Did you overthink your DVC purchase?

[jodifla]

I know it is a big purchase, but taking years to make a decision really confounds me. Especially if during that time you are spending big bucks at on site Disney hotels.

If you think you will go to Disney every other year, and you can be flexible and you like nice accommodations it feels like a pretty easy choice.

We made our decision within a few months of staying at our first DVC property at Vero Beach. We did the no pressure tour. We loved the setting, so we checked out OKW and BWV as well and did those room tours.

We put off a car purchase and bought DVC instead. We bought the minimum for a direct sale at the time. We took out a loan but paid it off quickly. We added on in cash later.

And never looked back.

If you are already spending your vacation dollars at WDW, it is not that scary of a purchase. 27 years later, I can still sell it for more than I paid for it.

I am happy we bought a smallish contract. That way we have never felt overburdened by it.


I am curious what makes it so hard that it takes folks years of looking before purchasing.

 

[BeachClub2014]

Our experience wasn't all that dissimilar from the one you described. It was a pretty easy and quick decision for us. It's also a big luxury purchase, so I can understand why some people take much longer to leap and why others never leap.

 

[tom1944]

That was part of the fun of making the purchase.

I am still analyzing the various resorts and every aspect of the purchase. From location to point charts to ability to book standard versus preferred to cost of direct versus resale. Is there one resort we love enough to book the majority of our trips or are there 8 resorts that we want to book on some rotating schedule.

Every time I do this, I uncover some information I never considered.

Today I compared points at BLT, AKV-K, AKV-J and BWV between standard and preferred rooms to see where the standard rooms save the most points for our travel season.
SSR, OKW, BRV and CCR were also on the list but since I own at SSR, and the others only have 1 room type they did not come in to play.

 

[Sandisw]

No, we did not. We had been going to Disney almost yearly for 15 years when BLT was being built...and the CR was the place we stayed almost all the time....

So, we looked at what our typical 5 night trip in a room there cost, with the 35% discount we were getting....then compared that to what it would cost to buy DVC, including dues....

Using those figures, we figured out our break even...having to sell after a year at a 50% loss would result in losing money...at 5 years, we could sell at 50% loss and break even...at 10 years, we could give it away for free and break even.

The 180 points we started with would get us 7 nights instead of 5 or it would get us the same 5 nights in a 1 bedroom which was an upgrade to a standard room.

That was enough for us! We didn't worry about TVM...never do when we make a decision to spend cash...because the purpose was whether this made sense.. Since we had all intentions of going for a long time, we bought in and haven't looked back.

ETA: We also looked at it with financing and it still would have made sense for us....we ended up not needing to, but it just meant if we had to have done that, our break even would have been a bit different unless we could sell it for more than 50%.

 

[Jaydee51]

Nope! It was, and continues to be and easy decision once the numbers are plugged into the spreadsheet (or calculator). Just makes sense.
Overthinking has a higher opportunity cost. Full stop.

 

[PrincessKL]

I think the big factor is whether people have the money/cash they are willing to spend and whether there is the right resort they like.

We didn’t buy DVC immediately 5 years ago after learning about it because we just finished school and we don’t have the money laying around. At that time, staying at a moderate resort sounds cheaper to me. But over the years, we bought a resale contract, find out which resorts we like or don’t like, and then finally bought a direct contract.

 

[PalmettoPath]

I have been going to WDW every year for 2-3 weeks per year since it opened. We always stay in Deluxe Resorts and the MK area is the sentimental fave. So while DVC made financial sense for us right from the start, we waited until BLT and then VGF (our two home resorts) before we bought in because that is the area we primarily like to stay (probably 80% of the time). So for us it was waiting for our preferred located to become part of the program. Once that happened, it was an easy purchase decision. (We still stay in GF Club Level every second year or so just to get the old Royal Palm vibe, lol).

 

[Jaydee51]

I think the big factor is whether people have the money/cash they are willing to spend and whether there is the right resort they like.

I don't disagree. At first look, the initial investment amount can be intimidating.

 

[Sandisw]

And I am going to add, we have never looked at the numbers again after our initial decision was made.

 

[tony67]

Personally I'm very glad I did not purchase.

Look at what it will cost you per year. Look at the annual maintenance fees.
When I was considering it they even gave you free tickets when you visited (through 2000 I think).

Even with all that I felt I was better off doing pay as you go - and I do not regret it at all.
Around 2010 or so I did not like the way Disney was changing - I went from going 2 or 3 times a year to 2 or 3 times in the last 10 years - even though I still go to Universal at least once a year.

So one - do not purchase then and there- like my friend recently did - no question he regret that.
Take your time and think it through and If it works for you great - but its not for everyone and in a few years you may find out its no longer for you.

 

[tom1944]

For us it was a perfect time to purchase and I am glad I did.

We have 2 very different ideas for our use. Vacation time with our granddaughter usually in August and time away from NJ during the winter. Most likely the end of January.

I look forward to both.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I underthinked mine!

 

[disneyfan123]

We didn’t overthink the decision, however, it took a long time to actually buy in, about 12 years or so from when we took our first DVC tour. Part of that was because we didn’t have the cash and part of that was because we were happy renting points. Now that we own, there are no regrets and we love being a part of the DVC family!

 

[CarolynFH]

We toured on our first visit to WDW (1994), were interested but it was not financially feasible then. We bought on our 4th visit (1997) when finances were in order and it was clear we’d be visiting annually (or close to it) for years to come. It was also clear that sharing a single room, one bathroom, with our kids was no longer a vacation for any of us!

We looked at cash rates a couple of times in the beginning, but since then we haven’t looked back. And we’ve often said to each other that DVC was the best purchase we ever made for our family.

 

[jess2022]

We went for a 3 night trip to SSR and fell in love. We started planning a bigger trip for our family, saw what we’d be spending on hotels and decided we’d rather put that money towards a contract. Less than a month after our stay we bought a small SSR resale contract and closed last week. Adding on will require more thought.

 

[Cfabar1]

We first found out about DVC in 2020... having not been to the parks for MANY MANY years... Nothing against Disney, it just hadn't been something we had done. It felt like too big a purchase for something we hadn't been to in such a long time. Signed up for the DVC Resale Market alerts, and kept getting them daily, but it didn't mean much at the time.

We returned to the parks starting in 2022, and that's when the bug hit us! Then came the APs, and we quickly found ourselves staying at the Swan/Dolphin OR having a long ride home after a day in the parks. Then we did the DVC tour after a Swan stay and thought wow... Both Riviera and VGF are miles ahead of what they can offer at the Swan or Dolphin (hadn't tried SR at that time!). Then it became just deciding whether we wanted to bite the bullet or not. We started with a very small resale contract, then picked up another small contract, and recently went in direct at 150. In hindsight, I didn't need both resale contracts, but we do need the points, so I'm glad we bought them.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

My first trip to Disney I said, "we will go once when she is 4 and once when she is a teen and that will be good." Hysterical.

We took so long to buy in (finally closed and waiting for deed filing and membership number) because

1. We are a lower middle class family itching for early retirement that pays cash for our fun.
2. I fell in, out, and back in love with Disney World.
3. Unknowable annual payment of dues for a long, long time.
4. Would we still want to travel from New York to Florida and would our only still love it too when she got bigger (remains to be seen and YES).
5. Covid changed everything
6. I overthink buying a tshirt, why should DVC be any different?

 

[davidhr]

I am curious what makes it so hard that it takes folks years of looking before purchasing.

$$$$

It’s a major purchase. Yes, it has the potential to save you money in the long run. But spending $2k-$5k every year or two is not the same as spending $30k as an initial purchase + $1k in yearly dues.

It’s much easier to budget those $5k for a vacation.

 

[Curiousporpoise]

$$$$

It’s a major purchase. Yes, it has the potential to save you money in the long run. But spending $2k-$5k every year or two is not the same as spending $30k as an initial purchase + $1k in yearly dues.

It’s much easier to budget those $5k for a vacation.

I agree! We were going to Aulani or Disneyland once per year for years, and it was much easier to spend $2-5k to stay on property. I didn’t really understand DVC, and had always heard people say never buy timeshares, so I had never even listened to a pitch.

For years before and after Aulani opened, there were DVC kiosks at our mall that would try and stop us to give a pitch. I would always smile and decline, and now I’m kicking myself. I could have been an original Aulani subsidized dues buyer. I have 2 young kids who love Disney and we recently bought DVC and love it. I already have Addonditis and purchased 2 contracts and want more to get 1 bedrooms and 2 bedrooms in the future!

 

[Jmla32]

Yes, simply because of the cost and wondering how we’ll prefer to vacation in the future. Not sure if it makes sense for us to buy if we won’t be using every year or every other year to go to Disney. It seems like renting points is feasible, but will that always be the case? There’s other travel (cruises, National Park, etc) that we enjoy as well. There is something about the Disney bubble that we just love though.