Cynics only reply!

[SunDevil]

I'm a complete newbie to these forums, so please excuse any lack of decorum in my post.

My husband and I (and my 3 year old daughter) are considering a purchase into DVC at VWL. My parents recently moved from Phoenix to Ormond Beach, 1 1/2 hours from Orlando, which got us to thinking about how often we'd be visiting WDW and whether the DVC would make sense for us. We're pretty darn close to a purchase.

I have enjoyed reading the posts to this forum and love your level of enthusiasm. However, what I need is some really objective opinions regarding this purchase. All I could find on these threads were how much you love DVC and how great it is--which I'm sure is true. But I'd really like to know more about the "dark" side of the DVC--there has to be at least a shadow! What have been some of the down sides of your experience with it, and what could be done better?

Let me also say that we are as likely to use our points for offsite vacations as we are for Disney. My husband and I do enjoy luxury hotels and vacations, so the Concierge Collection sounds like something we'd take advantage of. Those who have used points for this, please share your experience.

Finally, I think we'd also often exchange our points with the Member Getaways. Again, any thoughts or caveats you can share here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any and all opinionated opinions!

 

[Island_Lauri]

but you will probably only hear it from the people that are reselling their memberships in DVC. There are a number of resales. The people selling must have found a downside. But I think that is still a positive thing because people are buying these resales = my investment has kepts its value.

 

[Richyams]

Disney pays us. We get a set price for each glowing word we use on this site.

Immaculate $0.25
Spacious $0.15
Friendly CMs $0.25


Phrases pay a little more.

Best decision we ever made. $0.75
Not one regret $0.50
My whole family owns. $1.00

SOmetimes we get double word bonus points for extra glowing compositions.

 

[wdwnut]

triple word score Rich?

 

[nydizfan]

triple word score ..

Its the best yet 7.50

can you beat that? dave

 

[wdwoldtimer]

What is the downside to owning an interest in these immaculate vacation homes with their spacious designs? Do I have any complaints about the friendly CMs? Since my whole family owns, we feel it's the best decision we've ever made and we don't have a single regret.


(DVC, please remit $2.90 to wdwoldtimer)

BTW, I was getting $1.20 every time I said "incredible value". Does anyone have the 2000-2001 Official Praise List? I need a copy ASAP...running a little low on cash.

 

[valeriekc]

The levity displayed in the responses made me chuckle!
But seriously now, It is a bummer that you are staying in a 1st class resort and you have to make up and clean your own room. Its not that I'm not capable of doing it, its just not something I do at any other hotel or on any other vacation. Also I don't think they offer enough benefits to the members who make such a huge upfront investment as well as a continuing investment for 41? years! If you are considering this as a good investment for something other than staying at and going to Disney properties I would not. It is cheaper and usually a lot easier to pay cash for other vacations that you might trade for. If you are planning on going to WDW every 2-3 years for the next 40 then it is a good way to even out the cost of your lodgings. I sure have enjoyed it!

 

[Caskbill]

Sun Devil, in all honesty you won't find much in the way of complaints here, only the occassional problems with a room, or service, etc. No different than you'd find with any major hotel that serves thousands of people weekly.

The fact that there are now about 55,000 DVC owners, and when you check the resale sites, there are only a dozen or so DVC sales at any time, probably speaks for itself. Even at that, many that do sell do so for reasons other than they're unhappy, EG divorce, death in family, etc.

On a personal basis, we've been members 8 years now, and I have yet to experience anything we'd consider a downside. The worst that ever happened was that our room wasn't ready at 6:00 pm one time when we got to OKW. (Checkin is 4:00 pm). They gave us a free dinner at Olivia's, and when we finished, the room was ready (and spotless)

If you search this site much, the only 'down' things you'll find are little problems here and there, ranging from parking issues, pool-hopping issues, smoking in non-smoking rooms, etc.

You may find some posts from people who looked and did not purchase. In these cases it's always been that it wasn't right for them. Where you live, your finances, how often you can get away, do you want to commit to Disney vacations that much, etc., all play an important role in what's right for each person. These things you can figure out for yourself.

Per Valerie's remark about maid service, remember DVC is not a hotel, but a time share. I don't know of any time-shares that offer daily maid service. However, this service is available at an additional fee.

Caskbill

P.S., you'll have to forgive Richyams, it takes awhile to get to know his humor. But he does make life interesting! That's for sure. Meanwhile, I guess no check for me from Disney this month. Don't think I made a dime on this post!.......

 

[A1A1]

I definitely would not purchase with the intent of using your points outside of WDW very often. Wanted to use up remaining 85 points this year, and looked at all of the trading options. There is a $75 trading fee in addition to the points you would use to stay somewhere else. The points for use at the places and times this fall we would want to go, just nice places in the states, nowhere in Europe, nothing in the adventurer collection, were more that to use points to stay at the GF, which, in itself, is extremely poor value when using points. Turns out, we would have been able to stay two nights at the places we looked at outside of the DVC resorts, whereas our week-long stay at VB in May was all of about 70 or 80 points (I think). It might be okay to do it sometimes, but as a regular use of points, it is not sensible to use them out of your DVC resorts.

I am wondering if DVC was a wise choice for me. I think in the next forty years, I might like to have a nice, lengthy stay somewhere other than DVC resorts. If I sold my ownership interest, and put that money into mutual funds, I could vacation on the interest very nicely anywhere I wanted.

 

[Dean]

I love my DVC and though I've considered selling one of my two contracts (own 502 points) it's just that I have more timeshares than I can take vacations.

I would have to concur that DVC doesn't give you a good value for what you've stated. DVC is a VERY expensive option for use for the other than DVC options. The Concierge, Disney Colection and DCL are by far the highest cost options. Interval International is not quite as high but still not a value for routine exchanges. Since you will be close, consider buying the minimum points and staying Sun-Friday. This will be the best value for your points. You can then use any other money for cash vacations or buy another timeshare for exchanging. You can even rent from other timeshare or condo owners.

DVC is a real value used for the DVC resorts except for mostly weekends where it is very expensive as well. The best value is S-F for 5 days or less and being that close, that would likely work well for you with 150 points.

To be fair, there are those that want to buy DVC and never think about paying for a vacation again regardless of the long term cost of certain options. There are also those that think Disney can do no wrong. That's ok, just that you need to know.

 

[CarolAnnC]

The only downside from my perspective is that we did not purchase DVC several years earlier. We had looked and discussed but did not make a decision until five years ago. We had several wonderful family vacations until my husband passed away last year. I am very thankful we have the memories but like I said, I do wish we had done it sooner.

 

[TnRobin]

As you have seen in the previous posts. We love our DVC. But DVC is not for everyone. IF you plan to spend many vacations at WDW - on property - DVC is a greqat investment. No other timeshare can come close to providing you the opportunity and flexibilty of accomadations at WDW. If you are planning most of your vacations at places other than DVC resorts (including Hilton Head and Vero Beach) disney is an expensive option. There are many timeshare companies that can provide you with a wide variety of location at a less expensive price.

Having Interval International as an option with DVC is great for a different vacation, WDW properties are premium properties in the exchange market.

Again, you need to look at your travel habit and decide where you expect to spend a majority of your vacations.

 

[prncssjas]

Hi Sundevil. I don't blame you for looking for "unbiased" or objective opinions on DVC. It's a major purchase for most people and not something to be taken lightly. I think you will find the people on this board to be helpful and extremely intelligent! They are also willing to be honest about their experiences as well. However, consider where you are looking to receive information--on the DIS boards, where for the most part, people are happy with their DVC purchase. I have yet to see someone regularly post and contribute who has NO interest in DVC.

That said, I have found DVC to be a terrific way to vacation! DH and I were not looking to make money but simply protect ourselves from the rising cost of hotel stays. It's not to say we will never vacation any where else--BUT we do know that we will always want to take a WDW vacation at least every 1-2 years. When DH and I went last year, we stayed at the GF, which I thought was so inrecedibly perfect that I would never want to stay anywhere else! But then I stayed at the BWV this past May and fell in love with it!! We have many options now and I am grateful for that.

Perhaps this isn't the most helpful post, as I have done nothing but sing DVC praises (do I get a cut of that $$ too?! LOL! ) If I only offer any bit of advice, I would simply consider why you want to buy DVC and how you want to use it. Then look at your options. I do think you will love it but what do I know?? I am very far from being cynical.

Good luck and keep us posted of your decision!!

 

[SunDevil]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful (and funny!) replies.

I'm not dissuaded yet--but I do have a couple more questions/observations:

1) Does the $75 trading fee apply to any transaction outside the DVC properties? I was under the impression it only applied to those trades within the World Passport Collection (through Interval International or BVTC); but now after reading these posts and looking at the documentation, I'm not so sure.

2) I've been doing some price comparisons for the Concierge Collection. To me, it appears we would save between 20% to 50% on many of the properties I checked into--that seems pretty substantial. Do you all think we can get better values on those properties booking directly?

3) Also, regarding the Concierge Collection, have you found availability to be fairly limited--kind of like trying to use your frequent flyer miles?

4) One feature that appeals to me with the property exchanges is the research that must go into selecting a property into the collection. Can I trust that these are all high quality properties--similar to what I'd expect from a Disney property?

Don't get me wrong--I do think we'll be using many/most of our points for Disney vacations--particularly over the next 10-15 years. But I am thinking we'd also use alot of points for exchanges, particularly once we've retired and can travel more.

Thanks again for all your help with my decision making process!

 

[mouseclick1]

We bought at BWV last summer and I am very pleased with our purchase. The only downside that that concerns me is planning around your use year. Here's an example:

We have a March use year. Being a teacher and having two children, we vacation only during school breaks. Next year we will be at WDW in February. If we have to cancel our trip for any reason after our banking period expires, we would not be able to reschedule our trip during our use year and would be stuck with points that would expire if not used by February 28. We would probably be scrambling at the last minute trying to find someone who could use the reservation instead. It's kind of my fault for planning a trip so close to the end of my use year, but that's the way our calendar falls. We will also be heading to WDW in July of 2002. That trip falls well before the end of my use year, so if it needs to be cancelled, I would still have time to either reschedule my trip or bank my points.

We love WDW in February, but I'm hestitant to plan future trips at this time of the year. I hope I have made sense explaining this situation!

 

[Lisa P.]

Originally posted by SunDevil
1) Does the $75 trading fee apply to any transaction outside the DVC properties?

The $75 fee applies for Concierge Collection, too.

...Concierge Collection. To me, it appears we would save between 20% to 50% on many of the properties I checked into--that seems pretty substantial.

I'm assuming you mean "off rack rates." We never pay rack rates for hotels. Discounts are usually available if you are not traveling during peak holidays.

Also, regarding the Concierge Collection, have you found availability to be fairly limited--kind of like trying to use your frequent flyer miles?

I've never used it but it doesn't seem like a problem, from postings here. If the rooms are available, Member Services seems able to book them. However, that may be an indication that DVC is actually paying a fairly high rate to those hotels and therefore, isn't as restricted as you would be with, say, the Entertainment discount book or FF miles.

Can I trust that these are all high quality properties--similar to what I'd expect from a Disney property?

Generally high quality, yes. Similar to Disney? Perhaps, perhaps not. Every place is different. Disney properties are themed and mostly designed to be rather fantasy-like in their atmosphere. You don't find that at the other destinations. It all depends on what you are seeking, whether they would be a satisfactory usage for DVC points.

I agree with those who've posted here regarding using DVC points for mid-week DVC stays. If you truly expect to use them at DVC resorts at least every other year, you'd probably really enjoy owning with DVC. But if you are buying with the intent to use them else where half the time, think twice... and then twice more. What's the hurry to buy them and why tie up your money if you don't need to?

If you want to read more opinions from those who own elsewhere and use their ownership to exchange around a lot, visit TUG, Timeshare Users Group and read the bulletin boards there. The Advice articles are useful too. At TUG, you will find happy DVC owners too but also a whole lot of people who like to exchange around to different locations and use other points programs as well. If you are really honestly seeking the flipside, look there. It's a good idea before buying ANY timeshare, DVC or otherwise. Just a thought.

 

[TnRobin]

The $75 applies to all non-DVC resort stays with one exception. Disney Resort properties like at WDW and DL do no require the $75 exchange fee

 

[wdwoldtimer]

I agree with Valerie, that we shouldn't have to pay extra for daily maidservice. The free maid service we DO get should be every other day, instead of the way it is now. But in terms of value for our initial investment.... one benefit which you missed out on, was the free length of stay passes for the first 8 years of membership! This was a HUGE benefit for those who joined early on. I think they should offer a substantial discount on park passes to members now...something like 50% off.

With the cost/point these days, the value is certainly less than it was, but still a worthwhile investment if you plan on taking the bulk of your vacations at DVC resorts.

We have rarely had problems making ressies. It's nothing like the restrictions on FF miles. You just have to be a little flexible, and try to plan your vacations early. Which is basically like ANY ressie you make using cash....if you want to go during a busy season, you have to plan ahead.

And don't forget that the membership is something that you can keep in the family. Even if you don't think you'll want to be going to Disney near the end of the membership, your kids can bring their families.

And there's another benefit that hasn't been mentioned yet. It may not be worth a lot of $$$, but is certainly real. There's that intangible thing ....that feeling of being part of the Disney family. Just hang around this discussion group and you'll see what it's like. Visit one of the DVC resorts and go to a member social.

Oh, but here I go again, raking in the $$$ with all these praises.

To put it in perspective....it's still cheaper than most cars...and those only last for a few years.

 

[wdwoldtimer]

I'm curious about those who sell their memberships...does anyone have a handle on common reasons why? I bet few are because of disatisfaction and more because of financial reasons or that they purchased too many points and weren't using them. (that's a problem I'd like to have!)

Can anyone shed light on this? It might also help SunDevil....

 

[ronw]

I just purchased a resale from someone who said that their teenage childen just were not interested in going to Disney anymore.