honest truth for a possible DVC buyer

[ripleysmom]

It's not worth it if you are content to go back to the Value or Mod resorts. If you honestly feel that you can be comfortable again in a small room, then save your money.

 

[Xtine76]

I just bought at DVC, the disney people were great--especially the fact I don't have stellar credit, they still worked with me and I got approved--that was the number one thing. Now when I look at it the investment in SSR will probably pay for itself in four or five years. Last time (and the first) I went to Disney I got a great package deal at All-Stars, and I know I still paid an additional fee for incidentals (ie. Refrigerator). Plus with only two in my family, just me and my daughter, I can bring two different relatives or friends along each year to stay in my four person studio. In a few years i'm taking my cousin and her family down to fort wilderness once her kids are older. I have no regrets and am so glad I bought now. I'll be staying in much nicer places for the money i'm paying. The alternative would be to spend the same and stay at the all star resorts for the next ten years. It is a personal choice, but to me it is a chance of a lifetime.

 

[houseofmouse]

I know not alot of people buy into DVC for the exchanges, but that is exactly why my husband and I did. We bought in at the least expesive overall resort HH, with the thought of exchanging for other world wide locations and maybe the ocassional WDW visit.
Well we have yet to do this, we have since been on a cruise and have 2 weeks booked at WDW in 2004.
However, we still intend to exchange more than use Disney, and from the investigating I've done 160pts for a 1 bedroom for 1 week in any of the exchange locations sounds good to me.
Over the life of your ownership the costs savings more than make up for the intitial investment (and yearly dues).

"We have Champange tastes and a Beer budget" when it comes to vacations, and DVC makes it possible to take nice vacations every year.

I know I'm a little onesided on this issue, but we really are glad we bought in.

 

[LeftCoaster]

Originally posted by altogethernow
Need your collective wisdom and experience please.


Bottomline question to you: Is it worth it?

Facts about my family. We like taking vacations. Usually one to two times of year. Children are preschool age. My wife and I have a home. Saving up for retirement and children’s education. Financing a DVC membership is do-able.

Why, however, should I play $10-20,000 and then about $900 a year in maintenance fees for 50 years, when I can, using the internet, get great deals at hotels and spend about $6-700 per trip at most to DW???

Also, if I am convinced that it is worth it, Why buy directly from DVC when I can buy resale???

I'm in the middle of ROFR on a 100 point contract for OKW. I'm 32, single, make decent money and won't be having kids. I had only stayed at moderates (except for getting The Dolphin on Priceline) and am happy to stay there. So here's what convinced me to buy.

I know that I will be vacationing in WDW at least once a year. I have no problems staying in a studio as they are still a bit larger than the rooms at the moderates and they at least have the kitchenette. I don't really need the full kitchen as I'd really only be doing breakfast in the room.
Yes, you can great deals for hotel rooms but, you're not guaranteed great deals on Disney property. I am loving the fact that I don't have to look at the boards first thing every morning in hopes that a code will come out and that I have to jump on it in the next hour or else I won't get the resort I want. I like knowing that I don't have to wonder what the discount may be. I like knowing that the maintenance dues have gone up a smaller percentage than the rates for the hotels. I won't stay offsite and I wouldn't be happy in the value resorts.
This year, I had two stays. The first stay was in March at CBR for $130 a night including taxes and I got The Dolphin on Priceline for $90 a night including taxes and resort fees. Total cost for the 7 nights ran $830. For my September trip, another 6 nights (at $90 a night including taxes) ran $540 at CBR. For that trip, I lucked out and was offered the comeback rate when I was there in March. There were no codes in September so, I would have had to have paid rack rate. If I didn't have the comeback rate, the September trip would not have happened.
Keep in mind this $1400 is for moderate and not deluxe accomodations. The great rates are from perseverence and a little luck. I'd much rather spend my time doing things other than with my face buried in my monitor waiting for a code... and with the Disney Visa programs, and the upswing in tourists heading back to WDW, I think those discounts are going to be fewer and fewer.
I only jokingly thought about DVC when I was out there and my friend Karen bought SSR. Then, once I started thinking about what my vacation plans are, and how much I was spending on hotel rooms, it made more and more sense for me to do this. I PERSONALLY spent close to $1000 on hotel rooms at WDW this year. If I get the 100 point contract for OKW, my dues will be around $350. Long term, is just makes much more financial sense to do this.
Buy through Disney if you want SSR. Buy resale if you want a specific resort.
One thing I also see is that despite the tough economy of the past few years, DVC has been growing stronger and stronger.

 

[crisi]

Do you stay on site at Disney? If you are happy offsite, DVC is probably not a good deal

Are you a Deluxe hotel person? Eventually, you are likely to save money staying in a DVC studio over a Deluxe studio. Discounts won't last forever, Disney resorts increase in cost every year and your point cost with DVC is locked in (well, relatively locked).

Do you vacation mid-week? Points are higher on the weekend and if you only go for long weekends, you may be better off paying cash.

Do you go to WDW every other year at least? DVC is not a great deal at non-DVC locations. I wouldn't recommend buying points with the intent to cruise or go to Tanque Verde. As Johnnie said, these options have gotten more expensive over the years.

Are you interested in having seperate rooms for you and the kids? Or a kitchen. "Home Away From Home" resorts are pretty much the way to do this on property. You can always rent points or pay the cash rates or stay at Ft. Wilderness...or you can join DVC. (Sleeping in a seperate room from your kids on vacation is heavenly.)

Are you interested in having an excuse to go on vacation? For our family, this is a "feature." DH is a little bit of a workaholic, I'm a little bit of a procrastinator - and cheap. DVC means we will plan a vacation every other year so we don't "waste" our points.

Finally, can you afford it? Its 10k up front (a little more, and that's if you find a good deal on a resale and only buy 150 points), plus $600 a year in dues (again, assume you only have 150 points). That is a lot of cash to put towards prepaying vacations. For many people, tying up that much money and committing to a yearly dues payment is not smart. For other people, it isn't a big deal. This isn't something I'd do if I did have no credit card debt, no car loans, money in the bank and well funded 401ks and college funds. But plenty of people do - everyone's comfort level with money is different.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Everyone has had very good comments so far and I agree that to buy or not to buy is a very personal decision. Good luck with it. As for my thoughts.........................

Why buy DVC when you can get great deals with AP's/post cards/special packages, etc? Well, there is no guarantee that that will continue to be the case well into the future. Maybe it will be, and if you are content to sweat it out then you might save a few bucks in some years, but in the long run you probably still wouldn't undercut the cost of DVC (including dues). Will they offer AP rates for my dates? Will it still be available for the resort I want for the dates I want? Will they offer a Fairytale Package this year? Will I get a post card? Am I confortable waiting until a few months before my trip to book? - these are a few of the questions you'll have to deal with. When I ran the numbers before we purchased I compared the cost of DVC to stays in a mix of moderate and deluxe resorts priced using discount rates for one trip a year. My breakeven point fell at about 12 years. That meant that after 12 years of paying discount rates for WDW resorts (if available) I would have spent more on those rooms than I would have on DVC plus dues to that point. After that, the cost of dues was less than the cost of discount rooms so I was saving money on each and every trip for the next 29 years. Over that timespan the savings is incredible.........................but you have to be willing to make the investment up front and endure a few years of realizing "Hey, I paid a lot for this VWL DVC contract when I could have paid only $129 a night with a discount." You do have to be patient. So, from that you can see that I honestly do believe that DVC is worth it from the standpoint that for comparable trips over time you will spend less, even after discounts. However....................................

You must carefully look at how you define "worth it". Fact of the matter is that DVC can definitely be a good investment that costs you more money than you would have spent otherwise, for a while at least. How so? Well..............................it all comes down to the addictive nature of Disney and the power to feed that addiction that DVC provides. You see, now we make two trips a year. IF we made the same two trips a year paying discounted cash rates we would definitely have spent less money with DVC than we would have paying cash. However, we wouldn't have made two trips a year without DVC. So that is an extra set of airline tix, more food money, more car rentals, etc., etc. While we definitely are saving a lot of money on the accomodations at this point, we spend all that savings on other trip costs. Bottom line is that at this point we spend a lot more on our WDW vacations than we would have without DVC.................but we make more trips and stay in better accomodations. That 12 year breakeven has come down to 6 or 7. Once our kids are school age and we only make one trip a year (in a luxurious 2 bedroom) that won't be the case, but for now............................oh well . So, if you fell victime to the WDW and DVC combination, continued to make multiple trips per year for as long as you owned, started playing the add on game...............well, DVC could cost a bundle - but you definitely get what you pay for and it would be well worth it. Otherwise, in the long run, even after considering discounts, DVC will save you money if you stay once a year in an on-site deluxe WDW resort.

As for direct or resale..................it all depends on what you want. A direct purchase costs more and is quicker/easier. For that you get SSR and and extra 12 years. However, if location is more important to you then resale and a 2042 expiration is the way to go. If you want to stay primarily at SSR then buy direct. If you are flexible enough that you can always travel at non-peak times or are willing to take whatever resort is available at 7 months then I'd probably also say that a direct purchase of a longer contract is a good idea. However, if you have your heart set on staying at a particular resort at a particular time then you should consider resale at that resort.

Sorry to confuse things more, but if you consider EVERYTHING you are much more likely to be happy with your purchase. We are delighted with our DVC experience and don't regret the purchase one little bit. We are now making reservations for a trip next year in a 2 br with some close friends. That is something we never would have been able to do without DVC.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by Johnnie Fedora
I've posted this before, We don't have any real regrets, but do have some disappointment with the overall program. While we knew when we purchased that staying at DVC resorts is the best use of points, we did want to sample some other options by using points.

In a few short years, Disney has really raised the "point" charges for these non-DVC options to a ridiculous level from when we initially joined in 2001. In some cases they have doubled in less than two years. And, the trend continues. This has diminished the vacation value of the overall program. (snip)

Not sure what you mean by the trading options being raised to ridiculous levels. Since last year, we have all been given more definitive point values for II exchanges, and they are VERY good. We stayed on points for a week in Hawaii in an expanded 1 bedroom exchange (Kona Coast II) for 160 points for the week. I thought that was MARVELOUS value! Now if you are talking about Concierge Collection, those are not good values, because those point costs are determined by the resort/hotel you will be staying at. Since most are NOT timeshares, you will be getting a hotel room and the point value is negotiated by the hotel annually with DVD. For the real value, you have to do a II exchange for a like property (i.e. 1 bedroom villa for 1 bedroom villa etc.).

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

We have no regrets with DVC. The resorts are 1st class and as someone else mentioned, we use it as a home base when we go to Florida.You can't beat the accomodations. We have been members for 5 years and bought in when it was $65 pt, so as you can see the price per pt is going up rather fast.

I just wish the DCL(Disney Cruise Line) would STOP raising the pts to cruise for DVC members every year

.We did NOT use pts for our upcoming cruise

. They also only allow a certain number of cabins for DVC members and you better book it early(11-10 months out).

If you plan on going to WDW at least every other yr or more and staying on-site........than yes I think it is worth it.

 

[dbkelly]

We love WDW, but we are not the die hard disney nuts that I read about on these boards. We bought an OKW resale with Jaki Apetz (highly recommend her) two years ago. Our children are the prime ages for WDW, but I don't think they will be in 5 years. My husband and I purchased DVC, knowing that we will most likely sell in 7 to 10 years. We are hoping to at least recover the cost of the initial points and the commission. We looked at the maintenance fees as the cost of our vacation, which is a lot less then what we would normally pay. We are a family of 5, so the regular hotel room doesn't work for us anymore. Many places were forcing us to book two rooms, which made the cost outragous. If we cannot recover our cost when it is time to sell, then we hope to recover our cost through renting. I don't think the rental market will ever go away.

Financially, the best way to purchase DVC is to buy OKW. OKW is the best value for your money. We like OKW, but it is not our favorite. We have never had a problem booking our favorite resorts at the 7 month window and we go around Easter every year. Also, if OKW was the only resort available, then that is fine with us. I would never purchase a new offering from Disney.

Another suggestion to maximize your investment is to take out an equity loan for the investment. The interest rates are extremely low and the interest expense is tax deductible in most cases. Just make interest payments (as long as the rates stay low) and payoff the principle when you sell. Don't tie up the money in this investment when you can make a better return else where. Our current market is ideal for this situation, but that may not always be the case. Its a gamble!

 

[DisneyKidds]

Not sure what you mean by the trading options being raised to ridiculous levels.

While II trades may be a good deal (haven't done it so I'll take your word) I agree that the point cost for non-DVC Disney resorts has been raised to rediculous levels. Case in point is Disneyland Paris. We considered using DVC points for a stay there, but this year the points for the Diusneyland Hotel went up so much that it is nowhere near worth using the points there. Using your points to stay at non-DVC Disney resorts is not a good value at all and those points have been going up significantly. However, I'd never recommend buying DVC if you planned on doing this often. DVC is clearly the best value when you use it to stay in DVC resorts and may not be the best timehare if you are purchasing for trading power. There are probably cheaper timeshares out there that would give you similar trading value. Trades and non-DVC resorts are a nice option if you have no other use for the points, but I don't think that is one of DVC's best selling points.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Originally posted by dianeschlicht
[QUOTE
Not sure what you mean by the trading options being raised to ridiculous levels.

I'm not referring to the II exchanges, but the other Disney options (DC, DCL). You would expect that trading to a Disney resort would be a little more reasonable than 2-4X the point cost of a DVC studio or 1 BR.

II exchanges seem to be more fairly priced as you describe in your example. We have not done an II, but will in the future. They appear to be the most reasonable point exchanges within the DVC program.

 

[belle3]

The purchase is absolutely a personal decision based on family, vacation history and finances. We almost ALWAYS stayed off site and had gotten some super deals using the power of the internet. These deals, however, seem to be fading fast, especially when travel time is restricted because of school. It really burned me up to see a hotel room in November rent for 85.00 per nite, but just one short month later, the same hotel room was renting for 285.00/nite. I know it is supply and demand, but it really started to get under my skin. The other thing we tried was renting a "villa" from the many available in Kissimee and the other surrounding areas. We started this in Nov 2001, right after the Sept 11 incident, and found great bargains, such as a 4 bed home for 500/week....times change and that house now costs us over 1000/week for when we can travel...and it has not been maintained to the standards of Disney! Not to mention you have to pay at least 8 weeks before your arrival date and will loose most or all of the money if there is a last minute reason to cancel. I was spending at least 1-2 hrs most days searching for the "bargains" on line, and no guarantees of what the accomodations would really look like when getting there. We vacation usually 3-4 times a year at Disney and were fortunate to be in a financial situation to allow a DVC purchase, so we did it.. Keep in mind that as the kids get older, you too will be subject to the price gouging that happens in April, the summer months and again at Christmas. Even though Disney has higer points for various seasons, it is something you can budget your point allotment for. We know we will now be able vacation at Disney during the peak season and it will be a bargain for us.
Best of luck in your decision!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my fellow DVCers!!!

 

[vernon]

Disneykids said

Case in point is Disneyland Paris. We considered using DVC points for a stay there, but this year the points for the Diusneyland Hotel went up so much that it is nowhere near worth using the points there

In DVC's defense I can understand why Disneyland Paris will have changed such a lot. In the last year and a bit the $ has devalued against the Euro by about 25-30 %. Therefore if a hotel room cost 100 euros last year, in $ terms that was about $90 it currently would cost you $115 to buy 100 euros. In order for DVC to buy that room they will be paying about 30 more than they were last year, so I don't think that is unacceptable (but much will depend on how quickly and accurately they reflect and reversal of that foreign exchange movement)

But overall I agree with the point Johnie was making the point cost for moderate rooms has taken a couple of hikes over the last few years and I find it difficult to understand why, unlike DLP there is no currency fluctuations to take into account. Basically they charge twice ( or more) the price in points terms for rooms that fetch less in $ terms on the "free market" IMHO it makes no sense.


To the original question
You've stayed at OKW so you have a feeling for the style of resort, I'm guessing your cousin is a member so you've had the system explained to you, you say you've run the numbers i.e. DVC is affordable and with a young family you're reasonably sure you'll visit regularly. You still have the choice of buying for 50 years with DVC (Saratoga Springs) or for 40 by buying a resale ( so a little more maths work there for you LOL). Again each person is the best judge for their own situation. I can only say I've been a member since 93 and I'm very happy with my purchase.

As Diane correctly pointed out VERY early in this thread discount availability is by no means guaranteed. There are lots of people who will say " I can get X discount so a long term commitment doesn't make sense to me" , while it may not make sense for them, that doesn't mean it doesn't make sense to other people who don't think those discounts will be available long term. The recession and 9/11 hit the tourist industry hard and WDW hit lower occupancy levels (% wise) than at any time in the last 20 years, coupled with a huge volume of hotels in the area facing similar problems it's not suprising there were huge discounts available, but it does seem that those discounts are not as freely available and even the fabled AP rate is not as easy to get as it once was.

At some stage, to buy into DVC one has to take a leap of faith as to what is likely to happen in the future. If you believe that tourism to Orlando is going to remain patchy and that people will remain at home scared to travel then you should factor in that those discounts will remain. If you believe, as I do, that the American economy is still in reasonable shape and that the American people will regain the confidence to travel then those discounts will not be as easy to get.
Ultimately DVC is a long term investment, you are committing your resources to cover what you think will be a long term family commitment. IMHO it will save money in the long run, even when compared to staying at the cheapest on site rooms ( All Star) , some people don't feel comfortable making long term commitments ( and that's fine) I know a lot of people that prefer to rent their home as opposed to taking out a mortgage and buying one. In the same way I prefer to buy a home to renting one, I think DVC offers a better deal than renting a hotel each year.

 

[chirona]

Originally posted by altogethernow
Need your collective wisdom and experience please.

.

Bottomline question to you: Is it worth it?

Why, however, should I play $10-20,000 and then about $900 a year in maintenance fees for 50 years, when I can, using the internet, get great deals at hotels and spend about $6-700 per trip at most to DW???

Also, if I am convinced that it is worth it, Why buy directly from DVC when I can buy resale???

First let me say that I have owned at DVC for many years and I love it.
From a Financial Perspective paying $10-20,000.00 is not worth it at all. Like someone already posted that they rent points on a regular basis and they don't have to deal with maitance fees for the next 38-50 years.

 

[chirona]

Originally posted by altogethernow
Need your collective wisdom and experience please.

.

Bottomline question to you: Is it worth it?

Why, however, should I play $10-20,000 and then about $900 a year in maintenance fees for 50 years, when I can, using the internet, get great deals at hotels and spend about $6-700 per trip at most to DW???

Also, if I am convinced that it is worth it, Why buy directly from DVC when I can buy resale???

First let me say that I have owned at DVC for many years and I love it.
From a Financial Perspective paying $10-20,000.00 is not worth it at all. Like someone already posted that they rent points on a regular basis and they don't have to deal with maitance fees for the next 38-50 years.
It will be cheaper to go get a resale rather than Disney so if you decide that it is worth is then that might be the way to go.
So why did I purchase well I went on my heart not on sound reasoning like many of us here. (So who said that I always make wise decisions smile). I enjoy my trips very much but I have to be honest it is not a money saver there are other ways to stay at DVC locations for less you just have to be patient in looking for the best ways to do this. Whatever you decide I hope that you continue to enjoy wonderful vacations.
Sorry if this printed twice I hit the return keky by mistake

 

[DisneyKidds]

From a Financial Perspective paying $10-20,000.00 is not worth it at all. Like someone already posted that they rent points on a regular basis and they don't have to deal with maitance fees for the next 38-50 years.

I'd have to respectfully disagree with this statement. I just reworked some of the numbers I ran before we purchased. I re-did a couple of comparisons.

Over the life of the DVC contracts we own, figuring DVC dues increasing on overage 2.5% per year, our DVC ownership will cost us about $98,000. That is for an initial cost of $22,000, less a little rental income, plus annual dues for the life of the contract. This has provided us two trips a year for the last 3 and will give us a prime week in a 2 br on a go forward basis.

Then I figured the cost of hotel rooms. An early mix of mods and deluxes, and then deluxes at a discounted rate of $199 a night plus tax, with 4% inflation per year. Total cost over the life of our DVC contract..............about $182,000. So DVC over time would save about 46% over discounted deluxe resort rooms........................which I should point out hardly compare to a 2 br.

Then I looked at the rental angle. All told over the life of the contracts we will use about 12,000 DVC points. Assuming that the rental rate stays static at $10 for the next 39 years, renting those points would cost $120,000. So, compared to renting points, DVC ownership saves about 18% over what many believe to be the cheapest way to stay on Disney property (outside owning DVC of course ).

So, for making the committment and "dealing" with maintenance fees you earn yourself at least an 18% discount on already deeply discounted accomodations until 2042, at least for us in our example. Not too shabby. Should the average rental cost go up to $11 a point the DVC "discount" jumps to almost 26%. $12 average point cost......32% DVC "discount".

Yes, DVC requires an up front investment and some faith in the long term viabilitily of the product, but there is no doubt that it will beat renting rooms or points in the long run, at least for those willing and able to take the plunge.

Feel free to question my math and methodology all you want (I'll stand behind it and provide the details), but the savings is there to be had.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds
Should the average rental cost go up to $11 a point the DVC "discount" jumps to almost 26%. $12 average point cost......32% DVC "discount".

And one has to believe that the rental cost will increase eventually. Using $4 as a starting point with your 2.5% annual increases, dues will exceed $6 per point in about 15 years and $7pp in 25 years. You can't tell me that people will continue to rent their points out for such a small "profit margin" indefinitely.

 

[Cruelladeville]

DisneyKidds did a good analysis on discount costs. I just got back from Beach Club--not the villas**sniff, sniff**--and I got a wonderful discount rate of $169 per night+tax for my room--not a villa--which is 1/2 the price of the usual room rate. You won't get that room any cheaper, ever. That is close to the luxury of a studio in a villa, and even a cheap room( at Caribbean Beach) was $89+tax. Well, guess what? A studio costs me about $50 per night, and that includes original investment+dues+interest. I have not subtracted for rental of points, which I have done before. And if I wanted to sell? I can recover my total investment+dues, which means that all those trips--3 peryear--were totally free!! what a deal! Eventually, the cost to buy will go down, of course, since my points are at BWV, but I am thrilled that even if I couldn't get a cent back from selling, I would have come out ahead on cost, after 6 years of owning. No one who stays in hotels can make that claim. There is nothing better than DVC!

 

[chirona]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds
I'd have to respectfully disagree with this statement. I just reworked some of the numbers I ran before we purchased. I re-did a couple of comparisons.

Over the life of the DVC contracts we own, figuring DVC dues increasing on overage 2.5% per year, our DVC ownership will cost us about $98,000. That is for an initial cost of $22,000, less a little rental income, plus annual dues for the life of the contract. This has provided us two trips a year for the last 3 and will give us a prime week in a 2 br on a go forward basis.

Then I figured the cost of hotel rooms. An early mix of mods and deluxes, and then deluxes at a discounted rate of $199 a night plus tax, with 4% inflation per year. Total cost over the life of our DVC contract..............about $182,000. So DVC over time would save about 46% over discounted deluxe resort rooms........................which I should point out hardly compare to a 2 br.

Then I looked at the rental angle. All told over the life of the contracts we will use about 12,000 DVC points. Assuming that the rental rate stays static at $10 for the next 39 years, renting those points would cost $120,000. So, compared to renting points, DVC ownership saves about 18% over what many believe to be the cheapest way to stay on Disney property (outside owning DVC of course . [/Quote

I certainly don't mind if you disagree but the basis for the calculations is of rate of inflation 2.5 for annual dues and 4% for hotel rooms is base on what. One thing is clear from the econoomy is that you cannot really say what will happen to rate of inflation. If a person was not locked in they pay what they it gets to high they are not locked in.

I far as renting is concern I don't think that most peope may not use 12,000.00 points over the life of their contract. One reason i say that is some may be too old to make trips to Disney on a regular basis or they may be dead by that time.

Last Disney from their food to hotels everything is overpriced let's face it. If Disney prices reflected cost to build and Maintenace and decent profit their prices could still be less than what they are. If not as if the materials they use is the mostly costly in the world. If someone ask was it the most practical thing to do in spending so much money on future vacations, the answer would be no. Sometimes we do things because we enjoy it even if we know it may not be the best value for our money. Many people want advice or someone to convince them it is a bargin and I don't want to mislead anyone on the basis of my emotion.

 

[kcashner]

I'm not sure how much I can add. DVC is the best value at WDW. Provided you plan to vacation at WDW at least every 3 years (bank one, current year, borrow one), you will easily get your value out of it. I calculated the "cost" of a point when I purchased...purchase price and annual dues, and use that to compare to the cost of a hotel room. I'm staying at OKW in a studio on our next vacation for $42 per night. The cheapest place I could get at WDW would be the All Star where I would have a smaller room, no real closet, and no kitchenette and would pay at least $69 plus tax per night. There are also many subtle benefits at DVC like free laundry facilities.

With little ones, I would say it is a total no brainer...you will use it.

My dues went up a little this year...for the first time. They have basically stayed the same over the last 5 years...a tiny increase, a small decrease, but reasonably the same. Disney hotels have continued to increase in price.

The real question is do you like/will you use Disney. If the answer is yes, then it is financially a good deal. If the answer is "maybe, but my life circumstances might change," you can always rent out your points. If you see Disney as a "once in a lifetime" trip, then probably not for you.

My only regret is that I didn't do it 5 years earlier.....