DVC, Park Tix and Free Dining

[dakotix]

We love Disney and go once every other year. If we could afford to go to some of the more exotic Disney destinations we would do Disney every year. Right now we're accustomed to booking the package through Disney which includes room accommodations, park tickets and catching the deals such as Free Dining.

So how does being a DVC member change that work flow? I know, for example, that Free Dining is not available to DVC members. This is a deal that saves us about $1000 each trip and we love the flexibility it offers. From whom do you purchase park tickets?

On the other hand DVC allows you to stay at Deluxe resort accommodations. We have always done moderate and so that is a very attractive benefit that the DVC offers.

And then there are the range of destinations. I have been to Europe but my husband has not. We've been "planning" to go for years but have only made it as far as Paris in the World Showcase.


Sorry if this has been answered a million times!

 

[wilma-bride]

You are right in that you cannot get free dining when you are booking DVC accommodation (unless booked as part of a package). It is probably slightly different for US residents (or those who book through the US site) as my understanding is that you only have to book a minimum of 2 day tickets in order to qualify for free dining, regardless of length of stay. However, in the UK we have to purchase at least a 7-day ticket to get the free dining and whenever I have priced it up, I find that it actually doesn't save me any money. In fact, when compared with our eating habits, it would cost us more ot do free dining.

As far as park tickets are concerned, depedning on how many trips we have planned and how spread out they are, we either buy the discounted APs/PAPs, which are a really good deal if you have two or more trips planned. Otherwise, we just buy tickets from Undercover Tourist. DVC members have the ability to add a dining plan to any stay without being obligated to buy tickets so you have the flexibility to add dining without buying expensive tickets for the duration of your stay.

We certainly vacation very differently as DVC members than we did before. When we have APs, we don't feel the need to be in the parks from first thing until last thing and we spend more time by the pool and enjoying the resort. Therefore, if we don't have APs, we are more inclined to buy park tickets for less days than we are actually there. Although we have done free dining once since buying DVC (the first year when we were short of points) we have never added the dining plan to a DVC reservation. Mainly because we wouldn't actually eat the way the dining plan allows if we were paying out of pocket and it has never really been economical for us to add it. However, the Tables in Wonderland card, that DVC members can buy, is a great perk and has saved us a fortune over the past couple of years.

 

[chalee94]

So how does being a DVC member change that work flow? I know, for example, that Free Dining is not available to DVC members. This is a deal that saves us about $1000 each trip and we love the flexibility it offers.

DVC allows you to go any time of the year for a discounted rate. free dining is only offered for certain resorts and certain times of the year.

but if free dining works better for you and you'll miss it, DVC might not be worth it for you.

From whom do you purchase park tickets?

i buy from mapleleaftickets (allears sometimes has an extra small discount) but undercovertourist is also popular.

for food, DVC members currently have the option of buying a table in wonderland card for dining discounts at wdw.

http://www.mousesavers.com/tables-in-wonderland-formerly-disney-dining-experience/

(DVC perks can change at any time, though. the right to access to the accommodations is really all you are paying for.)

And then there are the range of destinations. I have been to Europe but my husband has not. We've been "planning" to go for years but have only made it as far as Paris in the World Showcase.

i would not buy into DVC for the "range of destinations." it is "possible" to trade out for non-DVC options in the U.S. and around the world but the value is just not there for more than an occasional trade.

it's best to buy into DVC to use for DVC resorts.

 

[skier_pete]

There was a long thread of argument about DVC versus Free Dining as a discount, with strong arguments on either side. Since I hope this does not devolve into a repeat of that discussion, I will just provide you the link here if you are interested.

I was in the middle of the argument. Both DVC and Free dining can save you a lot of money depending on how/when you vacation. We have traveled on Free Dining many times, and for a long time didn't consider DVC because of it.

However, Free Dining is a very restrictive offer in terms of when you can use it, and I found that we were having a harder time taking advantage of it. DVC on the other hand is a long-term savings, but it actually gives you significant flexibilty. Free Dining can also disappear any time. In addition, if you own DVC, you could always rent your points out and then take advantage of free dining on an occasional basis.

For us, we expect DVC ownership to result in trips that are less about eating in the restaurants but more about enjoying the resorts. We can also take advantage of Annual Pass offers to hopefully reduce the trip costs that way (take two trips across two years that are actually within a one year window.)

As to your last comments about taking advantage of other destinations - that's all 50 miles of bad road. Why would you pay "Disney" prices for a stay at Myrtle Beach or Destin or whatever? Own DVC to stay DVC, don't own it to explore the world.

 

[RipperSB]

We love Disney and go once every other year. If we could afford to go to some of the more exotic Disney destinations we would do Disney every year. Right now we're accustomed to booking the package through Disney which includes room accommodations, park tickets and catching the deals such as Free Dining.

So how does being a DVC member change that work flow? I know, for example, that Free Dining is not available to DVC members. This is a deal that saves us about $1000 each trip and we love the flexibility it offers. From whom do you purchase park tickets?

On the other hand DVC allows you to stay at Deluxe resort accommodations. We have always done moderate and so that is a very attractive benefit that the DVC offers.

And then there are the range of destinations. I have been to Europe but my husband has not. We've been "planning" to go for years but have only made it as far as Paris in the World Showcase.


Sorry if this has been answered a million times!

First, I have never been to WDW except as a guest of DVC members (our DS & DDIL) and then as a DVC member but I did learn and compare a few things before buying into the DVC:
1)You cannot compare DVC to a moderate resort, it's like apples to oranges. So, if you like to vacation at WDW AND prefer deluxe accomodations (with the DVC amenities) then DVC is the way to go;
2) Free dining isn't the be-all, end-all in my opinion. I have heard of accomodation discounts of up to 35% off which would be a far better deal that free dining;
3) We specifically bought direct, rather than resale, because of the opportunities for the RCI stays (among other reasons). It's not that we planned on using them but it may be nice to have the option in the future.

 

[MinnieMouse100]

We have always been fans of the dining plan, even when we had to pay for it. But lately since you can't get into a table service restaurant without a reservation our last two trips were completely controlled by our ADR list. It has taken some of the spontaneity and fun out of the trip and we find we are eating just to "use up our points". This year we decided to get a1br and prepare some smaller meals ourselves and get the TIW card since the discounts includes alcoholic beverages and the meal I think it will be the right mix for us. As far as planning for DVC to work well for you you will need to be capable of planning your vacations far on advance. This was no real change for us personally because I was planning our next trip as soon as the last trip ended anyway before we owned DVc

 

[McCrae]

Your vacation habits, length of stay etc can make a big difference on how you view DVC.

We typically spend 3 weeks at a time at Disney, 2 Adulrs and two older teen kids in a 2 Bed room.

When the kids were younger we used to stay at the GF in a twin bed room using the Disney Dining plan.

We found the DDP don't work well for us... Too much food, difficult to use all the options especially the snacks. In a lengthy stay you don't want to always have 3 big meals a day.

Now that the kids are older we really appreciate the additional space we have at DVC.... Even booking two hotel rooms it wouldn't be the same. Our home resort is BLT.... Having three separate restrooms and showers works well. The kitchen/living room is a great space for us to hang out and if you want some private space you have two separate bedrooms you can go.

The TIW card works better for us then the DDP.

Annual pass discount also Helps with the cost.

DVC is not cheap, but it does save you money on booking rooms of similar size. Moderate resorts are probably always going to be cheaper. The benefits of DVC is what you get for your cash. The cost for us staying at BLT is roughly half of what it would be if we were not DVC members.

 

[chalee94]

3) We specifically bought direct, rather than resale, because of the opportunities for the RCI stays (among other reasons). It's not that we planned on using them but it may be nice to have the option in the future.

just to clarify: the underlined part is not true. resale purchasers also have the option to trade out for RCI stays.

buying direct gives you disney cruises and disney hotels (and a few fancy hotel options like the hotel del coronado in san diego), and even those come at very high trading costs.

but trading out through RCI is an option for both direct and resale buyers.

 

[ToddyLu]

DH and I have owned DVC since 2009. We purchased direct. There is no way I would use our 210 precious points to stay at a different location. I checked into the Ireland ABD trip and it was 400 points several years ago per person. I also looked at staying at a hotel outside of Asheville and it was 75 points a night. I don't think people who are prospective buyers know this kind of info.

A 3 night cruise once was around 135 points per person....nope i am spending my points for three studios at AKV...totalling three weeks at WDW. They will be value studios but we don't mind a bit. Be sure you consider these "costs" of using your points away from DVC. It is hard to sometimes find this info when you are looking to buy in.

 

[dakotix]

Thanks for all your feedback. It was really helpful!