How would you do this?

[Kite16510]

I am a 60-year-old mom with two kids still living at home, my 25-year-old son who has autism and doesn't live on his own ever and my 21-year-old daughter who will probably move out in a year or so.

Other than my son Charlie and myself nobody else is really into Disney. I have always wanted to buy Disney vacation club. I am nearly at retirement age without a whole lot of retirement income. Is there anyway that somebody like me can buy into Disney vacation club in small ways at first and gradually build up to a point where it would be a annual vacation for my son and I. It does not have to be elaborate. I don't understand the ins and outs of it.

We love staying at The fort wilderness cabins which are now DVC but I don't understand really how it works. I was wondering if it's possible to just pick up cheaper resale contracts and add them all together to make something where overtime I'd be able to have something meaningful.

And what happens to DC when you die? Do you leave it to somebody, does your estate sell it, can somebody fill me in on what's missing?

Alternatively, if there's some kind of a tutorial on this, I would love to know.

Edited to add that I wouldn't be able to leave it to Charlie because it would throw off his services if he owned an interest. I might be able to put it in a trust, but I don't know if that's a possibility.

 

[intamin]

I am a 60-year-old mom with two kids still living at home, my 25-year-old son who has autism and doesn't live on his own ever and my 21-year-old daughter who will probably move out in a year or so.

Other than my son Charlie and myself nobody else is really into Disney. I have always wanted to buy Disney vacation club. I am nearly at retirement age without a whole lot of retirement income. Is there anyway that somebody like me can buy into Disney vacation club in small ways at first and gradually build up to a point where it would be a annual vacation for my son and I. It does not have to be elaborate. I don't understand the ins and outs of it.

We love staying at The fort wilderness cabins which are now DVC but I don't understand really how it works. I was wondering if it's possible to just pick up cheaper resale contracts and add them all together to make something where overtime I'd be able to have something meaningful.

And what happens to DC when you die? Do you leave it to somebody, does your estate sell it, can somebody fill me in on what's missing?

Alternatively, if there's some kind of a tutorial on this, I would love to know.

The easiest way to get your foot in the door is to buy resale if the large upfront cost is the barrier for you. You can piece together small resale contracts over time so you don't have to buy it all at once. Just make sure youre buying your contract with all the same use year. The downside with resale is it will limit which resorts you can book, unfortunately the Cabins at Fort Wilderness have resale restrictions on them so the only way to stay there is to buy a contract directly from Disney OR buy a resale contract at Fort Wilderness which can ONLY be used to books the cabins until the contract expires. I would advise against buying a resale Fort Wilderness contract just because there is only 1 room type and it has the highest dues on Disney World property. It's also a very new resort so the dues will likely be quite high by the end of the contract in approximately 50 years.

I'm not sure how attached you are to the cabins but if you're willing to stay at other DVC resorts instead I would recommend buying resale at one of the original 14 resorts. If you're going for value and low cost Saratoga Springs is probably your best bet.

Every DVC contract has an expiration date, it's not one of those in perpetuity timeshares that gets passed on that nobody wants because of dues because there is resale value. If you pass away and you're the sole owner I'm sure Disney will gladly take the points back because they can then sell it to someone else. I would recommend maybe listing your son as an owner since you mentioned he is interested in Disney.

 

[Wedgeout]

First I’d rent points for CFW (most likely cheaper than going through any Disney deal) and see budget wise if that is the way to experience DVC without owning. Buying resale locks you out of staying here unless commit to only buying resale there.

If like other DVC resort, find a resale that fits to your income and vacation time & start there. Can add on as feasible to same resort or diversify, remembering they each hold their own 11 month priority and multi- resort points don’t blend until 7 months.

I won’t get into deed stuff. Others will know more.

Other than that, the worst info for you is, unfortunately I feel you are currently at that fine line of: ‘DVC isn’t currently a good choice for you to own’.

 

[intamin]

First I’d rent points for CFW (most likely cheaper than going through any Disney deal) and see budget wise if that is the way to experience DVC without owning. Buying resale locks you out of staying here unless commit to only buying resale there.

If like other DVC resort, find a resale that fits to your income and vacation time & start there. Can add on as feasible to same resort or diversify, remembering they each hold their own 11 month priority and multi- resort points don’t blend until 7 months.

I won’t get into deed stuff. Others will know more.

Other than that, the worst info for you is, unfortunately I feel you are currently at that fine line of: ‘DVC isn’t currently a good choice for you to own’.

That's probably a better point, if funds really are that tight there's nothing wrong with renting points. It's not like buying resale you're going to get the benefits of buying direct anyways. Plus then you won't have to worry about passing anything down and you can basically get home resort priority anywhere you want as long as you plan ahead.

 

[airjay75]

There are certainly ways to make what you desire happen and there are various options to get it done. But, I think I would ask yourself what the primary reason is for wanting to own DVC. Are you currently making yearly or every-other-year trips with your son and you'd like to continue that? If so, for how long? I think DVC can make a lot of sense for someone who is already vacationing at Disney on a regular basis and anticipates doing so into the foreseeable future. But, if the budget is already tight and trips that often to Disney are already difficult to afford, DVC is not going to make that any cheaper. Think of DVC as a way to prepay part of the lodging expenses associated with a Disney deluxe resort stay.

Since you like the Cabins at Fort Wilderness (what all of us on here refer to as CFW), that does make things slightly tricky - there aren't many resale contracts for CFW yet (and those resale contracts can ONLY be used at CFW), which leaves you with the best option being the purchase of direct points from Disney. And, if you're buying direct, you would probably want to get at least 150 points to get the benefits of direct ownership. Roughly speaking, that's going to cost around $30k (give or take).

Resale contracts can be pieced together in much smaller increments, but that will be a more complicated route to take with a lot more factors to consider, and also take more time and effort. Resale contracts at most resorts can be used at all resorts other than CFW, Riviera, and the Villas at Disneyland Hotel. What times of year do you plan to go? What sort of accommodations do you desire? What is the initial budget for purchase?

On the estate planning question, I wouldn't get too much advice from a discussion forum. There are different ways to handle timeshares in an estate and, given that you will not want to pass this on to your son, I'd want to consult with an estate planning attorney on the best way to do this. Currently, DVC contracts can be sold for cash - if that remains the case, you'd probably want to make sure that arrange to have the executor of your estate do that. If DVC goes the way of some timeshares and becomes worthless, there are ways for heirs to disclaim them, but, again, you'd want to plan that out with a good estate attorney.

Hopefully those are some helpful things for you to think about as you give this some additional thought on what might or might not make sense in your situation.

 

[Chili327]

If you decide to try it out, I’d start with a 50pt resale contract at SSR. Try it and see if it works for you, & if it does buy another 50pt SSR with the same Use Year, and keep adding as needed, and afforded. Or just sell and go back to renting.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I agree with Chili327! Look for a 50 point contract at a point friendly resort (AKV, OKW (2057). Study point charts. The cheapest times of year are May and September, but with a resort like OKW you may only be a couple points higher during the time you want to go. Plan on $10 per point for member dues (it might be a bit higher or lower depending on the resort). A 50 point contract will cost you about $500 or so annually with a regular increase so a few years from now that $10 or $11 point contract might be $13. Will you be able to keep up with the increases?

Definitely look for a contract that has banked points, current points and future points (for instance 2024, 2025 and 2026). A stripped contract would not benefit you at all. You want as many points to start as possible.

Determine what each trip costs now and add 10% annually. It is a cost creep that is way more than inflation. Will you feel comfortable in three years?

Your estate can sell your contract.

Enjoy!

 

[airjay75]

I also think @Chili327's advice is very good. Easy way to try out DVC with a relatively low upfront cost, try it out for a year or two. If you decide it won't work for you, should be easy to sell and you will not have spent all that much money. If it does work, then you've got a 50-point contract to get you started. Or, even if you decided you wanted to get direct points that could be used at CFW, you could sell and then put that money toward a direct purchase. Although 50 points in and of itself won't go very far, you can bank and/or borrow to use up to 150 points for one stay. I would also vote for SSR as the best resort to do this at.

 

[bookbabe626]

Personally, I think in your situation you should just rent points to stay at DVC resorts when you go, and not buy. There are lots of companies that specialize in helping owners rent their points to non-owners. A quick google will generate some options, not sure what companies I’m allowed to post here.

When you include the interest payments on a loan and the annual dues, even a small contract is a big financial investment. And looking at your age and the circumstances with your son, it just might not be feasible.

The value of DVC is really prepaying for your Disney vacations for the next 16-49 years, to lock in today’s prices so that a decade from now you are essentially staying at Disney for just the annual dues. It’s not great math, or so my hubby complains every time I say we need more points. We own, but didn’t have to finance and the yearly dues are a lot less than we’d usually be paying to stay at our preferred hotels so that makes a huge difference.

It often works well in multi-generational families that all love Disney and want to vacation there yearly or every other year, and who can pass down the ownership to a next generation who actually wants it. It doesn’t work well for everyone.

I know that’s strange advice coming from a DVC owner, but that’s my take on it.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Get the app "DVC Calculator" to see how many points you will need to do what you want to do. Small resale contracts are hard to come by - you will likely end up just buying one contract that meets your needs.

 

[cruisehopeful]

You have a lot of options. I'm about the same age as you and I feel very strongly that now is the time to start enjoying life. My kids have moved out. You'll always have your son with you and Disney is, as you know, a great place to spend time with family. Like you, I don't have a lot of Disney people in my inner circle in life. However, there's always someone who wants to go, just not as often as I want to go. I have a mix of solo, family and friends stays. You might end up having people who want to go once in awhile.

At any rate, I know a lot of people in our age group that are disabled or terminally ill or who have passed. Some never had a break from working for the future. They never got to enjoy the leisure side of life. So, I'm coming from a different perspective than most will here. I think you should look into buying the Cabins at FW directly and possibly a fixed week. It sounds like it's your favorite place and it's one of the few DVC resorts that has strict resale policies. You can put it in a trust. You may even be able to put it into a corporation and just let it go when you pass. I don't know all the ins and outs, but there are options that will work for you and your son.

If you don't mind not owning and regularly staying at the cabins, resale is an option. In the best case scenario, it'll take a couple months for you to close the contract and get your points when you buy resale. Take your time to research all your options and make an informed decision. Only get exactly what you want. You deserve it.