DVCers in DFW?

[Dale-n-Chip]

DH has caved to the point he's ready to run the numbers. What I think we could really use is a DVCer we could sit down with who has figured out what works for their family and kind of walk us through the minefield of decisions to make. Rather than yet another "help me!" thread, I'd like to sit down in person with another family.

Anybody in the DFW area willing to hold our hands?

Mods, if I'm in the wrong place, direct me to where I should be posting!

Thanks--

D-n-C

 

[Mouse Ears]

We are DVC members in Bedford also. I have sent you an email directly in case you want to contact me.

In short, we joined DVC in July, 2002, and have 150 points at Beach Club Villas. We stay in 2 BR, so we are only able to go about 2 out of 3 years for a week at a time. Even still, DVC has offered us a great value and flexibility to allow us to make the most of our trip by having luxury suite accomodations. We have invited some extended family along for the second bedroom. That has made our trips more special and interesting. Also, the extra guests have really helped with keeping track of our 3 kids.

Hope you find the answers to your questions. We love DVC and would be glad to share more of our story.

 

[mommystieg]

We joined DVC in 2002 after our first visit ever to WDW--we have 175 points at BCV. We now have made 3 DVC trips including one with DH's extended family. We live in Keller -- feel free to PM me if you want to talk -- DH and I love to talk about all the benefits we feel DVC offers us.

 

[chipscinderelly]

We used to live in Bedford and just moved to Keller.

We own DVC at SSR and would love to help out or just chat about DVC. We even added on last year on the DVC Member Cruise.

 

[Plutofan]

We just bought at SSR in January 2005. There were nine of us who went on our first trip home this past June. It was great. We live in Sachse just north of Garland. For our family this was the best purchase that we made. As people have said in the different threads if you go to Disney at least every other year and want to stay at deluxe resorts DVC is probably a good deal especially if you work the system. As people have said your best value is staying Sunday through Thursday night. We purchase a annual pass and stagger our annual trip so that we can use the passes for two years. We love to go to the Disney restauarants so we purchased a DDE card to save 20%. Being a CPA we have looked at the purchase many different ways. With an imediate family of 5 who love Disney this was a great deal. The only problem is that you will want to buy more points. We did our intial purcahse in January and have already did an add-on. We are already making plans to purchase more points depending on what DVC resort is announced next. If you are thinking of purchasing at SSR then you should probably make a decision soon to take advantage of the 15% discount. If you decide to purchase at another DVC then you have plenty of time. I will be happy to answer any of your questions. As they say in Disney "Have a Disney day'

 

[Beca]

We are in Highland Village. We own at BCV (although, at times we have owned at other resorts). We would love to meet you somewhere to "talk" about how DVC works for us.

Please email me if you are interested.



Beca

 

[slimplaw]

We live in the DFW area and have had VWL points since 2001. With a combination of points and room discounts I go at least once a year if not twice. We used points this summer for DS's honeymoon at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. We'll also be going again in Dec. There was a DVC get together a couple of years ago in Southlake. emcanally put it together. Not sure if he still posts or not. We met many other families there. I also attend DIS meets in our area. We just had one a couple of weeks ago at LaHacienda Ranch in Colleyville. Many of us there also own DVC. PM me if you have questions.
I only have 150 points, but do get a lot of use out of them.

 

[ohanafamily]

Hi all, My DW and I live in Dallas, and we own 500 points at this point. I believe firmly in deficit point spending.... Please feel free to PM me, Even better, Why not plan a DVC-Dis Meet where we can tag-team... I mean show you all of our spreadsheets?

My story? Before RRBB and I were married (Yes Beca, I am her DH!) we went to a presentation. She already knew I was aneasy sale on this tyoe of stuff, but what could she do? Well our guide did something she didn't expect... He looked me square in the eye and said "You are a workoholic, You are lucky to take 1 trip every 2 years, you like the deluxe resorts,. With your situation, it is not a good fit for you... 2 trips later to WDW we went back and I bought 150 points in BWV. That was back in 1999, and we have been going twice a year, but now have an infant (Ian) so for a few years (at least) we will be limitted to one trip a year.

A quick answer on how to justify it? Well, since Disney is continuosly adding new properties and members they want to keep the value of the points at a level where they can continue to sell more. This means that you can usually get most of your money back on the resale market.

That being said, you might want to check out the resale market before you buy in... There are several traps there, but if you are careful it can be an economic alternative to buying direct...The biggest pitfall is that SSR goes until 2054, the rest go until 2042.

OK, now what do you get??? Well, A bigger room, refrigerator, Kitchen and washer/dryer (in 1BR+. less in the studios...

What do you give up? well, the annual fee runs about $4 a point (ish) which makes the cost of each vacation point you spend about $6. Points rent ot for around $10 a point, I have heard as high as 14, and sometimes a friend will rent them for 8.

You also only get maid service once a week, but Actually, DW likes that...I mean, do you really want the sheets changed every night? DW doesn't stop there, she has this need to straighten the room before the maid comes... OK, back to DVC stuff...

The washer/dryer in the room was quite handy when baby decided he wanted to start getting sick before we left last time...
----------------------
Room Value? If yo go in the value season, you can get a studio at OKW (during the week) for about the same as the $50 "Post card Rate" at pop- there aren't the taxes either... Figure that your cost on the points is $6 a point , and the math is there...

OK, enouh, PM me and I will be happy to talk.....

 

[Dale-n-Chip]

Woo hoo!! Called Monday, got the box Wednesday! We were totally stoked until we started reading all the legalese. Thank goodness for these boards or I'd have no idea what most of that meant.

Thanks so much for all your offers of help. Special thanks to Mouse Ears and his family for taking the time to meet with us and spend some time talking us through all the decisions. With #4 on the way, now's the time for that add-on Drew!

I found the thread about the Colleyville meet about two days too late. What a great opportunity to pick your brains. . . er, meet y'all! Can't wait until the next one to prove to DH I'm not the only "crazy" one out there!

Thanks again, y'all. We are so very excited to be coming home!!!!! (Of course, I've got to get this Dec DL trip planned and enjoyed before I can start planning that first trip home. . . What a beautiful mess I'm in!!)

If I can't be in Disney, at least I'm in Texas.

 

[slimplaw]

I love your last line,
"If I can't be in Disney, at least I'm in Texas"

People ask me all the time if I'll eventually move to Orlando. I have no plans to ever move there. My DVC membership serves me well for frequent trips to enjoy the parks and resorts.