Disney Vacation Clubs

[dianeschlicht]

I do agree that you do not get the value if you only intend to stay in studios. To really get the value and the true DVC experience, you need to be vacationing in 1 bedroom or larger units. We purchased DVC because we were spending too much staying in deluxes every other year. By buying DVC, we now stay in 1 or 2 bedroom villas and can go more often. It's the best of all worlds for us.

 

[jfelcie]

Hi neighbor . . . I'm right next door in Colchester. Actually I graduated from Hale-Ray!! Small world!! I agree with #10 who is also from CT. Your go on vacation every year and it is so relaxing with the extra room. You do not feel like you have to do and see everything because you KNOW you are coming back. Last year we went to Disney Land for the 50th. celebration. We then went to San Diego and stayed at The Del Coronado. Next month we are going back home to the BW. We love it!

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I've read this whole thread, and though it answered many of my questions, I have one more.............so after buying into DVC, say $100 a point, for 150 points---I owe DVC $15,000. Assuming I pay that off (credit card, money in the bank, finance it--whatever) I still am paying $800 a year for maintence fees?? I can get a mod. for about $800 a week using codes/AAA discounts. We are a family of 4, and can only travel to WDW once a year.

Is the big seller to DVC staying in a nicer place?? I just don't see where my $15,000 is going if I still am paying $800 a year to use it.

thanks, I'm sure there is a simple answer I'm just a little lost.

 

[rinkwide]

...Is the big seller to DVC staying in a nicer place?? I just don't see where my $15,000 is going if I still am paying $800 a year to use it...

The key is, you could stay as many as 18 nights for your 150 points (and the fees would only be about $600).

 

[bpmorley]

I've read this whole thread, and though it answered many of my questions, I have one more.............so after buying into DVC, say $100 a point, for 150 points---I owe DVC $15,000. Assuming I pay that off (credit card, money in the bank, finance it--whatever) I still am paying $800 a year for maintence fees?? I can get a mod. for about $800 a week using codes/AAA discounts. We are a family of 4, and can only travel to WDW once a year.

Is the big seller to DVC staying in a nicer place?? I just don't see where my $15,000 is going if I still am paying $800 a year to use it.

thanks, I'm sure there is a simple answer I'm just a little lost.

I think your best bet would be to rent one year and see if you like the difference between a mod or DVC. Is there any possibility of making more trips as your kids get older?

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I think your best bet would be to rent one year and see if you like the difference between a mod or DVC. Is there any possibility of making more trips as your kids get older?

Good idea. I imagine my 2 DS's (5 & 2 now) would want to go less and less once they are older, but who know's?? It's anyones guess how long two boys would think going to Disney is cool.......Their mom does though! And since they are just along for the ride........

 

[bpmorley]

Good idea. I imagine my 2 DS's (5 & 2 now) would want to go less and less once they are older, but who know's?? It's anyones guess how long two boys would think going to Disney is cool.......Their mom does though! And since they are just along for the ride........

Remember that you can always trad with Interval International and go all over the world too. You're not just restricted to Disney World.

 

[pogopossum]

we got back recently from hhi, we wanted to add a night on after we had left home, and it being a saturday, had to call central reservations, so with no discount, a 1 br goes for $418, with tax, a night during the summer, and the 2 br that we stayed in for our trip is goes for $462. so this one trip of 5 nights means that since we already broken even for our purchase we are about $450 ahead, with ten nights at wdw in december still to come.

 

[pmcpmc]

We come from Ireland and starting going to Orlando Fifteen Years ago.We have stayed in every hotel std as I have always been the type that spent the winter looking for deals.We once arrived in at Midnight with no accomadation booked and went to the Quality Inn Sand Lake Road and was told no room at this Inn but the hotelowner owns the Omni Rosen and many other hotels.We got to stay at the five star Omni Rosen for $29/night.
I looked at buying a house in Orlando but did not like the hurricanes and uncertain rental market for 100% occupancy.
I bought another timeshare on International drive in 1998 and the first night of three we were given free during our stay my kids said "dad will you leave us in the downtown disney area and come back for us at midnight."
The next day i happened to notice the tours for Bwv and bought 500Pts.and Disney cancelled the other timeshare.
Since my wife has retired we have bought an additional 1000pts at okw and ssr as well as more at bwv .At today's prices $15000+but we paid from the resale market with banked points at exactly what we paid for it in 1998 $62 per point.
its the best investment for my family I have have ever purchased.
Now my two older boys are married (both disney fanatics) they go on my points at cost on their own seperate holidays.
As has been said this is an experience not just apark holiday.
I could go on all night but am open to questions.

 

[Mike]

Let me ask this: We went to Disney in Feb. with friends who had season passes. So we got to use their discount. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge for 5 days and the cost was like $900 for the hotel. How does the DVC pay for itself? Where is the benefit?

Actually it was my stay at the WL that convinced me to buy in to DVC. My family of 5 stayed in a room with bunkbeds (my youngest was 2 at the time) and I realized our days of staying comfortably in a regular hotel room were quickly coming to an end. The 1 BR villas are perfect for us. And, since I always do the laundry for my wife while we are on vacation, I LOVE the washer/dryer in the room. We also save a lot of money by eating breakfast and most lunches in our room. Those $45 burger and fries lunches really add up and we get sick of them after a while. Since we joined DVC our vacation experience has improved dramatically.

Financially speaking, look at it this way .... take your hotel bill from your most recent stay and calculate what that will be 20 years from now with a 10% annual rate increase. Pretty scary!!! The only cost that increases for DVC members is the MFs. That, to me, is the true value of DVC. Oh yes ... don't forget to add 12.5% tax to that room rate ... DVC members do not pay tax.

 

[bpmorley]

Actually it was my stay at the WL that convinced me to buy in to DVC. My family of 5 stayed in a room with bunkbeds (my youngest was 2 at the time) and I realized our days of staying comfortably in a regular hotel room were quickly coming to an end. The 1 BR villas are perfect for us. And, since I always do the laundry for my wife while we are on vacation, I LOVE the washer/dryer in the room. We also save a lot of money by eating breakfast and most lunches in our room. Those $45 burger and fries lunches really add up and we get sick of them after a while. Since we joined DVC our vacation experience has improved dramatically.

Financially speaking, look at it this way .... take your hotel bill from your most recent stay and calculate what that will be 20 years from now with a 10% annual rate increase. Pretty scary!!! The only cost that increases for DVC members is the MFs. That, to me, is the true value of DVC. Oh yes ... don't forget to add 12.5% tax to that room rate ... DVC members do not pay tax.

Great points in favor of DVC. We bought without having children, so we'll be ok when they come.

 

[kristytru]

So glad to find this thread! DH & I in the same boat. WE have been going to Disney every year since 1998 and are very interested in DVC. We have stayed onsite and off (at Nick suites & in REunion condos) and LOVE the condo stays so much, but don't enjoy the drive. In our budget, we were figuring 200 points and add on later. DH has a concern: We usually vacation during the kids' spring break which tends to fall during the premiere season. This would probably use all of our points each year. My thought is our needs will change throo the years and we should buy now before AKL or CR begin to sell at higher point prices. Any thoughts out there????

 

[Buzzro]

From a different perspecive: We bought 220 OKW pts 12/99, (financed), and added 60 VB pts (cash) in 2001. Since owning we have gone twice a yr. with a few other reservation thrown in. Total $ spent on DVC, (purchase, interest, maintenance fees, ect.) $25,373.34 The rack rate costs for all the room reservations we've stayed in would have come to $36,400.47. That is a savings of 30% off rack rates. The % of $ saved will only increase over time. Probably to better than 50 to 70%. The savings could even be higher if we only stayed in studios. I know that at todays prices it would take longer to see this kind of savings. And granted, we only do Sun - Thur with a Fri or Sat here or there. You have to love Disney and want to be on property to make it worth it, which for us it is.

 

[shellbelle1971]

For me, the thing that makes me happy about our DVC purchase is that it forces us to go on vacations that we otherwise wouldn't. DH wouldn't take time from his work schedule, but DVC puts us in a "use it or lose it" situation, and that dramatically changes his perspective!

Also, it's simply uncomfortable for us to stay in regular hotel rooms. Even with adjoining rooms, the 8 of us are just not comfortable without a full kitchen, washer, dryer, separate bedroom for mom and dad, etc... We're too squished! So without DVC we'd have to do an offsite pool house or condo, and you lose so much "magic" in that scenario that is isn't even interesting for us to go to Orlando. So without DVC, we'd probably just stay home.

For us, then, DVC isn't about "we're saving so much $." We actually end up spending money on trips we otherwise wouldn't have taken. But that's a VERY good thing in my book!

 

[Disney Anna]

Just want to say that the information on this board/this particular thread is amazing. For anyone considering buying into the DVC, I would heartily recommend studying this thread beforehand.

To summarize, it appears that DVC is best for those who: 1) go at least once every year or two years; 2) have a family that is more comfortable/requires due to size staying in a larger area; 3) appreciates the use of laundry facility; 4) has a situation where this will prod them into taking a regular vacation; 5) predominantly would like to stay at a deluxe-type resort.

That said, it doesn't appear the right fit for me. I enjoy Disney, DH does not; we have no kids; have no problems taking vacations regularly; have no interest in doing laundry; never need more than a regular resort room.

Also, I don't believe it is the best financial investment for my situation. In fact, I don't think it should be looked at as an investment. For me, it's better to invest in stocks, 401ks, Roth IRAs, etc. If you are going to go for it, it's for the love of Disney and being part of the Disney family - which for those of us who love Disney, does have tremendous value.

 

[rinkwide]

...To summarize, it appears that DVC is best for those who: 1) go at least once every year or two years; 2) have a family that is more comfortable/requires due to size staying in a larger area; 3) appreciates the use of laundry facility; 4) has a situation where this will prod them into taking a regular vacation; 5) predominantly would like to stay at a deluxe-type resort.

That said, it doesn't appear the right fit for me...

It's not nearly that simple. If you regularly buy premium APs and really enjoy the Wilderness Lodge (as your sig suggests) you shouldn't write off the acquisition of a small VWL resale contract until you do a lot more research.

 

[Figment2]

Anna - I agree with Rink that it's not that simple. I've always gone on regular vacations (although it used to be every 2-3 years to WDW and now it's 3-5 times a year), I'm single, no children and the only reason I enjoy doing the laundry on vacation is because it means I can pack less. I love my DVC (added on 5 times). I even stayed in a 1BR by myself at OKW just because I could. It was like having my own apartment at WDW.

I've bought annual passes for years so the discount really comes in handy. With the AP, I'm able to buy the Dining Experience card which gives me more restaurant discounts.

Cyn

 

[Sammie]

Just want to say that the information on this board/this particular thread is amazing. For anyone considering buying into the DVC, I would heartily recommend studying this thread beforehand.

To summarize, it appears that DVC is best for those who: 1) go at least once every year or two years; 2) have a family that is more comfortable/requires due to size staying in a larger area; 3) appreciates the use of laundry facility; 4) has a situation where this will prod them into taking a regular vacation; 5) predominantly would like to stay at a deluxe-type resort.

That said, it doesn't appear the right fit for me. I enjoy Disney, DH does not; we have no kids; have no problems taking vacations regularly; have no interest in doing laundry; never need more than a regular resort room.

Also, I don't believe it is the best financial investment for my situation. In fact, I don't think it should be looked at as an investment. For me, it's better to invest in stocks, 401ks, Roth IRAs, etc. If you are going to go for it, it's for the love of Disney and being part of the Disney family - which for those of us who love Disney, does have tremendous value.

Actually I think you have made some very good points. DVC is not for everyone and there is no reason it should be. Also just because it does fit us, I am not bothered it does not fit you or someone else.

Personally it did not fit us for years either. We did not buy into DVC until 2000 even though we went years prior to that. For one we, like you at that time did not need or want anything larger than a regular resort room and w wre very happy to stay at the moderate resorts. With age that changed though and we were staying more and more in the deluxe resorts and after staying in a 2 bedroom, there was no turning back.

It is definitely not an investment. It is a prepaid vacation plan that allows one to stay in a certain level of accommidation for a certain length of time and save money on that. If one does not need that or want that, then DVC in my opinion is not a good fit.

 

[S. C.]

Thank yall so much for the information. It is very helpful. I love going to Disney and I want to experience it in a more relaxed setting where I don't feel like I have to stuff everything in at once because who knows when we will get back. I hate that.

I appreciate the comments!

We don't own DVC but we stayed at SSR this year in a 1 bedroom & loved it. We got the AP rate so figured we would give it a try. It was great not having to schedule a day to do laundry. I just threw a load of clothes in the washer before the parks & put them in the dryer at nite. Loved having 2 tv's a walk in shower and a whirlpool tub. My grandsons 13 & 9 would ask everynite if they could be first to take a bath. Imagine that from a 9 yr old.

We saved a lot of money on breakfast eating in the villa & it was nice to have ice cream

in the freezer and watermellon in the fridge for a snack after the parks.

Our 9 yr old GS loved seeing the welcome home sign & would look for it & mention it everytime we pulled in the entrance.

Loved the extra room that we had.

 

[bpmorley]

Anna did have 1 thing right. It's not for everyone. It works for us, but that doesn't mean it works for the next guy. Just my 2 cents