Girls Only Disneyland Trip ~ Old thread, link to new one in first post

[Stacerita]

I know, just waiting very patiently for the stories to start flying!! Of course I'll have my camera with me.

Just wait....they are good.

I wonder if your lawyer-voice comes through in written communication?

Ok so I am feeling like a creep sort of. Or sneaky or something.
OH Hi Molly Where have ya been?
Ok so a few months ago I got a letter from DCS, my child support for my oldest has been the same since he was 1. I have never thought about having it modified, or have even given it a thought. So anyway last wk I got a call. I found it strange. But the call was from DCS saying that they think my child support is extremely low for a child his age and the wage brackets in which we are both in..WTH Ok whateva...So then yesterday I get a letter from DCS along with my child support asking me if I have applied for foodstamps? Well the letter had a set amount that I could recieve. WHAT?
Ok so am I am missing something here? I am clearly not poor. But does the state of Washington think that I am? I was confused and slightly amused!! So I called my BFF to tell her about it..both of us are now really confused.
Well long story short, I just finished filling out the paper work to modify my child support. But in a way I feel sneaky. I am not sure why. I just feel bad when he (the donor ) gets the paper work. But in a way I am not.
After all he did win $4500 in Vegas last wk, and is sending money for half of Jordans bike. Its a Zebra and honestly the child IS NOT GETTING the bike until he has earned his half of it.


I am sitting here highly amused that I can afford to go to Disney, but the state thinks I need or should apply for foodstamps.


Oh, btw...all of that paperwork has given me a huge headache..
Is it 7:30 yet?

You are just going to get what you deserve. If the state feels you are entitled to more, then so be it. Its for the kids anyway.

Stacerita thank you for the names!!!!

You welcome.

Ok--so which Diva is getting the crib?

I will sleep in the tub before there.

I hear Beth's into kinky....

So sadly, this monkey butler won't be able to get the DVC. Although i want it i want it i want it with alllllllllllllllllllllllll my VeRuCa SaLt hearT!

 

[QueenDoOver]

Is that an invitation?

Was gonna say you will have to talk to Debra about that, but sounds like we'll all be sharing. I dibs an edge.

Well, I called Joanne today about the refund and while she was very pleasant, she was doubtful I would get a refund. The reason was because I did not book and Ent Rate when I reserved and did not show the card and inquire when I checked IN. I did ask when I checked OUT and the man said I had to call Lorealle. I tried to explain to her that others in our group had a card but I thought Lorealle said she would extend the Ent Rate to ALL of us regardless of if and when we produced a card to the front desk.

I am not going to fight them on it, since it's $60 ($15X4 days), but if I don't get it, I think it shows poor customer relations on their part.

Note to self: Move to Washington ASAP!

You're not a creep or sneaky, you're just getting what you deserve!

I really think that the rate at HOJO is Lorealle's fight to have for us. Or she needs to explain to us why we don't get it. Either way, she is our point gal and I trust that she will handle it. I also sent her an email.

OK Divas! I just booked the Kids Suite at the HoJo for October 21-25. She said that they are starting to sell them in July. They are all HWY facing, and price is based on time of year. The kids room is completely seperate from the parents room, and there is a door that can be closed. TWO BATHROOMS! They will have the new bedding and a fridge and microwave. The kid's room is pirate themed. I am paying$113.90 a night with our Disboard discount of 15%. The room will sleep 6, so if you can stand HWY side, I bet it would be a great room for those who really want to pack them in. NO roll away in the kids room allowed, but a crib is. There is an AP discount of 20% as usual. I'm excited to check them out!

Can't wait to hear about your stay!

I found this...the dates are older... but it gives a general outline....so PLEASE don't tell me i'm wronG wroNg WRONG... cuz i'm saying this is old but a general outline to begin with.

What does it cost?
There are two cost components to DVC ownership: the initial purchase price and Annual Dues.

The initial purchase is essentially the fee paid to an entity called Disney Vacation Development to acquire an ownership in DVC. In simpler terms, Disney makes most of its money by selling points in the first place. This is their profit after the tremendous expenses incurred in building and selling points to members.

As of this writing DVC points retail for $104 each with promotional discounts in the neighborhood of $10 per point. The minimum purchase is 160 points, meaning that the minimum amount required to buy into DVC is a little more than $15,000.

Don't panic yet because DVC will help you finance the purchase. More on that in another topic.

The other cost component of DVC ownership is Annual Dues. A "member" in the Disney Vacation Club is actually a deeded part-owner of a Disney resort hotel. One of the obligations of being an owner is to help pay the operating costs and upkeep of the resort. It's similar to buying a home--you pay a large sum up-front (or take out a mortgage) to acquire the property, and then you still have to pay utility bills, property taxes, lawn care, replace the roof, etc.

DVC dues cover similar expenses at the resorts--items ranging from the salaries and benefits of front desk and housekeeping cast members to theme park transportation (bus, boat) to property taxes.

Dues vary by resort and are expressed in terms of a set dollar amount per point. In 2007, the dues at Saratoga Springs Resort are $4.12 per point. An owner with 200 points would then be responsible for $824 in dues for the year. The dues can be paid in one lump sum or debited to a US checking or savings account each month.

So, to buy 200 points you could be looking at $15,000 up front plus another $800 per year ($65 per month) in dues. That may sound like a lot, but check out our Breakeven Analysis and see if you still think so.

So where is the break even analysis?? That is what I need!

 

[bumbershoot]

What's funny is that after a few days of talks, we realized that we wouldn't even have a need to own at GCH (b/c we're very flexible, don't tend to book anything 11 months out, and therefore would feel guilty about "taking" 160 points "away" from someone with a deep yearning to book at GCH), and hubby in fact likes the others for sale more (villas at AK and Bay Lake Towers). And that even just TALKING about DVC has made him way more excited about going to WDW than he was before (and he'd only recently gotten into my pre-pre-plans for that trip!) b/c he'd far more stay at a studio with a little kitchen than even at the cheapest Value resort.

I would have never known that if we weren't talking so much about DVC!

I did, however, find out that I had a misunderstanding about the required downpayment...it's more than double what I thought it was! Whoopsie, glad hubby had that question (and kept asking me for the absolute answer) and put it on the list of things to ask the guide!



Hubby's been a major collector all his life (thwarted heavily and tragically by a stereotypical "mother threw away WHAT comic book??????????" moment that she hid from him for 5 years) and is fine with selling things as long as it's for the right reason. He got sick of most of his comics a couple years ago and sold them without anything to put that money towards, and that was a bad idea...but he still has collectibles, and feels that this would be a good place to put the money into!

But we're still talking, and trying to take ALL sense of urgency OUT of the equation, which is difficult with the guide saying things like "these incentives will be gone on the 25th, and incentives *always* go down" (which is when he rattled off what the incentives were in sept '07). But we must be Zen! It would be a GREAT value for us, even though we've not yet been to WDW and don't require luxury at DLR, b/c we value travel over just about anything else...just not sure it's the right time.


Laurie, $800/month! How many points would you be buying, woman?!!???

 

[Stacerita]

Was gonna say you will have to talk to Debra about that, but sounds like we'll all be sharing. I dibs an edge

Then I dibs the other edge.

 

[toocherie]

What's funny is that after a few days of talks, we realized that we wouldn't even have a need to own at GCH (b/c we're very flexible, don't tend to book anything 11 months out, and therefore would feel guilty about "taking" 160 points "away" from someone with a deep yearning to book at GCH), and hubby in fact likes the others for sale more (villas at AK and Bay Lake Towers). And that even just TALKING about DVC has made him way more excited about going to WDW than he was before (and he'd only recently gotten into my pre-pre-plans for that trip!) b/c he'd far more stay at a studio with a little kitchen than even at the cheapest Value resort.

I would have never known that if we weren't talking so much about DVC!

I did, however, find out that I had a misunderstanding about the required downpayment...it's more than double what I thought it was! Whoopsie, glad hubby had that question (and kept asking me for the absolute answer) and put it on the list of things to ask the guide!



Hubby's been a major collector all his life (thwarted heavily and tragically by a stereotypical "mother threw away WHAT comic book??????????" moment that she hid from him for 5 years) and is fine with selling things as long as it's for the right reason. He got sick of most of his comics a couple years ago and sold them without anything to put that money towards, and that was a bad idea...but he still has collectibles, and feels that this would be a good place to put the money into!

But we're still talking, and trying to take ALL sense of urgency OUT of the equation, which is difficult with the guide saying things like "these incentives will be gone on the 25th, and incentives *always* go down" (which is when he rattled off what the incentives were in sept '07). But we must be Zen! It would be a GREAT value for us, even though we've not yet been to WDW and don't require luxury at DLR, b/c we value travel over just about anything else...just not sure it's the right time.


Laurie, $800/month! How many points would you be buying, woman?!!???

Molly, you know that I trust my guide, but I'm not sure that I agree with him on incentives always going "down." When I bought SSR, I got matching developer points, two APs and a per point discount. With my GCV purchase I got the cruise in lieu of hte developer points (it was my choice for either), as well as the discount and the APs.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Hello VIP Ladies:
Thanks to those of you that sent me your story. l have put it all together and submitted it to the supervisor of the gal that did the scheduling. I spoke with her briefly and she will be giving me a call after she reads through everything and does some research.


For those of you that have not yet emailed me your address, please do so when you get a second. I will be sending out checks as soon as I know what Disney is going to do.

Debra, we'll figure things out for you after we see what happens okay.


And just as an aside: I truly did enjoy spending the morning with all of you, and that with the Lily Belle was probably worth $40 to me

 

[wendylady36]

Molly, you know that I trust my guide, but I'm not sure that I agree with him on incentives always going "down."

He's a man, and men can't be trusted.

 

[Stacerita]

He's a man, and men can't be trusted.

You on the man hating train today?

 

[wendylady36]

You on the man hating train today?

Well, I got on 24 years ago and I just don't seem to care enough to get off. Chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga, choo-choo!

 

[bumbershoot]

So where is the break even analysis?? That is what I need!

That depends on how you travel now or plan to travel in the near future...


For us, to break even would take longer, b/c we haven't yet spent huge amounts of money at Disney hotels. We plan to, however! ha ha, well, not really...we don't really have much overwhelming need to stay at a place like the Grand Floridian...we would probably be happy at Moderates. So our average FUTURE cost for vacations there would be lower than some, and it would take more of our future average vacations, or the cost of them, to equal the cost of DVC.



These are numbers from just yesterday. The minimum to get into DVC directly is 160 points. Right now the points are $112 each. Right now, and I'll just state it for Bay Lake Towers and Animal Kingdom's villas, b/c that's actually what we're looking at and it's what is for sale TODAY, not at the end of this month, there are incentives listed here. (easier than listing them out)

According to the guide, the required downpayment is $1720. If you did that and then financed it all through them, in a 10 year loan at 14+& interest (aka worst case scenario, BUT know that you can prepay at any time without penalty...it's simple, not compound interest), the monthly payment for that loan is $258.26.

There are also maintenance fees, and he estimated those to be 50.93 per month, though I'm not sure what resort he used for those. And those change every year.

If you think about 50 years of Disney vacations and estimate how much you'd be spending on those...and compare it even to that worst case scenario, you can see that the worst case financing TOTAL over the 10 years is far less than you'd be spending on 50 years of Disney vacations.

Since we have family out there (living in small places where we wouldn't want to stay and so would be at WDW anyway) and we adore Disney, it really makes sense, even in that worst case full financing (other than the down payment) scenario.

 

[jordansmomma]

Wow... it's all so tempting.
And i'm like a kid in the candy shop when it comes to Disney.

But i need to be still and remember that i could pay off my sons condo with that, or save it for my grandchildrens college.

So sadly, this monkey butler won't be able to get the DVC. Although i want it i want it i want it with alllllllllllllllllllllllll my VeRuCa SaLt hearT!

Veruca Salt...

Then I dibs the other edge.

Guess I will be snuggled in the middle...

Hello VIP Ladies:
Thanks to those of you that sent me your story. l have put it all together and submitted it to the supervisor of the gal that did the scheduling. I spoke with her briefly and she will be giving me a call after she reads through everything and does some research.


For those of you that have not yet emailed me your address, please do so when you get a second. I will be sending out checks as soon as I know what Disney is going to do.

Debra, we'll figure things out for you after we see what happens okay.


And just as an aside: I truly did enjoy spending the morning with all of you, and that with the Lily Belle was probably worth $40 to me

Ok sounds good to me. Do you want me to send you a different check?

 

[Stacerita]

Well, I got on 24 years ago and I just don't seem to care enough to get off. Chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga, choo-choo!

So that must make you almost the conductor.

 

[toocherie]

And just as an aside: I truly did enjoy spending the morning with all of you, and that with the Lily Belle was probably worth $40 to me

DITTO!!!!!

 

[fairykin]

I haven't known what to write Tracy.

 

[Stacerita]

Guess I will be snuggled in the middle...

 

[bumbershoot]

Molly, you know that I trust my guide, but I'm not sure that I agree with him on incentives always going "down." When I bought SSR, I got matching developer points, two APs and a per point discount. With my GCV purchase I got the cruise in lieu of hte developer points (it was my choice for either), as well as the discount and the APs.

I actually agree, even though I quoted him.

When talking about late '07's incentives, he rattled off "x amount of cash to get at that moment" (x being twice as much as the incentive/point being offered, at least at BLT and AK's villas, now in a giftcard), "total cost about 1K less, they were giving the last year's points" (what's the difference between that and the developer's/incentive points, right?)....and that made hubby's brain hurt, but I reminded him that they were ONLY selling SSR at that point with only bare hints of talking about GCH and even BLT at that point, with NO whispers of TreeHouse Villas back then! Not that I read about here, at least.

So I don't totally agree with it...but it's what he said, and it's what I have to work against with hubby, b/c he's a salesman's dream at weak moments.

 

[fairykin]

The Lillybelle was WONDERFUL! Thank You for making sure we had that special experience Tracey.

 

[toocherie]

He's a man, and men can't be trusted.

aGREED!!!!!

 

[Stacerita]

aGREED!!!!!

Haters!

 

[fairykin]

Perhaps in a couple of years when kids college is over then i'll be DVCin' it! That's my HoPe.