Can anyone tell me...

[kristen821]

What the benefits are to becoming a dvc member? We are giving some thought to it and I would like to know a little more about it before even looking into it. What are the cost per year? Anything you can tell me would be wonderful.

 

[browniemtb]

I was in the same boat. Keep asking questions to the owners here, there all great and informative. Also if you haven't yet, have a DVC rep mail you out the DVD and points book. That way you can crunch numbers to see if it works for you. I'm going to buy into the BWV even though they tend to push SSR. My family goes every year and we always stay at the deluxe resorts so it seems to make sense to buy in because even with the dues your room rates tend to be 1/2 the price. Its to bad they don't discount the park pass like they used to. I guess the annual pass is the only discount but you would have to go twice in a 12 month period for that to work, I believe. If you haven't got pricing yet here are a few numbers
SSR is $98 per point with a $8 point rebate or a DVC member here can be used as a refferral and the point cost goes down to $83.30. Dues are $3.98 a point annually.
BWV is $92 point with no deals, dues are $4.69 point annually
Minimum purchase is 150 points and i think its takes an average of 160 or so points for a studio per week.
Since I'm the new guy here some one should correct me if I'm wrong.....I did the math on my purchase into the BWV, with worst case scenerio of taking 10 years to pay. It worked out that you could stay in a $4000+ room for about $1700 - that being a 1 bedroom.
Also on my feelings where to buy. The BWV and BCV are both demanded properties and are connected to both MGM and Epcot. So if you have to bail out it may be easier to unload these points.
Brownie
The soon to be owner.

 

[cobbler]

The best thing is accomodations. I look at it as basically pre-paying my accomdations for the next 48 years (being at SSR, the others have 36 years left). I know that I can go to Disney, stay in a wonderful hotel and not have to worry about paying rack rates, having to hunt down general public codes, messing with AAA or the Best rate program. The only thing I have to worry about is dues

Also there are some nice perks with DVC, 100 off an AP, shopping discounts and such. But those are just perks that can go away.

The costs per year can vary, it depends on how many points you own and where you own. SSR dues are 3.98 per point. Others range in the low to mid 4.00 range. You can have the dues deducted monthly from your checking account. I have mine deducted monthly and mine works out to be 73 a month.

 

[nestlejean]

I sent you an e-mail with my insight.
Jean

 

[NYMomof4]

If you have the chance, it was nice to explore some of the DVC resorts before I purchased. You can also do that on the internet as a back-up, just to see the different accomodations and resorts. The benefits, aside from the idea of a pre-paid vacation for 48 years/36 years are to a great extent, psychological The amount of planning and the joy of anticipation of knowing that you have a next trip coming is priceless!

I made my purchase decision for many reasons, but the luxury of staying at a 1 or 2 bdrm with a kitchen and whirlpool tub, with space to breathe, influenced my decision. I also want to stay at the other DVC resorts, which you can at a 7 month window if there is availability, but my thought was that if I couldn't, I would be happy at my home resort.

For many DVCers, the decision is also supported by a love for Disney. There are financial benefits, but the psychological benefits often weigh in.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

Also if you haven't yet, have a DVC rep mail you out the DVD and points book. That way you can crunch numbers to see if it works for you.

If I may pop in here with a question (apologies to the op) How do you go about getting the DVC book you mention here? We are seriously discussing buying in but have so many questions. I have learned so much from reading here that the owner we rented from a few months ago actually thought I was an owner. LoL You people are great. But we still are just not sure. Especially if we want to buy a big contract. DH will be retiring soon so we know that would be a large investment. If you don't purchase the amount of points you need how do you go about getting enough for a reservation to cover that? And if you have multiple smaller contracts are you allowed to use the total amount of points you own at 11 months or only the ones where you will be staying? See what I mean about all of the questions? A book explaining this would be a great asset to us right now. Thank you all for listening.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I agree with everything that's been said so far. In addition, for us there's been a few more:
1. The increased incentive to take a vacation ("it's already been paid for"). I'm married to a work-a-holic (although he's MUCH better!) so this was a big reason for us.
2. Less theme park comando vacations. I was always an up and at 'em, get to the parks at opening, run, run, run, person. Now I still get up early, but I love to sit in my PJs on the balcony with 2,3,4 cups of coffee til 11. There's always next trip to see what we might miss this time. So what if it rains or is cold? It's not the end of the world. There's always a next time!
3. We couldn't have afforded these type of accomodations before.

Watching DH relax and enjoy WDW-Priceless!

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

I spent a few weeks crunching the numbers and basically it was a no lose proposition. I bought 220 points on a resale at OKW which will allow me to go twice a year. I used to stay at the moderates and paid $139-$169 ($1080-$1313 with tax) a 7 night stay depending on season. Now I get to stay at a resort where it's at Deluxe level or better (it's more to stay at a DVC than the Wilderness Lodge) but my cost for the same room for 7 nights off season is $560 (including dues and the original cost of the purchase) and I get to do this for 36 years.

 

[jade1]

Also remember if you want you can rent any or all of your points very easily. Going rate is about $10 per point with dues of $4 or so.

 

[FreeTime]

We bought on our honeymoon knowing that we would have kids someday and using the thought of, "if we can't afford tickets that year we will still have a great place to vacation to!" The benefits to us is having been able to have vacations that we normally couldn't have afforded, been able to give vacations to family members who couldn't go, spending priceless hours with our families at a great place. Also, since everything is prepaid, we don't have to worry about a bill when we check out.

 

[tmt martins]

If I may pop in here with a question (apologies to the op) How do you go about getting the DVC book you mention here? We are seriously discussing buying in but have so many questions. See what I mean about all of the questions? A book explaining this would be a great asset to us right now. Thank you all for listening.

The easiest way to get the INFO is go to the WDW web-sight and link to the I Know A Sercet Box this will put you into the DVC intro websight and you can request the Info package to be sent.

 

[PinkTink63]

We just bought in Oct., so we are new members! We rented from someone this past summer and we were hooked! I wanted to buy after we got home from vaca, but decided we couldn't really afford it. Then the "friends and family" deal came about. That was the deciding factor! We love Disney and we go there pretty much every year. We loved the accommodations and could never afford to stay at rack rates! We always stayed at the moderates before.
We have already rented out our 2005 pts, because we had other plans for our vacation this summer. Someone is always needing to rent points!
We are looking forward to spending many vacations there!
Hope this is helpful!
Stephanie

 

[byoung]

We rented a few times got us hooked. Got BWV points love it there. Good luck.

 

[browniemtb]

I do apologize the book in which I'm refferring to has the date ranges and point stays for those specific times. Ufortunately it does not go into banking, holding accounts, and other terms you can learn about here. I'm assuming once you join the DVC a different book may be given to you......Since I have to join tommorrow, I'm not to sure??
Brownie

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I do apologize the book in which I'm refferring to has the date ranges and point stays for those specific times. Ufortunately it does not go into banking, holding accounts, and other terms you can learn about here. I'm assuming once you join the DVC a different book may be given to you......Since I have to join tommorrow, I'm not to sure??
Brownie

They will send you a package with all of the legal booklets, a handbook that explains how things are done, and all of your contracts, etc. to sign. They even sent us a beautiful beach bag

 

[SueOKW]

We have 5 people AND needed a kitchen.. to stay on-site would have cost us $5000 or so per trip!

With DVC we can afford a yearly vacation to a wonderful place.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

I do apologize the book in which I'm refferring to has the date ranges and point stays for those specific times. Ufortunately it does not go into banking, holding accounts, and other terms you can learn about here. I'm assuming once you join the DVC a different book may be given to you......Since I have to join tommorrow, I'm not to sure??
Brownie

No apologies necessary. I took the advice of tmt martins (thank you) and went to the wdw site. From what I could tell all they offer in the way of information is a dvc video. I did order that but I'm not sure if it will have the answers I am seeking. LoL Tom at the TimeShare Store kindly pm'd me and is sending me some info as well. Our thanks to all who have contacted me to help. You guys here are just the greatest. I hope I am one of you in the very near future. And congratulations on just joining browniemtb!

 

[kristen821]

Thanks everyone for you help. It was greatly appreciated!

 

[Steamboat Bill]

Joining DVC with 150 points = $13,000
Buying a refillable soda mug = $10
Not getting ripped off staying at Disney for the next 38 years = Priceless