For Deluxe Fans ... Why Do You Opt NOT to Buy DVC?

[CharlesTD]

I am aware of the differences at OKW but just wanted to make a simple point about beds only. Thank you for pointing out the exception for those interested.

No problem I just wanted to let it be known that not all DVC studios were like that LOL. Also for those saying the rental market is sitting at 9-10 a point have not looked any further than our rent trade board here I routinely get upwards of 14-20 a point for my points when I rent them and with that I pay off a large part of the principal each and every year so much so that my 10 years of financing will be done in another month or 2.

 

[CharlesTD]

Yeah, thats if you like OKW. I find OKW to have a very bland, condo-like ambience. However, they are definitely the most spacious rooms on property.

The biggest reason we have DVC is to save money. However, no where in DVC do you have a great views (except MAYBE BWV) or exotic theming found at places the like the Poly/AKL ... and we are big view/ambience people.

OKW and BCV are by far our least favourite places to stay followed closley by VWL we love SSR and BWV for the location we could care less about the view though if I want a view I will stay at Coronado Springs I am hoping they will some day add a DVC resort there that would be the only place our family would ever stay.

 

[Sammie]

Yeah, thats if you like OKW. I find OKW to have a very bland, condo-like ambience. However, they are definitely the most spacious rooms on property.

The biggest reason we have DVC is to save money. However, no where in DVC do you have a great views (except MAYBE BWV) or exotic theming found at places the like the Poly/AKL ... and we are big view/ambience people.

That would depend on what type of views and ambience you prefer. I much prefer the views and ambience of the many of the DVC resorts over some of the deluxe resorts.

I think SSR has some very good views. Again personal opinion.

 

[katallo]

Interesting thread. We are renting points at the BCV studio next year and I'd love to post again after that trip. We usually stay at deluxe resorts, most recently WL. I really want to assess the view at the BCV (or lack of). After staying in a toom at the WL facing the Bay Lake or Dolphin facing Epcot, I'm not sure I'll be too impressed with the BCV but we'll see. Friends are staying at the BWV and can't believe there is one bed in the one bedroom unit. So, this will be a good test for us.

 

[erikthewise]

With the possible exception of AKL, there really aren't any WDW resorts that consistently have good views without paying a stiff premium, and sometimes not even then. The best views I've had were on our first two stays at BCV, where we were lucky to have spectacular 5th floor direct views of Spaceship Earth. But there are only a limited number of rooms with that view.

 

[SeaSpray]

We are "deluxe fans", and have opted to not buy DVC. There are our reasons:

1. We don't want a monthly bill, and don't want to put the cash up front, either.

2. As much as I love Disney World, DH, DSs, and I prefer to take other vacations, too. We all love cruising (another Disney cruise next year!!), and we have tentative plans to go to Europe in the next couple of years.

3. We are finding that we like the Monorail/Magic Kingdom resorts the best. I know that the Contemporary is adding DVC rooms/suites/etc but that resort interests us the least. Even with the new rooms, DH doesn't want to stay there, and that's fine with me. He doesn't have to twist my arm to get me to stay at the Polynesian or the Grand Floridian or the Wilderness Lodge.

4. We don't like the idea of all the "rules" associated with a time share. I don't want to have to think about points, weekday rates VS weekend rates, monthly fees, etc. After 4 1/2 years on the DIS, I *finally* was able to use a code for a discount, yesterday! LOL But usually, we do not plan on or rely on, discount codes or anything like that. We book what we want, when we want, and just pay for it. (We do have AAA, so that has saved us a few $$ on occasion).

5. When I am on vacation, I don't want to see a kitchen or washer/dryer. LOL Enough said!

Those are all of *our* reasons. However, I can definitely understand the reasons that others have for *wanting* to own DVC

 

[zillow]

Whether or not DVC is a good financial decision depends on a lot of personal factors so it will never be the same for 2 people. I always laugh when people bring out the financial planner type of argument though. My DH is a financial analyst with a major company and it was his CFO who recommended it. Believe me, numbers were crunched and rational decisions were made. It varies by situation - we broke even in 2 years and if we sold on the resale market now - would make a profit. Have never rented our points and never plan to. We do, however, take lots of family and friends for free and it has been wonderful sharing that experience with them.

Also, (and this may be a strange reason to some...) we like being forced to plan and take vacations - sometimes we are just too wrapped up in our daily lives to do it otherwise.
- we never cook dinner- but like the refrigerator for wine, breakfast foods, water, snacks etc. (many food allergies in our family)
- love that mousekeeping doesn't need to come since I always feel the need to pick-up if somebody might see the state in which I live..
- love that I don't need to pack as much since I can easily do a load of laundry
- love having a separate room for after the kids go to sleep
- LOVE that bathtub.
Again, all fairly personal reasons - it works for us and we love the WL villas - though we enjoyed our GF vacations too...

 

[DizWacko]

With the possible exception of AKL, there really aren't any WDW resorts that consistently have good views without paying a stiff premium, and sometimes not even then. The best views I've had were on our first two stays at BCV, where we were lucky to have spectacular 5th floor direct views of Spaceship Earth. But there are only a limited number of rooms with that view.

What you say is true, but the reason why they charge this "stiff" premium for the view is because people like me are willing to pay for them. If views dont mean anything to you, then DVC looks even better.

I know of the view you are referring to at the BCV (or I think you do), I just cant get past that service road however under your balcony with buses and cars driving by all day.

THe best views on property IMO are at the Poly, GF, CR, AKL.

THe best of both worlds IMO is having a small 100 point DVC contract and still having a few bucks to stay at the deluxes to mix it up.

 

[Minniepooh29]

I've wondered about this for a long time but was a little hesitant to post about it ... didn't want to appear to be starting a debate or anything like that. But I am just honestly curious as to the answers. We bought DVC because it was the most economical way for us to be able to stay in deluxe accommodations at Disney. We have used DVC points for the Poly and AKL, just to do something different, but for the most part, we stay at the DVC properties.

Dh and I have discussed the possibility of getting "bored" with the DVC resorts (this is probably why we've used the points at regular resorts) but we love the WL (that's where we own) and we love the space that the accommodations provide.

But obviously there's a whole lot of people that enjoy the regular hotel route. I was just curious why you prefer that to the DVC program, especially if you're an annual (or semi-annual) WDW visitor. If you're willing to share, I'd love to know!!

Will all the money we have spent I'm sure it would have been better for us. We go 2 to 3 times a year. But we never have enough money for the down payment. Then there is the fear of adding another monthly payment to our household.

 

[CharlesTD]

We bought DVC for the flexability yes it is a few more points to stay at some of the NON DVC resorts but that is all part of the allure of DVC. We can stay on teh cheap at OKW and the other DVC resorts or we can go all out and splurge adn stay at any of the other resorts. We have a cabin at FW booked for our 07/08 trip and then we are going to AKL concierge in 09 for that trip for 2 weeks we are requesting non daily mousekeeping though.

 

[lark]

Whether or not DVC is a good financial decision depends on a lot of personal factors so it will never be the same for 2 people. I always laugh when people bring out the financial planner type of argument though. My DH is a financial analyst with a major company and it was his CFO who recommended it. Believe me, numbers were crunched and rational decisions were made. It varies by situation - we broke even in 2 years and if we sold on the resale market now - would make a profit. Have never rented our points and never plan to. We do, however, take lots of family and friends for free and it has been wonderful sharing that experience with them.

Glad it worked out for you. If a CFO is telling you you broke even in 2 years, though, I'd love to know the company so I don't buy stock. (Sounds snippy, I know -- said with affection and tounge in cheek!) Though I was the one who brought out the financial argument, and admit that I am no financial analyst, I can absolutely positively guarantee that in no sense did you break even in 2 years with DVC, unless there was some super smoking deal offered many years ago that you jumped on. If so, way to go. You had the timeshare equivalent of buying microsoft in the late 80s. But, of course, that's not particularly relevant to any person trying to figure out whether to buy DVC now.

If you assume you can rent points for $10, there is simply zero way that any purchaser now -- even assuming they paid cash -- could break even, or come anywhere near breaking even, in fewer than 9 years. For most purchasers it will be closer to 13, and for some who finance most of the purchase, upwards of 25. My math is up there above, and believe me, if there's something wrong with it, I'd love to know. But to simplify, a purchaser today has to spend $85 to $92 for a point that rents for $10. You don't need to do complicated math to show that's a break even of 8.5 to 9.2 years of continued use. And that doesn't even take into account paying upwards of $4 per point every year, interest, or use of money if you're paying cash.

I'm not trying to be confrontational, but I am trying to put a word of caution out there. People lose an awful lot of money in this country on timeshares, and DVC is, make no mistake, a timeshare. They are dramatically misunderstood.

I understand that people love DVC and it has worked well for them. I also understand the non financial psychological and other benefits, and as I said, do not discount them in the slightest. And I also concede that after your break even point -- many years down the road -- it starts to make financial sense. Finally, I understand that there are a category of people for whom a $20,000 or $30,000 or even $40,000 investment in an expiring asset that requires yearly maintenance fees is simply not enough of a big deal to worry about saving $1,000 here or there by going through the hassle of renting. For those people, all of my points are irrelevant.

As for the point about liking the flexibility of DVC to trade for other timeshares, I get that point. But it's a rationalization. If that's what one's goal is, rent DVC when you need to, and then research all of the very cheap ways to buy into other point-based timeshare systems (e.g., RCI points) that allow you, for much much much less money, to trade all over the world.

 

[lark]

lark - this is a VERY good post.

Thanks. It's nice to have someone like one of these posts. I've actually done this before on the financial aspects of DVC -- indeed, trying to educate people about the financial aspects of timeshares is something of an unhealthy obsession with me. But you may be the first person on a disney related board ever to respond positively. The nearly uniform reaction is actually to get quite angry, which hasn't happened here, and to tell me I'm wrong about the math without telling me why.

 

[puffkin]

This is in response to Larks post above.....

The ONLY problem I see with your calculations is that it makes a lot of assumptions that really aren't true about most DVC buyers.

As an example, lets assume you want an SSR studio in December for 6 nights (Sunday-Friday) which is 77 points (I use this example because that is what we are doing this year and I am familiar with the costs).

These 77 points have roughly $300 in maintenance fees for the year.

Using the renting perspective you refer to above:
Assume you can rent these points for $10 a point. That would be $770 for the same trip. $770-$300 = $470 in savings that a DVC owner could apply to the initial purchase price of the points. So yes, it would take a significant amount of time to break even.

Using the cash equivalent basis perspective:
An SSR studio is going for approx. $230 a night through CRO using a code. With taxes, it comes to about $250 a night. Therefore, that stay on a cash basis is $250 x 6 nights = $1500. The DVC owner would then have $1200 of savings to apply to the initial purchase price of the points, and then breakeven would be much sooner, possibly in 5 years or so as they advertise.

The flaws in analysis on message boards such as these is assuming that people are willing to assume the risk of renting points. I would assume a large percentage of owners have no idea there even is a rental market. There is also a large percentage of people who may not trust renting points because as far as I know, there is no regulated or reputable rental service out there. It is basically putting blind trust into complete strangers.

In your assumption, you look at the purchase of a timeshare through the renters market which I believe only a small percentage of owners/perspective owners fall into. Assuming the increase in dues keeps pace with CRO's room rate increases (a pretty safe assumption) the cash equivalent perspective is probably a more valid approach for most owners to look at.

So yes, on paper, the renters perception does make DVC appear to be a poor investment for most people. However, the cash perspective makes financial sense to a lot of DVC owners, not to mention the intangible benefits you outlined in your post.

I hope this post makes sense!

 

[erikthewise]

We are "deluxe fans", and have opted to not buy DVC. There are our reasons:

1. We don't want a monthly bill, and don't want to put the cash up front, either.

2. As much as I love Disney World, DH, DSs, and I prefer to take other vacations, too. We all love cruising (another Disney cruise next year!!), and we have tentative plans to go to Europe in the next couple of years.

3. We are finding that we like the Monorail/Magic Kingdom resorts the best. I know that the Contemporary is adding DVC rooms/suites/etc but that resort interests us the least. Even with the new rooms, DH doesn't want to stay there, and that's fine with me. He doesn't have to twist my arm to get me to stay at the Polynesian or the Grand Floridian or the Wilderness Lodge.

4. We don't like the idea of all the "rules" associated with a time share. I don't want to have to think about points, weekday rates VS weekend rates, monthly fees, etc. After 4 1/2 years on the DIS, I *finally* was able to use a code for a discount, yesterday! LOL But usually, we do not plan on or rely on, discount codes or anything like that. We book what we want, when we want, and just pay for it. (We do have AAA, so that has saved us a few $$ on occasion).

5. When I am on vacation, I don't want to see a kitchen or washer/dryer. LOL Enough said!

Those are all of *our* reasons. However, I can definitely understand the reasons that others have for *wanting* to own DVC

Some good points Seaspray! I hope you know me well enough to know I'm not arguing with you on any of them, it's just that you inspired me to give our points of view.

#2: The trick here is not to buy so many points that it ties you down. Going other places is great, but in a sense it's irrelevant to the question of whether to buy DVC or not. The question is how often (and when and for how long) do you want to go to WDW? If it's at least every year or two, and you like what DVC has to offer, buy somewhat fewer points than you need to do that.

#3: I agree. Although we enjoy staying in a DVC suite, our favorite RESORT is still the Polynesian. and we plan to have at least a short stay there every two or three years. I admit belonging to DVC makes it difficult to plan a longer stay there as we only go once a year, but on the other hand belonging to DVC also makes it difficult to pay $400 a night...

#5: A matter of personal style. We always eat breakfast in our room, and though I don't mind running to Captain Cooks or Roaring Forks or wherever to grab some breakfast food and carry it back to our room, it is a real pain for four people to try and eat off one tiny end table. It is much, much nicer eating breakfast in a 1BR suite, with my favorite OJ in the fridge and a toaster for bagels or eggos. I can even scramble some eggs if I wish. (And last year I made three trips to Roaring Forks on the same morning in order to get what everyone wanted!)

And both DW and I appreciate having in-room laundry, so we don't have to bring all the clothes we own for a nine-day trip. And I don't have to try to cram extra luggage into our car and our rental car, etc.
------

On an entirely separate point, I think those who claim that it actually costs less to rent points than to buy are very likely correct at current prices. That's a viable option for people who are willing to do so and don't want the commitment of actually joining.

 

[DisFlan]

lark -

You make good points. We paid cash for DVC. We considered it as totally a luxury purchase, and there is NO way we'd have gone into debt for it. (We don't own any other timeshares.) Prior to owning DVC, we'd always taken fairly expensive deluxe WDW vacations and we've been going since 1977. The pay-out on our purchase comes to a total of just three WDW trips, not 10 or 20 years. (We bought a resale contract for a very good price.) We don't limit our travel to WDW. We also take vacations elsewhere during the year.

We're sorry we didn't join earlier than we did. If we'd joined when DVC was initially available, we'd have saved a great deal more over what we'd spent for deluxe accommodations. Deluxe rooms have increased a LOT over the last 13 years, and they'll continue to increase. DVC's yearly fees have increased modestly in comparison, in our opinion. We find the yearly fee to be very reasonable - only a small fraction of what we would have spent on a deluxe vacation. Aside from the fees, our current cost for staying at a DVC resort is zero - and will remain so through 2042.

I realize our approach wouldn't work for people who may vacation differently, but it's very nice for us.

DisFlan

 

[DisneyMim]

Interesting thread. Thanks Lewis, yes I always thought I was brilliant!! LOL!! We were one of the first people to buy way back in 1991. We made the decision with our hearts, never crunched numbers, didn't overthink, just went ahead and bought a piece of the magic that I had been wanting to buy since I saw Walt Disney on TV many years ago talking about his vision of EPCOT. FINALLY I owned at Disney!!!!! I can remember carring around the "artist rendering" pictures trying to convince people that I was actually buying a Disney timeshare. We bought site unseen, heck it wasn't even built. We absoultely love our DVC ownership. My kids grew up thinking Mickey and Minnie were their Uncle and Aunt and our beloved OKW villa was our second home. Over time we bought more points and then stopped when we decided we had enough for a two bedroom stay at OKW. Never liked any of the other DVC properties because we HATE the pull out sofa, our kids love having their own queen bed and their own bathroom. ALL THAT BEING SAID, we also love staying at the deluxe WDW resorts. We are extremely fortuante to be able to do this. We typically spend 10 days or so a year at OKW and the other week or so at one of the other resorts. We are huge Poly concierge fans and would not want to give up our stays there. We also are able to do other vacations, cruises, beach stays, etc. I honestly think that if we were not able to do this I would sell my DVC points in a heartbeat. DVC is not right for everyone. Yes it can save you money, but it can cause problems if you want to do other vacations. IMHO the best use of points is NOT outside of DVC resorts. I know they tell you you can use them for other vacations, and you can, but IMHO paying cash is a better option. I have never tried to convince anyone I know to buy into DVC. I have always given them very honest opinions and tell them to really think about how you want to use it. As for no maid service, for us it's wonderful. I love the fact that we get up late (night owls, and absolutely NO commando type touring for us) and get to have a nice breakfast with the four of us. I also love the washer and dryer. As an aside I have never used the oven. LOL!! My kids laugh at this. Speaking of kids, mine are now 21 and 17 and still love being with us on vacation. I hope to one day take their spouses and maybe our grandbabies! To be honest my husband and I are huge Disney fans and so arent's our kids. If they weren't or if something changed during the years I would not have hesitated selling our points. We were very very lucky to get in at day one, the free passes for years were a great perk and now I know that our points are worth much more than we paid for them. Everyone's situation is different. I would strongly advise against buying into DVC if money was an issue. Yes you can rent points, or even stay at a value or outside of Disney. There are many many options and they should all be explored before you sign on the dotted line!

Just my little ole 2 cents!!

 

[lark]

This is in response to Larks post above.....

The ONLY problem I see with your calculations is that it makes a lot of assumptions that really aren't true about most DVC buyers.

As an example, lets assume you want an SSR studio in December for 6 nights (Sunday-Friday) which is 77 points (I use this example because that is what we are doing this year and I am familiar with the costs).

These 77 points have roughly $300 in maintenance fees for the year.

Using the renting perspective you refer to above:
Assume you can rent these points for $10 a point. That would be $770 for the same trip. $770-$300 = $470 in savings that a DVC owner could apply to the initial purchase price of the points. So yes, it would take a significant amount of time to break even.

Using the cash equivalent basis perspective:
An SSR studio is going for approx. $230 a night through CRO using a code. With taxes, it comes to about $250 a night. Therefore, that stay on a cash basis is $250 x 6 nights = $1500. The DVC owner would then have $1200 of savings to apply to the initial purchase price of the points, and then breakeven would be much sooner, possibly in 5 years or so as they advertise.

The flaws in analysis on message boards such as these is assuming that people are willing to assume the risk of renting points. I would assume a large percentage of owners have no idea there even is a rental market. There is also a large percentage of people who may not trust renting points because as far as I know, there is no regulated or reputable rental service out there. It is basically putting blind trust into complete strangers.

In your assumption, you look at the purchase of a timeshare through the renters market which I believe only a small percentage of owners/perspective owners fall into. Assuming the increase in dues keeps pace with CRO's room rate increases (a pretty safe assumption) the cash equivalent perspective is probably a more valid approach for most owners to look at.

So yes, on paper, the renters perception does make DVC appear to be a poor investment for most people. However, the cash perspective makes financial sense to a lot of DVC owners, not to mention the intangible benefits you outlined in your post.

I hope this post makes sense!

I really don't think I can quibble with a single word in this post. My analysis only makes sense if you are comfortable renting, can deal with the administrative burdens and trust issues of renting, and believe renting will get you the same stuff you could get while owning points. I think that if any of those don't apply to a purchaser -- or if a purchaser is generally worried about trust or other renting issues, such as whether they'll be able to get a particular resort that they favor, which they can buy as their home resort -- then the cash equivalent model is the right one. My personal view is that I actually think the flexibility of renting is better -- you might like WL one year and BWV the other, and you can pretty much always find a person in the 7-11 month period with those as home resorts to line up for you. But I'm just one person, and don't think my views are more valid than any others.

As for the cash equivalent model, you're absolutely right -- it's no contest. Again, there are some little assumptions here; that you are not so enamored with the monorail deluxes that the DVC resorts seem like a big downgrade, or you absolutely require maid service. More than that, though, once you go condo or timeshare, it's very tough to go back. We go to San Diego every year and rent timeshares, and I just cannot fathom all those families paying more to do the same thing in hotel rooms.

This is a good discussion. Timeshares make a ton of sense for a lot of people, and particularly for compulsive planners -- good evidence that we all fit that bill if we're posting here on a regular basis -- they can be fun year round; you're always either staying or planning. They are, though complicated decisions that one can regret for many years of it's not thought through.

 

[SeaSpray]

Some good points Seaspray! I hope you know me well enough to know I'm not arguing with you on any of them, it's just that you inspired me to give our points of view.

#2: The trick here is not to buy so many points that it ties you down. Going other places is great, but in a sense it's irrelevant to the question of whether to buy DVC or not. The question is how often (and when and for how long) do you want to go to WDW? If it's at least every year or two, and you like what DVC has to offer, buy somewhat fewer points than you need to do that.

#3: I agree. Although we enjoy staying in a DVC suite, our favorite RESORT is still the Polynesian. and we plan to have at least a short stay there every two or three years. I admit belonging to DVC makes it difficult to plan a longer stay there as we only go once a year, but on the other hand belonging to DVC also makes it difficult to pay $400 a night...

#5: A matter of personal style. We always eat breakfast in our room, and though I don't mind running to Captain Cooks or Roaring Forks or wherever to grab some breakfast food and carry it back to our room, it is a real pain for four people to try and eat off one tiny end table. It is much, much nicer eating breakfast in a 1BR suite, with my favorite OJ in the fridge and a toaster for bagels or eggos. I can even scramble some eggs if I wish. (And last year I made three trips to Roaring Forks on the same morning in order to get what everyone wanted!)

And both DW and I appreciate having in-room laundry, so we don't have to bring all the clothes we own for a nine-day trip. And I don't have to try to cram extra luggage into our car and our rental car, etc.
------

Yes I know you well enough to know you are not arguing I appreciate and welcome your opinions!

And I do appreciate your comments on my comments (lol); you have many points which are quite valid for many people. While I possibly would use and enjoy some of the amenities that the DVC properties offer, they are not things I look for while on vacation. I will not tell you how much we spent on last year's Disney cruise, or this summer's stay at the Polynesian, for sending all of our laundry out It could probably pay for a couple of nights at the Polynesian. But they are luxuries that we allow for ourselves while on vacation. I realize that most people don't do this, but that's why I listed the above reasons as *our* reasons, alone

I think if we had thought of DVC when the boys were very little, we may have really considered it. They enjoy Disney World now, but have no real desire to go back any time soon. They are, however, REALLY looking forward to our next Disney cruise

I like your idea of buying a minimum of DVC points. Before I read this thread, I did not know that you can buy a small quantity from a DVC owner. Might be something to think about several years down the road, when the boys are out of college, and old SeaSpray might be thinking of taking much more frequent trips to see her old pal Mickey

 

[NMW]

I really find this thread interesting! We have 3 young children and were staying, and planning to stay, 9 days every year in a deluxe in early Dec, Oct or early Nov. Our fav resorts were the BC, BWI and the POLY.

We looked into DVC, but were not thrilled with the location of SSR (across from DTD). SSR was/is the only resort you can buy through Disney when we looked 2 years ago. Plus, not being able to add a meal plan (we loved the old gold/silver plans) and lack of daily housekeeping did not appeal to us. Well, truthfully, I was the only one who cared about the housekeeping thing. DH and the kids don't care about that at all- . We did like the idea of the 1 and 2 bdr villas and multiple balconies. We don't cook AT ALL on vacation-I mean nothing! We liked having a full size fridge for beer, wine, soda, water, and juice though. We LOVED the idea of a washer and dryer-that is huge for us with 3 kids.

What did it for us, was learning about these boards and the resale market. We bought a 230 resale BWV contract from the Timeshare Store (the DVC board sponsor). DH REALLY prefers the Epcot resorts location. He loves walking into Epcot and MGM and the Boardwalk location. We canceled our 2004 POLY stay and bought the BWV resale instead (naturally we had to add more money to cover the purchase). If we had to sell today, we MAKE money as the resale points have gone up about $10 a point. We have no intention of selling however!

We bought enough points for a 1 bdr in the Fall or Winter. You can put 5 people in a 1 bdr, you just have to bring an aerobed. Our kids are young 3,6,and 9. In 2 years we plan to buy an additional 150 points so we have 380 points. Enough for a 9 day, 2 bdr stay most times of the year except summer and holidays.

LOL, I have gotten over only having full housekeeping once a trip! We love the AP/PAP discount DVC members get. We plan to use our PAP's for 2 trips (Dec 05 and Oct 06). We bought the DDE card, so maybe not having the meal plan won't bother us either!

We figure we will break even in a few years. That's really not why we bought though. We love knowing we have a great Disney trip that's already paid for every year (except of course for park tickets, airfare and spending money). Booking at 11 months doesn't bother me-and you don't have to call day by day like dining! You can even book your home resort at 11 months and then at 7 months call and change it to one of the other DVC resorts if you like. I plan to try them all, but we are staying at our BWV home for our next 2 trips. The maintenance fees are really not a lot-about $4 a point, and you can have them spread into 12 payments taken monthly from your checking account. You can trade your points through Interval and go to about a thousand other places. Our friends used their DVC points to go to Aruba last year. They said it was great and DVC's member services would help you do that. We plan to just really go to Disney with our DVC!

We did not even consider renting points on the rent/tede board or from someplace like Ebay an option. We would just never, ever feel comfortable with that. We don't plan to ever rent our points either. If for some reason we could not travel in a given year, I would just bank our points for next year.

I can understand loving the monorail resorts. I love the POLY, but we also love the Epcot resorts, especially BWV. So, for us, it was an easy choice to make.

 

[whimsey]

Very interesting and informative thread. I'd be perfectly happy going to WDW at any opportunity and I try my hardest to do just that. We have owned 2 timeshares and have been able to visit lots of nice places.
2 years ago we stayed at the WL during the week after Christmas. It was a life ( or at least a vacation ) changing experience. I did not cook. I did not wash clothes. I did not pick up after anybody. I got up, got dressed, parked my fanny in my electric wheelchair, zipped over to Roaring Forks, filled up my resort mug with coffee and headed out to the pool to commune with the ducks. For the first time in 25 years I was not responsible for all of the care and feeding of the family. I know that has far less to do with location and lack oif kitchen than with my attitude and resolve but it was that vaction that sort of opened my eyes.
Please understand, I did not leave helpless children to fend for themselves, our youngest DD was 24 at the time. I would love to own DVC points but not until I'm sure that the idea of Mom gets a vacation also has really taken hold.