disadvantages or hidden costs

[wdw47]

we are thinking of buying into the Disney Vacation club does anyone know of any disavantages or hidden costs

 

[princetonnj]

the most common hidden-cost is "add-onitis" or loving it so much you want to add-on more points.


Can anyone think of a disadvantage?

 

[stacy6552]

For us the hidden costs are these....

well we're going for the next 50 years, guess I'll start collecting pins...

We're saving on hotels, so we can splurge on....

custom framing my litho.....

 

[swrdfghtr]

Originally posted by wdw47
we are thinking of buying into the Disney Vacation club does anyone know of any disavantages or hidden costs

Potentially.

There are per-point, yearly maintenance fees, which range from $3-5 per point depending on your home resort.

Also, all the resorts except Saratoga may "go away" in 2042, when DVC's lease with Disney is up.

You'll still have to pay for park admission, food, and whatnot; that's nothing extra but owning DVC may get you to WDW more often than you would otherwise, so you'll pay these things more often. I know we will .

When you buy, there can be closing costs (Disney sometimes waives these for direct purchases from them; resales always pay). Those are often in the $400-$500 range but it totally depends on the total value of your purchase.

If you finance, of course, there are finance charges.

None of these are really "hidden," and everyone makes them pretty clear up front. But they're easy to forget about when you're shopping, and worth remembering.

We own timeshares with Marriott as well as DVC, and have found both to be very enjoyable vacation options. We regard both as "investments" in ourselves; while we may not realize a financial gain from them ever, we are certainly assured of being able to take a vacation or two every year, even if times are tough, because we've "prepaid" for one of the most expensive single components of a vacation: Lodging.

 

[y2khardtop]

IF you want to go to Disney every year, or every other year, AND love being on the Disney property, I see no disadvantages. You come out cheaper than staying at any other resort.

When we joined, we got 3 years of free tickets, which was a big plus. However, that's all gone now

We did the math, and figure we'll come out spending half what we would over the life of the plan. We can even rent a 12-person grand villa (for a week) for the entire family every few years, which alone would pay for the initial buy-in.


I've been very pleased. OKW is my home resort, and is great except when you Bus (little secluded). We usually stay at one of the other resorts if we plan ahead.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

You may find yourself going to WDW more often and therefore spending more money in the long run (so is that so bad?). It is very nice not to get a bill for your room when you check out.

HBC

 

[Dean]

Disney does not nickle and dime you though the up front costs and yearly fees are VERY high from a timeshare standpoint.

 

[crisi]

There are charges for booking outside DVC - for instance a charge for booking a cruise.

Points are possibly (and arguably) "best spent" at DVC resorts. If you are buying primarily to cruise, to stay at all those other locations the brochure talks about, or to trade out, you will want to think hard and consider what you are doing.

But, if you stay at a DVC resort, you will pay your dues bill (monthly or yearly) and check out with no booking fee, no taxes, no room fees (well, except those pay per view movies, additional housekeeping, room service, etc).

 

[jaclark]

Originally posted by Dean
Disney does not nickle and dime you though the up front costs and yearly fees are VERY high from a timeshare standpoint.

We are DVC members

Dean, you mention DVC being VERY high - what do other timeshares (such as Marriott or comparable) charge for their yearly rates??

Not that it would have made a difference to us.. We are thrilled to be part of the DVC family this way....

I'm surprising my kids in 2 weeks with an unplanned trip. HUbby is going North to snowmobile so my mom and I are taking the kids South to Disney !! COuldn't have done that without our membership..

Good luck with your decision,
Annette

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by jaclark
We are DVC members

Dean, you mention DVC being VERY high - what do other timeshares (such as Marriott or comparable) charge for their yearly rates??

Not that it would have made a difference to us.. We are thrilled to be part of the DVC family this way....

I'm surprising my kids in 2 weeks with an unplanned trip. HUbby is going North to snowmobile so my mom and I are taking the kids South to Disney !! COuldn't have done that without our membership..

Good luck with your decision,
Annette

The Marriott's in Orlando are in the $600-700 range for a 2 BR for a summer week. DVC would be more in the $1400 for 350 points to do the same 2 BR in summer. That is obviously not the entire story as many people could get by with less than 350 points and still do about as much. Even if one assumed 270 points, it's still far more expensive for DVC. If one is looking at exchanging, the price difference is greater still, IMO.