How did you come to the decision to purchase DVC and after thoughts

[LSchrow]

OP, please read both dean & jim's posts thoroughly (both are highly knowledgeable & respected).
as said, buying DVC years ago was different than today - higher per point cost, and many resorts with less years left. so what worked for us years ago, might not work now.
personally, we found buying another TS to use exclusively at DVC resorts too much of a gamble (our resort preference during DVC busy times not available on a trade, being restricted to an arrival day, as well as how many days we wish to stay). we would probably still buy DVC now (resale tho)....we still prefer the flexibility & ease of DVC's system, won't use the points outside of WDW, and simply rent a TS inexpensively for travel elsewhere.

as much as we enjoy owning DVC, all one has to do is look at how many resales are out here to see how it is not for everyone

 

[DougEMG]

I'd always wanted to stay at the deluxe resort location but didn't like the cash prices. While we had looked at DVC for many years and had always decided against it, the two things that finally made us buy were:

(1) Paying off our mortgage which freed up a lot of money so I could afford to spend on a luxury vacation worry free.

(2) Finding out about the resale market which made the breakeven point a lot sooner. Being 50+ I didn't want to have to wait too too long before I started seeing those savings.

And while it was pretty much a financial decison to buy, my 18 year old daughter considers DVC her home away from home

 

[dahwolf]

For me it is all about the location! While it's wonderful to try them all, you should really buy where you want to stay.

I like to travel and stay in nice spacious rooms / villas. DVC allows that. I didn't want to pay a cash price per night that would make me sick each time we went.

I also like the fact the DVC has helped our family take 1, 2, or even 3 trips a year as a family.

My only regret is that I can't buy more points at this time... LOL

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

DVC members, I'm curious as to what factors made you come to the decision to purchase into DVC? What were the pros and cons? After going through the process and having experience as a member would you do anything differently? What would you tell a person making a decision to join? What are you happy with about being a member? What are you less than happy about?

We went for the first time in 2010 with a disney promotion of buy 4 nights get 3 free. We stayed at SSR with is a deluxe villa, in a 1 bedroom. After that, I knew I couldn't go back to a regular hotel room and BLT was still selling with promotions. We bought ON that trip. I do not regret it at all. Yes, it's an emotional purchase and we bought direct through Disney which some people frown upon. We are completely pleased with our accomodations and vacations to Disney. There is nothing at this time that I am less than happy about and Feb 2014 will mark our 4th year as DVC owners. We love staying in villas and being able to take our extended family if we want to. Maybe I'm just so mesmerized by Disney I can't see the flaws yet

 

[luckyman_apd]

We bought in because we fell in love with Disney with our kids. We bought small as to not overdo it and be stuck with a ton of points, and lots of dues we don't want to pay when they are older and moved out. We hate Northeast winters and can envision a nice 3-4 weekend just the 2 of us in the future in warm florida with maybe a park visit here and there. Right now, we make use of the PAP, and when we've exhausted our points and next years points....we'll take a year off and do something else.

We were the moderate resort family because I was paying $500 a night to stay at the contemporary or Poly, and we can't tolerate the crowds at the value resorts (cheerleaders, baseball teams, football, etc). DVC (bought resale) gave us the options to stay at the contemporary location for the price of moderates. What's not to love!

Cons:

stress of 7 month booking or less than 11 month booking if you decide a trip sooner than that.

Pros: Contemporary location for Port of Orleans pricing.

In hindsight I might have decided on buying 160 points instead of 125. I probably could have saved (at the time the resale market was much lower than currently) $5-$7 a point on the buyin price. We definitely would have used them. It's always easy find rented points if need be, so we opted to take the 125 and not be burdened by the future dues of excess points.

 

[Nanajo1]

In 1998 I was researching a family trip. We had been to WDW before staying off site once and at the Contemporary. As I thought this might be our last all family trip I looked into Disney resorts. After the cost of DVC was explained to me I realized that for short dollars more we could buy and enjoy the same trip every two years. We first bought at OKW added on there then bought at BWV a few years later. Needless to say that was not our last all family trip. Our family has grown from the initial 9 to 22,including 13DGK. We go every other year and there is no fear of the trip losing its Magic. DH and I go twice a year to W+F and F+G. At times it does seem costly but with the full kitchen,washer and dryer we can go as frugally as needed. Another plus is I need an accessible place to vacation,WDW is the most accessible place I know. We feel it was the right choice for our family.

 

[gingerninja13]

We bought our points at BLT after a few years of thinking about it
after staying onsite on year and not the next we realised this was where we wanted to stay every visit. As a DVC owner in the UK it can cost a lot more to get there and that is my biggest grumble, we would never be able to afford to pay the price of staying in the resorts at cash price.
We love BLT but are determined to try them all and are now looking at buying more points through resale so we can stay for longer

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I bought mine right out of graduate school. I knew it wasn't going to buy a house when the market was at high so I bought DVC instead. When somebody said do you like to vacation every year it made sense for me to buy. I don't mind that it forces you to take a vacation every year. For me it's about quality of life and and vacationing where I love to be. Owning DVC allows me to go on vacation for "free" every year and enjoy food wine festival in October. I know it's not free but it feels that way when you don't give them any money when you check-in. Lol. I'm almost done paying off my loan and when I think about it vacations don't and for me until I'm in my 70s. The memories I've made at Disney World with the people I love are simply priceless. I just recently got engaged on the grand one during fireworks (wouldn't have been able to afford without dvc) and had a fabulous dinner at narcoosee's.

My biggest con is that they don't clean your room every day, don't offer 399 annual ap and valet is no longer standard. What can I say I used to be spoiled! I've seriously considered an add-on and I'm not sick of the membership as of yet. Sometimes I feel like they are raising the prices to be very high and that is a growing issue.

Love my dvc and hope one day soon they build a resort at a ski resort in Colorado.

 

[d3boyz]

DVC members, I'm curious as to what factors made you come to the decision to purchase into DVC? What were the pros and cons? After going through the process and having experience as a member would you do anything differently? What would you tell a person making a decision to join? What are you happy with about being a member? What are you less than happy about?

We had timeshare in Orlando, just a mile from the Mouse House. My husband ALWAYS wanted to stay in the park so we could park our van and not have to drive again until we went home. We saved and saved in the 'Mouse Account,' and on one trip down to Daytona, went to see about our Orlando timeshare. Our agent also moonlighted at Disney and was going to the park for his pay check after our meeting, and offered to take us in. While walking around Epcot, we happened upon a kiosk for Disney Timeshare ... something we'd never heard about ... and just after we found out we'd saved enough money for ONE night at the Polynesian or Contemporary. We were bummed about prices to stay on cash, and took the tour out of curiosity.

Amazed as we were we did not sign right up, but took the materials back to our accommodations to read. We were leaving the next day. To my dismay, I realized that the DVC was a very good deal for us to stay on property, and have a very useful 'commodity' to rent out if we were unable to use it for any periods of time. At the airport the next morning, our plane was first delayed, then cancelled. An OMEN!! We hopped a taxi and went right back to Disney to sign up. We have never regretted that decision.

We purchased at our first location, Boardwalk, then a couple of years later added on at Old Key West. Since our Use Year is September, we are careful to always keep to that month. A few years later we purchased outside of Disney sales, and went through a Timeshare Reseller to buy at Vero Beach.

We actually use most of our points on Disney Cruise Line. Back in 2007 I had extra points (from the last purchase) that we could not use, so I rented them out to three different families. Right now, I have some points that we cannot use so we are also looking to rent them out.

The flexibility if awesome, and you cannot beat the accommodations you get. In truth, they are a little smaller than the ones I've stayed in out 'in town,' but for the convenience, it is SO worth it for our family!

I really don't have anything to be unhappy about with our purchase, and I would do it again.

Deb

 

[deploylinux]

Strangely enough, my wife and I bought in because we hate spending $ on vacations.

Every year, the kids would clamor to go somewhere exciting and I'd look at the cost and say 'no'. Maybe every two to three years, I'd relent if I could find someplace truly unique and interesting at decent value to visit for them at their ages...wash dc, etc..

Things came to a head as the kids got older, and the wife and I decided to make a list of places that we hadn't been or taken the kids that we'd want to vacation to:
* Disney World
* Hawaii
* Mediterranean (Greece/Rome)
* Alaska Cruise
* A nice fishing resort on the ocean
* NYC

Looking at the list, I thought - damn, this will be expensive. Then, another issue came up, the wife has a number of professional conferences held at Hawaii or Florida each year that she wanted to start attending. Nice in the sense that it made part of our travel a business expense, but still...

I decided we couldn't avoid paying somehow, but that I wanted a fixed annual budget for it and someway to save $ over the long haul. Eventually, we discovered DVC..and it has proven to be a perfect fit because of how family focused it is. Our vacations are just as much about spending time as a family as visiting new places. The nice DVC resorts provide the perfect environment for that experience. The kids feel that Disney is their summer retreat - no matter which resort we go to. My wife and I greatly value that we can pass our ownership on to our kids via inheritance, and that the membership serves as a modest inflation hedge.

So, we took the kids to WDW, are getting ready to go to Hilton Head over this summer, and have plans to go to Aulani next year. Eventually, we'll take the Alaska Cruise (oh though, my goodness...they want how many points??).

Buying DVC is pricey and not something to get into while young and with unstable finances, but in the main years of life...it is something that I wish I had found out about and invested in earlier.

My wife and I have agreed we won't buy extra points, and our budget is our points. We don't add on. We bought a generous 350 points to begin with. If we can go where we want to go on those points, we'll go...otherwise, it will wait. So far, that hasn't caused any issues. As for normal RCI and Marriott/Wyndham plans versus DVC...so far, the DVC RCI selection seems to have to have at least one acceptable option in most geographic areas we might want to visit and we greatly prefer DVC resorts to Marriott/Wyndham rooms. In Hawaii, for instance... there is no question that we'll prefer going to Aulani.
I certainly wouldn't mind if Disney built more out-of-the-park resorts.

 

[soulmates]

We had been renting points and after 3 years and over $4000 we decided that WE needed to buy in and stop giving our money away. We went with Saratoga Springs because they were offering the best incentives. I have a feeling once the "Baby" enters college next year we may add points. We now have a grandson and a grandaughter on the way. More people means more time at DW!! We're taking the entire family there next year and we'll have to borrow points to make it happen. That being said, I'm sure we'll add another 100 points somewhere down the line. One thing is certain, we WILL wait for a really great deal. We thought about buying seriously, for 2 years prior to actually doing it. It's a big step and you really have to weigh the pros and cons.