Are you happy with your DVC Purchase? Thinking of purchasing.

[ITGirl50]

Wow, thank you for all that information! This is truly helpful and we were thinking copper creek studio so that gives us pause on that decision!!

If you love CCV, they do have CCV fixed weeks available through direct purchase. That will guarantee a studio on a specific week every year. You can opt out of that week if you want to stay someplace else or a different time. You can also buy fixed weeks resale, but it will be harder to find. Fixed weeks usually cost more per point too. Also CCV studio will only allow 4 guests, where other studios will allow 5.

We love Wilderness Lodge, so I understand the appeal. We own CCV and Boulder Ridge (our one resale contract, bought really cheap).

 

[Drfate102]

My wife and I live in Tampa, just little over an hour and we have been Passholders for the last 10 or more years. We bought 200 points direct this past July and haven't looked back. We mostly use the points for extended weekends and have benefited from the increased availability from the pandemic. We have been going to the hard to get resorts if you don't own there. But it is providing us a place to stay that we normally wouldn't spend the money for. So for us, it is worth it.

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

We are thinking of purchasing a DVC resale and want to know if there are any regrets people have? I was looking at a resale also. We are a family of 3 and we do currently stay at deluxe hotels Moderate and Values. Any information is appreciated! Thanks. Sorry if there is a separate DVC thread I missed.

You have to be very very careful taking real guidance from pro-purchase comments on this board. Most people here are well beyond "hobbyists". My family owns DVC and we love it and Disney. We also recently found out that our boys (15 and 12) love Universal. And, we are going on a Spring Break trip this year and staying at Marriott Grande Vista in a 2BR villa for $250/nt. We are definitely fanatics but even we are seeing that are there are other ways of doing all this, some of which are much much less expensive. I recommend you talk to some folks that didn't buy or folks that sold their points to get a more complete picture of the life cycle of ownership and to better understand what goes into the process - in my humble opinion.

 

[minniemous]

You have to be very very careful taking real guidance from pro-purchase comments on this board. Most people here are well beyond "hobbyists". My family owns DVC and we love it and Disney. We also recently found out that our boys (15 and 12) love Universal. And, we are going on a Spring Break trip this year and staying at Marriott Grande Vista in a 2BR villa for $250/nt. We are definitely fanatics but even we are seeing that are there are other ways of doing all this, some of which are much much less expensive. I recommend you talk to some folks that didn't buy or folks that sold their points to get a more complete picture of the life cycle of ownership and to better understand what goes into the process - in my humble opinion.

Thank you for that good advice and honest opinion Makes total sense. We will do that.

 

[EM Lawrence]

You have to be very very careful taking real guidance from pro-purchase comments on this board. Most people here are well beyond "hobbyists". My family owns DVC and we love it and Disney. We also recently found out that our boys (15 and 12) love Universal. And, we are going on a Spring Break trip this year and staying at Marriott Grande Vista in a 2BR villa for $250/nt. We are definitely fanatics but even we are seeing that are there are other ways of doing all this, some of which are much much less expensive. I recommend you talk to some folks that didn't buy or folks that sold their points to get a more complete picture of the life cycle of ownership and to better understand what goes into the process - in my humble opinion.

I own a small DVC contract, and like many people here, I want more! But I completely agree with the above comments. My love for DVC is driven strongly by emotion, not practicality, and even I realize that. And it is an expensive emotional attachment. With so few on-site perks right now, I would probably delay purchasing. DVC resale prices are not particularly low at the moment, and DVC direct points are not about to dry up and go away if you delay purchasing. When Covid is over and WDW (hopefully) loads up the on-site perks again, you will have a better idea of what the true pros and cons are of staying offsite.

Now, if you know you would only stay on-site and in a Deluxe resort even if they offered zero perks, then I think you should buy without question.

I was looking at rentals at Windsor Hills yesterday and I was amazed at how much more you can get for your money there vs staying on-site. It is not the same experience as being in the bubble, for sure. But your dollars go a lot further!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I was looking at rentals at Windsor Hills yesterday and I was amazed at how much more you can get for your money there vs staying on-site. It is not the same experience as being in the bubble, for sure. But your dollars go a lot further!

Honestly, sometimes it feels good to get out of the bubble.

 

[5th gate dreamers]

We purchased resale in 2017 and added on direct in 2018. I have no regrets. While it was a lot of cash outlay the cost per trip has gone down quite a bit.

Side note, none of the DVC resorts allow pets. It's in the contract.

I thought the copper creek cabins allowed dogs. Can someone verify one way or the other?

 

[bwvBound]

I thought the copper creek cabins allowed dogs. Can someone verify one way or the other?

Likely you are thinking of the Fort Wilderness Cabins (campground) ... not DVC cabins.

 

[Marionnette]

I think that you will find that a lot of owners fall into two camps: the longtime owner who bought early on and now enjoys the luxury of staying at Disney for less than what Disney charges, and the DVC honeymooners that purchased recently and have not experienced some of the frustrations of booking early, planning point usage in order not to lose any and the need to piece together nights when booking late.

You're not likely to hear from many former owners who sold their contracts due to dissatisfaction. They tend to not read/post in this forum (@Maistre Gracey is one of the few exceptions). So when you ask this question, expect skewed responses.

We've owned for 10+ years. For the most part, we are satisfied that we have gotten what we have paid for. Over the years, the pixie dust has worn away and we regard our ownership in DVC as we would any other timeshare. It's nice to have our accommodations pre-paid. That bill for the dues every December isn't so nice. And it is especially unmagical this year, when banked points must be used or lost. That hurts a lot when you pay so much in dues and aren't thrilled with the type of vacation that is available to visitors right now (limited park hours, few shows, no streetmosphere, abbreviated menus, masks, etc).

 

[5th gate dreamers]

Likely you are thinking of the Fort Wilderness Cabins (campground) ... not DVC cabins.

No, I knew of Fort wilderness. Are you saying for sure you know the answers no on copper creek cabins? Or just making sure I knew there was a difference?

 

[Marionnette]

No, I knew of Fort wilderness. Are you saying for sure you know the answers no on copper creek cabins? Or just making sure I knew there was a difference?

There are no DVC resorts that permit pets. That includes the CCV cabins. The only animals that are allowed are service animals.

 

[fflmaster]

We purchased our first contract back in 2002 when our boys were 6. Then purchased a second contract in 2011.

We have had almost 20 years of memories that I wouldn't trade anything for. I have our castle picture from each year and can watch my sons grow up thru the years.

Sure, they have grown tired of going to Disney and we used the points for other locations recently, but when I asked them if it was time to sell they both emphatically said no way. We want to still go to Disney and can't wait till we can take our kids (my grandkids) one day once they are married.

Probably the greatest purchase I have ever made in my life was buying our points.

 

[Bellecruiser]

Best thing we ever did...should have done it when we first looked into it, 15 years earlier. However, make sure you are an educated buyer by reading the info here and elsewhere. People are spot on about the rising price of points and the of the maintenance fees.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We are thinking of purchasing a DVC resale and want to know if there are any regrets people have? I was looking at a resale also. We are a family of 3 and we do currently stay at deluxe hotels Moderate and Values. Any information is appreciated! Thanks. Sorry if there is a separate DVC thread I missed.

We bought back in 2010 direct for BLT when prices were only like $116 a point (with the discount). We loved it and bought more AKV points resale. Then, we sold all of our points about 2 years ago and just repurchased (still in the process for AKV resale). Once you are used to staying in villas, it's REALLY hard to go back. We do spend a lot of time in the room and the 1 and 2 bedroom villas are awesome. It truly makes it a "vacation" for us. Resale is the way to go for pricing, but as others have said, it does have certain limitations which from personal experience do not affect me at all.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Yes - very happy. When we bought we were comparing a 5-night stay in a AoA Suite to a 1BR DVC. We pay roughly $1K for the dues on the points. AoA is roughly $450/night, or $2.25k for the week. Granted you have to buy the points so that ties up your money but it's really nice not having that big bill at the end of the trip. Room rack rate "Disney" inflation will be more than maintenance fee inflation, but we figured our break-even (i.e. completely make back the price we paid for the points) is <10 years. Keep in mind, the resale market (yes, I do recommend you buy resale) is real wit DVC. If it turns out it's not for you, you can sell it through resale and make most of your money back, if not turn a small profit (minus maintenance fees of course).

The real big benefit though is it DOES commit us to the trip. We had a trip planned for August, just weeks after WDW re-opened. We would have FOR SURE cancelled the trip if we did not have DVC. We were committed though; no real easy way to get out of using the points, and BOY were we glad we went! That's life though; if it's not COVID, it's something else in life that makes us go - meh, maybe we don't do that trip this year. Well, with DVC, that's a lot less of an option because you have to commit 7-11 months out. LOVE having that trip planned!

Pay careful attention to the room occupancy (few 1 br's sleep 5) and the points charts (RIV and GFV are up there!). That will make a big difference when you are deciding between resorts. Besides that, research, research, research. SOO much good information on these boards alone.

 

[wdwnut]

Take everything with a big grain of salt. This decision is a very personal one, and only you can decide the right choice for your family.

We bought in over 20 years ago- 3 direct contracts and 1 resale contract that was bought before any restrictions. I still enjoy going to WDW and taking family and friends. Sometimes I go multiple times per year, and sometimes we skip a year or two.
Financially, this made sense for us since our points cost between $60-$65 pp that long ago. The cost today seems kind of high, but I guess it’s relative to the cost of on-site resort costs. Prior to DVC, we were paying $125 a night for a tower room at the Contemporary.

 

[Shellyred8]

We have loved our DVC's, but it hasn't been without it's challenges. Pre-covid, if you wanted to go during one of the DVC-popular times, you had to be able to book 11 months out if you wanted to get one of the cheap-point rooms (BWV STD Studio...I'm looking at you!) at your home resort. VGF? Good luck! We were never able to get a studio at the 7 month mark (or less) for our trips. We were just finally able to stay at a VGF Studio post-covid. So, give some extra thought to the buy-where-you-want-to-stay concept.

Give some hard thought to the number of points you buy in the first round. Check out the points charts for the times that you want to go and the size of units you want/need to stay in. I would not recommend basing the number of points you buy on the "Standard view" or "Value" room views. Those rooms are usually the first ones to book up at the 11 month mark, so you will want to have enough points to cover the other room view points. Also, if you go with a smaller contract to start, just remember there are closing costs associated with each purchase, so make sure to consider that when doing your evaluation. The flip side to going with a larger number of points to start with, is that the larger contracts can be harder to sell if something happens and you need to sell it before it expires.

Our first DVC purchase was direct contract at BWV and we later bought resale at BLT. One has an April use year and one has an August use year. This works well for us due to when we normally travel to WDW. But you will want to evaluate use years too, to make sure you get the best use year that fits your travel times.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[tinkerjack]

We are thinking of purchasing a DVC resale and want to know if there are any regrets people have? I was looking at a resale also. We are a family of 3 and we do currently stay at deluxe hotels Moderate and Values. Any information is appreciated! Thanks. Sorry if there is a separate DVC thread I missed.

We bought 3 resale contracts totaling 230 points back around 2008. After countless trips to Big D, Little D, and Aulani, we decided to sell our biggest contract this year. There were several reasons. First and foremost, the pandemic. I don't think my wife and I will be comfortable taking a Disney vacation for quite some time. It's a personal decision, but it's our decision.
When we bought at Saratoga Springs, a Treehouse could be had for the same price as a 2 bedroom. Points have been reshuffled and that is no long the case so a major perk for us evaporated. Know that points, while always totaling the same, can be shuffled by DVC and it may not work out to your benefit, When we bought, there were, I believe, 4 different point charts for each resort and now there are many more. Points have shifted from weekend to weekdays to suit DVC. Just know things can move and change without you having any say. I won't even get into free valet disappearing and other perks that vanished.
As corny as it was, we really enjoyed Welcome Home Wednesdays at big D, the member mingle at AKL, the Monday morning meeting at Aulani, and the DVC welcome home parties at little D. All gone.
Owning DVC let us explore places we never thought we'd ever go see. We stayed at Aulani 5 trips, had a memorable trip to Vero Beach resort, and stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, both Kidani and AKL. We've stayed at Villas at the Grand Californian, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West, Treehouse at Saratoga Springs, and regular Saratoga Springs, Villas at Wilderness Lodge & Bay Lake Tower. With planning and having second and third choices, we've stayed at some amazing properties in some amazing rooms. Never had to walk a reservation and never had to waitlist.
I guess we're old school, but another reason we decided to sell was we miss the spontaneity of going to Disney. It's hard enough to decide 11 or 7 months out where we want to stay, but then asking my wife where she wants to eat 6 months from now always gets a raised eyebrow response. Now, one has to reserve the day one wants to go to Disney and that's just not for us. Nor is reserving rides on My Disney Experience. We prefer the old fastpass system but we wish the machines, rather than being at their respective attractions, had been more centralized. I don't like to decide 3 months out what I want to ride and while I've never done it, I think I would detest having to make a reservation to a virtual queue like the Star Wars rides have.
That being said, selling our DVC allows us to now explore other places. In the past, my wife has asked to go to Maui. I've always replied, no DVC on Maui, let's go to Oahu. And we always did. And it was always fabulous. But now we can explore Maui. And now, rather than stay on Disney property, we're free to try a stay at Universal Studios Orlando.
We used to buy the annual pass that was good for both big and little d. I forget what it was called but I do remember the original annual price was $850. Now, to hear annual passes have been discontinued at little d, that was another huge factor for us to sell.
An unexpected plus, was that our points actually INCREASED almost 60% in value in the 12 years we've owned. That is a huge bonus that I doubt any other timeshare can match. When we figure our initial purchase price of our resale contracts, plus yearly fees, and factor in what we just sold our contract for, our lodging for 12 years was almost free. That won't always be the case. As contracts get closer and closer to their expiration date, the prices will dramatically fall. We think we're getting out at the right time-for us. Jeff & Karen Malvin

 

[PurdueTodd]

I’ve read a lot of posts over the years, and there is a lot of good advise here. It is a lot of money up front. We paid cash, didn’t finance. We bought at CC and Riviera. Prior to DVC, we stayed at moderate resorts. We usually booked two rooms for a family of 7. Cost would run us 7-8k for rooms alone every year. Obviously it made sense for us to own. Having the ability to stay in a two bedroom every year is far better for us vs renting two separate rooms. If we would have used that money every year and bought resale, hard telling how many points we would have. 300 works for us now. It is a commitment.....so if you definitely plan on visiting Disney year after year, go for it. It has enhanced our stays.

 

[bwvBound]

We used to buy the annual pass that was good for both big and little d. I forget what it was called but I do remember the original annual price was $850. Now, to hear annual passes have been discontinued at little d, that was another huge factor for us to sell.

'little d'?? Snort!

(I think I feel slightly insulted by that reference. I get it ... but prefer think of DLR as 'original' than 'little.' Sigh.)