DVC for dummies?

[rsinj]

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[mygirl]

a big THANK YOU to all of you!
we thought DVC after our sept 07 trip, but have not made the plunge yet, as we really had no personal testimony from those who are/were happy owners. this has brought such clarity!

we are considering renting points for this next trip so that we can check out AKV, and i have a feeling we will become DVC owners within the near future!

 

[chalee94]

One more question though... DH is not quite as much of a Disney fanatic as I am. But, the timeshare idea definitely intrigued him. Anyone have any tips on threads where people discuss experiences w/ other associated trips or resorts that are non-Disney? I think DH could be interested if we could also take other vacations every once in a while. (Think he'd go for like once every 10 yrs? )

DVC is a good financial value when used primarily at DVC resorts (at wdw, HH, and VB...HI coming soon). it is not such a great deal if you trade out a lot...the maintenance fees tend to be higher and the resale prices are much higher than a comparable non-disney timeshare...there is also a $95 fee for each trade now.

i would recommend reading the forums over at the timeshare users group (TUG). but if you really are interested, i'm sure there are some trip reports on the DVC-misc board for non-disney trades.

 

[minniekissedme]

My wife and I are in the process of working toward a DVC purchase. I have been reading many of these boards for tidbits of information on a wide range of topics. I personally want to say thanks for your 20 point "DVC in a nutshell" posting in this thread!

Hoping to become a member soon enough...and I'm sure I'll have my own questions for posting, too!

Thanks!

 

[crisi]

DVC can save you money. It can also simply be a much more effiecient way for Disney to suck dollars from your wallet.

Without DVC we wouldn't have paid for a room for my mother in law four years ago, friends this last year, or my family next year. Without DVC we'd go to Disney once every three to five years (and, I suspect, be pretty happy) rather than going every other year (and being happy).

I think the real deal is that 160 points is too many for most people who currently go every year for a week in a moderate - especially budget minded folks who travel in off season to start with. By making the minimum that high, Disney pretty much guarentees you'll use DVC differently than you used to take Disney vacations. Not that that is a problem, just that you should be aware of it.

 

[mykidsintow]

Very good points. We haven't taken the plunge. I avoided the DVC booths like the plague.

However, with the current special its still very very tempting

 

[jodifla]

Very good points. We haven't taken the plunge. I avoided the DVC booths like the plague.

However, with the current special its still very very tempting

We bought 12 years ago. We've really, really enjoyed being members.

Now we just have the dues. The 80 bucks or so a month are deducted from our checking.

Since we're down to one and a half incomes, it is SO NICE to have the accommodations paid for!!!

And we often bring friends and family, which makes the trip all the more fun.

 

[magsnden]

thanks for a TON of great information!

i got to thinking about the question of dues. let's say we take the lowest dues (SSR at $4.21pp) and a minimum of 160 points (buying direct from disney). that makes it $673.60 each year in dues, right? (although they would go up)

i can't find the page where it says how long the contracts go, but i'll just use 45 years for now.

so using that it'd be

673.60 x 45yrs = $30,312


can that be right? so adding your initial 16G that's $46,000??


i really want so badly for this to make a little better sense, because i REALLY want to buy DVC, but i can't even convince myself, much less have a good argument for my DH!

one other big problem i have is this: if you have 3 kids, and 2 parents, you MUST get a 2 bedroom which sleeps eight (i guess you could get a studio and a 1BR but that's more money than a 2BR). maybe i'm wrong?? (it would be a first )

it's disappointing that disney couldn't make a room for 6, though i'm sure they think it's genius on their part.

i really want to buy DVC!! but help me make a little sense of this!

thanks again, for a lot of info!

 

[magsnden]

bump.

please somebody help!

 

[Ragnrok23]

thanks for a TON of great information!

i got to thinking about the question of dues. let's say we take the lowest dues (SSR at $4.21pp) and a minimum of 160 points (buying direct from disney). that makes it $673.60 each year in dues, right? (although they would go up)

i can't find the page where it says how long the contracts go, but i'll just use 45 years for now.

so using that it'd be

673.60 x 45yrs = $30,312


can that be right? so adding your initial 16G that's $46,000??


i really want so badly for this to make a little better sense, because i REALLY want to buy DVC, but i can't even convince myself, much less have a good argument for my DH!

one other big problem i have is this: if you have 3 kids, and 2 parents, you MUST get a 2 bedroom which sleeps eight (i guess you could get a studio and a 1BR but that's more money than a 2BR). maybe i'm wrong?? (it would be a first )

it's disappointing that disney couldn't make a room for 6, though i'm sure they think it's genius on their part.

i really want to buy DVC!! but help me make a little sense of this!

thanks again, for a lot of info!

You forgot to factor in inflation, but you're right about the $$$

Some one bedroom villa's sleep 5 (the chair fold out to a single bed)

 

[luvindisneyworld]

Yes you are right ,but I look at it like that you are prepaying for your vacations at currents prices.Disney prices will do nothing but go up and it just means that you are locking in now for the next 40 or 50 years of vacations.Also AKV some of the one bedrooms will sleep 5 so you can stay in that if you wanted to.

thanks for a TON of great information!

i got to thinking about the question of dues. let's say we take the lowest dues (SSR at $4.21pp) and a minimum of 160 points (buying direct from disney). that makes it $673.60 each year in dues, right? (although they would go up)

i can't find the page where it says how long the contracts go, but i'll just use 45 years for now.

so using that it'd be

673.60 x 45yrs = $30,312


can that be right? so adding your initial 16G that's $46,000??


i really want so badly for this to make a little better sense, because i REALLY want to buy DVC, but i can't even convince myself, much less have a good argument for my DH!

one other big problem i have is this: if you have 3 kids, and 2 parents, you MUST get a 2 bedroom which sleeps eight (i guess you could get a studio and a 1BR but that's more money than a 2BR). maybe i'm wrong?? (it would be a first )

it's disappointing that disney couldn't make a room for 6, though i'm sure they think it's genius on their part.

i really want to buy DVC!! but help me make a little sense of this!

thanks again, for a lot of info!

 

[chalee94]

if the info i saw was correct, in 1980, you could book a room at the contemporary resort for $70-80 per night...28 years later, it's more like $300+ per night. how much do you think rooms at wdw will cost in 25-30 more years?

160 pts per year for the next 45ish years will get you 2 weeks in a studio (i.e. comparable to a hotel room) with 2 queen size beds at OKW on wdw property during relatively low season parts of the year. (you could also consider 2 weeks per year in one room = 1 week per year in 2 rooms if you need more space.)

by your math, those 2 DVC weeks cost about $1000 per year...i don't understand why you are even asking the question...add up 2 weeks per year onsite at wdw for 45 years and see if the number is higher or lower than $46,000.

(it's a lot more complicated than that, since dues increase most years...and there's a time-value to money that you are not considering...but that's a start.)

 

[Nik's Mom]

We were always intrigued by DVC. Now that we are moving from California to Kansas, DVC seems even more appealing. But DH doesn't want to just be locked into going to DVC for every vacation. Can someone tell me if we can use the timeshare for other parts of the world? That would be cool if we could do that!

 

[mykidsintow]

Sure you can!

Also, thanks for all the input on this thread! We bought last week..... I am excited!

 

[southtexasmom]

So at what point in talking to them on our trip will they actually break down cost/point options for us? How many years do you need to be going before you see the initial cost?

Thanks again!

We stayed at SSR for cash last year for 6 nights in a 2 bedroom villa, it was around $4000. We bought into SSR (200 pts.) while we were there last year, it will take us 5 trips at the current cash price to recoup our investment.

 

[magsnden]

thanks again, to the friendly posters. i really appreciate your information and the nice manner in which it was provided. i don't really know how to reply to the other poster who didn't know why i was "even asking the question" so i'll just leave it at that.


i think my concern about dues is a valid one, being that the expense of dues over 50 years, would by far surpass, the initial investment.

again, i thank you all for your help, and i will continue to read up and learn from you!

 

[castleri]

Sure you can!

Also, thanks for all the input on this thread! We bought last week..... I am excited!

congratulations and Welcome Home!

 

[luvindisneyworld]

Thats what I would suggest is to read, read and then read some more. Thats just a financial decision that noone can make buy you and your family.

But please dont think that you cant ask questions here.Just some people dont answer as nice as others.Please dont let that scare you off,just ignore them

thanks again, to the friendly posters. i really appreciate your information and the nice manner in which it was provided. i don't really know how to reply to the other poster who didn't know why i was "even asking the question" so i'll just leave it at that.


i think my concern about dues is a valid one, being that the expense of dues over 50 years, would by far surpass, the initial investment.

again, i thank you all for your help, and i will continue to read up and learn from you!

 

[magsnden]

Thats what I would suggest is to read, read and then read some more. Thats just a financial decision that noone can make buy you and your family.

But please dont think that you cant ask questions here.Just some people dont answer as nice as others.Please dont let that scare you off,just ignore them

thanks, luvindisneyworld. that's more of the "welcome home" feel that i've heard about! i appreciate it! i'll be sure to stick around.

 

[Silver Queen]

magsnden,
Thank you for posing your well thought out questions. I have been struggling with the decison of whether or not to buy in and this thread has given me a lot of food for thought. My situation is a little different. My son is an adult (29) who loves Disney just as much as I do. He's married but there are no grandchildren yet. Because of our ages a long contract is not as important to us so I was wondering about a resale. We would certainly like to take many more trips to WDW in the future but we also like to travel to many other places. I gues that I'll just have to keep reding the boards and do sofme more thinking. I'll be going to WDW in April and am thinking of making an appointment for the talk and tour. I just don't want to take too much time from our vacation for the sales pitch.