Is Anybody Disappointed?

[bytheblood]

I took the DVC tour in December and have to admit I am very interested.

Are you or do you know anybody who is disappointed with buying into the club? I am still looking everything over, but it seems like once you make your payments, dues, etc, that the price for your visit is not much less than the cost of paying out of pocket for rack rate or with discounts offered to the public.



Edited to add a quick note: So many of you have PM'd me mentioning using you as a referral. I would be happy to do it, however I already have a name on file from my tour for a couple who referred me.

 

[Dziactor]

The only thing im disapointed in is there arnt any good incentives right now, i'd like to do an add on, but nothing is that great right now.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

I took the DVC tour in December and have to admit I am very interested.

Are you or do you know anybody who is disappointed with buying into the club? I am still looking everything over, but it seems like once you make your payments, dues, etc, that the price for your visit is not much less than the cost of paying out of pocket for rack rate or with discounts offered to the public.

Call WDW reservation center and get a quote on a 1BR at BLT (the non member price per night). I believe what they tell you may change your mind.

 

[wdwnut]

Hi: We joined 10 years ago; our biggest regret is not buying in sooner. We enjoy "treating" - taking other people to WDW-family and friends. Sometimes we do not go every year and save up points for a larger group trip. The last large group trip we took had 19 people- rack rate on the rooms with tax would have been over $ 20k-even if you got a super code and got half off, we wouldn't have been able to foot a $ 10k resort bill. We have enjoyed relaxing vacations without having to feel we needed to "do it all" every time; we know we'll be back.

 

[PhilUK]

We've been members for 11 Years. 2 Regrets ~ Not Buying Sooner & Not Buying More Points when they were Cheaper!!

Phil

 

[Lynne M]

seems like once you make your payments, dues, etc, that the price for your visit is not much less than the cost of paying out of pocket for rack rate or with discounts offered to the public.

Make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Compare the cost of a DVC villa on points to the cost of a DVC villa booked through CRO. Even with discounts, you're still going to see a major savings with DVC. My recent stay in a VWL studio worked out to about $100 a night, even working in the purchase cost. There's no discount I've ever heard of that gets you a rate like that.

DVC is all about getting the villas at a better cost, not about getting a bargain trip to WDW. If you're comparing to a value, you're likely not going to see any savings at all. Even with a moderate, it's borderline.

 

[Sandisw]

We are very happy with our purchase. When we bought, we looked at what it would cost to stay at the CR, Tower room and compared that to owning DVC.

Even with a 30% discount, we break even in around 10 years. After that, the savings is subtantial. And, instead of a regular hotel room, we will be in 1 bedrooms.

So, we see it as having locked ourselves in to a 30% discount (no waiting on those dreaded PIN codes that I never got) for the next 10 years worth of trips AND getting to stay in a bigger room--win, win, all the way around.

And, if in 10 years, we decided to no longer go to WDW, we could probably sell BLT for at least some of what we paid for it.

So, knowing that WDW is our favorite place to vacation and knowing we would be going for years to come, we decided there really was no drawback for not buying in.

Now that we own, I am having a hard time keeping addonitis at bay as I want another 25 points but really don't need them.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[Starr W.]

No way am I cramming all 4 of us into even a Deluxe room at WDW. Don't care how much of a discount Disney offers us.

We bought DVC for 2br villas, boys get their own beds(13/8), DH and I get privacy and everyone is happy.

 

[bwvBound]

Are you or do you know anybody who is disappointed with buying into the club?

Curbing disappointment might start with identifying and managing expectations. Directly answering your question, I'm not disappointed .. but I sometimes get annoyed by the way the program works.

Take time to understand the basics of the system including topics such as:

• DVC Resorts vs other Disney Resorts. (Which properties are DVC? which are not? what is the difference? where may I use points?)
• Home Resort and its advantages
• Point charts and how to read them
• Booking windows (11 months, 7 months).
• Which DVC resorts are easy to book at your favorite time to travel and which are difficult? (Just how early should you book? Can you expect to book "last minute"?)
• Use Year, Banking and the "Rule of 4"
• Banking and Borrowing (how? when? why? restrictions and deadlines?)
• Cancellation policy and implications. (What happens to my borrowed points if I cancel a reservation??)
• Point transfers
• Maintenance Fees and history of changes
• Using points for stays other than DVC resorts
• How does the Waitlist work?
• One large contract of points or multiple contracts with fewer points?
• One Home Resort or more?
• Point Re-allocations
• Occupancy limits
• Lifestyle restrictions (Pets:No, Smoking:No, etc.)
• What is "certain" and what is "open for change"?

It may help to build a plan for how you might use DVC for the next 2-5 years and then determine if DVC will really work for that plan. Best wishes on your research!

 

[mdinme]

Why anyone would pay rack rate is beyond me. You can rent from an owner for $9/point. Maybe it'd be $10 but if you have a plan you should be able to get one or the other.

I spent 1550 for a 1bd Sav view at Kidani. Was 169 points. The dues on 200 points at AKV is just under $1000/year. BUt to buy 200 right now would cost at least 17k on a resale then you'd have to add the yearly dues...SO 17k plus 1k per year over the next say ten years? Thats 27k. Over the next 20 years its another 10k in dues (more It'll surely go up). SO youre at nearly 40K spent for 200 points over the next 20 years or $2000 per year.

What will 2k a year get you? 1550 got me six nights at kidani like i said and $800 just got me a 5 night split stay at Beach/Board.

If you've got 20K sitting around go ahead and buy. Otherwise you can rent and do quite well. If you invest half of the 20 you were going to dump into dvc and managed a 10% return you could vacation in outer space in twenty years.

 

[drusba]

Obviously one of the issues you face when you ask a question about disappointment on this forum is that most respondents will be a biased group in favor of DVC and enthusiastically so (myself included). So here is just some realities to be aware of:

1. DVC, after paying the existing price and with annual dues, is not likely to be cheaper than year to year just going through Disney and reserving a regular room at a moderate or value resort particularly when any discounts are available. At times it may not even be cheaper than getting a duluxe resort room through Disney when it is doing heavy discounting and offering a bunch of extras (like free dining). However, those kinds of discounts Disney saves for emergencies or special occassions only, like during the complete yucck of an economy we have had for the last year. And in the long run it most likely will be less expensive than trying to reserve a deluxe room year to year

2. If you buy into DVC, you really are committing yourself to essentially going every year (some do every other year). That is a significant commitment which most of us readily gave into. But one should do some sole searching beforehand to make sure that one can accept that concept. Truly, many of us here have little desire to go elsewhere on vacation.

3. Do not buy unless you are sure you can afford it. And understand that annual dues will most likely go up a few percentage points per year. This is a "luxury" not a necessity item. The last thing anyone wants is for someone to buy and then two years later realize the cost is killing them.

4. It is best if you can make reservations far out (allowed up to 11 months in advance at home resort and 7 at others). Unlike just calling for a hotel room, you will find that it is often difficult to get anything you want in the last few months. In fact, be aware that you may even need that 11 month window for certain times of year. In other words, DVC is not really a good fit for someone who can only make reservations close to the time they go.

5. You do not get daily maid service. There is a towel and trash service on the fourth day. You can pay for extra towels and other things. You can also pay extra when you go for daily maid service but it is expensive.

6. Learn the point charts and make sure you are learning the 2011 point charts. If Disney did not give you those charts you should request them immediately or you can find them at dvcnews.com. The reason: the total points for a resort must remain the same but Disney can "shift" points but raising some nights and lowering others. We have just undergone a major shift in the last two years with Disney greatly lowering weekend points and significantly raising weekday and the second change goes into effect 2011. You should assume that other shifts may occur in the future although I supect DVC is now done for a while. Once you study the 2011 point charts and use it to estimate what you may need for your annual trips then sit back and think about what I just said. Disney can do more shifts in the future and thus anyone contemplating buying should also think about buying more points than they may calculate they need as a hedge against future changes.

7. Member perks are just perks and Disney can give and take them away. Recently it took away free valet parking. Moreover, many have commented that it seems to be taking away mor ethan it gives lately. Thus, do not buy relying on being able to get any restaurant, merchandise, ticket or other discounts that might exist right now. One of the best discounts going is for the Annual Pass but that could disappear at Disney's whim (there are no other ticket dioscounts).

8. You can exchange out of DVC but there is a $75 charge (which itself could rise in the future). Trading out is not necessarily a wise economic decision, for example trading out to a Disney hotel can often cost you more in point value than just going through Disney and reserving the room using one Disney's discounts. Also, there is not any ceiling to the point cost of trading out to anywhere -- the points needed can and probably will rise for many places you can trade out to.

9. Before buying through Disney also check the resale market (you can just click above on the Timeshare Store). Prices are usually lower than Disney although you have to do careful comparison of what you are really getting, and of course you have to get separate financing which Disney makes easy to get when you buy through it. But it helps in the decison to know the resale market -- if you buy resale and become a member you are treated exactly the same as every other member (or as some of us think: you are treated just as bad as the rest of us )

10. Do not buy a large point single contract. The reason is that such contracts, if you ever have to sell, are more difficult to sell in the resale market than lower point contracts, and you cannot take one contract and try to sell only part of it; a contract is indivisible. Thus, for any larger point purchase (possibly anything above the minimum or above 180) just ask them to divide it into two (or more) contracts.

 

[Sammie]

We bought in the late 90's and even though we have enjoyed our DVC very much until recently, I would not buy now.

For one I just feel the points have gotten way too expensive, plus dues keep rising, we have had issues the last couple of years with some aspects of DVC we used to not have issues with such as maintenance and housekeeping of the units.

In the past we needed a two bedroom and therefore DVC was a good match for us, now that we don't always need a two bedroom, I prefer a deluxe room over a studio. I am not a fan of the DVC studios at any resort.

With the addition of queen beds to CSR I would just as soon stay there as a studio.

I do not feel that DVC does as good a job with guest service at the resorts and rehabs as Disney resorts does.

We are spending more and more time off Disney property at Universal, Sea World and definitely want to see Harry Potter's world so on site perks are not as big a deal to us as they once were.Disney has ruined most of the good restaurants therefore we eat more meals off property. As we spend more time off property other Orlando resorts are appealing to us such as Marriot and Gaylord Palms and the new Bonnet Creek resort. I am looking forward to the new Four Seasons resort.

Our jobs and lifestyles have changed to the point of planning a trip at 11 months is impossible and even at 7 months it is a challenge, and booking at 7 months at DVC is getting harder.

So for us, it just seems for the cost it does not fit anymore. It is a very personal choice, and for many it is great, you really have to decide does it fit your family.

BWVbound gave you a great list to get you started determing if the fit is right for you.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Why anyone would pay rack rate is beyond me. You can rent from an owner for $9/point. Maybe it'd be $10 but if you have a plan you should be able to get one or the other.

I spent 1550 for a 1bd Sav view at Kidani. Was 169 points. The dues on 200 points at AKV is just under $1000/year. BUt to buy 200 right now would cost at least 17k on a resale then you'd have to add the yearly dues...SO 17k plus 1k per year over the next say ten years? Thats 27k. Over the next 20 years its another 10k in dues (more It'll surely go up). SO youre at nearly 40K spent for 200 points over the next 20 years or $2000 per year.

What will 2k a year get you? 1550 got me six nights at kidani like i said and $800 just got me a 5 night split stay at Beach/Board.

If you've got 20K sitting around go ahead and buy. Otherwise you can rent and do quite well. If you invest half of the 20 you were going to dump into dvc and managed a 10% return you could vacation in outer space in twenty years.

But you're forgetting the rental rates (point rental) will most likely go up, and the person buying has residual value, something you do not have when you rent. You should also compare apples to apples when looking at pricing. You paid $1,550 for the equivalent of renting 169 points. Buying a 169 points is a lot less then buying 200.

Renting also is not a completely safe transaction, you do not own the reservation and you really are not eligible for any of the member perks (internet, pool hopping, discounts, etc).

 

[disneynutz]

I have to say that we are sometimes disappointed.

As a DVC owner you will save on your room so it's still a good deal for us.

Our disappointment is in the way that members are treated after they buy, the restrictive rules, the mistakes made by MS, the poor Mousekeeping, and the poor conditions that the rooms and resorts are allowed to be in before they are rehabbed.

The real disappointment is knowing that Disney has the ability to really make the DVC experience and quality something special and they deliberately choose not to. The days of Walt are gone.

Bill

 

[bytheblood]

Thank you everybody!! There are some fantastic responses - most all of which I have considered.

We have a family of 3 and only 2 of us are real WDW nuts. I could go yearly without question, so I think it is a great deal. We are looking into buying at AKL and so that is what I am comparing my rates too. I do not have to stay Savanna, so I was comparing to standard rooms - - - - - - - but the more I mull over everything, I think BLT is more what I should be going for.

Thanks again for all of the feedback - it has truly helped me and I am ready to call the CM back that I toured with while in WDW this past December.

 

[Deb & Bill]

But you're forgetting the rental rates (point rental) will most likely go up, and the person buying has residual value, something you do not have when you rent. You should also compare apples to apples when looking at pricing. You paid $1,550 for the equivalent of renting 169 points. Buying a 169 points is a lot less then buying 200.

Renting also is not a completely safe transaction, you do not own the reservation and you really are not eligible for any of the member perks (internet, pool hopping, discounts, etc).

Seriously doubt that rental rates will go up. As there are more and more DVC members who keep hearing they should rent out their point and pay cash for the DCL or another vacation instead of using points, rental rates will stay the same as they have for at least the past 10 years. DVC members will always try to undercut the other members to get their points rented.

If I were a person looking at purchasing DVC now, I'd look seriously at renting reservations and getting the best of both worlds.

DVC doesn't make a difference between owners and renters, so why bother with owning? If they ever decide to actually differentiate between owners and renters, that might be a different story.

 

[Brian Noble]

But you're forgetting the rental rates (point rental) will most likely go up

Over the past many years, the rental rate has stubbornly stuck at $10 give or take. There seemed to be a push to increase it right before the '08 crash, but right now, even $10 has been hard to hold because Disney has been so aggressive at discounting. My upcoming 2BR VWL stay this summer could be had from Disney for the equivalent of about $8.85/point and that's with a much more generous cancellation policy and daily housekeeping, but not free internet---but I think the 2BRs for my specific week are now gone. A 1BR is even better: about $7.82/point.

Granted, these are unusual times, and as travel demand continues to recover, these bargains will disappear. But even so, history does not suggest that rental rates will rise at anywhere near the rate that dues have. Personally, I'm a little surprised by that, but I think once people get it in their heads that it's "$10 a point" that expectation is hard to change.

 

[dmoore22]

The previous posts have addressed many valid issues about DVC. We bought in around the time the dot-come bubble burst. We had been debating for several years to join, or not to join. We did the tours, read the discussion list and played with the spreadsheets. With our portfolio losing value (our retirement investments) we figured we might as well spend it while it's still worth something. We actually sold some of our shares of our stock in Disney, which had gone through several splits, to make this purchase. We found a very nice resale that included a year's worth of banked points. The seller was an overseas owner that really wanted to unload quickly. Then we found an add-on with a similar scenario. An overseas seller who was willing to cover our 1st years MFs. Since we had been saving our $$$ with the intention of enjoying our retirement we did not look at this purchase as an investment for the purpose of making money at a latter date but an investment in R&R for the present. We did find some unanticipated residual benefits. These may, or may not be relevant, or important, to your situation.

1) We ended up spending about the same per trip as before joining DVC. However, since we have 6 children, we could never get by with anything least than 2 rooms. Having worked our way up from absolutely nothing to a state of extreme poverty moderates, deluxe, and home-away-from-home were definitely out of our budget, even with the promos and discounts offered at that time.

2. Even though we are costs were about the same per stay we were now staying longer in a two bedroom as opposed to two separate rooms at a value/moderate.

3. My DW and I could now have our space together in the master suite as opposed to being split up since, when staying in the values/moderates, it was required that there be one adult in each room.

4. The jacuzzi

5. Dining costs dropped since we had a full kitchen and could enjoy a full breakfast in the room, or on the balcony, before going to the parks, or returning to the room for lunch, dinner or whatever. We even bar-be-qued with the grills available at the quiet pools.

6. Park admissions dropped because we staggered and alternated the times of our visits to get multiple trips out of our APs. That way we purchased an AP every other year which is cheaper than a renewal every year.

7. Since we itemize our taxes we gained another deduction, albeit, a small one. Part of the MF goes to property taxes. There are other deductions available depending upon how you finance the purchase.

8. My DW is now very happy. When she is happy all is right in the world. Prior to DVC I seldom went on a vacation, much less planned a vacation. With all our kids it made my brain hurt thinking about the logistics and costs and tripping over each other in a motel room. Prior to DVC the trips where spontaneous on short notice. Now we do have to plan in advance which my DW loves. I can't make excuses anymore that hold any water.

As much as we've enjoyed staying in a Value/Moderate we find it would be difficult to go back after staying at DVC. I realize other posters have indicated they have had issues regarding their rooms and maintenance. We have not experienced any of those issues. We've been very happy and feel that we continue to get the bang for the buck. We can vouch for the advantages DVC provides for large families. We actually expected that we would probably sell as the kids moved out and the need for large accomodations diminished. To the contrary. We do stay in smaller accomodations with longer stays and multiple trips. We are a couple of years away from full retirement and the grandchildren coming with us.

As far as the perks, they do come and go. However when we lose one it is replaced with another. It seems to balance out.

Here is a nice link to a DVC Primer that I wish would have been available at the time we were considering whether to purchase or not.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/8739/A_Disney_Vacation_Club_Primer

 

[ToddyLu]

Sometimes you have to be careful getting or basing your decisions on anything you read here. We love Disney. We have been to Disney every year for the last eight years. DH and I share this vacation together and with family every year. We had stayed all but one of our trips in Values until we bought in. It was worth every penny but then this what we wanted to do with our money. We knew Disney was a sure bet for us due to our travel patterns. You have to decide how serioue is a dent on the table, not having your trash emptied every day, etc. We were going to be here anyway and now we have room to stretch out, no longer feel the need to go commando and actually can enjoy the adult feel of AKV, our home. Fulton's food was not as good last year...so we will probably replace it with another restaurant on our next trip.

Are you a glass half full or half empty person. Sometimes I just wonder what people expect. Is my 20K investment worth it for the next 47 years? If every vacation is half as nice as the one we took for our first trip this past Nov...the purchase for us will be priceless.

 

[bytheblood]

The previous posts have addressed many valid issues about DVC. We bought in around the time the dot-come bubble burst. We had been debating for several years to join, or not to join. We did the tours, read the discussion list and played with the spreadsheets. With our portfolio losing value (our retirement investments) we figured we might as well spend it while it's still worth something. We actually sold some of our shares of our stock in Disney, which had gone through several splits, to make this purchase. We found a very nice resale that included a year's worth of banked points. The seller was an overseas owner that really wanted to unload quickly. Then we found an add-on with a similar scenario. An overseas seller who was willing to cover our 1st years MFs. Since we had been saving our $$$ with the intention of enjoying our retirement we did not look at this purchase as an investment for the purpose of making money at a latter date but an investment in R&R for the present. We did find some unanticipated residual benefits. These may, or may not be relevant, or important, to your situation.

1) We ended up spending about the same per trip as before joining DVC. However, since we have 6 children, we could never get by with anything least than 2 rooms. Having worked our way up from absolutely nothing to a state of extreme poverty moderates, deluxe, and home-away-from-home were definitely out of our budget, even with the promos and discounts offered at that time.

2. Even though we are costs were about the same per stay we were now staying longer in a two bedroom as opposed to two separate rooms at a value/moderate.

3. My DW and I could now have our space together in the master suite as opposed to being split up since, when staying in the values/moderates, it was required that there be one adult in each room.

4. The jacuzzi

5. Dining costs dropped since we had a full kitchen and could enjoy a full breakfast in the room, or on the balcony, before going to the parks, or returning to the room for lunch, dinner or whatever. We even bar-be-qued with the grills available at the quiet pools.

6. Park admissions dropped because we staggered and alternated the times of our visits to get multiple trips out of our APs. That way we purchased an AP every other year which is cheaper than a renewal every year.

7. Since we itemize our taxes we gained another deduction, albeit, a small one. Part of the MF goes to property taxes. There are other deductions available depending upon how you finance the purchase.

8. My DW is now very happy. When she is happy all is right in the world. Prior to DVC I seldom went on a vacation, much less planned a vacation. With all our kids it made my brain hurt thinking about the logistics and costs and tripping over each other in a motel room. Prior to DVC the trips where spontaneous on short notice. Now we do have to plan in advance which my DW loves. I can't make excuses anymore that hold any water.

As much as we've enjoyed staying in a Value/Moderate we find it would be difficult to go back after staying at DVC. I realize other posters have indicated they have had issues regarding their rooms and maintenance. We have not experienced any of those issues. We've been very happy and feel that we continue to get the bang for the buck. We can vouch for the advantages DVC provides for large families. We actually expected that we would probably sell as the kids moved out and the need for large accomodations diminished. To the contrary. We do stay in smaller accomodations with longer stays and multiple trips. We are a couple of years away from full retirement and the grandchildren coming with us.

As far as the perks, they do come and go. However when we lose one it is replaced with another. It seems to balance out.

Here is a nice link to a DVC Primer that I wish would have been available at the time we were considering whether to purchase or not.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/8739/A_Disney_Vacation_Club_Primer

Very valuable information - thanks a bunch.