Disney Vacation Club--- possibly purchasing

[Leebee1253]

Hi, I had a quick question to members of the Disney Vacation Club.. My mom and I are thinking of purchasing 250 points in the BLT of the Contemporary Resort. My mom is 61, I am 38, my sister is 36, my bro in law is 36, my niece is 5 and my nephew is 2. We would be using Disney for years to come. My question though, is it really worth it? It seems like a lot of money outright, but then if you break it down, not so much.. but really how much are you cooking, using the laundry facilities, etc ???
Also, does anyone know if you can get the dining plan or the free dining when offered? What about parking at the parks, etc? Also, what about tickets/ they are expensive? Also, when offered discounts on tickets, can we get it as a DVC member? Please advise.
We are looking into the BLT bc mom is getting older and the monorail is a big convenience for her. Thanks.

Lisa

 

[Chuck S]

Prior to buying DVC, we never used laundry facilities. Now that it is available, it is wonderful. We don't have to pack and return home with loads of dirty clothes. And we can pack less, knowing we can wash them as needed. As far as cooking, we usually have breakfast items, and sandwich makings in a studio, things that microwave well. If in a one bedroom, we get a few eggs and breakfast meats, but we also still eat out a lot. We don't make big dinners, although we've brought guests who made full use of the kitchen and BBQ grills near the pools.

It is a much more "relaxed" visit for us than when we stay in a regular hotel room.

 

[DebbieB]

Also, does anyone know if you can get the dining plan or the free dining when offered? What about parking at the parks, etc? Also, what about tickets/ they are expensive? Also, when offered discounts on tickets, can we get it as a DVC member? Please advise.
We are looking into the BLT bc mom is getting older and the monorail is a big convenience for her. Thanks.

Lisa

You can buy the dining plan for regular price. You cannot get free dining, that requires a full price room package through WDTC. Parking at the parks is included when staying at a WDW resort. Members currently get a $100 discount on an adult AP.

 

[Greysword]

The DVC experience is worth it for us. We make full use of the kitchen and laundry facilities, as they are very convenient and easy.

We have adjusted our park schedule to match the accomodations. Since we know we are going to be back many times in the next 40+ years, we take things at a slower pace. For instance, we will likely get up in the morning and have breakfast (everything from cereal/milk to eggs, bacon, toast/pancakes/etc), head to a park and stay till lunch. Then we will either eat in the park and return to the room or have lunch in the room, take naps/relax in the afternoon, then eat dinner in the room and head back to the park for the evening.

For meals, we'll usually have sandwiches (or leftovers) for lunch and something easy for dinner (spagetti, tacos, pizza, frozen lasagna, etc). This has been a boon, since two of our three trips we have had friends/family stay with us and the food savings is significant.

The laundry is invaluable, since we throw a load in the washer as we leave or at night and transfer to the dryer later. It is convenient and easy, and helps as Chuck mentioned.

The big thing, however, is the overall potential cost savings. Six people fit in a two-bedroom, but it would probably take at least two rooms for your whole group to stay on property.

 

[katied]

I don't look at it so much as a savings - it's a different way to vacation. We use the laundry all the time, esp with small kids. Meals are great too - we have breakfast and dinner in the room most days - again, much easier to handle with small kids.

I also love the separate rooms to put little ones to sleep and then stay up as adults.

Before DVC - we would do Disney more commando style, so the room didn't matter so much. Now, with DVC we go more often, and take things at a different pace.

Since I book 1 - 2 bedrooms now vs. studios, I'm not sure about the cost savings - but we paid upfront, so definately the maintenance fees are not much compared to the cost of an actual resort stay.

 

[disneynutz]

Hi, I had a quick question to members of the Disney Vacation Club.. My mom and I are thinking of purchasing 250 points in the BLT of the Contemporary Resort. My mom is 61, I am 38, my sister is 36, my bro in law is 36, my niece is 5 and my nephew is 2. We would be using Disney for years to come. My question though, is it really worth it? It seems like a lot of money outright, but then if you break it down, not so much.. but really how much are you cooking, using the laundry facilities, etc ???
Also, does anyone know if you can get the dining plan or the free dining when offered? What about parking at the parks, etc? Also, what about tickets/ they are expensive? Also, when offered discounts on tickets, can we get it as a DVC member? Please advise.
We are looking into the BLT bc mom is getting older and the monorail is a big convenience for her. Thanks.

Lisa

If you vacation at WDW every 2 years now or can afford to and you want to visit every 2 years, buying a DVC contract will save you money.

You are buying a prepaid/discounted room at WDW. If you decide to buy, you really need to spend some time selecting your favorite resort because you will own there for years to come. You will also have to decide on how many points to buy based upon the type and length of your vacations and a Use Year based upon your travel habits.

Bill

 

[Sammie]

As to laundry, only the one bedroom, two bedroom and grand villas have the washer/dryer in the villa.

Studios have free access to a laundry on the property, not always that convenient as they don't offer many washers and dryers.

Also know that if your family plans to use the DVC for all of you at the same time you are going to need a unit for 5 now, and when the youngest is older than 3 you will need a two bedroom unit. You will need to plan for that.

 

[lark]

Hi, I had a quick question to members of the Disney Vacation Club.. My mom and I are thinking of purchasing 250 points in the BLT of the Contemporary Resort. My mom is 61, I am 38, my sister is 36, my bro in law is 36, my niece is 5 and my nephew is 2. We would be using Disney for years to come. My question though, is it really worth it? It seems like a lot of money outright, but then if you break it down, not so much.. but really how much are you cooking, using the laundry facilities, etc ???
Also, does anyone know if you can get the dining plan or the free dining when offered? What about parking at the parks, etc? Also, what about tickets/ they are expensive? Also, when offered discounts on tickets, can we get it as a DVC member? Please advise.
We are looking into the BLT bc mom is getting older and the monorail is a big convenience for her. Thanks.

Lisa

The extra space is really nice. To get adjoining hotel rooms on the monorail, or a suite, would be pretty expensive. The only other way to get a villa-size accomodation on the monorail would be to rent BLT for cash, which can be expensive, particularly in the higher seasons. It also may be harder and harder to get the dates you want in the future as more of BLT sells out and less is available for cash reservations.

I think the first question you need to ask yourself when considering DVC is whether you're comfortable planning ahead for vacations. You can do the math until you're exhausted on the value, but if the reality is that you have difficulty planning 7 to 11 months in advance, you're not going to get maximum value out of DVC. You also need to have some tolerance for figuring out how to manage your points, which is easy once you get the hang of it but some people find daunting. I think those two issues, as much as any questions about the finances, are really important to think about.

You also need to think about how important housekeeping is to you. I know these seem like little things, but there are some people who just cannot feel like they are truly on vacation without housekeeping. I know people who are disappointed with this aspect of timesharing once they first experience it.

So, that's my shot at trying to explain some of the nonfinancial factors you should think about. On the dollars and cents side, don't forget to figure in dues (at least $1,000 a year for 250 BLT points) and the cost of borrowing money if you need to finance.

To answer some of the other questions that I don't think people have addressed yet. (1) You cannot (at least not recently and probably never) get free dining as a DVC member. You can, however, purchase the dining plan for the same rate as WDW resort members. (2) Parking at the parks is free for DVC members. I think theoretically they could take this away, but I doubt they would for this one. (3) As a DVC member, you buy tickets for the park just like any other person would. You cannot take advantage of any package deal prices that include a room component, since you already have your room. There is currently no DVC discount that I'm aware of for park tickets. You can get a very nice discount on annual passes, though -- about $100 per pass. (4) WDW admission is very expensive. If you are thinking you would do one long trip every year or two, figure about $300 per person if you want park hopping. If you are thinking you'd do smaller trips a couple of times per year, the cost goes up, because disneyworld tickets are front loaded, meaning a 3 day trip is nearly as expensive as a 7 day trip. For that kind of visiting, you'll probably find it best to have an annual pass, which will be upwards of $400.

Good luck.

 

[cayman01]

I did see one handy little tip about the Annual passes. As a DVC member you do get $100 off AP's, but the key is how you use them. Proper trip preparation will allow you to use your AP's for TWO trips. For example you might be going on a trip in June of next year. Plan your trip for the year after at the end of May and you can use your AP's twice and cut your ticket costs in half.

 

[DebbieB]

(2) Parking at the parks is free for DVC members. I think theoretically they could take this away, but I doubt they would for this one.

Parking is free as a perk of staying at a WDW resort or being an AP Holder. Is it not a perk of just being a DVC member. If a DVC member is staying offsite and is not an AP Holder, they would have to pay for parking.

 

[lark]

Parking is free as a perk of staying at a WDW resort or being an AP Holder. Is it not a perk of just being a DVC member. If a DVC member is staying offsite and is not an AP Holder, they would have to pay for parking.

Right -- what I was trying to say shorthanded is that I'm sure someday they could decide to start charging WDW guests for theme park parking, and if they did, I would suspect that DVC may or may not offer it. Or might do what they did with valet -- offer it for a while and then discontinue it. It's hard to imagine disney would start charging resort guests for parking, but who knows? 2060 is a long time away.

 

[rangermom]

I agree with what everyone has siad. We love our DVC and now own at 2 resorts. I love to plan vacations so I like planning ahead (actually I usually have a trip in the making while we are currently on a trip). It is possible to get rooms on short notice, but don't expect it. We, like others have said, take it more slower at pace and get to go every year sometimes twice. I'm not sure we would go every year if we did not own dvc. We have almost broken even with our vacations adn what we have paid.

We also like more room. Know that we have to stay in a one bedroom at our home resorts we have become spoiled. We like the big bath tubs and our own personal room. We have never regreted our purchase and plann to add on when possible again.

 

[DenLo]

Since we have not stayed on points yet, I'm not sure about the kitchen except that it would be nice to not always have to eat out. Sometimes I just want to stay "home". And if you really want to cut expenses, eating in for two meals a day would be the smart thing to do. Breakfast and lunch would be easy to adapt to in room dining, before you go to the park and with the mid day break back to the room.

But the laundry, I've never figured out how people ever bring enough clothes to not do laundry at least once during a weeks stay. When staying at the regular resort rooms we always did laundry about mid-stay. Then I think of my relatives that have small children and how they are always doing a load of kids clothes while at home. The laundry must be a life saver.

 

[photobob]

Prior to buying DVC, we never used laundry facilities. Now that it is available, it is wonderful. We don't have to pack and return home with loads of dirty clothes. And we can pack less, knowing we can wash them as needed. As far as cooking, we usually have breakfast items, and sandwich makings in a studio, things that microwave well. If in a one bedroom, we get a few eggs and breakfast meats, but we also still eat out a lot. We don't make big dinners, although we've brought guests who made full use of the kitchen and BBQ grills near the pools.

It is a much more "relaxed" visit for us than when we stay in a regular hotel room.

I agree 100% with Chuck. We too have started taking less clothes and return with less dirty clothes which is a big plus. We also use the w/d to keep our towels clean, generally we have the the washer running when we head out. We use the kitchen for usually two light meals per day, breakfast and supper. We eat a TS meal for lunch at the parks. We drive so we take a great deal of food and drinks with us, which is a tremendous money saver.

Chuck also touched on something that I had found to be one of the bigger plusses, the relaxing feel of the villas. Particularly in the 1 and 2 BDR having more lounging room is really great, it has much more of a home feel than a hotel room with two beds in it. We find we tend to spend more time in the room than we did before DVC. I remember our last trip to WDW when we stayed in a 2 BDR my DD saying that was the most laidback trip we've ever had.

 

[Golden Rose]

We've been DVC members for a little over a year, and we've definitely found that DVC changes the way we vacation. Like the OP, we often travel with 3 generations - my DM and DSF are in their 60's and our son is 4.5.

We used to get either two rooms or a suite at a deluxe resort for almost every trip, which meant we were paying around $600 a night. Buying DVC really is going to save us money on the way we travel, and we think that our break-even point is (conservatively) at the 6 or 7 year mark.

We never thought we would do much cooking in the room, but we've found having a kitchen certainly saves us some money on food. We have breakfast in the room almost every day. We bring or buy nearby milk, pre-cooked bacon or sausage, muffins, cereal, fruit, and yogurt, and everyone in the family can have a real breakfast every morning for a fraction of the cost of eating out. We still eat most of our lunches in the parks, but my DM and DSF keep food for lunch/snacks in the room since they sometimes like to just relax at the resort of play golf. We still eat most of our dinners out as well, but again, any time one of us is just too tired to go back out at night, there is enough food in the room that we don't feel like we have to. We also have noticed that sometimes the portions in the restaurants are so large that we just can't finish our meals. Rather than stuff ourselves, we take leftovers back to the room and snack on them later. So do we do lots of cooking in the kitchen? Not really. But we love having the kitchen, and we do use it daily.

As far as having a washer/dryer in the room goes, we've found that we do pack a little less than we used to. We're not really interested in spending a lot of time on our vacation doing laundry, but we've found it useful. When you've traveling with small kids, it is easy to pack extra outfits in case of messes and accidents. Now we don't do that, we just do a load of wash if we have to go through multiple outfits in a day. We also don't bring the multiple extra swimsuits we used to bring, so that we could always have a dry swimsuit to get into. If the swimsuit is still damp from the last swim, we just toss it in the dryer. Anyway, for us, yes, we pack a little less, but not as much less as you might think. On the other hand, we usually drive, and if we were flying and having to think about number of bags, we'd certainly pack less and use it more.

As far as some of the other perks go, and be aware that they can take the perks away at any time, we love the free internet, as we'd be paying for it daily otherwise; my DM and DSF love the DVC golf membership, and it saved them about $1000 this year alone; and we like the discounted APs, which saved us about $300 this year. The way we look at it, the perks we used this year (all of which we would have paid for if we hadn't gotten them for free) paid for more than half our dues.

Is DVC a good deal for everyone? Absolutely not. If you're not planning to go at least once every three years and if you're happy saving money by staying off property or in value resorts, then it's certainly not a good fit. If you can't plan your trips in advance, usually 7 - 11 months out, it is a less good fit. You will often be able to find something at a few months out, but it may well not be your first or second choice.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[ppony]

We just bought a week ago today. I wanted to add that in all the trips we've taken, we have just grown so weary of eating out ALL-THE-TIME! So-so food at big buck prices. I just get crabby now with that. Honestly we are SO lookin' forward to just eating out at the max., once a day and grabbing a bite in our room in the morning and perhaps an easy dinner every now and again. We have never done the dining plan but cant see missing it being a deal for us since we don't want to want out that much any more.
I'm looking forward to a more relaxing vacation in the years to come. It WILL be worth the price of admission (for us) without a doubt!

 

[Greatfalls]

For your family situation, the size of the rooms, especially the 2Brs, is a big factor. You can easily sleep 4-6 people and still have plenty of room to spread out. Just as a point of reference, I have a 2Br at the Beach Club for 3 nights before Christmas. If I paid for this room, it would be $3,600! One suggestion -- you should strongly consider splitting your points into two or three contracts. As discussed on other boards, it's much easier to re-sell 50-100 point contracts than a single 250 point contract. I have three contracts of 180, 50 and 50. My kids are 8, so I figure in 10 years when they're in college, I may consider selling one or both of the smaller contracts and just keep the 180.