Family of 6 thinking hard about DVC

[jeniamt]

For our last few trips to Disney we have rented someone's DVC pts in order to stay in a 1bdr villa property. This was by far the best way to travel with DH and I and our 3 children. We loved the separate bedroom and figured we saved at least $100/day by eating breakfast and at least one other meal in our room. We can never go back to renting a standard room at Disney! Now, we have a fourth child which would require us to rent a 2 bdr. Okay, but shouldn't we just join ourselves rather than relying on renting someone else's points? DH is not so convinced. He figures why make the large upfront payment to buy into DVC and have to worry about the long-term commitment plus annual fees.

We love Disney and plan a week trip at least every-other-year. I would love to hear some opinions on this, especially from larger families that also have to stay in a 2bdr. Even if we moved forward with this, how many pts do I really need?

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[robertdangelo]

Depending on what resort you prefer to stay at... you may find a good deal through resale. You can purchase less points than Disney's minimum.(when you buy direct from Disney) Through banking Borrowing, you can make a 100 point contract work out... if you need 200 or less points per trip every other year, for example. I highly recommend The Timeshare Store... they are great to deal with and can help you determine how many points you will need.
Keep in mind most older resort contracts end in 2042. Some OKW contracts have been extended to 2057. SSR and AKV run through 2054 and BLT till 2060. You can always add on through Disney or resale if you find you need more points down the road.
DVC is the best investment for your family's future enjoyment & memories that last a lifetime. Many DVC'ers say they only wish they had bought sooner.
Good Luck

 

[Sandisw]

Given your family size and the trips every other year, I think you are a perfect candidate for DVC.

A 2 bedroom for a 1 week, in Magic Season (summer time and 2nd highest point amount) at OKW would run you around 300 points. To go every other year, you would only need to buy 150 points and just using banking or borrowing to get the 300 you need. Of course, if you go at other times, or stay different resorts, it would look different.

Via resale, you can get 150 at SSR or OKW for around $65/ppt for a total of around $10,000. MF's would run you around $700 or so a year.

Within a couple of trips, you will have bought and paid for your own DVC so I say you might want to consider becoming members on your own!

Good luck!

 

[dbs1228]

We are the living proof of should have done it sooner! We are a family of 5 and always wanted a seperate room for the kids so we either did 2 rooms or once we discovered Ft. Wilderness Cabins that is where we stayed (sleeps 6). My kids are now mid to late teens and after 15 years of paying for the cabins we decided to take a serious look at dvc. I do not see us growing out of our dvc since DH and I love going there.

One thing to remember with the 1 bedroom units that sleep 5 I believe you are allowed 1 child (in a crib so a total of 6) and some 1 bedrooms have 2 bathrooms. That would help you out the 1st couple years to get a feel of ownership and give you time if you want to add on.

Good luck with your decision

 

[culli]

If you don't mind the nuances of renting that can be a very cost effective way to go. I personally like control and complete ownership of our reservations. I wouldn't do the renting option, also note I have not done it.

DVC is expensive and takes upfront dollars, so renting can be very attractive. Read the zillion or so posts of "Is DVC right for me" posts and you will have a head start. Timeshares can be a great way to travel but it can also one of be the biggest mistakes of your life. Do your research as it is not easy or cheap to get rid of if you change your mind or circumstances change.

With that being said we own a variety of TS that fit our family needs for vacation. We are a family of 6 (7 when my Mom comes with us) and having a TS unit is perfect for our family and very cost effective. Of our TS ownership DVC is by far the most expensive but also our favorite. Good luck but don't jump in without getting educated.

 

[nolanboys]

We are also a family of 6 and finally took the plunge after our last trip this February. We stayed at OKW twice and in between stayed at POFQ in two rooms. We loved having the 2 bdrm unit with the kitchen and the washer/dryer. We also had so much fun at OKW - basketball, shuffleboard, tennis. We decided we loved Disney and wanted to be able to go there every other year - we also like to take trips to national parks. We choose SSR and bought a contract with 200 points. We picked that number because it will let us have 400 every 2 years, which we will need to travel over Spring Break or Christmas Break if that is the only time our kids can get away when they are older. While we can still travel in the summer, it allows extra points for DH and myself to take a trip by ourselves every 4 years. Our contract had almost all its 2009 points, so DH and I are going by ourselves this fall. We used ********** and were very happy with them. We love the memories we have made at Disney World with our boys, so we decided to take the plunge and force ourselves to continue making these memories. We love OKW and almost bought in there, but SSR ends later and its dues are cheaper. Some one above said you could start with 150pts, but we decided to go higher, because any of the other DVC resorts require more points. This allows us to try other resorts if they are available. Hope this helps.

 

[disneynutz]

If it makes financial sense then I would consider it.

BUT

During the past two years the DVC has really gone down hill in my opinion.

Disney's service after the sale is really lacking. MS has more problems than they should, the rooms always seem to have a cleaning or maintenance issue, policies, rules and programs keep changing and not to the benefit of the members, Disney Management makes a lot of promises that never get acted upon.

Bill

 

[delmar411]

You should really run the numbers to see if renting makes more sense than buying. Right now, you can get DVC rooms at a 40-45% discount through CRO, which is less than the cost of renting. Of course discounts won't always be available but not being an owner leaves you free to get rooms at a discount and not be committed to DVC as an owner.

For us it just made sense to have our own points. We're a family of 6 as well and I prefer to have complete control over my reservations esp since we change things around a lot.

For this upcoming trip we're staying 12nights and it's costing over 500pts. We normally stay 10nights but airfare prices were so high we pushed it out another 2nights to get much lower airfare back home. We have an annual allotment of 530pts and it's just about the right number of points for us to take one major trip each year after the kids get out of school in the spring. (we get out much earlier than the east coast)

You need to look at your traveling habits to see when you would go, for how long, and at what resort. That should give you a rough idea of how many points you will need, then divide by 2.

 

[dis-happy]

Being a larger family was the decisive factor for us. We were a family with 5 when we joined, then became a family of 6! Not only do we love the space, we save a lot of money using the kitchen.

I'd consider looking at the points charts at OKW and BWV standard. If you can plan 11 months out and stay Sun-Fri you have great options with these two resorts for stretching the points you get. And not sure how long it will be around, but recently they announced a "rental" of up to 24 points per year from MS at $15. per points. That could also help you stretch any points you do end up purchasing.

Make sure you look at resale listings for OKW and BWV!! GL

 

[DVC mom]

I'll give you my experience. We bought 270 points in '09 at AKL. With our developer points, we are now only ONE year left to break even.

Each time I make a DVC reservation, I go to the Disney site and plug in my dates, resort, type of room, etc. and get the room only price and deduct it from my investment.

We have two kids and bought a 160 and a 110 contract. We will add 50 points next months so we can leave each kid 160 points each.

I'd look up your favorite resort at the time of year you travel and do the math for the days you stay. Divide that in half. I'd purchase that many points or round up a little. Then every other year you can take your trip.

We wish we had joined many years ago. NO regrets. We are looking to add on 200 points at BLT (2 100 point contracts) at a later date. This will be used to bring extended family and friends without using our AKL points we spend.

 

[jeniamt]

Wow, thanks for everyone's input. I've really enjoyed reading your responses. I am a little worried about some of the DVC management concerns a few have mentioned.

If I crunch the numbers, the annual dues are certainly cheaper than renting someone's pts and the initial investment break point would be about (roughly) 8 years. I am considering that we have another DCL trip planned for next spring break which will easily cost us at least $10,000 (we have to book 2 rooms). If we move forward with DVC, we would cancel the cruise - feels like free money Okay, not hardly but I do think I would rather put that money towards YEARS of vacations rather than one week. BTW, we aren't sure how much we really liked the DCL. Just not sure we are cruise people. It was fun but maybe a little to regimented for us. Plus, the kids needed more run-around space like a spacious pool at a WDW resort or inside Epcot

dis-happy: glad to hear you recommend BWV. We've stayed at the BCV and loved it based on location. DH tells everyone that it was his favorite vacation of all time. When I read him your response his reply was, "that's right across from BCV's, I could be talked into that." Yahoo! Just curious, why is it more of a bargain that BCV?

Thanks, Jen

 

[MiaSRN62]

why is it more of a bargain that BCV?

Not dis-happy, but would venture to guess that the fact BWV has "standard view" rooms for less points makes it more cost effective. Also, if you ever want a GV, BWV has a few of those (not many though---like 6-8 ??), so being an owner there would make both these options well worth buying BWV. If you check the point charts, and I'll use 2011 as an example :
2 bedroom BCV for Dream season (weekday) is 43/night
2 bedroom BWV STANDARD view for Dream season (weekday) is 38/night.

For MAGIC season a difference of 48 BCV vs 41 BWV (standard view). Just something to think about. Maybe dis-happy was referring to something else though.

I just want to chime in that we are a family of 5 (used to be 6 when my mil was alive because she always traveled with us) and we are so happy and so accustomed to vacationing with a kitchen/washer&dryer and lots more space.....while still being on disney property. We feel it was a great decision for us especially when I look up on the disney site (as someone else mentioned) to see what those rooms go for as cash nights. Just made sense for us.

Maria

 

[jeniamt]

Thank you Maria! Your info has been very helpful. I agree with you about becoming accustomed to the spacious rooms plus the kitchen, separate living room and washer/dryer. We would NEVER consider staying off property. If I'm going to Disney, I'm going to Disney And know we are just spoiled. So you are right, for us and for our size family, the only option are the DVC rooms and booking through CRO is out of my budget consciousness

 

[supersuperwendy]

We are a DVC family of 6! Our kids range in age from 12 yrs - 5 months!

We LOVE being members! I love 2 bedroom villas...I love having a washer/dryer...I love the kitchen...I love the whirlpool tub for relaxing after a day in the parks!

We used to stay at POR...we liked it, but we LOVE DVC!

 

[staceymay00]

We recently purchased at OKW. We can stay in a 1BR (3 kids), which I think we will do for the next few years, but I can see us switching to a 2BR as the kids get older. We only bought 150 pts, enough for a 2BR every other year for about a week during the times we would likely travel, or almost enough for a week every year in a 1BR. We got 2009 points that we banked so we have several years before we will run out of points staying in a 1BR every year.

Ultimately I chose OKW because of the lower point requirement and lower resale prices, and DH and I liked the resort based on pictures and visiting once. The 2BRs at OKW are not many more points than some of the 1BRs at other resorts. I also like BCV but my DH actually is not too interested in that resort and it requires more points to stay there. We are really happy with our decision to buy at OKW but of course everyone has different taste and I would always recommend buying somewhere you want to stay.

One thing we might end up doing is staying off site every other year or every 3rd year if we decide to stay in 2BRs but not purchase more points. I know some people don't like staying off site. We like staying on site, but don't mind staying off site some of the time because you can get so much space for your money. My kids would be thrilled with a 4BR house with it's own pool. With retirement and college for 3 kids in the future I'm not sure we will want to spend the money to double our points. Maybe, but maybe not.

It is a big commitment. I think it really only makes sense if you plan to go to WDW every 1-3 years for many years. Otherwise renting points may work better for you. Good luck with your decision!

 

[dbs1228]

I agree with PP that is a great way to become a dvc member, and stay within your comfort zone. I am sure you will have many memorable years at Disney. Enjoy

 

[maburke]

dis-happy: glad to hear you recommend BWV. We've stayed at the BCV and loved it based on location. DH tells everyone that it was his favorite vacation of all time. When I read him your response his reply was, "that's right across from BCV's, I could be talked into that." Yahoo! Just curious, why is it more of a bargain that BCV?

Thanks, Jen

I thnk the buy-in cost is lower at BWV because it is a bigger resort, so you're more likely to find something there at the 7-month window than at BCV, which is smaller, and has SAB (still the greatest hotel pool ever, IMHO). But if your DH liked the location, there are advantages to BWV as well, like getting standard view to save points, or boardwalk view if you like that. Both of those can be hard to get at 7 months. We own and love both!

 

[edk35]

Wow, thanks for everyone's input. I've really enjoyed reading your responses. I am a little worried about some of the DVC management concerns a few have mentioned.

If I crunch the numbers, the annual dues are certainly cheaper than renting someone's pts and the initial investment break point would be about (roughly) 8 years. I am considering that we have another DCL trip planned for next spring break which will easily cost us at least $10,000 (we have to book 2 rooms). If we move forward with DVC, we would cancel the cruise - feels like free money Okay, not hardly but I do think I would rather put that money towards YEARS of vacations rather than one week. BTW, we aren't sure how much we really liked the DCL. Just not sure we are cruise people. It was fun but maybe a little to regimented for us. Plus, the kids needed more run-around space like a spacious pool at a WDW resort or inside Epcot

dis-happy: glad to hear you recommend BWV. We've stayed at the BCV and loved it based on location. DH tells everyone that it was his favorite vacation of all time. When I read him your response his reply was, "that's right across from BCV's, I could be talked into that." Yahoo! Just curious, why is it more of a bargain that BCV?

Thanks, Jen

Skip the cruise and JOIN DVC. I would much rather spend money on DVC than a cruise if I had to pick between the two. We are a family of 5 and have only stayed in 2 bedrooms since joining Jan. 07. LOVE DVC accomodations. I am happy at any of them to be honest. If it means going to WDW then I am happy at just about any DVC resort. We are staying ONE night in a 1 bedroom at Vero in July. I decided last minute if you will...to make ressies for July. I did this right before Easter. I called and had no problems booking a week at SSR our first home resort. OKW was also open. I also added 4 nights at Vero but all they had available for our nights were Garden Inn Rooms. SO...we booked 2 rooms for 3 of the nights and the first night we are staying in that 1 bedroom on DVC discounted cash. The 1 bedrooms have a sleeper chair so we will be fine for one night. I am very very very happy with DVC.

 

[thelionqueen]

The biggest complaints or regrets I've read on the DIS from DVC owners is...1) I wish I would've bought sooner and 2) I wish I would've bought more points. If I hadn't waited for and loved BLT SO much I would share both of those sentiments.

Between the time we first considered DVC and the time we actually bought, we EASILY spent $10,000-$15,000 on vacation accommodations which we could've put towards DVC..KILLS ME to this day

It sounds to me like you are a perfect candidate for DVC. So was I. If you regularly travel to Disney it is truly a huge benefit owning DVC. We have traveled to Disney every year for the last 30+ years and will continue to do so in the future. Therefore, the monies we pay toward DVC would've gone to Disney anyway...why rent when you can own? Why stay value when you can stay deluxe? That's my line of thinking anyway...best of luck!

 

[dmoore22]

We were a family of 8 when we first bought into DVC about 10 years ago. Prior to that we stayed in the Value Resorts, having to pay for two rooms. We bought resale and have no regrets. We were able to pay for our ownership interest up front so we reached the breakeven point much sooner than if we had financed. We discovered that our costs went down and our visits were longer and now, as the kids are mostly grown and the empty nest is around the corner, we make multiple trips each year. We have calculated now, including MFs, our per night cost for accommodations is around $68. Here is a nice link to a DVC Primer at Mouseplanet.com. http://www.mouseplanet.com/8739/A_Disney_Vacation_Club_Primer It also has a link to a spreadsheet program that will allow you to play around with various options.