DVC or Not

[Himmin]

Hi All

I really need you help to decided whether to go ahead with my DVC purchase or not.

Currently there are just two adults in our family but we are hoping to add some little ones soon.

We think we would go to WDW every 2/3 years for the next 20 or so but are not sure after then.

Other than once we have only stayed in the All Star resorts because they are great value and I am actually one of the people that like them. I would love to stay at AKL and BLT but cost has been a factor when I know I can get something more than adequate at the all stars.

I priced up how much it is to go for two weeks (normally with free dining) and worked out that just the room at all stars costs around £900 for the time of year we would go.

If we keep our current DVC contract it will costs us around £690 per annum.
(both of these exclude any price rises in hotel prices and dues) and for this we could get 2 weeks every other year at AKL with a Savannah View or 13 nights every year in just a standard view studio.

As such unless we went to the allstars every year for the next 43 years (length of the contract) we would never break even.

I hope we can stay at AKL once but even if we paid full price I doubt we would ever break even.

Am I missing something or am I just best to cancel by DVC membership (I am still within the cancellation period)

 

[Tink2312]

Hi All I really need you help to decided whether to go ahead with my DVC purchase or not. Currently there are just two adults in our family but we are hoping to add some little ones soon. We think we would go to WDW every 2/3 years for the next 20 or so but are not sure after then. Other than once we have only stayed in the All Star resorts because they are great value and I am actually one of the people that like them. I would love to stay at AKL and BLT but cost has been a factor when I know I can get something more than adequate at the all stars. I priced up how much it is to go for two weeks (normally with free dining) and worked out that just the room at all stars costs around £900 for the time of year we would go. If we keep our current DVC contract it will costs us around £690 per annum. (both of these exclude any price rises in hotel prices and dues) and for this we could get 2 weeks every other year at AKL with a Savannah View or 13 nights every year in just a standard view studio. As such unless we went to the allstars every year for the next 43 years (length of the contract) we would never break even. I hope we can stay at AKL once but even if we paid full price I doubt we would ever break even. Am I missing something or am I just best to cancel by DVC membership (I am still within the cancellation period)

The difference is the accommodation - you would effectively be jumping 2 resort categories from a value to a deluxe. Also, even the studio has more amenities than a standard hotel room.

I bought my DVC almost 4 years ago now and have already added on a second contract. It is the best thing I have ever bought. However, (and I mean no disrespect by this) although I have stayed at the values (and am staying 2 nights in October @ ASSp) there is no way that staying for 2 weeks every year in a value would work for us. We like the amenities of a deluxe and the extra space/ flexibility DVC gives us. I simply could not afford to stay on cash in the resorts that we do and take the other holidays I do as well.

However, the big thing that Disney doesn't tell you is that DVC doesn't work for everyone. If you are happy to stay in the All Stars each year then DVC is probably not going to work financially for you. Also, if you enjoy getting free dining then that may work out better for you. Ultimately DVC is a big financial commitment. Yes it can be sold of course, but as with any large purchases, you need to be sure that it's going to work for you.

It sounds to me like you need more time to decide if DVC is for you and maybe you should cancel the contract and then rent some points to stay at AKV before you consider if DVC is right for you. If you are having serious doubts it may be best to leave it for now - I went on my first DVC your with my patents when I was about 14 and bought 10 years later after going on a further 2 presentations over the years. By then I'd looked around all of the DVC resorts and stayed twice at SSR so I knew DVC was right for me and it was just a case of being in the right place financially.

I wish you all the best with your decision

 

[Minniesgal]

Hi All I really need you help to decided whether to go ahead with my DVC purchase or not. Currently there are just two adults in our family but we are hoping to add some little ones soon. We think we would go to WDW every 2/3 years for the next 20 or so but are not sure after then. Other than once we have only stayed in the All Star resorts because they are great value and I am actually one of the people that like them. I would love to stay at AKL and BLT but cost has been a factor when I know I can get something more than adequate at the all stars. I priced up how much it is to go for two weeks (normally with free dining) and worked out that just the room at all stars costs around £900 for the time of year we would go. If we keep our current DVC contract it will costs us around £690 per annum. (both of these exclude any price rises in hotel prices and dues) and for this we could get 2 weeks every other year at AKL with a Savannah View or 13 nights every year in just a standard view studio. As such unless we went to the allstars every year for the next 43 years (length of the contract) we would never break even. I hope we can stay at AKL once but even if we paid full price I doubt we would ever break even. Am I missing something or am I just best to cancel by DVC membership (I am still within the cancellation period)

You really cannot compare a room at all stars to a DVC. If I were you I'd start by figuring out why you want DVC

 

[wilma-bride]

I'm sorry to say it but it really doesn't sound like DVC is for you. If you are that desperate to stay at AKL, why not think about renting DVC points

 

[Minniesgal]

A lot of people will disagree with me but personally I don't see the point of DVC to stay in studios (many do I just don't get it!). If we were happy staying in a studio we would have continued to stay at POR on a room discount and the numbers probably wouldn't have made sense ever. But. Once the little ones come along a studio often doesn't cut it anymore, if you all stay in 1 room you end up sitting in a dark room while the kiddies go to bed, you have no privacy, facilities like a kitchen and more importantly laundry become more important. Or you end up with a boy and a girl who will only share a pull out for so long. As the kids get towards teens their privacy and own space become vital. DVC made sense for us when we started to need more space and more facilities than a standard room. For us the value in DVC has been to be able to upgrade to a 2 bedroom for longer stays and have our family of five comfortable. We don't do free dining as we make use of the kitchen but we don't really cook, we have breakfast, snacks, drinks, hot dogs, ice cream pizza etc in the room. We usually go out for dinner but not much else. The numbers will never make sense versus a room at a value they quite simply are not meant to, but for us to be able to upgrade our holiday to have space and facilities in a near park location is worth every penny we have spent on DVC.

 

[Mrs Hobbes]

I agree with everything thats been said. We've been out to WDW approx every 18months since we brought DVC in 2008. Looking at the cost of our vacations we could have paid the same and stayed at the value resorts and probably got free dining as we've been out there during some of those offer periods.

However would I want to stay in a value resort with my two daughters sharing a double bed next to me? Certainly when our youngest needed to go to bed before us and couldn't stay up late sharing one room would be a problem and now they are teenagers none of us would feel comfortable sharing one room.

So when I look at the fact that I have the ability to stay in a 2 bed villa in AKV for the same price that others are staying in the value resorts then for me there is no choice. I love my DVC we've added on twice and it is the best thing. We've been able to stay for extended vacations - our longest being 22 days. We've taken friends, we've rented points to family so they could stay out there. I wouldn't be without it now.

We don't get free dining but once we were out there we purchased the dining plan and hated it. We're much happier having a leisurely breakfast in our room and eating in the parks and then enjoying snacks in the room in the evening if we're there. We have cooked once or twice just simple meals sometimes for the kids and then ordered in room service for the adults.

DVC works for our family. I think you need more time to decide so take the advice given and cancel for now and rent some points to stay in DVC accommodation and go from there.

 

[crabbie1]

I agree with all said but not regards the studios not being worth it. Everyone uses their rooms for different things. We sleep in them and have the odd breakfast. There are 4 of us . We stayed in a one bedroom twice and did not spend hardly any time in it so found it a waste of points for us. Now WLV studios sleeps five it will be better as the girls getting older and can have their own beds. Also remember the years you do not go u can rent your points . It is a big commitment but no way would I be able to stay where we have if paying oop. We rented points first and it was around £90 a night for AKL. If you are unsure then cancel and perhaps look into it at a later date.

 

[zavandor]

When I made my calculations before purchasing DVC, I got that owning DVC I would have paid for stays at WDW slightly more than a Value hotel and less than a Moderate. It was when resales where much cheaper, probably now it would be a bit worst.
Until that point I stayed only at Values and off site. For me my decision wasn't to save money, but to upgrade my accommodation. I wanted to stay at deluxes, but even if I could have afforded it, the price per night was scary. DVC was my solution.
But compared to Values, DVC will make you spend more.

You can save money with DVC only if:
- you travel to WDW at least every other year (or every three year, but it's more difficult to manage points that way)
- you stay in deluxe
- you'll book DVC studios compared to hotel rooms or a 2 bedroom compared to 2 hotel rooms (if you'll book a one bedroom, you'll pay more than a hotel room, but you get much better amenities)

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

As the DVC resorts go through upgrades now they are putting in murphy bed under the TV so you could have 5 people in a room so you would have room for a son to sleep on the pull out couch and a daughter on the murphy.

For OP if in 20 years you don't see yourself going then you can sell it. But within the first 5-7 yrs ownership you can break even. So if you are only paying due of $880 which is what we pay, and we go two times a year we are paying $440 a visit to stay in a deluxe resort is great for a 7 day stay for each visit we make.
You could never get that in a value resort. Love the fact that deluxe resorts have hot tubs and we are able to do laundry for free. Some thing you can not get at a value.