Disney Vacation Club

[sistertrip]

Can anybody tell me about Disney Vacation Club? I saw places to talk about it in Disney, but didn't want to be pressured...I'm just curious with a mild bit of interest. Thanks!

 

[Mary Anne]

There is a whole DVC Board here on the DIS. You'll get lots and lots of information there.

I'm a DVC owner and let me tell you worst thing I ever did was............................................


















Not buying earlier; not buying more points

The do not pressure you at all when you take the tour. Anyone even thinking about it or just wanting to find out what it is all about should do the tour.

 

[amee]

I am also a DVC owner and found the DIS DVC board to be unbelievably helpful before we purchased! On top of that, most of your questions have probably already been asked, so you can easily do searches and such to get the info you need! We have really found it to be terrific for our family....

good luck!

Amee

 

[wdwstar]

i emailed you the basic info, hope this gets you started, we love being members, and looking forward to add ons!

 

[sistertrip]

Thank you all for the information!

 

[Dancind]

As for high pressure, well, they don't have to do it. This is not your typical time share, this is Disney. Your guide may say something like "you'd better do it today" if they have any points available at any of the resorts other than the new Saratoga Springs. The thing is, it's the truth! BCV is nearly sold out, there are wait lists for most use years. Saratoga Springs currently has a discount special, but if it's selling well, that will go away. I'm just so glad we bought our points when we did, and just wish we knew about this in 1992! Diana

 

[sistertrip]

Do you find that you still spend a lot of money on your vacation for things like airfare, tickets, dining, etc.? How drastically does the DVC reduce the cost of a trip?

 

[crisi]

I think we will spend MORE with DVC than we would without.

Here is the deal....pre DVC we went every few years. We stayed in a Deluxe and spent pretty freely.

With DVC we are tied to every other year (you can do every three, but we are scheduling every other year trips). We have 150 points - so about $600 in dues - which means our trip "hotel bill" is $1200. We don't stay in a studio, we have discovered the benefit of the kids sleeping in a different room. And its oh-so-easy to invite people to share our accomodations - we are a family of four and the two bedroom sleeps eight - so this next trip we are treating my mother in law to an all inclusive vacation. Airfare isn't any cheaper - and DVC doesn't reward spur of the moment trips to take advantage of great airfare (sometimes the resorts are booked solid). There is currently a 10% discount to DVC members on UPHs, but no other ticket discounts - so the admission budget remains pretty much the same. With a one or two bedroom unit you will get a kitchen and washer and dryer - the kitchen makes it possible to (and some DVC members have) save a ton on dining out - but we won't change our dining habits - except maybe to switch from pop tarts and cereal bars in the morning to real bowls of cereal with milk.

 

[wdwstar]

every year we go to wdw and finally decided to buy into dvc, not only because we love going to wdw but also we can travel other places ,like the grand hotel in mackinac island mi. (is which that is our second vacation every year). and next year instead of going to wdw in the spring we are going to hawaii through dvc, yaaa! and the best part is you don't have to have that extra money for the resort/hotel stay. this year we just got back from wdw staying as dvc members for the second time. when we bought our dvc we bought a 7 day hopper for our family and since we go every year we decided that we would use at least one day on our tickets each time and do our 3 favorite parks and only our favorite rides, it works out great. and staying at bcv you really dont have to do the water parks, this last trip we spent 5 days at the bvc pool and the kids loved it, then we walked up to beaches and cream for lunch using our connection vouchers, saved alot of $$$$$$. and we figured using our 7 day hoppers should last us at least 3 to 4 years, before we have to buy new ones if we went twice a year. some people buy the ap or pap and go two or three times a year. and as far as shopping,well we keep that to a small amount. you just have to decide how long you want to stay and how many times you would go a year and when you would go in which season and then decide how many points to buy. my last trip at the last minute i only had to pay for my connection vouchers for food and gas to drive down to wdw.
we saved alot of money on our second vacation. plus i used my points for another studio at the same time as our vacation for my sister and her family and even saved money for them.

 

[sistertrip]

wdwstar ~ I like your ideas for not overspending...it sounds like DVC might actually save money

crisi ~ with the extra expenses, do you regret buying into DVC? Or is it worth the extra cost??

Thanks for all the info!

 

[crisi]

We didn't buy to "save" money - so we don't have regrets. We bought because we realized that while our kids were little, we wanted to take more Disney trips - DVC is an enforced vacation for us - we need to use the points or lose them. Most DVC members don't have regrets.

If you currently travel every year (or every other year), stay in Deluxe hotels, will stay in DVC studios and not change your habits other than booking a DVC resort (or cooking in your room), and don't book last minute trips, DVC probably will save you money over the long haul (I say probably, because if Disney made an offer like the FTP permanent, many people would regret DVC). If you stay in Moderates, the savings is a little harder to justify, but most people believe they come out ahead. The problem in spending more comes when DVC changes your habits - you book a bigger room, you go more often, you stay for longer, you invite friends and pick up their room (few people outside of DVC do that, but nearly all DVC members share), you figure the room is "paid for" so book expensive Cirque tickets you'd never have booked before.

DVC does make these "spend more" habit changes very attractive, but they certainly aren't mandatory. No one is "making" me go to Disney more often, invite my mother in law along, or book a two bedroom.

But if money is tight, I can't recommend DVC. The original contract is not cheap and you will need to commit to paying dues every year. Then again, if money is tight, you probably aren't a yearly Deluxe resort person anyway.

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by sistertrip
Do you find that you still spend a lot of money on your vacation for things like airfare, tickets, dining, etc.? How drastically does the DVC reduce the cost of a trip?

Yes you will still have airfare,dining,tickets,etc. But you will be staying in 1st class accomodations with washer,dryer,kitchen,separate living room,bedrooms,etc. You will be able to relax and enjoy your vacations more. No more "commando" type trips to the parks. You know you will be coming back for the next 39 years. There are times we only do 1 or 2 parks on a 6 day stay.

 

[Loubon]

We just got back and all I can say is that everytime I saw one of those DVC kiosks I wanted to go over and tell the people browsing that they should sign up immediately!

There is an add on happy dance in my future!

 

[Terry S]

Loubon... I have to stop myself from butting into the conversations of the guest and the CM's everytime we walk past a Kiosk. I want to tell them to just do it, they won't regret it, its the best decision we ever made.

 

[JimC]

The guides at DVC are not high pressure. Ours, Byron, was a classic gentleman. He was patient, anwered all of our questions (and we had lots of questions). He returned phone calls promptly, even when on holiday.

DVC is more than a timeshare. It is practically a community. These boards are an example. Lots of good folks, who are very generous with their knowledge and views.

Yes, you will probably save money on lodging if you normally stay at moderates or better and travel at least every other year to WDW. But more than just the economics, you stay at great resorts, in large well appointed units and enjoy 1st class service.

As others said, we waited too long. We should have done this in 1992 when we first looked at it. It took us ten years to finally make the decision.

Good luck!

Terry S and Loubon -- and here I thought I was the only one with that problem of wanting to tell folks to stop worrying, sign and be happy

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by Terry S
Loubon... I have to stop myself from butting into the conversations of the guest and the CM's everytime we walk past a Kiosk. I want to tell them to just do it, they won't regret it,

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

I would recommend our guide, Betty, to anyone. She was the nicest person. Now, I know what you may be thinking, "All salespeople are 'nice'" but Betty is sincere. I had started looking at DVC around March of last year. I tried talking to my husband about it (and my husband is a HARD sell on anything) and he wanted to know if I had won the lottery and not told him because unless we had won the lottery, forget about it!!!

Well, we went down in June and I suggested we go over to BWV just to "look" at the model rooms and just to talk to someone. Asking questions is free right? Well, we went over on a Thursday and stayed for quite a bit of time. NOT ONCE did we feel pressured into buying. NOT ONCE did we feel rushed. Betty answered all of our questions (and believe me we had alot) to my hard sell husband's satisfaction and then we left with plenty of information to help us think about our decision. The major factor for us was price. (Remember the lottery?) But Betty helped us see that the monthly payment isn't even as much as a cheap car payment. We pay less than $200 a month. And, if you're a conscientious budgeter, you know that if your average bill for vacations a year is $3,000 than you need to put $250 away monthly instead of waiting until the last minute and either trying to dig up the money or put it all on credit.

We figured with as much as we go to Disney (at least once a year) and with the Deluxe accomodations that we stay in, we will more than pay for our DVC in 5 years. We have the opportunity of staying in 1st class accomodations for 39 years and unlike the hotels, the price (or point usage) for my accomodations will never go up!
It wasn't a hard decision to make and on Saturday we signed the papers. This year we're taking my mom, sister and brother-in-law and we are staying in a 2 bedroom villa. I could never treat my family otherwise.

Do it.

 

[jimmytammy]

We bought into DVC and never went on the tour or even saw any of the DVC resorts for that matter. I can say that talking with the the folks at DVC when we did start getting info was was no pressure at all. I approached a little apprehensive but felt very at ease right off the bat.
You can save $$s with DVC because you have a full kitchen, so if nothing else, you can eat breakfasts in the room. This can save you $5-15 per person per day.
DVC will force you to take those much needed vacations also. We have learned to set $$s away each month to allow for payment and dues for DVC and still have enough left over for our trips including airfare. Its all a matter of priority. WDW is a priority.
Also, dont do like so many others including me who thought aboutb buying into DVC then put it off. You will end up paying more for pts. You can see what a value it is when you look at resales. OKW sold for $52 a pt back in the early days, now its resaleing for $70 something. See if other timeshares are doing that.
Buy and buy soon.

 

[labr]

I have a question for WDWSTAR - what are connection vouchers?

We just returned from our first trip home to BCV. We purchased last summer - and couldn't wait for this trip. From the moment I walked into our villa, I knew it was the best decision we ever made!!!!! We love Disney and look forward to going every year. I know it will save us money because we can eat in the room - which helps alot. I don't mind cooking during vacation. It is easier for us and gives us a chance to relax during the day before returning to the parks or pool.

We drive so our travel costs are minimal. We can't wait for our trip next year. In fact, as we were driving home, my DD age 9 said "I want to go back NOW".

 

[Disney Doll]

DH and I bought 200 points at OKW in 1997, and it was the best thing we ever did! I actually wanted to buy in 1991 when we were there on our honeymoon, but "Mr.Practical" thought we should perhaps purchase our primary home BEFORE we purchased a vacation spot!!!!! .

Anyhow, when we were finally ready to "take the plunge" in 1997 we were at WDW for a 4 days weekend, staying at the WL. My DH got into a conversation with one of the kiosk people, and we set up an appointment. Our guide, Mark Webb, was great!!!!! He gave us all the info, absolutely NO pressure(nothing like the other timeshare things you've heard about!!!!). He actually said "If you don't think this is for you, that's fine. Disney wants people to be happy."

I would have given them my AMEX card right then for a downpayment, but again, "Mr.Practical" had to think about it, look it over, figure it out(did I mention that Mr.Practical is a realtor???). So home we came, armed with our info, and he went to work. He looked at it from every financial possibilit he could think of, he had our DBIL look at it from every financial possibility he could thinkof (and he's a "finance" sort of person). About the only thing either of them could come up with is that the money you are putting toward the DVC in the form of loan payment and dues is money you will not have in some other investment working for you. And basically, that is true of any money you spend on a vacation...if you're at WDW staying at the Poly spending money, it's not working for you in investments elsewhere!

DH figured out that if you are going to go to WDW at least every other year, the DVC makes sense. He also determined that it make the most sense to use the points within the DVC system, as opposed to going to the Concierge Collection or Interval International. When you go to those prooperties, the point values become fairly high...less "bang for your buck". The ultimate bottom line is that they are your points so use them how you want.

Some of the benefits are that you'll be paying for a vacation in 2040(or in the case of SSR, 2052!!!)at 2003 prices! It is a desirable commodity, so if you ever needed to sell it you coould probably do so at no loss,there can be some extraneous savings realized by having a kitchenette or full kitchen(depending on the unit size)-you can definitely do breakfast in your room, and there are many folks that have found out ways to do lunch or simple dinners(ie-mac and cheese, frozen pizza)in the studios with the kitchenette, if you're in a 1BR or larger, you have a full kitchen so the sky's the limit as far as cooking, OKW has grills near the pool, so you could do a little cookout(maybe some of the other properties do as well, but I am not as familiar with them), a studio unit is at least as nice as most of the deluxe hotel rooms on property, and the 1BR and larger units are fabulous,you have a washer/dryer in the 1BR and larger units so you could do laundry and therefore cut down on packing(if we're going for 8 days I pack for 4). Now some folks will say "I don't want to cook or do laudry on vacation" which is a good point, but is there really a huge effort in throwing a frozen pizza into the oven or throwing some cereal in a bowl???? And as far as laundry...well, when you're in for the night, throw a load in while you're watching TV or figruing out your next day's actvities and then by the time you're ready for bed, it's done.You don't have to come up with the big chunk of money to pay for your accomodations...personally, I find it easier to come up with a smaller amount of money every month(in our case it was $200), then to have to come up with probably at least $1000(we stayed at moderates or better)all at once.

The bottom line is that if you looked hard enough, you could always find a negative about anything. The system is a good one, the properties are kept in overall good repair and my personal experience has been that if I have notified of them of a problem,it has been taken care of, they are in locations that will satisfy just about every need,the CMs at DVC MS are great and I have always found them to be VERY helpful and knowledgable, and it's great place to vacation!

We have never for one minute regretted our purchase.

Good luck with your decision making process. Feel free to PM me if you have questions that I or DH can help you with.