Has owning DVC improved the quality of your OTHER vacations?

[🍀TwinsMom]

I'd say it's all of above stated. DVC, theoretically, yes, can save money in terms of the room being covered and freeing up money if you rotated your points/years. Like many others though, once you get a hit of the DVC drug, LOL, you want more! So more points, more trips to justify using APs, more airfare/food/souvenirs, etc. But, I think what gets lost a lot of times is that many/most families travel to the same beach/cottage/lake year after year, and that isn't cheap, either. I can spend at least $3,000 for one week at a semi decent rental with freezing New England water and still have to pack linens and food and cook and clean for everyone like I do at home -- but at the beach.

DVC, yes, I can certainly cook (and do, to save money and stay in PJs longer versus running out the door to grab breakfast all dressed and made up,) but we have every attraction/convenience/food we need at our fingertips, too, if we are feeling like we want to be on VACATION. The accommodations are lovely, we don't have to think of driving and parking anywhere, Ubers/Lyfts are plentiful (usually,) and we like the resorts more than the parks.

We are definitely spoiled! We stayed at Portofino and Hard Rock at Universal, and while nice, we missed the space, kitchens, laundry, and privacy of DVC. Researching AirBnBs seems exhausting.

Disney/DVC is now the brainless option that we can relax -- or be on the go -- depending on our whim. We would like to do DL, Aulani, Vero, Hilton Head, one of these days, too, so we'll branch out and use our points. I am interested in Europe, but C19 shot that down, and I don't feel comfortable spending thousands to possibly be stuck in a lockdown with a surge or a positive Covid test, so kicking that particular can down the road for a few years, but no biggie. DVC is convenient, and I am exhausted, so that works for me for this season of life.

 

[Simba06]

In reality, we need some space between our wdw trips to enjoy them to the fullest. We tried some trips separated by a few months and it just felt like a repeat. We seemed to have settled on a trip every 1-1.5 years as the optimum. Gives the kids enough time to grow a bit between trips, and have new things ready to experience.

 

[Simba06]

Disney/DVC is now the brainless option that we can relax -- or be on the go -- depending on our whim. We would like to do DL, Aulani, Vero, Hilton Head, one of these days, too, so we'll branch out and use our points. I am interested in Europe, but C19 shot that down, and I don't feel comfortable spending thousands to possibly be stuck in a lockdown with a surge or a positive Covid test, so kicking that particular can down the road for a few years, but no biggie. DVC is convenient, and I am exhausted, so that works for me for this season of life.

I feel this part especially. I love researching, but my free time is so minimal right now its nice to have a place to go that requires minimal prep.

 

[Stargazer65]

Hmmm...I don't what to compare it to right now. My last "other" vacation was a total disaster...my transmission blew up, and everybody but me got covid. Replacing the transmission doubled the cost of the vacation, and between that and quarantine in a hotel in Texas we lost a week and a half (besides those problems it was fine ). The last WDW vacation OTOH went perfect.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

Short answer is no. Although we travel to other locations just as much as we did before, our frequency of Disney trips went way up too.

I might go as far to say our other vacations have actually gotten harder because we're a lot pickier than we used to be concerning accommodations. Cramming 4 people in a single room just used to sleep and shower doesn't cut it anymore.

 

[Louis morrell]

What other vacations?

 

[upritbass]

Durango, CO! The real "Main Street, USA"

 

[Simba06]

Durango, CO! The real "Main Street, USA"

Been there and rode the train! That was awesome.

 

[davidl81]

Our non WDW vacations have been Aulani and Vero Beach, so…

 

[npatellye]

I am thinking more about freeing up money for other trips in addition to disney. Say my family take 3 big trips in a two year timespan, one always being WDW. Since DVC provides a way to get rooms at a cheaper price over time, does it realistically allow more money for other vacations. Of course like a previous poster mentioned, you are still paying for tickets, food etc, which has definitely gotten more expensive.

It does for us. We bought DVC as we were going every 12-18 months in between larger international trips and the hotel costs were getting crazy since we were at a point of booking family suites or villas directly through Disney. We bought in December 2019 and the state of the world shifted our plans for a while to domestic travel only (my husband and I were both under travel restrictions for work until last month).

However, Disney wasn’t the only trip we took during those times. I’m not sure how we will go back to regular hotel rooms once we resume our international travel with the kids. But that’s a first world problem and I feel fortunate that I can consider that a concern.

For us, having DVC has allowed us more money for other vacations because we aren’t spending crazy amounts of money for every single meal, we aren’t paying crazy hotel prices (they were nuts for the rooms we likely would have booked for our last two trips and for our upcoming trip), we aren’t spending as much on tickets (courtesy of APs), and we aren’t paying to park on property (which we would have been doing otherwise as hotel guests).

 

[Brian Noble]

I am thinking more about freeing up money for other trips in addition to disney. Say my family take 3 big trips in a two year timespan, one always being WDW. Since DVC provides a way to get rooms at a cheaper price over time, does it realistically allow more money for other vacations.

In my experience, owning timeshare has not led to saving money on vacations. That’s because timeshare’s use-it-or-lose-it nature means that we‘ve made vacations a priority, and we take more of them (and spend more on them) than we would if left to our own devices.

Here’s what I mean by that. It’s easy to think “sure, we’ll go to WDW every other year.” But, four years from now, you might decide to forgo a big trip that year because the kids are all involved in sports, or you are making payments to the orthodontist, or work is busy and it is awkward to ask for a vacation, or any one of a million other things.

If you own a timeshare, you are going to make a point of going, even if those other things happen (and trust me, they will happen).

Furthermore, as a few prior posters mentioned, your tolerance for “adequate“ lodging goes way down. You won’t stay in a hotel room unless you absolutely have to, and cramming everyone in one hotel room is completely unthinkable.

Now, I happen to think that‘s exactly why timeshare is great. We’ve made taking comfortable vacations a priority—not just at Disney, but at lots of places. I’m typing this from the Omni Parker House in Boston. The four of us are traveling; my wife and I are in a suite, and the kids are in a second room to themselves. This approximates a 2BR without the kitchen, and is not cheap, but it is a three-night add-on before our full week in a 3BR condo in Smuggler’s Notch in northern VT that is bigger than our first house. That condo was “paid for” by our timeshare which makes it easier to justify splurging on the hotel. And the restaurants. And the activities. And and and.

I would never in a million years have booked this combination of rooms In the alternate universe in which I did not own a bunch of timeshares.

 

[Simba06]

In my experience, owning timeshare has not led to saving money on vacations. That’s because timeshare’s use-it-or-lose-it nature means that we‘ve made vacations a priority, and we take more of them (and spend more on them) than we would if left to our own devices.

Here’s what I mean by that. It’s easy to think “sure, we’ll go to WDW every other year.” But, four years from now, you might decide to forgo a big trip that year because the kids are all involved in sports, or you are making payments to the orthodontist, or work is busy and it is awkward to ask for a vacation, or any one of a million other things.

If you own a timeshare, you are going to make a point of going, even if those other things happen (and trust me, they will happen).

Furthermore, as a few prior posters mentioned, your tolerance for “adequate“ lodging goes way down. You won’t stay in a hotel room unless you absolutely have to, and cramming everyone in one hotel room is completely unthinkable.

Now, I happen to think that‘s exactly why timeshare is great. We’ve made taking comfortable vacations a priority—not just at Disney, but at lots of places. I’m typing this from the Omni Parker House in Boston. The four of us are traveling; my wife and I are in a suite, and the kids are in a second room to themselves. This approximates a 2BR without the kitchen, and is not cheap, but it is a three-night add-on before our full week in a 3BR condo in Smuggler’s Notch in northern VT that is bigger than our first house. That condo was “paid for” by our timeshare which makes it easier to justify splurging on the hotel. And the restaurants. And the activities. And and and.

I would never in a million years have booked this combination of rooms In the alternate universe in which I did not own a bunch of timeshares.

Funnily enough we are heading to Smuggler’s Notch in August! My parents own a timeshare and I agree we have been spoiled with the space a condo provides. We all crammed into a single room at WDW this year, but we quickly realized thar as the kids grow we will appreciate the extra space. And with food allergies for our youngest, a kitchen might become essential.

Travel is something that brings me a lot of joy, I love the anticipation of future trips, it gives me something to look forward to during busy/difficult times. I feel that utilizing DVC would help with my mental health, knowing there is always another vacation around the corner. Because it can be difficult to carve out vacation time if it’s not being forced.

 

[NVDISFamily]

I would never in a million years have booked this combination of rooms In the alternate universe in which I did not own a bunch of timeshares.

I love your wisdom here. I'm approaching this madness about the same way. It's not an investment but it's a force the issue to have great vacations/memories as the kids grow up. I know I'm a sucker for a nice room and I usually try to find the best suite or room for the money when I travel but have never been able to justify the rack rates at Disney properties. It's a big buy in at the front but I think it will work out over the next 15 to 20+ years.

 

[bwvBound]

Has owning DVC improved the quality of your OTHER vacations?​

I have a long list of vacation destinations I want to visit, but I also know I want to visit WDW at least every other year while my kids are growing. Once you get past the initial buy in, do you feel like having your WDW vacations covered by DVC allows you to travel to other destinations easier?

I'll answer, "no."

Stepping back a bit, however, to the broader question: Has owning Timeshare improved the quality of your other vacations? Yes.

We purchased our first timeshare 20+ years ago; DVC just 18 years ago. Timeshare has been great -- but pushed our "level of expectation" to always want the added space, the full kitchen, the in-room laundry (etc). We purchased DVC because we wanted our time at WDW (for a business conference) to have the "timeshare" experience.

So, yes -- timeshare has improved the quality of our travels. And no -- DVC has/had no influence on other vacations.

 

[crisi]

You are talking about doing what we did (our kids are now young adults). Every other year at Disney, alternate years somewhere else - often with another trip in there as well.

Did DVC enable this.....it enabled the Disney part, but not the other part. DVC and Disney are EXPENSIVE no matter how you slice it. Park tickets will get you. Food is pricey (cooking in the room can help, but isn't 'free' in terms of money or time). For us, airfare was always for four and airfare from MSP to MCO is usually expensive. DVC helped make the Disney trips easier - and enabled us to stay in two bedroom units which also made travel with the kids much more pleasant. It enforced those every other year trips to WDW which had pluses - and minuses.

 

[PalmettoPath]

For us it really hasn't had an impact on our other travel destinations, with the exception that where possible we will try to leverage DVC points to get more bang for the buck (e.g. combining Grand Californian with a California beach vacation; combining Vero Beach with a WDW stay; and combining Aulani with a Hawaiian vacation).

 

[crisi]

I am thinking more about freeing up money for other trips in addition to disney. Say my family take 3 big trips in a two year timespan, one always being WDW. Since DVC provides a way to get rooms at a cheaper price over time, does it realistically allow more money for other vacations. Of course like a previous poster mentioned, you are still paying for tickets, food etc, which has definitely gotten more expensive.

DVC has never saved us a dime. We've gotten more value from the money we've spent by being able to stay in larger rooms. But we've spent FAR more money than we would have without DVC. I think some people do save money with DVC, but I don't think MOST people do. I think we end up in larger rooms - because you can get a one bedroom at seven months at BCV and because it turns out that the larger rooms make for a nicer vacation. We end up staying more days - because you CAN do Disney in maybe five nights - especially when you've gone a bunch and don't need to ride everything every time, but hey, we have points for eight! You bring friends because you can - and get a small add on contract to have the points. No room bill at the end can seduce you into going out to dinner or doing some tour you wouldn't normally do. Not everyone will do all of these things, but enough of us do enough of them that its pretty likely most of us aren't saving money. If that's you motivation to buy DVC, don't do it.

 

[MomOTwins]

I guess I am going against the trend, and we are relatively new owners so don't have a lot of years of experience with DVC, but what sold DH on buying DVC was that it would result in us being able to branch out to non-Disney trips more often, and so far that has borne out.

When we were staying on cash reservations, we pretty much exclusively vacationed with Disney, 3+ times per year. When it came time to plan a trip, it was always convenient and easy to just book another Disney trip rather than having to go through the bother of researching something new, plus we often had bounceback or pin discounts or something to incentivize us to keep booking.

With DVC, we have our allotment of points to use and once those are gone, I can't just add more to squeeze in an extra trip until our UY refreshes. We only bought enough points to go one week per year, and I have three weeks of vaycay at work, so that means at least one more big trip or a couple smaller trips outside of Disney. This year, we did a short cruise out of Miami (okay a Disney cruise, lol, but we never would have been on the Disney Magic before because it doesn't sail from near Disney World, so it was a fun/new experience for us), and have an Alaska cruise (non-Disney) booked this summer. Next year, we are planning our first family trip to Europe. It helped us break away from the habit we had fallen into of always booking Disney by adding more discipline to when and how we plan to visit Disney World.

 

[gharter]

No. WDW vacations are those. Other vacations are what they are. Each is separate as they should be.