Dvc

[Tinkerbellah]

I'm sure my dis friends can help me out here. I just want to know is it worth it to become a DVC member? Do you feel you really save money? I know about $2,000 is what I budget a year for a vacation. I don't mind staying @ a value or moderate. So IDK if I feel like you save that much. Can any real people give me some insight? + I'm a little confused on how it works since DVC reps never seem to explain it to me. They just change the subject when I ask down payment & things of that nature.Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

DVC is not a money saving venture. It is basically for us a way to upgrade our vacations without having to spend deluxe prices.

 

[Callymum]

My husband and I believe it's the best thing we have done, it works out that we pay about a third of the price that our vacation would be if we didn't have Dvc. And the perks help also money off meals and tickets etc.

I'm sure someone will go into more detail with you on prices at some point, we go away for 4-5 weeks at a time each year and it wouldn't be feasible if we didn't have Dvc.

It Does save money, as you are able to stay at a resorts that you otherwise could not afford or would have to pay a lot more money than you pay for Dvc to stay there.

 

[disneynutz]

I'm sure my dis friends can help me out here. I just want to know is it worth it to become a DVC member? Do you feel you really save money? I know about $2,000 is what I budget a year for a vacation. I don't mind staying @ a value or moderate. So IDK if I feel like you save that much. Can any real people give me some insight? + I'm a little confused on how it works since DVC reps never seem to explain it to me. They just change the subject when I ask down payment & things of that nature.Thanks in advance for the help.

I say that if you are happy at a value then you are already getting the best deal.

Bill

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

As a few people have said, DVC is a way to get discounts on deluxe villas by pre-paying for a part of your next 30-40 years of vacations up front. If you're looking for a room that has a bigger layout, a kitchen, washer & dryer, and the option for multiple bedrooms sleeping from 4-12 people, DVC may be for you. However, if your family is comfortable with your stays at value and moderate resorts, you'll find better deals staying there with discount codes and package deals.

 

[magicaldisney]

Another DVC member chiming in that DVC is not a cost saver if you are happy at a value resort. Not only is there the initial cost of the points but the annual dues. I'm not sure if you budget $2000 for your whole trip or $2000 for the resort during your trip, but to give you an idea...my annual dues are more than half of that price. You also need to consider the amenities. At a value resort there is a food court. There are no food courts per say at the DVC resorts so the cost of food is something that would jump in price unless you eat in your room.

With all that being said, we were a family happy staying in the moderate resorts, but purchasing DVC allowed us to bump up to a deluxe resort where we have a full kitchen, more space and washer/dryer in our 1 bedroom. We travel to Disney at least once a year, if not, we would not have made the decision to purchase.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm sure my dis friends can help me out here. I just want to know is it worth it to become a DVC member? Do you feel you really save money? I know about $2,000 is what I budget a year for a vacation. I don't mind staying @ a value or moderate. So IDK if I feel like you save that much. Can any real people give me some insight? + I'm a little confused on how it works since DVC reps never seem to explain it to me. They just change the subject when I ask down payment & things of that nature.Thanks in advance for the help.

DVC isn't a money saving venture. It's prepaying for your vacations up front and then paying a substantial amount annually on dues/member fees. Then you still have to pay for tickets, food and transportation. It would be easy to eat up $2000 a year just on member fees and part of your vacation needs.

It's a real estate purchase (timeshare).

 

[mousefan1972]

If you are happy at a value resort, DVC will not save you any money. DVC is a timeshare program where you prepay for deluxe villa accomodations. There is an upfront cost based on the resort and number of points you purchase, plus annual maintenance fees which increase each year.

It doesn't sound like DVC is a good fit for you, based on what you've told us.

 

[gojoe]

DVC is not a money saving venture. It is basically for us a way to upgrade our vacations without having to spend deluxe prices.

Exactly how I feel. We do save on our food budget. We have a big breakfast and a late lunch in our Villa.
When we looked our budget DVC vs. Budget/Moderate it was a tie. Now instead of being at POP taking all our meals out, in a small room, we now have a Villa with a Boardwalk view. More than that, it's our home away from home. If you could put a price on the perks of DVC ownership it would be one heck of a savings.
We do have two regrets; Not doing it years sooner and not getting more points (can't afford it now, financial set backs). Maybe soon we hope.

 

[jupers]

I've only owned for less than a year, but I am so thrilled with it. It changed the way we vacation. Before it was save up...spend a ton and go commando. Now I am taking smaller more frequent trips. We bought last February, since then I took my mom for a girls weekend to the F & W festival, we are going with my inlaws in January for a long weekend staying in a 2 bedroom at SSR, then I just booked a trip in June for my DD and I for her 9th B'day at BCV just to enjoy SAB. Yes, I am spending more on vacations but it is a whole different ball game. I'm so relaxed when I go because I know I will be back soon.

 

[LindaBabe]

Exactly how I feel. We do save on our food budget. We have a big breakfast and a late lunch in our Villa.
When we looked our budget DVC vs. Budget/Moderate it was a tie. Now instead of being at POP taking all our meals out, in a small room, we now have a Villa with a Boardwalk view. More than that, it's our home away from home. If you could put a price on the perks of DVC ownership it would be one heck of a savings.
We do have two regrets; Not doing it years sooner and not getting more points (can't afford it now, financial set backs). Maybe soon we hope.

I've only owned for less than a year, but I am so thrilled with it. It changed the way we vacation. Before it was save up...spend a ton and go commando. Now I am taking smaller more frequent trips. We bought last February, since then I took my mom for a girls weekend to the F & W festival, we are going with my inlaws in January for a long weekend staying in a 2 bedroom at SSR, then I just booked a trip in June for my DD and I for her 9th B'day at BCV just to enjoy SAB. Yes, I am spending more on vacations but it is a whole different ball game. I'm so relaxed when I go because I know I will be back soon.

YUP! and YUP! Sometimes we just hang out in the villa and watch football with a bowl of popcorn. I my vacation homes.

 

[taaren]

Over on the Purchasing DVC forum, somebody had posted a great thread I can't find atm, but it had a list of features of people for whom DVC works great for.

The main ones were:

1. Do you travel to a Disney park every year or every other year anyways? If not, don't get DVC as it isn't a good value to use elsewhere. And it will make you Disney even more.

2. Can you book 7-11 months in advance, and stick to that or be happy with any resort as a backup? Resorts book up and if you're a last-minute traveller it can be very difficult to use your points.

3. Can you afford to purchase the initial points without [too much] financing (there's debates on this, I'm for no financing personally) and afford maintenance fees every year? (And tickets, food, etc?)

4. Do you mind a lack of housekeeping, would you use a full kitchen and washer/dryer? Or would that make you feel like you're not really on vacation?


We our DVC, bought it up front with the $$ we'd been planning on spending on a fancy wedding. Had previously gone to DLR every year, staying in motels across the street for about $1K/year and now we get a villa at the Grand for about the same amount (MF's + pro-rated buy in). Spending about the same for a serious upgrade and the flexibility to eat in our villas and invite friends along if we want has been bliss for us. My mom already had bought a timeshare years ago at the resort where we ski every year so we knew we loved having the kitchen and washer/dryer and didn't mind the lack of housekeeping on vacation.

DVC isn't right for everybody, but if you can afford it, fit most of the above criteria, and want to go from a Value to a Villa, its a great luxury. The basics are that you purchase points, pick a time you want to go, then use those points for nights to stay in a Villa instead of a hotel ... you can buy points direct, which is very expensive, or through resale. If you're seriously thinking about buying head over to the Purchasing DVC forum, and definitely take a look at resale as it will save you thousands on the purchase of the points. And the Timeshare Store guys are probably more helpful than a DVC guide anyways. Ha!

 

[Tinkerbellah]

Thank you so much everyone for the info it has been so very helpful.

 

[rmcildw2m]

For me it is a great savings ,because without it I could never afford to stay in a deluxe resort ever .I used to stay in value and moderates on all my trips ( mostly value resorts) but now staying in a deluxe resort all the time has ruined me against staying anywhere else .

 

[saintstickets]

Since you are okay with value/moderate resorts and are unsure about DVC deluxe resorts, you might try renting points at a DVC resort to see if the difference is worth the price to purchase into DVC.

 

[bigtony777]

We too are happy to stay at a value resort. Pop is one of our favorite resorts, but we decided to buy into DVC. One of the best advantages of the DVC resorts is location. I loved staying at BCV and being able to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

When you look at the numbers, it cost roughly the same (within a few hundred dollars) to stay at value as it does to rent points if you can get them at around $11 per point. After we rented 2 times, I then looked at the numbers to buy and it is saving us more than $1000 per year. Now we do visit 3 or more time per year and these savings include the discount on annual passes for the 5 of us.

The big decision is whether you want to pay up front for DVC, rent points from another owner or simply stay at the value/moderate. I second the recommendation to rent some points to have a DVC stay to see if you like it.

 

[DopeysGal82]

I think there are a few ways to think about it.

DH and I just went through this and decided to buy (read all about it elsewhere on this board).

We looked at it a few different ways.

1) Do you plan to go to have a Disney vacation at least every other year for the forseeabloe future - Check

2) Do you stay in Deluxe resorts - NEVER. I've never stayed in one. DH did when he was a kid. We enjoy our stays at Values, but this last time I realied that while the room is adequate for me and DH, it would NOT be comfortable with kids. We also got annoyed by the noise level and lack of services, so DH declared "never again!" about Value resorts.

We figure we still come out ok financially because we looked at it this way. We paid $140 pp for 160 points at BLT (Saratoga is much cheaper in terms of direct at about $100pp, and resale is a LOT cheaper for all, so you can get a better value on your initial buy in, though the dues you'd pay would be same). Once we divided what we paid by the number of points we're getting over 48 years, it came to about $3pp. We added in the approx $4pp we'll pay this year in dues, making our cost this year $7pp, for a cost of $1120 for our 160 points. Now, $1120 will almost, but not quite cover 2 weeks at Pop Century in the off season on a passholder discount (we just spent about 600 on a week at Pop). For the 160 points I'm getting I could have 2 weeks in a studio at SSR, Much larger accommodations, sofa, microwave, fridge, etc. So essentially 2 weeks at a Deluxe Accomodation are still CHEAPER than Pop. Where this is tricky is..did we plan to go to Disney for 2 weeks? Is it costing us more?

For the same 160 points, we could also get a Studio at our home resort, Bay Lake Tower, with a Magic Kingdom view for one week, and have points left over. So, yes it's more than a week a Pop. but it's monorail access to MK and EPCOT< Walkable to MK, watching fireworks from our room or from the rooftop lounge. You cant even compare that to Pop. It was going to cost us about $1100 had we stayed at a Moderate instead of a Value, and I didn't think it was worth it. BLT is worth the extra $500 IMO.

I feel it's going to change the way we vacation. We are usually commando tourists who only come to the room to crash, but knowing we'll be back, we'll be able to take things at a slower pace and actually enjoy. I'm looking forward to that.

It's also changing WHERE we vacation. We're not 100% sure how this will play out, but we're planning to bank some points so we can take a trip to DLR and Aulani in 2013. It was never in our plans to go to Hawaii, but now that we can pay for this amazing resort with our points, in other words, money already spent, then why not?

I'm a little concerned about the no mousekeeping thing since DH and I are a mess and I LOVE not having to clean on vacation, but we will defintely save some money on food even with the kitchenette. I can never finish a meal, so it will be nice to be able to take leftovers home and microwave them later, or to have some cereal and lean cuisines in the room.

 

[hmire]

I am right there with you. I can no longer stay at value hotels (unless its a suite). POR is the cheapest route for our family of 5. I know I would never stay at a deluxe hotel without DVC. We are still trying to decide if it is worth it to us.

 

[Brian Noble]

Try renting a stay in a larger unit to see what you think of it, recognizing that owning (resale) will be a little less expensive than renting at $10.

Be careful, though. It can be hard to go back. Even with my family of four, we don't really feel like it is "vacation" unless we have a 2BR unit. I know people share hotel rooms with four people, but I can't imagine doing it myself!