DVC for UK residents - please help!

[dgsrogers]

Hi everyone, what are peoples thoughts on DVC for travellers from the UK?
We come every year and usually get a package which includes flights, hotel and tickets. Looking at hotel only options for deluxe hotels we would be paying at least £5000+ per stay for 2 weeks.

SO, If we were to buy DVC resale at say AKL for 250 points at say $100/point = $25,000 = roughly about £19,000 plus closing fees etc. Annual dues at $7.4355 x250pts (not taking into account inflation as hotel prices inflate as well) = $1860 =£1426

Paying for normal hotel non dvc for 6 trips would be about £30,000 (at least)

DVC option £19,000 + (£1426 x 6 years= £8556) = £27,556
So after 6 trips we would essentially have got our money worth? and then we would essentially just be paying annual dues at £1426 for a £5000+ room?

(also have to think about air fair but would be paying for that anyway)

Apologies if my math is out but from this it seems like DVC is worth it for uk residents? still a silly amount of money but its money I would be paying anyway..

any thoughts/advice would be very appreciated,

 

[carli_h]

We’re currently going through ROFR in an attempt to buy our first DVC contract and from the UK.

We plan to go every other year (we currently go roughly every 18-24 months) and feel that it is worth it for us so we can afford deluxe 1 beds. We have stayed both on and off property and prefer to be on Disney property so we don’t need our own car. We also like the fact we can rent out the points if we decide not to go.

I would say it only works if you plan to go regularly, plan your trip early, want to be on property and are bothered about where you stay.

You can stay a lot cheaper off property than you estimate or alternatively you can rent points.

Try googling DVC availability tool which will give you an idea of availability. I have been tracking it and October- December it does seem that you need to buy where you want to stay.

 

[Jerry@dvcstore]

If you are planning to visit Disney on a regular basis, yes it would be worth it. Disney's Resorts are some of the finest in the world and next to the most magical place on earth : ) Your accommodations would be at Disney's best deluxe resorts and it's money you would already be spending. One factor to consider is: if you are going to spend this money and "rent" the rooms from Disney...in the end 10 to 20 years from now, you would have wonderful memories and tons of pictures to share with friends and family, but that is it. However, if you became a DVC member and you used this package for the same 10 to 20 years, you would still have the same pictures and memories to share, but if you sell the DVC package there is tangible piece of real estate located on Disney property that should have residual value. So instead of renting from Disney and getting no money back, you could purchase and use and if you resold down the road, you have something to resell. I cannot predict the future, but the DVC packages have always resold great and since 1992 and have steadily increased in value. If that continues, at least you get some financial return...plus the memories. Again I cannot predict the future, but that has been the case for the past 27 years (since DVC opened).

 

[dgsrogers]

Thanks for both replies. Yes I totally agree regarding the investiment side of things! I have done my research and numbers and I think financially it makes sense in the long run.
I’m thinking 250 points at either AKL or boardwalk providing on what is available resale wise.


Just wish we had done it 10 years ago when the pound wasn’t so weak!

 

[starry_solo]

You actually have to deduct air fare & tickets from the cost that you quoted above (£5000+) for a 2-week stay. Like, what are your exact numbers and is it for two people or is that a per person price? Your first sentence says that the £5000+ is a package deal, which makes it sound like it's for two people.

So, subtracting the cost of annual dues from £5000+ isn't actually correct. You would need to price out the tickets (although an AP might be worth it for you, if you end up doing 2 trips in less than a one-year period), flights, and accommodations separately and use that amount (for accommodations) as a comparison between annual dues.

 

[dgsrogers]

Sorry I was unclear. I mean we usually get packages but looking at room only rates it’s about £5000+ for hotels.
For example - akl with flights in October is £6915. Without flights is £5964.
Does that make sense?
You would get an annual pass to cover a 2 year period as you said.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Agree you need to factor in airfare and tickets. We are from Europe and normally go twice a year may and September.

We pay a tad less than $1000 in airfare for 3 people total per trip. We try to get 3 trips on each AP a you need to do is plan accordingly.

So you could argue that we are paying 3 x $1000 + 3 x $650(AP) + dues for 3 stays.

We normally only stay in studios.

 

[armsk]

You also need to consider the "Free food" offer that you can get. I know, It's not really free, but as an example in 2018, 15 nights for 5 people in 1 bedroom £5520, but included 15 days DDP (around £4.2k for 5 of us). Plus on top of that a $200 gift card. The free food offer may not be around forever though.

 

[finchy3]

We own at GCV and travel to Anaheim every two years from the UK staying in 1BD's.

Bought in 2014 and agree we wish we had done it years ago.

We absolutely love it and don't regret it for a second

 

[Minniesgal]

We have been DVc owners and UK residents for 10 year and I love my DVC.

I would say it has never saved us money as it has encouraged us to do more and go more places than we would have. We now own at WDW and DL but we only go every other year at most and I am planning on going to once every 3 years. We are starting to alternate WDW with DL/Aulani with a DL Aulani trip this year. Aulani I think has been our favorite of all.

My husband and I are parked out and I think we have one more holiday after this one with a kid in tow. After that we plan on still going with no park tickets but the golf clubs and our books. We fancy mornings on the Golf course, afternoons on the balcony with a bottle of wine and a nice dinner out.

for us DVC has totally been worth it and we could sell our points tomorrow and get back a good portion of what we bought them for.

 

[Minniesgal]

You also need to consider the "Free food" offer that you can get. I know, It's not really free, but as an example in 2018, 15 nights for 5 people in 1 bedroom £5520, but included 15 days DDP (around £4.2k for 5 of us). Plus on top of that a $200 gift card. The free food offer may not be around forever though.

This only works if you want the DDP we hate it and wouldn't thank anyone for it. We would much rather have our DVC so it is wirth checking if the dining plan would work for you before comparing with DVC

 

[armsk]

This only works if you want the DDP we hate it and wouldn't thank anyone for it. We would much rather have our DVC so it is
wirth checking if the dining plan would work for you before comparing with DVC

Totally agree, but if buying DVC is purely based on whether it saves you money, the free DDP has to be factored in. We are saving to buy, and plan to buy the end of the year, but I'm sure it won't save me money.

 

[rg35]

If you visit for 2 weeks each year, you will need more than 250 points at Animal Kingdom unless you plan on staying in studio rooms.

 

[kboo]

(also have to think about air fair but would be paying for that anyway)

One thing to consider with the packages is if you are getting a very discounted hotel or airfare, and whether your "hotel room only" estimate is full rack rate (not necessarily realistic, often you can get discounts). Before we bought DVC, we were usually able to find some kind of discount on a deluxe room; we never paid full rack rate. Even with a discounted deluxe room, DVC is probably a better deal, but it likely takes a little longer than 6 stays to "recoup" your initial outlay.

Also, as @rg35 said, 250 points will not get you a 2 week stay most of the time.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Totally agree, but if buying DVC is purely based on whether it saves you money, the free DDP has to be factored in. We are saving to buy, and plan to buy the end of the year, but I'm sure it won't save me money.

To get the free dining plan offers, don't you have to pay rack rates on rooms? I cannot remember, but we looked at a couple of free dining offers and they were a wash when you looked at some of their % off room rates.

 

[Noodlez]

To get the free dining plan offers, don't you have to pay rack rates on rooms? I cannot remember, but we looked at a couple of free dining offers and they were a wash when you looked at some of their % off room rates.

This is actually quite different for those of us in the UK. We only tend to have 2 offers. One is free dining, and the other is free nights. I can’t remember all the numbers but we booked 8 nights and got one free last year. Out of these, unless you’re travelling alone then the free dining is always the best option by far. We don’t get the same room discounts as those in the US.

I know that a lot of DVCers prefer to cook in their villa, but for anyone intending to eat in the parks the free dining is an important consideration.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

There is a whole forum about DVC for UK. I am not sure how active it is, but you can see conversations going back many years. https://www.disboards.com/forums/uk-dvc-discussion.61/