I'm sure you have heard this 1000 times...

[TheYellowDart]

Hi everyone,

Really sorry for posting this, I know you hear this every day. I love Disney and our new family went on our first Disney trip last year and loved it. We have 2 kids right now, very young at 1 and 3. We like to go for 10 days so we can relax. We live pretty far away and like to drive (IL to FL) so we normal just do one trip.

Anyways, the deal we loved was free meal plan at a moderate resort. The resorts are nice enough (who wouldn't always want better though) and we get 10 days with park hopper and meal plan for about $3,000.

We can see ourselves buying this trip for at least the next 15 years or more so the timelines work out. But with buying our own food and tickets it seems to work out to be about the same price (3000) per year with DVC. Am I doing the Math wrong?

Let me know what you think of our situation and thanks again for giving this question another answer =)

Thanks!

Kyle

 

[Chuck S]

Remember that dining plan has changed substatially since it was introduced. It initially included the gratuity and appetizers. Also given the history of Disney, these offers come and go. Eventually the DDP will either become of little or no value to those paying for it, and thus will be discontinued....which would also mean the end of a free DDP offer.

Plus, you can certainly eat healthier and cheaper by not having any pre-paid dining plan, which is a good thing.

For an annual 10 day DVC stay, I'd recommend at least one adult in your party by a discounted DVC AP and the TiW card for a 20% discount on table service meals. We do this, and it allows the freedom to order what we want to eat, rather than being limited to entree, beverage, and dessert. Now we usually order an appetizer, split a large entree, and we often have no beverage other than water. This fills us up, and is far cheaper and healthier than a DDP for two adults.

 

[skylynx]

First of all, welcome Kyle. You don't have to apologize for being new. The beauty of the boards is that someone will always be willing to answer.

I used to be you...(that's a joke, of course). We loved Dixie Landings (refuse to call it Port Orleans Riverside) and Caribbean Beach. We shared meals or ordered kids meals on occasion and ate off property to help keep the costs down. We got annual passes and used AP discounts for resort stays, but those pretty much dried up (as will the free dining deal you are enjoying now).

Then we started staying at Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. Got spoiled and didn't want to return to moderates. And then our DS and DD, (who used to fit so nicely in a hotel room and didn't mind sharing a bed) grew to be teenagers and we really wanted some more space (and a bedroom with a door). The only way we could afford those changes is through DVC. We also started to realize how much money and time we saved by having a simple breakfast in the room in the morning.

The lack of daily housekeeping service is something to consider. I personally love when I stay in a hotel and come back to a clean "re-set" room. But I grew to actually like more knowing at Disney stays no one is going to be in our room while we are gone. We do a "clean up" every morning on a DVC stay...quickly make the beds and clean the kitchen counters so it looks restful when we drag our sorry selves back from theme park commando duty late at night.

I think others will echo me that it is not really just a dollar to dollar comparison. DVC is a different way of staying at a resort. If you are pretty sure you are going to visit each year and stay for long time periods on property, DVC is worth considering. And even though your children are small now, they will eventually become tweens and teens and you WILL be thinking of how nice some walls between you and them might be on extended vacations. I'm sure others will have plenty to add to this!

 

[mjc2003]

To echo what others have already said, the "free" dining is something that could go away at any time. If this happens, you will save money via DVC b/c you will be able to eat in the room. If you are there 10 days, and eat 8 breakfasts, 2-3 lunches, 2-3 dinners in the room...you can do the math. The park hopper price will stay the same whether you do DVC or not; what many do is stagger their trips 11 months apart and buy the AP, which allows for one adult to have unlimited access for $425 over 2 trips. This would save some money as well (the $425 is the DVC discounted price).

Of course there are the annual maintenance fees. I would say that you will save on dining in the long run (once the "free" dining goes away) and the park passes will probably be a wash. If you can afford the upfront costs of DVC (the buy in), you will find yourself in much nicer accommodations. We spoiled ourselves the last two years by paying cash for a villa at the Beach Club. We realized that we were going to be going to WDW almost on an annual basis, and it would never quite be the same going back to "regular" hotel rooms.

Ultimately it's a financial commitment, and you do need to think about all the angles, but I would recommend that you do so minus any current perks/benefits (such as free dining or discounted rooms) b/c there is no way to know if those will go away. If "free" dining goes away next year and you make a 10 day trip, what will your food costs be? Take all these factors into consideration. We estimate that we saved about $500 in food costs last year by eating some meals in our room over the course of an 8 day stay.

Good luck.

 

[TisBit]

Hi everyone,

Really sorry for posting this, I know you hear this every day. I love Disney and our new family went on our first Disney trip last year and loved it. We have 2 kids right now, very young at 1 and 3. We like to go for 10 days so we can relax. We live pretty far away and like to drive (IL to FL) so we normal just do one trip.

Anyways, the deal we loved was free meal plan at a moderate resort. The resorts are nice enough (who wouldn't always want better though) and we get 10 days with park hopper and meal plan for about $3,000.

We can see ourselves buying this trip for at least the next 15 years or more so the timelines work out. But with buying our own food and tickets it seems to work out to be about the same price (3000) per year with DVC. Am I doing the Math wrong?

Let me know what you think of our situation and thanks again for giving this question another answer =)

Thanks!

Kyle

As others have pointed out, your dollar to dollar comparison is probably about right. With discounts/promotions at a value you are most likely going to break even. DVC is more about upgrading to a condo style resort, where you get a kitchen and separate rooms vs staying in just a hotel room. While you can take just a studio when you don't need bigger, it is the flexibility that comes into play.

You also may find that the dining plan isn't really that beneficial for your family. When I do a cost comparison of paying OOP or doing the dining plan, I about break even (just did this for an upcoming quick weekend trip with my wife). While we could break even with the Dining plan, honestly our meals would just be different, I would rarely get a dessert with a meal, I am usually full and would rather get an extra snack later. Sometimes I might just want a sandwich, but with the dining plan it is a loss if you don't get the more expensive meals, etc. So, we decided to get AP's for two trips with Tables in Wonderland and now we don't have to worry about what we order. If we want dessert we get it, if we don't we don't.

With DVC your vacations will just be different, apples to oranges.

 

[MFMont]

Are you doing the math using direct buy from DVD or are you looking at resale? If you have not already, you may want to consider OKW. Location wise it is right near Port Orleans nut offers larger accommodations. If you buy direct, you will have a much harder time justifying the numbers in comparison to a moderate resort, even more so if you are financing the purchase.

 

[momto3pirates]

I had the same argument with my husband. We could go and stay in 2 rooms at a value for the same amount per year that we would be paying in dues. The thing is, it's not really an apples to apples comparison. With DVC you are in deluxe resorts. We have 3 kids so having the extra space, washer/dryer and kitchen were huge in changing my mind. My only regret now is wishing we had bought sooner.

 

[Sandisw]

I don't know how flexible your dates are for your yearly trip, but we do one primary trip each year, but schedule them 51 weeks apart so that we can buy an AP. Right now, DVC members get a $100 discount (this is a perk and can go away at any time but for now, it is a great benefit).

This allows us to get the two trips out of one ticket--we then only have to buy them every other year.

As mentioned, if you own an AP, you can then do the TIW card to get 20% of meals, mostly TS, but it helps to save costs. We are getting one for the first time this summer.

The other piece to just remember is that DVC is for the long haul and that while the price may be comparable now to what you have paid with a promotion (free dining), those come and go and you never know how long those will continue. Just since last year, the dining plan is not as good a value as before (quick service for values, purchase of the Photobook).

If you buy in to DVC, you no longer have to hope they continue. When we bought, we looked at things from that perspective. We figured if we could spend the same amount or less and get either a bigger room or stay a few more nights, DVC wasn't costing us more and if the discounts went away, we were still locked in. I love not having to wait and hope for those discounts or pin codes (which we never got) to get a good Disney deal.

Good luck!

 

[Spencerfamilynj]

It's truly hard to compare as others have said. You never know when the "free" dining plan will disappear. My thought is that it will be a sure sign the economy has fully rebounded once it is gone! Our first trip was when our daughter was 5. It was great, except for trying to be quiet once she crashed for the night at 8:30 p.m. when we were in a regular room. Now she is almost a teenager. Great to have a little privacy from her and for her to enjoy. Definitely more space to relax. Those are things I like from DVC. We're spending 5 nights at Hilton Head Island this summer - which is a really special place as well. No rides, but still very relaxing (and no park tickets). I know ticket prices will rise, as will meal prices. At least the room prices won't change, even when the economy is better.

 

[TheYellowDart]

Hi everyone-

Thanks for the great responses. I didn't even look at resales... I guess that might be a better deal than right from Disney, I was just afraid of getting ripped off. While we have no debts 12k+ is still a lot of money for us as a starting family. I also didn't take in affect that we are locked in to the vacations for "about" the same price and that my free meal plan ticket may expire some day... I thought it was just a Disney thing I will get forever ;-)

I am a little confused how you run the 11 month stays... so if my points renewed in Feb. and I stayed in Jan, then I would have more points for next Dec so my AP would still work and I would save on ticket prices? Then I stay again next year and repeat? I guess that makes sense when I type it...

We are still debating though but now it is much clearer. We still love eating out at the WDW sit downs, its a really nice experience. Thanks again for all the great responses, I should have known Disney forms were nicer than the rest of the internet =D

 

[Elise79]

To explain the 11 month thing I'll assume you travel in September if you get free dining at the moment.

A June use year might work well as it will cover you if you move to Summer trips once your children start school. So I'll use that in my example.

This year you would travel 20-30 September 2011 using your points from your 2011 use year. You AP would be bought on the first day thereby expiring on 20 September 2012.

Next year you would travel say 5-15 September 2012 using points from your 2012 use year and your APs would still be valid so no ticket costs.

You would then repeat the cycle.

 

[kenny]

I agree with the posters here. There are many things to consider.

First, you can't base a decision on promo's for years to come. As you said you are planning the next 15 years. You can't guarentee free dining for 15 years or that if they have free dining it will be when you want or can go.

We have young children too. 6 and 18 months. We bought when we only had 1 child and she was 3. That being said, our trips have changed. When we bought we were SURE we would continue to ONLY go during Oct-Dec. Well 3 years later we have gone Oct, Nov, Dec, Mar, Apr & July. Things change and DVC makes it much more accomodating. For example we are taking my extended family next Winter Break (Feb). There will never be a promo then but with DVC we can take 15 people!

We were also similar in that we normally stayed in moderates. We have stay in deluxes like Poly and GF but typically did the CBR and were happy with that. However, now with DVC there is NO going back (ok maybe to Poly or GF because we LOVE those resorts but no others). The amount of added space gave us a completely different type of trip. Now at BLT we can put the kids to bed and have a room to sit and relax together. No more having to whisper cause they were 2 feet away. Gives us much more room for the kids to be kids and play. Dining is different now and we eat breakfast in the room as well.

My advice would be to take the tour and see for yourself. While DVC may not save you money (depending on you vacationing habits over the next 15 years), it will change your habits. For us the change alone was well worth the cost. It really FEELS like a vacation now and we are so much happier.

 

[AirGoofy]

Hi everyone,

Really sorry for posting this, I know you hear this every day. I love Disney and our new family went on our first Disney trip last year and loved it. We have 2 kids right now, very young at 1 and 3. We like to go for 10 days so we can relax. We live pretty far away and like to drive (IL to FL) so we normal just do one trip.

Anyways, the deal we loved was free meal plan at a moderate resort. The resorts are nice enough (who wouldn't always want better though) and we get 10 days with park hopper and meal plan for about $3,000.

We can see ourselves buying this trip for at least the next 15 years or more so the timelines work out. But with buying our own food and tickets it seems to work out to be about the same price (3000) per year with DVC. Am I doing the Math wrong?

Let me know what you think of our situation and thanks again for giving this question another answer =)

Thanks!

Kyle

Welcome. As for your math calculations, are you considering you are not paying for 1 yr old meal plan or tickets?

We were there with you. We did value resorts for a week at a time. We moved up to moderate and enjoyed the difference. When we moved up to DVC,it is even better. Now, instead on Theme Park each day, we plan time to enjoy the resort. The DVC resorts have great (free) community rooms, pools, water slides, etc. Then, there is that perk of BLT, BWV, WLV, BCV where you can walk or boat to MK or Epcot. When it comes to DP, we tried that and DxDP. Now, we realized that we enjoy not eating all the meals and that using our DVC discount at some restaurants and paying OOP is about the same amount of $. Good luck in your decision.

 

[Dean]

Hi everyone,

Really sorry for posting this, I know you hear this every day. I love Disney and our new family went on our first Disney trip last year and loved it. We have 2 kids right now, very young at 1 and 3. We like to go for 10 days so we can relax. We live pretty far away and like to drive (IL to FL) so we normal just do one trip.

Anyways, the deal we loved was free meal plan at a moderate resort. The resorts are nice enough (who wouldn't always want better though) and we get 10 days with park hopper and meal plan for about $3,000.

We can see ourselves buying this trip for at least the next 15 years or more so the timelines work out. But with buying our own food and tickets it seems to work out to be about the same price (3000) per year with DVC. Am I doing the Math wrong?

Let me know what you think of our situation and thanks again for giving this question another answer =)

Thanks!

Kyle

Taking your assumptions as I understand them (yearly trip on property, moderate or above, financially OK), it's really a pretty simple decision between DVC resale and cash. While you might see one trip here and there cheaper with specials including free DDP, overall DVC will likely save you money AND give you better options, as a minimum, you'll roughly break even. That assumes you compare a studio at DVC to a moderate and make reasonable assumptions as to future discounts/free options like the DDP. Even if DVC costs you a little more, you get so much for your money that I feel it's a no brainer. Off property will be cheaper still where costs are concerns. DVC for non DVC options (DCL, other exchanges) is not a good choice. Assuming you do like most do, upgrade yourself to 1 or 2 BR units, you'll likely spend more but you'll get even more for your money. Resale is clearly he way to go at present.

 

[TheYellowDart]

Ah, see this is why I needed to come here... I will be a little more open, we are only 27 years old and just started doing family vacations. We have gone on about 5 and Disney (as you all know) blew the others so far out of the water we know we wont really want to do much else. We have gone on a cruise since and all we thought about was Disney.

Another thing that might be showing my age (and that I have had a solid job the last 5 years) is that I thought the free dinning plan was a standard event for going off peak time frames. I am guessing by your response this is not the case?

Also another thing I can't figure out is each place not only has different point values per night, but different yearly costs per point. But it seems you can stay anywhere you want, not just the hotel you buy in... so why doesn't everyone just buy the cheapest yearly points, then stay in the best hotel? I am guessing since it seems easy there is something stopping that.

Thinking ahead it seems like an easy choice because the points are locked in. Another question I have for the older DVC members is how much they have seen the yearly fee raise?

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction!

Kyle

 

[Dean]

Ah, see this is why I needed to come here... I will be a little more open, we are only 27 years old and just started doing family vacations. We have gone on about 5 and Disney (as you all know) blew the others so far out of the water we know we wont really want to do much else. We have gone on a cruise since and all we thought about was Disney.

Another thing that might be showing my age (and that I have had a solid job the last 5 years) is that I thought the free dinning plan was a standard event for going off peak time frames. I am guessing by your response this is not the case?

Also another thing I can't figure out is each place not only has different point values per night, but different yearly costs per point. But it seems you can stay anywhere you want, not just the hotel you buy in... so why doesn't everyone just buy the cheapest yearly points, then stay in the best hotel? I am guessing since it seems easy there is something stopping that.

Thinking ahead it seems like an easy choice because the points are locked in. Another question I have for the older DVC members is how much they have seen the yearly fee raise?

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction!

Kyle

Not only is free dining hit and miss and only the last few years, it generally requires ticket purchases AND full price for the rooms. The reason to consider which home resort is mainly that one can only reserve home resort 11 months out and there is competition at 7 m/o to trade to other club locations. For those willing to take the chance they'll have to stay at the home resort most trips, buying the cheaper points is often a risk worth taking. SSR is generally the best value. Off property of VB & HH are too risky and the fees too high to make the addition savings worthwhile based on current resale prices.

 

[revpop]

Lots of great input above. Our experience is over a decade old, so it might be different now - but we bought into DVC via a resale and feel like it was the right thing to do. We saved 12% compared to the Disney point price at the time of closing, and 18% compared to a Disney price increase that was about to take place. We didn't get the DVC tote bag you got back then if you purchased directly from Disney, but unless that bag was worth a coupla' grand, we came out way ahead. On the other hand... my son recently bought in directly through Disney and he seems happy with the deal, so maybe times have changed?

I'd still recommend at least checking out the resale market. We hear that Disney isn't approving resales as easily as before, so that might be one glitch you run into. And you also really have to look closely at each specific resale to be sure you're happy with the home resort, the Use Year dates, remaining points in the current UY, and whether the seller has borrowed and/or used points from the next UY. But if all that looks good to you, our experience would say it's worthwhile to at least investigate the resale market.

By the way - we recently began using DVC points for non-Disney properties (in Florida and Missouri so far) and have been impressed with this versatility.

Good Luck!

 

[TisBit]

Ah, see this is why I needed to come here... I will be a little more open, we are only 27 years old and just started doing family vacations. We have gone on about 5 and Disney (as you all know) blew the others so far out of the water we know we wont really want to do much else. We have gone on a cruise since and all we thought about was Disney.

Another thing that might be showing my age (and that I have had a solid job the last 5 years) is that I thought the free dinning plan was a standard event for going off peak time frames. I am guessing by your response this is not the case?

Also another thing I can't figure out is each place not only has different point values per night, but different yearly costs per point. But it seems you can stay anywhere you want, not just the hotel you buy in... so why doesn't everyone just buy the cheapest yearly points, then stay in the best hotel? I am guessing since it seems easy there is something stopping that.

Thinking ahead it seems like an easy choice because the points are locked in. Another question I have for the older DVC members is how much they have seen the yearly fee raise?

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction!

Kyle

Each resort has to pay its own costs. So, AKV has to pay into some of the Savannah upkeep and other amenities at that resort. While some resorts share these expenses with attached hotels, which can lower the cost of the MF's. This gives you an idea why you will have different fees over the life of the contract.

The advanatage of purchasing at one location over another is the ability to book that resort before other people. This is a big deal if you know you want to stay at one specific resort (hence the "buy where you want to stay" saying). Anyone can book any resort at the 7 month mark and a lot of resorts will be sold out.

A big part of DVC is planning your trips early. The best thing to do, is to plan your trips at least a year in advance and book your "home" resort at the 11 month mark, almost guaranteeing your room (some rooms are hard to get at the 11 month mark, during peak times). If you want to stay at a different resort, you then try to switch at the 7 month mark. Even if you don't get the other resort, you have guaranteed yourself a room for your vacation.

You do not ever want to depend on getting a reservation at 7 month mark. DVC availability is a fickle item....normally peak times for cash guests are not peak times for DVC and vice versa. This is usually because members want to travel in the lower point times. If you are booking rooms under 7 months, most of the time you will be able to get a reservation, but at the larger resorts (generally SSR/OKW/AKV) but your first choice of resort and possibly room size might not be available.

 

[TisBit]

Lots of great input above. Our experience is over a decade old, so it might be different now - but we bought into DVC via a resale and feel like it was the right thing to do. We saved 12% compared to the Disney point price at the time of closing, and 18% compared to a Disney price increase that was about to take place. We didn't get the DVC tote bag you got back then if you purchased directly from Disney, but unless that bag was worth a coupla' grand, we came out way ahead. On the other hand... my son recently bought in directly through Disney and he seems happy with the deal, so maybe times have changed?

I'd still recommend at least checking out the resale market. We hear that Disney isn't approving resales as easily as before, so that might be one glitch you run into. And you also really have to look closely at each specific resale to be sure you're happy with the home resort, the Use Year dates, remaining points in the current UY, and whether the seller has borrowed and/or used points from the next UY. But if all that looks good to you, our experience would say it's worthwhile to at least investigate the resale market.

By the way - we recently began using DVC points for non-Disney properties (in Florida and Missouri so far) and have been impressed with this versatility.

Good Luck!

Very good points. We actually bought direct, for a variety of reasons. One, it was a set price and we didn't have to worry that we would submit a contract for X dollars per point and the next day see a similar contract for a few dollars less and think we didn't get a good deal.

Second and most importantly we wanted the guide to help us with the purchase. When we decided to buy, we knew the basics of DVC and understood we could probably save about 10% resale, but we ended up with a good guide who helped us figure out the use years, number of points, etc. There was also a convenience factor of not having to worry about ROFR, get points in the system, deal with a seller, etc.

Now, resalse prices are much more varying now and those same things might not be worth 25% price savings, etc. But, you must also weigh the fact they are not treating direct vs resale the same anymore and what that mean in the future....so in essence, they have muddied the waters for prospective buyers.

 

[Sandisw]

Ah, see this is why I needed to come here... I will be a little more open, we are only 27 years old and just started doing family vacations. We have gone on about 5 and Disney (as you all know) blew the others so far out of the water we know we wont really want to do much else. We have gone on a cruise since and all we thought about was Disney.

Another thing that might be showing my age (and that I have had a solid job the last 5 years) is that I thought the free dinning plan was a standard event for going off peak time frames. I am guessing by your response this is not the case?

Also another thing I can't figure out is each place not only has different point values per night, but different yearly costs per point. But it seems you can stay anywhere you want, not just the hotel you buy in... so why doesn't everyone just buy the cheapest yearly points, then stay in the best hotel? I am guessing since it seems easy there is something stopping that.

Thinking ahead it seems like an easy choice because the points are locked in. Another question I have for the older DVC members is how much they have seen the yearly fee raise?

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction!

Kyle

For anyone who is not tied to having to be at one location, it can really save money to buy in at one of the lower priced resorts--buy in and MF's--and then try for others at the 7 month mark.

However, there are some, like my family, that wanted to be at BLT every trip, even if we decided to split our stay at another resort.

So, we spent the extra money buying where we knew we wanted to be in case what we wanted was not available at the 7 month mark.

Plus, owning at BLT allows us to book and pretty much guarantee that we are going to be able to get the SV rooms. Those are very difficult at 7 months.

I also knew that if we could not get BLT for our trip, we would be disappointed since we had stayed at the CR for most of our pre-DVC trips.

Currently, we travel in the summer and have split our stays between BLT and BWV or BCV. But , we plan to eventually go regularly in October for F & W and/or early December. Those are popular times for the resorts we like and therefore, are glad we bought where we did, even though we spent more.

SSR, as mentioned, is going for a great price ($50 - $60) range right now and has lower MF"s. However, all the resorts are coming down in price on the resale market and you can now get many of the others in the $60's and $70's.

We have bought and sold through the board sponsor TSS and they are wonderful to work with so no need to worry about working with them.