Is 50 points too little to start with?

[dvcwannabetoo]

My wife and I love Disney and try to go at least once a year. We have two daughters 5-year old and infant. We have taken the DVC tour and love the properties, but honestly the investment scares us. We recently have talked about buying 50 points at Boardwalk or BeachClub so we could stay in a studio for 4 or five nights during the weekday in the Fall and wouldn't have to finance this amount of points. Then if we really liked it we could add more points within a couple of years. My wife and I talk about DVC all the time, but I'm afraid I might be romantizing the idea. Also, I guess my biggest question -is it hard to get studios say 8 months in advance of a trip?

Thanks for help and insight and sorry for the rambling.

 

[global_mom]

We started with 50 points at HHI to see how we liked it. We figured that we would add some more points after the first year or so. Well we liked it too much and added another 300 points withing 5 months of becoming members. DVC is very addictive! We are glad that we did it the way we did and we can't wait to add even more points!

 

[wendyinoc]

Start small!! That's what I have and I think its a good idea.
I have 65 points and its gets me 5-6 days a year. Sat-Thurs is 65 for me this year. I will then hop on to the Disney Cruise Ship and my vacation becomes 8 nights and 9 days . I can always borrow from next year to make it even longer. If you don't mind the studio you can really make small points work.
I think 65-75 is best and not 50. Sun thru Thurs costs about 55-65. Figure out how many days you need and go by that. Also, SSR does have more years on the contract. I do like the other resorts better, but to give up over 10 years of vacations did not make sense to me.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Welcome to the DIS.

If thats how you want to start out then no it's not to small you can always add cash or stay at a Value for longer . You can also do the Bank and Borrow to get a longer stay and do Apdiscounts on the following year if yo do your APs correct.

I Have had no problem getting a BCV (June of07) BWI and AKV (Julyof08) at the 7 month mark.

Now things can change but if you have that and 8 months with still beat those like me switching at the 7.Now you might not get Standard or BW views at that time but should get something.

For us we looked at what we were spending ( 11 to 12 nights a year 2 trips) and what we would be spending and just Jumped in and Financed . We will still come out ahead and Love being members and having our trips to look forward to.

Good Luck and Enjoy.

 

[Didney Daddy]

I agree with the earlier reply about the 65 point route. If you look at the points charts, this might be a better number for you if you plan to go every year. Good luck,

 

[DVCLiz]

If you settle on a particular resort and number of points, go ahead and let the resellers know what you are looking for. Many of the smaller contracts never make the resale listings (I'm assuming you know you can only buy a contract this small from the resale market, because Disney will require a first time purchaser to buy a contract with at least 160 points) and you might have to wait a long time to see and buy the contract you want.

 

[macosx]

It's a start, but probably not enough unless you don't plan on going every year. And if that's the case, it's just simpler to rent in my view. So, plan on adding more points or don't bother with it.

Another strategy is to go 3 times every other year, say July 07/Dec 07/Jun 08 (one annual pass), then July 09/Dec 09/Jun 10 (second annual pass), so essentially works out to an annual trip with a couple of extra bonus trips. Even if you only do 2 trips in 12 months, the annual pass is less than the 2 park hopper MYW. Of course, you need more points, pay more for airfare, food, and other expenses, but you get to have that much more fun.

After you're tired of the parks, you can get the 10-day never expire tickets and use a few each trip to stretch out maybe 3 trips. Spend a few days enjoying the resort and relaxing instead. Extra points are also useful for friends and family who want to tag along. Disney isn't far off starting at 160 points, as I expect most people want or get more sooner than later.

 

[snowbunny]

I think it's fine. A low number of points gives you the benefits of membership (including the ability to add on with Disney later, in 25-point increments) with low maintenance fees. With banking and borrowing you can have 150 points to use if you go every third year - or pay a member to transfer points to you on a one-time basis if you need more points in a particular year.

It's not whether someone else thinks it's not enough -- it's whatever the right number of points is for YOU. I applaud your decision to pay cash instead of going into debt.

 

[ldo]

you can always borrow from the next year for a year or two to see how it goes, then add-on. We are going to "test-drive" 50 oints for 2 years and then probably add-on.
Ex. we could stay 5 nights in a studio at OKW during summer for 55 points (so we borrowed 5 points from the next year). Then the next year, we only have 45 points, but we can still borrow more points from the following year. At that point, we should have a good feel whether we like the current arrangement, want to go more often, and (likely as our family gets older) want to move to a 1 BR. Then we call DVC and add-on the # of points we think we need.
I loved buying 50 points b/c I was not locked into a big DVC commitment and I cold pay cash for it.
Good luck Elaine

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Frankly, I think you answered your own question. If you can stay at WDW for 4-5 nights then you're good to go. In time, you'll be wanting a 1 bedroom, what with children and all.

In fact, now that you think about it.... how much am I going to be spending on meals that I could be saving and spending on points to be getting a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen. hmmm..... 2 meals x 5 days x 5 people (you've had another child by this time) x $10 = $500 That's $42/mo.... wonder how many points I could get for $42/mo.

 

[nunzia]

I agree with most of the OP..start as small as you're comfortable with and then you can always add on with Disney. I bought just 25 points at OKW (would have rather had a few more to enable a week every three years, but this is close enough) Once every three years at WDW is fine for us as we do DLR more and plan to buy the bulk of our points there, but still no where near 160.
Remember, once you are in the system you can always add on with Disney for a minimum of 25 points for cash and 50 for financing..also you can add on odd numbers, like 28, etc. It sounds just right for now with your comfort level.

 

[disney dumbo]

That's what we did... and added on... and added on!
Honestly can say... wish we did it earlier!!!
Good luck!

 

[dvcwannabetoo]

My wife and I have decided to do it and start small.

 

[Deb & Bill]

My wife and I have decided to do it and start small.

You know you'll have to go resale, right? You can't buy in via Disney directly with less than 160 points.

 

[macosx]

You know you'll have to go resale, right? You can't buy in via Disney directly with less than 160 points.

It winds up costing more taking this route, but some people like to dip their toes first. In the end, pretty much everyone get into the pool and has a great time. Small resales points cost more, multiple contracts burn closing fees, and direct add-ons are at full price with no incentives. You'll probably save a little, but in a 10 year period, I'd guess it's comparable to renting (which doesn't carry the commitment). Buying more points now via resale give you some savings, while buying direct give you good incentives, which can be nearly equivalent in savings. There's really not bad choice, but IMHO, the midway measures carry more worst of both worlds than best.

 

[AKV707]

If you have looked at the point charts, and feel that 50 is a good starting point for you, then it will be fine. I would definitely look at the charts to get an idea of what your minimum point needs would be. One of the many great things about DVC is that you can always add more in increments as small as 25 once you are a member.

Just like one of the previous posts, DW and I have been going to WDW every year, and often twice for 14 years. When we finally decided to buy (at AKV) last summer, we had finally decided that there was no end in sight to our WDW vacations, and that we had already spent at least as much as the initial cost of membership once. So we decided to only pay that one more time and jumped in! We did finance, but it made sense, as I know in the end, we will have excellent vacations and we will likely save money.

 

[luna99]

It winds up costing more taking this route, but some people like to dip their toes first.

could you explain this?

to the OP - I'm planning on doing just that... saving up to buy a small resale.. maybe 70-75 points. I figure right now it's just DH and I and we can vacation anytime during the year (slow season! Less points) in a studio ... and even when we do have kids.. we can still go during the cheaper (slower) season until they get older and get into school.. and by then hopefully we will have added more points anyway!

 

[nunzia]

I think what the OP was pointing out was that if you buy alot of small contracts, say through resale, then the closing costs will make your per point cost higher, since you will pay those same closing costs eash time you buy your small add on of 25 or 50 points. However, I think that if you buy your further small contracts through Disney, you will pay full price for points but will have no closing costs, so it would be just fine. That's what I did..bit the bullet for the first purchase and plan on buying the add ons through Disney.

 

[bigdave10000]

I might be one of the few who have done it BOTH ways.

In 1999 I bought 250 points at BWV. In 2003 I got divorced and my EX got the points.

I am getting married again in May and just bought a 50 point re-sale at HHI.

The reasons why I am starting small this time.

1. We didn't need 250 points the first time. We ended up getting a 2BR on vacation so the grandparents could come. That is great but we didn't NEED to do that and if we were paying cash for the rooms I sure wouldn't be paying for someone elses room. We also stayed on weekends because we had points to burn. When you add in cost of the points and the MF for the points you don't really NEED you are adding a great deal of extra expense.

2. I had the cash to pay for 50 points now. I didn't want to pay finance fees. With the banked points and borrowing I won't need extra points for a vacation for 2-3 more years. At that point I will have the cash saved up the buy 50 more points. Now I am going to strech my points out more by using them for Studio's and 1 BR's from Sun-Thurs and pay cash for Fri, Sat at a different resort.

I think DVC is the best thing since sliced bread. It just takes some planning and evaluation on how YOU will use it to get the most out of it.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Luna99:

I think you will be so happy buying a small resale.

DH and I had planned to go to WDW about every 2 years and stay in the off-season alternating between studios and 1 bedrooms. We had taken the tour and seriously asked our guide about purchasing a half contract, which of course was out of the question.

Our 100 point contract would fit our needs very well, except now we want to go to WDW all the time. I do think we saved money by not buying more points than we needed, and we are waiting for the CRV that we both want.

There are 2 very important scenarios that you need to be aware of before making small point purchases.

1. Once you bank or borrow points you can't put them back into the original use year.

2. It is sometimes helpful with waitlisting to make 2 reservations to assure that you get what you want. Small #s of points makes this impossible.

EXAMPLE 1: We took a trip to WDW with my sisters and their families. (I don't suggest that you do this, but that is a subject for another thread.) Anyway, we had originally planned to go the week after Columbus Day in 2006. The kids had gotten the whole week of Col. Day out of school for the 2 previous years. My sister assured me that they would get the whole week, and that it would likely be the week after Columbus Day. I made reservations for most of the week and borrowed 29 points. In June, the school system FINALLY announced the calendar for the upcoming year that showed 3 days off at Columbus Day, and a really great schedule for Spring Break.

Lesson Learned: If you don't have a lot of points, you make very sure that you will use those points you borrowed. We went to Hilton Head with our borrowed points and loved it, so it worked out.

Example 2: You have a trip planned with your sisters, but you are scared that they will bail out at the last moment. (The DIS can make this seem like an imminent threat.) You have a 2 bedroom booked, but would prefer to go back with a studio or 1 bedroom if they back out at the last minute. If that happens, you either get the last room at a different resort, or go on the waitlist, and possibly get nothing. What is the solution? You make 2 reservations, and drop the one that you don't need. My sisters didn't bail, and I didn't have a fit.

Lesson Learned: When traveling with extended family, get 2 studios or something else that will allow you to drop a reservation, or have enough points available to make the double reservation.

Both examples dealt with extended family. I really think that was our 1 and only trip with extended family. We stressed about them having a good time, and they didn't. Its a good situation. They don't want to vacation with us, and we don't want to vacation with them.