DVC Questions...

[Bride2Be0705]

My DH & I are looking into joining the DVC. As newlyweds, we feel this is a good investment for our (and our children's) future. I look at my parents who have gone to WDW at least once a year since I was 7 (I am now 23)... I think of all the money they could have saved with DVC.

In order to form a more educated decision, I am looking for people to share their experiences, pros and cons, of the DVC and how it has/hasn't saved you money since you started it...

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

 

[zoomsharedisney]

My DH and I got married on October 26, 2002 and last year (September 04) was our first trip together to Disney World. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside (never will again) for 3 nights and then we stayed in a studio at BWV for 5 nights. We rented points from someone here. We realized after our first night at BWV that this is something that we wanted to join. We met with Deb Roberts and joined by the end of the week. It will definatley save you money in the long run. And if you can't go then sell or transfer your points. Bank and borrow and take a really long vacation or a cruise. The possibilities are endless. We are hoping to have children in the near future and would love to take them to Disney World every year so that they can experience that magic like we have. And when our kids have kids they can still go thanks to the investment that we made in September. So...do it!! You won't regret it!!

 

[Paticake]

We purchased in 2003. Our regret was that we hadn't done it sooner. Our son is getting married in Sept. and plans to purchase DVC when we all vacation together in Nov. He sees it as a way to always take his family-when he has one on vacation either to WDW or to trade out for somewhere else. We also have talked of pooling our points for grand villa vacations when grandchildren come along.

 

[Bride2Be0705]

Thanks SO much everyone...

We had such a great meeting with Amy Colbert, and SSR is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous! I think it would be perfect, and I would love it so much if we could do it! Once we have saved up enough for the 'down payment' we will most likely do it. I think what really sold me was the fact that since we are newlyweds, and don't have kids yet, that we don't HAVE to go to Disney every year if we don't want. I mean, there are some GORGEOUS resorts and hotels in that book they gave us. I was more sold on that because I said you know if we don't have kids for a few years, this is the perfect way for us to be able to travel and no matter where we go it's like part of it's already paid for and we don't have to worry about it.

Have any of you had experiences off-site? Like at someplace other than Disney, or do you use it mostly for Disney? Eveyone we talk to is like 'But you have to go to Disney...' and then we explain, and they even think it sounds PERFECT!!

Just another way that Disney creates magic, even if you aren't there!!

I would love more feedback... keep it comin'!

 

[disney junky]

We first visited BWV on a discounted program in 99. We were to stay in a studio but were upgraded to a 1 BR. We have traveled to WDW 7-8 times, each time staying a bit longer, up to 7 days. In 2001 we went back to a moderate (PORS), rented 2 rooms and realized we had been spoiled by BWV. After a bit more pondering, we purchased in 2003 at BWV. We are late 40's, didn't have to finance, have 2 college age kids who really enjoy our trips. We do like to vacation elsewhere, specifically Myrtle Beach, so we purchased enough points to go every other year for 2 BR for a week in the summer (I'm a teacher so we are somewhat restricted by my schedule to peak times). We took our first trip home this summer and were thrilled. Both kids took friends so we had 6 in the 2BR with no problem. Ate breakfast in every morning plus a couple lunches, not really to save the money but so we just could relax. We love BWV because of the proximity to EPCOT and MGM. We almost always walked to EPCOT and often to MGM. You mentioned investment. If you mean investment in a cash sense, then it isn't that. From what's posted, we could probably sell for pretty much what we paid, but eventually those point costs will have to decrease as time elapses and there aren't as many years left. I call it our prepaid vacation until 2042. In ten years I hope to retire which will give us much more flexibility for our point use, maybe a couple trips a year off season to a studio. Our kids will likely marry some day and I expect they too will be afforded the advantages of our ownership with their spouses and kids. The thing that most impressed me during our trip in June was the mindset that ownership gives. I know I'll be coming back within 24 months, so I didn't feel the drive to see everything and do everything. Good luck with your decision. There are so many stories here on the boards about people's thinking when buying. I hope you enjoy their input.

 

[kcashner]

I'll echo the sentiment that my only regret is that we didn't buy it sooner. If you plan to do something Disney at least every 3 years, DVC is the best bargain going. Everything they told me in my sales pitch was exactly as they told it. We've gotten everything we were promised and more.

We own 2 time shares...if we had purchased the Disney first, we never would have even considered the other one. Disney gives you everything you are told. Occasionally, they have extras or special goodies for you --discounts on park passes, meals, other tickets, etc. We've always found the CMs on the phones and at the resorts to be very helpful. If you decide you are unhappy, you can always sell your points. The price keeps going up, so you will never lose money on it.

Also, the dues have been exactly as promised. What can be charged in the dues is regulated in some way by FL law. We have seen some little raises and some little decreases in dues...but essentially what we were told. Our one fear in buying in was the prospect of watching dues increase greatly--this has not happened.

I'd do it again in a second....

 

[spiceycat]

if you aren't going to use your DVC at WDW at least every other year - forget DVC.

there are much cheaper timeshares out there that you can trade to most of the stuff in World passport.

now if you want to trade your DVC every five years or more (even three in some cases) that is fine.

but don't buy thinking you are going to trade every year for the first few -you will definitely lose money that way.

I have save with DVC, I stay in a studio, buy an annual pass with DVC discount, and get most of my meals in the studio. You can save money with DVC - but only if most of your trips are to WDW not elsewhere.

 

[crisi]

You are young. There are more important things than vacation. Think long term. Its possible you have, but before you plunk down $15,000 on membership, plus annual dues, plus park tickets, dining, transportation, etc:

1) You want to have children. Will you be a single income family? Will you have the kids in daycare? How much will that be? Kids are expensive, there was a time when I had $200 in diapers a month, plus another $200 in formula. (Plus the $1600 a month in daycare bills). Will DVC work in your budget then?

2) Do your own a house? Do you want to if you don't? Do you have substantial investments that need to be made in your house? Will you want a bigger one when the kids come? How will DVC work in your budget then?

3) Do you have emergency funds set aside? If you lose a job or experience a lengthy illness, will DVC be an undue burden?

4) Are you putting away money for retirement?. Trust me, 23 was yesterday (I'm almost 40) and it won't be long before you start worrying about how you will be able to retire comfortably (don't forget, you'll want to be able to afford even MORE Disney trips when you are retired)!

If all this is set, and you will be taking annual Disney vacations, staying onsite in Deluxes (or even moderates), DVC is probably a good choice for you.

It hasn't saved us a dime. We now go more often and spend more money when we go. We are locked into vacations at Disney. We are very happy about this....but we aren't saving money. Some DVC members do. Many of us admit our Disney hobby is a money pit and our DVC membership a very effective way to transfer money from our pockets to Disneys!

I'm glad I didn't buy earlier. Between the time DVC started operation and we purchased our contract we went through thousands of dollars of infertility treatments, spent thousands more adopting a child, built a house, furnished the house, did landscaping, went through a period of job instablity - all during which owning DVC would have been a financial burden and added more stress than it solved.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

First, congratulations on getting married!

It sounds like your plan would be opposite of what I have seen alot of DVCers do. While I am not an expert it seems like most DVCers purchase DVC while their children are young, use it heavily for DVC trips while the children are growing up and then once the children are older, they start utilizing the points for other places for a change of place.

Your plan seems to be that you will get into DVC now while you don't have the additional expenses that children bring, while you possibly have two full time incomes, etc. Use it now for alternate uses and then be all set for when you are ready for those family vacations. It sounds like a feasible plan. But, again, as a previous poster said, it is not the most cost effective way to see those other places and using your points for DVC are the best use of points.

Of course, there are all those other things previously mentioned that should be done first. But, I figure that vacations and children are two things that if you waited until you had enough savings you may be waiting a long time. Although there is nothing wrong with having those things in place and having them is a very very good thing.

Some reasons you may want to wait is that while SSR is beautiful, who know where DVC will build next and maybe by waiting a couple more years you can actually own at someplace that you would find you like much better. Rumors I have heard is possible DVC at the Contempory and/or Animal Kingdown Lodge. Again, just rumours. Buying a newer resort later could also add a few more years onto that 50 year expiration date, not that that will matter much. I am thinking you are in your 20's so if you purchase now or a new resort 5 years from now, it will expire while you are in your 70's either way.

I would suggest resale and buying smaller point packages and then adding to them gradually, but because of your age I would probably stay away from buying one of the older resorts which expire in 42 years, while you are in your 60's and hopefully still enjoying retirement with lots of trips to Orlando. There are some SSR packages on the resale market, although I haven't seen any real small packages.

If you do look at other less expensive timeshares than Disney, try to make sure it trades through II and is a 5 Star. While trading back into a Disney property is a long shot, there is a small chance which is better than no chance.

Have fun doing your research!

 

[tjkraz]

I agree with everything Crisi said.

My wife and I honeymooned at WDW back in 1997. We would have had the money for a DVC down-payment back then, and certainly the costs would have been lower. But in retrospect, I don't know how we could have made it work. It was 5 years before we made it back to WDW. We spent those 5 years furnishing an apartment, buying a house (and all of the additional expenses that go along with that) and next came the birth of our first child.

In those same years, we never took a "vacation" as we now define it. There were some long weekends to catch a baseball game out of town, but nothing approaching the hundreds or thousands one spends at WDW for a single trip even when the room is paid for. I just can't think of what sort of sacrifices we could have made back then if we had a commitment to Disney at that point. Honestly, it probably would have meant sacrificing our first home purchase. I'm glad it didn't come to that.

Every situation is different, and perhaps some of these items are non-issues for your and your new spouse (already have a home, don't want kids). Just remember that buying into DVC now means a commitment of thousands of dollars per year between DVC payments and dues, park tickets, transportation, food, souvenirs, etc. Consider what you'll be sacrificing to make that happen, and decide if it's a wise sacrifice at this point in your lives.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

In regards to what Crisci and TJkraz said, I did want to point out the dates of our trips which are listed at the bottom of my posts. It has just been very recently that we have been blessed with alot more DVC vacations, but like TJkraz pointed out, we have 15 years of marriage behind us and while our children are still young, they are a bit older - seeing the light at the end of my tunnel as my youngest gets ready for kindergarden (I am going to be so lost without her ). Tjkraz, you brought back memories for me -lol. Sometimes we can be so in love with Disney we forget the struggles to get here.

Like TJkraz said, every situation is different though. Only you can decide. Things like what kind of employment you have, how soon do you plan on children, how much of the stuff Crisci mentioned is already taken care of, etc, etc.

 

[rocketriter]

The advice on checking your personal situation as newlyweds before you buy is excellent.

If you do go ahead with a purchase, I'd like to second the advice about buying enough points to go to Disney every other year for two reasons. First, using points isn't the most dollar-effective way to travel to non-Disney locations (although it can work well, it's convenient and my family does it every few years). Second, there are a lot of places to see in this world besides Disney and you can miss out on personal growth for you and your children by getting too locked in to one vacation destination.

If you start out with 150 or so points (and if that makes economic sense for you as newlyweds), you can stay in posh quarters every couple of years and still travel to see the rest of the country (or the world). When enough kids and enough money come along, you can add on for even roomier quarters at that time. Enjoy!

 

[Dean]

Only buy DVC points to use at DVC resorts. If you want to trade timeshares, learn about those and buy an inexpensive one that will do that far better. If you decide to proceed, you may want to consider a resale of less than 150 points. With only the two of you and not necessarily going every year, you can do quite a lot with 50-60 points yearly or even less. And you still get all the perks including the AP discount.

 

[Tsi2quick]

We are in a similar situation as the original poster, married 5 years, no kids, two incomes and trying to decide on DVC. Last year was our first trip to the World together and we rented points then and stayed at OKW and this year we are renting again and hopefully getting to stay at BWV. We've given serious consideration to purchasing DVC points but I'm not one to do something without a LOT of homework first.

So far, in our situation, it might make more sense to either buy a smaller resale (50-75) or not at all. We do want kids so I do not want this to become a hassle or something we regret financially later on so the smaller initial investment works better I feel, in our situation. Plus, we could buy this smaller number of points without financing which is even better. If we have a kid (or two) later one, we can always add points as needed or as it becomes financially possible.

Definitely a lot of variables and things to consider before doing it, but it sure is tempting! lol

 

[vascubaguy]

I'm not sure I totally agree with making sure you have everything else in-line before you consider DVC. I mean, yes, it is a sizeable amount of money, but it's an investment in yourself. At least the accomodations for your future vacations would be set and if you have to finance, the payments are not that bad.

I would think that after you have kids you will be more strapped to afford something like DVC. Get it now, get it paid for, then enjoy it over the years! If there comes a time when you can't afford a trip (or decide to skip a year), you can always rent out the points.

Who knows how much something like this will cost in 10 years (and how much you would have already spent).

I definately wouldn't recommend going out and trying to get 300 points off the bat. You can find some resales to get your foot in the door that are around 100 points or less. Those are enough to get you started and have a nice vacation. Then you can add on when you can afford it.

In the end, do what's best for yourself.

 

[bongo59]

well i completely disagree with the last poster............buying timeshare at a resort destination is not "investing in oneself" by my terms. While i do understand why and where he comes from i think you must treat this decision like anyother financial decision............it is a luxury and treat it as such............do not go in debt to acquire it..........makes no sense. I am not saying dont finance it............that is ok if you have the cash flow to afford it after all the necessities are paid for and you have a 6 month fund put away and your saving for retirement...............then comes disney...........dont start off you life together like many others do. Do it right, and rely on yourselves...............it will pay huge dividends in your life together and my bet is your stays at DVC will be more rewarding for you family. Too many folks make the emotional choice to buy then worry about the rest.............those folks make up 90% of the resale market....................Just my opinion..............we want you to be DVC neighbors but do it in a responsible fashion..................and by the way we bought in 91 in the begininng and it has added a ton to our family and our marriage...............it was worth every penny and my accounts have estimated we have saved over 125K with DVC than without it...........we used to go 4-7 times a yr on cash..............now we go 4-10 a yr for just the fees................the breakeven point then was 3.5 yrs............it is now closer to 6 yrs.............still worth it financially...........but do it only if you can pay for it with todays dollars...............try to avoid financing..............we are big fans of buying direct from the TTS resale for cash................too many folks make poor decisions to finances this and it blows up...............DVC should bring the family together not blow it apart.

 

[vascubaguy]

well i completely disagree with the last poster............buying timeshare at a resort destination is not "investing in oneself" by my terms. While i do understand why and where he comes from i think you must treat this decision like anyother financial decision............it is a luxury and treat it as such............do not go in debt to acquire it..........makes no sense. I am not saying dont finance it............that is ok if you have the cash flow to afford it after all the necessities are paid for and you have a 6 month fund put away and your saving for retirement...............then comes disney...........dont start off you life together like many others do. Do it right, and rely on yourselves...............it will pay huge dividends in your life together and my bet is your stays at DVC will be more rewarding for you family. Too many folks make the emotional choice to buy then worry about the rest.............those folks make up 90% of the resale market....................Just my opinion..............we want you to be DVC neighbors but do it in a responsible fashion..................and by the way we bought in 91 in the begininng and it has added a ton to our family and our marriage...............it was worth every penny and my accounts have estimated we have saved over 125K with DVC than without it...........we used to go 4-7 times a yr on cash..............now we go 4-10 a yr for just the fees................the breakeven point then was 3.5 yrs............it is now closer to 6 yrs.............still worth it financially...........but do it only if you can pay for it with todays dollars...............try to avoid financing..............we are big fans of buying direct from the TTS resale for cash................too many folks make poor decisions to finances this and it blows up...............DVC should bring the family together not blow it apart.

Indeed it is a luxury, and by no means did I intend to imply to go into debt and force yourself to struggle. But if you can afford it, then go for it. I disagree that you need to be set for retirement and have a sizeable savings built up before you buy in. But then again, it wouldn't make sense to buy into DVC and be able to utilize these wonderful accomdations, but then not be able to afford to get there (or eat there, or do anything while you are there).

Just think about what you can realistically afford. If it is only a 50 point contract, then keep checking the resale market. Remember, even a 40 point contract at OKW can get you a 5 night stay in a studio. Then if you need more and can afford it, add-on. And also, if you can't go one year (or 2) you can always rent some of the points to help offset the cost of the fees (and payments if you had to finance).

 

[crisi]

Well, I'm pretty fiscally conservative. Around our house, its all about cash flow, and I hate to make committments to future cash flow by financing anything, or making future committments to anything. I think owning a home, having children, having an emergency fund and saving for retirement IS an investment in yourself. I know when I had two in diapers and formula and those $1600 a month daycare bills (which was only five and a half years ago) taking vacations further than grandmas house was out of the question. I'd rather not go on vacation than re-endure the sleepless nights that came with the news my husband had 30 days left on his job (he was reorganized at 28 days. A 50 point contract can get you a five night stay in a studio, but with point cost and dues its still $300+ for lodging. And its still a committment to dues of $200 a year. Its easy to get Orlando lodgings for cheaper offsite without the committment.

Now, I'm not saying DVC isn't a great value. But if I were a newlywed and getting money saved up, a downpayment on DVC would be a pretty low priority on what I was going to do with that money - unless I already had the basics in place. And its possible the OP does - my college roommate was a trust fund child that wouldn't have had any problems buying DVC after getting married without it having much impact on things like saving for retirement.

 

[bongo59]

I think DVC is great but no one should buy before they have their own financial matters settled period.

 

[NMW]

Maybe I'm of a different opinion then everyone here. I WISH that DH and I had bought DVC before having kids, house, etc. Before all that we lived in an apartment in Northern NJ with a lot of disposible income. It actually took me 6 months to set up direct deposit for my paychecks. I used to just cash them and I have no idea what we spent the money on. We had the money then to pay cash for DVC really easily, and it would have been bought and paid for. I don't count the monthly dues because I don't think they are a lot of money per month. Even if we had only bought 200 points, we always could have added on later as the kids came. If I could go back in time, I would certainly do that.

Now 2 houses, 3 kids and 2 dogs later, we buy DVC! This is also after spending thousands to stay in their hotels. We bought a resale 230 points last year and plan to add on 120, next year (and no, we didn't finance it)! It would have been nice to have DVC all these years, already paid for, oh well.

I think if it's something you really want to do, you should go for it. I know others may disagree with me, but I hate to regret anything. The worst regrets I have are when I took the advice of others, instead of following my heart. Good luck!