Giving up the DVC dream...

[ninafeliz]

Your family of six will need to be split up to fit into two studios. So your spouse with some of the kids and you with the others. Unless one is still under the age of three. But once he or she turns three, you go back to two bedrooms. Which is really nice, but uses a bunch of points.

We aren't even considering studios, that's way we only looked at the points needed to book 2 BRs when we bought and decided how many we needed to purchase. Maybe you mean the OP, IIRC their twins are well below 3 for now, I just mean that studios go soooooo much further with your points. It doesn't matter, since we can't stay in them unless we take a trip without kids or with only 2 of the kids, but it's painful to see how much we could be getting if we COULD stay in them. Even a 1 BR. Honestly we don't care that much about space when on vacation, we've stayed in deluxe rooms with 6 until the twins turned 3 and didn't mind, but since we can't it doesn't matter. I would love for them to allow 6 in a 1 BR, but since they don't we knew we needed 2 BRs. It's not that I won't like the space, it's just that I would choose longer vacations with our points over the space of a 2 BR if I had that as an option. But I do't.

 

[crisi]

We are a family of 7, with our twins now being 8 yrs old. We send our kids to Catholic school and let me just say that my oldest graduating this year is awesome in more ways than one! Lol, one less tuition to pay! ($8,900 per year for my high school kid with a whopping $300 discount for being a member of the church, $5,100 per year for each of the 4 younger kids)
We purchased 400 SSR points and go every January, we pull the kids from school for a week as we feel the family time is important. We just keep to a very strict budget for other things. It's all about priorities!
I don't drive an expensive car (Honda Odyssey & my husband drives a Honda CRV). We don't go out to eat often, and obviously don't have a nanny or house cleaning service. I work from home and adjust my hours to fit our family.

If you REALLY want DVC I say go for it and just make budget cuts elsewhere. (Oh and we don't scrimp on the 401k contributions either)

Well, no........ First, he's stated his priorities, its college educations for four kids - that is a lot of money, for most states even at state schools, and if he aspires to private college educations, he's looking at needing millions. (The state college and university systems are excellent, but some kids do better with the environment you really only get at a SPLAC.) Secondly, a whole lot of people in this country have a hard time affording a roof over their heads and food in their kids stomachs....no change in priorities short of living in a tent (and that's already a reality for some of them) is going to make DVC possible. Some of us are really fortunate, I'm able to put my kids through college with zero student loans, AND we could own DVC, AND I had a housekeeper when they were little, AND my husband drives a really nice car, AND my youngest has been to Europe three times (and is not yet 21). (My oldest has had opportunities, and has only chosen to go once). Last year we went went to three continents on vacation in addition to our DVC Hilton Head trip. But I don't presume for one second that anyone else can merely cut their housekeeper and drive a five year old car and afford vacations, most people I know don't have housekeepers, or get manicures, and they are already driving kind of crappy cars.

 

[justadreamaway77]

I know you said your wife loved GF, but how do you feel about Poly? If the 2BR points are too much - and you don't think you'd travel as frequently - there's always the option of 2 Connecting Studios at Poly for your family? Just a thought if you really wanted that DVC dream.

I completely second this. I love lots of resorts but ask yourself, is it the resort or Disney in general that you/she love? With Poly, you are still on the monorail and I think the theme is way better..... especially for kids! Don't forget there are so many other resorts that you can stretch your points at and you may find you love them! Each resort has their + and -

 

[luckygirl0100]

Well, no........ First, he's stated his priorities, its college educations for four kids - that is a lot of money, for most states even at state schools, and if he aspires to private college educations, he's looking at needing millions. (The state college and university systems are excellent, but some kids do better with the environment you really only get at a SPLAC.) Secondly, a whole lot of people in this country have a hard time affording a roof over their heads and food in their kids stomachs....no change in priorities short of living in a tent (and that's already a reality for some of them) is going to make DVC possible. Some of us are really fortunate, I'm able to put my kids through college with zero student loans, AND we could own DVC, AND I had a housekeeper when they were little, AND my husband drives a really nice car, AND my youngest has been to Europe three times (and is not yet 21). (My oldest has had opportunities, and has only chosen to go once). Last year we went went to three continents on vacation in addition to our DVC Hilton Head trip. But I don't presume for one second that anyone else can merely cut their housekeeper and drive a five year old car and afford vacations, most people I know don't have housekeepers, or get manicures, and they are already driving kind of crappy cars.

Well, aren't you cranky?
He stated he was a physician... I highly doubt he is living in a tent. Go get a Dole Whip and get happy.

 

[FireworksEverAfter]

We bought in last year. We'll probably be buying in another smaller contract as well. We have two rules of thought in the process. We're also a big family so a minimum of 1 bedroom is a necessity. For us we don't need to go to Disney every year but taking a vacation every year is important. Essentially we can stay on site and then go to other places in FL when we don't go to Dis.

Another big benefit for us is aside from paying dues, the contracts last for almost another 40yrs. To offset the cost of my dues, I'll rent my points for one to two years. Looking ahead I'll be able to take my grandchildren there for the same price now as opposed to 40yrs later when it's almost indefinite that the cost of resorts will go up.

 

[crisi]

Well, aren't you cranky?
He stated he was a physician... I highly doubt he is living in a tent. Go get a Dole Whip and get happy.

No, probably not living in a tent, but most physicians have high levels of student loan debt, heavy malpractice insurance, and an ever decreasing income from insurance pressures. If you were a pediatrician or GP to start with, your income wasn't terribly high to start with. You can keep your Dole Whip and your completely inappropriate and offensive suggestion that I adjust my mental state.

 

[a742246]

We went through a similar process when our kids were early in grade school, and came to almost the same conclusion. Our circumstances are a little different (two kids, not four) but we had many of the same constraints. We consider a 2BR unit the minimum for the four of us. We were not sure if or when the kids would "age out" of Disney, but we understood that DVC only made sense if we'd be going back at least once a year for most years, until about 7-10 trips were under our belts.

When we added it all up it seemed like too big of a risk.

However, we also discovered that our offsite vacations were still enormously fun, especially at some of the nicer nearby locations: Wyndham Bonnet Creek, Hilton Sea World, Sheraton Vistana, and others. So instead of buying DVC we put together a portfolio of other timeshares that were very inexpensive on the secondary market---think somewhere between pennies and a dime on the dollar.

Using that portfolio, we've had some fantastic vacations, all during school vacations (so prime time). A 3BR penthouse in Hilton's Lagoon Tower in Waikiki. A 2BR condo in Old Town Alexandria for the Cherry Blossom festival and the Grand Tour of Smithsonian museums. A 2BR condo in downtown Sedona with some great hiking. A 3BR within walking distance of the beach on Hilton Head in midsummer. A 4BR condo with a private hot tub that we invited friends to share with us in Williamsburg, VA. Oceanfront 2BR condos on Kauai, and a couple more Hilton 2BRs in Waikoloa on the Big Island. Spring Break in a 2BR at Vistana Beach Club on the Southern FL coast. And many more.

We've supplemented our timeshare stays with some cash Disney vacations: DCL cruises, a stay at Disneyland Paris after a week in Paris proper, and we had planned a week in Tokyo followed by a trip to TDR that the pandemic cancelled. We've also used timeshare exchange to access DVC properties. That's become a lot harder over the years, and it probably wouldn't work for you (2BRs are basically impossible now), but cash certainly will!

My kids are now just about out of the house: One starts her graduate program this fall, the other is halfway through his undergraduate degree. Looking back on it, I don't think I'd change a thing. That's true even though the kids enjoyed Disney a lot longer than I thought they would. In fact, it's still the eldest's Laughing Place, and she and I spent her last undergraduate Spring Break in a 1BR at Saratoga Springs early this past March, just under the pandemic wire.

To the OP, this is an excellent post to think about. I would also look into joining Tugbbs , their are people there that rent out timeshares that have excellent reputations and many times renting at lower prices then MF's. I would rent before buying , but you have to invest time
to obtain knowledge in the timeshare game, which you may not have. Anyway, I envy you!

 

[bigredbeta]

If you REALLY want DVC I say go for it and just make budget cuts elsewhere. (Oh and we don't scrimp on the 401k contributions either)

It's not that I really wanted DVC, it's that I wanted DVC and everything else we had planned. In that sense, DVC was the extra frosting on the cake in addition to the ski trips, the international travel, and the beach trips my wife loves most. Undoubtedly WDW is an amazing place, but there's so much else to see as well. The extra expense (bigger/more rooms, extra airfare, bigger rental vehicle, extra carseat/booster, extra souvenirs, extra meals, extra equipment rentals, extra theme park admission) kicks into the vacation budget to the point where something has to give. Retirement saving is non-negotiable in my book so I'll still be making my 401k contributions, doing my Backdoor Roth conversions, hitting the Mega Backdoor Roth conversion, and contributing to all the kid's 529's, but at some point there has to be some adjustment. For us, that's a change from 2 WDW trips in a 3 year period to just 1 - and every 3rd year with DVC is a lot harder to make it worthwhile.

And while it's not impacted me that much because of my specialty, COVID has had a devastating effect on physician practices all over the country. No one should expect that physicians are living large at the moment.

 

[kboo]

OP: Congratulations on your twins! Given the state of DVC right now, you do have some time to consider things and reassess. We rented points for a few years and thought we would always be renters because of the flexibility. Right now (and probably for the next 1-2 years) there will still be easy and affordable rentals, and that way you can see if DVC is really right for your family. Consider it important "research."

My (physician) DH and I have 2 kids, but are older parents - back when we were paying off our educational loans, etc. it seemed like DVC (or any vacation "home" for that matter) would be forever out of reach. And we wanted the flexibility of going places *other* than WDW/DL. Which we did - but Disney makes it really easy to have a vacation with little kids that is also fun for the adults.

I think it's really hard to forecast where you will be with family desires, travel style and economics after your twins arrive. It sounds like you wouldn't put your lives on hold while the twins are little, so maybe once they arrive you'll reassess.

Also adding: I have a friend on here (also a DVC owner) who also has 4 kids, the youngest are twins, and last winter she sent me a picture of them all crammed into a single Poly studio (the twins were 2). I won't sell her out here, but she did say that was the last time they'd ever try to do that.

 

[crisi]

It's not that I really wanted DVC, it's that I wanted DVC and everything else we had planned. In that sense, DVC was the extra frosting on the cake in addition to the ski trips, the international travel, and the beach trips my wife loves most. Undoubtedly WDW is an amazing place, but there's so much else to see as well. The extra expense (bigger/more rooms, extra airfare, bigger rental vehicle, extra carseat/booster, extra souvenirs, extra meals, extra equipment rentals, extra theme park admission) kicks into the vacation budget to the point where something has to give. Retirement saving is non-negotiable in my book so I'll still be making my 401k contributions, doing my Backdoor Roth conversions, hitting the Mega Backdoor Roth conversion, and contributing to all the kid's 529's, but at some point there has to be some adjustment. For us, that's a change from 2 WDW trips in a 3 year period to just 1 - and every 3rd year with DVC is a lot harder to make it worthwhile.

And while it's not impacted me that much because of my specialty, COVID has had a devastating effect on physician practices all over the country. No one should expect that physicians are living large at the moment.

In retrospect (and, as I said, I have two in college) I wish we would have used our vacation time for things other than Disney - and we did - my kids are much more well travelled than their peers - but DVC had us returning to Disney every other year - when my son would have preferred a beach and my youngest a museum. We never got in the ski trip (my husband doesn't ski, but both kids do). We had friends to visit in Taiwan, and never made it and half a dozen invitations to weddings in India we passed on. My son was born in Korea, and we've never been - my husband was born in The Netherlands, and the kids have never been. Closer to home, we could have visited friends in Portland with the kids, and never did - and while the youngest (the traveler, who jumps at any chance to pack) has been to NYC twice without their parents, my son has never been. I wish I would have taken the safari when the kids were still home - it was incredible (and I'm planning on taking them once they are both out of college - cross my fingers we can ever find a time that works for two adult children and whatever people are in their lives that must be included). Disney is an easy vacation with kids, but there is so much more to the world, and so few vacation days from now until you drop them off at their dorm room....use them wiser than we did. It isn't just the monetary cost of Disney, but the time.