Do DVCers OWN or LEASE long term??

[drricksullivan]

I have been reading these boards for several weeks and am considering purchasing vs. just taking cash trips.....I have a few questions??

1. As I understand the terms, you basically have a long term lease that expires in 2042 (I think)...what happens then?

2. Do you really 'own' anything except the points and the benefits they bring?

3. Some members have made a big deal about privileges, are there any other benefits to being a member besides prepaid vacation time?

4. With all the deals in the various resorts, I am still struggling with the costs of 'buying' (long term leasing), vs. renting resorts on an as needed basis....I've looked at spreadsheets and am still debating...

5. We take two trips a year that are 4-5 day weekends (when the kids have breaks in fall and winter) that's when we have traditionally done disney....I've had good luck getting AAA or MKC (I know they are no longer available) rates when I've gone. (We've stayed at Poly, Contem,WL, BC, and off property....wife loves WL best)...I can always save by getting discounts, but the points look good too...

6. We (DW DS,13, and DD ,11) are taking the 7 day Magic in March. We got two adjoining cabins with a window for less than 4000 (sunshine sailaway)....after looking at points, it would have cost me a ton...like tree or four years worth if I bought 200 points. Part of me thinks that the deals that I am getting overshadow any advantages of the DVC.

Sorry to ramble, buy I am just kinda pondering here........am would appreciate anyone's comments

Thanks and I enjoy all your posts

Rick

 

[ripleysmom]

Rick, if you are happy to stay in the regular hotel rooms then by all means stick with you are happy with. The magic of DVC (for us) lay in the size of the accommodations (1BR and higher) that you are getting for the price.

We purchased because I was tired of cramming my family into a small hotel room. With DVC we receive spacious accommodations with the magic of Disney. And once our points are paid off these accommodations will costs us about what you would pay for a value resort.

Until you take the tour of a 1BR or higher you can't really begin to understand or appreciate DVC.

 

[drricksullivan]

Thank you for your comments...I have been looking mainly at studios since that is what we have been staying in at the resorts. We really only do Disney in short 4-5 day trips around school breaks, etc. We have a lake home in Tennessee about 90" from home where we spend most weekends in the summer. I am also a dentist so taking 2-3 weeks off at a time is not really an option. More room would be nice, but we really don't spend much 'room time' in the rooms anyway and my DW isn't about to cook.

Also, in contrast to some on this board, a certain place would feeze before we would use Disney points for family members (can you see some aggression here....lol)

Thanks

Rick

 

[janiejo]

Rick, I am not as eloquent as others are in explaining, but from our perspective, DVC made sense for what you said: we were going to Disney, staying on site and spending several thousand dollars on the hotel alone each trip. (We are a family of five and would always get two rooms.) As we watched the prices go up on the hotels we stayed at, we realized that DVC not only gave us the choice of more spacious accomodations, it "locked" the price in as well. When CBR opened, the rooms for this moderate were $79, $89, and $99 a nite plus tax, depending on the view. Now, those rooms are double the price. Same is true of the other resorts. We preferred staying at the deluxe resorts and quickly realized that we had already spent the cost of buying into DVC over a period of a few years. With DVC, the trips can continue through 2042 and the only expense are the yearly dues. As far as the cruise goes, you do not, IMHO, get the best bargain for your points. People on the boards have shared that they have used part points, part cash to book their cruises. Some have suggested it would be better to rent your points out at the going rate and use that cash for the cruise. I think using the points for the cruise is an option for some people but I'd rather use my points at WDW. Everyone has their own reason for why DVC works for them. I am sure others will give you their 2 cents worth as well. Keep researching and asking questions. If you are a frequent visitor to WDW, DVC may be just for you! Happy thinking.

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

1. In Jan of 2042, everything with regard to DVC ends. There's been some speculation about a DVC2, but only speculation.

2. Yes - you get a deeded real estate interest. The points are simply a method of expressing that interest.

3. Member benefits are always changing. I wouldn't make a purchase just based on the benefits currently being offered. For us, the benefits offered were not a deciding factor with our purchase.

4. As others have mentioned; depending on what your requirements are for accomodations, DVC may not be the best solution for you. Our family of 4 has gotten pretty spoiled by the accomodations we can get, and so we're usually getting at least a 2BR unit now. Besides the fact that we like the kitchen and use the stove decoration, the kids like the extra room and enjoy having their own bed to sleep in. There's simply no way that we could have afforded to pay cash for the rooms we've stayed in over the years.

5. Yes, you can almost always save by getting discounts; if you're willing to put in the effort needed to find the discounts and assuming that discounts are available. For us, we just don't like the "thrill" of trying to find great discounts. I mean we'll do it for somethings, but it always seems to be such a major hassle. And then there's that hotel room factor again - the family pretty much feels that a hotel room is ok for 1, maybe 2 nights, but that's about it (I'm not sure how well we're going to do in the cat 11 room on our upcoming cruise - I guess we'll just have to see).

6. Using points for anything except staying at a DVC resort is usually not considered a very cost effective thing to do. DCL is especially expensive, and frequently what people do is mix cash and points to pay for the cruise. These options are provided mainly to add variety from time to time.

 

[Lisa P.]

Jsut to clarify the "deed" a bit, you purchase a real estate interest in a LEASE. So while it is called a deed and while it's called a real estate interest, you do not purchase any real estate. You purchase the rights to reserve time at the property as available and as relative to the number of points purchased. It reverts to Disney Vacation Development in January 2042, approx. 40 1/2 years from now.

It's a great program for people who would otherwise pay cash (even at discount rates) to stay at least every other year at a Disney deluxe/premium resort and who would be happy using their points predominantly at DVC resorts. As others have said, buying the points for use in other ways provides less $ value though it's convenient, flexible and exciting.

I can see a couple of potential disadvantages for you. First..., the points cost on weekends and during school breaks is at its highest (second only to Christmas & Easter weeks). Since you are generally able to get good discounts, this may work better for you.

Second..., when you currently stay at premium resorts, your 13yo DS and 11yo DD are able to sleep in separate beds. They either have bunk beds or a full-sized daybed in the rooms at the onsite resorts you've visited so far. However, these are NOT available in DVC studios & 1-BR's. The sleeping arrangements in those size villas amount to a king or queen bed for your DW & yourself and either a queen bed or a queen sleepsofa for your two children together. Even the preferred studio with daybed at BWV has a daybed only big enough for a much younger child. So to allow your teens to sleep separately in a DVC villa, you'd need to bring an air mattress for one on the floor or get a 2-BR villa (much higher points). Just something to consider. The 2-BR's are wonderful - just wanted to be sure you expected this.

 

[Dean]

From a financial standpoint, DVC is inappropriate for long weeks. It just costs too many points to use it that way on a routine basis. I can't think of a points program that will work well for long weekends. The Fairfield one is likely better for this purpose but more because of the short notice rentals than the weekend use of points. Bluegreen is definitely not to use for weekends. Friday and Saturday nights with BG can be 5 times the weekday rate. The best weekend rates I've seen for points are out of the country which doesn't help much for long weekends.

 

[drricksullivan]

You all have made some great points....and I've definitely been struggling with this..........

1. I've been looking at the studios, but even in the 1 bedrooms my kids are couch bound (they won't like that too much)

2. It seems that one of the biggest selling points of DVC is that you get larger accomodations at better deals, we wouldn't pay cash for larger accomodations, so I'm not sure that it is worth it to use points for them

3. Your point about the long weekends is very good...I am a dentist in solo practice;therefore, when I am out a week, I lose 25% of a given month's productions. I am off Fridays anyway, so an occasional Thursday or Monday won't kill a month.

4. I do enjoy the 'chase'. I have fun reading these boards and getting good deals. My wife and I will take a long weekend in the WL with a view of MK for 178.00 per night in Nov-Dec. I get a kick out of trying to 'outsmart' the mouse.....but, he always finds my wallet.....lol

5. Also, in light of all that's happened, there may be some really good deals in travel that crop up. Tough economies are tough on things like timeshares which are luxuries by most standards. Also, empty hotel rooms can get pretty cheap, as well as empty planes.

Thanks for all your input and help.

Rick