Getting cold feet...

[JimV]

Hi everyone,

We purchased 320 AKV points last week while we were on the BYE Disney Magic cruise. DW has wanted to purchase some form of timeshare for years and I got this as a present to her. We also received 160 developer points. We are paying cash.

That's the background.

So I am just doublechecking things and saw that I can get Hilton Grand Vacation club for half the price for a 2-3 BR Platinum week which basically gets me in anytime I wish.

I know all of the reasons to stay onsite.

But I just need to know why I would pay almost 2x and what helped you make the choice between these two kinds of resorts.

Thanks,

 

[Granny]

It's really the same decision process as the choice between the regular WDW resorts vs off-site hotels & condos. You will always be able to stay cheaper off-site in Orlando and it will often be that kind of difference or even more.

For many, including my family, staying on-site is an integral part of the enjoyment of WDW. For literally millions of other visitors a year, it isn't worth the large premium one pays to stay on-site.

DVC will never "pay for itself" vs staying off-site or even buying other less expensive timeshares.

You indicate that you know all the reasons for staying on-site so I won't elaborate on that. For us, staying off-site substantially reduces the enjoyment of our WDW vacations. So it was an easy decision for us to join DVC. For us, staying on-site is an affordable luxury.

If the added atmosphere, amenities and convenience of staying on-site at WDW aren't enough for you, then you would probably be wise to back out of the deal if you still have time.


You can buy similar size cars for $20,000 or another make/model for $40,000 and each will get you from point A to point B. Each consumer has to decide if the extra features or benefits of the more expensive car are worth it.

Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you intend to visit WDW or DL or other DVC resorts frequently enough, you will be okay. However, if you bought to trade, you just bought a very expensive trader.

I think you can still cancel your purchase if you act quickly.

 

[rinkwide]

...But I just need to know why I would pay almost 2 (times more)...

Do it for the animals.

 

[mickeymorse]

I'm in agreement with Granny. Having stayed offsite twice. We have come to realize that there really is no other way to do Disney than onsite. The reason we are purchasing our first contract now!!! Saving money wasn't a good enough reason not to.

 

[AKV707]

For DW and I, staying offsite has never been an option. Having been to WDW at least once a year for over 12 years, DVC made sense for us. Being able to book a vacation at AKV at 11 months in advacne is a grest advantage to us.

So since we were already used to the onsite experience,(and paying for it) DVC was really the only timeshare that we would be interested in.

If you plan on going to WDW at least once a year, and you want to stay in deluxe Disney accomodations, with the ability to have booking priority at your home resort, then DVC is likely for you.

Good luck with your decision. I am sure there was a reason why you began the process of buying DVC, so I know that it will be a tough decision.

 

[tomandrobin]

For us, we wouldn't even consider visiting WDW staying off-site. We like advantage of the EMH, Magic Express and the Disney Transportation. No rental car, no parking lots, no driving to and from the parks especially after being exhuasted after a park day. If someone wants to go back to the room, no problem just catch the bus/ferry/monorail. Separate parks, again no problem just catch a ride on the Disney transportation.

 

[snowbunny]

What a great present! better than jewelry any day.

I have heard HGVC is beautiful. But -- onsite is just a lot more fun, more relaxing in every way. If you have the cash to spare, you will enjoy it more than staying in comparable acccomdation off site, at least in my experience.

 

[JimV]

Yeah -- I think we are going to move forward (maybe )

I think we will try and do a few days at AKV this year with DS16 and DS13 (daughters are in college) and then next year take advantage of Hawaii for our 25th anniversary. We were thinking an Alaska cruise as an option as well, but just saw in the new literature that DVC dropped that option. That's actually part of the problem as I was planning on this purchase funding our 25th wedding anniversary trip in 2009.

Everyone's right, when we go to Disney we want to stay onsite. Now I just need to pull the trigger.

 

[castleri]

One thing to consider if you haven't already is that with that number of points it might be best to have it with two contracts. That way if for some reason you decide you do not need so many points you could sell one and keep the other. You cannot sell off just a portion of a large contract. You might want to do what some do and have a DVC contract and another timeshare such as you mentioned in your original post and that would then be possible. I can't imagine selling my contracts but do have them as OKW 220, SSR150 and BCV 150. I figure you never know what life will throw at you and this way I should be able to always hang on to at least one of them.

 

[bzzelady]

I totally agree with what Castleri has to say regarding splitting the contracts into smaller portions. My initial 2 SSR contract are 150 points each, my 3 VWL contracts are 50 points each, and my new 3 OKW contracts are 50 points each. My guide actually recommended to me that I do my add-ons this way and to split my initial 300 points when I was purchasing because at the time we thought we were going to be blessed with another child-this way, contracts would be able to be equally divided for each childs use.

 

[JimV]

That's what we are doing with 2x160 contracts. Thought that was best for flexibility's sake.

Talked to DW about this a few minutes ago and we will be calling MS to take care of the payment arrangements.

 

[BoosGram]

Yeah -- I think we are going to move forward (maybe )

We were thinking an Alaska cruise as an option as well, but just saw in the new literature that DVC dropped that option. That's actually part of the problem as I was planning on this purchase funding our 25th wedding anniversary trip in 2009.

I'm not sure this is true. I just looked under the Disney Adventurer collection and the cruises are still there, plus I didn't see any time disclaimer saying the cruises will be ending any time soon. You may want to check with DVC on this before discounting Alaska. We would also be very disappointed if they did discontinue these.

 

[Brian Noble]

Some people find the value in Disney resorts for Disney prices, others do not. I know people who own both DVC and HGVC, and they all seem to enjoy their ownerships. So, what works for some may not work for others.

That's why Baskin Robins has 31 flavors, I guess.

 

[llmurphy17]

For us, we wouldn't even consider visiting WDW staying off-site. We like advantage of the EMH, Magic Express and the Disney Transportation. No rental car, no parking lots, no driving to and from the parks especially after being exhuasted after a park day. If someone wants to go back to the room, no problem just catch the bus/ferry/monorail. Separate parks, again no problem just catch a ride on the Disney transportation.

I agree 100%. With three young kids staying off-site and not having disney transportation will make the WDW vacation stressful and hectic. And with magic express not having to worry about bringing all the luggage to the hotel from the airport and vice versa is wonderful.

EMH is the extra bonus

 

[3DisneyKids]

320 points is A LOT to start with. If you are getting cold feet, you might want to drop down a bit. And then I would suggest buying a second timeshare (on the resale market) that has dirtect II access. There are amazing deals to be had on the resale market. And remember, with direct access to II, you never have to stay at the resort where you own. Check the TUG boards for more info. and details.

Or just wait for Dean to chime in....

 

[JimV]

320 didn't seem like a lot of points when I was looking at a 2 BR Savanna View during the "Dream" and "Magic" periods and taking a 5 days in Hawaii Grand Wailea (Concierge Collection) for our 25th anniversary.

320 points year one, plus 320 points in year two plus the 160 developer points (which we have to use in the next seven months) gives me 800 points for the next two years. My plan uses 860 points (315 for AKV the week we want to go + 545 for five nights in Hawaii) so I was thinking that maybe I needed to get another 30 points so I could bank enough for the next year. Now I am wondering if I have too many already (although we have a long-term goal to have 1000+ points so we can spend 4-6 weeks staying at a DVC resort during the winter when we are in retirement).

Check the TUG boards for more info. and details.

Or just wait for Dean to chime in....

Since I am a newbie, what is TUG? And who is Dean?

 

[BroganMc]

Since I am a newbie, what is TUG? And who is Dean?

Dean's one of our resident timeshare experts here on the DIS. He educates us all about the various programs and their worth.

TUG is the Timeshare Users Group forum where people discuss all the timeshare programs out there and not just Disney. They've taught me a thing or two.

FWIW, we owned Marriott for years before we bought DVC. And 3 of our 4 Marriott weeks are in Orlando. It is cheaper to buy and own offsite. You do get larger accommodations and availability tends to be better closer to your travel dates. You also get full access to Interval International. But while we can stay in a very nice 2 or 3-bedroom apartment at Marriott one week we also need to provide all our own transportation and carpool to Disney.

That may not seem like a big deal until you have to fly in from out of town or half your party can't decide when to leave in the morning, or else someone gets cranky mid-day wanting to leave while others want to ride Soarin' again.

We use our Marriott timeshare to travel everywhere but Disney and to augment our time in Orlando. Disney is used entirely to stay onsite. And we've also learned to maximize our DVC time by switching to studios (we can get 3 weeks with our 320 points at SSR).

As it's worked out I'm satisfied with our Marriott timeshare. We have enough to last us the forseeable future and it has financed overnight road trips as well as 10 days in London. But I wouldn't give up my DVC ownership (in fact I'd like to add on). My DVC resort has slightly better amenities and the transportation can't be beat. If I could care less about onsite stays I'd find DVC ownership far too expensive. (Which I did for years while I was buying Marriott.)

You may find the solution to your long term plan are fewer DVC points and another timeshare at resale prices for offsite vacations. Dean will advise how the numbers crank out.

 

[JimV]

Thanks for the acronym help.

I was just checking some other threads and learned that I can't just get 50 more points from Vero Beach and use that to augment my AKV points for an 11 month out reservation. Ouch -- that was almost an expensive mistake to buy 50 resale points to get the few extra points we needed. Although, having a few days on the beach is always a good thing as well.

Okay -- Okay -- Okay

I'm just going to payoff this thing so you guys can say, "Welcome Home" instead of answering the OCD planning questions.

 

[nunzia]

It's no problem and you shouldn't rush. Alot of money at stake. It's a hard decision, and believe me..most people here went through the same agonizing period before buying. Best of luck!