How does DVC work

[Lthouseprincess]

I am sure this has been asked a million times and if someone can point me in the right direction that might help.

How many points do you need to buy for an average week at disney? What are the rough costs? Do you make payments? Are there any hidden costs can you use them for cruises? Has anyone ever regreted buying? We own a time share and hate it ( we aways want to stay on Disney) and we now have that paid off.

 

[Dsnymouse]

Not an answer to your question - but I am curious too! We also own a timeshare, is the DVC similar? We have family that lives in Florida, can DVC be used for any Disney resort? Also wondering about cruiseline.

 

[CherCrazy]

How many points do you need to buy for an average week at disney? It depends on the size of the accomodation..studio, 1BR, 2BR, etc. and the time of the year, and the number of nights you like to stay.
What are the rough costs? It's about $14-$15K for 150 points now at SSR
Do you make payments? You can finance the purchase thru DVC
Are there any hidden costs. Nope, you just pay your yearly dues and enjoy checking out of your hotel with NO BILL!! You also get DISCOUNTS!! like the annual pass discount for members.
can you use them for cruises? the Disney Cruise Line is part of the deal. You can use your points for that too.
Has anyone ever regreted buying? Yes, that is why there is a resale market available.
We also own a timeshare, is the DVC similar? Probably not. At DVC you buy points and can mix them up any way you want. 3 nights here, 4 nights there, studio this time, 1br next time...whatever you want. Most timeshare lock you into a set time period and a set type of accomodation.
We have family that lives in Florida, can DVC be used for any Disney resort? Yes, but the points are higher on non-DVC properties.

 

[crisi]

A the top of this page is a link to DVC point charts. That will give you an idea. It varies a lot, for an weeknight in a studio at OKW in January for 8 points to Christmas weekend night in a BWV Grand Villa (sleeps 12) for 158 points. The system is set up to maximize flexibility - plenty of people own 150 points and get their week (plus) in a studio and are happy. Others own over a thousand points.

The best use of points is at the DVC resorts. If an OKW studio is 8 points, using points to stay at POR might be 12 points for the night (not sure). You can do it, but most of us don't think its a "good value." The points required for non-DVC options can (and do) change from year to year (usually going up).

Likewise we don't tend to think cruising is a "good value" A lot of members choose to rent their points for $10 per, pay cash for the cruise, and end up either saving points or making a few hundred to $1000 dollars (or so). But its important to examine the situation. What sort of cash deal you can get, how many points your cruise costs, how much bother are you willing to go through for rental, etc....Plenty of people use their points to cruise under "have them, might as well use them in a way that makes us happy"

Hidden costs - not really. Dues on points of $4-5 a point per year - they go up every year - generally 3-5% (but CAN go up as much as 15%). Trading out has a fee (for instance, using your points to cruise).

There is one big warning - examine yourself and your situation carefully. DVC is expensive and doesn't cover food/park tickets, etc. Its a huge amount of disposible cash for most people's budgets. Make sure you can afford it - and the trips that you'll be "obligated" to take. It isn't good for long weekends, people who can't plan a few months ahead, people who are just as happy offsite or in a moderate, or people who really want to do a lot of timeshare trading (there are cheaper good trades). It isn't good for people who like bargains - your bargain comes up front - DVC members don't currently get to take advantage of the dining plan for instance. It isn't good for people who want a full service hotel - no conceirge, no daily maid service (you can pay extra), and the staff isn't as servile as they might be at a hotel instead of a timeshare.

 

[vascubaguy]

Just to toss in that you can get these contracts on the resale market. I mean a 40 point contract at OKW and you can get 5 nights in a studio in the value season. A 40 point resale contract would probably cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $3000 (plus closing costs).

You can get resale contracts with as few as 25 points (approx $2000 plus closing).

When I originally planned to buy-in I only purchased a 40 pointer at OKW. I was expecting to go every October. However, right after I bought that I found out about a 2nd trip and figured that I would want to maybe take 2 weeks in October, maybe December, and sometime in spring too! Needless to day, I bought 110 more points so I know have 150.

Take a look at the point charts at the top of this page, and take a look at the Member Info link in my signature line. You can probably find some decent information to answer some of your questions.

HTH