How Many Points Should I Start With?

[ArnyVee]

I know that opinions vary on this one, but I'd like to see what amount of points ya'll think I should start with when buying into DVC.

Here are the stats...

1. # of People Involved: Myself, DW, DD (8 months old)
2. # of Visits: Go to WDW about twice per year (although, been three times in the last three months! Lucky me!)
3. $: Trying to stay 'conservative' at least at first monetarily, although I have enough money on the side now to purchase, we have those funds EARmarked for other things and emergency purposes.

Now, I originally thought that 160 points or so (via a reseller with 'home' as OKW) was enough. I'm thinkin' Sun-Thurs at OKW studio is 40 points (adventure season, of course) with Fri-Sat being 20 points per night. Basically, 80 points per weekly stay multiplied by two stays...equals 160 points!

Then, I realized that I was limiting myself tremendously by the dates available. So, I figured the numbers based on the 'dream season' dates and figured that a full week there would be 98. So, is 200 a good number to shoot for? If so, then I'd have 4 points left and I guess I could just 'bank' those for the following year and slowly start accumulating a few extra points through the years that way.

Does it seem that I'm on track here?

 

[crisi]

Your on the right track in terms of banking, but think a little longer term.

One eight month old child. Will child number two or child number three (or seven!?) be following?

Will you want and be happy in studio accomodations - especially as the kids get older? Or will you eventaully want a two bedroom unit - give you space from your children?

As your children get older, will you need to use more weekend nights or travel over school holidays?

We have 150 points for our family of four - and are content - but we are only there for one week every other year - and we don't travel over holidays as I have a severe crowd aversion.

 

[rtkane]

I think a lot of it depends on whether or not you're going to be content with being limited in the times you can go--if so, then great--200 seems like it would be enough (and you've definitely made a good choice in not limiting yourself to Adventure Season only).

One thing you might want to consider if you're looking at 200 points is bringing your points up just a bit to around 210. Doing this will really open up your possibilities by allowing you one week in Dream Season as well as an additional week in Magic Season (which accounts for nearly 140 days of the year). You would actually only need 207 points for that @ a studio (which would be an incremental $490 if you got a $70 resale) but it seems that most people, myself included, don't like odd numbers! Living in Florida, I'd bet you'll quickly realize "I need more points!". For us, we chose 270 because it's unlikely that we'll go more than 1 time per year but wanted to be able to spend a full week at VWL in a 1 bedroom (270 points).

 

[A1A1]

Please consider that your 8 month old will soon be in school, and your dates of travel will probably change. I don't remember if you are already traveling during peak seasons, but with school age children it is sometimes a necessity. Then consider that you may want a one bedroom when she gets older, so you will need to have points for that. Then, when child is a teen, you will be forced to drag a friend along, so you will definitely want a two bedroom.




AAAAGGGGGGGHHHH!!!! It keeps adding up. I'd say think ahead a bit, and plan for one change. I started out with 176 points, and then my one-year-old turned five. I got a different job, and now we can only travel during school holidays. I also now own 350 points.

With 350 points, I will be able to stay for one week at my home resort during Christmas week. That doesn't sound like much, does it. Not much for 350 points.

 

[A1A1]

Just wanted to say one more thing. The DVC is very flexible if you already have the points to be flexible with. If you have a very limited number of points, then you are limited to just what you can do with the limited number of points.

 

[Hilary]

Instead of deciding how many points you think you want , work out how many you can comfortably afford (including annual dues payments).

Then you have to make your vacation plans according to the points you have

If you were paying cash for your vacations, would you decide where you want to go, for how long and in what accommodation and then pay whatever the cost turned out to be, or would you set yourself a budget first and trim your vacation wishes to fit the budget?

 

[jel0511]

I agree with the previous posters, you also have to think about what type of accomdations you'll need in the future. We started out with 175 points, it was enough for 9 nights every other year in a one bedroom. Then we thought about stretching our points by staying in a studio during the weekends, but didn't want to move. Our first add-on was for 50 points, and then during our last trip, we decided we needed more. We're now at 275 points, which is enough for a one bedroom for a whole week during Magic Season. DD is starting kindergarten in the fall, and we didn't want to have to take her out of school for vacations. Those 275 also get us a one bedroom during Premier season for 6 nights, or 6 nights in a 2 bedroom during Magic seaoon. This is what works best for us. If you also plan on having more children, I'd plan on having to get a larger unit in the future. That is our problem. Since we have a DD and a DS, we know that as they get older they will not want to share a bed. Neither DH nor I want to have to sleep on a sleeper sofa, so we're planning on the 2 bedroom down the road.

 

[queenof4hearts]

How about 1000?

 

[A1A1]

Hi Arnyvee. I read your other post about OKW. Sounds like you are in the same mass of thoughts I was in when I purchased and then added on. I think you need first to decide which resort you will stay at. Do you need the 11 month window? Do you have school-age children or other reason to vacation at a particular time of year where there is high demand? You should choose your resort for the 11 month window if you will be traveling at high demand times like Christmas, Easter, some summer, Presidant's week, Thanksgiving. If you don't have need to travel at these times, and don't anticipate that you will in the future, then choose the resort that offers the best for you financially, which seems to be OKW. OKW is a beautiful resort. You will probably like the laid back feeling. It is really a great place. If you have enough points for a one bedroom, you will be amazed at the size of the place.

Once you have decided which resort you want, then decided which time of year you will vacation most often. Check to see how many points you will need to have to vacation during your anticipated time each vacation. If you have extra money budgeted beyond this, then figure in the trip that might be during high demand times and the additional points required for that, and also figure the need for a larger accommocation if you have kids or decide to bring guests with you. You can figure out the most you will need that way.

Don't forget that you can always add on if/when these changes take place, but that the price will be higher.

 

[JOC]

Hi Arny,
Will ya make up your mind already...the suspense is killing me!!!

P.S. Someone just had their 150-point OKW resale go through at $67 per point...you could try that price range and see what happens!

 

[stonewall]

What a lucky little DD you have-she gets to grow up in Disney World! We became DVC members last month and started out with 210 points as it seemed to provide the "most bang for the buck", but that being said, any amount is good, just so you DO it!

 

[reneesam]

Yeah Arny...the suspense is killing us...you're the "on deck circle" guy of this board right now. It's like "Who shot JR?" ..."Did Arny buy DVC yet?"

We're here for you man. We can already tell you're a fun, DVC kind of guy...just do it! Can't you just hear that first "welcome Home" ringing in your ear...


Renee

 

[JOC]

Hey...let's start a "What's Arny's Status?" thread!

Arny...don't you feel so loved???!!!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) There is an actual formula for determing points.
2) I hope this helps.
3) Calculate the points for your "normal" stay, then
. . . Take the "normal" points ("x") you calculated
. . . Divide by three
. . . Add eight
. . . Multiply by four
. . . Subtract 16
. . . Multiply by two
. . . Add six
. . . Divide by three
. . . Add fifty-five

First Points Purchase = (x)÷(3)+(8)*(4)-(16)*(2)+(6)÷(3)+(55)

. . . Now, add or subtract plus or minus up to 150%


PS - We used the above formula, and only had to add-on once.
We found that
. . . You can never be too rich.
. . . You can never be too pretty or too handsome.
. . . You can never have enough computer disk space.
. . . You can never have enough DVC points.


(LOL)

 

[SleepyatDVC]

How much can you afford to buy?

If you want to be conservative, I would start off with a smaller purchase, 150-200 points. You can always add-on later. If buying through re-sale, a contract with banked points is preferable and can tide you over for a couple of years.

Personally, I think a smaller contract with add-ons is better than a larger contract because if circumstances change in the future (financial or vacation habits), you can split them up by selling some and keeping some. With a large contract, if you find you can not use all the points, you are limited to selling the entire contract, selling and then re-purchasing a smaller contract, renting out excess points, or <gasp> letting points expire !

We purchased 2 contracts of 150 points via resale with tons of banked points in 2000. We are just starting to use current points this year. Since we have 2 DD's at last count, they will each get their own contract, when we're gone. Of course, we haven't decided what to do if we have a third child in the future. Hmmm, another contract add-on?

Another factor to consider with an 8-month old child is how convenient a full kitchen and washer/dryer and separate bedroom is. You WILL be spending more time in the room. Although, you might consider "roughing it" in a studio, a fair trade off for longer and more frequent trips.

With all the stuff we have to drag along for the kids, it is a real blessing to be able to pack a little lighter and do a load of laundry every night without leaving the comfort of your room. When they are that young, they tend to sleep much earlier, so a separate room is more relaxing for the grown-ups after bed-time. While a full kitchen is handy now, it will be indispensible during the toddler years when they refuse to sit down for any meal more than 30 minutes. It was more relaxing last trip to let the kids play after we fed them, while we sat down in the room to eat our own meal.

We won't consider a studio until the kids are a little older and all they want to do is go to the parks. Although, I have a feeling that we, as well as the kids, will be too spoiled to want to downgrade at that point. Maybe if it was only for a few days.

Well, good luck with your decision.

 

[ArnyVee]

Originally posted by reneesam
Yeah Arny...the suspense is killing us...you're the "on deck circle" guy of this board right now. It's like "Who shot JR?" ..."Did Arny buy DVC yet?"

We're here for you man. We can already tell you're a fun, DVC kind of guy...just do it! Can't you just hear that first "welcome Home" ringing in your ear...


Renee

I'm DEFINITELY a fan and tremendous fan of DVC! Believe me, it's not me that has to be convinced....::As Arny points with his thumb over his shoulder::...it's the DW!

LOL

If it were up to me, I would've been putting out some offers already! But, I have to convince the wifey. It's my sole purpose in life right now, believe me!

Thanks to everyone who's been givin' me ideas, suggestions, and all of these options! I appreciate all the help! I just hope that ya'll don't get too annoyed with all of the questions that I ask.

 

[JOC]

Oh Arrrrrrnnnnnyyyyy...where are you? No questions from you today???

 

[dianeschlicht]

Don't limit yourself with too few points from the start. We purchased 230 to begin with because we wanted to stay in a 2 bedroom at least every year. That gave us the flexibility to stay in a smaller unit more than once a year. We quickly discovered that was not quite enough to do other things with, so we purchased an additional 150 points. Now we seem to have just the right amount. We can do an occational exchange to someplace else, but most of all we can vacation at WDW two plus times a year in a 2 bedroom or more if we want to.

 

[poj7]

Hi.

If you can, start off with 270 and think 2-bedroom when you look at the charts. If you can't swing 270 right now, do 210 and do a 60 pt add-on as soon as you can.

I agree with all the above posts re: the need for a full kitchen and ultimately 2 bedrooms with a young family and grandparents or another couple in the future.

We have two young children and that's how we did it.

Paul

 

[anniet]

Just know this Arny-

No matter how many you buy now, it won't be enough and you are going to want to add on in the future!

Good Luck!