Best place for Canadians to buy DVC memberships?

[LauraLap]

Hi all!

For those that are DVC owners, I'm just wondering where you bought your membership? I'm going to WDW (and cruise) in November, is it best to buy it then? That gives me almost 3 months to convince DH

OR, is it more advantageous to rent?

Thoughts?

 

[CanadianPaco]

Great post question... I'm in to hear the responses too!

 

[hockey mom]

I used to rent all the time but realized I love these accommodations so I bought.

All I did was phone a DVC rep.

 

[MainStreetMouse]

Best place for me equals the cheapest.
We bought resale from the Timeshare Store.

Gary

 

[mickeymorse]

I would have to say that if you are like us, we prefer to have control over own trip. I rented for our last trip and hated not being in control. There will always be someone renting their pts, its finding someone you trust. That is what made us purchase our own. Everything went okay with our trip but there was always that seed of doubt we would arrive and find out there wasn't a ressie in our name

While we were there, we took in the tour at SSR. It was then that we knew we wanted to own DVC. Now came the hard part, deciding Home Resort. The incentives were enticing for SSR and AKV but my DW and I have always loved walking into the "Lodge" Now that screams HOME. Having the extra years didn't bother us since we will both be in our 70s anyway. It was a matter of buying direct through Disney at $104/pt or finding a resale. Since we had just returned from WDW, we weren't in a hurry so the cost savings through resale was worth the extra wait time. I would say the worst part was waiting to see of we passed ROFR. Which we did!!

Now we can look forward to planning many, many more trips to the happiest place on earth Plus, we plan on trading out to Hawaii to treat my DD on her grade school graduation in 4 yrs.

 

[mickeymorse]

Best place for me equals the cheapest.
We bought resale from the Timeshare Store.

Gary

Hey Gary, when did you change your Name?

 

[sean-1966]

I think you can only buy over the phone from Disniey if you live in Ontario.

 

[F4disneyfan]

We bought direct from Disney it was easy and you could use your points straight away no waiting for RofR and the headaches of dealing with a separate seller etc. Not to mention we also have it come straight off our visa every month which makes things even easier.

 

[drag n' fly]

OP we bought ours at Disneyland due to the reallly great incentives being offered at the time. Go to the DVC forum and ask about current incentives...that should help when and where you want to buy. Since you live in Ontario you can also buy direct...good luck!

 

[calgarygary]

Before making the decision to buy, educate yourself about timeshares by visiting tug. DVC is a good fit for many but if you are not willing to pay a substantial premium for staying onsite, and if you do not intend to use it primarily for Disney, it may not be right for you.

 

[dsneygirl]

We bought Resale through the Timeshare Store. Cannot recommend them enough. Great to deal with.

 

[who's ur daddy?]

I think resales offer a great price discount off of buying from Disney direct, but the gap might close once you factor in some of the incentives offered by Disney. I can't recall what we paid when we bought from Disney direct, but I think it was a discount plus double developer points. Great if you can make use of the developer points. We used the developer points and with our own, we ended up going 3 times in one year. Nuts!!!

Oh yeah, get someone to refer you too. The referrer gets some minor Disney credits. Nothing substantial at all, but at least the referrer gets something! Ahem, I can refer you if you need a contact lol

 

[potzie2]

I keep thinking the same thing, I haven't yet taken the plunge, but the more we visit the more it seems inevitable that it will happen.

Cheers,

Brian

 

[yxe dad]

After many trips/years of saying I'll do the tour next trip, I decided I needed to get away from the cheerleaders at MGM and took the tour.

What really sold me was
1. The resort, I love the AKV, and
2. The program. It's nice to have the flexibility that DVC offers

The tour and my guide were very informative and there was no pressure to buy. I went back after 3 days and bought a 160pt contract at the AKV .

If you do buy, may I recommend putting your purchase on a CC to get Airmiles/rewards. I almost got enough points for a free flight by doing so. Just make sure you call your CC and let them know about your major purchase but pay it off before the interest kicks in.

 

[who's ur daddy?]

If you do buy, may I recommend putting your purchase on a CC to get Airmiles/rewards. I almost got enough points for a free flight by doing so. Just make sure you call your CC and let them know about your major purchase but pay it off before the interest kicks in.

watch out for the crazy exchange premium on a CC - might be better off just paying cash!

 

[tmli]

I am hoping to buy soon....dh is still holding out!! I have watched the incentives quite closely when we have travelled and so far the deals on DCL have always been a little better then WDW.

 

[LauraLap]

Well, DH has been doing the math and he just doesn't think it makes financial sense. GRRRRRRR! Men.

I'll budge him yet

 

[calgarygary]

Well, DH has been doing the math and he just doesn't think it makes financial sense. GRRRRRRR! Men.

I'll budge him yet

I know you don't want to hear it but he is probably right. With your family size, you could get by in a 1 bedroom but if looking down the road when your children are older would want sufficient points for a 2 bedroom. If you were looking at going to disney every year, the contract would likely cost you in excess of $25K. You can easily pick up a quality resale timeshare for $5K, so is staying onsite really worth the $20K plus carrying costs or lost opportunity on that amount of money? Besides, if you purchase the right ts (outside of Orlando) you could always trade into DVC at a fraction of developer cost. This morning, II members could trade into DVC studios on July 4th week!

 

[OvertheRainbow]

Well, DH has been doing the math and he just doesn't think it makes financial sense. GRRRRRRR! Men.

I'll budge him yet

I agree GRRRRRRR! Men. I've been trying to talk hubby into a DVC and although he has not said no (yet) I'm sure if he does the math he would probably lean that way too. Why tho does it make financial sense when it comes to their "toys"???

 

[F4disneyfan]

I know you don't want to hear it but he is probably right. With your family size, you could get by in a 1 bedroom but if looking down the road when your children are older would want sufficient points for a 2 bedroom. If you were looking at going to disney every year, the contract would likely cost you in excess of $25K. You can easily pick up a quality resale timeshare for $5K, so is staying onsite really worth the $20K plus carrying costs or lost opportunity on that amount of money? Besides, if you purchase the right ts (outside of Orlando) you could always trade into DVC at a fraction of developer cost. This morning, II members could trade into DVC studios on July 4th week!

Our family of 5 survived easily in a 1 bdrm we now have 6 and still can get by with a 1 bdrm without much problem. Our kids are 11, 7, 5 and just 1 in May. We only have 200 points and have never even used them all each year and end up renting some out most times we also stay DVC in Dec mon-Fri then out for the weekend and back Mon-Fri for a second week.