DVC Owners from California?

[neiman5]

It seems alot of DVC owners are from the midwest and east coast. Interested in hearing how DVC works for families on the west coast?

 

[winjos]

We joined in 2000 and we've gone to WDW twice with another trip planned in 2004.
You can find reasonable airfare from CA. We've flown for as little as $225 per person and as much as $325 per person. It depends upon when you go and if there's any specials going on.
Last year we spent almost 2 weeks between OKW and VB. That was a nice vacation and it allowed us time to enjoy ourselves. We went over spring break (Sun-Fri) this year and that one week was a little short for the long haul from the West Coast. We had a great time, but I needed a little more time in order to unwind.
Overall, the only drawback to the whole trip is losing 3 hours and feeling a bit jet lagged the first full day in FL.
Hoped this helped.

P.S. We have 200 points. We figured that we could alternate 1 week one year, and then through banking, we could spend 2 weeks the next (of course, limiting the Fri & Sat. night stays).

 

[glewis1123]

Hi Neiman5 - we're not too far from you - San Jose.

We've been going since 2000 and just bought DVC this past December.

Our first DVC trip is in July. We normally pull our son out of school for a week (still in elementary school) but we had to postpone our spring trip this year til summer - our first summer trip.

We always fly out of SJC on the 620am flight - United gets us in at 345 pm and AA about 430. This trip though we are taking a red eye out at 8pm getting us in MCO at 540AM on UAL. This year (after a fiasco with UAL cuz we had to postpone our trip due to family emergency) we were still able to get original price on our airfare which was $221 incl taxes and fees - last year we paid $210 incl tax/fees.

I start checking the websites in Dec for our spring trips and wait for the fares to drop below $200 then we book. Typically I find the lower fares in January and book them then.

We bought enough points for 7 nights/year in a 1 BR. Also have AP's = we just book the 2nd trip earlier than the first so we get 2 trips on each pass.

And, of course, DL is only 5 hours away for the inbetween fix.

 

[neiman5]

Thanks! Airfare is more reasonable to Florida than Hawaii which is where we are also looking.

 

[glewis1123]

Love Hawaii - been there too many times to count - but ohhhh those airfares to Maui or any island other than Oahu- that was one of the deciding factors of DVC over Hawaii.

My brother bought into the Marriott Maui Ocean Club about 3 or 4 years ago - he goes 1 week a year in a 2 bedroom oceanfront and he paid $45K!!!!

He likes to fly non-stop right into Maui so he pays between $600 - 900 per ticket out of SFO. You can get cheaper flights by changing planes in Honolulu but you add about 3 hours to your trip.

I'm sure there are others out there that are less expensive but I just know about this one.

 

[PoohBear88]

DH & I also joined in 2000. We have a total of 260 points (210 OKW and 50 BCV) to utilize. We bought with the intention of going to WDW every 2-3 years (though if I can help it, every year if possible ). We bought partially for the value but partially for the convenience of having our accommodations prepaid regardless of whether we are going to WDW or elsewhere. Since we bought, we so far have gone to WDW once (went with friends and had 2 studios) for a week, done the Eastern portion of DCL, spent 4 days each at Disneyland Paris and London, and two weekend trips to Disneyland. Remember, if value is a main criteria, your points are best used at WDW. Next year, we plan to go on the Western portion of DCL and spend a few days at WDW.

We also own Starwood in Maui. We just bought last year and don't plan to visit until next summer. They're still building and expect completion this fall. It's also located just north of Ka'anapali (5 minutes drive) so it's not quite in the heart of it all like Marriott is. We bought a 1-bedroom ocean view every year (float week except weeks 51-52). It costed us about $27K at the time. I hear it's now $29K. Don't remember what the 2-bedrooms went for but if you don't plan to go every year, they have a plan for the every other year purchaser. We still plan to go there every other year and the years we don't travel to Maui (or one of their other vacation ownership resorts), we'll convert to their Starwood preferred guest points which we can go somewhere else and use them at any Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis or Luxury Collection hotels. We can even go back to WDW and stay at the Swan or Dolphin hotels! LOL You can also convert the points to frequent flier miles as well.

We just feel that having both vacation ownerships are great compliments to each other for our travel needs. Hope this info helps you!

 

[brumley5]

Hello! We bought into DVC while on our first and only Disney cruise in Dec 2001 but still have yet to actually use our points. (200 points per year). We planned on using the points towards another cruise knowing that we would have to bank and borrow. Now with the cruise points having gone up we still won't have enough for a 7night Western cruise even with banked, borrowed & current use points. GGGrrrrrhhhhhh!!! Ok, that is getting off the question. I don't think it will be too difficult getting to Florida from the bay area, my husband flies to FL for business 2-3 times a year and I always see airfare on SWA for $99. o.w. and such.

We love going to Hawaii and can find pretty good airfares from here with direct flights to where we want to go (usually Maui & Kauai). Have looked into timeshare there as well and are saving our pennies up for that too even though they are expensive compared to the DVC. It's just a different experience.

After our cruise we will work on going more to WDW.
Tammy, Concord, east of SFO

 

[neiman5]

Tammy
We live in Pleasant Hill...your neighbor! Thanks to all for the great information. We so appreciate everyone taking the time to respond.

 

[barbarabee]

I'm in Sacramento, bought 150 points last year from resale, and I'm headed out on my second trip the end of this month! I bought the minimum as it allows me to bank and borrow if I don't want to go every year, and just splurge the following year. Plus it seems that there are so many II resorts that I can trade for. Airfare is pretty good from CA to FL, the worst expense is always the lodging, and now I don't every have to worry about that again!!!!

 

[whiles]

Neiman 5 And Tammy,

I am from Lafayette and My wife and I are considering the DVC
At Beach Club Villas or the Boardwalk Villas from a Reseller.

We have travelled to Florida a few times and found goods rates on air fare (especially Southwest.) They have a good flight from OAK to BMI (Baltimore) one stop in K.C. and Change plaves to an Orlando flight out of Baltimore.

One of the items holding us back from joining is the Coast to Coast travel, but we are also looking to purchase nayway's and focus on using our points for stays at the Disneyland hotel.

But I feel to make it really a worthwhile investment, you need to travel to WDW at least every other year.

any guidance from some seasoned veterens?

Thanks,
Whiles
Lafayette, CA

 

[brumley5]

Well hello to you too neighbor (blushing), I didn't even look to see where you were before I replied! Are you an owner or looking into it? And hello to Whiles in Lafayette. I'm not seasoned yet but will help with whatever I can.

I agree that to make it a worthwhile investment, you need to travel to WDW at least every other year. Saving up for the cruise with points takes time. (When we orginally bought we had in mind to save our points (over a 3 year period) for a cruise but the points needed were much lower than they are now - point of contention).
We think it's doable from the west coast and a reasonable opportunity.

I have heard that it is better to use your points at WDW than it as at Disney. Better value for your points (although the new Californian is pretty expensive!). (Still figuring out how to determine point value).


I have traveled that same route to BMI on SWA this past Sept but that was to go to D.C. The flight we took to Orlando in Dec'01 was to New Orleans, change planes, then on to Orlando. Maybe you can check to see if that flight is still around. I hope so as it seems to be an easier route.

Fares can be fairly reasonable as you've found, just as they can be for Hawaii, but if you aren't careful they can be sky high no matter which direction you fly from here! It's just a matter of seasons & air carriers.

Good luck with your decision!

Tammy

 

[DVC Daisy]

Hi Neighbors!

I am in Livermore, so not too far from you! We have made 3 DVC trips so far and have had no problem with airfare. Seems that you can almost always find a sale. Love Hawaii too, but airfare is more expensive.

We try to go for 2 years in a row, and then skip a year. We go to Hawaii in our "off" years.

With banking/borrowing we are able to take 2 long vacations for our WDW trips. We have 210 points. Basically this gives us over 300 points per vacation to work with. We use our "skip" year to catch up points wise.

Anyway, we purchase APs, go for 2 vacations 15 - 17 days each or so 11 months apart. This saves some serious $ in park admissions as well as makes a relaxing vacation. We find with Coast to Coast travel that one week is just not enought time.

We LOVE our DVC - like many others, we wish we would have purchased sooner!

 

[brumley5]

"Anyway, we purchase APs, go for 2 vacations 15 - 17 days each or so 11 months apart. This saves some serious $ in park admissions as well as makes a relaxing vacation. We find with Coast to Coast travel that one week is just not enought time."

Hello "Livermore"! Okay you stumped me, what does AP mean?
Tammy

 

[DFIles]

Hello WHIles... You stumped me for a minute... It's me, Denise... Your wife.. hee hee hee... I was reading this post and thought gee this sounds familiar then I saw that it was a post from you...

We should be getting our fedex tomorrow or Wednesday from DVC so hopefully soon we can get all our questions answered and become timeshare owners...

Here is a questions that maybe our fellow neighbors can answer for us...

How does the maintenance fees work? Are you charged a certain fee per point or just a base rate. I was told this morning that the fees are $595 a year but am wondering if that is because I was looking into 150 points or is that a set fee overall.

Any information you can provide WHIles and I is greatly appreciated... Maybe one day all of us neighbors can get together and talk DISNEY!!!

Thank you,
Denise

 

[neiman5]

Maintenance fees are paid per point you own. So, the more points you own...the higher the yearly fee. We were looking originally at 300 pts with a yearly fee of around $1100.00. Glewis...curious how you go to Hawaii..hotels...TS...trade..etc? Great to find some local DVCers and wantabee DVCers. I's still leaning toward Marriott as our first and then adding some Disney pts. to be able to go every other year or so. The exchange rate out of Hawaii is hard to ignore. We need a DVC in Hawaii!

Eric

 

[glewis1123]

Hi Neiman

When we go we do hotels - In Maui - we've done Hyatt Regency and Royal Lahaina - years ago. In Oahu the few times we've been there it as been at the Hilton Hawaiian Village - Ali'i Tower.

My brother loves his resort - Mariott's Maui Ocean Club - we plan on trading with him next time we go to Maui. He says the customer service is really great and has not had any problems the apx 3 or 4 years he's owned there.

Last year when his son got married they locked off one of the bedrooms so that when he went on his honeymoon he got half the unit and then my brother went later that same year in the other half. Basically he was able to get two 1BR for 1 week each on the same points.

Another friend just bought Embassy Suites on Maui - it was a little less expensive than the Mariott - you might want to check into that one too - she says its really nice.

 

[DVC Daisy]

Brumley5:

AP is short (DIS lingo) for Annual Pass. Works great. We pay for park admission for the first vacation and then as long as your next vacation is less than one year away, you do not have to pay for admission again.

We find that the longer vacations work well for us since it is such a long haul from coast to coast. We like to stay around 2 weeks. If we were to pay for hoppers for such a long trip it would be quite expensive.

We did find that the added benefit of purchasing an AP is that you do tend to vacation in a relaxed mode. For instance, if you want to go to Epcot for dinner - you just go. You do not worry about "wasting" a day of park admission on a vistit that is only a couple of hours.

Also, I would highly recommend visiting Vero Beach. It is very nice! The water is not as warm as Hawaii, but much warmer than ours!

Deb

 

[mauijim]

Hi neighbors!
Another northern Californian here. We live in Petaluma, in Sonoma County.

We joined in 2000. We bought 150 points, figuring we'd go every 2 or 3 years.

We first used our points to trade into the Hyatt High Sierra Lodge at Incline Village at Lake Tahoe. It's just a couple years old and is beautiful. Plus, Incline Village is a quaint little village - just you and several multi-millionaires. Very quiet and peaceful.

We are going to WDW this summer for our first WDW trip using our DVC points. We like how wonderfully themed all the resorts are so we've split our trip into about equal stays at BCV, OKW, and the AKL Concierge Level. This will cost us all our points from last year, this year, and all but 30 or so for next year.

For air fare, I found a good fare on SWA flying out of Oakland (I hate flying out of SFO). When checking all the various web sites, I found that I always got a cheaper fare if we fly in/out of Tampa instead of Orlando (at least for all the dates I used). So we're flying into Tampa getting in around 11pm. We'll stay at the Tampa airport hotel and then get a decent start the next morning (it also saves 1 day on our car rental, too). Looks like it's only 70 or 80 miles from Tampa to Orlando.

As with many others, our other favorite vacation destination is Maui, but as others have pointed out, getting decent air fares during the summer is harder and harder to do. I don't think we'd ever buy a Hawaii time share, though. We always use the Entertainment Book to get 50% discounts on Maui condos and have never had a problem getting what we wanted. I'm sure what we're paying is less than what it would cost for 1 or 2 weeks plus maintenance fees for a nice hawaii condo.

jim

 

[DFIles]

Thank you for the information. One more question... Is the maintenance fee based on which resort you stay at or is it purely by points.

Denise

 

[DVC Daisy]

The maintenance fees are based on the number of points that you own and your home resort. You can stay at any resort with your points - however you pay maint fees based on where you own.