Disney Vacation Clubs

[bpmorley]

I think it's up to the individual or family buying it. $101 per point X minimum 150 pts = $15150. Add in approx $800/year for 48 yrs(remaining) = $53550. Now divide that total by the 48 years and it comes out to $1115 + change a year. So 1115 gets you at least a week per year. That's not counting the fact that a week anytime of year, except Christmas, New Years & Easter, does not take 150 pts. So there will always be some carryover. Maybe a second trip every few years. Or you could rent them and recover some of your money. this is all based on a studio. If your family needs require a bigger place then you'll have to figure out what you'll need. Personally it works for us. I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone.

 

[spiceycat]

DisneyWacker, right now your signature only has you coming to disney every 5 years.... that is not enough to buy into DVC.

every year or every other year is a good rule. then DVC will pay you back your investment otherwise go with another timeshare program.

it is really great and I do love my DVC!!!

but it is not for everyone.

Unless you are chancing your vacation plans to include WDW every year or every other year don't buy it.

Renting it (as has been suggested) is the way to go.

Now if you feel because you have young kids that you will be back more often. Well I would do it first (go every year for a couple of years) then buy DVC. and yes it will probably cost more in a few years. DVC has gone up the past few years nearly every year. But if you aren't sure what your future plans will be - DVC might be an expensive mistake.

don't let it be one.

 

[crisi]

DisneyWacker, right now your signature only has you coming to disney every 5 years.... that is not enough to buy into DVC.

every year or every other year is a good rule. then DVC will pay you back your investment otherwise go with another timeshare program.

it is really great and I do love my DVC!!!

but it is not for everyone.

Unless you are chancing your vacation plans to include WDW every year or every other year don't buy it.

Renting it (as has been suggested) is the way to go.

Now if you feel because you have young kids that you will be back more often. Well I would do it first (go every year for a couple of years) then buy DVC. and yes it will probably cost more in a few years. DVC has gone up the past few years nearly every year. But if you aren't sure what your future plans will be - DVC might be an expensive mistake.

don't let it be one.

We were about every five year people. And we took one trip when our kids were 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 and immediately bought DVC. We own 150 points, stay in a one or two bedroom (depending on plans to bring Grandmas along). Kids get their own room (hideabed in a one bedroom), we have our own room. This make vacationing with kids much more pleasant than all of us in a hotel room. When the kids were toddlers, it was obvious that this would make sense for the next ten years. If you wait too long, however, you are past "prime Disney age" - some teens still love Disney - and some start to think its "lame." We felt we needed to get the value out from preschool through elementary/middle school to make it worth buying. The nice thing about DVC is that to date, its held its value pretty well - we've now owned five years and could sell at a profit - so our kids - now almost 7 and 8 - can think its lame in another five years and we may choose to sell (or we may choose to "rent" our points to my sister, who has babies).

I don't think DVC is worthwhile if you are happy staying in moderates and in studios. And you need to travel enough to make the 150 points worthwhile (isn't hard to do). You can buy fewer resale, but it isn't a slam dunk - you'll need to watch the resale brokers, probably give them all a call and see if you can get on their list - small contracts don't show up often and can be fairly expensive.

 

[SWVA BGSU Fan]

It's difficult to quanitfy DVC's value. Vacationing habits will determine if DVC is right for you.

We were going to Disney almost every year and certainly 2 out of every 3 years so DVC made sense for us. OKW, our home resort, is a great place to relax. The accomodations are very nice. We've only stayed at OKW and BCV but I'm sure the other properties are great.

Though there are no guarantees that it will continue, DVC members are offered a very nice discount on annual passes. The AP's were great deals for our family since we were able to plan multiple trips prior to the pass expiration. Hope this helps.

 

[bpmorley]

I don't think DVC is worthwhile if you are happy staying in moderates and in studios.

Why do you say that? We only stay in studios.

 

[rinkwide]

I know there is a Disney Vaction Club board....but its a huge pile of reading and research. I'd like a simple summary..... no points, or pages of details, and no marketing speak...

Me too. 300 words or less, please.

 

[missymouse]

My dh and I were wondering who has this and if it is worth it. I think we got the point system down but is the $20,000 then $800 a year worth it if you can only go once a year?

What is the discount on meals and tickets?

I know yall out there know the answer to this!! help!

DH of Missymouse says:
According to my calculations, you break even at about 8 years if you go every year for about a week (not including weekends). If you go once every two years, it takes about 14 years to break even. There are a lot of assumptions and details in this calculation that mostly apply to my situlation, but may approximately apply to others.

What does "break even" mean? It means that you've received the same value that you've paid in, including the initial lump sum, and the annual dues you've paid in every year. At the end of the "Break even" period, you still own something of tangible value (your points) that you can sell on the resale market. This is an important point that no one ever seems to mention.

So is it worth it? Possibly, if your time horizon exceeds 8 to 14 years, and you plan to vacation at least every one or two years. If you cannot plan on vacationing that often, then you must rent or transfer the points to someone else.

 

[spiceycat]

Why do you say that? We only stay in studios.

I think he mean value resorts.

I love studio too!!! they are pretty great for the points!

 

[Granny]

I know there is a Disney Vaction Club board....but its a huge pile of reading and research.

I'd like a simple summary..... no points, or pages of details, and no marketing speak. ( I think Disney does this to keep the thing very confusing )

DVC = $20,000 and $800 a month. What do you get? If these numbers are not the average..... what is?

Can someone explain it in a nice round number instead of pionts... ( I swear, sometimes it looks like the stock market for us beginers)

DVC is a fairly complex system, mostly because it is very flexible as to where you can stay and what size accommodation you can get. You want simple? Try a traditional timeshare where you are set up for the same week and same accommodations year after year.

Obviously, for a purchase this large, a lot of research is in order. And fortunately there is a resource like this forum with a lot of people willing to provide tips and opinions.

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.

This, for us, is one of the most important benefits of DVC ownership. We don't do commando touring of the parks, and don't feel bad if we miss something since we know we'll be back soon.

Our WDW vacations are MUCH more relaxed since we purchased DVC because we know we're coming back soon, and the accommodations are much better than a resort room. For us, you cannot even compare DVC to a resort room since we usually don't stay in studios.

So for us, DVC becomes a matter of investing in a better vacation experience. Some have saved money doing it. We haven't, since we go more often and stay in much nicer accommodations that we otherwise would have without DVC.

I think DVC is hard to justify strictly on a financial basis. If you want to take that path, then it's much cheaper to stay off-site in condos and suites than buying DVC.

 

[crisi]

Why do you say that? We only stay in studios.

Moderates AND studios. If you are happy staying at the CBR in studios, I don't think you'll break even on DVC. A few years ago, you could - buy in was lower. But it was close then. Room rates haven't gone up nearly as much as DVC points have. Maybe, if you were willing to avoid weekends, you'd break even, or if you are (like me) the type that never bothers to look for codes and discounts.

At some time I'll run the cash flow analysis and see with current numbers, but I know it used to be really close. (Then again, I'm not sure I'd buy in at all at the current price point - its gotten too rich for my blood).

And missymouse, you break even in the same number of years. If you spend 150 points per year and save $1000 over a regular room or 300 points per year but save $2000 on the trip, the points per year work out to be the same - and that is what you are figuring breakeven on. (I made the same mistake initially as well, we are bi-annual visitors, and I figured my break even would be twice as long).

 

[tgj]

I agree with Granny. It's amusing to me when I hear people say that DVC is a good investment or will save them money. Really, all it does is help you spend less money!!!

It seems to me that the only reason DVC was created was to get people to come to WDW more often and spend money. If you really want a good investment, try mutual funds. If you really want to save money, STAY HOME!!!

I think the best way to look at it is a reasonably priced way to improve your vacation experience (nicer rooms, better properties, some perks, etc). You do pay for future vacation in today's dollars (but lose investment values). And there is some potential resale value, but that's all unknown. I believe there are many ways to go to WDW cheaper than DVC (values, condos, off-sites, etc).

BUT for me, DVC is an opportunity to vacation better, not necessarily cheaper.

(Then again, I'm new at this and some more experienced DVC'ers may have valid differing viewpoints. This is just my two cents from a new DVC member....)

 

[bpmorley]

Moderates AND studios. If you are happy staying at the CBR in studios, I don't think you'll break even on DVC. A few years ago, you could - buy in was lower. But it was close then. Room rates haven't gone up nearly as much as DVC points have. Maybe, if you were willing to avoid weekends, you'd break even, or if you are (like me) the type that never bothers to look for codes and discounts.

At some time I'll run the cash flow analysis and see with current numbers, but I know it used to be really close. (Then again, I'm not sure I'd buy in at all at the current price point - its gotten too rich for my blood).

And missymouse, you break even in the same number of years. If you spend 150 points per year and save $1000 over a regular room or 300 points per year but save $2000 on the trip, the points per year work out to be the same - and that is what you are figuring breakeven on. (I made the same mistake initially as well, we are bi-annual visitors, and I figured my break even would be twice as long).

I've done the math myself. We plan on at least 2 trips a year. Last year we made 4. All in studios. How much would 30 days in a studio cost if I was paying cash? alot more than DVC charges. We paid $74/point for the first 150 and 84/point for the next 120.

 

[pogopossum]

I don't think DVC is worthwhile if you are happy staying in moderates and in studios. And you need to travel enough to make the 150 points worthwhile (isn't hard to do).

i agree that to really get to break even point, you need to use 1 br or larger, they have a higher nightly rate and therefore the value of using points is greater. right now rooms plus passes at a moderate resort are about $1900, so $1115 for the room alone is not that good a deal. and a family of five can fit in a 1br. so for larger families it makes more sense.

 

[bpmorley]

i agree that to really get to break even point, you need to use 1 br or larger, they have a higher nightly rate and therefore the value of using points is greater. right now rooms plus passes at a moderate resort are about $1900, so $1115 for the room alone is not that good a deal. and a family of five can fit in a 1br. so for larger families it makes more sense.

So going more than once a year doesn't count? By us staying in a studio we can make more trips. Throw in the discount on the AP then go for another long weekend and I think you'll get to the break even point just as fast as people using a 1bdr.

 

[rinkwide]

...How much would 30 days in a studio cost...?

It would cost me my sanity.

 

[kiingor]

I'm in the process of purchasing 150 SSR thru timeshare
my question is, why is the points from directly from disney for SSR goes up every year, but yet, the life for the DVC memship gets shorter. How is that worth buying direct from Disney.
Correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[spiceycat]

I'm in the process of purchasing 150 SSR thru timeshare
my question is, why is the points from directly from disney for SSR goes up every year, but yet, the life for the DVC memship gets shorter. How is that worth buying direct from Disney.
Correct me if i'm wrong.

because with ROFR there are no resales bargin like other timeshares have....

you can't sale your timeshares for 70% less than market value to anyone if you try - DVC would simply buy it back....

 

[spiceycat]

I stay mostly in studio and believe me I got my investment back in 2 years - of course, in those days we got the free tickets too.... that helped the bottom line...

I have gone at least 4 times each year and on some years 7 times....

I stay an average of 5 days - although some trips were 3 days (even weekend which I hate to use DVC points for so sometimes I stayed at Pop) - but works only lets me off for 4 weeks....

A Studio work much better when you are comparing it to a WDW resort room.

value season
OKW studio $269 -($100 Discount)= $169 * 1.115 = $188.45 * 18 days around = $3,400 (this is the lowest season)

8 points * 18 day = 144 points

$101*150 = $15,150

15150/3400 = 4 1/2 years.... for original investment

adding maintence fees
$4,200 (for 6 years with a 6% increase each year)

makes it around 6 years.

to compare a moderate to a dvc is unfair. if you must compare them - compare them to the deluxes...

the Polyn is $315 - $100 = $215

or if you want the time value of money

http://mysite.verizon.net/brian_siu/timeshare/timeshare.html
http://www.timesharecostcalculator.com/

just don't try to say your investment interest will be 14% - I don't see those days returning.... they might!!!

 

[vbalacek]

Remember that you are not comparing apples to apples in comparing DVCs with hotel stays (aside from financials).

DVC stays have a kitchen and laundry in the 1 and 2 bedroom units. This is a great amenity for my family. With toddlers, eating out for every meal is a chore. Also, packing can be a nightmare as they sometimes go through several outfits a day.

With DVC I eliminate 2 of my biggest stresses of vacationing.

 

[pogopossum]

DVC stays have a kitchen and laundry in the 1 and 2 bedroom units.

but the other posters are talking about studio rooms, which are more like regular hotel rooms than condos. and i do see that if you are using it more times a year then your break even point will come down. but i don't think that most dvcers are averaging even three stays a year.

in our case we broke even after our 4th to 5th year, which included two dcl cruises. so now i break it down to maintenance fees per night, we can get a two br for 11 nights this year for our $1836 fees which is $167 a night. i think that we come out way ahead. dw's stepsister who is a concierge at akl showed us a $1200 a night suite one time, i mean the animal views are nice and all, but i just couldn't see it for half that price. with the smaller sq footage, no kitchen or laundry, it seemed to be way overpriced.