Deciding to buy - It's hard!

[DisneyKidds]

I have to say, we've been thrilled with our DVC purchase. Purchased in 2002 and wish we had purchased sooner.......we've been making at least once annual trips since 1991, oh the money we could have saved. Of course ten years ago we probably weren't in a position to buy, but I digress.

If you are on the fence I will point out the only true downside to DVC, if you can call it that. Realistically, cost of ownership in DVC will be a lot more than your annual financing payments/DVC dues. Realistically, you are likely to spend a lot more on vacations owning DVC than you would have otherwise. Yes, you are saving a substantial amount over time on your lodging, but airline tickets, passes, food, and other travel expenses.....well, they really add up. So if how you are going to pay for DVC is a concern, look at your budget and figure out if you can pay for all the other costs associated with the trips you will be "forced" to take to WDW. Sure, you don't have to go, but it's so "cheap" because your lodging is already paid for. Ha!!

We have been going twice a year and have been easily spending $6,000 a year or more to cover our two, week plus, stays a year with the
Mouse........and that doesn't include DVC dues......and we don't have monthly payments for the purchase to deal with. Let me tell you, that has put a strain on our budget. Of course the memories made on those trips are priceless.

Just a little more to think about.

 

[shellbelle1971]

Um, the uneasieness and constant nagging/questioning feelings will go away quickly. As soon as you buy.

They will return just as quickly when you realize you want more points

Seriously, good luck with your decision.
Michelle

 

[Plutofan]

Boy I feel so luckey that our decision was so easy. We were making our first trip back to Disney in seven years. There were nine of us going and we wanted to stay at the Wilderness Lodge. We had rooms already booked and it was going to cost us approximately $5700 just for the one week. One day I just happen to click on the 'best kept secret" icon and discovered DVC. We purchased 250 points at SSR. We borrowed the next year points and covered the entire stay. I knew that I could purchase the points, cover our hotel and then sell the contract and come out ahead. But of course instead of selling the contract we added on and now have 490 points and planning to buy more several years from now. We already have plans for the Beach Club and Hilton Head next year. And yes we already have our plans for 2007. We are planing to go to Vero and take a Disney Crusie. We plan on selling off some of our points to pay for the 2007 cruise. I prefer to sell our points to friends so I just tell everyone to keep me in mind if you are going to Disney. I already priced out a room for a friend and will be able to save them close to 60% off the Disney rate for March. So if you plan ahead and do not mind some extra work there is usually a market to sell your points in the years that you want to skip WDW. I hate to say skip WDW but after two years we would like to try something different. The one thing that I discovered that plan on budgeting a lot more for vacations becuase you end up spending a lot at WDW. So before you buy figure out what you spend on meals, passes, airplane tickets etc before you take the plunge. I hope your decision will be as easy as ours. But for use we will always cherish the memories.

 

[bongo59]

I think the decision to buy was easy. After 12 years the decision is HARD trying to decide if we should sell to pay for son to go away to college since he doesn't want to attend where I work (Purdue).

...............make him pay his own...............Loans are cheap.............this is what my mom made me do when i was young and out of whack............

 

[BCVOwner2002]

I think the decision to buy was easy. After 12 years the decision is HARD trying to decide if we should sell to pay for son to go away to college since he doesn't want to attend where I work (Purdue).

We bought in 2002 knowing that DS would be going to college in the fall of 2004. We decided it made sense to purchase since we wouldn't be able to pay for vacations once college bills were due. Hopefully you can work out the college payments and still keep DVC. Best of luck. Annmarie

 

[rugelus]

I have been a Disney fan since childhood.

We were visiting and staying at the Boardwalk when by chance I asked about DVC in the lobby. Here is what did it...

My hotel bill for the week in a regular room with an applied discount was nearly $1500.00. We are paying less than that a year and getting almost 3 full weeks a year in 2 bedroom accomodations. The saved money has gone into fun, food and giftstores.

We are "heavy users" of Disney so this was the only way for us. If you plan to visit Disney once or more a year you cant get a better deal...(my opinion)

We dont always attend the parks now but never regret the first class accomodations, room options and extra not to mention the resorts are clean, safe and well kept.

We keep saying we will exchange points for a trip to non-DVC resorts but guess what...we love the DVC resorts so much we never have.

This is a personal decision and the cost may be a consideration but if you love Disney and enjoy being there this could be a huge cost savings in the long run.

Best Wishes!

 

[solgent]

We bought DVC without even stepping foot in WDW for 15-20 years. Why? We knew we were going to go every 2 years or so for the next 15 years. We like to go to FL in the winter and now had kids. We would stay in deluxe resorts and wanted multi-room accomadations (but did not want to pay Disney prices for it). We also had some extra money in the bank and had all the saving for X taken care of....We also thought the worse that could happen was that we sell the points and loose a little money.

Our story is similar. Our last visit to WDW was in 1999. Since then we moved to the NE and have been vacationing closer to home. But we're ready to go back and we want the space and amenities and to be onsite. We can afford it. Not without thinking about it, but we can manage.

We did think through various worst-case scenarios.
*What if Disney doesn't maintain the parks? Answer: It's still a FL vacation.
*What if transportation prices increase to the point that we can't afford to get there? Answer: We can sell to someone who lives closer &/or is better able to afford the travel.
*What if bioterrorism wipes out a large part of the population and we're all struggling to survive? Answer: Well, we're out the $X,000 we paid, but that isn't our biggest problem.

It is important to talk it through and feel comfortable that it is right for you. I don't recommend a big financial committment otherwise. For us, even though we've made other vacation choices recently, we've always had a great time at WDW. We don't want the stress and cost of a second home. Other people might spend money on a boat or an RV. We are doing this. Our first trip "home" will not be until early 2007, but we know it will be great!

 

[Pa@okw95]

Washington State is a long way to travel every trip to WDW. I would think twice before buying. It sounds to me that money may be an issue also, if it is do not buy.

 

[DisneyMim]

I usually never post on this board, but here goes... I guess this won't be a popular post, but IMHO if someone is second guessing themselves and going back and forth over buyng a timeshare it is not for them. Maybe it's not for you AT THIS TIME in your life and you will be better off waiting. All I know is we bought in 1991 before DVC was even built and we never thought about it at all. We just knew. When I have been in situations that I've gone round and round, in the end, it wasn't right for my family.

Good Luck!!

 

[Cinderella]

I did the same as you. When i first toured i didn' really understand the system, and weekend points etc. Also, i didn't realise we could add on later. Had a bought then, I would have wound up with way too many points.

We bought a few months later - after wasting even more cash on hotel rooms! Due to personal circumstances, we probably still bought way too early. But, I don't regret the purchase, and now I'm considering adding on to my original 150 points.

Take your time and do lots of research - only fools rush into things blindly. And don't feel pressurised by incentives - there will always be incentive programmes. When I bought - i think i paid $78 per point - almost five years ago, and you can still get points right now for $83 per point. My only regret is that I bought when we were getting only $1.36 to the £, whereas now, it's about $1.70. It would actually be cheaper for me to buy the same amount of points now than five years ago!

Good luck deciding and have fun researching - and do ask lots of questions on these boards, as you'll get some great advice.

 

[greenban]

Just purchased and were on the fence for over a year ourselves. My husband and I analyzed it every which way there was. We came to this conclusion- Does it make good fianancial sense ?- not really. Does it force us to have a regular vacation schedule and stay in places we might otherwise not?- Yes. Does it create great family memories and allows us to pass it along to our kids (ages 9 & 6) Yes. Let you know how it works out for us but after finally making the decision I feel good about it.

That's us exactly. Two very busy professionals, always building our practices, now we are 'forced' to take vacations, and they are GREAT vacations at that!

-Tony

 

[1BigDisneyFan]

Boy, you have gotten so much response here, I hesitate to post any more.

Your story sounds a lot like ours:

During a trip to Disney, we saw the signs in the parks and saw the in-room commercial on the TV. We were having a great Disney vacation and the thought of buying in sounded great to us. With two young kids (7 and 3), we thought it might make sense. So we sent away for the info and got ourselves a Disney Guide.

Well, as soon as the information came, we started doing the number crunching and scenario building, etc. And then the questions started "Do we REALLY want to go every year", "Should we buy now or wait a while?", "Do we really want to make this much of a financial comittment to vacations", "What other hidden costs are there?"

I personally disagree with the people who say that if you are taking the time to second guess yourself, then it isn't right for you. I think responsible people take the time to evaluate what you are doing, the financial impact and the ramifications of your choice.

That being said, we put things on hold for about 6 - 8 months. We decided to wait and mull things over a little while. About 6 months later we were all itching to go back to Disney. You know what? We decided that a trip to Disney every year was not such a bad thing!

We viewed it as something that we can eventually share with our kids as they get kids.

We went through the TimeShare Store and purchased points at the Beach Club Villas. And we don't regret it.

Also, consider this. You DON'T necessarily have to go every year. You can bank and borrow points. So you can decide not to go one year and save up points for a trip on a Disney Cruise (something my wife wants to do) or save up to stay in a larger accommodation or take a longer stay.

Also, consider one other option in your vacation plans. Maybe you take two trips one year (less than a year apart) purchase an annual pass (which will save you money over more than 7 days at the parks) and then take a year off.

There are many ways to get some variation in your vacation plans while still taking advantage of DVC.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Thanks 1BigDisneyFan - You've really hit the nail on the head with your response, and I really appreciate your advice, and the advice of many others that responded. DVCers are an awesome group of people!

Now that we've made the step to actively sell our new travel trailer (kind of a trade-off you might say for DVC ), we already feel like we're on the path to DVC ownership, and we feel great about it. No second thoughts at all, so it must be the right thing for us to do!

We feel GREAT about taking our time to decide, and crunching numbers to see if it makes sense to invest in Disney vacations. That's just us though - we feel more comfortable making an informed and well-thought-out decision (although sometimes I get a little jealous of the free-spirited people who can just jump into something without giving it a second thought - maybe someday we'll be able to do that too. )

Anyway, thanks everyone for all your opinions and advice. We read every single one and learned a lot, which is what the DisBoards are all about!

 

[BCVOwner2002]

It took us a long time to purchase DVC and like many others have said we wished we purchased sooner but I have to admit I was an educated consumer. I made a spreadsheet with all of the facts and figures. This was helpful to show DH how much money we had spent on WDW vacations during the years we contemplated our purchase. I also had a column for anticipated costs in the future. Once I had everything down on paper I knew we were making the right decision. I'm a "numbers person" and seeing the numbers in black and white really helped. Best of luck with your decisions and don't hesitate to ask questions. I've been on the DISboards a short time but have learned so much from my neighbors! Annmarie

 

[bongo59]

Washington State is a long way to travel every trip to WDW. I would think twice before buying. It sounds to me that money may be an issue also, if it is do not buy.

not with Southwest.................you can get 149 dollar roundtrips 3 times a yr from the Northwest..................as for my origianl comments...........about buying in 30 minutes...........I think if you go every yr once you have to be nuts not to buy.............we have gone at least 4 times a yr for over 15 yrs before 1991...............so it was and still remains a no brainer.