Considering DVC!!!

[Shelby5514]

Ok here's my story...

We had never even considered buying a time share until this past month. While on vacation at WDW (CSR) we took a day trip over to Daytona Beach to check out bike week. While walking on the beach we were approached by a lady asking us to come tour a resort and in return we would get 2 bike week t's and a $100 gift certificate to Red Lobster/Olive Garden. DH thinking with his stomach said "OK". We had NO intentions of buying anything and told them this up front. We let them talk and then they almost wouldn't take "NO" for an answer. Finally the "closer" came over and wanted to know why we weren't interested. I said the first thing that came to mind. "If I were to buy a timeshare anywhere it would be at DISNEY!!!" Boy did that stop them in their tracks. We left with the T's and $100 GC and only wasted 60 min.
Now that we are back to civilization, DH, out of the blue, says we should look into DVC as much as we go there. (once a year for the last 6 years) Had he mentioned this while we were down there I would had scheduled a tour ASAP. So now my only info is this wonderful board. I have been reading as much as I can but I am just worried that I should have toured when we were down there.
Has anyone ever bought DVC without touring first??? It will probably be next spring before we will be back and I just don't know what to do. Do we wait and tour next spring? Or do we just get all the info here, buy DVC and use our points next spring???
And I thought building our house was a major decision!!!


Thanks to all!!!
Shelby5514

 

[pumpkinboy]

We bought sight-unseen; well, we had been on the BW and to a restaurant or two in the BW, but had not seen the inside of any of the BWV rooms when we bought 240 pts at BWV (now 305). Wehn we bought, we did not know about the resale market or about use-years or any of that. But still, I think we still would have gone direct thru DVC given our exellent buying experience. When you call them for the first time they will assign you a "Guide", who starts by providing the relevant information on resort and pricing and the other stuff. Our guide talked to us about our usage expectations and recommended point levels (and costs) that would cover our expected usage (of course, now we just want to go even more often, so we have done the add-on thing). Our guide is excellent, and I would be happy to give you her name and toll-fre number if you would like (just PM me).

 

[Pa@okw95]

I stayed at OKW as a cash customer, then thought it was not in my price range, figuring you had to make at least 2 to 3 million a year to have a time share right on WDW property. I found out a few months later that it only cost the price of a mid-size car. I bought immediately. They will send you a video about DVC if you call. I would start there.

 

[llp479]

We bought BWV site-unseen in 1998. We had stayed at OKW with our 2dds in 1996, and were in the planning stages for a trip in 1999 with our 3dds, when we made our decision to purchase.

We had received a quote for a 2bdrm at BVW. Like you, we had been to WDW for several years in a row, and with the kids expected to be going for many years to come. So I asked DH what DVC was about, he made a call, got the video, and WHAM! Done deal! We joke with our guide that we were the easiest sale she ever had. We made it a point to go meet her last March when we stayed at BWV.

We liked DVC so much that we bought an OKW resale in '01.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[Beca]

We just wrote a contract for BWV (still praying to pass RofR)...and we have never SEEN it!!! We have stayed on Disney property at the deluxe resorts many times...so A Disney timeshare just made sense for us...picking one...having not seen any was tricky...and, many would argue...stupid!!! We were supposed to tour BWV in Dec 2001, but our dd came down with the Norwalk Virus when it was going around WDW...so, we did a "Tour" of Orlando hospitals instead!!!!

Anyway...we have stong opinions of what we want out of a resort, and we also have good friends who own at three different DVC resort...plus...I read posts of others on this board, going as far back as a year. I feel very comfortable in our decision, and I can't wait to go!!! I hope to "add-on" at other DVC locations, but in the big picture...we just feel very blessed to be able to afford a Disney timeshare...and, I am sure we would be happy at ANY resort (I just think we will be THRILLED) with BWV.

I quite possibly do NOT know what I am talking about...but, I feel that we will see prices going up before they go down. We wanted to purchase before the price increase, and there seemed to be a lot on the resale market right now...so, it seemed like a good time to "pick and choose" a good contract (i.e. good uy, banked pts, etc). We knew there was NO time in our schedule to go to WDW...so, we just "took a leap of faith" and bought!!!

Good luck in your decision!!!

 

[pumpkinboy]

DH, out of the blue, says we should look into DVC as much as we go there. (once a year for the last 6 years)

And you definately go often enough to make it worth it and "price of a mid-size car" about covers the cost aspect. We figure it will pay for itself in 7-10 years, less if you're paying cash.

I also feel better about the purchase that we have about previous car purchases, and I challeng you to find a car that'll still be providing enjoyment to you in 50 yrs (Hmmm, well, then there's my late FIL's 1963 Studebaker Avanti, but then my idiot BIL inherited that so it might not be around all that much longer...)

 

[DisneyBill]

It sounds as though you're considering buying directly from DVC. If that's the case (nothing wrong with that at all), then you should consider the upcoming price increase in points at SSR that will take the price to $95. p/point. Just thought you'd want to know if you're considering taking action soon.

 

[Disney Doll]

I did not buy sight-unseen, but would have if my DH would have agreed to it. We were down there on our honeymoon in 1991, when they were building OKW. I wanted to buy into it right then. He thought we should be practical and buy a house first! So we ended up buying about 6 years later. Bettre late than never, right?

In any event, I wouldn't be too worried about buying sight unseen.It is a quality operation. We bought a second contract in 2002, and have never regretted our decision.

Most people's biggest issues are financing and which resort to buy. The two are sort of intertwined in many ways. If you want to buy at SSR, then you wil have to buy from Disney, because it is not available resale. The benefit of SSR is that it is a 12 year longer contract than any of the other resorts. It's also more per point than a resale at any of the other resorts, so you'll have to weigh what is more important. For DH and I, 12 years longer would put us well into our 80's, so that wasn't as big of a consideration as the financial side. If you're young, however, that 12 years may make a difference, and may make it worthwhile to pay more. We bought our first contract through Disney. We financed for 10 years, because the 10 year loan had the lowest monthly payment. Our thought was that each month we would pay more on the loan than the minimum payment, but if a month came along where money might be a litle "tight", all we'd HAVE to pay would be the minimum payment. That system worked well for us, and we had it paid offin about 3 1/2 years. The second contract we bought with some money we inherited, so that we paid for outright. You begin to see the biggest financial gain once the points are paid for. If you buy a resale, then you have figure out alternative financing. Some folks take loans, some folks use home equity lines of credit, which gives them some ability to write some of it off, some folks use their Disney VISA card, get the 1% cash reward and then pay it off with cash(of course, you have to have the available cash to do that, which a lot of folks don't! ) If you click on "The Timeshare Store" link on this website, you'll get a pretty good idea of what's available.

I am not sure what the current prices of SSR are...I think I recall reading $95.00 per point, or they're going up to $95.00 per point soon, or something along those lines. Perhaps another DISer has more concrete info about that?????

The next decision is where to buy. If yo decide SSR, the themeing is sort of New England/traditional as far as the furnishings etc. are concerned. The furniture is a cherry stain, very rich-looking.

BCV is beachy, light and pastel, casual.
BW is beachy/seashorey. Lots of blues.
BWV and BCV have one thing in common...location. They are both walking/boating distance to Epcot and MGM, and of course, the access to all that is on the Boardwalk itself...restaurants, shopping, piano bar, dance club etc. Bus to everywhere else. BCV has Stormalong Bay, an amazing pool complex. BWV has a nice pool too, but it isn't SAB.
They are hotel-style properties, with interior entrances.

OKW is beachy/tropical. Also lots of pastels, very casual atmoshrere, very relaxing. They are condo-style units, you park in front of your unit and they have exterior entrances. The main pool area is noce, they are building a slide this year. There's a boat to Downtown Disney, and also a walking path. Bus to everywhere else.

VWL is a little deeper in their color scheme, very serene and tranquil feel. Boat to the MK, bus to everywhere else, boat to Fort Wilderness. Also hotel-style, with interior entrances, nice pool, with some nice little "nooks and crannies" and waterfalls etc.

No property is inferior to any other, they are all just different. As I said, we have never regretted our decision.

Good luck!

 

[WDWorld2003]

We bought sight unseen - resale at the Boardwalk! Still haven't seen it. or the Boardwalk area but will be there next week for our first stay.

The only deluxes we have seen are AKL and the Polynesian for dinner. We stayed at Port Orleans on our last trip and were so impressed with the grounds and overall atmosphere. We didn't even stop at the DVC booth until we were checking out so we didn't even get to tour a room. However, when we came home we ordered the video, spent a lot of time on these boards and were convinced it must be for us (will let you know after next week!)

We also would never think of buying a timeshare but really loved our trip to Disney and knew we would love to be able to go more often. We think this will be our incentive and if not, the resale market seems to hold its' own right now - at least you don't lose 50+% of your investment the minute you buy it! Our resale came with points we were not able to use and they were fairly easy to rent - another plus!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[kaseyC]

We realized after our most recent WDW vacation last August that our family was just too large for one Deluxe resort room. So I started looking into renting points from a DVC owner for our December 2004 trip. The more I read about DVC and learned from lurking on the Boards, I realized that DVC would be perfect for us. I ordered the video and started convincing my husband. When he saw the floorplans for the two-bedrooms he was sold.
We started the process through Disney to purchase at SSR but we realized we would be happier with our home resort in the Epcot/MGM area. So we started looking into resales at either BCV or BWV.
Today we found the perfect contract for the BWV, made an offer which was accepted by the seller. So now we just need to hope we pass Disney's ROFR.
We are still renting the points for SSR in December and if we like it there we may add-on.

 

[Xtine76]

I bought into DVC without seeing any of the DVC resorts, only the All-Star Resort and the lobby of the Contemporary. I have only been to Disney once this past October but plan to go many more times, and I liked staying on property-the quality was so great-that I bought in. I wish you could stay at the All-Star Resort or Pop Century on points!