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

[DiznEeyore]

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!!

 

[MareSINY]

Hi Amy,

Actually, can you share some info with me? LOL I'm curious about how the DVC program works. How much does it cost yearly and how many points does it take to earn a vacation? I read that you have to initially purchase at least 150 shares, but do you keep paying for those same shares every year, or do you just purchase more shares? Or are you not buying shares but points? The whole thing is confusing and intriguing to me at the same time.

Thanks!

Mary Ellen

 

[NCombs]

Well, for us, we went last year and are going again next year. But, it won't be something we will do on a regular basis that would justify the investment and the monthly fee. My husband is not a big Disney fan so it won't be something we do after the kids move on.

I have to say, we are renting points next year to stay in a 1 bedroom villa at the BWV and I am so excited. I think the DVC properties look great and I am looking forward to it a lot. Maybe I can make a believer out of the hubby after we try it out?

What is your home resort and how long have you been a DVC owner? Do you go to Hilton Head or Vero Beach?

 

[Sammie]

Hi Amy,

Actually, can you share some info with me? LOL I'm curious about how the DVC program works. How much does it cost yearly and how many points does it take to earn a vacation? I read that you have to initially purchase at least 150 shares, but do you keep paying for those same shares every year, or do you just purchase more shares? Or are you not buying shares but points? The whole thing is confusing and intriguing to me at the same time.

Thanks!

Mary Ellen

I would suggest you post this on the DVC forum where you will get the answers to your questions and to read the info listed here on the site about DVC.

150 points is the least you can buy, and you can buy up to 2000 at any location. As to how many you need, that truly is a personal decision and would be based on how often you plan to go, how long you are going to stay and what size villa you need and where it is located.

Once your point purchased is paid for, much like a mortgage you pay yearly dues for upkeep, and insurance etc, called maintenance dues. They are so much per point based on which resort you buy into.

 

[Aneille]

Hi Amy,

Actually, can you share some info with me? LOL I'm curious about how the DVC program works. How much does it cost yearly and how many points does it take to earn a vacation? I read that you have to initially purchase at least 150 shares, but do you keep paying for those same shares every year, or do you just purchase more shares? Or are you not buying shares but points? The whole thing is confusing and intriguing to me at the same time.

Thanks!

Mary Ellen

I am a new member but I think I can help you out.

You purchase pts. How many pts you use on your vacation is determined by where you stay, what type of accomodations (studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, or grandvilla), season you stay and of course length of stay. You can see the 2005 pt charts here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

If you purchase direct from Disney than you need to purchase at least 150 pts. They usually are running incentives to purchase into their newest resort which is currently SSR. But you can purchase any other sold-out resort through Disney as well but there is no incentive and often times there is a wait due to it being sold-out.

If you purchase through a resale than you can often times get smaller pt contracts under 150 pts. This is because once you are a member you can add on in increments of 25 pts and up and they are seperate contracts so people sell them off individually.

You only pay once but you pay a yearly maintence fee which can change. Each DVC resort has different fee's.

To determine how many pts you need you really need to think about when you usually go, how often and what size accomadations you need.

Say you purchase 150 pts, every year you will get 150 pts. You can bank them for the following year and you can borrow from next years but you can only bank for up to 3 years. The pts do expire so you do need to use them or you will lose them. You can rent them however. The bank borrow means that if you plan to go every 2 years than 150 pts is really 300 pts for your trip.

There is a lot more but that is the basics that came right to me. You can read over on the DVC boards here at the Dis and get a ton of info. We took a tour at WDW back in September than bought right before our trip in May but we did a resale. It is a ton of info and I learned tons from the msg boards but it really helped to have the background from the tour.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Mary Ellen: Sammie's suggestion of checking out the DVC boards here on the DIS is a great one. The only thing I would add to that info is that 150 points is the minimum you can buy THROUGH DISNEY. You can buy a smaller amount of points directly through a resale company (such as the Timeshare Store, who sponsors the DVC boards here). Then once you're in, you can add on to your purchase through Disney buy buying as few as 25 points at a time. You can browse current DVC resales on the Timeshare Store's site ... they're usually at least $10 per point lower than the current Disney rate, and you have the option of buying at *all* of the DVC resorts.

NCombs: Our home resort is VWL and we've owned since 2001. It was my dh's first choice (he looooves log homes and railroads, so it was a perfect fit) and I love it there, too. We've never been to Vero or Hilton Head -- Vero doesn't really appeal to us (we're not really "beach vacation" people) but I would like to try HH at some point.

DVC has given us nice flexibility -- as I mentioned, we've stayed at the regular non-DVC WDW resorts and have also used points for a Disney cruise. But the best use of points is always the regular DVC resorts, so that's where the majority of our stays have been.

 

[zagafi]

Honestly? I *loathe* the lack of daily mousekeeping service! Sure, I could pay extra for it, but no thanks. If I'm on vacation I don't want to feel like I'm at home in any way, shape or form. Wet towels and trash piling up are not my idea of a good time.

We've rented points twice so we can make an informed decision and it's just not for us.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Honestly? I *loathe* the lack of daily mousekeeping service! Sure, I could pay extra for it, but no thanks. If I'm on vacation I don't want to feel like I'm at home in any way, shape or form. Wet towels and trash piling up are not my idea of a good time.

We've rented points twice so we can make an informed decision and it's just not for us.

LOL!!! I'm just the opposite. I loathe the "intrusion" of mousekeeping (they always seem to be in the room when we want to come back for a break) and love the convenience of just throwing towels in the washer. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!!

BTW, did you know you can pay a small fee for daily mousekeeping even while staying in a DVC villa?

 

[scanne]

DH and I have considered buying twice. Once on our honeymoon in 2000 and once this year (2005). In hindsight, we should have bought BWV on our honeymoon.

The reasons we keep going back to as a reason NOT to buy are:

1. Length of vacations
2. Annual dues

We like to go for at least 10 days and prefer the deluxe resorts. This year we will have spent a total of 20 nights at the Wilderness Lodge and Polynesian. I don't know how many DVC points that would be for, let's say a studio at VWL, but it's probably more than we could afford in one big chunk. It's easier for us to save our money for several months to pay for 9 nights at the Polynesian than it is to fork over $10,000.00 or more PLUS dues each year. I don't want to be locked in to only one week vacation a year with 150 points. And I also don't want to bank my points and have to skip a year. I also would want to stay in a one-bedroom villa b/c we have two little kids, so 150 points wouldn't go too far. And because I'm a teacher, my long vacations have to be in the summer, not in Jan./Feb. when the points per night are lowest.

So I just don't think DVC is right for us. I'll save my money each year for my week and a half at Disney. I'm fine with that.

 

[ducklite]

We always stayed deluxe, usually CL. We bought DVC as a way to be able to treat friends and relatives to WDW as our guests as far as their accomodations go--something many wouldn't have been able to do otherwise.

We really have enjoyed owning DVC. We started with 210 points at the BW, added on 250 at the BCV, and then after we moved to Florida we sold the BCV points at a profit! We kept the BWV points though, and will use those for occasional nights at WDW or trips to Vero, or trades outside of the DVC program.

Anne

 

[KristiKelly]

Dh was not a big Disney fan but once we started taking our kids, it started to "grow on him". We really like the deluxe resorts, we enjoy having a balcony. DH never liked the idea of DVC but in 2003 we rented points and stayed at BCV. He was sold!!! We took the tour and bought 180 points at SSR, not my 1st choice but DH liked the extra years in the contract. We are staying in a 1 BR next month @ BWV and can't wait.

Honestly? I *loathe* the lack of daily mousekeeping service! Sure, I could pay extra for it, but no thanks. If I'm on vacation I don't want to feel like I'm at home in any way, shape or form. Wet towels and trash piling up are not my idea of a good time.

We've rented points twice so we can make an informed decision and it's just not for us.

This is actually a good thing for us. We stayed at AKL in 2002 and Poly last year and both times mousekeeping would knock on our door before 9:00 a.m. We're not early risers, not even our kids @ DisneyWorld, so that bothered us. Also, last year we went back to the room after breakfast to pick up the camera bag before going to the parks. When DH walked in, the maid was using the bathroom (#2 and the room smelled) . I don't know who was more embarrassed, DH or the maid. I prefer not having someone come into our room. I don't mind hanging towels to dry, it's not that big of an inconvenience for me UNLIKE waiting for the maid to finish "her business".

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We like to vacation other places other than WDW. We have listened to the Disney spiel of time shares as well as the Marriott and Sheraton. I just don't think its a very good investment. And as others have said, I want to go when I want to and not worry about points and maintanence fees. Its just not our cup of tea.

 

[minnie61650]

LOL!!! I'm just the opposite. I loathe the "intrusion" of mousekeeping (they always seem to be in the room when we want to come back for a break) and love the convenience of just throwing towels in the washer. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!!

BTW, did you know you can pay a small fee for daily mousekeeping even while staying in a DVC villa?

Yep that small daily fee is $25.

The reason why I didn't buy into the DVC back in the 80's when a villa at OKW was first offered at a mere $8,000 to $12,000 is :
1. We go on several vacations a year.
2. We don't go to Disney every year.
3. We want the flexabity to go when we want to go and where we to go.
4. Condos and timeshares are not what I want on a vaction
I love mouse keeping,having clean towels,going out to eat...etc.
That's a big part of a vacation to me.
5. I don't want maintance fees that keep going up.
6. I don't want to bother with renting out points if I'm not going to use my timeshare in a given year.
Some people enjoy being a DVC member and I think that it is wonderful that Disney offers that option.
Just not for me. Thank you very much.
Linda

 

[Brier Rose]

We keep going back and forth over buying or not buying. I like the idea of "owning" a piece of the magic, but for us it's just not cost effective.

We usually take about 4 trips per year, one for 10 nights, and 3 at 4 nights each. We also like for some of those nights to be over weekends. That's A LOT of points!!! We would be looking at an investment of $40,000 or more.

From the best I could calculate, if we had the urge to have the "home like" feel, we would be MUCH better off to rent points from a member, or just stay on a cash ressie. We come out cheaper(though not in the long run), plus we can stay where we want, when we want, for as long as we want with maid service to boot.

I really like changing where we stay based on the season...GF for Spring, BC for Summer, WL for Fall, etc...

Like ducklite, we like to bring family down with us who wouldn't be able to afford the stay. We have still come out cheaper to either rent points or just pay for their room.

Even still I keep trying to find reasons to buy DVC!

 

[bridgettesmom]

To be honest, we have talked about it and even requested more information about DVC. Probably do one of the tours on our next trip in a couple of weeks. We even considered buying resale, but, after I read that the one of the wings at the CR may become DVC we decided to wait. If it's true we are definately buying there as we spent so much time at the MK it would be the perfect location. So, as of right now we are waiting....patiently waiting!!!LOL

 

[videogal1]

The rules, the rules, the rules.....

 

[cmputerdazed]

How do you rent points and are there any DVC by Disneyland. All the ones I saw looked like they were in Fl or the east?

 

[spoon full of sugar]

Dizneeyeore you can use dvc points to stay at regular reorts? how does that work, how many points per night?

 

[Luv2Travel]

The one and only reason that we have not purchased into the DVC is because my family of 5 can stay in a deluxe room with two real beds and a daybed comfortably. Whereas in the DVC we would have to buy enough points to stay in a two bedroom. Even if the DVC allowed us to stay in a studio or one bedroom we would not have two real beds and a daybed at any of the resorts (Please correct me if I'm wrong on that). Only OKW has two beds, but no daybed. That kills me! I just don't get why it's so hard for a family of 5 to stay at WDW. I guess they have to draw the line somewhere. I also don't like all of the sofabeds instead of two real beds in most of the villas. I know the day is coming that we would be more comfy in two rooms, but by then we probably will not be going to WDW as often. Oh well, there could be worse things in life - couldn't there?

 

[DiznEeyore]

How do you rent points and are there any DVC by Disneyland. All the ones I saw looked like they were in Fl or the east?

There are no DVC resorts in California, but you can use points to stay at the Disneyland resorts.

Dizneeyeore you can use dvc points to stay at regular reorts? how does that work, how many points per night?

Yes, you can, however, the points are really high to do that. Using points at the DVC resorts is always more cost-effective, but sometimes it's fun to change things up!

Even if the DVC allowed us to stay in a studio or one bedroom we would not have two real beds and a daybed at any of the resorts (Please correct me if I'm wrong on that). Only OKW has two beds, but no daybed.

You're absolutely right about that. Even a one-bedroom only has a king bed in the master suite and a sofabed in the living room.


This has been really interesting to me to learn the reasons behind everyone's decisions. I can definitely see how if you have a large family that you'd be limited to a 2-bedroom (although personally, I can't imagine having a large family in one hotel room, but that's just me!) or if you take many trips a year that it would be cost-prohibitive (although again, to me, I would think it would still be cheaper to pay maintenance fees after the initial cost than to keep paying for deluxe resort trips every time -- you "break even" at a certain point, unless of course you get awesome discounts for each trip).

But everyone's logic is different, and if you like ultimate flexibility, DVC definitely has its limitations, and that can be frustrating (we've run into that a few times, too -- being limited by our use year).

Thanks so much for everyone's input -- it's been fascinating!!