Help What To Do

[mseg16222]

Okay folks I need your help. I have ben searching and reading many sites and opinions on owning DVC. We just got back 2 and a half weeks ago from our first family trip to WDW at the WL. Well now they said that is where they want to stay forever.....LOL

Well I am stuck whether or not to buy in. First off we can only go on vacation for the most part in JUNE, JULY, or AUGUST, that would be a week long. We may have a few 3 or 4 day long weekends through out the year. My husband liked that there are to 2 other DVC areas, HILTON HEAD and VERO beach because he loved Disney but he is a beach person. And my brother lives in SC.

Not also my husband never know when he has vacation till JAN of that year. So would it matter what I had as a home resort (to buy into), because we can never book more than 6- 7 months in advance. We are going to make to more than likely stay at VWL and when not there HILTON HEAD.

Now we can pay for the DVC out right if money is taken out of some funds. I am so confused as to whether this is wise. Would it be better to just go to Disney every other year and go to any beach the other years.

We are planning a Disney Cruise for 2007 but have to wait till JAN to see when he is off work and don't want to take the kids out of school.

But my husband promised the kids back to Disney in 2008 even if only for 4 days because he wants to go to the beach too....(possibly Hilton Head).

And then looking buying at resale or SSR through Disney not sure which to do and how many points. I know when I want to go it is more points for DVC resorts. And being my hubby wants to possible do 2 vacations a year in 2 years I would need at least 220-240 points and that would be just for studios...........

I need some sound advise because everyone else looks at me like I have Mickey on the brain. When I was younger I went to WDW over 9 or 10 times (am 31 now) becuase my Grandmother had a house in Melbourne (not far away) and I had so much fun and I have 2 little boys (soon to be 7 & 8) that i want to have memories with. My mother passed away at the age of 52 and my father is very ill and in a personal care home at the age of 55. Prior to that I was caring for him and had to sale my house to move my family in to take care of him. And I now have this attitude that never put off things that you want to do with your family today because you never know what tomorrow brings.



PLEASE HELP

 

[mikesmom]

I'm sure other people can weigh in on some of these issues, but I'll give it a try...
First, if you can only book 6 months out, you are correct, it probably doesn't matter where you buy as everyone's points are equal at 7 months. Now that being said, DVC on property isn't too difficult at 7 months. While that is busy season for the parks, DVC owners tend to flock in more for the Food & Wine Fest, early December and the holidays. Those dates are very difficult at 7 months.

If you really want Hilton Head in the summer months I'll stick my neck out here and say it probably isn't going to happen. HHI books up SOLID during the summer and at 7 months it's a tough ressie. But you may not care - if Hubby is a beach person, you may not want HH. It is not on the beach. I'm not thinking Vero is as tough but I suspect someone here is a better judge.

I'll step down now so another DISer can chime in...

 

[littlestar]

If you know you'll want to stay at VWL or the Wilderness Lodge and you can't take advantage of the 7 to 11 month booking window for VWL, I think I'd just pay cash to stay in the main lodge instead. VWL is the smallest DVC and I think taking advantage of owning there (using that 11 month window) for reservations in the summer would be important.

Hilton Head is busiest in the summer months. You need to own points there and book early to get those reservations. Disney's Hilton Head is not on the beach. You have to take a shuttle to get to the ocean.

If you've got your heart set on those resorts at the times you mentioned and you can't plan earlier out than 6 months, I think I'd just stick to cash. I think timeshares work best for people that can plan farther in advance than 6 months. DVC is also an expensive use of points for long weekend trips, as the points are usually at least double for Friday and Saturday nights.

 

[Didney Daddy]

One option to consider is making your reservations at 11 months that your husband is shooting for in terms of dates. I know he does not find out till the 6 month date and if you got it wrong, you can cancel the reservation and book another one.


As to the resorts and summer travel, you should have little issue at six or seven months at the property resorts. They are all great in their own way. One of the best things about DVC is staying at differnet resorts. You may be surprised. Our first stay was at OKW and we thought we would go there everytime, but we tried diffenrent spots and now we love them all. We all have our favorite.

Pay cash if you can for the purchase. Remember, this is a prepayment of vacation accomodations thereby kind of forcing you to vacation at the Happiest place on Earth each year or two. I always recommend starting small in your purchase and then we can discuss add on itis later.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[kathytx111]

I did

 

[dvc at last !]

Only regret is that we did not buy sooner.

And the prices do not stay the same either ...

Do it !

 

[vonderbar]

You have heard alot of opinions, so here goes mine. As a DVC member since 2002, I feel you should go for it. If you love WDW that much, you will only be sorry you didn't do it sooner. How you pay is a personal decision. My husband's way of thinking is to keep as much of "your" money as you can. In other words rather than paying it all at once, he would figure out what is the most amount he could comfortably pay each month (loan and maintenance). Then he would figure out how much does he need to put down to get to that figure. Remember, your maintenance is separate from your loan and could go up each year. If you go with a resale, check how many years are left on the contract. Remember, this can be willed to your children. SSR is 50 year contract and previous DVC contracts were 30 years.

As for the booking dates, is there a pattern to your husband's vacation schedule? Does he ususally get the same weeks he requests? As someone mentioned, the worst case scenario is that you have to change the ressie. I don't think the 11-month vs 7-month reservation schedule should make a difference. My home base is Vero Beach and we never have been there yet. I have been lucky enough to always get my resort of choice, even if I have been on a waiting list. We always go in October for Wine & Food. Two years, ago we also went in February and May.

Keep in mind, that you can bank or borrow points. So technically, you may not need as many points as you mentioned. I would recommend you speak to a DVC Representative. They are all low-pressure and can answer all your questions. If you decide not to pay cash, check with a few financial institutions for interest rates, before you call. This way, you will know if you want to finance through Disney or not. At the time we purchased, we went through Disney. It was more for the convenience that I was already there and wanted to get the ball rolling. Again, we are very happy being DVC Members. We get Member Perks, invitations to special events and the best part is hearing "Welcome Home" when we arrive at the resort. Best Wishes!

 

[starbox]

You sound like a perfect family for DVC. We also travel in June, July and August. We purchased for the WDW plus VB or HHI. If you use Sun-Thurs points you could probably get 5 nights in WDW and 5 nights at the beach every year.

VB was not difficult to book in the summer. We got what we wanted about six weeks prior. I'm not worried at all about getting a summer ressie at 7 months. Summer is not a prime season for central/south Florida beaches (winter/spring is the popular season). I am hoping to try HHI this Spring for a few days with just the kids. We live in GA, so I originally planned to try to do HHI each summer but we fell in love with Vero and want to go there instead now!

 

[mseg16222]

FOr traveling in JUNE JULY AND AUGUST do you find it hard to get reservations at certain DVC? Or do you primarly stay at the same one?
THanks

 

[starbox]

We've gotten reservations at SSR,OKW, VB for July with less than 2 months prior planning. I had a WL come through for NYD at WLV (wait list was requested at about 6 months). I made 7 month reservations for Spring Break at HHI today. No problem at all.

The only two DVC resorts I have not tried are BWV and BCV. I have no desire to ever stay at BCV, but I'll try to get BWV for sometime this summer at 7 months (and I don't anticipate it being a problem). If you are flexible with when you travel in summer, I really don't think you'll have a problem staying where you want and booking at 7 months.

The 7 month window is a problem for people that are very specific in their wants (example: needing a Grand Villa at OKW the week of July 4th). If you just want a basic unit, and have a few resorts you'd be happy staying in, and can go anytime in June or July - it's probably not going to be a problem for you.

 

[tjkraz]

If you are flexible with when you travel in summer, I really don't think you'll have a problem staying where you want and booking at 7 months.

Perhaps I'm misreading the situation, but I don't believe OP has a great deal of flexibility. What I'm seeing is that:

* Target dates are the months of June, July and August
* Husband must request specific vacation dates and must wait until January for final approval

As I understand it, by January the vacation dates will be set-in-stone and there is no flexibility.

Personally, I'd be hesitant to recommend DVC to someone who is limiting their options to two of the smallest resorts and booking on just 6-7 months' notice.

 

[rinkwide]

...I'd be hesitant to recommend DVC to someone who is limiting their options to two of the smallest resorts and booking on just 6-7 months' notice.

Wise words - especially since cash discounts are frequently available at both.

 

[mello]

That's a tough question for anyone. But it sounds to me from your post like your family would be a good match, overall. You've had personal experience that says, "don't wait, make memories with your family while you can", you've got two little boys and dh to make memories with, you have fond memories of WDW yourself, and want to take your kids back, and you can come up with the money. And there's the possibility of beach vacations too. In that situation, I'd say go for it. I tend to agree with all those reasons. I doubt that a financial planner would say it's a good business decision to take $ out of funds to advance purchase vacations, but some things you just can't put a price on, kwim?

I have no idea about HHI. I know there must be cancellations in the summer at Vero, because we had the choice to go there this past June, booking only a couple months out (we ultimately decided not to, but the room was available for some of our nights). Maybe you might want to consider buying a resale at either HHI or VB so you can book there 11 months out, even if you don't know for sure you can go; you can always change ressies in January once you know, if need be. You might want to check with the experts on use year here, to make sure you get one that coordinates well with your January-knowing-when-you-can-go dates and your projected summer vacation dates.

From personal experience I can tell you this: owning DVC "forces" (or allows) you to go on vacation when otherwise you might not. It has already given us opportunities we didn't have before. BUT you've got to be flexible to make the best use of those opportunities. If your perfect date/place scenario doesn't work out, you've got to be willing to work with another date/place. It really is easiest when you can plan ahead. I'm a planner, and thought, "No problem, planning ahead is my forte" when we joined. In a perfect world, that would work. But things happen; life happens; and you can't always plan ahead as far as you might like, and then you just have to go with the flow. We've only owned DVC a little under a year, and have already postponed one trip, taken an unexpected trip, rented out points, transferred points, banked points, and had points left over lol. It's been crazy, but it sure has been fun!

In your scenario (with not knowing til Jan each year), I could see some adjustments happening too, perhaps. Maybe it would be taking a couple long weekends some years instead of a week in the summer. Maybe take the kids out of school in conjunction with a long weekend once in awhile, to be able to go in the off-season. Maybe go every other year, if the yearly trip doesn't work out. Maybe trade into II for a trip closer to home or at a different beach one year. At least there are options. If you're open to that flexibility, then I could see DVC working out pretty well for you.

Best of wishes in your decision making!