Give it to me straight

[Disnead]

Here's some rough math. Helped us to break it down into a cost per night at the current time.

I'll use 201 points since that will buy you a week in a MK view at BLT during premium season for reference (2010 point chart).

201 points * $96 pt. = $19,296.
You get 51 Use years out of a BLT contract...so investment / years = $19296/51 = $378.35

Maintenance fees. Currently at BLT are $3.67 per point. So 201 points * $3.67 = $737.67 per year in maintenance fees.

Add those 2 together to get your out of pocket "Cost" for a year of points. $378.35 + $737.67 = $1,116.02

So you get your BLT MK view studio room during 'peak' season for $159.43 per night ($1116.02/7days). No way are you going to get a room on the monorail for $160 per night at today's prices. You can start with that number vs. rack or discounted rates to start figuring out how long it would take to break even on your investment.

If you had paid the initial investment off at closing, then your out of pocket for that year (with the out of sight out of mind view of things) would then just be your maint fees. $737.67...then DDP, Tickets, and Travel would be on top of that.

Keep in mind that maintenance fees will increase throughout the years...I think I remember reading that they have been going up at a rate of about 3% or so per year.

Hopefully this helps in some way...I just kinda wanted to see what my out of pocket expenses came to in terms of a nights stay at the current prices when I was making my decision.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Since you have 3 kids, DO consider purchasing at AKV or BLT so that you can get the 1 bedroom that sleeps 5.

(Do BLT 1 bdrms sleep 5 like AKV?)

Resales at AKV are beginning to be very reasonable in cost. The point charts have lots of options, and the points expire in 2057.

On the downside, it is not as convenient as something like BWV.

 

[VallCopen]

This is my first response so here it goes. We too are getting ready to sign and I have tried to do my homework. In comparison, as far as price goes, we feel that what we really gain is quality of room, meaning size and options. We have done take offs for comparison of prices over the next fifty years which include the 3% inflation for both the maintanence fees and for just the standard small hotel room at the Grand Californian. To our surprise the price was very comparible, but the difference really came when you started figuring out what a 1 bedroom suite(instead of a reg. room) over the next fifty years for 1 week a year at the Grand Californian would cost (with the 3% inflation each year). Believe it or not the cost was over 650,000. The comparison of points I used was 400 (enough for us to have a 2 bedroom suite 1 week a year for the next 50 years), which only came out to approx. 258,000. All these numbers seem high but remember we used a 3% inflation each year for 50 years, and if you use the same 3% to figure what your salary would be worth in 50 years, that 250,000 seems much more reasonable.

Personally we love the thought of having great rooms with kitchens and living rooms for the kids to stretch out. The small hotel room for our growing family just wan't good enough anymore. We also know that the cost of Disney's hotels actually go up approx 5-10% per year, not the 3% number I used. I just wanted to know the absolute worse case scenario for us so that I was not tricking myself in to what I was getting. We are getting ready to sign and just can't wait.

If I could pass on a bit of advice that I have learned it would be to purchase in smaller blocks. I have been told that if you did ever want to resell them you can get a better price because many people can afford a block of 50 points to add to their points but many can't afford a block of 200 at once or don't want that many more. Your points then can also be split for the kids if you so choose at a later date to give them away. Also if you do not have a referral I would love to offer up my name. We used a referral from this sight and when we sign they will get a $250 gift card and we (better yet - for signing with DVC) will get our choice of either a 4 night disney cruise for 4, in an ocean view room, to be used in either the fall of 09', winter of 10', or fall of 10' (for the purchase of 200 points), or for 270 points we can get a 7 night disney cruise for 4 for the same dates as above. If we choose to forgo the cruise we can have an additional $8.00 per point off the purchase price up to, I believe 320 points. This is a great incentive for the signer and a nice little perk to the referral person. (referral incentives do change all the time so be sure to check with your guide, I do know that you have to give the referrals name the first time you talk to your DVC guide, sometimes the second time you talk might be ok, depends on the guide. Be sure to ask if they are having any incentives for the property you are looking at. We are going to buy at D. Grand and they dropped the price from 112 to 104 and now since we got a referral we will get them dropped to 96 per point. All I needed was my referrals name and state they lived in.

Well I hope I helped and did not just ramble. If you need anything cleared up or want more information please let me know I would love to help someone elses dream come true too.

 

[Sandisw]

So you would normally send how much on a vacation before buying DVC? We spend about $4,000 - $5,000 a year booking a deluxe resort with DDP and tix with a TA (AAA)

I am trying to weigh pros and cons. An initial payment for DVC and then still spending $4,000 or so wouldn't be worth it for us but if we'd only spend $2,000 or so a year, it may be worth it.

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

I went through the same decision just a few months ago. My yearly trips to WDW, typically 5 days, run me around $5000 a year.

When I decided if I wanted in to DVC (and only decided because of BLT), I sat down and looked at my vacation budget. I knew that if I could make my DVC payments and the costs to go to Disney stay within what I was currently paying, then it was a good deal for me.

My typical room costs (family of 5 who almost always stayed at the Contemporary) were $2000 - $2500. I could buy 180 points, and stay 5 nights in a 1 bedroom (8 nights in a studio since my oldest is now 20 and what be coming any longer) for a lot less than that.

My MF's will run $660.00 a year. If I cost average out the initial buy in (17680/50 years), it adds another $353.00. That totals around $1000.

So, I would be saving money in the long run. Even considering financing (which I ended up not having to do), my yearly vacation costs would have gone down. Now, my vacation money is not investment money so I didn't consider lost interest but that is because I spend my vacation money every year. If I don't spend it all when we are at WDW, we use it for either smaller quick weekend trips, or use it for just some extra fun.

And, if I decided in only 10 years to sell it and got even 1/2 of what I paid for it, my total costs would still be less than continuing to go to WDW every year and pay to stay at the Contemporary!!

For me, it made sense!!!!

Good luck with your decision!!!

 

[jrsmom]

We purchased resale last summer through Timesahre Store, sponsor at the top of this page. They were great. We took our first DVC trip in February and will be taking the second in August. The first trip , we paid for annual passes and dining plan and of course airfare. For our August trip, we only have to pay for the dining plan. We had saved enough American Express member rewards and were able to add those to our Southwest reward points for free airfare.

We also have the disney visa and will cash in our points for some spending money.


We decided to buy resale because of the price, we were able to get a great contract for Saratoga Springs.

 

[christa112]

We were in the same boat as you, we have three children and our 1st trip our youngest was only 1 & 2 so we could fit into a regular room and she was free to get into the parks. We booked during Free Dining, so we also saved a lot of $.

Now that my youngest just turned 5 we can no longer fit in a regular room and everyone pays to get into the parks and my oldest is now considered an Adult (10 which I think is crazy) It is definately worth it for us to purchase the DVC. I looked at the price for us to book a 2 Bedroom Villa Savannah View at Kidani Village in January with 5 people and base park tickets, DDP and the room would have cost us over $9,000.00.

I would absolutely not pay $9,000 for a vacation, never in a million years. We also are only planning going every other year so, $4,000 every 2 yrs works out to me $2,000 for each vacation. Not too bad for a family of 5.

So you would normally send how much on a vacation before buying DVC? We spend about $4,000 - $5,000 a year booking a deluxe resort with DDP and tix with a TA (AAA)

I am trying to weigh pros and cons. An initial payment for DVC and then still spending $4,000 or so wouldn't be worth it for us but if we'd only spend $2,000 or so a year, it may be worth it.

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Moonstorm]

We initially started with 220 points at SSR. We added another 100 points about a year later. With those points, we were able to go twice a year for a week each time AND take one of our children and their family with us; we usually got a studio for us and a studio for them (most often in October and January). We are in the process now of adding (through resale) another 150 points (our family is growing - we are adding grandkids #7 and #8 to our group - #6 is just 5 weeks old.)
Figuring out the usage of points was not difficult. We chose SSR because of the length of contract and price. We have stayed there twice and love it. We have also stayed at OKW and BWV and love both of them. Guess we just love them all. We will be staying at BC for the first time in October. We have only had an issue once with booking at the 7 month window (out of home resort.) Before we bought into DVC, it probably cost us close to $4000 to stay at BWI for a week (with tickets and airfare - not counting park/food money.) Now we don't pay for accomodations and bought Annual Passes (with a DVC discount which allows us to purchase the Tables in Wonderland card.) As DVC members, we are also entitled to many discounts throughout ther parks (restaurants, in particular.)
If you are interested in buying, I would check out both going through Disney and resale. We paid outright for our initial buy-in and the first add on. This time we have used a Home Equity line of credit because of the ability to write the interest off (we have few deductions for tax purposes) and because the interest was less than going through Disney. We have absolutely no regrets about doing this. This also insures that we are going to vacation every year instead of just talking about it.

You seem to have gotten it down to a science!! Thank you for the information. It really helps. We already have a big family, so I certainly see DVC as benefiting us!

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Moonstorm]

It would probably pay off if you did like for like comparison....studios vs hotel at a deluxe. Problem for our family is we go and RELAX in a 2br, we are spoiled now. It is now not a matter of saving as much as for the same amount of money I get to expereince WDW in a totally different way that to our family is hard to beat. We now try to go twice a year and get AP, we actually spend more than if we didn't own DVC. However, we would probably only go once every 2 to 3 years in a moderate. I decided my kids are young, my wife and I love Disney and we CHOOSE to go 2 (yeah maybe 3) times a year. We WANT a 2 br, and sometimes a 1 br and not have to go the parks in a comando manner. WE HATE eating out with the kids so the kitchen is awesome for us and save a lot of cash. It is hard to believe and I didn't go into this thinking I would feel this way. I started off in a similar situation as you but it turned into us just loving it and knowing the benefits then wanting to do more. My wife and I do a "adults" only trip that turns out to be awesome because we are not "Vegas" people and with an AP we don't have that expense. We use ME and don't rent a car so it is pretty cheap for us.

In full disclosure I have to add that I own other timeshares and find ways to trade into DVC. This in not the easiest to do and you have to be flexible, and lately is like hitting a moving target. But it is much cheaper..........however this is a totally different discussion.

Soooooooo we started with 225 pt and now IF I pass ROFR on my resale offer will own 650 pts. Over the years I will continue to add more and more to get the larger accomidations and will add to the family portfollio of TS to retire and travel on. The economy has allowed us to build a nice portfollio of various TS options and with 5-6 people traveling wherever we go a 2-4 br condo with full kitchen is a great way to enjoy.

Can you believe we went on a 2wk vacation to Disney and was totally relaxed? This is my last trip report and is long but will give you some insight to what a different kind of vacation experience you can enjoy with DVC. Good news is there are lots of pics........http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2122410

GREAT info! I will definitely read that TR! Thank you

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Moonstorm]

I went through the same decision just a few months ago. My yearly trips to WDW, typically 5 days, run me around $5000 a year.

When I decided if I wanted in to DVC (and only decided because of BLT), I sat down and looked at my vacation budget. I knew that if I could make my DVC payments and the costs to go to Disney stay within what I was currently paying, then it was a good deal for me.

My typical room costs (family of 5 who almost always stayed at the Contemporary) were $2000 - $2500. I could buy 180 points, and stay 5 nights in a 1 bedroom (8 nights in a studio since my oldest is now 20 and what be coming any longer) for a lot less than that.

My MF's will run $660.00 a year. If I cost average out the initial buy in (17680/50 years), it adds another $353.00. That totals around $1000.

So, I would be saving money in the long run. Even considering financing (which I ended up not having to do), my yearly vacation costs would have gone down. Now, my vacation money is not investment money so I didn't consider lost interest but that is because I spend my vacation money every year. If I don't spend it all when we are at WDW, we use it for either smaller quick weekend trips, or use it for just some extra fun.

And, if I decided in only 10 years to sell it and got even 1/2 of what I paid for it, my total costs would still be less than continuing to go to WDW every year and pay to stay at the Contemporary!!

For me, it made sense!!!!

Good luck with your decision!!!

Good information, gives me a lot to think about.
So, you purchased a DVC at BLT? How much were points or where can I find that info?

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Moonstorm]

We purchased resale last summer through Timesahre Store, sponsor at the top of this page. They were great. We took our first DVC trip in February and will be taking the second in August. The first trip , we paid for annual passes and dining plan and of course airfare. For our August trip, we only have to pay for the dining plan. We had saved enough American Express member rewards and were able to add those to our Southwest reward points for free airfare.

We also have the disney visa and will cash in our points for some spending money.


We decided to buy resale because of the price, we were able to get a great contract for Saratoga Springs.

How long do you have the property since you bought through resale?

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Moonstorm]

We were in the same boat as you, we have three children and our 1st trip our youngest was only 1 & 2 so we could fit into a regular room and she was free to get into the parks. We booked during Free Dining, so we also saved a lot of $.

Now that my youngest just turned 5 we can no longer fit in a regular room and everyone pays to get into the parks and my oldest is now considered an Adult (10 which I think is crazy) It is definately worth it for us to purchase the DVC. I looked at the price for us to book a 2 Bedroom Villa Savannah View at Kidani Village in January with 5 people and base park tickets, DDP and the room would have cost us over $9,000.00.

I would absolutely not pay $9,000 for a vacation, never in a million years. We also are only planning going every other year so, $4,000 every 2 yrs works out to me $2,000 for each vacation. Not too bad for a family of 5.

See, we are a family of 5 and my MIL usually goes with us, so finding rooms for 6 people is just about impossible - well, for a good price. That's what got me thinking about DVC - but the problem now is coming up with the initial $ to purchase one. I typically save about $6,000 - $7,000 a year for vacation so not sure what that would get me for next year since we are already starting to think about next year's trip.

 

[Moonstorm]

The points charts I am looking at, like this one for example:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/BLT-Points.htm

It shows Sun - Thursday for a MK view the week of April 19th - 30th for a 2 BR villa is 56 points - is that per night or for that time frame (sun - thurs.)? I am guessing per night and I would need 224 points, correct?

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Disnead]

The points charts I am looking at, like this one for example:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/BLT-Points.htm

It shows Sun - Thursday for a MK view the week of April 19th - 30th for a 2 BR villa is 56 points - is that per night or for that time frame (sun - thurs.)? I am guessing per night and I would need 224 points, correct?

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

That is correct. The point charts are per night.

On your question on resales. You get the resale for the length of the original contract. For instance if you bought an AKV resale it will be good until 2057. Where as BWV, OKW, BCV, VWL, Vero, and HH are all good until 2042. BLT is the longest at the moment at 2060.

 

[Crystal_27]

That's what got me thinking about DVC - but the problem now is coming up with the initial $ to purchase one. I typically save about $6,000 - $7,000 a year for vacation so not sure what that would get me for next year since we are already starting to think about next year's trip.

I personally feel that your initial investment into DVC is kind of like "throw away" money. There is some sort of formula that says that you will break even with DVC after 7 vacations using DVC and I'm not sure whether or not that's accurate or just marketing baloney (it sounds close to accurate, though) but, after you have purchased your points and are only coming out of pocket $1,000-2,000 for maintenance fees, that's where you are really going to start actually seeing true savings with DVC.

That said, you are going to need at least a one bedroom, which will cost you 270-360 points (depending on view) at BLT during peak seasons. So, right off the bat, in this scenario, your initial investment is going to be between $25,920-34,560 and, again, that (throw away) money is going to pay for your points and nothing else (no park tickets, no dining, etc.).

DVC will, of course, let you finance your purchase which makes the initial investment easier to swallow, but still, with DVC you should really remove the cost of your initial investment from consideration (and, when you're talking about that kind of money, that's hard to do) and just look at how much you would be saving when paying maintenance fees instead of accommodation charges, leaving the other costs unchanged. That's why DVC is targeted towards those who stay at Deluxe properties because at some point in XX number of years, after paying $300+/night for accommodations, you *will* break even, and you will certainly see a reduction in the cost of your vacations when you are not having to pay for accommodations every year, even if that savings is counter-balanced by paying maintenance fees. Anyway, to me, that's the real "nuts and bolts" of any savings that DVC offers.

Either way, best of luck to you as you go through your decision-making process.

 

[Sandisw]

The points charts I am looking at, like this one for example:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/BLT-Points.htm

It shows Sun - Thursday for a MK view the week of April 19th - 30th for a 2 BR villa is 56 points - is that per night or for that time frame (sun - thurs.)? I am guessing per night and I would need 224 points, correct?

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

I think you were using the 2009 point chart. For 2010, it is 58 per night. So, for Sun - Thurs (5 nights) it is 290 points.

If you are going each year, and always want a 2 bedroom, then you would need to buy 300 points (give yourself some wiggle room for point changes). If you plan to go every other year, then the contract minimum of 160 will do since you could bank your points and have 320.

 

[Moonstorm]

I personally feel that your initial investment into DVC is kind of like "throw away" money. There is some sort of formula that says that you will break even with DVC after 7 vacations using DVC and I'm not sure whether or not that's accurate or just marketing baloney (it sounds close to accurate, though) but, after you have purchased your points and are only coming out of pocket $1,000-2,000 for maintenance fees, that's where you are really going to start actually seeing true savings with DVC.

That said, you are going to need at least a one bedroom, which will cost you 270-360 points (depending on view) at BLT during peak seasons. So, right off the bat, in this scenario, your initial investment is going to be between $25,920-34,560 and, again, that (throw away) money is going to pay for your points and nothing else (no park tickets, no dining, etc.).

DVC will, of course, let you finance your purchase which makes the initial investment easier to swallow, but still, with DVC you should really remove the cost of your initial investment from consideration (and, when you're talking about that kind of money, that's hard to do) and just look at how much you would be saving when paying maintenance fees instead of accommodation charges, leaving the other costs unchanged. That's why DVC is targeted towards those who stay at Deluxe properties because at some point in XX number of years, after paying $300+/night for accommodations, you *will* break even, and you will certainly see a reduction in the cost of your vacations when you are not having to pay for accommodations every year, even if that savings is counter-balanced by paying maintenance fees. Anyway, to me, that's the real "nuts and bolts" of any savings that DVC offers.

Either way, best of luck to you as you go through your decision-making process.

I definitely would not want to finance the initial money - this is a tough decision! We REALLY want to go back to WDW next year and so now I am faced with, should I save for DVC on the side and still pay up for next year's vacation or do we skip next year so we can save for a 2011 DVC purchase.

ACK! Decisions.

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Moonstorm]

I think you were using the 2009 point chart. For 2010, it is 58 per night. So, for Sun - Thurs (5 nights) it is 290 points.

If you are going each year, and always want a 2 bedroom, then you would need to buy 300 points (give yourself some wiggle room for point changes). If you plan to go every other year, then the contract minimum of 160 will do since you could bank your points and have 320.

Such decisions to make

2008 Trip Report

2009 Trip Report in progress!
​

 

[Crystal_27]

ACK! Decisions.

Yes, but definitely all good stuff. I'm still a relatively new DVC owner and I'm obviously still seeing stars, but I think that we made the right decision by buying into DVC (despite the fact that our friends - who thought we were Disney obsessed before, now consider us to be totally off the deep end). You will get to a place where DVC either makes sense for you and your family or it doesn't. With or without DVC, you are still going to be having amazing vacations at Disney.

 

[Moonstorm]

Yes, but definitely all good stuff. I'm still a relatively new DVC owner and I'm obviously still seeing stars, but I think that we made the right decision by buying into DVC (despite the fact that our friends - who thought we were Disney obsessed before, now consider us to be totally off the deep end). You will get to a place where DVC either makes sense for you and your family or it doesn't. With or without DVC, you are still going to be having amazing vacations at Disney.

Heeeeheee, I'm trying to see if it's possible for us to still go next year, just later in the year (we normally go in April/May) - that will give me close to 17 months to save up - ten we can just buy DVC and vacation there. IF it's possible - are they usually available when you buy?

 

[FindTheMickeys]

Moonstorm... Here is what I did and so far it has worked well for my family. I bought 150 pts in August of 2005 while I was at WDW. Up until 2010 I have been able to do a 2 bedroom at SSR from Sunday through Friday in October or November for about 145 points.

I have taken my best friend, my folks, my son and his best friend, and my daughter and 2 grand sons... and I have always had a bedroom to myself...

Now, with the points changing up a bit in 2010, I will have to borrow a few points to be able to do that next year, and I can't wait to add on a few more points. I can get a TreeHouse Villa that sleeps 9 for the same points as a 2 BR at SSR. The TreeHouse Villas have 3 bedrooms, 2 with a queen bed each and one room has bunk beds. Plus there is a pull out sofa sleeper and a sleeper chair in the living room...

I put my downpayment on a credit card which got paid off with my tax refund and I financed the rest through DVC. My payments run about $200 a month (that includes the MF's). So it plays out like this: I pay $2400 a year to finance my vacation and I get a room that would cost abput $3500 for the week if I paid cash. Then the only thing I have to pay for is transportation, park tickets (which I purchased 10 day no expiration Ultimate Park Hoppers 3 years ago and am still using) and food.

I hope this helps...