dvc help

[wifey1220]

Would anyone who is a dvc lover like to help teach me dvc. We really want to buy. But have looked at it and are not sure it would be worth it for us. Looks like we would need far too many points to be able to vacation yearly. But dh has been speaking to work friends who say dvc is a must. Not sure what to do. A little history on us. We are a family of 5 three boys (4,9,13) me and dh 34. We have visited wdw every year for the past 9 years. We have taken 3 cruises in a row. Would love to do hawii and Hilton head. Also want to use dvc to visit other cities. Boys are getting older and want wdw but also want different adventures. We like to travel in September and april , may. We have had free dining all nine years. I currently have por booked for setp7 6 nights free dining and 4 day base tix. Also leaving for cruise in a week. So yes we love Disney. Any advice????

 

[JimMIA]

The first question I would ask my family is this: "Do we want to own a timeshare?"

The difference between what you are doing now and timeshare ownership is huge. Right now, you are paying cash and taking advantage of whatever promotional opportunities make sense for your family -- in your case "Free" DDP.

A timeshare is a very longterm, expensive financial committment... especially if you are talking about DVC. With DVC, you will be committing to "Annual Dues" for the next 30-50 years depending on which resort(s) you own. And that is in addition to the substantial initial outlay to purchase DVC. In addition, timesharing requires more lead time in planning. You can't just call up and get a reservation 90 days from now -- you have to plan much farther ahead.

In order to answer that first key question, you should also take a look at alternatives.

Did you know, for example, that you can rent DVC accommodations from owners (rather than through Central Reservations)? DVC rentals might be a better deal, and you can get DDP with those reservations as well. The DDP won't be "free," but your overall expense for a DVC rental with paid DDP might well be less than what you are paying for your hotel room and "free DDP."

(In fact -- since you already have a reservation in place -- it might be a useful drill to research a rented DVC reservation on the DIS R/T board, paying for DDP and your park tickets, and see how the numbers work. If the DVC reservation is less expensive, you could cancel POR and try DVC -- which would be a twofer, less money and a test-drive of DVC.)

There are also hundreds of options OFFsite in the WDW area. Obviously you prefer onsite, but there are other options. Did you know that you can rent offsite timeshare 2 bedroom villas at very fine resorts for well under $1,000 for a full week? You can pay for a lot of theme park parking and meals with the savings from a deal like that -- and those options are commonplace.

IF you decide you want to own some timeshare, the question then becomes which one? If you want to vacation almost exclusively at WDW, and your family would not be happy staying offsite, DVC is an excellent choice.

But outside of WDW, DVC has only 4 other resorts (Aulani, VGC, VB, and HHI). In each of those locations, although the resorts are beautiful, most knowledgeable folks think there are better options than DVC.

Yes, you can use your DVC points in RCI, but DVC/RCI is very limited. You would only have access to <600 RCI resorts (out of 3,200+) and you would not be able to get FULL individual RCI membership, with the benefits that carries. Also, you should know that in ANYbody's timeshare system, anytime you exchange out to another system, you're almost always trading for a downgrade.

If you would be happy offsite in comparable (or better) accommodations, or if you want to use the timeshare for travel elsewhere, you should look at other systems. DVC is not the only quality timeshare system -- there are many, and most of them offer more options than DVC.

If you decide to buy DVC, my advice is buy resale and pay cash. Direct prices are DOUBLE resale prices in many cases, and financing adds enormously to your cost of ownership.

 

[disneynutz]

You need to take the time to read, read, and read some more. You need to understand how DVC works, the good and the bad, the restrictions, rules, and problems. Banking, borrowing, UY, and home resort.

You need to realize that most people who own something will never share the negatives, it makes them feel stupid.

DVC isn't for everyone, don't do something just because others do.

Less than 1% of the DVC owners post on the DIS so your sample size is very small.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

Would anyone who is a dvc lover like to help teach me dvc. We really want to buy. But have looked at it and are not sure it would be worth it for us. Looks like we would need far too many points to be able to vacation yearly. But dh has been speaking to work friends who say dvc is a must. Not sure what to do. A little history on us. We are a family of 5 three boys (4,9,13) me and dh 34. We have visited wdw every year for the past 9 years. We have taken 3 cruises in a row. Would love to do hawii and Hilton head. Also want to use dvc to visit other cities. Boys are getting older and want wdw but also want different adventures. We like to travel in September and april , may. We have had free dining all nine years. I currently have por booked for setp7 6 nights free dining and 4 day base tix. Also leaving for cruise in a week. So yes we love Disney. Any advice????

You can use your points to cruise on DCL, but you will use a whole lot of points to do it, plus pay $95 to make the reservation (and another $95 should you need to revise the reservation). Plus if you have to cancel your cruise, you can't use those points at a DVC resort; they have become reservation points. And you can't use resale points to book a Disney cruise, to book at non-DVC Disney hotel or to book Adventures by Disney. Only direct from Disney points can be used to book a DCL cruise (so you pay more for the points and use more points for the cruise).

With five you would need to have at a very minimum a one bedroom villa. If you booked some of the older ones (VWL, BWV, BCV, SSR) you would only have beds for four and would need to provide your own bed (and sheets and towels) for the fifth person.

DVC members usually book seven to eleven months out at their home resort. If they wait to less than seven months out, you can book at another resort, but availability could be a problem. You can't book a few months out and expect to get exactly what you want. And it can be hard to get a reservation at less than seven months out from late Sept to mid-January.

DVC only provides lodging. No park admission, no food, no travel to the resort.

 

[Dean]

Would anyone who is a dvc lover like to help teach me dvc. We really want to buy. But have looked at it and are not sure it would be worth it for us. Looks like we would need far too many points to be able to vacation yearly. But dh has been speaking to work friends who say dvc is a must. Not sure what to do. A little history on us. We are a family of 5 three boys (4,9,13) me and dh 34. We have visited wdw every year for the past 9 years. We have taken 3 cruises in a row. Would love to do hawii and Hilton head. Also want to use dvc to visit other cities. Boys are getting older and want wdw but also want different adventures. We like to travel in September and april , may. We have had free dining all nine years. I currently have por booked for setp7 6 nights free dining and 4 day base tix. Also leaving for cruise in a week. So yes we love Disney. Any advice????

I do not believe DVC will save you money for stays at Disney resorts, it will likely cost you more though you may get more as well. IF you were to buy points for non DVC stays, you'd need a lot more points and would pay more long term and short term than you would if you simply buy the points you'd use at DVC and pay cash for the rest. I too would recommend not buying if you can't so do with cash.

 

[cseca]

Like a PP said, a family of 5 would require at least a 1br. There's a rumor that GFV will allow 5 in a studio but that's a rumor only and also buying in would cost you a huge chunk of change.

DVC is generally best for people who:
1. Go to disney regularly and planning to do so for many years to come.
2. Will mostly use the points on DVC properties
3. Are able to do long term planning
4. Needs/strongly prefer to stay in a deluxe resort
5. Are comfortable financially to pay for the buy in and MF

If you like to search for deals, totally in love with free dining, don't mind staying in a value/moderate resort or last minute planners then DVC would probably not be a good fit for your family.

Good luck !

 

[Coach81]

Yep.. sounds like you got it bad... I recommend a 300 pt contract and call me in the morning!!!!!!

 

[JimMIA]

There is one fundamental fact you need to understand about the restrictions on resale points: the use of directly-purchased points for those options (cruises, Disney hotels which do not have DVC villas, ABD, etc) is NOT GUARANTEED to direct purchasers.

Those items are perks, and they can be changed, expanded, or eliminated at any time with one swipe of the Mouse's pen. Perks can and do change. In fact, the ability to use points for cruises has been withdrawn for periods of almost a year on several occasions in the last few years.

Prospective buyers who even consider these perks in their decision-making process are really making a fool's bet.

 

[disneynutz]

There is one fundamental fact you need to understand about the restrictions on resale points: the use of directly-purchased points for those options (cruises, Disney hotels which do not have DVC villas, ABD, etc) is NOT GUARANTEED to direct purchasers.

Those items are perks, and they can be changed, expanded, or eliminated at any time with one swipe of the Mouse's pen. Perks can and do change. In fact, the ability to use points for cruises has been withdrawn for periods of almost a year on several occasions in the last few years.

Prospective buyers who even consider these perks in their decision-making process are really making a fool's bet.

IMO the one fundamental fact is that Disney will do what is good for Disney even if it has a negative impact on it's customers. DVC has changed their rules and policies and added restrictions for resale buyers. If they feel that it is necessary to implement additional changes and/or restrictions, they will. It's all about numbers and profit.

Bill

 

[TeddiBarra]

Trying to do some reading to understand if DVC is something we should ever consider, and also for some family who are mildly interested.

What do you mean by resale points? Do you mean if you buy someone else's original contract that THEY are reselling and YOU would be buying?

What does RCI stand for?

If you "buy direct" that means buying an original contract from Disney? And these contracts have the most "perks" and flexibility?

What's the point of a "home resort"? From the Disney adds, they sure promote the DVC are being able to be used everywhere, but clearly a "home resort" makes a difference but I don't get what that is.

Bottomline, what's the supposed built in savings % over regular room rates?

 

[chalee94]

What do you mean by resale points? Do you mean if you buy someone else's original contract that THEY are reselling and YOU would be buying?

someone (in this case, disney) builds a building and sells it in pieces as a "timeshare." disney would be the "developer" or "direct seller."

if you buy a timeshare from the developer and need to sell, you are "reselling" your real estate interest to another buyer. in many cases, the developer includes language in the contract that limits resale buyers to some degree (almost always, it's nothing of value.)

What does RCI stand for?

it's a timeshare exchange agent (google can help if you really care what the letters stand for). if i own a timeshare but don't want to use it and you own a timeshare but don't want to use yours, rather than go through the hassle of trying to find each other, we can use a broker like RCI (or II). lots of timeshare owners use RCI to allow another person to use their timeshare...and in exchange, RCI determines the trade value of their week and allows them to trade for something of "comparable value."

If you "buy direct" that means buying an original contract from Disney? And these contracts have the most "perks" and flexibility?

sure.

What's the point of a "home resort"?

when you buy into DVC, you are committing to a long-term real estate contract (like a lease.)

When you buy a contract at Beach Club Villas (for example) for 200 pts per year, that tells you a few things:

*when your resort contract expires – BCV contracts expire on Jan 31, 2042 (OTOH, Bay Lake Tower contracts, for example, don’t expire till 2060)

*how much you owe in annual dues (also called maintenance fees) each year - BCV contract owners are required to pay $5.64 per point during calendar year 2013 (OTOH, Vero Beach Resort contracts cost VB owners $7.40 per point - look for the stickied DVC resource thread for more information)

*that you have access to booking BCV at 11 months out with BCV pts from that BCV contract while other owners have to wait till 7 months out to see if BCV still has any availability at that date (If you also bought a 25 pt contract at HHI, then HHI would be another “home resort” but only for the 25 pts from that HHI contract – you’d need BCV pts to book BCV at 11 months out and HHI pts to book HHI at 11 months out…so until 7 months out, pts from each contract cannot be combined for booking purposes.)

(and in the rare event that an asteroid crashed into BCV and destroyed it, you would be out of the DVC unless it was rebuilt.)

From the Disney adds, they sure promote the DVC are being able to be used everywhere, but clearly a "home resort" makes a difference but I don't get what that is.

there's a lot of fine print to Disney's advertisements. you have certain legal rights to stay at your home resort (if you act in a timely manner) - but all the other stuff can change quite a bit.

Bottomline, what's the supposed built in savings % over regular room rates?

you gotta do your own homework. what is your individual effective interest rate for doing a time value of money calculation? are you paying $165 per pt for a direct contract or $60 per pt for a resale contract? does your home resort have relatively high or low annual dues? what discounts do you typically get off wdw hotel rack rates for comparison?

also, are you comparing a hotel room with a studio? studios tend to have only 1 queen bed + 1 sofabed and no daily housekeeping - is that an issue for you? most people buy into DVC because they want the space of a 1BR or 2BR villa - with amenities like a full kitchen and washer/dryer...if that is of no value to you, DVC may just not be your thing.

in my case, i'm ballparking my savings at 70% or so off the rack rates for the onsite resorts...but your results may vary.

 

[AJA]

If you are happy at POR owning DVC will not save you money. You can def upgrade and stay at the deluxe hotels. Run the numbers several times, don't get emotional (soooo hard I know BTDT).

Cruising is not a good use of points. If you're talking money it's better to rent your points and pay that cash toward your cruise.

Remember the yearly dues go up each and every year. Don't get caught up on the purchase price, it's a small amount in the long run.