Hi Vinny,
As Fram says, if you will go to WDW most years and will continue to do so for 10+ years then DVC is certainly worth considering.
The FAQ section is a good place to start. It will answer many of the general questions you will have. The more personal questions like "how many points will I need" are very much down to the individual to look at their vacation habits and try to come up with a rough guestimate of what you think is the MINIMUM you need. If you work on being able to shave points off your cost by judicious use of weekend stays (Fridays and Saturdays cost 2.5 times as many points as a weekday so a 5 day stay checking in on a Sunday, checking out on a Friday would cost say 40 points in a studio , adding Friday and Saturday to that time would double the points cost to 80. If you wanted a 12 day stay ( check in on a Sunday out on the following Friday may cost 120 points ) adding the weekend raises that to 160 points ( a 25% increase). If you decide you can get by with those 40 less points it's an initial saving of just under $4,000 to buy in and an annual saving that is currently $160 for dues ( which will increase with inflation). No matter the size of the unit it costs as much to stay Friday and Saturday as it does to stay 5 days Sunday to Thursday, IMHO this is vital knowledge when deciding how many points you will need.
How many points you go for depends on if you're looking at DVC to fulfill ALL your vacation needs for a WDW trip or if you view it as I used to ( before moving here) as a highlight of a vacation where I would spend say 7-12 days in a villa or other area and then spend 5 (cheap weekdays) in a 1 or 2 bedroom DVC unit. Other options are to use the points for a brief 3/4 day break to the beach at Vero ( again go midweek to minimise points). There are many people who can't be bothered to check out of DVC for weekends, or just like to get to the resort and not spend an odd night or two at other destinations in order to save points ( and I understand their reasoning, even if it's not a view I share), but IMHO when coming from the UK many people like to spend some time at other destinations or in different accommodation choices so working around the system to minimise your own cost is, IMHO a sensible option.
I have a feeling its a bit like time share but you buy points or something.
correct, you buy a number of points that you can use in that year ( or bank for the next year) . DVC has 4 different sizes of unit , the bigger the unit, the higher the points cost. There are also different seasons, the more popular the season, the higher the points cost.
Whats the cost to set this up and then the on going costs?
To buy direct from Disney the cost is about to go up to $95 per point, there is an active resale market where they are available for less $$. Most resales are DVC I , which finishes in 2042 , Disney is currently only selling Saratoga Springs which finishes in 2052 ( I think could be 2053 or 4 ). there are also resales for Saratoga that offer a saving on the price Disney charges, but do the sums as closing costs on a small contract could mean you end up paying more than you would have done direct from Disney. Depending on your circumstances ( AKA age) the lower cost /less years may make better economic sense or if you're younger the higher cost/longer shelflife may win out. Resales are available at about $75 per point ( plus closing costs)
on going costs are currently about $4.50 per point but can rise depending on the costs of running the resort.
Would I save much if I only go once a year?
If you would have stayed in a DVC resort and paid "rack rate" you'd be saving a whole bundle, if you'd have stayed in a moderate then you'll be saving some ( I'd guess about 15% on your normal hotel costs and getting a much nicer resort. If you'd normally stay in a value resort you'll be about flat on the deal financially, but the level of facilities and quality of accommodation is greatly increased. It depends on how you look at things, I guess it's like having the chance to buy a BMW 5 series for the price of a Ford Focus, the Ford will do the job of getting you from A to B , but if the extra quality is something you'd like to have then this is a way of raising the quality of the experience, while not having to pay top $$ for the privilage.
You're still in the same position of having to organise your own flights, IMHO the benefit of the points system over "fixed week" timeshare is that if you find you can save a hundred pounds a ticket by travelling a week earlier or later than you'd planned it's easy to do with the points system, if you have the 3rd+ 4th weeks in July each year, then you really need to fly on specific dates.
.
