Buying into DVC

[rt2dz]

I'm not sure if this is the right board to post (if not someone please move), but I figured this would be the place to get the best answers.

We are considering buying DVC, not immediately but sometime in the nearish future. However, how do you decide if it is a good "deal" or not. I know it really varies from person to person. Is there some website out there that can help me with this?

Possible pertinent information: We go every year for about 10 days (that could change in the future), always stay deluxe, and currently have a family of 5, but want to make that a family of 6. When/if we do buy, it would be a cash deal, no financing.

I know it isn't an investment like stocks, but it is a big investment and I need to know 1) if it is a sound investment, $$ wise and 2) is it emotionally worth it.

 

[cherylp3]

WDW Today: http://www.wdwtoday.com/
Just did a show on the Disney vacation club.

There are some great financial debates out there:
Check out http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/dvc/

 

[ceejay13]

This is the website if you want to gather some great information. That is what I did 6 years ago for a few months before we bought.

As to the investment, you are basically paying moderate prices to stay in accomodations that are bigger than the deluxe resorts you stay at. That is factoring in due in addition to the price to join. Several members have done a detailed report on this very issue. If you want to look at it another way, we have 6 contracts, one at the BCV and the others at the BWV. We decided to sell our small contract at the BCV and our in the process of closing on it. It sold the day it went on the market and we made a very healthy profit after only owning it for 4 years. Now that is not why we did it. We prefer the BWV and we decided the next time we added on at the BWV we would sell the BCV points. We have no intention of selling again.

Yours is the perfect family for DVC and in fact you would save money over the long haul, if you did decide to purchase. They say that you should visit WDW at least every other year and like to stay at something besides the value resorts for it to make good investment sense.

If you stay in a 1 bdr or larger you get a full kitchen, washer & dryer and a wonderful jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom. Once you stay in one of the villas I think you will not want to go back to a regular room.

Spend some time on these discussion boards and there are many experts here you can answer any questions you may have.

 

[DizneyNutz]

It is a sound investment, IF you continue to want to go back to WDW with that big of a family and IF you might want to provide some trips in the future to some of your children. It is not something you invest in with the intent of selling it off and recouping your money years down the road. You RECOUP your money by enjoying much better accomodations every year you visit than a regular room (along with some flucuating perks along the way). For instance, try calling one of the DVC Resorts and see what it will cost you to stay at a 1 bdrm, 2 bdrm or even grand villa if you are not a member, vs. booking it on your points if you are a member.

 

[abner1776]

I would never classify DVC as an "investment"...it is a prepaid vacation for the next 36+ years.

If you feel that you enjoy WDW enough that you want to return to WDW every year (or at a minimum, every three years) and you enjoy deluxe accommodations(but at moderate prices) then DVC is a viable choice for you.

Also, keep in mind that most DVC members plan their DVC visits well in advance(10-11 months), so if you are a "last minute" WDW planner, be forewarned that availability will be a serious problem for you.

So...if you can handle the advanced planning, enjoy WDW enough to visit every year or so, want to continue visiting until 2042, and enjoy deluxe resorts then DVC is a good choice for you.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

Instead of figuring how much it will cost you to own at DVC think of how much it will save you (especially with a family of 5 (hopefully 6)

1. Being able to eat a good breakfast in your room and the ability to make sandwiches to take into the parks for lunch(if you'd like) (alot of DVC members have groceries delivered to the villa). Also, having the OPTION of having some of your other meals in the room to save more money.

2. Having a kitchen with a full sink, dishwasher, oven and full size refridgerator to store snacks and drinks and ice cream, frozen foods, baby formula, etc.
3. Having a w/d in your room which eliminates the need to overpack and overbuy 10 days worth of clothing.
4. The discount on the Annual passes (right now $100 per person) and if you buy an AP you can get the DDE card which gives your 20% off meals. (an AP would be worth it if you could book your annual trip within a years time)
5. If #6 happens you will have to get 2 rooms at the deluxes once he/she turns 2.
6. You don't have to the pay resort tax which is currently 12% or 13%
7. You are not charge for extra adults in your room (the deluxes charge $25 per extra adult-- for when the kids get older)
8. Points at the resorts will never change.

Now for the emotions!!

1. How nice would it be to sleep in a King size bed.
2. Sleep in a separate room from the kids
3. Have a jacuzzi in your room
4. Being able to do the wash in your room while the kids & you take a nap
5. Sitting out on the balcony while the kids are sleeping enjoying the view
6. Have a walk in closet and a vacuum in your room
7 Being able to get up in the middle of the night and have a cold drink
8. Having all the luxuries of home
9. You have these luxurious accomadations for the next 36 or 48 years (depending on which resort you buy into)

Now for the reality : Buying into DVC for the accomadation you would need for 10 days per year could be a little pricey, especially if you have to travel around the kids school vacation you would need to purchase a lot of points.(Especially if you go over two weekends). However, if you always stay deluxe I'm sure your paying alot now. I own 180 points at the boardwalk and it cost my $16300 for the points and about $950 per year in Maintanance fees. Broken down the initial buy in cost of $16300 comes out to $440 a year and then $950 (which will increase in the future)for MF which is about $1400 a year. However, I did save $400 on AP's. So, in summary, I was able to stay 6 nights at the BWV in a 1 Bedroom for $1000 or $166 per night, which is less than a moderate. My next trip in 07 is costing me $1400 for the room, but since I have my AP I don't have to buy tickets into the park which is saving me money too.

The cost of the AP with the discount was $200 less then buying 10 day hoppers with no expiration and I got 14 days of the park instead of 10. However, I'm also going in Nov 06 for 7 days and that trip is pretty much free $0 for room and $0 for the tickets (I bought in last year and as a perk they give you a use year that is prior to when you buy in so you get to use extra points the 1st year without having to pay the full cost of MF(example, I bought in Nov 05 and my Use year is June. so in June of 06 I got use of 180 points again(which I'm using for Nov) which I didn't have to pay the full MF on.

Your doing the right thing by gathering up as much information as you can on the Disboards. The Disboards are great to answer any questions you have. But in addition, you need to get a book that has all the point charts for the different times of year and type of acccomadations for each resort. I studied it for a year and a half and decided to buy in when the Cont wanted $3000 in the wing rooms for 6 nights. Ouch!!

So far we are happy with our purchase and those who are selling are getting close to their initial buy in cost due to ROFR.

Good Luck with your decision and have fun researching it!!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

For a family of 6, DVC is the way to go, especially if you like staying in the deluxe resorts. We are a family of 6 who decided to buy in following a $7,000.00+++ bill for 2 rooms at the Poly many years ago. DVC has saved us a ton of money and it has allowed us to maintain the standards for our vacations that we enjoy (and have been spoiled by over the years).

HBC

 

[RJake1]

If you absolutely feel you need to stay on WDW property then DVC is a viable choice. For my family, we've always found great deals on off-site condos. Last week we rented at Windsor Hills, got a 3 BR, two-story condo with plasma TV and private pool right off the living room. Cost: $150/night. I couldn't get a 1BR thru DVC at that price.

 

[rt2dz]

First:
Thank you everyone for your thoughts!!

Second:
When I say “investment”, I don’t mean something that will net me more money in the future towards my retirement, but whenever you put that much of your funds into something it is invested. I guess what I mean, will I be paying less for my vacations (even after dues/maintaince fees) by buying DVC over the long haul than if I just go it year to year (by either renting points or suites or two rooms)? We do tend to go during value season because I just can’t stand the summer heat or the crowds. In addition, I frequently get great email and postcard codes for highly discounted rooms.

Right now, we will continue to go to WDW every year. As the kids get older (youngest who isn’t even conceived yet being at least 6), we might start to go every other year. And as our oldest (5) gets older (and harder to pull out of school), it may drop to a 7-8 day stay. DH and I love Disney, despite the kids, so we will continue to go back. I would also love to give my single parent sis, a vacation or two so her kids can experience Disney.

I grew up going to WDW every year through high school. I’ve stayed off sites tons of times, but with my own family, we stayed onsite the first time and I swore I’d never stay off site again. DH doesn’t know any difference so he just goes with the flow. I’m in charge of all things vacation.

I don’t care that it expires. It would be something we would do for ourselves, although, we’d probably let the kids use it a bit in their adult lives, much as the purchase of a boat (as many of our friends are investing in).

I don’t really want to put ticket discounts into the factor because that could change. And the company DH is working for right now gives a sizeable discount on MWY tickets—actually less to buy those for two trips than invest in an AP. But then there is the DDE card. But I digress...

Third:
But other questions, how do decide which resort to buy into? At 7 months out, does it really make that big of a difference? Is it better to stay elsewhere on the weekends and buy fewer points? How would you decide how many points to purchase—all details considered?

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

But other questions, how do decide which resort to buy into? At 7 months out, does it really make that big of a difference?

Conventional wisdom on this site is to buy where you want to stay.

The best way to plan a DVC vacation is to book your stay at the 11 month window at your home resort. Then, if you want to try a different resort, switch the reservation (or go on the waiting list) for that resort at the 7 month point. If your request for the other resort comes through, great. If not, you still have your original reservation at your home resort.

You have a fair chance of getting into a resort at the 7 month point, depending on the resort and the time of year. The more flexible your plans (e.g., dates are flexible, or resort is flexible, or room type is flexible), the better off you'll be. If, however, you know you want a two-bedroom at the BCV on the first two weeks of October each year, the 11 month booking advantage will be important to you, and you'll want a BCV contract.

How would you decide how many points to purchase—all details considered?

As to the number of points, we looked at what our typical vacation would be, and based it on that. We knew we'd be going during the Magic season each year because one of us is a school teacher. It's just the two of us, so we figured we'd get a one-bedroom most of the time, and wanted to stay for a week. So, we bought in at 260 points.

Since joining, we've refined our vacation plans a little. We still need to go during the Magic season, but have found that we're plenty comfortable in a studio instead of the one bedroom. That allows us to go for two weeks each year instead of one. For next year, we're refining that a little further. Rather than the 14 days we did this year, we're going to go for 12 nights in the future (Sunday through the following Friday.) Cutting those two expensive weekend nights allows us to save 58 points each trip. We'll use those extra points to splurge on a two-bedroom every few years and invite some family members to join us.

In just two stays, we've already proven to ourselves the value of the point system's flexibility over other timeshare plans.

Is it better to stay elsewhere on the weekends and buy fewer points?

As I mentioned, we've decided to shave 2 days off the end of our two-week trips (and purposefully check in on Sunday instead of Saturday), but we'd never consider checking out and staying somewhere else on the Friday and Saturday in the middle.

 

[bcvillastwo]

When it comes to spending our money everyone has their way of determining whether one option is better than another. With that said, its always best to compare Apples to Apples (even though every apple is different). I say that because its not unusual for people to spend more money going to WDW after becoming a DVC member than they may have before buying into DVC.

How can that be, well its because they go more often and as a result their transportation, food, and other incidental costs go up. That has certainly been our experience. However, with that said, I am certain that by joining DVC we will save money on our accomodations over time. (Actually we are already past the breakeven point so we are saving on accomodations every time we go now.)

So, it may be benneficial to differentiate between Apples and Apples (e.g. compare one type of accomodation to another).

Lets not forget the other than financial benefits that others have mentioned. Add those benefits into the equation and DVC just might be a good idea for you.

 

[ceejay13]

I do agree that you should buy where you want to stay most. I think most members will tell you that. The 11 month window has come in handy many times for us as we like to visit the first of December which is value season but one of the most, if not the most, popular time for DVCers to visit. It also came in handy when we took my family and needed 3 rooms so we called day by day to ensure we got what we wanted. We took some friends and got a GV on one occasion and again the 11 month window ensured us that GV. As to how many points - it all depends as many have told you. We originally bought 230 points. We loved it so much that we added on 270 more points at the BWV and the small 100 point contract at the BCV which we are in the process of selling. We certainly don't need that many but it has afforded us the ability to take friends and family on a semi-regular basis. It is just the two of us, without kids but lots of family and friends have come along to make the memories even more magical. As to the weekend question, that is also different among members. We have never moved for a weekend stay but have paid cash for one night on a couple of occasions when our points were running low.