Help me decide on DVC or not - convince me!

[mikesmom]

You're right. One of the reasons we bought is that we don't like hotel rooms. DH and I travel a fair amount for business. On vacation we want to be more "at home". Before DVC we would buy a cooler, get wine and cheese so we could hang out in the room instead of a smoky bar, usually get a "suite style" or 2 rooms when DS traveled with us so everyone would have privacy. I come in and unpack everything, hang things up, make sure we have coffee to make, even buy a bunch of flowers if we are staying a few days. According to DH, I tend to "build a nest" wherever we travel. We just like to be comfortable and "at home". DVC gave us that "home away from home" .

 

[DVCJones]

We first looked at DVC on our honeymoon in 2001. We really wanted to do it then, However, we knew we wanted a house and kids first. Not to mention we just spent a lot of $$ for a wedding.

We took a trip in 04 with my then 16 month old DD. We wanted to take her. She (we) had all been through a lot that past year as she was recovering from cancer. We wanted to take a family vacation that SHE would enjoy.It was so nice to see her enjoying herself. She loved all the characters. We put her on all the kiddie rides and she loved every minute of it. As did we. We stayed of site and while it was nice to be at WDW it wasn't the same as staying IN WDW. We again revisited the dream of DVC. We didn't buy yet as it still wasn't the time.

Fast forward to 2005. It was time!!!! I had just had our second DD (and last) and had sold our first "starter" house and bought the house we knew we were going to stay in. So we decided to take the plunge. We also bought 10 day no expiration hopper passes.

We had started a college fund for the girls, settled in to our home, had our family, and both my DH and I have great retirement plans. Why not secure a quality family vacation for us too!!That being said...we still financed our DVC. We didn't have $12000 laying around.I know we are going to pay more for our DVC in the long run, but we have already taken 2 trips (planning our 3rd) and still using those original park passes!! Our thought for financing...would you wait to buy a house until you had enough to pay in full? How about a car? We are enjoying our Home, cars and our DVC. We finance all of it. I think most people do. I am not recommending anyone going into huge debt. But we all know what good debt is (House) and what bad debt is (credit card). Which we don't have

Life is short and I am all about enjoying it. I learned a lot when my DD was sick. I believe that you should enjoy life, enjoy your children, and live life the way you want it. and if paying $200 dollars a month does it, (without hardship) well then, I say go for it!!! I love the thought that I secured a quality family vacation for us. I actually enjoy paying the DVC bill It is the only bill that brings a smile to my face. My family has something to look forward to all year. My DD now 4 often tells me that she wants to go back to Disney World. She often skips through the house singing "it's a small world" and will gladly tell you about her favorite rides. My DD2 has asked for the "castle" every day since our April trip.

Oh yeah, my point...is that it is a personal decision. I think you make DVC your own. Some people like to take one trip a year, some like to take many mini trips, some think kids make it harder to enjoy DVC, some are against financing, some are happy staying in a value resort, some think WDW is a once in a life time thing. Only YOU know when and what is best for your family.

Okay, I am going to step off the soapbox now

Good luck with your decision!!!

 

[Newcastle]

Rahrah, I appreciate your honesty in presenting the not-so-popular reality that vacationing with young children at Disney is not always magical! We are DVC owners and have gone to Disney World the past two years when our youngest was 2 and 3 years of age. When we went the first time, it was awful. She was completely cranky and disagreeable and didn't want to go on any rides. I don't know if it was the crowds or the heat or something completely different (she's not yet able to clearly articulate her feelings) but I basically spent the entire trip walking her around in her stroller so that our other children could enjoy themselves to some degree. We thought that things would be better this year because she was a year older but she was the exact same. And she is usually the most relaxed, agreeable child out of all of our children. The only time that she was happy was when we were at the pool. I had to listen to my husband state several times that we could have saved ourselves a pile of money and just taken her to the park/beach at home! Now, I'm certainly not saying that all children are like this as my oldest has always had a great time at Disney regardless of his age. I just think that people need to keep in mind that as much as you fantasize about how wonderful the trip is going to be, there is always the possibility that things may not live up to your expectations. I absolutely love Disney however I spent most of the trip wishing that we were at home. There is no way that we will be returning to Disney anytime soon but it's allright because we will just bank or rent our points until we feel that it is "safe" to return.

With respect to the purchase of DVC, Dean gave me some great advice at the time that we were looking into purchasing and I must say that I let my heart rule my head instead of following his sound advice. I don't necessarily regret our purchase but I believe that the money could have been better spent and we are working hard to pay off the loan within the next couple of years (we purchased one year ago) as you do end up paying an obscene amount of interest if you keep the loan for the entire 10-year time frame. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Granny]

I've been to a few open houses trying to convince myself to join DVC. I finally realized what the problem was.

I wanted to join, because in my eyes, it was a guarenteed Disney trip every year.

The biggest drawback for me, and the reason I have decided not to join (and I'm sorry to those offended by this) - I don't think it's responsible. Right now, I could affod the monthly payments. What if I lose my job tomorrow? What do I do then?

I can't imagine anyone being offended by this. If the purchase is not something that can be afforded within a responsible family budget, then nobody here is going to advise someone to stretch themselves thin financially to buy DVC.

[qoute]

I wrote the numbers down and went over them time and time again. yeah, it may save some money over time, but it's not earth shattering by any means.
[/quote] As others have noted, buying DVC to save money is probably not a good idea. Even if you save money on the accommodations, you will be making more trips so there will be additional air fare, admission tickets, meals, etc. We spend much more on Disney since joining DVC for the simple reason that we go more often.

On my last tour, the agent made up my mind for me. He said, "these aren't hotel rooms". This may sound stupid, but I like hotel rooms. When I'm on vacation, I wanna feel like it.

I can't see where DVC would hold any interest for you then. The best reason for joining DVC is upgrading the accommodations. If that holds no appeal to you, not to mention the lack of daily housekeeping, then DVC just doesn't fit your vacation needs. That's cool...that's why we do the homework, right?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, unless you are 100% convinced to join, you shouldn't.

I couldn't agree more with this sentiment. And I'd just add that someone needs to be fully knowledgeable about DVCs benefits and limitations as well.

 

[crisi]

I can't see where DVC would hold any interest for you then. The best reason for joining DVC is upgrading the accommodations. If that holds no appeal to you, not to mention the lack of daily housekeeping, then DVC just doesn't fit your vacation needs. That's cool...that's why we do the homework, right?

And, as you indicate, it isn't necesarily an upgrade. A hotel room at the Yacht Club Conceirge with a king bed and daily maid service, or a studio over at BCV - hands down, the Yacht club studio is an upgrade. You have someone make the bed every day.

What is an upgrade for me is being able to continue to stay in the Epcot area and have my kids sleep in a seperate room. But with more money and no children, I'd take that Yacht Club room (or one of the BW Inn garden suites) every time.

 

[BCVBRUCE]

We purchased Beach Club back in 2002 and we could not be any happier with our decision. We did pass over the opportunity to purchase earlier because we just did not want to finance. Looking at a straight purchase, no financing, this is what the numbers roughly look like:

160pts X 50yrs = 8000total pts
$60/month dues X 12months X 50yrs = $36000total dues(The "Rough" Part)
$16000 purchase

$16000 + $36000 = $52000 Total Purchase Price

$52000/8000 = $6.50 per point

One week DVC studio @ Saratoga during Premier Season = 163pts
One week Out of Pocket studio @ Saratoga during Peak Season = $2513

163 X $6.50 = $1059.50 VS $2513(Todays Dollars)

So, looking at the numbers, a DVC purchase makes sense.......If you do not finance.

Take a look at your finances and current family situation and make a decision based solely on that. Try to keep the Disney emotions out of your decision. Tinkerbell is actually sometimes evil.

 

[cgcruz]

I did some quick math. For 10 years of financing your monthly payments for 160 points are $182.37 x 120 months= $21,884 Plus your initial down payment of 1,664 plus $320 is you paid your closing cost out of pocket. Thats about $23,868.40 This assumes your original Per point cost is $104 and you got the $10 credit per point. At the end you paid about $149.18 per point. This doesn't include Annual dues. Now if you do 5 years, it'll knock a little down.

If you are willing to pay $149.18 per point for financing for 10 years with disney, then DVC is worth it for you.

 

[Liljam]

I will say that when this thread started and the comment was made with the assumption that the OP is "young, recently married, are considering having children, and not independently wealthy" and that the OP probably "didn't own a house" rubbed me the wrong way.

I'll state it once again that I feel financed DVC owners are absolutely no less than those who have paid for theirs up front. It does anger me slightly that people are often discouraged from financing. If someone wants to finance and can afford it, what does it matter? Ya know, I've noticed the OP hasn't replied on this thread since it started and I wonder if he felt belittled in anyway. I agree with the poster above who has financed many things including DVC and is satisfied. Personally, I financed. I may pay more in the end, I don't mind the payments, they don't hurt MY pocket, and I have money to spend when I go to WDW on top of that - so financing IS ok for me and it might just be for others too. I'm also what I consider to be young, recently married, hoping to become pregnant and not independently wealthy, but I have a beautiful home and I'm in the planning stages of building a second home on an 80 acre farm in a few years and then I'll rent out the first home. I believe in different strokes for different folks. We financed because we don't have 20k just laying around and I know we never will unless we hit the lottery. We spend money on things we need and then things we want. We both have great 401k plans and plenty of life insurance and great health insurance and then we have plenty of "toys" that we don't really need but really want. I'm not being a meanie, just stating my opinion of this financing thing. I hope the OP can make a decision based on all of the information in this thread because it is all wonderful. There is a wealth of knowledge among those that frequent the DIS boards, but I'm just asking that some people consider how belittling it can fell to be one of those people who HAS financed or PLANS to finance when they are told they shouldn't buy DVC if they have to go that way about it. I think one of the nice things about DVC is that it can appeal to those who are extremely wealthy as easily as it can to those with less excessive bank accounts. For myself, I am satisfied with my purchase and I can't wait to have many years of great vacations in a premium style resort.

Also, I'm not saying go out and finance DVC if you have to sell a leg to get the monthly payment. I'm not saying to do it if you are up to your neck in major credit card debt. I do believe in being responsible as much as I believe that financing isn't always a bad thing.

 

[dcibrando]

well for all those needing to know... I do own a house... and bring in pretty decent money between to 2 of us... but still worried about overall payments.

may wait until dec. or next year...we've made some big purchases here lately so maybe adding another will be too much right now

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Liljam...liked your post Congrats on being a DVC owner

 

[Disney Kim]

well for all those needing to know... I do own a house... and bring in pretty decent money between to 2 of us... but still worried about overall payments.

may wait until dec. or next year...we've made some big purchases here lately so maybe adding another will be too much right now

I am in the same sort of boat as you, Me and my husband are young (25) and recently married, and want to have kids soon, I was a little worried about the monthly payments of 160 points, and don't really want that many, I would like enough to stay in a studio every year for 1 week, But the Disney people said no no must be 160 points, So we are buying resale so the monthly payments are far less. Right now we are waiting to hear if a contract went through for 26 points and than I hope to buy more directly from Disney (maybe 50- even if I financed 50 the monthly amounts would be smaller and could be paid off much sooner) after that.
If you want to stay in a 1 or 2 bedroom a smaller contract may not work as well.

I think if you have a smaller contract its easier to resell if you ever need to...

 

[boomhauer]

I posted this on another thread.

Let's just say, you take the regular 2007 season rate of $99 per night at Values Resorts, add in a 4% increase every year, and compare this to buying 160 points at $91 a point, adding in the dues for 20 years - You would be spending over $32,000 with DVC.

$784
$815
$848
$882
$917
$954
$992
$1031
$1073
$1116
$1161
$1207
$1255
$1305
$1358
$1412
$1468
$1527
$1588
$1652

Over 20 years, you've spent $23,345. To break even with 160 points, it would take you 24 years, and this is all assuming, you have received no annual pass discounts in that time. Also, this is assuming you pay for DVC upfront and don't finance it. If you finance it, you're probably looking at just breaking even.

Is it worth it? Not for everybody.

To take it a step further, if you were to use this comparison on a 1 bedroom villa at Wilderness Lodge for example, you would need 270 points for the same amount of time, which brings you to a starting cost of $24,570.

Again, it's not exactly apples to apples, but if a hotel room for you is just a place to shower and sleep, then DVC isn't for everybody.
__________________

 

[GreatLakes5]

I am an accountant by trade so needless to say we've "run the numbers"....they actually don't come out to favour DVC for many years of ownership, so I realize the decision is not necessarily a financial one. In addition the accountant in me wants to throw in that prospective owners should NOT take tax advice from board members - regardless of their apparent financial prowess - I've read some postings as I've researched & there are too many offering advice on deductions & why this is a good financial decision & why people should finance.

Yet we still consider the DVC an option but I have some rookie questions:

1) If I were to pay for a similarly priced suite in a deluxe I'd be getting daily mousekeeping. I realize the DVC includes bigger square footage in many cases, yet for the price I can't get around not having cleaning service. Has this bothered anyone?

2) Do you find that you use your kitchen out of "obligation"? I still want to feel like I'm on vacation - I don't know that cooking regularly will do that for me. Do you find that you live in the DVC like you do at home - cooking, cleaning, etc.? In the same vein, do you miss the DDP?

3) Have you ever regretted your decision when you realize that non-DVC members have a villa next door or what have you because it was available? Did you feel foolish then? (I know, this is a subjective question - it's something I'm wondering about myself, however....)

Next visit is in August and we hope to have our decision made at that time. Any "hands on" advice would be lovely - I'm looking for women (yes, and you gents as well) to tell me that they still feel like they're on vacation & that they don't end up vacuuming & doing dishes all the time

 

[kend58]

I will say that when this thread started and the comment was made with the assumption that the OP is "young, recently married, are considering having children, and not independently wealthy" and that the OP probably "didn't own a house" rubbed me the wrong way.

I'll state it once again that I feel financed DVC owners are absolutely no less than those who have paid for theirs up front.
Also, I'm not saying go out and finance DVC if you have to sell a leg to get the monthly payment. I'm not saying to do it if you are up to your neck in major credit card debt. I do believe in being responsible as much as I believe that financing isn't always a bad thing.

I agree with your position re financing can be a good thing and apologize if any of my remarks were doing the rubbing.

I was simply attmpting to answer the implied why-not that OP gave us. My reasons for not having already bought DVC as well as my desire to do so are what I was attempting to convey

 

[kend58]

well for all those needing to know... I do own a house... and bring in pretty decent money between to 2 of us... but still worried about overall payments.

may wait until dec. or next year...we've made some big purchases here lately so maybe adding another will be too much right now

Hopefully the responses on the thread gave you enough fodder to make a reasonable decision. Clearly DVC is not for everyone and pondering this and making a decision later is something I for one applaud.

 

[BCVBRUCE]

1) If I were to pay for a similarly priced suite in a deluxe I'd be getting daily mousekeeping. I realize the DVC includes bigger square footage in many cases, yet for the price I can't get around not having cleaning service. Has this bothered anyone?

What does daily mousekeeping really get you? It is not much of a bother to re-use towels for a couple of days. I am sure you do this at home. I sure do not need anyone coming into my room everyday to clean a non-exhistent mess.

2) Do you find that you use your kitchen out of "obligation"? I still want to feel like I'm on vacation - I don't know that cooking regularly will do that for me. Do you find that you live in the DVC like you do at home - cooking, cleaning, etc.? In the same vein, do you miss the DDP?

We actually do not cook much at all, if any. But having a kitchen, silverware, dishes and a fridge sure does make things easier, especially with young children. Why would we miss the DDP? It is available to DVC.

3) Have you ever regretted your decision when you realize that non-DVC members have a villa next door or what have you because it was available? Did you feel foolish then? (I know, this is a subjective question - it's something I'm wondering about myself, however....)

Nope! Non-DVC members definitely paid way more than I did for the same room at the same time. I am not talking about, "It takes X-many years to recoup the cost of ownership". However, if I own DVC for 40-50 years who cares how long it takes to recoup the cost. Are you going to sell your interest if you do not recoup the cost in 5yrs?

Next visit is in August and we hope to have our decision made at that time. Any "hands on" advice would be lovely - I'm looking for women (yes, and you gents as well) to tell me that they still feel like they're on vacation & that they don't end up vacuuming & doing dishes all the time

Yes! You will definitely feel like you are on vacation. My wife and I do not clean and do the dishes everyday of our vacation. We have fun at the parks, we eat and we enjoy relaxing in our "home away from home".

 

[kend58]

Any "hands on" advice would be lovely - I'm looking for women (yes, and you gents as well) to tell me that they still feel like they're on vacation & that they don't end up vacuuming & doing dishes all the time

I am a gent - we stay in 2 bedroom Villa accomadations (vistana offsite)

I cook a hot breakfast every morning and we tend to have a snack dinner Wine and chese or pizza in on our rest night.

I know there is a vacumn in the unit but have never plugged it in.
I have washed clothes because of getting soaked on a ride or to freshen towels. We usually rid up the dishes each meal and run the dishwaher every other day (we are a family of 4 with service for 8 available). Breakfast alone saves us at least 10 dollars a day dinner in once another 50 every trip. I have never resented having these options even though some trips we don;t make use of teh kitchen and laundry. I definitely don't miss someone making my bed I just leave it unmade who cares we are on vacation

 

[pogopossum]

In addition the accountant in me wants to throw in that prospective owners should NOT take tax advice from board members - regardless of their apparent financial prowess - I've read some postings as I've researched & there are too many offering advice on deductions & why this is a good financial decision & why people should finance.

as i understand it from tax professionals i know (two of which are dw's sister and her husband, both cpas), the mortgage interest and property taxes are a deduction as a second home, i don't say this as an incentive to get others to finance, but if you do have to finance the purchase it is a good benefit.

3) Have you ever regretted your decision when you realize that non-DVC members have a villa next door or what have you because it was available? Did you feel foolish then? (I know, this is a subjective question - it's something I'm wondering about myself, however....)

what kind of rate are these non-dvc members getting for this available room? last summer we called ahead to hilton head to arrive early and were quoted $480 per night for an available two br villa. our dues for our 400 points for the year were about $1800, we used points to stay 5 nights, which by my non professional accountant reckoning comes to over $2400. we still had enough points left to stay five nights in dec at both the bcv and bwv in a two br.

our break even point was achieved 3 - 4 years ago, because of the kind of trips we've taken, and now our annual dues are all it costs us for our trips using dvc. i know that adding on akv puts us back in the hole so to speak, but fully anticipate to break even by about year 5 and be back in the same position as we are now. and then with the amortization over the life of the contract, i expect that our final cost for all of our vacations over the life of that contract to be about $5 per point.

and we like the previous poster do not spend a lot of time cleaning the room and doing dishes, etc. but we do like the option of having a full kitchen and laundry in the room, makes for less packing. the value of mousekeeping just doesn't make sense to us.

 

[Starr W.]

What does daily mousekeeping really get you? It is not much of a bother to re-use towels for a couple of days. I am sure you do this at home. I sure do not need anyone coming into my room everyday to clean a non-exhistent mess.



We actually do not cook much at all, if any. But having a kitchen, silverware, dishes and a fridge sure does make things easier, especially with young children. Why would we miss the DDP? It is available to DVC.



Nope! Non-DVC members definitely paid way more than I did for the same room at the same time. I am not talking about, "It takes X-many years to recoup the cost of ownership". However, if I own DVC for 40-50 years who cares how long it takes to recoup the cost. Are you going to sell your interest if you do not recoup the cost in 5yrs?



Yes! You will definitely feel like you are on vacation. My wife and I do not clean and do the dishes everyday of our vacation. We have fun at the parks, we eat and we enjoy relaxing in our "home away from home".

I will chime in that I agree with BCVBruce, I don't need Mousekeeping everyday, we reuse the towels and if they need washing before T&T day I have a washer in my room(we're 2br villa people). As for the kitchen, I ship a box of our favorite "healthy" breakfast cereals, coffee, filters and snacks. We buy milk, OJ, water and fruit at the resort. We're not big breakfast people. I am not planning on cooking, but if we go out and get food it's nice to have a table, chairs and real plates.

As for the non-DVC'ers next door, our first visit was at SSR on a cash(and it was pricey), and really how do you know that if someone paid cash,rented points or is a member. We met alot of owners on our first trip, but this last one DH swore we may have been the only ones at VWL(he likes to start conversations to see if people are members, ask about HR or DVC rumors).

 

[rotlex]

See, this is why I can't figure out if DVC is worth it, or just something I want because I want to say "I own part of WDW!" (Lease, actually). Even with the prices of WDW hotels going up, WDW usually offers some special incentive to get you to stay in their Hotels (free dining, ticket upgrades, room discounts, etc). Even when they dont, i'm still pbbly going to save on my room rate alone with AAA discount (our next trip).

We dont mind staying at a value right now, but we would also stay in a moderate or deluxe if we really wanted. Lets not forget, you can stay at any DVC resort if you are willing to pay the price. I've talked to a DVC guide and he told me if I wanted to finance for 5 years my monthly dues including Annual Dues THIS YEAR will be around $344 a month, that's about $4,128 a year just in Room Cost. This year alone, I can stay 7 nights at Animal Kingdom for what, around $220 a day in value season? That's about $1,732 for 7 nights. I know they say you save money on DVC in the long run, maybe like 10 years after my initial purchase if I were to finance for 5 years, even longer for 10 years of financing! That's just way too far from today for me to consider it a convinience.

We do like the bigger accomadations in the DVC 1 bedroom + units, but its just more the look than anything. I know we would not be using the kitchen while we are there. We are not going to cook on vacation! Also, free laundry isnt that great of a savings, i'll just spend the $20 on laundry before we leave.

Also, DVC advertises how you can go to many other places beside WDW with your membership, but I bet you can go anywhere DVC advertises and stay in accomadations comperable to what DVC offers for a better price.

Now, if you are an affluent person who just wants to have the luxury of knowing you will always stay in nicer accomadations (even though you can stay at any deluxe too) , it would certainly make sense to buy into DVC.

If we did buy into DVC, we pbbly wouldnt regret it, but realistically, we would not be saving much in the long run (especially with financing).

This is exactly where my wife and I are at with looking into this. No matter what we do, we cannot come up with this being "a good deal". Don't get me wrong, I'm as big a Disney fanatic as anyone, maybe even worse, but try and try again, I can't convince myself that we need this, and that it will save us a dime in the long run.

When we sat down the other night and discussed the fact that even after paying for all of this, yes cash, no financing, we would STILL have the yearly dues, park pass costs, dining, air fair etc. I know many discuss and use the spreadsheet like calculations to show savings over time, but I even went back a VERY long time, like 15 years ago, and determined we actually just spent LESS money this past April for a trip to DW than we did 15 YEARS AGO! Seriously, we spent approx 1800 just recently, and just over that back then for the same type of stay. That kind of convinced me that even in the long run, DVC, while seemingly good, is simply not for us.

Even though we plan on travelling at least once a year for hopefully many years to come, with the discounts that are always available, specials, free dining etc. it just doesn't add up. Maybe it will one day if the right deal comes along, or Disney decides to do something to make it a little more attractive. One real pete peve of mine, and I won't go on any further, LOL, is park passes. When someone is shelling out this kind of money out front, park entrance should be included, or at least HEAVILY discounted.

Anywho, good luck to any\all on your decisions, and here's hoping you make the right one for you and your families!