DVC and flights from UK

[pritchetts]

Hi there,

My wife and I have just signed up for 225 points at Saratoga Springs whist @ Disney in April. We are now having some concerns about the cost of flights (for 3) and we are wondering whether DVC will be as cost effective as we first thought as the savings dont look to be great.

Does anyone have any idea about how long it will take for a UK member will recover their costs? Also, is there any particular strategy I could use for saving on the flights? Perhaps booking the accomodation in advance then getting the flights last minute?

Thanks in advance, any advice is appreciated!

Steve

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

Hello,

We spent a long time mulling over whether DVC was for us or not. We usually spend about £3,000 on our trips to Florida (My daughter, wife and myself) and this would cover airfares, hotel (3 or 4 *), hire car and 14 day Ultimate tickets.

We then looked at the cost of DVC:

Initial purchase approx £10,000 (approx 3 trips)
points at approx £500 per year
Airfares approx £1,800

So, without car hire and Park tickets, if we were to go every 2 years it would cost approx £2,800 just for airfare and accomodation. Using that calculation we decided DVC was not for us as we would never cover the "cost" in 4 to 5 trips as described in the brochures (in fact we would NEVER cover the cost).

However, you have to remember with DVC you are looking at 5* plus accomodation and if you were to consider this then you'd probably be looking to cover your cost in about 10(?) trips (in our case 20 years).

DVC is not about cheaper holidays, its about superior accomodation.

The other factor you need to look at as well is the airfares. I think we have all realised now that the end of "cheap" oil is over, demand is outstripping supply, so airfares are bound to rise (this will of course also increase the price of charter flights, but not to the same extent of scheduled flights).

So at the end of the day, its down to the type of accomodation you wish to take your holidays in, and comparing it to the cost of DVC. I did my first calculation in 2001, and did a re-calculation last month (so you see I have considered this option very carefully).

Hope this all helps...and yes I am jealous that you've become a member of the DVC.

 

[Hilary]

We decided to join DVC to have on-site WDW accommodation with enough space for the four of us (DH, myself plus two teenage daughters) to be comfortable.

We'd got to the stage where one hotel room and one bathroom didn't make for a very relaxing holiday! Yes, we could easily have managed if we'd 'had' to, and we do still all share one room for some parts of our trips, but having the space to spread out makes a positive difference. We could have chosen to gain some space by renting a villa near the parks, but we think staying on-site is the very best way to 'do Disney'.

So, for us, DVC is worthwhile for the type of accommodation we can have, as well as the flexibility for when our requirements change. It's certainly no cheaper than the WDW holidays we had before, but it gives us accommodation that suits us better now than those earlier holidays when DDs were younger.

Flights are expensive and I've failed to find a way round that! I shop around as much as I can,and then bite the bullet with the best price/date/airport combination I can find to suit us

 

[TheFram4]

Have you had a look at the thread entitled 'flights question' last comment on 23/4/05?


In particular my comments about using a virgin credit card to acumulate points?

Flight costs this year £360 per adult, £250 per child

 

[mark&sue]

The flights are expensive but again it is whether you usually or will go to expensive hotels. We stayed at Grand Floridan for 2 weeks last October half term and we worked out that we would break even after four or five years with our 400 points.

I have looked at the possibility of booking one of those real cheap packages where you stay at the quality Inn or similar with First Choice, Thomson etc. book it for the full two weeks but only stay for say two or three days and go to Universal, Seaworld, Busch Gardens for those days and then check out and go to DVC.

Also Virgin do a frequent flyer programme that may be good as you accummulate points.

Good luck



Susan

 

[jools]

Hello Steve

Don’t doubt what you have done even with the ever increasing airfares we have never doubted buying into DVC back in 1998 , it is value for money.

We are a family of 4 who go to Disney every year for 2 weeks. This year we are going 23 May (not long now) roughly the trip will cost us £2370
Flights (scheduled) £1,500
Annual dues £520
Car hire £200
Cost of buying DVC over 43yrs £150.

I have not got an up to date Virgin brochure but even in their 2003 one it was £2549, per adult and £589 per child for a 14-night stay at the Boardwalk. Admitted the Virgin price included length of stay passes but even so against the cost of my holiday this year I have made a saving of £3,906. In fact we would not be able to afford that kind of money in the first place and therefore would never have been able to experience staying in luxury accommodation on Disney.

If you plan to extend your family or as your child gets older and is classed as an adult the benefits of DVC will definitely start to repay you.

Yes you can get package deals cheaper but you will not get 5* accommodation on Disney cheaper than with DVC.

As for booking accommodation and arranging flights, we generally book accommodation first and then keep a look out for a good deal on a flight. We shop around for a bit and then like Hilary bite the bullet. Then stop looking otherwise it might upset you when you find something cheaper.

Jools

 

[Pootle]

Steve said: Perhaps booking the accomodation in advance then getting the flights last minute?

I belong to the 'get my flights sorted first' camp; your strategy might work but could be risky depending on your UY. Other things that will affect your costs will be time of year you visit, with November through to March (apart from Christmas and Easter of course) being the cheapest times for scheduled flights, and indirect flights being quite often cheapest of all.

If you want direct flights from the UK and at peak times, no doubt you are up against it, and it could be that sometimes booking the cheapest package and ditching the accommodation may just be the way to go as someone has suggested.

 

[ellieandfaye]

Hi There,

I joined the virgin flying club at no cost and we flew premium economy there and economy coming back. For these flights myself and my wife got 10000 air miles each.

We are going again in october this year for 2 weeks and are using my air miles. The flights worked out at about £180 each plus 4000 of my points.

This was a very good price and I would recomend anyone joining the flying club.

 

[Sarnia]

Hi There,

I joined the virgin flying club at no cost and we flew premium economy there and economy coming back. For these flights myself and my wife got 10000 air miles each.

We are going again in october this year for 2 weeks and are using my air miles. The flights worked out at about £180 each plus 4000 of my points.

This was a very good price and I would recomend anyone joining the flying club.

Second this 100%. We pay the small annual fee which gives you 2 air miles per £1 spent and put every penny we spend on the card and pay it off in full each month.

Last year we flew Premium Economy return using miles + money, which worked out at a very good price. We are going again in April next year and with the points we have accumulated will be able to fly out Premium Economy and back Upper Class for free.