considering DVC - is it s good fit?

[disney-a-go-go]

We are considering DVC, but are not sure if it is a good fit. Our focus is really the next ten years while our kids are still at home. In the next 10 years, we envision 4 trips to a DVC property (WDW/HH). We are very interested in ABD - at least 3-4 trips (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Europe)we would like to take through them in the next 10 years. Is DVC any true benefit for ABD? What other questions should we be asking ourselves to determine if this is a good value for our family?

 

[Lynne M]

If you only envision 4 trips to DVC resorts in the next 10 years, then I'd have to say that DVC is not for you.

The value in DVC comes from using your points at the DVC resorts. That's what it's 'meant' for. Yes, we have the ability to use our points for ABD and other non-DVC resorts, but most of us consider that a perk, to be used once in a while, and certainly not a primary reason to buy.

You'd have to do the math, but you may even end up paying more for ABD by using your points than you would by paying cash. Some of the trade-out options are a decent value, some are not.

More importantly, the point cost for the ABD vacations is not fixed, is re-negotiated annually, and can and will go up as the years go by. There's nothing in our contract to prevent them from doubling the point cost for the ABD vacations. For that matter, there's no guarantee that we will even have the ability to use our points for ABD in the future. Oh, and don't forget the $95 fee for trading out.

Also, ABD may not even exist in 5 years. It depends on how it works out for Disney financially....if it isn't bringing in the bucks, they'll just drop the program, and you'll be stuck with an expensive timeshare that you don't really want to use every year.

Sorry, but you just don't sound like a good candidate for DVC to me. If you planned to stay at DVC resorts at least every other year, then yes, it might work out for you. In that case, I'd recommend that you buy enough points to cover your DVC vacations with banking and borrowing, and pay cash for your ABD trips.

 

[Granny]

I agree with Lynne and the many fine observations she makes.

In addition, I wouldn't look at DVC for just 4 WDW trips. It just won't justify itself. And while the resale market is strong for DVC these days, I wouldn't purchase assuming you will get your initial investment back.

DVC is a great program for frequent WDW travellers. For the way you describe your vacation plans, I don't think I would recommend it.

You are very smart to do the research and ask questions like this. I think you will find that the vast majority here really enjoy their DVC membership, but we will be candid if we don't think it's a good fit for someone.

 

[Mtnman44]

If you look at the average cash cost to stay at a Disney Deluxe resort vs. the buy-in price plus annual fees of DVC, it normally takes "around" 7 trips to WDW (of at least a week) before you have saved enough to have recouped your initial purchase cost and the to date annual fees. Just FYI.

A good suggestion for your situation may be a more traditional time share such as HGVC, Marriot, Worldmark, etc. You can trade into an Orlando area resort for your Disney vacations but also have the ability to trade all over the world as well. You may even get lucky and find a DVC trade once in a while. The icing on the cake is that these ownerships, even top of the line Marriots, are generally less expensive to buy and maintain than DVC (assuming you don't buy direct from the developer-always buy resale).

Here's a rough example. It assumes a 3% inflation rate of both the DVC annual fees and the Disney Deluxe cash cost:

 

[JimMIA]

We are very interested in ABD - at least 3-4 trips (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Europe)we would like to take through them in the next 10 years. Is DVC any true benefit for ABD?

For those types of trips, I think anything Disney is an awful value, and using DVC points just compounds the felony. First of all, you can do those trips yourself and save a ton of money, and have a trip tailored to your family's specific interests. I would certainly do the national parks tours yourself -- you'd really just be throwing money away otherwise.

Secondly, if you really want to go on a tour, there are a bunch of wonderful tour companies who offer tours that are probably better for half the price. Or MUCH better for the same price.

I like Disney and I love DVC (not as much as a couple of weeks ago, but still love it). But I would never use Disney for anything but Disney, and I would never use DVC for anything but DVC.

A classic example, IMHO, is DCL. I live in Miami, which is the largest cruise port in the world, and I am appalled by what Disney charges for their cruises! A cruise you could get for $700 here (and probably on a newer, nicer ship) costs $2-3,000 on DCL...and probably costs you an additional 40-50% premium on top of that if you use points.

If you decide to purchase DVC, please purchase it for DVC. That use is really the only thing you are guaranteed of having anyway. They could stop ABD, the II exchanges, and everything else but using points for DVC resorts tomorrow.

Or the values could change in big ways. For example -- they have just announced that using points to stay at a non-DVC WDW resort (which never carried an additional charge) will not carry a $95 fee per reservation. What are they really doing by that? They're taking away the previous benefit of using points to stay at Poly, GF, etc. Nobody in their right mind is going to pay $95 EXTRA for the privilege of paying grossly inflated points costs for staying at another onsite hotel.

If you buy DVC, you are guaranteed what the POS says -- nothing more, nothing less. It would be unwise to plan on any of the non-guaranteed benefits we enjoy during the first half of this week. We don't know what they will be by Friday.