DVC as "investment"

[erinna]

As I've entered the wonderful world of DVC ownership, I've noticed that a repeated thread on the various boards is whether or not DVC is a good investment. This line of critique surprises me because I've never looked at any Disney vacation as a financial investment. (401K? Financial investment. Multiple trips to visit giant rodent? Not a financial investment.)

So while planning my budget for my (OMG!!!! VERY FIRST DVC) trip (THAT'S LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!!!), I've been surprised to see how much money my little family will save by joining DVC. That is, I've planned many meals that we'll eat in the room in lieu of counter service (still going to V&A, tho!), we'll get annual passes that we'll use next week and then 50 weeks later for our 2012 trip, and since I know this is a yearly expense , I include it in our annual budget. (In the past, we'd determine in November if we could afford a Disney trip in January).

All this leads to my question: do you feel like DVC has changed how you spend your vacation money? And do you, like me, feel that there's savings that can be realized by the long term planning DVC requires?

Just wondering!

 

[crisi]

As I've entered the wonderful world of DVC ownership, I've noticed that a repeated thread on the various boards is whether or not DVC is a good investment. This line of critique surprises me because I've never looked at any Disney vacation as a financial investment. (401K? Financial investment. Multiple trips to visit giant rodent? Not a financial investment.)

So while planning my budget for my (OMG!!!! VERY FIRST DVC) trip (THAT'S LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!!!), I've been surprised to see how much money my little family will save by joining DVC. That is, I've planned many meals that we'll eat in the room in lieu of counter service (still going to V&A, tho!), we'll get annual passes that we'll use next week and then 50 weeks later for our 2012 trip, and since I know this is a yearly expense , I include it in our annual budget. (In the past, we'd determine in November if we could afford a Disney trip in January).

All this leads to my question: do you feel like DVC has changed how you spend your vacation money? And do you, like me, feel that there's savings that can be realized by the long term planning DVC requires?

Just wondering!

We spend more money at Disney with DVC than without it.

Without DVC we'd stay in a standard Deluxe hotel room. With DVC a two bedroom becomes affordable.

Without DVC I wouldn't dream of paying for someone else's hotel room. With DVC we take family and friends.

Without DVC, my room costs become part of my vacation expenditures - which means we would be more careful with other things. With DVC those costs are more hidden - money I spent ten years ago? Dues I paid in January? Forgotten! So Cirque or something gets added in easily.

Some people CAN save money with DVC, and the long term planning it encourages can really help. That hasn't been our profile at all.

 

[dzorn]

DVC is a luxury item not an investment.

We do not save by having DVC because whatever we save is off set with the ability to book more trips with the savings. Money wise it is probably a wash but for vacation time

Denise in MI

 

[Nparrotte]

I have never really thought of DVC as an investment. I look at it like the previous poster does. I purchased the points years ago and I pay the dues at a different time then when I actually go on vacation. The cost is still there but DW and I kind of forget that is a vacation expense.

We love to bring family and friends and DVC makes it easy to do so. IMHO the accommodations are awesome especially THV!

I guess you could look at it as an investment because after all your traveling not only do you have years of good times and memories you could sell your points and get some of your money back

 

[walkdmc]

When I stayed on cash (deluxe resorts/villas), my room charges at the end of the stay were ALWAYS over $1000...and that was with the DxDP (so we didn't pay OOP for any food, except tips). I recently stayed at a 1 BR AKV without a dining plan and our room charges for a week totaled $400!!!! So, I actually spent less.

Oh, and I don't think it's an investment either. It will be nice for my kids to use our DVC points when they get older, but I don't plan on making money from DVC, LOL.

 

[emlutz23]

We bought in to DVC because we wanted to be able to travel to WDW more frequently than just once every 3 to 4 years. So now that we go once or twice per year, we are spending more money than we used to (airfare/tickets/food). But DVC allows us to afford those annual trips better than paying cash for a "package" on a yearly basis. Especially when room/package prices will continue to go up over the course of the 48 years we will be owners. So DVC is not an investment for us but more of a "bargain" since we prepaid for our Deluxe lodging at 2006 prices!

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

While I value my DVC immensely, I do not consider it a financial investment. It's prepaid vacations....

 

[cvjw]

We send the mouse way more money since joining DVC than before becoming members. Our dues alone are more than what we used to spend on our annual Disney package. But - we go 3 weeks now instead of 1, and we can take family and friends along for free. Our kids are much happier with longer vacations, and we are making lots of great family memories.

 

[erinna]

Hmmm.... the DVC membership was my husband's idea -- it was a sort of thank you gift for some things I'd recently done for the fam. I'm the DisFan, not him. You could've knocked me over with a feather when he suggested it!

I wonder if he's the reason we're saving money -- since only one of use has a full blown case of the Disney World Disease, we're taking the same annual vacation, just in a time share rather than a resort. Although I AM luring him into developing a Disney interest (if not an obsession like mine!). So maybe one day I'll happily number myself among the DVCer's who are spending more money because they're taking more trips!

 

[lugnut33]

Terrible investment for money returns, good investment for memories and vacations.

 

[Dizny Dad]

Terrible investment for money returns, good investment for memories and vacations.

Well said.

I consider DVC an investment in myself. I have secured vacation time away from my day to day schedule by securing future vacations at today's prices.

DW was the one who wanted to look at DVC. Our vacation norm was to take a vacation away from home every five years or so. But DW pointed out that at that rate, I would have only two or three more vacations away from the stress of my job before I retire! She insisted that I get away at least once a year, and in a situation where I could not just cancel out and stay at the office.

Now we enjoy our time together twice a year in The World, away from the office and day to day routine, with airline reservations that make it more difficult for me our my company to change my mind.

I thought DVC was a gift for her, but as it turns out, it is a wonderful gift she has given to me!

And I look forward to rest of our future in The World!

 

[Golden Rose]

I know we're in the minority, but it is definitely saving us money. We haven't really changed our vacationing habits, except the first year, when we had double points (developer points on our direct purchase, banked points on our resale contract), and we did an extra trip. (Between the DVC, the annual passes that became worth it with the DVC discount, and the TiW card we purchased because of the annual passes, that 3rd bonus trip was the cheapest vacation we've taken ever.) We were in the habit of going approximately every 9 months and getting either two rooms or a suite in a deluxe resort. Being able to get a two bedroom villa has not changed the way we vacation, but it has changed what it costs us.

We've made 5 WDW trips as DVC members. Based on our previous spending habits at the various deluxe resorts, we'd have gone 4 times and spent a minimum of $12,000 on our rooms in that time. We'd have paid for daily internet. We'd have either paid for the deluxe dining plan, or paid full price for meals. We'd have eaten more meals in restaurants, period, because we wouldn't have had the full kitchen. We wouldn't have gotten the annual pass discounts. My mom and step-father wouldn't have gotten the DVC golf membership/badge, which has saved them a bunch of money, but they'd still have played the same amount of golf. We never count on perks staying the same, but they've saved us quite a bit of additional money already, close to another $1000.

We don't look at DVC as an investment, but we certainly do look at it as a way to take the vacations we love at a more reasonable price. It doesn't make us take more vacations, it just lets us take our Disney vacations more cheaply.

 

[mdsd8700]

Terrible investment for money returns, good investment for memories and vacations.

I completely agree. For us we never thought of it as any kind of investment other than for our grandchildren to be able to experience the same things our kids have without needing to worry about the price of a deluxe hotel. Well that and the fact that we get to use it between now and then.

 

[JWG]

Many will disagree with me, but I do not see any Timeshare interest as a money earning investment. DVC especially - being a Leasehold.

I see it as an investment in time with my family away from home in an environment that's friendly for all ages. My four year old wouldn't enjoy Mt. Rushmore, The Grand Canyon, the Badlands, etc.

It also forces me out of ignoring my family while on vacation laughing. If I'm at home I have a tendancy to make plans with friends, do things around the house, etc. Here I actually commit to my family.

Looking at resale prices, DVC is clearly not an investment financially.

 

[Disney Todd]

I'd agree DVC isn't really an investment, and as a financial guy I really crunched the numbers. We bought, twice, thinking we'll enjoy it for 10 or 15 years and then sell it for something like 75 or 80 cents on the dollar. If you look historically, there are plenty of people who are 10 yr owners that are virtually getting all of their money back. That's not to say all resorts will hold up the same (sorry SSR folks), but a fair general rule. Would I forfeit a few grand and annual dues for more luxurious vacations and have a full kitchen to save money on food? Clearly yes. That said, if you have to finance , then the math is entirely different and my unsolicited advice would be to save until you can afford it or simply to buy a smaller contract that you can afford.

 

[Sandisw]

We also have never considered DVC a financial investment, but rather an investment in to our future vacations.

I can say, that owning DVC, has had a positive impact on my yearly vacation budget and I am now "saving" money each year because we no longer have to pay for the room. Yes, my savings account is lower, but from a budge standpoint, my yearly vacation fund is not as big.

Before DVC, DH and I budgeted around $5000 - $7000 a year for vacation. Now, we only have to budget $3000. That extra money is nice to have (as children are in college) as well as to be able to replenish the savings account.

Right now, we are not able to go to Disney any more than we did as cash guests (one summer trip) so in that respect, I am not spending more money since owning DVC.

But, I do know that at some point, when we are both retired, that will change as my plan will be to visit Disney at least 2 - 3 times per year and of course, the plan is to buy more points for extended family visits with our children when they have their own families.

 

[Dean]

My opinion is that DVC often costs money rather than saving, when looking at the dollars. I think most people take more trips than if they didn't have DVC and just spend the dollars elsewhere they would have spent otherwise plus more overall. While I don't think it saves money, I think it can return significant value if used correctly. If used for cash type exchanges, it's a money pit.

Looking at DVC as truly an investment such as for rental, it's a horrible investment for the potential return.

 

[jngwright]

Well said.

I consider DVC an investment in myself. I have secured vacation time away from my day to day schedule by securing future vacations at today's prices.

DW was the one who wanted to look at DVC. Our vacation norm was to take a vacation away from home every five years or so. But DW pointed out that at that rate, I would have only two or three more vacations away from the stress of my job before I retire! She insisted that I get away at least once a year, and in a situation where I could not just cancel out and stay at the office.

Now we enjoy our time together twice a year in The World, away from the office and day to day routine, with airline reservations that make it more difficult for me our my company to change my mind.

I thought DVC was a gift for her, but as it turns out, it is a wonderful gift she has given to me!

And I look forward to rest of our future in The World!

I what you have said!