How do you afford it?

[NMW]

DVC is a place for people that can afford it. A lot of people have been sold on the idea that it some kind of savings. It is not.

I disagree. I don't see how it can NOT save my family money. We were planning on spending 8-10 nights in a deluxe resort every year. DH's favs: BC, BWI, YC. My fav's BC, POLY, BWI. With the DVC discount we bought our PAP's and that's a savings that was just an unexpected bonus! Our 3 children are small right now so we are doing 1 bdr villa stays for a couple of years and then we plan to add about 150 points to our 230 so we can always do 2 bdr stays at BWV, our home resort, in the fall or winter. Even with purchasing those extra points I still think we will eventually come out ahead. It may take 5 or 6 years but it will happen! It's money we would have spent on vacation anyway.
Plus, I will save that $25 I spent on doing laundry every trip.

 

[disneykidatheart]

$14,000 dollars buys you 150 points over 50 years. That calculates to $280 a year. Your annual dues on top of that are about $4.35 per point (150 * 4.35 = $652 a year. Add the two together $652 + $280 = $932 a year. That is your total annual costs every year for 50 years. If your a sports fan, that is equivalent to a pair of season tickets.

$932 a year for 50 years. In my opinion, 150 points is not enough. I would recommend at least 200 points. But say you go with the 150. This buys you a week in a Saratoga Springs Studio at just about anytime of the year. If you go in September, January or the first 14 days of December, you get Sunday through Thursday of the following week in a Studio. That is 12 nights. Go back to the $932 a year and calculate $932/12 = $77 a night. Try finding even a Super 8 for $77 a night. This is a very comparable rate to most standard hotel chains across the country.

Think of it as buying a Honda Civic and fully insuring it for 50 years.

Reality check folks. I think there might be a little faulty thinking going on here with the annual dues. The dues go up about 3-5% per year. If you factor that increase over 50 years you will have a hefty annual dues fee in the later years as that 3-5% is added to your already higher annual dues. Before I took the plunge I factored in the eventual increase in fees until the end of the contract. Don't know how many of you can afford all the points you have when I think what is coming down the road in annual dues for you. Maybe I am mistaken but I asked about the yearly increases before taking the plunge.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Reality check folks. I think there might be a little faulty thinking going on here with the annual dues. The dues go up about 3-5% per year. If you factor that increase over 50 years you will have a hefty annual dues fee in the later years as that 3-5% is added to your already higher annual dues. Before I took the plunge I factored in the eventual increase in fees until the end of the contract. Don't know how many of you can afford all the points you have when I think what is coming down the road in annual dues for you. Maybe I am mistaken but I asked about the yearly increases before taking the plunge.

Certainly a good thing to take into consideration.
I'm not worried, mainly because I figure everything will increase by roughly the same percentage.... Deluxe hotel rates, as well as our family income.

MG

 

[KLR-wlv]

We bought the minimum contract when it was around $10,000 four years ago and have gone on many great vacations at all the properties - did an add- last year. I love dvc - BUT - if cost is really an issue - here's a suggestion - we bought a starwood every-other-year week on ebay for $2000. Deposited it into Interval and in September and October could have gotten a 1 bedroom at OKW for a week - or a 2 BR at Vero Beach for a week. I was tempted, but instead got a week at Atlantis in December. So - there are no guarantees on what I'll get for a trade in the future - but I was pretty happy that with a $2000 no expiration 1 bedroom EOY purchase - it almost paid for itself in one trade. So you could try something like that to see how timesharing works for you and go from there.

 

[SEC]

My husband and I are big Disney fans. We ordered the DVC stuff through the mail. When we received the information, we pulled out our last five or six trips and added up the hotel bills and it was a no-brainer! We figured we would break even in four years, plus we knew we could go on vacation every year. We financed the purchase over 3 years and I was willing to not get a new car to buy DVC. My car is now 9 years old and DVC has been paid off for a couple of years, so it was no big deal to us. Vacations are more important to us than driving a newer car!

 

[mikesmom]

I think we save money also! We've taken maybe one extra trip that we wouldn't have (and that wasn't a big deal, we had APs and free air miles). We save BIG time on food, which we didn't expect when we bought in. DS was 16 years old and was hungry pretty much all the time. Even counter meals and snacks in WDW can really add up and we weren't about to leave the parks every time someone needed a snack. Breakfast cooked in the room every morning - eggs, meats, fruit, breads, coffee holds us all well into the day. I keep fruit, chips, bottled water, ice cream and sodas in the fridge. When we arrive we make a grocery stop and buy meats, cheeses and rolls to make deli style sandwiches with. The boys grab these and toss them into an insulated backpack for the day. Leftovers from a sit down meal become another meal when you can put them in your fridge. I'm not saying we never get a Mickey bar in the World, but it's cut way down. Plus the novelty of the park food goes away after repeat trips. A glass of wine on our balcony instead of a drink at a bar for DH and me cuts costs.

No tax on the room, no parking fees, lots of little savings I never expected. Yes, the dues will go up 3-5% a year (by the way, I've had mine go down once) but if my paycheck can't keep ahead of that little inflation, I must be doing something wrong.

 

[DebbieB]

If you like spacious deluxe accomodations and like to go to WDW often, I think DVC is a moneysaver. If you are happy with value or moderate, don't go every year, then it may not be. My initial purchase is long paid for, so I'm getting 11 nights in a 1 bedroom for about $1,100 a year in dues (250 points BWV).

 

[DVCconvert]

I have a tunnel that leads directly from my bedroom to a regional Federal Reserve bank...once we pop the manhole, we'll fill a fell tote-bags with some twenties - then, No problem!!!!

 

[magicmama]

We are very very thrifty (and sometimes cheapo) but that's the only way we could do it. We have better accomodations than Motel 6. Yes, it cost money upfront but at least that doesn't go up. Just the yearly dues. But we would be spending some money anyway....son lives in Florida now. We keep the cost down by fixing a lot of our own meals and not driving once there. When I factor in all of the daily costs, tickets, yearly dues, etc, the cost for us is less than $100 a day. And once and a while, we can get a 1 or 2 bedroom. We could never afford the cash rate at WDW.
For our family, DVC affords us a great place to stay and a great vacation time with family!

 

[CHOPR]

In this group, that's a loaded question. Will it save us money?Probably not. We normally go about every other year.Now that we are SSR owners we plan on going every year and hitting all the DVC resorts rather than offsite . It came down to not caring about saving money ,but caring more about family vacations in WDW. From N.Y. it just means more air fares etc.. I have not even closed or used any points yet and am already looking at ways to add-on in the coming years. AS the kids get older we'll need 2br's ---more points. When I told my dw about adding pts.,going twice a year,bigger rooms,extra family going with us, she did her head shake,closed her eyes and said"I don't want to hear it, just tell me what we have after it's all paid for"
I've read here it's an addiction and i've been hooked. There's no 12 step program to solve this fever! The way I figure it is 25 pts. every 6 mos. added on to our 175 initial purchase until 300 pts.(is that enough?) blah,blah,blah...... As you can see/hear most people are very happy with DVC. There is absolutely no pressure to buy from sales people because it sells itself. Just call me Joewhydidiwaitsolongtobuy

 

[westjones]

It saves us money because we do not go to the parks as much. When we use to go and stay at off site hotels we went to the parks every day. What else would you do? But we love the Disney Vacation Club resorts and we like just hanging out there! So we bought the old park hopper tickets and still have 5 days on them. We are going to WDW in three weeks, but only going to WDW 1 day and a waterpark one day. The other days we are enjoying the resorts and going to Vero Beach Resort. Then we are going to Beach Club next March after our Disney Cruise and only going to the parks 1 day. The other times we are enjoying our resort.

We use studios, but have breakfast in our room since we have a fridge and microwave. We can make sandwiches for lunch, and even come up with creative ideas for dinner if we need to (but we usually do eat out for dinner).

So I think we have a more relaxed vacation at the DVC resorts and I do think it saves us money in the long run.....of course that initial investment is hard to accept and it took us 3 years to finally decide to do it.

DJ

 

[Dean]

It saves us money because we do not go to the parks as much. When we use to go and stay at off site hotels we went to the parks every day. What else would you do? But we love the Disney Vacation Club resorts and we like just hanging out there! So we bought the old park hopper tickets and still have 5 days on them. We are going to WDW in three weeks, but only going to WDW 1 day and a waterpark one day. The other days we are enjoying the resorts and going to Vero Beach Resort. Then we are going to Beach Club next March after our Disney Cruise and only going to the parks 1 day. The other times we are enjoying our resort.

We use studios, but have breakfast in our room since we have a fridge and microwave. We can make sandwiches for lunch, and even come up with creative ideas for dinner if we need to (but we usually do eat out for dinner).

So I think we have a more relaxed vacation at the DVC resorts and I do think it saves us money in the long run.....of course that initial investment is hard to accept and it took us 3 years to finally decide to do it.

DJ

It depends. If you don't go to the parks as often, but go more days on average over the years, it will not save you money, it will cost you money. But you may get better value out of your investment. Unfortunately, I think many members and potential members just can see straight when it comes to Disney. Looking at the cost of DVC they compare apples to oranges. For instance, comparing to DVC rack rates is simply crazy UNLESS one has been and will continue to pay those rates on cash. One should look at it from several angles that include the cost of off site (including timeshares), the cost of onsite with discounts and resort/room types comparable to their usual option and lastly, the DISCOUNTED costs of either DVC or a deluxe at discounted rates. All should match that persons trip type, time of year, etc. This gives you potential savings using the off site, a mid range comparable to your current costs and a pie in the sky to reach for. For some it's a bigger reach than others of course. DVC will currently only be a very good deal for those that plan to use it at DVC resorts and go light or at worst, neutral on weekends. Anything else and they will be paying for the convenience, their choice of course.

 

[tiggerguy2000]

We all love Disney and DVC is the best thing I have done.I have 500 points and 3 home resorts(VWL,BCVandSSR).I would like to buy more if they open the Contemporary Villas or something else on the rail.
tiggerguy2000

 

[drakethib]

lenshanem
Ditto, ditto, ditto

And then sometimes it turns into more than just your committment to your vacations:
Last year, when my DH lost his job UpNorth. We decided that we would look for a job in a warmer climate. To do so, we went to Orlando and stayed almost a month at a DVC resort while we looked for a job. We stayed in a studio, cooked all our meals, we went to the parks on our previously purchased APs, and spent little to no money on extras. In this particular case, how could we afford NOT to do it?!

Losing job, selling house, moving: $55,000.00
Annual DVC membership costs: $3000.00
Staying at Disney for a month during one of the lowest points of our lives and while we were there finding new job and new life that brought us to TX: Priceless

I love stories like this.

Some times when you are low, you find that you end up higher then you began with.

 

[drakethib]

We all love Disney and DVC is the best thing I have done.I have 500 points and 3 home resorts(VWL,BCVandSSR).I would like to buy more if they open the Contemporary Villas or something else on the rail.
tiggerguy2000

500 points????

Hey do you want to adopt my wife and I?

 

[GoofyDisney]

DVC turned out to be such a great thing for us. And it guarantees at least two trips a year to WDW, and this year we will add a trip to Vero.

We have used our DVC points to take my mom to WDW the first THanksgiving after my dad passed away. We used DVC to take my whole family to HH that same year for Christmas. We had to opportunity to make sure no one was just sitting around the house being sad about my dad. Not that we wouldn't be thinking about him, but that we would be doing something fun and remembering him along the way.

Between the job trip and the family trip, we have USED our DVC. If you are going to make trips to any or all of the resorts, if you are going to WDW, then it will save you money.

It is like clipping coupons. I only clip coupons for stuff/name brands that I already purchase. If I don't already buy that item, or if I don't want to buy it, then there is no sense in clipping the coupon. So, for something I already do...(trips to WDW)...then it does indeed save me money.

Again....DVC for us...priceless!

 

[dp1don]

We purchased at OKW in 1994 at $47/pt. for 210 pts. Took us 5 years and a bonus to pay it off, but we did.

in 2002, we took the plunge and b ought a second 200 pt contract at BCV. Still paying that one off.

In mid 2004 I lost my job and have been unable to find work because of a medical disability. While the govt. has been futzing around on my disability claims, we were forced to sell the OKW contract. We did so for $68/pt, and received enough from the sale to basically help us survive until October. We're praying that the disability kicks in by then... or that I can find employment of some sort (very low stress field - any suggestions welcome).

Was it worth it? Heck yeah. Between 1994 and 2004 we visited WDW 7 times, took three DIsney cruises and visited DIsneyland for one memorable Christmas trip. The investment paid off 100-fold for us, both in memories and in financial gain. If we hadn't invested, we'd be bankrupt now and trying to start over.

We are still holding onto the BCV property (not that we haven't tried to sell it - we have, but there are no 2005 use year point available (we borrowed them for the last cruise) ). We;ve gotten a lowball offer of $72/pt for BCV, which was way too low. We're holding out for 80/pt, or if we become too desperate... August at least.

Right now, life may actually be leading us to move to Central Florida due to my wife;s career. If so, we may reevaluate the need for the points because of proximity. But that's a bridge we have to cross.

That's my rant... bottom line, the place is worth it 100 times over.

Sincerely,
Don S.
Lake Stevens, WA

 

[CharlesTD]

We just took the tour and mulled it over at the time we were both in school still so we passed and regret ever passing up the chance in 98 so we bought in 01 and have 3 properties now and love every minute of it. We wouldn't dream of selling and it comes off our visa every month so we don't even notice the payment.

 

[DVCconvert]

Don S.


Can't say much, other than offer you my most sincere best wishes that everything works out for you guys. God Bless.

 

[mom23boys]

You know when we first bought DVC in 2002, we jumped in not realizing the whole picture. Budgeting for financing and maintenance fees, banking, borrowing, etc.

We thought about selling, but then my good DIS friends made me realize what a great deal this was for us. We are a family of 5, Me, DH and 3 boys, when we added up to cost of 2 moderates everyother year for the next 40 years, we decided it is well worth the investment. Having more room with a kitchen and w/d is a livesaver for us on vacation while the boys are still young.

I just feel it is the right investment for our family.