investing in DVC or reserving directly

[lonebadger]

my family and I enjoy staying at Grand floridian. A poster responded that it would be better to directly reserve a week at grand floridian instead of investing in DVC. (with enough points) wouldn't investing in DVC eventually pay for itself if we stay at the grand floridian yearly or even bi-yearly?

 

[drusba]

Best use of DVC is for DVC resorts. GF is not one of those. Points needed to trade out to GF are high and there is also a $95 fee for doing so, and the points needed to get GF do not remain set, they can and do go up annually. Value wise, it would be cheaper to rent GF through Disney annually rather than buying DVC and trading out your points for GF annually.

 

[Lynne M]

The GF is not a DVC resort. While it's currently possible to use your DVC points there, there are a number of reasons why buying into DVC to only use your points at non-DVC resorts is a bad idea:

1. You're exchanging out of the DVC system, so there's a $95 fee.

2. The point costs are extremely high....several time what a comparable room at a DVC resort would be. A studio at a DVC resort runs in the 12-15-ish points per night range, GF stays are something over 50 points a night. For the cheapest room.

3. The point costs at DVC resorts are fixed, in a way, so that the number of points per night cannot continually go up. This is not true of the non-DVC resorts like GF. There's no cap at all. They could double or triple the number of points per night it takes to stay there. The GF could decide it no longer wants to make rooms available to DVC members.

4. Disney could take away the ability to stay at the non-DVC resorts at any time. This was just announced for resale contracts...those who buy resale can no longer use points for cruises or stays at the non-DVC resorts at WDW, DL, and other Disney parks around the world.

DVC is about the villas...if you don't intend to stay in the DVC resorts, there's no point in buying.

 

[RescueRanger]

Grand Floridian is not a DVC resort. You can use points for rooms there but it requires ALOT of points. If you are not going to be staying at a DVC resort, it does not make financial sense to purchase DVC. Also, the ability to stay at anything other than the DVC resort you buy in at, is not guaranteed. As seen with the recent changes, Disney can and will alter the program as they see fit.

 

[lonebadger]

i understand. they make it sound so simple when about chosing non DVC. so for non dvc, you're at the mercy of disney's rules when it comes to reserving future stays.


this has been my thought process. if you have X-amount of yearly points ( enought for GF), you would be able to stay at places like GF as long as you were able to make the reservation.

if it costs me $4,000 to stay for a week at Grand Floridian every year, would i not eventually pay for my DVC membership if i bought the qualifying amount of points, say invested $20,000?

 

[sissy_ib]

i understand. they make it sound so simple when about chosing non DVC. so for non dvc, you're at the mercy of disney's rules when it comes to reserving future stays.


this has been my thought process. if you have X-amount of yearly points ( enought for GF), you would be able to stay at places like GF as long as you were able to make the reservation.

if it costs me $4,000 to stay for a week at Grand Floridian every year, would i not eventually pay for my DVC membership if i bought the qualifying amount of points, say invested $20,000?

Remember you also have yearly dues.
And what kind of room are you staying in at the GF? And is that $4000 a package with park tickets and dinning or just the room? I have 180 points at AKV that cost a little more than $17,000. A garden view room at the GF is 48 points a night in the lowest season on weekdays. So I could stay there for a week every other year. A lagoon view room starts at 55 points a night at club level starts at 82 points a night. I can get about two weeks a year with with savanna view with my points if I go in the slow seasons and stay in a studio, about a week a year in a 1br, longer if I don't get the view.

Now if you buy re-sale you can get more points for less $$$ upfront, I bought direct. You will still need a lot of points to stay at the GF every year. And as stated by PP, they can change the number of points needed for a nights stay.

 

[CPTJAK]

i understand. they make it sound so simple when about chosing non DVC. so for non dvc, you're at the mercy of disney's rules when it comes to reserving future stays.


this has been my thought process. if you have X-amount of yearly points ( enought for GF), you would be able to stay at places like GF as long as you were able to make the reservation.

if it costs me $4,000 to stay for a week at Grand Floridian every year, would i not eventually pay for my DVC membership if i bought the qualifying amount of points, say invested $20,000?

If it cost you 4000 per year to stay there, this it what it will cost you if you Buy DVC f:

approximately 60 points per night x 7 nights = 420 points

420 points at $75 per point = $31000

annual maintenance fee = 420 points x $4.5 per point = $1890 per year

Lost interest on the $31000 at 3% = $930 1st year

Depreciation of DVC ownership (as the DVC ownership expires in appx 40-50 years and will be worth $0 in year 50)=$31000/50= $620

Cost of DVC use at Grand Floridian=$3440

With the 31000 you spent on DVC It will be a long time to break even

 

[Sandisw]

i understand. they make it sound so simple when about chosing non DVC. so for non dvc, you're at the mercy of disney's rules when it comes to reserving future stays.


this has been my thought process. if you have X-amount of yearly points ( enought for GF), you would be able to stay at places like GF as long as you were able to make the reservation.

if it costs me $4,000 to stay for a week at Grand Floridian every year, would i not eventually pay for my DVC membership if i bought the qualifying amount of points, say invested $20,000?

We went through this same thought process for years, prior to BLT being built in terms of the CR. We loved staying there and looked in to DVC. We were told that we could use points at CR but when I checked in to it, I realized that it really was not a good idea.

In the end, we didn't buy because we did not want to give up that location. We said that we would consider DVC when and if they built a resort at the CR.

Of course, we now own BLT and are very happy with our purchase because I know I am staying where I want.

As I mentioned on another thread, when you buy DVC, you are not guaranteed the right to use the points outside of DVC (actually, not even outside your home resort, but I don't think that will every come to pass) so if GF is where you want to be, then I don't think DVC fits for you at this time.

 

[lonebadger]

thanks for the help. looking over the points, i think i've misread the points.

 

[Lynne M]

if it costs me $4,000 to stay for a week at Grand Floridian every year, would i not eventually pay for my DVC membership if i bought the qualifying amount of points, say invested $20,000?

The problem is, because the GF (and other non-DVC Disney resorts) is an entity outside of DVC, the compensation that GF gets from DVC when members stay there on points is re-negotiated every year. And the GF will likely want more money for those stays ever year. And so, the number of points per night required to stay at the GF goes up pretty much every year.

So, right now, if you bought a 200 point DVC contract (roughly what you'd get for 20K), you could stay at GF for 4 nights a year, IF you stay in the cheapest room, during the cheapest season on a weeknight. The point costs will likely go up next year, so let's say they go from 48 to 52. Now you can only stay for 3 nights a year. See where this is going?

And, as I said, that's only for a garden view room during the cheapest seasons. You want to go from May-July? That's 54 points a night. During a holiday season? 76 points a night on weeknights. 87 on weekends. So, if your routinely stay at the GF during the second half of December, your $20,000 would buy you 2 nights at GF a year.

For comparison's sake, with my 150 point contract, I can average about 10 nights a year in a studio at any DVC resort (figuring 12-15 points a night). And that's not going to change much, if at all, for the life of the contract.

That's where the value lies in DVC.....using it at the DVC resorts.

 

[lonebadger]

The problem is, because the GF (and other non-DVC Disney resorts) is an entity outside of DVC, the compensation that GF gets from DVC when members stay there on points is re-negotiated every year. And the GF will likely want more money for those stays ever year. And so, the number of points per night required to stay at the GF goes up pretty much every year.

So, right now, if you bought a 200 point DVC contract (roughly what you'd get for 20K), you could stay at GF for 4 nights a year, IF you stay in the cheapest room, during the cheapest season on a weeknight. The point costs will likely go up next year, so let's say they go from 48 to 52. Now you can only stay for 3 nights a year. See where this is going?

And, as I said, that's only for a garden view room during the cheapest seasons. You want to go from May-July? That's 54 points a night. During a holiday season? 76 points a night on weeknights. 87 on weekends. So, if your routinely stay at the GF during the second half of December, your $20,000 would buy you 2 nights at GF a year.

For comparison's sake, with my 150 point contract, I can average about 10 nights a year in a studio at any DVC resort (figuring 12-15 points a night). And that's not going to change much, if at all, for the life of the contract.

That's where the value lies in DVC.....using it at the DVC resorts.

thanks alot. My problem is that I 1st went to disney world in 2009 and stayed at the Grand Floridian (I'm 39, sad i know) so now I'm hooked. We had a very nice room and the grounds are just amazing. I think I've raised the bar too high in terms of staying at a nice resort at disney world. I'll need to rethink of how i want to take vacations if i want join the DVC.

i do have one question. if i wanted wanted to stay at GF and had x amount of points, could i pay for a week and apply the point toward my stay, or is paying directly and using DVC points completely seperate.

 

[chalee94]

i do have one question. if i wanted wanted to stay at GF and had x amount of points, could i pay for a week and apply the point toward my stay, or is paying directly and using DVC points completely seperate.

separate.

you can pay the $95 fee plus 52 pts a night, for example for 3 nights at the GF and then pay cash for the next 4 nights. (but you can't mix pts and cash for 1 night.) they would try to keep you in the same room but you'd probably have to check out and back in.