How did you decide DVC was worth the money?

[speicher46]

If you love Disney, it is worth it. It is hard to crunch numbers and look at it as an investment. What it does is provide your family with a lifetime of vacations at a greatly reduced cost. It also locks in your vacations at today's prices. Just as an example...check out a two bedroom vacation home at BLT. It goes for around $4600.00 for four nights ! This same unit requires 192 points. If you figure around $10/points that is only $1920.00 for the same thing! Huge savings! Again, if you are a fan of Disney and want a lifetime of vacations for you and your family, it is a good deal. If you are looking for a pure financial investment, it is most likely not the way to go.

 

[hbehrman]

We decided to become members after our third child was born. We loved going to WDW and knowing we would eventually have to start getting two rooms is what convinced us to go with DVC. Having said that, even since becoming members, we have stayed at POR several times in the rooms that sleep 5. I can't really say that DVC has saved us any money or was a great financial decision, but like Dean said, it fits our lifestyle and has made our travel to WDW more pleasant. DVC has allowed us to take extended family twice on trips they would have never taken if we hadn't provided the accommodations. It has allowed us to go to HH & VB during our fall break almost every year since 2001. We have made family vacations a priority. Without DVC, we probably wouldn't have traveled as much.

Agree with the above. As a family of 5 with the kids getting older or last three stays together was at POR. It was clear that if we wanted to relax we needed more space to take a relaxing vacation to WDW instead of spending all of the time in the theme parks. So now the kids are 8 and 5 it was time to either go Deluxe or DVC. We chose the latter. Added benefits are that it also affords the opportunity to eat in rather than out all the time in a real dinng room/kitchen. We look forward to trying out HHI as well since that is halfway to Orlando for us.

 

[adminjedi]

We love renting DVC points... I'm just not sure it makes sense to buy, when we can rent at $10 a point, and get the dates we want...

Perhaps you can rent, but you can't control your reservation = risk. Nor can you plan ahead for 1, 2 or three years knowing what you have available.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

There are several ways to look at it.

One of my sisters thinks owning a Disney timeshare is ridiculous. However, she paid more for her boat and motorhome than I paid for DVC. Of course, she don't have dues...but what do you think she's going to buy when these items wear out. Yep...another boat and motorhome. These aren't bad items...but not items we would buy for various reasons.

We love Disney and realized that this is where we really like to vacation all the time.

We found smaller contracts through the resellers. We bought 100 point contract 3 or 4 years before Disney offered them.

We fell in love with Boardwalk.

We had money burning a hole in our pocket.

 

[SFD998]

My wife and I were both fortunate enough to have gone to WDW throughout our childhood. She went nearly every year and I went every few years. With that in mind it wasn't too difficult for us to pick WDW for our Honeymoon in '99. From that point on we were going every year except the years that our 2 boys were born and the year we built our house. We stayed in every accomodation from All Star to Poly with the majority being moderate. As time passed we started going more frequently and decided that it was time to consider the investment.

We bought resale in Nov. 2008 at OKW with a 230 pt contract. We were immediately hooked and started talking add on. In April 2009 we bought resale at AKV followed by a direct purchase at AKV in June of the same year. A few months ago we again bought resale at HHI. The plan is to add a BLT contract in the future.

For us not only does it mean we can go more often, but almost "forces" us to make the time. We have been taking up to 5 trips a year although not all of them are 7 days or longer. We enjoy the planning and staying at the different DVC resorts. By booking 11 months in advance it keeps us constantly in the Disney frame of mind even when we are not there.

DVC is not for everone, but it certainly works for us just look at my signature. Our only regret is not purchasing back in '99 on our honeymoon. However, it wasn't financially possible for us back then.

 

[wildernessDad]

We bought in 2005. I used a spread sheet at the time to do a comparison. Of course, there is always room for argument when it comes to finances, but my comparison showed that I'd break even after 7 vacations.

Times are different now, but I still think that my DVC is better than laying out cash each time. And more importantly, it forces me to take vacations. That's great value, I think.

 

[ToddyLu]

In our 40's DH and I had a midlife crisis--instead of the convertible, we bought the DVC!!

 

[Nancy F]

And staying at GF concierge level so we were already spending the money. The only reason we didn't do it sooner was because we liked staying on the monorail. So when we heard about BLT we decided to give it a shot. And we just love it!!! Well worth it for me and the hubby.
Nancy

 

[DisWitt]

One of my sisters thinks owning a Disney timeshare is ridiculous. However, she paid more for her boat and motorhome than I paid for DVC. Of course, she don't have dues...but what do you think she's going to buy when these items wear out. Yep...another boat and motorhome. These aren't bad items...but not items we would buy for various reasons.:

Sure, her boat and RV don't have MF's, but they do incur insurance and property taxes (usually included with state license fee) and MAINTENANCE! Plus, things with motors depreciate MUCH faster than our real estate "investment". We know we've got 50 years on DVC... my guess is that a boat or RV is done after 20 or 30.

 

[Dean]

If you love Disney, it is worth it. It is hard to crunch numbers and look at it as an investment. What it does is provide your family with a lifetime of vacations at a greatly reduced cost. It also locks in your vacations at today's prices. Just as an example...check out a two bedroom vacation home at BLT. It goes for around $4600.00 for four nights ! This same unit requires 192 points. If you figure around $10/points that is only $1920.00 for the same thing! Huge savings! Again, if you are a fan of Disney and want a lifetime of vacations for you and your family, it is a good deal. If you are looking for a pure financial investment, it is most likely not the way to go.

I would modify this to say that you need to love Disney AND it needs to make sense financially. IMO one must crunch the numbers to justify joining. Also, it is my opinion that rack rates means nothing as to cost or value unless you would have paid that rate if you didn't own DVC.

 

[Tiger926]

I would modify this to say that you need to love Disney AND it needs to make sense financially. IMO one must crunch the numbers to justify joining. Also, it is my opinion that rack rates means nothing as to cost or value unless you would have paid that rate if you didn't own DVC.

I totally agree! We only compare to the rates we actually would pay during that time. So, whatever promo/discount you qualify for, that is the rate you use for your formula. We did go 1x or 2x without any discounts, but as of late, we would have qualified for lots of discounts, so we use those figures. It's just like with Dining Plan - you need to actually compare to how you normally eat if paying OOP, not with the overeating and overordering that people do while on the DP. That is just inflating the value of that product, so it's not a true comparison.

Tiger

 

[otterpop]

I think everyone one will agree that DVC is worth it for several reasons, but
one also needs to keep in mind (as has been mentioned several times) it will save you money in the long run IF you already (or plan to) go every year. If DVC will change your vacationing habits, such that you will be going more than you would normally, the financial aspect takes a huge increase.

Lets say that you normally go to Disney once every other year, but now with DVC, you go once every year. That means you are now paying to fly (or to drive), park tickets, food, misc. every year instead of every other year.

...and I think we would all agree, that Disney is not cheap!

On the flip side though, lets say that you used to go once a year and now you go twice a year because of DVC. Now you can take better advantage of the discounted annual pass, TIW, and a few other things (assuming you have the finances to do so).

We just purchased resale last month and my wife is already getting ready to kill me. We bought 190 points at OKW with the idea that we could have one nice vacay each year or possibly two if we stayed in a studio. I am already trying to figure out how we can go 3 times in one year and take advantage of the annual pass and TIW! We would be paying a lot more than what we were originally thinking, but we would save a lot of money if we could get the annual pass.

Why couldn't money really grow on trees (and I had one of those trees...or a whole field of them)!!!!

Evan

 

[william1375]

I think everyone one will agree that DVC is worth it for several reasons, but
one also needs to keep in mind (as has been mentioned several times) it will save you money in the long run IF you already (or plan to) go every year. If DVC will change your vacationing habits, such that you will be going more than you would normally, the financial aspect takes a huge increase.

Lets say that you normally go to Disney once every other year, but now with DVC, you go once every year. That means you are now paying to fly (or to drive), park tickets, food, misc. every year instead of every other year.

...and I think we would all agree, that Disney is not cheap!


Evan

You do not have to go every year to find value in DVC. Just buy 1/2+ the points needed for your desired stay if you go every other year, or 1/3+ of the total points required if you only plan on going every 3rd year. Remember you can add-on as many do after their initial buy-in. That "addonitis" is very contagious!

 

[Anal Annie]

You do not have to go every year to find value in DVC. Just buy 1/2+ the points needed for your desired stay if you go every other year, or 1/3+ of the total points required if you only plan on going every 3rd year. Remember you can add-on as many do after their initial buy-in. That "addonitis" is very contagious!

Although I still feel "points challenged" (250 pts.) most of the time, we went into it purchasing 2x what we'd normally need for a 1 week vaca in a studio in "magic" season at SSR (which at the time was 123). OUR thought process was to be able to double our vacationing ability throughout the course of a year - which we accomplished - we actually completed 3 trips on our AP's last year. But yes, it DOES increase overall expenses as we now fly more etc. But SOOO glad we bought as many points as we did initially though. Even though I wish we could have MORE I am glad we have our 250 - I think it DOES help me fight off the addonitis fever. I have to remind myself how lucky we are to have what we have and that we're fortunate to have been able to take 2-3 trips per year since buying. IF we ever get more points they will be used for larger units not more trips.

Now I am preparing myself for withdraw as we skip out on WDW for awhile. (I think I may need a pill!!!) We're going to use our points next summer for a few nights at DLP (I know, NOT a good value BUT if we're not going to WDW then we may as well) then we're doing a DCL Med Cruise and tacking on a couple nights in Barcelona. With the points that are left, my current plan is to bank them for use at Aulani & DL in 2012!! That would give us enough pts. for either an extended stay or a larger unit. I just love all this long range planning!! But I don't know how I can hold out for so long w/o a trip to the world!!!

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

Take a look at what it costs to stay in a grand villa at BLT if you are not a member and are paying cash. Enough said.

 

[Dean]

Take a look at what it costs to stay in a grand villa at BLT if you are not a member and are paying cash. Enough said.

That would only be applicable if you'd stay in that option, most wouldn't.

 

[brenalexacamp]

6175 is the amount I would have spent out of pocket for my travel this year! Two stays at SSR and one at BW. I paid 10000 for my contract at SSR. So far I am LOVING it! I still have 40 years to go!

 

[brenalexacamp]

6175 is the amount I would have spent out of pocket for my travel this year! Two stays at SSR and one at BW. I paid 10000 for my contract at SSR. So far I am LOVING it! I still have 40 years to go!

 

[Dancind]

We made one big expensive trip to the BC in 1998. Spent enough to buy a DVC contract for sure. But "timeshare" was a dirty word then, and we didn't stop at any of the booths. When planning our second trip, in 2001, I found the DIS boards and learned about DVC. Bought a resale before we made the trip, and stayed on OKW on rented points. Eventually, we wound up with a lot of points at OKW and BCV. Sold some since. I think we are approaching our 30th trip in the next couple of years.

On paper, it has saved us tons of money on lodging. In reality, it has cost us tons on airfare, park tickets, food. We love to eat at WDW restaurants.

Family time, all three of us, me and DD, or recently me and DH (sometimes just me) - PRICELESS!

 

[johnsonville5]

We have been members for 10 years now and love it. We went to Disney World every other year for the 10 years prior to buying. From my experience you can run the number any way you want but all the numbers can do is help you justifiy your decision. Don't let anyone tell you that it is an investment. It is pre paid vacation expense with great flexibility. If you have to sell in the short term you might recover what you paid or even make some money. You could also lose money. The longer you hang on the less value there will be but you have had alot of vacation time. Again, if you like Disney and what they stand for go for it assuming you can afford it.