D I will compose thoughts on how we bought and then added on while I am at work. Granted we did finance and then pay off in about 6 months to a year after we bought.
I would really appreciate that - whenever you have the time Chiara, I know you are busy!
Someday - I would love to be able to visit as often as you do - IMO - you do it right.
However, I know that will never happen, not only financially, but realistically - I could never go that often with out Josh. I need to figure out a way to turn him...
We started with a small amount of points and added on an extra 30 about three years later when we needed them. I have never had trouble booking at the seven month window so my advice would be to buy the least expensive points resale and just use that. You can always add on a small second contract! We are at BW but we have only stayed there twice and we have gone on a lot of trips. And don't forget you can borrow and bank, as well as rent points from other members of whom you know many. In my opinion, at least starting out and getting a feel for everything, is that "less is more". If I could do it again, I'd buy even less resale points, say 175 or 200 total from Vero.
Good luck and an ear scratch to Max.
I've read this, and this sort of stumps me... I wish I could look at the resort availability with out being a member of DVC. Because I am cheap, the time of year that fits best into our budget and the girls' time off of school is MEA weekend (which is the 3rd weekend in October every year - they have 3 days off of school). I love going in October, and I LOVE
MNSSHP, and because this is the 2nd best time to go for points, I could get a good value. I would love to purchase points from a cheaper resort (also one with cheaper maintenance fees), but I would be so afraid that I wouldn't get what I would like at 7 months.
If only I had unlimited funds...
I'd love to hear more about DVC's owners thoughts too! I looked again at resale site yesterday...I really do think Megan and I will get lots of use out of having it since we wll go every two years to WDW so we could bank points and then "splurge" on the year we go.
Questions though - if you buy resale, can you use your points for
DCL or Adventures by Disney?
hope Max continues to improve
Thanks Lisa!
He is doing much better... Still a little limp, but we are just having the hardest time keeping him mellow - he is a puppy after all, and he is feeling better, so he just wants to play.
From everything I understand, starting in March 2012, you can no longer use resale points for DCL or AbD. AbD doesn't bother me too much (however, your California trip last year was awesome, and I'd love to do that someday), but I would LOVE to do a DCL cruise some day, and I just dunno????
So sorry to hear about Max.
Thank you Tink - he seems to be doing better.
Basic rule with buying timeshare...never buy directly from the timeshare itself (in this case Disney). This is slightly bendable buying into DVC since the resale value isn't much less than the retail value. However, it is enough. And although there are some perks to buying directly from Disney (e.g buying a
Disney cruise on points), they aren't that great. From what I read, it's better to pay cash for your cruise, and use your points for your condo.
First of all - thank you so much for all this information!
I agree with this, buying resale is a HUGE price difference. I still have not made the decision of whether to purchase through Disney or through resale. I probably won't until the very last minute. But I do see the advantages with both, and I think I would prefer my initial investment to be through Disney, so that I am able to get the points/UY that I would like, and do any add ons via resale... That way I would have a little of both.
In which case, you can join the October 2013 Facebook group, which I'm a proud member of.
Hmmm... This is true... I
my March 2012 and 2013 groups.
I've been a RCI member for nearly 20 years. Yeah, most of the time, it's comparing apples and oranges. But there are some tricks to help you get what you want.
Sometimes, they'll deposit inventory three to six months in advance. But they're usually gobbled up very quickly. If you were an RCI member, I would suggest doing an ongoing search. And don't limit yourself to AKV. Most of the villas that pop up are SSR and OKW.
My neighbor did this for me yesterday. Mostly just to see if anything pops up that we are able to grab. I am just not sure what to do? I have no idea how renting points from her would work? Would I still be able to purchase the dining plan (if I figured it would work for us)... Could I ride ME?
We've had some regrets with RCI, but they have gone away once we've learned how we can make RCI work for us. We've taken some awesome vacations throughout the years. We've never been able to stay at DVC (our trading power is too small); however we've gone to Orlando twice and we'll go back next year (this time staying at Bonnet Creek). DVC came out after we bought into RCI. We looked into it, but it was too expensive at the time. And I still don't think it would have worked for us since we only go to Disney about once every five years.
And this is where I am stumped as well... I would love to go to Disney once a year (or more - LOL), so I feel that DVC is better for the girls and I, but it doesn't leave much for DH... I keep dreaming that if I can get him to come with me just once, he might enjoy himself?
Buying a resale contract from RCI may be worth it for you. However, buy enough so that you can trade into DVC. With RCI, not only can you trade into Orlando (trading into Orlando itself is very easy; it's just DVC that's hard), but you can trade into places near Washington, DC and Williamsburg as well as South Dakota.
I will look into this.
If you're serious about buying into RCI or DVC, I'd invest $15 and join the Timeshare Users Group (also known as TUG).
http://www.tug2.net/ They have a wealth of knowledge on how to buy into timeshares and how to trade into what you want.
Thank you for this website - I will also look into this.
Never seen that high of an assessment. However, there have been some additional assessment above and beyond your yearly fees. Before buying, I'd ask how often special assessments are made.
Yah - she just said it's never happened before, and it was super expensive. It really made her rethink her contract and she said she debated selling it.
Couple of additional things.
1) Don't buy oceanfront. They are ususally subject to the unusual special assessments (due to hurricanes).
2) Don't buy into central Florida (unless it's DVC). You can't trade into DVC from an Orlando resort. Also, make sure your home resort isn't associated with Orlando. Over in another forum on the DisBoards, I read of someone who tried trading into DVC with a home resort in Colorado. She couldn't, because the corporate offices were in Orlando.
That is VERY interesting. I definately won't do that.
Sending prayers for Max's speedy recovery.
Thank you very much - he seems to be doing better.
Holy Cow! Do they have a "DVC For Dummies" book out anywhere?? I really want to do it too since Bradey is so young and I'm sure we will get our moneys worth out of it....but it is just so darn confusing! I'll maybe just wait until you get it, then you can explain everything to me
Read those links I posted yesterday, then you will be all obsessed like I am.
And in a huge quandry... However - you are lucky, your DH actually enjoys Disney...
Or.....you could go in Nov 2013 with me!
Oh - How I would love to meet up with you some day Suzi! But I know that November won't work for us - I really have to keep with the girls' school schedule. Now that Alli is in highschool - she is only allowed to miss 8 days per school year.
They get a 3 days break every October, so she would only miss 2 days of school... We'll plan a meet up when my girls are gone and I need a Diser to keep me company when I go solo.
Ok, I need to stop you right there! This is NOT just for you. Unless you will be going solo everytime (which I doubt). This is about all those wonderful memories you, your girls, your grandchildren (yes, long time down the road I hope), and Josh too since I am sure you will get him to go more often if you have an actual "home" there with living room, kitchen, etc. And of course it is for us DISworld friends too....we get to enjoy all the PTRs/TRs/bags etc!
No, I won't be going solo every time... but it's a distinct possibility once the girls go to college. Josh truly has no interest... Unless I could BEG him once it's just him and I. Even then, he would probably only go out of protest and be miserable just to prove his point.
But seriously....it is not a frivolous purchase. Just look at all the wonderful memories you have from your couple of trips already! And I know you think the girls are growing up, but they will still want to go once they get into college and beyond. I still want to go and I am way beyond that age!
Will you just come to my house and do a DVC presentation for us? I am sure you alone could convince DH of the necessity.
I'm having fun reading about all of this because I want to know too!
I just really like the idea of all of it! And it isn't a be all, end all situation. If any time share holds it's value at all, it's Disney. And I can sell it. But once I get it in my grubby little hands, I really doubt that will happen.
Exactly! Even with your discounting ability, knowing that you have a vested interest will motivate you (and others - looking at the huby here) to use it. And with your girls getting older and needing more room of their own, I'd bet it would be a better bargain in the long run.
And -years down the road- there's always the grandbabies.
See... And this is exactly what I am thinking. Everyone keeps insisting that I do this for the financial investment... I do not see it as an investment at all, if anything I see it as a financial burden... The only investment I see in it is our family memories - and this is important to me. I already feel like I have wasted so much time, and missed out on SO MANY memories, I don't want to waste any more time.
First, I hope that MM is feeling better.
Thank you - he seems to be feeling much better.
We joined DVC in 2006. We purchased the minimum amount of points at that time which was 150 at SSR. We added on 50 in 2010. I don't regret the purchase for one minute. We have so many great memories. We are actually skipping this year and going to Disney's HHI resort. There are different "seasons" for points. Spring Break, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc is going to be a lot more points than if you go in January. Don't forget that you will have dues every year to pay. The amount is based on how many points you buy. I can't remember how much it is per point. If you buy from a resale site you cannot use your points for Adventures by Disney or the Disney Collection. I think that was instituted in March of this year. Hope that helps!!
Thanks for explaining... I did know about the dues - and they suck. LOL I did find the charts that tell you what the dues have been historically, and the
points charts that tell you how many points the rooms are for the various seasons/sizes/views. So, I feel like I can accurately budget out my points. Thanks for all the info!
By the way, your UPB are AMAZING!!!!
Thank you!
omg I think I need to learn about DVC!
Yup - I think you do too Erin!
D, if you do end up buying DVC you get a discount for an annual pass. If you get the annual pass you can get a Tables in Wonderland card. That will give you discounts on dining. We bought one last year because we went twice and it paid for itself!
Yes, I did see that! Which is awesome! I am not sure how often I would use that though, as I am only planning to go once per year (to start out)... And because of the girls' school schedules, I am not able to take my trips one week earlier the following year to make the AP last longer.
However, we do qualify for the military tickets, and I'd be more willing to purchase those to go into the parks for less days, because I know I'd be going back...
I belonged to TUG for a while when we were strongly considering a timeshare purchase. It was a great site for information and opinions. I definitely found it worth the $15. There were a lot of helpful people. A lot of people also advised us to stay away from buying a week in Williamsburg because the timeshare market there is saturated. That was where we were really considering buying but after reading and looking into it, we found that it was less expensive to just rent what we wanted. Of course, that isn't Disney and DVC is a whole different ballgame.
Thank you for that info Diane.
I will check into that if I decide to go any other route than DVC.
Maybe you should consider renting points for your trip this spring. Then you'd know if you like it. It is great to be able to get a realistic preview of what is would be like to own at the DVC. We rented a few times and had great vacations.
I am a bit nervous about renting... I guess I don't understand how it all works. I think I need to go read about it on the rental boards. Did you rent through The Dis, or somewhere else?
thanks for all the links D! will go check them out
Cool!
I agree with Diane. I think you should rent points and see if you like it. I wouldn't worry about thinking of wasting money but think of it as paying your maintenance fees
I will look into it Michelle.
It took a few years of going back and forth before we bought into it and I am glad we did wait as I knew more from reading the DVC thread on the Disboards. They helped me to understand Use Year (UY) and when I added on I made sure to have the same UY so I could link my accounts.
I agree, there is so much info out there and so much knowledge.
And everything I read was to make sure you like your Home resort. Plus we need the advantage of the 11mths since we tend to go at peak times and like to get the rooms we like.
Yes, I agree with this. Home resort is important, because if you can never get to stay anywhere else, you must be happy staying there. I totally get that. I guess that is why I am leaning towards AKV... It just seems to have all that we want, and even though the girls weren't "that impressed" with it when we went to eat at Boma... They LOVE AK, so I just can't imagine them not loving this resort. That, and we were so tired from being at WDW, all they saw was the lobby... I think that if they were to actually be there, they would enjoy it.
DVC Ramblings:
Now according to my calculations... This is one version of what I am considering...
If I was to purchase a 100 pt contract from Disney, and get the 10 pts free... (this is all provided the charts stay similar - which is very iffy projecting this far out)
110 points:
October 2013 - AKV value studio -69... bank 41 points for 2014
October 2014 - AKV 2 bedroom Standard villa -229... Use 41 banked points, use 110 current points and borrow 78 points from UY 2015
October 2015 - BCV Deluxe studio -107... Use 32 points, borrow 75 points from UY 2016
October 2016 (Alli in college) - BWV deluxe studio standard view -76... Use 35 points, borrow 41 pts from UY 2017
October 2017 ( Alli & V in college) - AKV value studio - use 69 borrow 38 points from UY 2018
October 2018 - AKV value studio -69... Use 69, bank 3
Initial investment...
AKV 100 points (with 10 free)... $13,500. Annual dues = $599
SSR 110 points... $12, 100. Annual dues = $520
Now... 2nd scenerio... I would prefer to stay in a 1 bedroom villa most of the time... but even these extra 20 points does not give me a 1 br most of the time, it only gives it to me once over the course of the next 6 years.
130 points:
October 2013 - AKV value villa -69... Bank 61 points
October 2014 - AKV standard 2 bedroom villa -229... use 61 banked points, 130 current points, borrow 38 points from UY 2015
October 2015 - BCV deluxe Studio -107... Use 92 points, borrow 15 points from UY 2016
October 2016 - BWV deluxe studio standard view -76... Use 76 points, bank 39
October 2017 - AKV 1 bedroom villa satandard view -181... Use banked points of 39, use current points of 130, borrow 12 from UY 2018
October 2018 - AKV Deluxe studio Savanna view -102... Use 102, bank 16
October 2019 - Not sure...
Initial investment through Disney AKV @ $135/pt... $16,200 + 10 free points. Annual dues = $707.20 for 2012 with a projected 3% increase each year.
I could buy through Disney... Beach Club villas @ $115/pt (160 pt min) for $18,400. Annual Dues = $880
Or VWL through Disney... @ $102/pt (160 pt. min) for $16,320. Annual dues = $898
To make a large difference in how I stay, I would realistically have to buy into a 160+ point contract... Possibly closer to 170 - which is way more than I want to spend or invest.
160 pt contract...
October 2013 - AKV deluxe studio -69... Bank 91
October 2014 - AKV 2 bedroom savanna view -273... Used banked 91, current 160, borrow 22 from UY 2015
October 2015 - BCV Deluxe studio -107... Use 107, bank 31
October 2016 - BWV 1 bedroom villa boardwalk view -213. Use banked 31, current 160, borrow 22 from UY 2017
October 2017 - AKV 1 bedroom Value villa -139... Use current 138, borrow 1 from UY 2018
October 2018 -
AKV - 150 pt contract (+10 pts free) @ $135/pt = $20,250 Annual dues = $870
BCV - 160 pt contract @ $115/pt (160 pt min) for $18,400. Annual Dues = $880
VWL - 160 pt contract @ $102/pt = $16,320. Annual dues = $897
Even at the 100 point mark, the girls and I can still go to Disney once per year, and we can still do a 2 bedroom villa for 2014 - I'd really prefer a savanna view for this trip, but I can't even eek it out if I had an extra 20 points to spend per year, so it is just out of the question.
I didn't get as much accomplished in my sewing room yesterday as I had wanted to. The applique I am working on is much more complicated than it seemed, and I worked on it all day... I still have more to do this morning. However, I do still have high ambitions to finish this bag today. So, I hope to have pictures to post this afternoon.
Max update:
He seems to be doing much better. It is very difficult to keep him from jumping/running/playing now that he is feeling better. When it's just him and I here during the day - he naps all day long, but it's when the girls come home from school, he wants to play, play, play... MM is my perpetual 7 year old boy.
But he seems to be healing, despite all of this. He will still be on his meds until Monday.
Ok - I've wasted enough time on DVC today... I hope everyone has a fantastic day!
D~
guess I need to work that all out too to help make my decision!
is DVC does allow you to buy up to 24 one time points at $15/pp for each Use year. You can only book using these points at the 7mths booking but it has come in handy from time to time.
. I'm having some wobbliness in my bag's lining and I don't know if it's the vintage cotton I used or that I should have used something to shore it up or my winging it cutting style. I suspect the winging it cutting style. I really need to learn how to measure.
