DVC potential newbie

[SpendthriftNot]

This week I happen to be at the Aulani. I decided to try and find out what this DVC thing is about since we’ve now been here 4 of the last 5 years (always in a 1BR Villa) and been to a Disney park for vacation 8 times in the last 11 years (Disney World and Disneyland — in a variety of their hotels).

Anyway, we got a solid 40 minute chat with a DVC ‘guide’/real estate agent and after LATER spending two hours on the boards here, I can’t say that he gave me the proper impression of how DVC really works. He left us with the sense that it didn’t matter too much which property you ‘bought’ into, that your points were useful anywhere and that the only benefit was being able to book 11 months out instead of 7, but both were better than what you’d normally get and better than ‘cash’ customers. That seems to be the biggest question-mark compared to what everyone seems to talk about on here (ie about specifically investing in a given property making ALL the difference). We noted to him that we typically have been booking out vacations only 1-3 months in advance and would likely continue to do so. For the most part, we have school aged children and do our vacations either in the summer or the first full week of November (we don’t vacation around Christmas, ever) - but due to our work schedules, can’t plan too far in advance (ie not 7 months).

Also, we are only really used to staying at the regular hotels — like the Disneyland Hotel (2 rooms, usually) or the Art of Animation (only way to sleep 6 reasonably). While we don’t mind paying more (i.e. 1BR Aulani is usually $900 when we book it), we don’t if it makes little difference (ie Disneyland Hotel).

Anyway, we were shown the base $18,200 for 100 pts as an Aulani home property. We were given a discount special sheet at the end, good only until ‘tomorrow’ at the time. Discounts were for pts 150 and up. At 250pts, the discount was $7750 making it more like $151 per pt. (At super high pt levels, the discount grew slowly to bottom out the price around $145 per pt).

I’d REALLY like to know if the DVC is worth it to me. Is it really hard to get rooms 1-3 months out during peak (but NOT Christmas) times? Is it worth it to get DVC to spend points on the “regular” Disney hotel properties? (Ie disneyland hotel?). Are the non Disney properties a good use of points?

Money is not an issue here. I just want a good deal that doesn’t have a lot of strings attached. It sounds like it may.... (The agent made NO real suggestion that you need to book many months in advance to do what we were already doing. He sold it mostly like a MUCH cheaper way to do the vacations we already were doing. That’s the real question here. Is it??? Not being able to book the same availability and LATE like a cash customer is a real problem.)

Any help in demystifying this would be appreciated.

 

[Best Aunt]

I think you will get better answers if you are more specific:

Which size unit would you normally be using (studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom)?

Which hotels do you hope to book?

How many adults are typically in your traveling group?

How many kids, and how old are they?

How many sleeping surfaces do you need, and what kind? (Will people share beds? Will they sleep on a pull-out sofa bed, or only a real bed?)

How long are your trips?

In general, DVC is not designed to be booked at 1-3 months out. It is designed for people who book much farther out than that. Getting a studio would probably be impossible. A one-bedroom might be possible but not necessarily at the hotels you want.

Also note that you will not get free dining with a DVC booking, if that is something which is important to you.

I will leave it to someone else to discuss the math of buying DVC points when you plan to stay at non-DVC hotels, but my understanding is that it is a bad idea.

If you think DVC is right for you, you need to understand the option of buying in the resale market, including the perks which you would lose and whether those perks are important to you.

 

[Bing Showei]

We were given a discount special sheet at the end, good only until ‘tomorrow’ at the time.

Timeshare salesmanship. These special discounts you were offered are available to anyone and good until October 31.

I would say DVC is not a good idea for you. The reason you’ve enjoyed your Aulani/WDW/DL visits in the past seems to revolve around the freedoms you enjoy paying cash. 1-3 months planning on DVC will only leave you frustrated, and in this case, rightfully, lied to by your guide.

The one truth in what he said was that, in your case, home resort doesn’t matter; at 3 months out, wherever you own, you’ll be stuck at SSR.

 

[Dean]

This week I happen to be at the Aulani. I decided to try and find out what this DVC thing is about since we’ve now been here 4 of the last 5 years (always in a 1BR Villa) and been to a Disney park for vacation 8 times in the last 11 years (Disney World and Disneyland — in a variety of their hotels).

Anyway, we got a solid 40 minute chat with a DVC ‘guide’/real estate agent and after LATER spending two hours on the boards here, I can’t say that he gave me the proper impression of how DVC really works. He left us with the sense that it didn’t matter too much which property you ‘bought’ into, that your points were useful anywhere and that the only benefit was being able to book 11 months out instead of 7, but both were better than what you’d normally get and better than ‘cash’ customers. That seems to be the biggest question-mark compared to what everyone seems to talk about on here (ie about specifically investing in a given property making ALL the difference). We noted to him that we typically have been booking out vacations only 1-3 months in advance and would likely continue to do so. For the most part, we have school aged children and do our vacations either in the summer or the first full week of November (we don’t vacation around Christmas, ever) - but due to our work schedules, can’t plan too far in advance (ie not 7 months).

Also, we are only really used to staying at the regular hotels — like the Disneyland Hotel (2 rooms, usually) or the Art of Animation (only way to sleep 6 reasonably). While we don’t mind paying more (i.e. 1BR Aulani is usually $900 when we book it), we don’t if it makes little difference (ie Disneyland Hotel).

Anyway, we were shown the base $18,200 for 100 pts as an Aulani home property. We were given a discount special sheet at the end, good only until ‘tomorrow’ at the time. Discounts were for pts 150 and up. At 250pts, the discount was $7750 making it more like $151 per pt. (At super high pt levels, the discount grew slowly to bottom out the price around $145 per pt).

I’d REALLY like to know if the DVC is worth it to me. Is it really hard to get rooms 1-3 months out during peak (but NOT Christmas) times? Is it worth it to get DVC to spend points on the “regular” Disney hotel properties? (Ie disneyland hotel?). Are the non Disney properties a good use of points?

Money is not an issue here. I just want a good deal that doesn’t have a lot of strings attached. It sounds like it may.... (The agent made NO real suggestion that you need to book many months in advance to do what we were already doing. He sold it mostly like a MUCH cheaper way to do the vacations we already were doing. That’s the real question here. Is it??? Not being able to book the same availability and LATE like a cash customer is a real problem.)

Any help in demystifying this would be appreciated.

If your current methods cont DVC is not a good choice. You should not buy if you're not willing to book at least 7 months out. DVC may not save you money if you're OK with some of your choices. It's certainly a horrible option to buy and use for Disney hotels outside DVC or for DCL. Make sure you understand the system, resorts and about the option of buying resale. IMO one should only buy DVC if they can plan at least 7 months out (11 mo for some options), have knowledge/experience on property & value same (you do), are OK with the compromises of a timeshare (like no housekeeping/more maint issues) and can afford it (IMO that's pay cash).

 

[CarolMN]

...........(snip)......I’d REALLY like to know if the DVC is worth it to me.……Money is not an issue here. I just want a good deal that doesn’t have a lot of strings attached. It sounds like it may.... (The agent made NO real suggestion that you need to book many months in advance to do what we were already doing. He sold it mostly like a MUCH cheaper way to do the vacations we already were doing. That’s the real question here. Is it??? Not being able to book the same availability and LATE like a cash customer is a real problem.).......

DVC is NOT a good fit for you. Until /Unless you are able to book much further in advance, DVC will only be a source of frustration. Don't buy.

 

[crisi]

Agree, not a good fit.

In addition to the advance booking, you desire the ability to "sleep around" - you can't count on getting in at WDW with VGC points the last quarter of the year, even booking right at seven months. You can't ever count on getting in at VGC with WDW points. And people are locked out of Aulani at seven months as well (I can't remember the time of year that is more likely to happen).

You mentioned six people, which means a two bedroom. That's going to run more than 100 points for a yearly-ish vacation.

 

[kristenrice]

If you will need to sleep 6 on a regular basis, you will need a 2BR. There are no 1BR's that will accommodate 6 unless one is under age 3. After studios, 2BR's are the most popular and finding availability at 1-3 months out will be next to impossible if you plan to travel for more than a few nights.

Unless you can plan at least 7 months in advance, DVC is not going to save you money. Points are worthless if there is no availability and if you have to wait until 3 months out, you may find it very hard to consistently book a 2BR.

 

[disneynutz]

You might want to consider renting reservations from DVC owners to stay at some DVC rooms to see what's available and what the rooms are like. Disney is really putting on the push to increase it's guest numbers and DVC has always had a higher occupancy rate anyway so booking earlier is now required in most cases. DVC also has many rules, policies, and issues with the way they do business and the website has issues. IMO they know that DVC owners are locked in so they don't bother to do what they should.

Bill

 

[zavandor]

Buying an Aulani contract to stay there in one bedrooms can save you LOADS of money, especially if you succeed to find a subsided contract on the resale market. It's cheaper than direct from Disney and it also saves a lot of money in the long run due to the lower maintenance fees.
However, to make it work you would have to change the way you plan your vacations. Availabilty for 1B is better than studios or 2B, but still I would not count on booking anything much further after the 7 months booking window opens. If you cannot or are not willing to book 11/7 months in advance, than simply do not buy. 1-3 months in advance you won't find anything available unless you lucky out on a cancellation and I wouldn't spend thousands of $ in the hope to be lucky.

Any usage of points other than booking DVC resorts is a poor to very poor value, you're better off paying those vacations with cash and keep the points to stay in a DVC resort.

 

[Mumof4mice]

We were in the same situation in April. The Aulani DVC team do put on a great show to impress!

If your vacation plans can be firm at 2-3 months prior, you might be able to book "possible vacation days" at 7-11 months, then cancel with no penalty if the days turn out not to suit. As long as you are within the first 8 months of the Use Year, you can try later in the year, or bank all your points for use the following year.

I would either look for a subsidised contract (although they are a lot higher per point), or drive a hard bargain on a double/triple loaded contract. Un-subsidised Aulani's high management fees are what deter me. But based on your history of being happy to pay for one bedrooms at cash rates, those MFs likely would not be felt as painfully for you. Take a look at fidelityresales.com for an idea on resale pricing of Aulani.

 

[kboo]

We noted to him that we typically have been booking out vacations only 1-3 months in advance and would likely continue to do so.

This is the primary reason why DVC would not be a good fit for you. If going to WDW on DVC points, you would be looking at primarily SSR or OKW availability, so you would need to consider whether you would want to spend the money you'd be spending (even at resale) to always be at SSR or OKW.

 

[kniquy]

I’d REALLY like to know if the DVC is worth it to me. Is it really hard to get rooms 1-3 months out during peak

DVC is designed to be for those who can plan at least 7 months + out. Once you are looking at only 1-3 months there would be likely nothing left or you would have to piece a trip together bouncing between resorts. DVC can certainly save you money with your travels that you like to take to WDW properties so with that it does make sense, but the real hang up is the planning.

For example -- we booked the week after thanksgiving at AK - Jambo right at the 11 month mark. I went back and checked a week later and there were already days not available that i wouldn't have gotten if I waited to book. This is likely typical for the time of end of Sept to beginning of Jan.

I would keep researching and see if you could possibly book/plan 7 months out -- If so then strongly consider buying in but if not then just keep on with your typical travel habits. Just to try out the DVC system on one of your upcoming WDW trips you could look at trying to book through davids DVC at 3 months out -- they could come back and say there is nothing or you could luck out and get one of the easier to book resorts (OKW or SSR)

 

[Bing Showei]

I think the reality is that a lot of us who are DVC members are willing to accept the compromises of a timeshare (along with some of the benefits of a "deluxe" accommodations - yes, quotes intentional, kitchen, w/d, etc).

As horrible as this sounds, and whether many of us are willing to acknowledge it or not, we're okay with quantity over quality. We're buying in bulk to save money on that Tub-o-Disney.

The truth is, we do save money over going 2-3 times/year on cash booking, but we give up daily house keeping (and some have dealt with not getting first cleanings), flexibility booking, flexibility of cancelling; many of the things you probably enjoy most about your vacationing habits today on cash.

DVC is not, "doing what you're doing now, but for cheaper." DVC is a very different animal than staying on cash. And unless you're "eyes-wide-open" to those differences, buying into DVC to save money probably isn't going to work out the way you had hoped it would.

 

[Dean]

I think the reality is that a lot of us who are DVC members are willing to accept the compromises of a timeshare (along with some of the benefits of a "deluxe" accommodations - yes, quotes intentional, kitchen, w/d, etc).

As horrible as this sounds, and whether many of us are willing to acknowledge it or not, we're okay with quantity over quality. We're buying in bulk to save money on that Tub-o-Disney.

The truth is, we do save money over going 2-3 times/year on cash booking, but we give up daily house keeping (and some have dealt with not getting first cleanings), flexibility booking, flexibility of cancelling; many of the things you probably enjoy most about your vacationing habits today on cash.

DVC is not, "doing what you're doing now, but for cheaper." DVC is a very different animal than staying on cash. And unless you're "eyes-wide-open" to those differences, buying into DVC to save money probably isn't going to work out the way you had hoped it would.

IMO it largely depends on whether these issues are actually compromises. To me planning ahead and no housekeeping are plusses, not problems. The maintenance/refurbishment could be an issue if they let is slide too much but it's been at least acceptable so far though not perfect.

 

[SpendthriftNot]

Thank you all for the information. The kids are 8 and soon to be 11. (With a new baby on the way in December).

We typically have another adult (a grandma or two) with us, so we end up as a party of 5 or 6 in total (3-4 adults, 2 kids). In December +, add an infant to the mix. The grandmas have mostly been okay with the pullout beds to date, though that could change.

Having to book so far out just isn’t going to happen. And other than the Aulani, when we want to go to Disneyland or World again, we want to keep a variety of choices open. Not limit them.

This really wasn’t said clearly enough to us by the agent when we stressed very clearly we’d be booking on short notice (1-3 months) every time. He even seemed to suggest there was MORE availability reserved for DVC members that cash paying customers wouldn’t have access to at the same timeframe out. We were very clear and repeated the 1-3 months bit.

I’m not surprised they weren’t overly forthcoming with the difficulties of booking, but we made it very clear and it should have been clarified.

 

[SpendthriftNot]

Btw, I wasn’t fooled by the ‘special price’ being good only for 24 hours. I just wanted to point out they said it that way. That also rubbed me the wrong way as I knew it was b.s.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

This page is open without a login. This gives you some idea of what 60-day availability looks like. 90 isn't much better, and, frankly, in some seasons is far worse.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/vacation-planning/resort-availability-stays/

 

[crisi]

Thank you all for the information. The kids are 8 and soon to be 11. (With a new baby on the way in December).

We typically have another adult (a grandma or two) with us, so we end up as a party of 5 or 6 in total (3-4 adults, 2 kids). In December +, add an infant to the mix. The grandmas have mostly been okay with the pullout beds to date, though that could change.

Having to book so far out just isn’t going to happen. And other than the Aulani, when we want to go to Disneyland or World again, we want to keep a variety of choices open. Not limit them.

This really wasn’t said clearly enough to us by the agent when we stressed very clearly we’d be booking on short notice (1-3 months) every time. He even seemed to suggest there was MORE availability reserved for DVC members that cash paying customers wouldn’t have access to at the same timeframe out. We were very clear and repeated the 1-3 months bit.

I’m not surprised they weren’t overly forthcoming with the difficulties of booking, but we made it very clear and it should have been clarified.

Timeshare sales are caveat emptor. Even at Disney. But by doing your research, you were aware and kept yourself from making a mistake.

 

[Dean]

Thank you all for the information. The kids are 8 and soon to be 11. (With a new baby on the way in December).

We typically have another adult (a grandma or two) with us, so we end up as a party of 5 or 6 in total (3-4 adults, 2 kids). In December +, add an infant to the mix. The grandmas have mostly been okay with the pullout beds to date, though that could change.

Having to book so far out just isn’t going to happen. And other than the Aulani, when we want to go to Disneyland or World again, we want to keep a variety of choices open. Not limit them.

This really wasn’t said clearly enough to us by the agent when we stressed very clearly we’d be booking on short notice (1-3 months) every time. He even seemed to suggest there was MORE availability reserved for DVC members that cash paying customers wouldn’t have access to at the same timeframe out. We were very clear and repeated the 1-3 months bit.

I’m not surprised they weren’t overly forthcoming with the difficulties of booking, but we made it very clear and it should have been clarified.

I agree with Cris, their job is to sell you, not make sure it's right for you or make sure you understand the system esp the negatives. You'll need a 2 BR with this group. You could get by with 3 of the 1 BR (OKW, BLT, AKV) with 3 adults and the under 3. So you'd need to buy enough points for a 2 BR. IF you can't book further out DVC isn't going to work, will frustrate you. DVC also won't work reasonably to book non DVC rooms. So unless you chose to adjust or can adjust, you shouldn't buy DVC.

 

[1911]

This page is open without a login. This gives you some idea of what 60-day availability looks like. 90 isn't much better, and, frankly, in some seasons is far worse.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/vacation-planning/resort-availability-stays/

that is an eye opener for sure