I'm overwhelmed! Where do I start?

[agame2323]

I'm interested in becoming a DVC member. I have a decent understanding of how the points system works and the different resorts we can call home. After looking through all available information and doing my research, I am now starting to feel overwhelmed. I don't know what the first step should be.

Ultimately, my end goal is to be able to take my family on a trip to Aulani and stay in one of the Villas. I've looked into the DVC and for us, becoming members doesn't sound like a bad idea because we visit Disney quite often and have kid(s).

I just need to know whats the best way to go about purchasing a membership. I've that we should not finance but instead pay everything up front. I have no problem with that if that's what's advised. Also, do you buy direct from Disney? And is there a price sheet available detailing how much each resort cost for your home resort?

You guys provide such great information. I look forward to getting your feedback!

 

[bellapecas]

I would definitely look into resale rather than direct. By purchasing resale you lose the ability to use your points with Disney's Concierge Collection and Adventures by Disney (Cruises included), but your resale savings more than make up for that "loss" of benefits.

First decide where you want your home resort to be, that's where your 11 month booking advantage comes into play. If you never plan a vacation more than 7 months out, then go for the cheapest overall resort. SSR & BLT are currently the cheapest two in terms of overall long-term value.

Then stalk resale broker websites and sign up for their resale emails. Sometimes it pays to call a broker directly and tell them what you're looking for. I've heard they will contact you if one comes in that meets your criteria and you'll have first crack at it before going public. But since I've never done that, don't quote me.

 

[cde48]

I would start by researching how you would use your membership. If you plan on using it for cruises, or Adventures by Disney, buy your membership through Disney. For us, we bought ours as a resale back in 2006, when your resale purchase was still good for the cruises and Adventures. With that being said, personally, we have never used our membership to cruise or for Adventures, as they require you to use a ton of points. For our family, it would be over 700 Points for the the five of us to cruise, and for Adventures, many of those run between 500-700 (if not more) points PER PERSON. By buying a resale contract, you will be saving thousands of $$$, and you could use some of that money to pay cash for a Disney cruise.

There are plenty of resale companies that sell, just do a search and a bunch will pop up. Just our opinion, but when we add on, it will not be direct through Disney, but as a resale.

 

[chalee94]

resale takes longer than buying direct.

there are also these "restrictions" at this time:

Disney Vacation Club has announced a policy that limits access to certain Member Getaways exchanges for Ownership Interests purchased on the secondary market (also known as the re-sale market).

Under the new policy, Members who purchase from anyone other than Disney Vacation Development, Inc., on or after March 21, 2011, will not be eligible to use those Vacation Points to make reservations within the Concierge Collection, the Disney Collection or the Adventurer Collection. Those Vacation Points will instead be valid only for reservations at Disney Vacation Club resorts, as well as for RCI exchanges, Club Cordial and Club Intrawest.

The affected collections are special Member benefits programs offered by Disney Vacation Development, Inc., and are not part of Members' Ownership Interests. That said, Members who purchased on the secondary market prior to March 21, 2011, may use those Vacation Points for all Member Getaways.

basically, no trades for cruises or wdw hotels like the yacht club if you bought resale - those trades are very expensive anyway and are generally considered to be poor value for your money.

resale purchasers can still trade for any DVC resort (subject to availability at the 7 month window) and can trade out through RCI for other timeshares (not generally a great value either, though). lots of things can change over time, for both direct and resale purchasers...so take some time to understand what you are really purchasing.

there are point charts linked in the top right hand corner of the screen. you can use these to figure how many pts you'd need to vacation the way you prefer.

for pricing/buying information:

here is (usually accurate) current pricing for contracts purchased directly.

there is a link to a resale broker who sponsors the DIS/DVC forums here. Resale prices are usually negotiable.

You can find information like annual dues per point at the DVC resource center link - see post 2 for historical annual dues per pt at each resort. This is important for figuring your ongoing costs with DVC.

OKW annual fees are $5.84 per pt for 2015 - so if you have 100 OKW pts, you would pay $584 in annual dues to DVC during 2015.

you can pay monthly in 12 equal installments (no penalty) by automatic draft of a U.S. checking account, or pay the whole thing upfront in january - by credit card/whatever.

it's a lot to learn and you are going to have to take your time. poke around on the DVC boards - read threads that might be interesting - figure out what current owners like and are frustrated with (and whether those things might affect you). then come back and ask more questions.

for further reading, here are some good threads to start with:

a previous "is DVC worth it" thread is here.

here is a (dated but still useful) thread for more info about choosing a home resort.

a link to general/basic DVC information

and if you are ready for slightly more advanced information:

here is a thread for understanding use year.

 

[jerseyduke]

Unless you plan on buying at the Polynesian (maybe VGF), I would buy resale.

1. Your points are restricted, however the general consensus is that you are being restricted from using your points in a way that is not a good use of your points to begin win. For example, you can not use resale points to take a cruise. However, if you rent the points out and take that cash and pay for the cruise yourself, you might come out ahead! Which suggests the restrictions placed on resale points are irrelevant for the most part.


2. Use the point charts, or the online ones (I always like the one at davids point rental) to get an idea as to how many points you will need.

3. Determine your potential home resort(s). If you plan on utilizing the 11 month booking window, this is important. If you are just going to take what is available at 7 months, then buy SSR.


4. Understand Use Year. In general, it is a wise idea to travel in the beginning of your use year. If you have vacation patterns, this is important. (If you plan on going to WDW in September the majority of the time, do not get an October use year!)

5. Understand the system and what you are buying. Points are easy to understand, they are just another currency, as opposed to dollars. But DVC is for planners. A lot of people wanted to go the VGF in early December and book a studio. They were on line at 8 am the day of the 11 month window, and still got shut out. Owning does not guarantee availability.

6. Understand that even with "free hotel" Disney vacations are still expensive. Park tickets/annual passes for four. Airfare. Food. Annual dues.

 

[cmrdgrs]

I'm interested in becoming a DVC member. I have a decent understanding of how the points system works and the different resorts we can call home. After looking through all available information and doing my research, I am now starting to feel overwhelmed. I don't know what the first step should be.

Ultimately, my end goal is to be able to take my family on a trip to Aulani and stay in one of the Villas. I've looked into the DVC and for us, becoming members doesn't sound like a bad idea because we visit Disney quite often and have kid(s).

I just need to know whats the best way to go about purchasing a membership. I've that we should not finance but instead pay everything up front. I have no problem with that if that's what's advised. Also, do you buy direct from Disney? And is there a price sheet available detailing how much each resort cost for your home resort?

You guys provide such great information. I look forward to getting your feedback!

A lot of great information has been shared from PPs. IMO, I think the first five questions you must answer at the start of your decision making process are the following:

1) Do you already have a DVC resort that you would like to call home? Or are you still figuring out what resorts you like?

2) Do you have a time of year that you feel you will pretty consistently travel in? My family (as least right now) travels pretty exclusively in the Premier Season (translation - most point intensive/crowded times of the year)

3) What type of room accommodations will you most likely book for yourself and your family when you travel? Are studios OK with you, or do you want a larger room?

4) How often do you see yourself visiting? Will this be a once a year type of trip? Or do you see this as an every other year type of trip?

5) What is the budget for your purchase? I personally feel that financing is not a good way to go and feel that you lose your savings by what you pay in interest on the loan. But, everything in this decision isn't necessarily about straight dollars and sense. However, if you can afford to pay cash, I think most would agree that is the best way to maximize your savings on a DVC Timeshare.

To me, those are the basics you must nail down. If you can nail this down then you can make further decisions. But, IMO, without answers to those basic five questions, you are dead in the water.

 

[dsnydaddy]

Ultimately, my end goal is to be able to take my family on a trip to Aulani and stay in one of the Villas. I've looked into the DVC and for us, becoming members doesn't sound like a bad idea because we visit Disney quite often and have kid(s).


You guys provide such great information. I look forward to getting your feedback!

My goals probably were similar to yours. We love the Aulani and want to stay there on occasion. However, we also like to go to WDW once in a while too. I had to decide which one I wanted to make sure I had an 11 mo booking advantage. Since I go to WDW at various time and Hawaii only in off season, I decided to buy at WDW and trade into Aulani.

If you do the same as I, then my advice is to make sure that you buy enough points to stay at the Aulani at the more expensive ocean views. This is important because the cheaper views will probably be booked by 7 months. By making sure that you have enough points you'll maximize the possibility that you'll be able to book there.