considering buying..would like input please

[mlacreta]

I am planning our first big family trip to disney in 2006 and am comsidering the option of buying into the timeshare. specifically at okw. i was wondering if anyone could give me their input on if the money value is really there. also specifically i was wondering if you can book a vaca with points from the current year as well as banked from the previous and borrowed from the next. ( i noticed the fine print mentioned limitations.) my other question is for those of you who have been an owner for a while what type of increase in the dues have you seen? oh and one more....when it comes to being able to book other resorts other than your home one is there a fee involved or do you lose points in the transaction or how does that work. I would love all input anyone can give! i want to make an informed decision on this one!!! thank you!!

 

[StitchGirl]

Hi-- I can't answer all of your questions, but I just recently purchased, so maybe I can give some insight:

Value: If you are planning on traveling to Disney (or even just central Florida) about once every other year or so, and you like to stay in Deluxe accomodations, it is definitely worth it value wise. In addition to having accomodations paid for (and you have a much lower rate then if you were to pay for vacations individually), you also don't have to worry about paying taxes (which are HIGH for hotels and resorts), nor do you have to worry about rate increases (with DVC, the points values for the DVC resorts will never increase-- dates for seasons can change, but points will not)

Banking/Borrowing: You are able to bank one year of points, and borrow a futher year, so yes, you can use up to three years of points in that middle year. The restrictions may be the fact that as your current year progresses, the percentage of current year points you can bank decreases. That just means you will have to plan in advance and make sure to bank your points in time (I think you can bank 100% of your points during the first six months of the year-- someone else can correct me if I'm wrong)...

As I just joined, I don't know about rate increases, but the contract stated that the rates cannot increase more than 15% per year.

To trade out in Interval International, there is a $75 fee per transaction. There is no annual fee-- it's just per trade.

Hope this helps!

 

[DisneyKidds]

StitchGirl did a good job.........Yes, the value is there is you vacation at least every other year and stay in deluxe accomodations. Yes, you can use banked, current and borrowed points for the same vacation. And No, it doesn't cost you anything in fees or points to make a reservation in a DVC resort other than your home resort. Keep in mind that those reservations can be made at 7 months as opposed to 11, and points for a night at BWV, BCV, and VWL will be higher than the points required for a night at OKW.

We've been members for about 3 years now. The only downside.............we've saved so much that we spend more money . Really, our once a year Disney trip has turned into a twice a year fix. Sure, we're saving money every night on our accomodations, but we spend more on airfare, meals and such than we would have. Oh, the horrors..................

 

[CaptainMidnight]

One option you might consider is renting points for your next trip to check out the resort for yourself. Check out the rent/trade board at:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=29
You might want to see all the resorts including the new SSR to determine which is the best fit for you for a home resort. Renting DVC is a cost effective option for accomodations. Just a thought.

 

[carlos1117]

Hey,

Stitch Girl and Disneykidds did a great job. But here's my two cents. Don't buy it as an investment buy it because your heart is telling you too. When me and DW were deciding, I finally said to her it's like buying half a new car and we never really had a problem with that. Buy it primarily because you and your family love Disney and also as a hedge against future vacation cost.


Mike

 

[mlacreta]

thank you everyone for all the input....it really helped! made me more confident that this would be a good thing for us! guess i'll keep looking into it! one other thought...we can't make it down before hand to really view the resorts.we were thinking of okw due to the points seemed least there and also seemed good for kids. our kids are 5,5, 3, and last one due 3/2005. do any of you have any resorts you think are better for kids than others? thank you again!

 

[my3kids]

Are points available from Disney for any property besides SSR? I thought everything was sold out except the new one, and if we wanted anything else, we'd have to go the resale way.

 

[carlos1117]

my3kids,

You can buy for Disney if they are available for 89 pp. Even if they are not available, Disney will ROFR someone to get them. They'll buy for 73 and sell for 89. Not a bad business model.

Mike

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by my3kids
Are points available from Disney for any property besides SSR? I thought everything was sold out except the new one, and if we wanted anything else, we'd have to go the resale way.

As carlos1117 said, yes, you could probably get DVC to sell you points as a new member in a resort other than SSR. But, of all the options available, that will probably represent the highest investment you could make.

To buy points direct from DVC at OKW, BCV, BWV, VWL, VB or HHI you will pay a flat $89 per point.

To buy points at SSR from DVC, you will pay $85 per point (and get an additional 11 years of ownership)

To buy points on the resale market at OKW, BCV, et al, you will pay about $80 per point, and you may even get 2003 and 2004 points if you shop wisely for a contract.

If you want the older resorts, go resale. It would be foolish to pay $4 MORE per point than SSR and get fewer years of ownership.

 

[mlacreta]

my3kids....
when i talked to the rep he said they are only selling for ssr. however you can use your points at any of the resorts in the disney collection even if they are not your "home resort." there is no extra fee for that. also something you might want to think about is the dues. although i am told they don't play a factor with most people our budget if tight so i look at all aspects and whichever resort you buy into that will be the one you pay dues one. ssr is the second lowest right now (okw is 1st.) I also figure since it is the newest it is less likely to have huge repair expenses anytime soon that would cause a huge rise in the dues or an assesment. and although you would have to wait until 7 months to book at any of the other resorts they all seem to have many of the same amenities and if you are willing to go in the slow seasons you aren't likely to have a problem booking at other resorts i'm told. and of corse don't forget the extra 12 years! hope that helps......