Having second thoughts already...

[stich1fan]

Hi,

Just put down our deposit and are currently waiting for the paper work to sign on 160 pt at the AKV and am now hearding dvc members can not take advantage of certain offers by disney.

I am wonderingwho out there is completely happy with their dvc purchase and why? If you think it is or was a good financial purchase?

We love disney and travel there often, but am just wondering if will save us money....i suppose in the long run?

 

[michelleiada]

I am curious to see what people have to say about this, although being on a Disney Fan site, I doubt you will get too many unhappy people. I am considering buying into DVC and would love to hear both pros and cons from experienced owners.

 

[stich1fan]

I am hoping for not that many unhappy people, actually.....we are just nervous making such a large commitment.

 

[Brian Noble]

There will be times when a down economy will depress rental rates close to (and sometimes even below) the cost of owning. But, there will also be times when a strong economy will keep those rental rates much higher than owning. Mary Waring has a comparison between various rental scenarios and DVC point usage. For the most part, even with "common" discounts, someone visiting WDW regularly and staying in a Moderate or higher will save money owning DVC.

http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html#comparison

And, this is using a fairly conservative set of assumptions that probably understate the value of owning. So, for most, the value proposition is there.

That said, if you are not 100% sure of your purchase, it is better to rescind now and do the research needed to become fully comfortable before committing to such a long-term prospect.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi,

Just bought in to 160 pt at the AKV and am now hearding dvc members can not take advantage of certain offers by disney.

Do you mean things like "free dining"? While you can't combine a stay paid for with points and "free" dining, you can certainly make a proper free dining, at whatever resort is participating, reservation, and just not stay on points at that time.

 

[donutz022]

Hi,

Just bought in to 160 pt at the AKV and am now hearding dvc members can not take advantage of certain offers by disney.

I am wonderingwho out there is completely happy with their dvc purchase and why? If you think it is or was a good financial purchase?

We love disney and travel there often, but am just wondering if will save us money....i suppose in the long run?

I understand exactly how you feel for 2 years i thought of buying and 3 disney trips later finnally bought in. We bought in akv in august for 100 pts cause we still were nervous about buying as soon as i agreed to the pruchase i felt worried if this was a good decission. So we did our first trip home in november a split stay between akv and blt, lets just say after that trip we now own 100pts at akv and 220 pts at blt. Financially it is worth it. After that trip i was convinced. All the offers for non dvc members that are currently being offered will be scaled back once the economy bounces back. Just remember with free dinning you pay full rack rate so if you stay at a value its not that bad but at a deluxe the vacaation really goes up in price.

 

[stich1fan]

yes, I am talking about dining. I never realized the deluxe dining was $72 a day per person....we always got free dining and upgraded for $30pp. I guess I have to look at this as a separate entity...Lodging and nothing to do with dining.

 

[stich1fan]

Thanks, just what I wanted to hear to reassure myself.

 

[iwrbnd]

I had the same feelings as you. I spent almost 2 years deciding and driving my guide insane! We finally bought but haven't taken our 1st trip yet so I can't completely answer your question. However, when I start to question it, I remember one of the main reasons I bought, to make sure we take family vacations! My husband considers visiting his parents in Iowa as our vacation. Although that's fun, it's not a "vacation" as I want! This will force us to do it and stay at nicer places than we ever would on cash! Also, I'll always have a vacation to plan. Usually when we did vacation it was because I found a last minute deal. I liked saving money w/deals but it took away the ability to look forward to something! And lastly, maybe, hopefully maybe, when we sell someday we can get some of our money back. Plus, I do love the mouse!

 

[Sandisw]

I know right now, when you see the deals, you wonder. But DVC is for the long term and while I do think the past few years have offered some great discounts, I don't think those will always be there. Plus, the cost of the rooms at Disney will continue to go up so those discounts, compared to today's rates, get less and less.

When I ran numbers, I realized that it would take about 9 years or so to break even with what it would cost me for free dining, and I would be staying in a 1 bedroom vs. a regular hotel room.

For me, that alone was the deciding factor. My plan is to be at Disney for many more years than that, so it was win, win. And, even if I ended up selling in 5 years (not that I plan to) and sold my BLT for 50% of what I paid, I would still have spent NO MORE than I would have going each year during free dining for those 5 years, or if I had received a 35% room discount every time.

For me, it meant I wasn't paying more for DVC and getting better rooms. And once I passed the break even point, I might even be saving money!!!

 

[KKKKCS]

We just got back from our very first stay at our home resort, AKV, as DVC members. We went in with some pretty high expectations because of everything we had been told and read and I must say that our Grand Villa exceeded every expectation we had. We had 13 people (7 adults, 2 teenagers, 3 children, and 1 infant) in the villa and no one felt crowded or on top of one another. We all used the basic dining plan and had to work to eat all the food we had available. In fact we used the last 4 table service meals and 3 snacks to get food to go for our flights home. I could go on and on but will just say we could not be happier with our DVC purchase!

 

[dizfan]

6 years ago, we looked at DVC.

We used to travel to WDW during deals like free dining, 4/3 deal, etc. We were ok with staying in a value resort, but preferred moderates. Then we stayed at AKL and realized it would be very difficult for us to stay in a value resort any more. Nothing wrong with them, just that we became spoiled.

We bought this past summer and here's our plan to make up for some of those deals (which are already decreasing as the economy improves):

1. First we plan to do 2 trips within a single year. This allowed us to purchase AP at the DVC discount and have tickets for two trips. (This year we went in December and will go in October for F&W and MNSSHP).
2. Then, we purchased Tables in Wonderland (saving 20% on dining). TIW gives us more flexibilty to dine at most restaurants, order what we want (appetizer or not, dessert or not, etc). Also, we like to have a glass of wine or another adult beverage once in awhile. Since this covers one year, we purchase once but have the benefit for both our trips.

No value, but one of the things we are looking forward to most with our October trip is that we are not going during free dining. Free dining tends to make reservations more of a challenge and Disney has been known to change the menus during free dining.

 

[disneynutz]

Here is how I see it.

1. You need a lot of money. Purchase price, dues, cost of travel, food, gifts, vacations extras.

2. You have to love WDW enough to want to vacation there at least once per year or every two until you sell your contracts.

3. Expect the DVC rules and perks to change to benefit Disney more that the Members.

4. Expect Disney to care more about selling points than servicing the existing Membership.

5. Expect the DVC resorts to look pretty worn before Disney decides to refurbish the resort.

The DVC is a business that makes them some pretty good money for Disney. As long as you are willing to accept the above, you can save some money owning a DVC interest in the long run. The savings is based upon the non member costs of the same type of accommodations during normal economic times.

Bill

 

[denegate]

I had the same feelings as you. I spent almost 2 years deciding and driving my guide insane! We finally bought but haven't taken our 1st trip yet so I can't completely answer your question. However, when I start to question it, I remember one of the main reasons I bought, to make sure we take family vacations! My husband considers visiting his parents in Iowa as our vacation. Although that's fun, it's not a "vacation" as I want! This will force us to do it and stay at nicer places than we ever would on cash! Also, I'll always have a vacation to plan. Usually when we did vacation it was because I found a last minute deal. I liked saving money w/deals but it took away the ability to look forward to something! And lastly, maybe, hopefully maybe, when we sell someday we can get some of our money back. Plus, I do love the mouse!

Glad to see I'm not the only one who bought in for these reasons! Very happy with our purchase so far.

 

[DebbieB]

I've been a member for over 10 years and could not be happier. My initial purchase is long paid off and I'm just pay $108 a month in dues. I had 6 nights in a studio at AKV and 6 nights in a boardwalk view 1 bedroom last year. It's great not having to put out a large amount of money for accomodations each trip.

The boardwalk view 1 bedroom would have been about $3000 for 6 nights. But I would have got "free" dining!

 

[AirGoofy]

Like any large purchase, there are always feelings of regret. That is fairly common. Hopefully, you did not finance the purchase as that may continue your feelings of regret.

You can look at all the charts and hear all the stories, DVC is not a sound financial investment. There is no return on the investment, and you will always find a good deal if you are willing to be flexible.

What DVC does is give you the fun of planning and experiencing a Disney vacation every year. I could probably find a cheaper vacation elsewhere, but we enjoy the planning, staying on the Disney property, the theme parks and resort activities, and enjoy taking our children and maybe one day grandchildren.

 

[Peggy Sue]

We initially purchased in 1997 and have added on 4 times .. We really enjoy our DVC vacations and believe we have made a good investment for our future vacations.

The question everyone needs to ask themselves is what type of vacation makes them happy? We have enjoyed every minute of vacationing in 1-bed room villas and sharing 2 and 3 bedroom villas with family and friends. We would never have been able to afford the 1-bedroom villa for ourselves every year, let alone treat our guests without DVC.

I think if people are happy staying in value or moderate (not a slam ..as they are nice resorts) then DVC may not be for you, but if you enjoy staying in deluxe rooms, and have the option of booking 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms when traveling with family and friends than DVC is a great option.

Our disney vacations are so different now .. we are no longer park commandos .. we relax, enjoy our resort and overall Disney experience ..we do go into the parks, but it's at a very relaxing pace. We never stand in long lines any more as we know if we don't see something this trip, we'll catch it next time.

For us, being a DVC member is not about what perks we may or may not get from Disney every year ..it's about knowing we have the opportunity to take a relaxing prepaid vacations. It great to check out and see a 0 balance for room charges!

Happy vacations!

 

[Sammie]

DVC can save you money on one and two bedroom villas and certainly on Grand Villas.

Will it save you alot of money staying in a studio compared to a Disney resort room, probably not.

Since you are having some concerns I would not add on any additional points.

We are pleased with our purchase but we bought in the 90s and paid much less than what the going price is now.

Would I buy DVC now, no I would not. The price is too high and as others have stated their focus to me has changed from being member oriented to more of a sales orientation.

Of course right now due to the economy Disney is offering more specials than ever before. If the economy improves they will begin to drop these. That is why I advise a wait and see attitude and to not give in to addonitis.

 

[McCrae]

You can look at all the charts and hear all the stories, DVC is not a sound financial investment. There is no return on the investment, and you will always find a good deal if you are willing to be flexible.

.

I have read a lot of comments from people who dont regard DVC as a sound financial investment. Perhaps I may look at things in a different way? For me DVC is a great investment. The returns I look at are much better than many other options.

Whilst only a new member I did though base my purchase because it made sense financially (to me any way).

I was lucky to be able to use cash for my purchase. when looking at my returns I compare how much interest I could get by having that cash on deposit. The savings I make each year on the cost of a disney holiday are far greater than the interest I would have received if I had left the money invested. To me that is a very good return.

As it stands is looks as though the savings I have been able to make will exceed the money I have spent on DVC...including annual dues in around 12 years. After that any savings after annual dues will to me equal a clear profit. On current prices I expect my final profit to be equal atleast 4 times the orginal amount of money I put in.

Whilst obviously at the end of 50 years the value of our DVC membershipwill be nothing... the value I will have generated during our ownership will be exceptionally high.

So far very happy with our experience and investment in DVC. We wouldn't have picked this option if we wanted to stay in value resorts.

 

[lugnut33]

Originally bougt a 120 point SSR resale so we could stay in a one bedroom every other year. Last August we took our whole family for a trip and stayed in the Tree House Villas. Loved it so much I am purchasing another 50 point contract so we can stay in the THV every other year for 8 nights. I think in the next couple of years I'll probably purcase another contract so we can do it every year. Oh, we are paying cash for the points. I'm apprehensive to finance a purchase.