But, I can get rooms cheaper.......

[PamOKW]

Most of us feel that down the road we will be even happier we joined DVC as room rates increase. To give you an idea just how much those rates go up...

Deb Wills' newsletter this week includes this tidbit. The least expensive room at the Contemporary in 1972 was $29!! The price was year-round.

Today, the cheapest rack rate at the cheapest time of year at the Contemporary is $234. I wonder what the rack rate for OKW will be in 30 years??!

 

[DebbieB]

I guess due to my job, I am a lover of spreadsheets. I started an Excel spreadsheet with my first DVC trip in May 2000. I have a column for the rack rate per night, then the points. In 2000, my May 1 bedroom at OKW was $371 incl tax, in 2001 $405, in 2002 $416. My December BWV rooms were $405, $416, $427. I could never imagine paying that much! x6 nights each trip! Even with a 25% discount it would be too much (and a discount is never guaranteed)! I can only imagine how much it will go up as each year goes by. Love my DVC!

 

[DVCinderella]

I did the same thing! I love Excel...I create spreadsheets to keep track of everything!

I recently created 3 spreadsheets to figure out when we will reach our "break-even" point with DVC.

Spreadsheet #1 tracks our room-only expenses from 1993-2001. DH and I first started visiting WDW on a regular basis in 1993. Had we joined the DVC in 1993, we would have reached our break-even point by now. (We joined the DVC in March 2001.)

Spreadsheet #2 keeps track of our payments to DVC. It includes our initial downpayment, monthly loan payments, and dues.

Spreadsheet #3 keeps track of rack rates for the vacations we have taken on DVC points. This way I know how much we would have spent if we had paid cash. This will help me determine our "break-even" point with DVC.

DebbieB...

How do you determine the rack rates? Do you call CRO to check on rates? I've been taking my rack rates from a WDW guide book.

 

[DebbieB]

I get them off Disney's website (www.disneyworld.com). Add 11% for tax. Probably the same as in the guidebooks.

 

[Dumbo]

>>The least expensive room at the Contemporary in 1972 was $29!!<<


And they were Tower Rooms, as the Garden Wings were not built until several years later.


Dumbo

 

[Lesley]

My grandmother stated that she got our room in the Contemporary wings for $35...and this was around 1979 (I'm guessing on the date by what we saw at WDW at the time and the fact that I know I was in second grade).

Actually if you compare the moderates in the early 90's with now there is a substantial difference too, though not that much!

I think the general consensus has been that if you're happy staying at a Value resort on each trip then you may not save money with DVC.....if you prefer to stay at moderates you will at least break even and get much nicer accomodations...and if you love the deluxes you will save a good amount in the long term. This is pretty much what my own rather simplistic calculations seemed to bear out...and I compared rack rates with no inflation over the 42 (now 40) years.

 

[donald@home]

Dumbo- Just to clear up a false rumor, the garden wing rooms were built at the same time as the tower rooms. In the book "The Story of Walt Disney World" (the one that is shaped like a big black letter D) they show the Contemporary under construction and the garden wings are there.

But a price of $29 for any room in the Contemporary is a GREAT deal! Can you even imagine it today? Yes, DVC is a great deal, and will only get better!

 

[MikeScott8]

Originally posted by DVCinderella
I did the same thing! I love Excel...I create spreadsheets to keep track of everything!

I recently created 3 spreadsheets to figure out when we will reach our "break-even" point with DVC.

DebbieB...

I recently did this too. My fiance and I just joined In Jan and we have not made a payment yet

I have a workbook with 5 sheets in it. The first is just a summary page of the other three sheets and our savings. One sheet has the downpayment and will have the payments on the points themselves. another sheet is for the dues payments. fourth sheet is rack rates (plus tax) for our stays using points. and the final sheet is just a list of other discounts we get because of our DVC membership (like dinners and other stuff) so far it has just one purchase at the disney store using the DVC 10% discount.

It will be FUN to watch the sheets as time goes on and we get nearer to breaking even and then passing that point, and the rest of our 40 years as DVC

Mike

 

[GritsGirl]

Would one of the Excel groupies be willing to share their spreadsheets that are already set-up? I am NOT asking for your numbers or personal business, just the spreadsheets with the formulas in place and ready to go. My hubby got all excited when I told him about this thread and then my bubble popped when he said, "Okay, show me how they set it up." UUUGGGHHH! I know enough Excel just to annoy the stuffins out of myself!!

This is my first post so I don't know if it is best for a link to be posted in a reply or for this to be handled by e-mail.

Thanks for any help that anyone can offer.

Happy Disney Day!
May Kay (no "r"---not a pink lady)