Has owning DVC improved the quality of your OTHER vacations?

[Simba06]

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?

 

[legler2250]

Selling your DVC points is super easy to fund future vacations so yes it is. However I have noticed since buying into DVC back in 2015 I only want to spend time at the resorts =).

 

[SleeplessInTO]

Great question. I feel like I don't go anywhere else (and I like that). Between DVC and AP, its so easy to vacation at Disney world... the idea of researching and planning a new destination suddenly feels like work.

 

[Sandisw]

Honestly, I am happy going to WDW but do a few other trips with a friend each year.

But, it is a nice way to cover the costs if I needed or wanted to. I can rent or transfer points to offset those points.

 

[kanerf]

I was a TS owner before I bought into DVC and used to stay off-site at one of my other timeshares such as Hilton or Wyndham. I still own the other timeshares and use them elsewhere. DVC does make it very easy to vacation at WDW. I would not bother trying to use your DVC points to trade through II, there are cheaper ways to stay other places.

 

[xdan0920]

It used to. Back when we got discounted APs and a Buffet didn't cost $200 for a family of 4. However, now for 5 days in the parks for a fam of 4. you are looking at $2700 just on tickets. So, even though the room is paid for, the costs are so high for the rest of things, that no, it doesn't help make other vacations more affordable.

 

[Pens Fan]

That's an interesting question. We have always taken a lot of non Disney trips, and for us buying into DVC didn't really change that. Now that my husband has retired we do go to Disney more often and DVC allows us to do that. But we've continued to go other places as well, just as we always have. We spent a few days at a lovely inn in the NC mountains back in April and then in October we will be taking a 10 day cruise through NE/Canada followed by a wine tasting trip in the Finger Lakes on the way home.

We would have done that with our without DVC, but we definitely wouldn't have added in a trip to Hilton Head and two WDW trips in the same year had it not been for DVC. So I guess that's a long winded way of saying no . Travel has always been a priority for us, and DVC just lets us add in more Disney trips than in the past.

 

[Simba06]

I was a TS owner before I bought into DVC and used to stay off-site at one of my other timeshares such as Hilton or Wyndham. I still own the other timeshares and use them elsewhere. DVC does make it very easy to vacation at WDW. I would not bother trying to use your DVC points to trade through II, there are cheaper ways to stay other places.

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.

 

[LYSE]

Well to us it's our vacation savings account, we can always rent points to cover cash cost of other vacations. We don't do it too much since other vacations are mostly covered by credit card points but that's how we funded a couple of things. We also have enough points where we can rent a good amount without giving up all our stays

 

[RoseGold]

I bought into DVC planning to bring my little one while she is little. And during Covid-ish times, this has worked great. But spending this much on Disney is taking away from other plans. Maybe it would have been better to visit friends or go to Europe. When I sell in a few years, that will be the plan.

 

[Simba06]

I like the idea of WDW being our “home vacation”, or somewhere we travel to frequently enough that everyone feels comfortable going there, like a second home. But then also still exploring the rest of the country and world. We did an annual trip to the same theme park every year as a kid, and I loved the familiarity of visiting the same place every year and seeing what was new since we were there last.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

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.

I think this only works if you rent out the points / reservation. Otherwise, as mentioned, the cost of airfare, tickets, food, souvenirs, etc. really add up. That DVC room suddenly costs me MORE money!

 

[Simba06]

And with disney becoming increasingly expensive, I feel owning DVC would be the only way to make frequent trips to disney without sacrificing too much from our other vacation destinations.

 

[Her Dotness]

What other vacations? (Not joking)

 

[BeachClub2014]

I like the idea of WDW being our “home vacation”, or somewhere we travel to frequently enough that everyone feels comfortable going there, like a second home. But then also still exploring the rest of the country and world. We did an annual trip to the same theme park every year as a kid, and I loved the familiarity of visiting the same place every year and seeing what was new since we were there last.

Similar to us. We've actually totally divested ourselves of DVC over the 20+ years since we first bought in at Boardwalk, and then were lured back in because of that familiarity and feeling of "home." That intangible, hard to articulate the feeling of being home that can develop over the years is what makes DVC vacations special. For us, anyways.

So in that regard, owning DVC hasn't necessarily impacted the quality of other vacations, but it has certainly impacted our vacations overall.

 

[chalee94]

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.

Well, if you are committed 1) to visiting WDW at least every other year AND 2) staying onsite at Deluxe (maybe Moderate) resorts, then DVC has some value.

But if you have the flexibility to stay offsite, it's still much cheaper than the onsite deluxe resorts. Even onsite at the values is cheaper (and only the cheaper studios at OKW/SSR/AKV can really beat the onsite mods from what I have seen). And not owning DVC gives you the flexibility to skip several years at WDW without bothering with renting your points, which can be a bigger savings.

But if you have the money and want to vacation onsite at WDW deluxe resorts consistently, then yes, DVC is worth a look.

 

[Simba06]

Well, if you are committed 1) to visiting WDW at least every other year AND 2) staying onsite at Deluxe (maybe Moderate) resorts, then DVC has some value.

But if you have the flexibility to stay offsite, it's still much cheaper than the onsite deluxe resorts. Even onsite at the values is cheaper (and only the cheaper studios at OKW/SSR/AKV can really beat the onsite mods from what I have seen). And not owning DVC gives you the flexibility to skip several years at WDW without bothering with renting your points, which can be a bigger savings.

But if you have the money and want to vacation onsite at WDW deluxe resorts consistently, then yes, DVC is worth a look.

We typically stay Poly/WL and have a terrible track record of obtaining discounts. I wince at the thought of what I have spent in rooms over the last few visits. Its time for DVC!

 

[bakerworld]

My short answer would be no - if anything, vacationing became more expensive. 1) We added on more points after the first year. 2) We started DCL sandwiched with DVC on the front and back. 3) And we're retired so now we go to WDW more frequently plus do other trips.

We joined DVC thinking we'd be saving on the room because we like their so called deluxe locations but we didn't factor in adding on 3 more times and other vacation areas becoming additional to our DVC vacations plus the increase in tickets, airfare and food/beverages.

 

[kanerf]

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.

There are many vlog entries that show you how to calculate the value of a DVC contract vs paying for rooms at Disney resorts. In general you will save some money, but over a longer period of time, say 10 years. You cannot predict what the prices of Disney resort rooms will be 10 years in the future or what the DVC dues will be. You can look at what those costs have been over the previous 10 years. One advantage that DVC has at the moment is that resale values are high so if it is not working out for you you can sell your contract and probably get back most of what you spent on it. This is unlike virtually all other timeshare properties whose resale value plummets. So knowing what your costs at DVC will generally be for the next decade or so does allow you to plan for other vacations more easily.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

No, that would take quite a bit of mental gymnastics for me to get to.

DVC really doesn't save me money. We go more often now as a result of owning DVC. I spend significantly more money at Disney today than I did before I was a DVC member. Especially when you factor in dues and purchase price of the contract. Yes, it made the Deluxe resorts a reality for me, but it definitely doesn't save me more money for other vacations, unfortunately.