is proving it right before your eyes.

we have the 150 points we started with a few years ago, and to tell you the truth, I find it very hard to justify adding on.

 

[WolfpackFan]

The way I look at it is that I'm paying for future vacations now. I will be retiring in a couple of years and will have less disposable income then. By paying for DVC now when I have the money I will be guaranteeing myself many years of future vacation for just the price of the annual dues. Even if I do nothing else but go down to WDW and checkin to VWL for a week or so and go to no parks and just eat in the unit, I'll still be having a great vacation which has been prepaid for. As far as the 2040 deadline, I figure my DW and myself have a good 20-25 years of active travelling left before we start to settle down. We'll then leave it to our son and daughter to fight over for the additional 15-20 years. Seems to me like we would have gotten more than enough payback for our initial payment and annual dues. That's the way I look at it and now that we've taken the plunge and joined DVC, I don't plan on spending alot of time second guessing if we made a good decision. I'd rather spend all my time dreaming about the different ways we'll be using our points.

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by SlyHubby
My own belief of your real problem - you have now reached the point of having too many DVC points.

I do not agree with the above post.We have 600 pts and feel that is not to many points. We only have the dues payment($200 month). Our favorite things to do in life is, be with family and traveling.

Paying $200 (dues) a month to do something you really enjoy is not that big of a deal.We are at the age(46-47) where our house is paid,no major bills,etc. We also know even if Cindy and I don't live another 39 years, our 2 kids(29-17) will have 300 pts each, and the memories that we shared with them through DVC.

We will be retired in 4-5 years and will have all the "time in the world "to do what we enjoy doing............traveling and being with family. Life is to short to worry about the small stuff, so we try to live each day to its fullest.

We also travel to other places besides just DVC. Last week we were in Vegas, we leave friday for San Antonio to visit relatives, then on to VB for 5 days. We are fortunate that Cindy(teacher) and I(General Motors) both have had good jobs the last 26 years, and will have good pensions also when we retire in 4 years.

A lot of people think we are foolish for buying into DVC and traveling so much, but everybody's situation is different. For us........we have never regretted for 1 minute of buying into DVC.

P.S. 4 of my brothers and sisters are also DVC members.

 

[DeeP]

I think maybe you have reached your saturation point with WDW and DVC pts. 500 pts does require more than double the dues that your orginal contract of 230 cost and it sounds like you have reached your max of what you consider a good value of annual dues equalling vacation value. Maybe now would be a good time to trade out some of your DVC pts and go see some of the many wonderful locations and resorts our DVC pts will get us other than WDW.
I just added on at BWV and I could not be happier. For me, DVC gives me tremendous vacation value in top notch villas that I could not afford for the number of trips I get each year from my DVC points.
I agree that WDW is having room deals like I have never seen in many years, but that is due to the world situation right now. All resorts/tourist locations are having amazing deals right now--tourism is still way down. I would be willing to bet the room rates will continue to rise at a much higher and faster rate than our DVC dues will rise between now and 2042.
I go to WDW approx every 3-4 months and have done so for years and I can honestly say I have not seen a decline in maintenace or housekeeping or in upkeep of the parks or resorts. I have seen a decline in the number of CMs working per shift but overall the streamlining of the number of CMs per shift has not really affected any of my trips negatively, WDW still does a wonderful job of serving their guests in both their parks and resorts.
As far as a legacy for my kids or grandkids, this was never a concern for me, nor was it my intention when I bought DVC. I did buy a DVC membership for wonderful vacations which included my kids and we have enjoyed many WDW vacations and will continue to do so for years......BUT, I never bought my DVC membership for my kids. Nope, it was always for me! It is something that I am more than willing to share with my kids and friends but it was always something I wanted. I have always been and probably always will be the real Disney nut in our family and a DVC membership was something I wanted once I saw and fell in love with BWV, so I bought myself a membership one year as a birthday present! Best birthday present I have ever gotten! LOL! I have since added on more DVC points but they have also been for me, because now I get more vacation time then in the past and there is no where I would rather be than on a vacation using DVC pts! Yep, I admit it, I am a very selfish DVC owner--it was always for me and boy do I enjoy it!!!

 

[SlyHubby]

Originally posted by ncligs
I do not agree with the above post.We have 600 pts and feel that is not to many points. We only have the dues payment($200 month). Our favorite things to do in life is, be with family and traveling.

Maybe you didn't understand that the discussion was about the person who made the original post? Do you understand what tvwalsh has posted? Do you understand that the point I made was not about your personal situation or Laurajean1014's? It is about a person who now has 500 points and is voicing concern. This is a person who has probably broken the threshold of having too many points for their own personal situation. How many points you have and what your situation is, is totally irrelevant. The point was that everyone has their own personal situation and there is a point where you can have too many points. My belief is that he/she has reach that point where they have more points than they realistically need and therefore the remorse that is being shown.

Apparently, now this thread will become a post-fest of happy talk from everyone who has 500 or more points and how it is the best thing they've ever done.

Have at it. It doesn't address the concerns that tvwalsh has voiced.

 

[KNWVIKING]

I guess I can't truely appriciate tvwalsh's feelings towards DVC until after I've been a member for 11 years or so. Back when he bought, DVC ownership was unique.The '90s were exciting times at WDW,tremendous growth, something new all the time.

Now DVC is huge- how many 10's of thousands of us are there now. Do you old timers feel as "special" now as you did then ? WDW has gotten a little stale the last few years. Sure we're getting M:E now, Philharmagic later, EE in a couple years, but not much WOW has been added in a few years.

Something else to consider: The internet. Years ago you could go to WDW and maybe a couple things weren't just right but no big deal..had a great trip. Now, you follow the trip reports posted here. Everybody posts their couple bad experiences, then others join in with theirs. Then ten ugly pages later it finally drifts away. So now things you never gave a minutes thought about before are suddenly on your mind the next time you go. WDW/DVC loses some of it's luster. Oddly enough,someone posts a great report and it's on page two by the end of the day.

I still love going to WDW and staying at my DVC resorts. But I'm also much more educated as to the entire Disney operation and the concerns of the Car 3'ers. I'm not ready to join them in Car 3, but I can more easily accept tvwalsh's feelings about his ownership.

 

[msdis]

Is it because you have done DVC to death? Or perhaps become desensitized to the whole thing? We do at times. We sold 1/2 our points last year and then bought them all back this year(long story-personal-not Because unhappy with DVC). But I/we are sick to death of the parks. We get AP's and feel the need to try and get our money's worth though we are failing miserably. If we took the parks out of the equation we would love DVC even more. There is so much more to do and we never plan for just chilling, that's what's missing for us. When we bought our current home we were in the state of awe for the first year. It's a nice home and better than we expected we could afford. Well, 4 years later, it is no longer that great, there are a lot better homes out there, and we are bored with it...........same idea. As far as perks and prices, look at anything in today's retail world and tell me what doesn't cost more and come with less. You warm up to something fantastic, get use to it and it no longer has that glow. Take a year or two off and use your points for something else, after all this will still be a pre-paid vacation. Then go back and I'm sure you will be glad to be "home". It's not you, it's just part of change.

 

[nydizfan]

well i agree with slyhubby all the way.We bought 230 pts back in '93. We would never buy more .. its not needed in our household..I am 39 . and cant wait till i retire in 20 YEARS . ohh well....dave

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Originally posted by SlyHubby
Maybe you didn't understand that the discussion was about the person who made the original post? Do you understand what tvwalsh has posted? Do you understand that the point I made was not about your personal situation or Laurajean1014's? It is about a person who now has 500 points and is voicing concern. This is a person who has probably broken the threshold of having too many points for their own personal situation. How many points you have and what your situation is, is totally irrelevant. The point was that everyone has their own personal situation and there is a point where you can have too many points. My belief is that he/she has reach that point where they have more points than they realistically need and therefore the remorse that is being shown.

Apparently, now this thread will become a post-fest of happy talk from everyone who has 500 or more points and how it is the best thing they've ever done.

Have at it. It doesn't address the concerns that tvwalsh has voiced.

Personally, I don't think the issue is that tvwalsh has 500 points, or others having that many, I think the issue is that points today have less value than they used to have. tvwalsh shares some of the reasons he/she sees they have less value. I think some good points are made.

You do have a point that the thread is straying from the original contention.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I bought back in 95 and I have just gone to WDW too many times to appreciate anything WDW has to offer. I do still have OKW where starting in the January of 2005, my wife and I will be staying there and other places in Orlando area for the winter. WDW has really fallen down as seen through my eyes. I doubt we will buy tickets for WDW in the future or maybe by AP's half way through our first winter so we can use them for our second winter also. I think one of the biggest concerns when buying into DVC is not DVC itself or whether it is a good buy or not, but how you are going to deal with the continue downgrading of WDW. As I see it OKW will be a great place to winter the rest of my life, but WDW has gone down hill. I will enjoy the winters there and maybe that is what the original poster should think about is the nice weather you can escape to in the winter.
Of course all bets are off, if we experience another attack like 9/11 especially down in the WDW area. I don't think WDW could withstand another 9/11 situation. That should be another consideration when purchasing DVC, that is what effect the war we are still in is going to have on the future of WDW. Let's hope 9/11 was our last.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Well, I think you make some pretty good points. The value of the points for non-DVC resorts and cruises is not as good as it used to be, and seems to be declining. I also have concerns about overbuilding with SSR coming on board.

I doubt the original poster was too concerned about trading value. I would NEVER buy DVC if I only expected to use it for cruises and non-DVC resorts. Just not a good value if that is what you want.

As to the original idea...I feel like we still have plenty of value with our OKW points. I don't HAVE to go into the parks each time I go ( I do though) to enjoy the resort. I could easily live at OKW for the winter and not worry about the parks if I didn't want to.

 

[bcvillastwo]

I am constantly amazed by the many and varied views about DVC and WDW on these boards. This thread is particularly interesting because it speaks about a growing dissatisfaction by some that things are changing at WDW and DVC and they don't like the direction they think things are going.

Happily, we all have options here. If I was unhappy, one of my options would be to sell my points, probably make more than I originally paid, and use the money for another purpose.

I don't think anyone was forced to buy into DVC and I don'[t think anyone is holding a gun to anyones head to stay. As I've advised people I work with from time to time, if you're that unhappy, perhaps you should look for another job. I think the same principle applies here as well.

As for me, I am a recent DVC member (a little over a year now). When we first visited WDW (circa 1985) we were impressed with how well it was run. We've been back a good number of times since then and frankly my opinion hasn't changed in the least. Yes, I've noticed that some attractions are no longer operating but at the same time I've seen them open up many new attractions over the years. This is what I would ordinarily expect and it's what I see at other parks like Bush Gardens and Kings Dominion.

Maybe I'm not as observant as others but I stand by my position, if you aren't happy then maybe now would be a good time to sell those points and move on to better things for you and your family.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I have been on these boards as long as anyone. The one thing that always gets to me is whenever anyone says anything about WDW or DVC that is negative there is always someone out there that has to say "if you don't like it, why don't you sell". No matter how nice it is stated it always comes across as a personal attack that is really not necessary. People here are trying to express what they see as somethings that are negative about their DVC purchase. For some like me I have long accepted that DVC is not what I perceived it to be when I purchased it. For others who may have doubts about their purchase, they should be able to express them here without, "if you don't like it, get out" statements being made. Now I know there are many on this site that think DVC and WDW are heaven on earth, but for some of us both have fallen a great deal down over the years. I thnik WDW and DVC have peaked years ago and have been on a slide down since; however, for me, OKW will still be a nice place to spend the winter.