Beating the dead horse...is a DVC right for us?

[SouthJersey]

I know this has been asked and answered 309,738,102 times. I've read a lot of different scenarios and circumstances.

To put it simply:

- We prefer Deluxe Resorts. (AK, GF, WL)
- We go annually, six nights per year. (Probably 10-12 if we had a DVC).


Let's say I bought the following;

Resale Wilderness Lodge - $16,488.83 final cost.

• 200 Points
• August Use Year
• $5.9265 annual dues (per point correct?) = $1,185
• Gets me roughly 12 nights for a studio (4 person) without borrowing.

Now, let's say I stick to just booking rooms through Disney annually.
Six night stay in October;
$380/night with tax for standard view.
$420/night with tax for courtyard view.

Assuming it's courtyard view;
Six nights in October is worth $2,520.
Five nights in April is worth roughly $2,700.

If I use the 200 points a year, then it's clearly worth it. ($5,200 a year is paying off the DVC cost in three years, seven years if only booking one visit.)

Am I missing something here or are the figures this easy? I haven't forgotten the annual dues ($1,185), so realistically the DVC pays off it's value in four years or eight years (6 nights vs 12 nights a year).

Is a studio room when using DVC is the same four person room in the main resort as if you were booking a regular stay? Is it a separate section for DVC's? Which room rate should I be basing my math off of, standard views, courtyard, etc.

 

[nalajms]

You've got the math right. VWL Studio in Oct will be 15/16 per night (week day/Friday and Saturday). April - if you go during Easter is 24/28 per night, otherwise 17/21.

VWL is a separate building to the left if looking at the front entrance. The rooms are different from the main building. Studios come with 1 queen bed and a pull out sofa. And they've started adding a Murphy bed to the remodeled units. I think overall sqft is a bit bigger. The views are mostly woods, some dumpster views. You also get a kitchennette (sink, microwave, mini fridge, etc).

Only downside to DVC is lack of free dining and discounted rooms. There are usually good room discounts in Oct. Not so much in April.

 

[disneynutz]

You can save money BUT, DVC has less housekeeping, the rooms are sometimes in need of repair, some worn, some may have other issues.

You are a locked in guest with DVC, there is no incentive to provide great service, your rooms are never upgraded and for the last several months the member services telephone hold time has been as long as 45 minutes.

DVC is free to make policies, change rules, add fees and there is nothing that you can do about. DVC dues pays for everything from security, utilities, housekeeping, member get togethers, maintenance, front desk and DVC management. Your dues will go up each year a maximum or 15% but the high average has been a little over 6% at BLT.

Bill

 

[Breyean]

Another thing to mention on the plus side is even as VWL owners, you could use those points for stays at other DVC resorts. So you could mix up things once in a while. Some resorts even have lower points per night requirements than VWL, while some are higher.

Another point to mention on the minus side is DVC usually requires some advance planning to get the dates you want at the resort you want. Sometimes as much as 11 months in advance of your vacation dates, which is when you can start booking at your home resort. If you're a planner, great. If you're not, but are flexible about dates and resorts, DVC can still work out for you. But you s/b aware.

Finally, what a LOT of DVC owners find is after a while, and not too long at that, a 1 bedroom becomes a LOT more attractive than a studio, which is really just a somewhat nicer hotel room. Problem is, as a general rule, 1 bedrooms usually cost about 2x a studio, but with the full kitchen, laundry, and extra space, they are seductive.

This leads to ADDONITES!

 

[nalajms]

Another point to mention on the minus side is DVC usually requires some advance planning to get the dates you want at the resort you want.

Very true! You can easily book an Oct room-only deal at WL, AK, GF on late notice. I booked an air+hotel package 3wks out last year. The chances of doing so on DVC is very low for VWL and VGF. AKV - maybe. But you'll need to be aware that F&W is popular for DVC and there's also the Halloween party going on at MK that's a draw.

 

[Simba07]

I guess I would also compare it against the cost of renting points, rather than the cost of booking from Disney directly. When I did it that way I had a hard time convincing myself it would pay off.

 

[MinnieMouse100]

In my opinion sometimes you need to look at intangible pros ans cons as well not just the financials. For us the deciding factor to buy was based on the softer" factor that we would be able to take longer trips, more frequently and slow down o enjoy our vacations more rather than always trying o fit so much in to "get our moneys worth" out of each trip.

We are taking advantage of the discounted PAP and going 3 times in 12 months this year, that is something we NEVER would have considered doing before becoming DVC members. To me that is something that is hard to put a value to.

On the flip side, if picking up your own room and making your own beds while on vacation is a deal breaker, then you need to consider that as well.

 

[tb1972]

The rooms are different for DVC than the regular stays. Most studios (except OKW and Vero Beach) have a queen bed and fold out sofa. For some people, the sofa isn't a big deal but it matters to others.

 

[graychef]

I guess I would also compare it against the cost of renting points, rather than the cost of booking from Disney directly. When I did it that way I had a hard time convincing myself it would pay off.

It depends on your payback timeline. I figure it will take 10 years of using points to break even on resale vs. renting. I'm ok with that on a 43 year contract.

 

[supersnoop]

It depends on your payback timeline. I figure it will take 10 years of using points to break even on resale vs. renting. I'm ok with that on a 43 year contract.

But shouldn't you calculate the asset value into your payback period?

 

[buzzrelly]

On the flip side, if picking up your own room and making your own beds while on vacation is a deal breaker, then you need to consider that as well.

Correct me if I am wrong, but this doesn't HAVE to be a deal breaker, does it? If it's that important to you to have your room cleaned, couldn't you just pay the extra fee to have it done? I am a new member, and I've heard this was true. I was thinking we may actually pay for the extra towel/trash service next year.

 

[DizBub]

Correct me if I am wrong, but this doesn't HAVE to be a deal breaker, does it? If it's that important to you to have your room cleaned, couldn't you just pay the extra fee to have it done? I am a new member, and I've heard this was true. I was thinking we may actually pay for the extra towel/trash service next year.

We, like a lot of other DVC owners, really like not having housekeeping in our room every day. In fact we usually keep the do not disturb sign on our door the entire trip. On trash and towel day we just ask for the towels and hand them the trash. I can make my own bed and vacuum if I need to. If you are in a 1 bedroom or bigger you can wash your towels every day. It's a "home away from home" experience. YMMV.

 

[graychef]

But shouldn't you calculate the asset value into your payback period?

Sure. But I went into it expecting to use 43 years of the contract, with an asset value of $0 at the end. So sure, if I sold, I'd consider the value in payback. But when I evaluate the contract by only using points over the life, I see it break even at Year 10.

 

[Simba07]

It is whether you include "cost of money" too - what you'd make investing the money elsewhere. When I did the calculations including that, I think I got it close to 20 years to break even. Still less than the 40+ year contract, but less appealing too. I'm still struggling with it, but it isn't as clear a payoff as I had hoped.

 

[graychef]

It is whether you include "cost of money" too - what you'd make investing the money elsewhere. When I did the calculations including that, I think I got it close to 20 years to break even. Still less than the 40+ year contract, but less appealing too. I'm still struggling with it, but it isn't as clear a payoff as I had hoped.

If you do a cost of money analysis, include a resale value each year. I would depreciate it slightly each year.

 

[Simba07]

Agree. I still was getting it close to 20 years. If you're getting less, I'd love to see the math. I'd love to convince my husband and BiL to go in on an investment!

 

[crisi]

Correct me if I am wrong, but this doesn't HAVE to be a deal breaker, does it? If it's that important to you to have your room cleaned, couldn't you just pay the extra fee to have it done? I am a new member, and I've heard this was true. I was thinking we may actually pay for the extra towel/trash service next year.

But it will takes lot longer to save any money doing that.

 

[mmbl]

It is whether you include "cost of money" too - what you'd make investing the money elsewhere. When I did the calculations including that, I think I got it close to 20 years to break even. Still less than the 40+ year contract, but less appealing too. I'm still struggling with it, but it isn't as clear a payoff as I had hoped.

My husband is a CPA and a finance exec. We've looked at this every which way and , for us, it simply isn't worth our money AND we do have PAP and stay on property 2-3x/ yr. We frequently book moderate resorts and frequently book deluxe- last trip (April) we booked Wilderness Lodge Villas and in Sept. , we are at Beach Club Villas. If there wasn't an annual maintenance fee that could continually go up, it might be worth it, but until then, not for us. We even priced it when on our last DCL cruise and the number of pints to cruise was outrageous!

 

[pork]

After going through this myself recently And doing the math I think the is it worth it argument is subjective. There is just too many unknowns and guess work that goes into the calculation. The math itself can be manipulated to either side based on what the individual wants.

In the end I just took the plunge and bought in this year and decided I don't really mind how it all turns out. Owning gives me a warm fuzzy and locks me into a vacation I want to take with my family anyway. My thoughts simply if you can say comfortable this is something I want to do and it's not going to put strain on my finances then take the plunge. After all a vacation is about enjoying yourself not really financial sense.

 

[BestDadEver]

You say you go for 6 days a year . But want to buy enough points for 12 days . Are you planning on using the 12 days or still just the 6 . Unless you are planning on getting a 1br (witch are awesome btw ) I'd buy less points , and save more money