Californians need help deciding on DVC

[DizneDog]

I have teenagers and I am from California, but all the "home" sites are for WDW. I want to go to WDW and surrounding areas, but would likely spend most points in California. Would a DVC membership be for us? Has anyone had any trouble carrying over points we should know about?

 

[Anewman]

I am from SoCal and I also have teenagers.

We would not have purchased if we did not plan on going to WDW very very often. You can always go to Disneyland and stay at the Grand Californian, no need to pay $17k upfront to do so.

 

[La2kw]

I have teenagers and I am from California, but all the "home" sites are for WDW. I want to go to WDW and surrounding areas, but would likely spend most points in California. Would a DVC membership be for us? Has anyone had any trouble carrying over points we should know about?

We are also from California and have teens. We go to WDW every year. I would expect that we will eventually have a DVC at Disneyland, but until that happens, I wouldn't buy points unless I planned to use them at one of the existing DVC resorts. You get the best value for your points at them.

 

[rinkwide]

...I want to go to WDW...

Don't buy. Rent some points, go to Walt Disney World and then we'll talk. (I've never done heroin but I imagine WDW is about as addictive )

 

[CA Disney Fans]

We live in Northern CA and we purchased some DVC points. It was sensible for us since we plan to go every other year.

I have to agree with rinkwide, WDW is definitely addictive. We have been to WDW more times than DL since 2002. But unlike heroin, I highly recommend WDW.

 

[ACDSNY]

I'm from Northern CA and as you can see by my signature we do not go to WDW as often as most DVC owners. My suggestion would be to buy a smaller contract through the resale process to begin with. If you like it you can add on and if you don't the smaller contracts seem to be holding their value very well if you decide to sell.

If you usually stay at GC or DH at Disneyland it not such a bad deal as others make it out to be. I look at my per point cost which is under $6, not what I could rent them for since I don't want to be bothered with the rental process, so a night at DH for 23 points is around $130. I was tired of always spending time trying to find the best rates or waiting for AP discounts for each trip, now all we have to worry about is tickets and spending money.

 

[DizneDog]

This message board has proved helpful. Thank you for your comments.

 

[Dean]

No, DVC doesn't make sense in the situation you quote. Or you could buy a small package and go maybe every 2-3 years. But UNLESS DVC has a resort much nearer to you that you will use, it is not a good choice to use the points at non DVC resorts. I personally doubt they will have a CA DVC, it so, they would have at least announced it for the big 50 year celebration and sales push.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

With the recently announced change, starting in 2007, the DL resorts will have the same kind of point schedule as DVC and WDW resorts: higher points for Fri and Sat. For example, during Value Season, a SV at the DLH is 19 points Sun-Th and 30 for Fr-St. This certainly discourages weekend visits using points.

We are DVC members from CA and DL AP holders even though we live about 4 hours away. Unless we had points that were otherwise going to expire, we would probably not use 30 points at the DLH when we could probably book it with cash for about $225 or a good neighbor hotel (Sheraton, Candy Cane or HoJo) for around $125.

We are DVC members because we love WDW and try to go for a week long stay at least once a year. We think of DL only as an emergency outlet for distressed points.

Good luck in your decision. -- Suzanne

 

[larry_poppins]

I agree with Dean. I don't believe there will be any Disneyland DVCs. I also don't believe there will be any future cruise ships, unless the Magic or the Wonder are unoperable.

That said the current points for weekdays at Disneyland resorts are not that bad. Of course they could change and go higher in the future.

Larry

 

[Orlanr]

We live on the central coast of Calif., Delta non-stop from SFO to MCO $250 round trip (with a little planning) we love it.