DVC curiosity for family of 6

[PMGuernsey]

I would say since you live so far from WDW and even Aulani is a plane ride away, first decide how often you would go to these locations. Is it every year, every other year or even every three years. Once you know that answer then decide what time of year and size room you want to get. Look at the point chart for Aulani and see how many points you will need. Once you have that number and if you decide you want to go every year you need to buy that number of points, if you want to go every other year to then you need 1/2 the number and if you plan to go every 3rd year you need a third because you can bank and borrow to have 3 years worth of points available to use on one trip.

I’d say unless you find an incredible deal on a large point contract because they are harder to sell, I’d buy smaller 160 points or less. Since you are on the west coast maybe buying Aulani would be a better choice if that where you would want to go regularly vs buying a WDW resort where there are more options at the 7mos window.

Thanks for your response!!! So you would say generally there are options 7 months out at WDW resorts.... We aren't familiar with any of the DVC locations at WDW so we wouldn't have a preference now.

 

[PMGuernsey]

If you will be going to aulani regularly, I would purchase there. It is a great deal. We are even tempted by aulani contracts and we will go there maybe once ever. If you decide to purchase at wdw, there are a lot of good places to buy, but Saratoga is generally the least inexpensive option. Animal Kingdom is also reasonable. The only ones with inflated prices are Beach Club and Boardwalk (in my opinion). But if there is one resort where you absolutely want to stay regularly, you should purchase at that resort, especially if you book early (at least 7 months out). I would buy at Aulani or Saratoga in your situation. DVC is easy to sell if you decide it isn’t for your family, but I suspect you will love it.

Thanks so much for sharing!! We are going to see how this trip goes and if we love Aulani and plant to go back I think we will look into buying a resale contract... We would likely alternate every other year between Aulani and WDW between our regular trips to DL.

 

[PMGuernsey]

Once DL opens back up again, do you think that you will be traveling to WDW and the Aulani as frequently? I think that's a question/answer you'll want to consider. My family and I own at the Grand Californian, but we also travel to WDW and the Aulani every so often, so for us, it made sense. Although some people will argue that if they owned at the Grand Californian, they wouldn't use their points for other resorts. It's a personal decision, but I would definitely look at your long term plans. My biggest regret is that I didn't buy sooner.

Thanks for the reply!! That is a really good question. The reason we went to WDW this year was because DL was closed. Aulani for the same reason.... Basically one trip to Aulani is costing us the same as 2-3 trips to DL, since we stay at tropicana or desert inn and suites usually.... I'm afraid my wife and kids are going to fall in love with Aulani as they loved staying at Caribbean beach club at WDW.

 

[PMGuernsey]

Until your youngest is 3 you can sleep 6 in most 1 bedrooms (5 plus an infant). I would suggest a smaller contract to use for a few years, the earlier suggestion of 160 pts is a good one and that size contract would allow you about 5 nights every year in a 1 bedroom if you don't travel at peak times. If after 3 years you don't think DVC is a good fit for your family you can sell that size contract fairly easily or you can add-on with another small contract to allow you to vacation every year in a 2 bedroom. We did this when we went from 2 to 3 kids, bought enough points for us to stay in a studio and tried it out for 3 years. We decided we loved DVC and we added on so we could have the option of 1 or 2 bedrooms when we travel.

Saratoga and Animal Kingdom are a good value compared to other DVC properties. Since you are on the west coast know that booking The Grand Californian if you don't own there is next to impossible. Booking Aulani at the 7 month mark is doable.

Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for you response!! I love the idea of a trial period with a smaller contract... Do DVC points hold value year to year? Say we use it for a few years do you think we could see at or near same price?

 

[vacay77]

Thanks for the reply!! That is a really good question. The reason we went to WDW this year was because DL was closed. Aulani for the same reason.... Basically one trip to Aulani is costing us the same as 2-3 trips to DL, since we stay at tropicana or desert inn and suites usually.... I'm afraid my wife and kids are going to fall in love with Aulani as they loved staying at Caribbean beach club at WDW.

Enjoy your trip! The Aulani is fantastic - I'd even go so far as to say it's the nicest resort that my family and I have ever stayed at, and we've stayed at some very nice ones. We started thinking about becoming DVC members as a result of our stay at the Aulani.

 

[princesscinderella]

Thanks for your response!!! So you would say generally there are options 7 months out at WDW resorts.... We aren't familiar with any of the DVC locations at WDW so we wouldn't have a preference now.

Yea you can usually always get a room at Saratoga Springs as it is the largest DVC property, with the exception of some holidays and run Disney events. It might be more difficult for the next couple years due to amount of points in play due to the shutdown and travel disruption.

 

[PMGuernsey]

I would wait until after your Aulani trip and then decide what works best for your family. (Don’t let them swoon you into direct while there haha). Our DL will again reopen (I’m southern CA, within 60 miles and it’s been rough. Walked by the DVC stand for years with no interest in it. But COVID got me researching and purchased a resale contract). Made my first return reservation to WDW as a DVC owner for this May). Don’t let the yearly dues guide your decision, (I budget those yearly at $10 a point feeling great when the bill is less!), but rather how much you will save on the buy in to be a member. Aulani is a resort that has a great price difference resale vs direct. (I chose Beach Club, saving $92 a point overall). Some great Aulani resale is on the market for a west coaster. All your WDW reservations would be 7 months out with multiple resorts to choose from with also the fun split stay option! You will have the 11 month perk to get any of the view categories you want at Aulani, when you want it. They say have to buy into the Grand Californian to stay there. It’s more that if you want to stay there for a larger block of days, then yes. However there is quickie trips availability. Then jump on a plane and fly down. (There are many great value hotel options basically attached to DL that I too use for my stays). Once you become a member, you will have so much fun having access to the website and looking at all the resort availability options. It will sure make you want to fly to Florida a lot!! Best of luck and fun as you explore DVC.

I won't be swooned!!! Yes I can't believe it's been almost a year since we have been to DL. We had been going every 3 months are so just because flights and hotel stays were so cheap out of Portland. We would usually just fly on miles.. My family has been withdrawing from Disney though which made us explore other options. We will see how Aulani goes and make a decision from there. I think if my wife or kids start talking about going back anytime in the next 2 years I will just look into buying DVC. Glad to know you can get Grand Californian for a couple nights 7 months out. Some of our trips are only for 3-4 nights

 

[PMGuernsey]

And if you won’t routinely be buying a WDW annual pass, I’d ignore direct contracts. We are in a similar boat as you-West Coasters, DL is our favorite (and we can get to Aulani in less time than it takes us to get to Orlando). I bought a 25 point AKV contract when that was the minimum for direct, but wouldn’t buy direct at all at current levels as I just wouldn’t get the use of the perks. A 20 minute hang out in the EPCOT lounge on a visit every few years isn’t worth 10K . And it’ll be easy to rent riviera points if you ever want to stay there.

Thanks I don't think we would be interested in WDW annual pass... Do you know if they discount the WDW/DL combined pass?

 

[PMGuernsey]

When Aulani opened and first was being sold DVC miss-calculated the dues and had to adjust then up significantly. The contracts that were sold before this retain the original calculation which is significantly lower

Here is what I have for 2020 and 2019

Aulani Hawaii (Pre July 27, 2011)	$6.2628	+6.0%	$5.9088
Aulani Hawaii (Post July 27, 2011)	$8.3312	+6.0%	$7.8603

As you can see it does not take long to make up the $15 to $25/pt premium that the subsidized go for on resale market

Vero Beach resort has the same situation

Thanks so much for this explanation it is very helpful.... Not sure how to look for subsidized contract but that is a very good tip!!

 

[bookwormde]

Thanks so much for this explanation it is very helpful.... Not sure how to look for subsidized contract but that is a very good tip!!

Some have a side note. here is one that you can use tier search feature

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/listings/aulani/au01059/
as a fyi sale prices are typically running $1 to $20 below asking

 

[PMGuernsey]

Some have a side note. here is one that you can use tier search feature

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/listings/aulani/au01059/
as a fyi sale prices are typically running $1 to $20 below asking

Thanks so much for referring me to this link and site. So generally people make an offer that is somewhat less than asking price and it's negotiated?

 

[crisi]

I will say what I normally say....look at a DVC purchase in context of all of your financial priorities. Are you saving for retirement? Are you going to need a bigger home? How about kids school costs - private schools, college tuition? What is the opportunity cost of a DVC purchase - what financial things are you going to sacrifice to make it happen?

Look at DVC in terms of your life priorities as well. Owning DVC means that you are committing to a lot of Disney focused vacations - Disney World or Hilton Head or Vero or Aulani (maybe Disneyland someday if DVC expands offerings, right now Disneyland isn't a realistic buy unless you buy VGC points). That means less vacation time to go to Cancun or London or Washington DC. It will mean less vacation time if your kids take up travel sports to get them to a soccer tournament near Chicago or a baseball tournament in Omaha. For many of us, this is a no brainer - most of our vacations are Disney focused. For others, DVC turns out to be not a great fit as our kids get other interests or our own travel bug means we'd rather go on safari in Africa rather than the safari ride in Animal Kingdom. (Personally, we bought DVC when our kids were toddlers, they are both in college now. Our daughter would much rather be in Europe than at Disney. Our son would much rather be on a beach than Disney. This change happened in middle school. Our son hasn't been to Disney in almost a decade (he says he'll go with us for our next trip, and he was with us at Hilton Head last Winter, but he stayed with Grandma after he was about twelve) For us, we had the resources for two vacations a year, and the points for an every other year vacation to Disney - so we were able to meet everyone's preferences)

Look at DVC in terms of your travel patterns. DVC works best for people who want to stay in a DVC resort at least every other year. It works best for people who will book their home resort at eleven months and then if something else is available seven months out, switch. It works best for people who can plan eight months to a year out, and somewhat paradoxically, works best for planners who can also be flexible (i.e. you want to switch at seven months and try BCV, but you are OK if you end up at BWV, VAKL or your home resort and you don't mind switching mid trip to get a few nights worth of Storm Along Bay, or you could move your vacation a week should what you really want open up). It works best for people who aren't looking for bargains like "free dining" and are fairly price insensitive - DVC MAY save you money, but with restrictive cancellation policies, the probability of losing points during your ownership (yea Covid), the "room is paid for, we might as well go" trip when you really should skip a vacation and financially retrench, and the psychological incentives to spend more on a trip when the room is "free" - most of us end up giving more dollars to the Mouse than if we were just paying cash for a room.

For people for whom DVC is a good fit, its a good fit. For people who are really trying to fit that square peg into a round hole, DVC is not flexible and is really an expensive luxury for a poor fit.

 

[bookwormde]

Thanks so much for referring me to this link and site. So generally people make an offer that is somewhat less than asking price and it's negotiated?

yes sometimes it is successful and sometimes you just move on to the next contract, sometimes the seller will reach back out later if they have turned down an offer but the contract has not sold

 

[mariam1]

I'd def book direct in times like this, with that kind of discount. I don't follow Aulani, so didn't even know that.

You might be a good candidate for a subsidized Aulani contract. They can be hard to get, I considered one, just because of its math at WDW. I'd take your time and watch the market. The sponsor of this board has a drop down to only show subsidized contracts in the results.

can you send a link on this drop down list to show only subsidized contract, thank you!

 

[CarolMN]

can you send a link on this drop down list to show only subsidized contract, thank you!

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/listings/
Drop down box for status includes a box to check for subsidized dues.