Can Someone Help Me?

[MamaBelle4]

I want to buy a vacation membership. I already have one picked out. However, my husband is on the fence.
We plan on going every 2 years and have four children. My sister typically goes with us so the minimum value resort is 1800 out of pocket. Our annual dues for two years (to accumulate the points we would need) would be significantly less than that and we would be staying at a much lovelier place (obviously).
So, can you tell me if you feel this is a sound investment and why and if you feel like it would be in our situation as outlined above.

 

[jerseyduke]

The general consensus is that DVC is NOT worth it, if you are happy staying at value resorts. Furthermore, the general consensus is that DVC enables you to stay at Deluxe accommodations for a dollar amount that is in line with staying at MODERATE resorts.

Also, note that there are only currently a subset of the DVC resorts that have studios that "legally" sleep 5.

Also realize that there are other factors to the equation. Depending on resort, and time of travel, you may HAVE to book 11 months out. Cash you can do the day of.

The other thing that I feel is a tipping point, is that DVC is a pretty safe "investment". In the event that you hate it, you can sell your contract, and would probably only lose your closing costs you paid when buying, plus the commission from selling. From the size of the contract you are talking, it seems that the worst case scenario is you would lose less than 1,500$. While that is not exactly change found in your couch, I would assume if you are thinking of buying DVC, it would not put you out on the streets. Also, you would have gotten a vacation out of it. And that is worst case scenario.

 

[MamaBelle4]

The general consensus is that DVC is NOT worth it, if you are happy staying at value resorts. Furthermore, the general consensus is that DVC enables you to stay at Deluxe accommodations for a dollar amount that is in line with staying at MODERATE resorts.

Also, note that there are only currently a subset of the DVC resorts that have studios that "legally" sleep 5.

Also realize that there are other factors to the equation. Depending on resort, and time of travel, you may HAVE to book 11 months out. Cash you can do the day of.

We were planning on the 2 bedroom value/standard villa. I don't believe I said Studio above.

The points for when we would look to stay are 235. I already checked. But you did raise another question. What is the likelihood we could book a 2 bedroom villa for Jan-Feb 2017 if we closed and had our membership within 3 months?

 

[SuperRob]

Jerseyduke covered a lot of it. Based on your family size, you're going to be looking at 2-Bedroom accommodations. If you're going every other year, you can make that work with about ~160 points. That's not too unreasonable.

Others will caution you to not consider this an "investment." Sometimes the resorts go up in value, particularly the ones in demand, but generally speaking, you should really consider this pre-paying for your vacation accommodations. As JD mentioned above, you will generally not save money over value accommodations. The price is comparable to a Moderate resort, and you only really save money if you're used to staying at Deluxe resorts. That said, if you are used to having to buy two or more value rooms, you might net out. You'll have to do the math yourself. I will say that if you're used to Value resorts, DVC will be a MAJOR upgrade to your vacations.

Lastly, you do need to consider that the cheapest point options for rooms tend to go the fastest, so you'll want to have enough points to cover if you need to end up with a higher priced room. For example, our first trip to Aulani, we planned on getting a standard view room, but they were all booked. We had to "upgrade" to Island view to go on our dates, and that cost us more points.

I won't get into how hard or easy it may be to book the specific room/resort you're looking at, but January tends to be less expensive, point-wise. That can either mean that dates will book up fast, or that there will be plenty of inventory. I will say that you will be able to get a room, in most cases, it just may not be at your first pick resort. Be willing to be flexible with dates and locations, and you should be OK. Just don't get your heart set on a hard to get accommodation like the Grand Floridian if you haven't bought points there and can't book right when the 11 month window opens. Booking at 7 months requires some planning and luck.

I hope this was helpful to you. Let me know if I can give any more advice!

 

[jerseyduke]

check out this link
http://disboards.com/threads/predic...-some-1-bedrooms-vgc-update-10-21-15.3419112/

I would think you should be able to get something for next year, maybe not at your home resort. Also, there is no guarantee.

And no, you did not say studio, I just wanted you to be aware.

 

[DSLRuser]

do the math. you will find in most cases, a vacation club is at best a break even experience. But your millage may vary.

 

[jerseyduke]

Another option:

If you want to go next January/Fenbruary, and are worried about availability, you can rent points, then when you get your contract, rent out your points to cover most of the expense.

I have a similar situation, and have tossed up that idea...but I decided to just roll the dice....if I lose, I will be paying cash at a moderate.

 

[VillainFavs]

I want to buy a vacation membership. I already have one picked out. However, my husband is on the fence.
We plan on going every 2 years and have four children. My sister typically goes with us so the minimum value resort is 1800 out of pocket. Our annual dues for two years (to accumulate the points we would need) would be significantly less than that and we would be staying at a much lovelier place (obviously).
So, can you tell me if you feel this is a sound investment and why and if you feel like it would be in our situation as outlined above.

It sounds like you're comparing the cost of booking the resort to the cost of annual dues. Are you forgetting about the actual cost of BUYING the membership?????

 

[MamaBelle4]

It sounds like you're comparing the cost of booking the resort to the cost of annual dues. Are you forgetting about the actual cost of BUYING the membership?????

No, I'm not. I'm comparing the annual dues because that will pay for itself in 2-3 vacations. I'm talking about going every other year for the next 15, easy, longer if I have my say. Once the cost of the membership is covered, then it will just be annual fees.

 

[VillainFavs]

Just make sure you do all your research and crunch your numbers CAREFULLY. Take your time. This isn't something to rush into because it sounds like a good deal, especially if you've never even stayed onsite before.

 

[ptlohmysoul]

I want to buy a vacation membership. I already have one picked out. However, my husband is on the fence.
We plan on going every 2 years and have four children. My sister typically goes with us so the minimum value resort is 1800 out of pocket. Our annual dues for two years (to accumulate the points we would need) would be significantly less than that and we would be staying at a much lovelier place (obviously).
So, can you tell me if you feel this is a sound investment and why and if you feel like it would be in our situation as outlined above.

As long as you are not going into debt to get your DVC membership, I think it would be a good idea in your case. Just like PP stated, though, getting a standard 2-bedroom at BWV or BLT is tough even at 11 months. We enjoy our membership and love having a kitchen on vacation, as well as a private bedroom, and a washer/dryer in our room if needed. However, a 2 bedroom at SSR or OKW should not be difficult at 7 months for your time frame. Any visits at Christmas, holidays, or during marathons are hard to get non-home resorts (but not impossible). If you are willing to do split stays, possibilities increase. I would suggest buying more points than you expect you'll need, just in case you need to get a more expensive room or decide to go in a more expensive season (even if it's only for 1 trip).

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

DVC is worth it ONLY if you plan to stay at DVC resorts. Trades are expensive and the value lies in staying DVC. Marathon weekend in early January is a difficult time to book but if you are flexible on your dates in the remainder of January or February you should have a few choices to book when you close assuming it will take somewhere in the 3-4 months range. That will put you as able to still book right at 7 months but even less will find you someplace with flexibility.

Since you are traveling every other year and have picked out 235 points as the requirement it seems like a purchase of 140-150 points would be good and cover some contingencies. If you want to play it tighter it might be ok too and if there were ever any reallocations that bumped up that 235 you could use point transfers to make up the difference. One large transfer could bump you up again for several years.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Getting an AKL Value 2BR is also tough, save at 11 months to the minute and even then it won't always work out.

 

[Dean]

I want to buy a vacation membership. I already have one picked out. However, my husband is on the fence.
We plan on going every 2 years and have four children. My sister typically goes with us so the minimum value resort is 1800 out of pocket. Our annual dues for two years (to accumulate the points we would need) would be significantly less than that and we would be staying at a much lovelier place (obviously).
So, can you tell me if you feel this is a sound investment and why and if you feel like it would be in our situation as outlined above.

You can rent from a member and get a lot of the savings. Buying in as you've described will not be cheaper than staying at values comparing 2 studios to two value rooms which is what you're looking at going forward even if you're doing the sleep 5 rooms now. It will be more expensive but it might be worth it overall. If you can pay cash and only want to use it for DVC rooms, buy resale and control your visits and rooms you will likely come out ahead overall. It's unlikely the kitchen would save you money and you need to consider that the reality is you'll likely be doing 2 BR villas in the near future which will be more expensive still but will also give many people more value. I'd consider it if you can pay cash, don't have other consumer debt, plan to continue going long term, value staying on property (it seems you do), buy resale at a lower buy in option (SSR, AKV, BLT best values) and will only use the points at DVC resorts.

 

[gharter]

I think there has been a lot of good help here. One thing that I kept reading was most people in DVC end up not saving money in the long run. At first, it didn't make sense. But their thought process was that most DVC members go to Disney more often than non member do. Probably because of the number of points they have purchased. Or they stay in nicer places than they normally would.
One other thing I found very handy, was there were several calculators you could use to figure out your cost. They used umber of points, price per point, if you were financing, number of years left in the contract, closing cost, maintenance fees and normal hotel cost. It gave a good comparison of long term costs for purchasing DVC. I would suggest looking these up as well.

 

[VillainFavs]

My suggestion to OP is to at least have one stay on property first before even thinking about buying there. Can anyone imagine making an investment like this before even one trip?

 

[Lynne M]

I think there has been a lot of good help here. One thing that I kept reading was most people in DVC end up not saving money in the long run.

To a large extent, it depends on what you're comparing it to, and what you're looking to get out of it. DVC isn't a discount club, or an inexpensive way to do Disney. It's a cost-effective way to book villa-style accommodations. Meaning, you will likely save money on booking villas compared to booking villas direct through Disney. You won't save money over booking value rooms, but the accommodations aren't comparable.

For people who need or want the extra space, separate bedrooms, or the home-away-from-home conveniences like full kitchens, washer/dryers in the room, or jetted tubs, DVC is probably the most cost-effective way to get that.

 

[Dean]

To a large extent, it depends on what you're comparing it to, and what you're looking to get out of it. DVC isn't a discount club, or an inexpensive way to do Disney. It's a cost-effective way to book villa-style accommodations. Meaning, you will likely save money on booking villas compared to booking villas direct through Disney. You won't save money over booking value rooms, but the accommodations aren't comparable.

For people who need or want the extra space, separate bedrooms, or the home-away-from-home conveniences like full kitchens, washer/dryers in the room, or jetted tubs, DVC is probably the most cost-effective way to get that.

I suspect what he's seeing and a concept I would agree with, is that those who buy in to DVC ultimately spend more than they would have not owning DVC even if they always stayed on property. They tend to splurge to a 1 BR when they could get by with a studio, they go more, longer, they spend more in others areas because of the "savings" with DVC. Is that a bad thing, I'd say no if they can afford it. My definition of afford it would be cash for all components and no consumer debt. I think two of the big mistakes people make buying in or evaluating their "savings" is that the run the numbers going in one way (say studio) and use it another (1BR) and/or they compare to DVC rack rates which is a fools comparison IMO unless that's what they would be paying if they didn't own.

 

[jerseyduke]

I think there has been a lot of good help here. One thing that I kept reading was most people in DVC end up not saving money in the long run.

I don't save anything. I have X dollars for vacations. I spend X. Now it is just a smaller portion of X going to accommodations, and a larger portion going to the other aspects, or going more often.

The simple math is that for you and me to save money as a DVC Member, Disney would have to NOT make that money. Do you really think that is going to happen? No company is going to generate more revenue by "saving" you money. They want you to "save" money, so they can make more of it, not less. (That Gecko does not want to save you 15% for you...he want's you to "save it" so he gets you as a customer).

I probably spend more with Disney since i joined DVC. But I go more often.

Then again, by and large, we try to save money in order to do something else with it. And sure, some savings actually gets SAVED, but a lot of it is just spent in another way. That is the only way i can say DVC saves me anything.

The next step for me is to get my pay check directly deposited into Disney's account

 

[Popouri DVC]

Yep.

DVC really didn't save us anything. We go more often. We buy annual passes when we didn't before. We eat at the restraunts on property.

But we go to Disney. And we stay at the Grand Floridian every year. It's not a place we would've wanted to pay Disney's cash rate for every year, let alone the cash rate for a room like the one bedrooms at VGF.

Didn't save us a dime: like jerseyduke, I'll be having my pay directly deposited to Disney soon as well....