DVC Owners from Western USA???

[tinkermell]

Anybody in California or in the West a DVC Owner. And if you are...why??? Do you make trips to WDW that much to make it worthwhile? I know that Disney is pushing DVC ownerships out here in California for the first time, (at least the first time I noticed it),and it is probably because tomorrow they will be announcing the GC becoming one, and that would be great, and I'm kind of interested. But it is pricey! So will it be a good investment? And how many of you Westerners would be interested? And maybe you people from the east would be interested too? I don't know? I'm just real curious about this whole time share thing, and how long it would take to really get your money's worth. Any thoughts and knowledge would be wonderful. Thanks!

 

[keliblue]

We just purchase a small contract thru resale at VWL an manage to get to florida at least once a year.. totally worth it and a huge saving for us

 

[AZMickeyfans]

I'm just going to say hi because I really want to be a west coast DVC member. Soon, someday soon.

 

[Amy&Dan]

We live in Colorado and purchased 400 pts. two years ago. DVC or any other timeshare is not an investment, at least a financial one and should not be looked at as one. I do look at it as in investment in family time/vacations. DVC makes sense if you want to go to Disney regularly. The best useage of DVC points is at DVC resorts. If you are thinking of doing this solely for the outside "collections" I would not do it. The membership fees/dues will go up in time but so will the prices at WDW/DL resorts of all levels. But point values stay pretty constant overall. Most people say their only regret in buying DVC is that they did not do it sooner! I am not sure when it will "pay off" but I do know that its nice to stay at a deluxe level resort for about the same as a mod or value. And once your contract is paid off, the real savings begins. Right now I am still paying on mine so I have that monthly committment. I do look forward to the day when I don't have that monthly payment (except for the dues) and can really like I am almost vacationing for free. I also use my points at DL and WDW. Since the 50th, points at the DLR are much more affordable and I anticipate that once the DVC portion of GCH is open, than those points will be an even better deal. If not thats okay because I really bought my SSR contract based upon WDW and that particular resort. Its nice that point are affordable at DL right now but if they don't stay that way so be it. I didn't buy my contract with Disenyland in mind anyway.

So yes, my family does take enough Disney trips to make it worthwhile. Since our primary vacation preferences are Disney (WDW/DL/DCL) and the beach, having the option to use our points for all four is a good thing for us. We've been doing Disney vacations for over four years now and I wish like so many others that we had done its sooner. For you and your family, it might not make as much sense. Think about it very carefully! But on all my times on the DVC part of disboards, I have never really seen anyone who regretted the decision to buy. Some DVC resorts are more popular to some people than others. So I would strongly suggest you buy where you want to stay. As DVC becomes more popular it may become harder to book at the 7 month window. Meaning you need to have the availabilty to book at the 11 month window which you can only do at your home resort. Again, I wanted to use this primarly at WDW/SSR so if that someday becomes all I use my points on that will be fine. I can always buy a resale at another resort someday if need be. I have yet to experience having too many points so having more in the future will not be out of the question.

If you haven't already I would go over to the DVC side of disboards. Maybe post this same question. There are more ppl who own DVC that live far away from WDW than you might think. And many of them never come over to this board so you might get more answers regarding your specific question. At the very least you can find lots of answers to what people's opinion is on the value of DVC and if it has worked out well for their family.

 

[OregonDisneyFanatic]

We just purchase a small contract thru resale at VWL an manage to get to florida at least once a year.. totally worth it and a huge saving for us

just wanted to say hi to Keli

 

[keliblue]

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just wanted to say hi to Keli

my friend

 

[PattiPB]

We are new members...and pretty soon there will be at least THREE more new members from the DL boards

You can see from my siggie we visit both coasts frequently, so using the points won't be a problem! I doubt it will ever be "worth it" financially, but its already "worth it" emotionally. It is kind of like my DL brick---it'll be there for me whenever I need it. And, boy, do we all need it sometimes!

 

[MrsMork]

We bought in 2000. Yes we use it! We are on borrowed points now. We own 250 at VWL and 100 at BCV. We use our points to cruise and for and annual visit to Florida. We are hooked! We banked and borrowed points in 2003 to take all our kids and grandkids to WDW for 4 days and then on a 4 day cruise. 12 of us total. There is no way we could have afforded this trip for our family cash. A vacation bargain that will last for years to come, in our opinion.

 

[OregonDisneyFanatic]

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my friend

How are you? Miss you! I am really really wanting to become a DVC member even more now that Grand Cali is coming up I just need to figure out how to pay for it

 

[disneymom8589]

We're from WA and we purchased 225 DVC points last summer. We are anticipating many trips in the future to DW. DH and I went to DW last July (his 1st, my 2nd time) and he really liked it, therefore, pursuing the DVC option. We are going on a Disney cruise and spending 5 days at our home resort of Saratoga Springs this summer. We have a credit card that we can use airline miles and get a companion fare, so it makes it more palatable! Just last week we bought DW annual passes.

 

[tinkermell]

Amy and Dan and others. Thanks for your replies! I agree that the investment is in the family, and not really in the timeshare. I guess I was thinking that, hopefully in a few years, it would really start to pay off when regular hotel prices keep going up, but the points won't. That's where I see the savings. Am I right in that thinking? Especially when my family keeps growing! And I'm not talking about me adding to it, I'm talking grandchildren. What a blessing, but at the same time alot of money to take them places. So I was thinking that this would be a good investment for that reason alone. I do think I will wait though to see if the GC will open up DVC membership. My husband and I think that it would be nice just to get away on a nice quick trip, and for us that is just a 3 hour drive. Which brings me to my next question. Is it possible to get rooms at the last minute? Or does it probably depend on the season? Well anyways, it is all very tempting!

 

[AskTheChief]

I have asked for clarifications on points, etc. before but still didn't understand it (I'm not a math person, you should see my eyes glaze over in my chem class).

Is there a dollar value per point? I need the dvc/points for dummies book or something.

And I don't do humidity, and don't want to have to get on a bus, boat or shuttle to anywhere (unless it's a Disney cruise!), so DLR is perfect for us (not to mention it's six hours away...you won't find me on a plane with my 6, 3, and 2 year olds anytime soon...not willingly anyway).

I need to be driving distance from DL, and then walking distance at the hotel. I can't even imagine paying Disney prices to stay at a Disney hotel where you're not even walking distance (I've heard this is the case with a lot of the hotels at WDW).

If they did a DVC at DLR, and it would save me some money, I'd be all over it.

 

[tinkermell]

I have asked for clarifications on points, etc. before but still didn't understand it (I'm not a math person, you should see my eyes glaze over in my chem class).

Is there a dollar value per point? I need the dvc/points for dummies book or something.

And I don't do humidity, and don't want to have to get on a bus, boat or shuttle to anywhere (unless it's a Disney cruise!), so DLR is perfect for us (not to mention it's six hours away...you won't find me on a plane with my 6, 3, and 2 year olds anytime soon...not willingly anyway).

I need to be driving distance from DL, and then walking distance at the hotel. I can't even imagine paying Disney prices to stay at a Disney hotel where you're not even walking distance (I've heard this is the case with a lot of the hotels at WDW).

If they did a DVC at DLR, and it would save me some money, I'd be all over it.

Go to the DVC Boards and you will learn a little bit more. You can also call Disney and request a DVD with all the info. I did last week and got a beautiful book and DVD with it. In the book was all of the point systems per resort and so on. But, I think I'm like you. I would really like to buy here in California and make a nice short drive most of the time. And then when I want to take a big trip, save points and go to WDW. Woo Hoo!::

 

[PrincessSitka]

I am very interested in this as well. Can somebody tell about the price range and yes I would love to hear more about GC.

 

[utahkennedys]

We live in Salt Lake City and are DVC owners at OKW. We go to WDW about once a year (sometimes twice, before kids anyhow!). It is SO worth it financially for us. This May we are going to DLR on points and staying at the DLH. We would never usually pay to stay there, and stayed at HoJo's our first and only other DLR trip. Although using points for DLH isn't the "best" use of points, it works for us this year. DH HATES and I mean HATES flying with kids, and Salt Lake to Orlando is quite a flight! We went in Sept. with a 7 month old and a 4 year old and I didn't think it was too terrible, but DH did...so, this May it's DLH on the quick, non-stop flight from SLC to SNA!

We love, love, love the flexibility of DVC, and I know when our girls are bigger we will go to WDW each year again. Once we stayed at OKW in those HUGE 2 BR villas, that was it for us. In fact, we are scared to stay in a hotel room at DLH!!!

The current buy in price through Disney for new members is about $15k depending upon the promotion, buying at Saratoga Springs. But, you can buy resale at any resort and also can buy smaller contracts (which we did). I don't think I would personally buy DVC where we live to only use at DLR...just my opinion, but you really miss out on the perks of DVC which I think are 95% at WDW...

 

[Amy&Dan]

I guess I was thinking that, hopefully in a few years, it would really start to pay off when regular hotel prices keep going up, but the points won't. That's where I see the savings. Am I right in that thinking? Especially when my family keeps growing! And I'm not talking about me adding to it, I'm talking grandchildren. What a blessing, but at the same time alot of money to take them places. So I was thinking that this would be a good investment for that reason alone. I do think I will wait though to see if the GC will open up DVC membership. My husband and I think that it would be nice just to get away on a nice quick trip, and for us that is just a 3 hour drive. Which brings me to my next question. Is it possible to get rooms at the last minute? Or does it probably depend on the season? Well anyways, it is all very tempting!

Yes, you are right to think that. As the cash prices for all the DL and WDW prices continue to go up with time, points per night do not. Let me try to explain this, its hard to understand, sometimes even after two years I don't get it! Each WDW DVC resort has different set ups: Studios, One Bedrooms, Two Bedrooms and some have Grand Villas that sleep up to 12 people. Each unit has a different points value assigned to it. Now that can be changed a bit over time. The one bedrooms might go up a bit but that means those point increases have to decrease points in another unit. Does that make sense? Now what goes up is the price per point. Some people who bought years ago got in at say $75 a point now that is much higher. So a one bedroom unit at Old Key West will stay roughly the same as far as how many points per night you pay but the price you paid for those points will be different than the guy next door who bought before or after you. Also, the membership dues will go up. Those dues are based on how many points you own. The more points, the higher the dues. But again, once you pay off your points, or if you pay for them all up front, the dues will be the only thing you have to pay each month at some point. In two years we have seen very little increase in dues. Maybe because as more people buy into DVC that spreads out the number of people paying for the upkeep and maintainence of the resorts.

Also, someone asked what the member price per point is. Points are valued at roughly $5.50 a point for members. So for our stay at the DLH in June, I am paying 26 points per night for a pool view room. At $5.50 a point that translates to $143 a night. I won't pay tax or resort fee for that room. Last I looked the price for that room was over $250 a night plus tax (15%) and the daily resort fee (around $12 per day). So to me that is a very good deal. A DVC resort would be even a better deal so I am betting once this thing at the GCH happens it will be even more attractive to use/own DVC at Disneyland.

My husband and I bought DVC with taking family members in mind. We have both taken our parents and someday when our kids are grown I can see us all camping out in a Grand Villa for a week.

And last minute deals can be found at WDW DVC's but not all the time. And each resort is different. The Epcot resorts book up for the Food and Wine Festival in October/November. The Villas at Wildnerness Lodge book up all the time, especially at Christmas. Saratoga Springs and Old Key West, being the largest DVC resorts book up the slowest. Studios go quick as do the Grand Villa's and Two Bedrooms. So each resort is different and it will be interesting to see how the GCH does with their DVC units. Also, sometimes the slow seasons are the quickest to go with DVC units since thats when the point values are the lowest. DVC members know they can save big time then and they book early.

Oh, and AsktheChief: Some of the WDW resorts are in walking distance to some of the parks. Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas are both DVC resorts and both walkable to both MGM and Epcot. The Contemporary is walkable to the Magic Kingdom. Several others are on the monorail. And the buses are not bad. Its about six of one and half a dozen of the other to think whats the easiest. A walk or a bus ride after a long day at the park. The transportation system at WDW is pretty amazing. Its not perfect but its a great perk. WDW is not compact like Diseyland which is a minus but it makes you feel like you have been transported to a whole different dimension. More so than Disneyland. I love both WDW and DL but they are as different as they are similar.

Hope this helps a bit. Do check out the DVC boards and do request the DVD planning DVD/book. It really helps to see the point values on paper so you can get out the calculator and start to see if it makes sense.

 

[dbanzai]

I'm in Arizona and bought into the DVC this past October. I intend to one day move back east, but even if I don't, my ownership I think is very much worth it to me. I don't intend to go to WDW as much as I used to when I lived in NYC, but I still have enough points to either spend a week anywhere the DVC has partnerships, or to spend two-three long weekends a year at DL and at a DL resort. For instance, I'm taking one trip to DL in March, which if I booked not via DVC would have still been more than my annual dues... And as I said, I get 2+ plus trips like that to DL a year. It is very much worth it to me. Nevermind that it is also a second house and therefore a tax claim. So finanically it is extremely beneficial, both for saving and come April.

 

[keliblue]

How are you? Miss you! I am really really wanting to become a DVC member even more now that Grand Cali is coming up I just need to figure out how to pay for it

Ditto I have had a seperate saving account for years where I have $30.00 dollars a week transfer.. that is how we go every year or every other year. This year I was about to spend $1600 for room only on our upcoming trip.. DH and I talked about it and I made it perfectly clear that my Disney obsession was not going away anytime soon so instead we put the money towards a DVC and are going home for the first time in Sept. I was going to spend the money anyway, why not put it towards future stays too

 

[TravelingJen24]

We bought a resale about three years ago and have been to WDW three times since we bought it. Not only do we love the trips it is like being part of a community. Everyone loves Disney like us and no one flinches because we go so often. We go to DL at least four or five times a year. We spent about 25,000 for enough points that we can get a two-bedroom for a full week a year in the fall. We could instead get a lot more usage out of our points is we got a studio, but we would never be able to get over to florida that much. My cousin also from the Valley just bought points also after our recent trip.

 

[MrsMork]

I have asked for clarifications on points, etc. before but still didn't understand it (I'm not a math person, you should see my eyes glaze over in my chem class).

Is there a dollar value per point? I need the dvc/points for dummies book or something.

And I don't do humidity, and don't want to have to get on a bus, boat or shuttle to anywhere (unless it's a Disney cruise!), so DLR is perfect for us (not to mention it's six hours away...you won't find me on a plane with my 6, 3, and 2 year olds anytime soon...not willingly anyway).

I need to be driving distance from DL, and then walking distance at the hotel. I can't even imagine paying Disney prices to stay at a Disney hotel where you're not even walking distance (I've heard this is the case with a lot of the hotels at WDW).

If they did a DVC at DLR, and it would save me some money, I'd be all over it.

We do love DL and can't wait for DVC to open a resort there. But I do have to say that we love WDW too and the Disney transportation is amazing. They are efficient, comfortable and well, it is Disney! The boat from MGM to Epcot is another Disney ride experience for us, as is the boat from VWL to Magic Kingdom. The bus drivers are friendly (Disney), not like a city bus experience. We love taking the monorail from Magic Kingdom to Epcot. Of course the planes getting there are a different story. However, by using the Magical Express from the airport to WDW we don't have to deal with our luggage after we check it in at Portland.

We like to go to WDW in Dec. when there is no humidity and heat, but there also is not cold like here in the northwest - usually anyway.