do you ever regret buying

[colleen costello]

Heat IS an issue. That's not nit-picking, it's good planning! This year we had lots of trips planned so we sprung for annual passes. DH has a conference in Orlando this June and that'll be an extra trip so the AP's were well worth it. We typically visit in March when we all have Spring Break. Our break is fairly early so the weather is nice and it's not too crowded. If we get an extra visit in June or July (stetch those points) we plan accordingly. We do parks early or late and plan LOTS of swimming. I don't think it's "fun" to be running the parks when it's 100 degrees out! But since DVC is still new to us, I would rather go when it's hot -- and limit what we do -- than not go at all. So far we've done fine. NO heat stroke yet!

Every family knows what works for them. We, for example, didn't set foot in WDW until baby was 4 and everyone was done napping and could use the potty! I see Moms lugging newborns and I think, more power to them, but not me! What's so cool about DVC is that it is flexible enough for everyone to work it around their own needs.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I ALWAYS go to WDW when the kids are out of school, and it usually isn't bad, especially if you follow Colleen's advice and go early in the day, then hit the pools. I have been following that plan for nearly 30 years--since before I was born, of course-- and it usually works well. The only BAD time is Christmas Day, the 4th of July, and Easter. Don't even bother to go over to the parks then, especially if crowds bother you.

By the way, Poly in the mid 70's went for $65 per night for a lagoon view room.

I don't EVER regret buying DVC. I have 700 points, and so many options are open to me!! I take 3 trips per year, and love every minute!

And the best rate for a Beach Club room is the AP rate, which is going for 1/2 price now at $192 including tax. I have that rate at Christmas this year. My maintenance fees for my whole 700 points is only a little more than what I am paying for a two week vacation on cash!!!

Next year I am blowing a whole lot of points, since in 2005 I am going out west. DVC members do go other places, they just aren't as nice as DVC.

 

[Desperado]

Sometimes we wonder if we would have been better off investing the DVC money towards a condo that would appreciate and eventually be ours. It is an expensive vacation.

 

[twinglefam]

....not that I'm trying to be negative...just looking at the question/answers from all angles....most people who are reading and responding to these posts here are still members for whom the DVC HAS worked out for their situation; those who've decided to sell probably aren't still reading the DVC disboards on a daily basis....just a thought.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think that is very true, Twinglefam. We decided when we purchased, that if there was a time when we didn't want to go to WDW any longer, and if our grown kids weren't interested in it, that we would sell. I doubt we will now though. I can see us using exchanges a bit more in the future. So far, we have only exchanged once, to Hawaii, but I would not hesitate to do it again. I think it gives lots of options, even though most will say exchanging isn't a good value with DVC. As long as you aren't doing it every year, it gives flexibility. You can always use three years worth of points to do a big exchange if necessary. I don't see us doing that too much, but I can see it happening some time in the future.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Twinglefam,

One other thing - don't forget that in 9 short years your youngest will be 18 and on to other things and your vacation schedule will be yours again.

You're right, though, that you're not getting the full range of experiences here in the land of "We Love DVC!"

Best of luck with whatever decision you make!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I thought my Disney trips would really slow down when son got into high school and then college. Well, son decided to apply for the Disney College Program this past March and was accepted. He has been down there since June of this year and we have managed a trip every 6 weeks to see him. (he has been a great excuse)

I totally see where your thought processes are taking you, and to be honest, it sounds as if you are leaning towards selling. I just wanted to point out that you never know what might be around the corner for you in life. Not that you are looking for my opinion, but sounds like renting out your points for a year or so might not be a bad thing until you are totally sure of your decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Bill K]

NO!!!!!!!

 

[twinglefam]

Dr. Tomorrow..thanks for the perspective. I'm on the brink of starting a teaching career, so that will be my schedule soon as well. But anyway, I know that only God knows what the future holds....and there are other things going on....my DH's brother died this summer suddenly....which changes things on all levels. I'm sure we'll decide what's right for us in due time. I also did my thesis on the corporate Disney this year....how it really altered Walt Disney's original image and how his dream didn't actually materialize for Epcot...so I think the background knowledge or the reality of it has changed my view of the WDW experience. All things considered, it isn't for everyone, but it definately has been a blast and I hope it continues for a long time!

 

[Bob H]

My only regret is that I can't convince the wife that more points would be a wise choice sooner rather than later. I bought during our honeymoon while staying at CBR in '99. The points were priced at $65/pt back then and DVC was buying back the first years allotment at $10/pt so my our of pocket was $55/pt.

I have looked at what resales are going for right now, and I feel fairly confident that I could make a $10 - 15/pt profit on a sale at this point. I own 200 points, so my "equity" would almost cover my maintenance fees for the last 4 years. Regardless, if I ever get bored with Disney, (not likely anytime soon as I have two sons, one 2 1/2 and the other 6 mo.), I can start to explore all of the other properties around the world that we can trade into.

 

[disneyberry]

well, it's been a few days since i first read this thread... and i've been thinking a lot about it...

i've decided that, honestly, i actually do have a few regrets about buying DVC.

my first regret is that i wish i had been more patient with the resale market.
if you are patient, in theory you can land a great deal at your resort of choice.
but, i was anxious to own DVC ASAP so that i could book the big family Xmas trip that i was planning (turns out the family cancelled on me later... argh.)

this leads to my second regret, which is choosing a home resort sight unseen. when i started looking at resales, i wanted to buy BWV because i had stayed there before and loved it.
but as i got more anxious about buying sooner, i convinced myself that i wouldn't mind OKW as a home resort.
a few weeks after that, i bought at OKW... sight unseen.

so with my bad luck timing, it turns out DVC released some new BWV inventory a few months later. darn! at that point i wished that i had just waited a few months, and then i would've bought all my BWV direct through Disney.
my "remedy" was to add-on points at BWV through Disney.

anyway, we finally got to stay at OKW for the first time in June. and... unfortunately it just didn't live up to my expectations. i thought OKW was okay, but dbf hated it... and complained about why we didn't stay at BWV or AKL(his favorite) instead.

now, it seems that dbf is really fed up with my DVC obsession (see other thread about spouses), and so we are probably going to scale back our WDW trips. this means we now have too many points. (yes, you read that right, i think we have too many points. as crazy as that sounds)
his solution to our "problem"? sell our OKW.

oh what a mess, huh? it all goes back to: be patient with the resale market, try to stay at (or at least visit) the resort you are thinking of purchasing, and carefully consider the # of points you really need...

oh well, for now we will just rent out some of our extra BWV points, and unfortunately i will now be looking into the process of selling our OKW points. *sigh* live and learn...

 

[joepoe]

Originally posted by disneyberry

now, it seems that dbf is really fed up with my DVC obsession (see other thread about spouses), and so we are probably going to scale back our WDW trips. this means we now have too many points. (yes, you read that right, i think we have too many points. as crazy as that sounds)
his solution to our "problem"? sell our OKW.

oh what a mess, huh? it all goes back to: be patient with the resale market, try to stay at (or at least visit) the resort you are thinking of purchasing, and carefully consider the # of points you really need...

oh well, for now we will just rent out some of our extra BWV points, and unfortunately i will now be looking into the process of selling our OKW points. *sigh* live and learn...

Also, I would suggest dumping dbf! LOL

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by joepoe
Also, I would suggest dumping dbf!

 

[disneyberry]

LOL, joepoe + Nick...
it's okay, i love my dbf... and relationships have to have some compromise. hey, at least dbf really loves BWV, so i've convinced him that we should keep our BWV points + sell only our OKW points.
besides, he does have a point about me becoming obsessive about planning our DVC trips. i know i need to tone it down a notch, heh.

in any case... somewhere down the road, we'll probably add-on some more BWV points to replace the OKW ones we'll sell. shhh....

 

[nydizfan]

never never... we bought almost ten years ago .. its been the best ever since.. cant get any better I think .. dave

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Regret Buying - Never !!

That being said, I still look at the resort board and Mousesavers now and then. In fact, when the AP rates came out a short time ago we did the dvc unthinkable - booked a "regular" resort and cancelled our OKW new years eve trip. We just couldn't pass up the fantastic discount the AP offered for the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The holiday season rate they offered was about one-third of rack rate - it's hard to ignore a 66% discount !

So whoever had their OKW 1 bedroom waitlist for NYE come through about a month ago - you now know who to thank .

 

[dmoore22]

Only one regret. That we didn't buy into DVC years earlier.

 

[lovin'DVC]

We love DVC and wish we had known about it much earlier. We're a family of 6 (with 4 young children) so 2 hotel rooms was not much fun. We love the point flexibility: we're borrowing some points for 2 2BRs and 2 Studios to take family (15 of us!) to BCV this Jan. What a joy to be able to do that!

I do wish we understood the weekend pts. before we bought, as now I don't think we'll ever stay over a weekend. We would have bought less BCV points and used the money toward a HHI resale. Oh well, I'm sure they won't go to waste...

 

[WDWguruDH]

When money might be a little tight, I do regret the new car in the driveway or the expensive dinner we had last week, but I NEVER regret the DVC!