Is DVC even worth it for us?

[mrsmouse1960]

We never thought a long weekend made sense. But I watched the airlines and the holidays. One of our most memorable vacations was last year. We decided to do a quick Halloween trip. We had a long weekend in September. We flew down on Friday, did the MNSSHP on Saturday and came home on Sunday. It was awesome and so memorable for us. It was just the two of us, so I can understand with little ones that it becomes more difficult. We would have never dreamed that possible when our daughter was growing up with all the school activities, etc.

 

[Trooper8286]

I am not sure if DVC makes financial sense in EVERY respect, but here are a few things I thought about....

I am locked in to MF through the end of the contract......I could use my MF for a hotel booking at a moderate and save the purchase price. But I want the flexibility of staying in a villa with my extended family. All of us together. Sure we could split rooms and meet for dinner. But with a villa, we can do like we do at the beach......hang out around the table......but at WDW and not the beach.....BIG plus.

I want the flexibility of going to Aulani. I want to see Pearl Harbor. For my BLT MF, I can see Pearl one day. My best buddy just dropped 2500.00 on a hotel reservation in Hawaii that is comparable to Aulani. MY MF are $720.00. Sure there is cost associated with travel out there, but the point is, I would incur those expenses AND would have to pay the 2500.00. The value is not necessarily in the difference of the hotel reservation and my MF.....the value, to me is the flexibility to use the points out there.

I want the flexibility of staying in Anaheim in 2015.....we may be going to DL then.

I have assigned value to ownership of DVC. This value is over and above the rack rate/ DVC comparison. I put being on the monorail, seeing the castle, walking to Food and Wine and doing it over and over till i'm 80 at a priority. If I croak before then, then my kids can do it with their family on my nickel. That helps you NONE.....but I say all this because there are intangibles, like feelings and preferences, that really make the difference in the decision.

Just a thought or two.

 

[rosanab1031]

I am not sure if DVC makes financial sense in EVERY respect, but here are a few things I thought about....

I am locked in to MF through the end of the contract......I could use my MF for a hotel booking at a moderate and save the purchase price. But I want the flexibility of staying in a villa with my extended family. All of us together. Sure we could split rooms and meet for dinner. But with a villa, we can do like we do at the beach......hang out around the table......but at WDW and not the beach.....BIG plus.

I want the flexibility of going to Aulani. I want to see Pearl Harbor. For my BLT MF, I can see Pearl one day. My best buddy just dropped 2500.00 on a hotel reservation in Hawaii that is comparable to Aulani. MY MF are $720.00. Sure there is cost associated with travel out there, but the point is, I would incur those expenses AND would have to pay the 2500.00. The value is not necessarily in the difference of the hotel reservation and my MF.....the value, to me is the flexibility to use the points out there.

I want the flexibility of staying in Anaheim in 2015.....we may be going to DL then.

I have assigned value to ownership of DVC. This value is over and above the rack rate/ DVC comparison. I put being on the monorail, seeing the castle, walking to Food and Wine and doing it over and over till i'm 80 at a priority. If I croak before then, then my kids can do it with their family on my nickel. That helps you NONE.....but I say all this because there are intangibles, like feelings and preferences, that really make the difference in the decision.

Just a thought or two.

I completely agree!!! DVC opens up so much to me that I just never thought possible! AND IT'S ALL DISNEY!!!

People keep disregarding RCI and saying to not take that into account but my trip that I booked through RCI with my points would have cost the same amount as my initial DVC buy in if I had done it on my own. Plus we get to add on a 3 night trip to Disneyland Paris! That was the biggest selling point for me! Basically two trips in one which would have cost FAR more than my initial buy in! Now yes I has added on since my initial buy in but both contract will be paid off in the next 3 years. Financing works for me and while I know that it adds on quite a lot to my initial buy in it works for me and I won't be taking the full 10 years to pay the contract off.

I enjoy the flexibility that DVC offers and I already have my vacations planned for the next 7 years (one vacation every other year).

I got to go to WDW for the first time ever this past summer. Didn't think I would be able to make it there until I had kids of my own.

Next year I am going to Italy for seven nights and then to DLP for 3 nights.

In 2016 I am doing a Land and Sea package with 4 days at WDW and then a Disney cruise to the Bahamas.

In 2019 I am taking my family to Aulani.

Yes I realize that things can change and emergencies arise, but even the idea of these vacations wouldn't have been a possibility without DVC.

Plus I have the membership for 50 years! My kids (or my sister's kids. Haha) will have some amazing Disney Vacations for MANY years to come!

 

[sonofanarchy]

I enjoy the flexibility that DVC offers and I already have my vacations planned for the next 7 years (one vacation every other year).

I got to go to WDW for the first time ever this past summer. Didn't think I would be able to make it there until I had kids of my own.

Next year I am going to Italy for seven nights and then to DLP for 3 nights.

In 2016 I am doing a Land and Sea package with 4 days at WDW and then a Disney cruise to the Bahamas.

In 2019 I am taking my family to Aulani.

Yes I realize that things can change and emergencies arise, but even the idea of these vacations wouldn't have been a possibility without DVC.

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me. Every other year. You still have to pay dues every year whether you bank your points or not.

As for never being able to take these trips without DVC, again, I don't understand why you would say that. If your DVC membership cost you $15K (that would be very low), you don't think these are trips you could take for that kind of money?

I'm not trying to sound rude or judgmental. But honestly, the way some people talk about being a member of DVC is almost as if they're ignoring the facts to justify their purchase.

Nobody can say to you "You made a mistake!" That's no one's place to say and simply isn't true. However, as someone in the middle who has done A LOT of research into DVC, I read comments like this and I can't help but be left completely perplexed.

 

[disneynutz]

DVC is a money maker for Disney and it might be a money saver for some people.

In addition to making a good profit on the sales of the contract, Disney makes money on the repeat vacations that owners are now committed to.

If the buyer currently takes yearly vacations to Disney or they want to and they enjoy what the villas have to offer, then buying may make sense.

Bill

 

[Swissdog2010]

The wife and I have been members for almost 10 years. I've seen this discussion a bunch of times before and frankly i don't think you can make the decision strictly on dollars, except for the 'I can't possibly afford to do it at all".
You have to be willing to assign some form of value decision based on the level of accomodations, the amenities offered and the 'feel' that you get from staying at one of the resorts. We were introduced to it when we took a trip with a bunch of cousins, several of whom were founding members and we stayed at OKW, and we fell in love with the place. We were able to afford it thanks to money left by departed parents. As someone mentioned, if you have the disposable income to afford it, or if you can afford the payments on a 'mortgage', its a great thing. But if you have to try and rationalize it based on savings over other comparable, and that's an important word, accomodations it becomes a much tougher sell. When someone asks me about it I always make the 'affordability' issue tops in my discussion.

 

[k3chantal]

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me. Every other year. You still have to pay dues every year whether you bank your points or not.

As for never being able to take these trips without DVC, again, I don't understand why you would say that. If your DVC membership cost you $15K (that would be very low), you don't think these are trips you could take for that kind of money?

I'm not trying to sound rude or judgmental. But honestly, the way some people talk about being a member of DVC is almost as if they're ignoring the facts to justify their purchase.

Nobody can say to you "You made a mistake!" That's no one's place to say and simply isn't true. However, as someone in the middle who has done A LOT of research into DVC, I read comments like this and I can't help but be left completely perplexed.

I justify 'the every other year' issue by thinking of spreading the cost of my accommodations over two years. Instead of having to come up with the immediate cash upon taking the trip; it is spread out over the two years than if I had paid cash right then and there.
I also look at my ownership as if I have 'prepaid' for my accommodations (which essentially I have since I paid outright for the points). Yes, I could have done a lot with the xxxxx amount up front; taking other vacations but now I know I am going to stay at a pretty consistent level of resort when I go to Disney and the cash I have now can go to other vacation destinations not Disney.

 

[Dean]

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me. Every other year. You still have to pay dues every year whether you bank your points or not.

As for never being able to take these trips without DVC, again, I don't understand why you would say that. If your DVC membership cost you $15K (that would be very low), you don't think these are trips you could take for that kind of money?

I'm not trying to sound rude or judgmental. But honestly, the way some people talk about being a member of DVC is almost as if they're ignoring the facts to justify their purchase.

Nobody can say to you "You made a mistake!" That's no one's place to say and simply isn't true. However, as someone in the middle who has done A LOT of research into DVC, I read comments like this and I can't help but be left completely perplexed.

Plus you have to own more points for the non DVC trips than just owning DVC, a lot more for most options. However, half the points for half the dues EOY is the same value as twice the points for every year trips.

Way back in the 80s we did the tour, but at the time it appeared to not make financial sense to us so we did not do it.

That's quite a feat since pre-construction sales didn't start until late 91 is my understanding.

 

[timandjanl]

We considered the financial investment but (thankfully) since we have the disposable income the decision ultimately came down to intangibles for us. Being a DVC member will make it easier and MUCH more likely for us to be able to take family and friends on trips, which is extremely important to us. And although some people might not like feeling "forced" to vacation each year for fear of their investment going to waste, I appreciate that nudge. In past years we haven't always taken a vacation and I regret that. So that was also important to us. But the intangibles are different for everyone and you can't really put a dollar figure on them. Now we just have the awful ROFR wait .... 25 more days.

 

[Minniesgal]

I tend to think people that prefer packages are not idealDVC candidates. We stay DVC but we do not do the dining plan. We buy groceries, drink and snack in the room, eat most days but not all at TS don't eat QS at all. I do a lot of laundry on holiday in this was DVC facilities suit us so we were happy to nest.

If you want a hotel experience with housekeeping, a dining plan and you are happy to stay value I suspect DVC isn't he best fit.

 

[Bob NC]

We went on a DVC tour on our last trip, and I really would like to purchase, but after crunching numbers, my husband isn't sure whether or not it will be a good deal for us. We're a family of 3 (including a 1.5 year old daughter). I'm a teacher, so we'd only be vacationing during school break times. We just stayed at Pop Century and were fine with staying in a value resort for a week - however we already booked a bounceback free dining offer for POFQ. We don't necessarily need to stay in a deluxe resort, but we definitely want to stay for 7-10 days each year, have a dining plan, and park tickets. Do you think we're better off doing a package every year or doing DVC? My husband seems to think that until DVC "pays for itself" it'll actually be more expensive than just doing packages.

In your case I doubt DVC would ever "pay for itself."

I relate a yearly Disney 'goer' who is interested in DVC kind of like a yearly Disney 'goer' who likes to stay on the concierge levels of the resorts.

There is no way in the world Disney concierge level can be called a good deal that would "pay for itself", but people still do it based on some type of emotional fulfillment, or, just the thought that they are getting something better than what everyone else is getting. "Yes, I'll pay $175 extra a night so we can have a bagel in the morning and some M & M's in the afternoon."

We like to vacation with a bunch of folks every few years and when we have a big crowd going we rent and use someone else's DVC points. This gives us a nice big villa to stay in that we don't friggin OWN, we rent it.

I don't automatically call a studio room a 'Deluxe room'. It's just a hotel room that you aren't getting maid service in, but you financed it for 15 years. Does the microwave and styrofoam bowls and plastic sporks make it 'Deluxe"?????

DVC is what you do when the money is sitting there not doing anything anyway and you have a great emotional attachment to the idea.

 

[crisi]

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me. Every other year. You still have to pay dues every year whether you bank your points or not.

As for never being able to take these trips without DVC, again, I don't understand why you would say that. If your DVC membership cost you $15K (that would be very low), you don't think these are trips you could take for that kind of money?

I'm not trying to sound rude or judgmental. But honestly, the way some people talk about being a member of DVC is almost as if they're ignoring the facts to justify their purchase.

Nobody can say to you "You made a mistake!" That's no one's place to say and simply isn't true. However, as someone in the middle who has done A LOT of research into DVC, I read comments like this and I can't help but be left completely perplexed.

We do every other year - we own a smallish number of points and use about two years of points for each vacation. Its, as said above, spreading the cost of the accommodations over two years. But we only have one set of airfare - which for us is the big expense. And frankly, we aren't every year wdw people. Some people can go three times a year for twenty years and not get bored. Not us.

In the other years we take other vacations for cash, not on points - they may be Disney offerings (cruiseline, ABD) or they may be completely unrelated (a trip to Hawaii pre-Aulani, a trip to Washington DC or San Francisco, we go to London next summer).

 

[mrsmouse1960]

That's quite a feat since pre-construction sales didn't start until late 91 is my understanding.

Okay so maybe it was early 90s. Of course, we didn't look at BLT back then since it wasn't even a concept then, but it was some other resort. Not even sure which one. I am the worst when it comes to timing I just remember wanting to do it so bad, but knew it would have been the wrong decision at the time. They had me hook, line and sinker, but my husband was the strong one. When we finally bought in in 2008, we know it was the right time.

 

[Deb & Bill]

That's quite a feat since pre-construction sales didn't start until late 91 is my understanding.

Okay so maybe it was early 90s. Of course, we didn't look at BLT back then since it wasn't even a concept then, but it was some other resort. Not even sure which one. I am the worst when it comes to timing I just remember wanting to do it so bad, but knew it would have been the wrong decision at the time. They had me hook, line and sinker, but my husband was the strong one. When we finally bought in in 2008, we know it was the right time.

Just a quick tip. If you want to quote another poster, just click on the Quote button on the right bottom of the post. If you want to quote more than one poster, click the "+" " next to the Quote button each time and the Quote button last.

 

[BOBBYJNYGIANTSFAN]

DVC is more than just the room! You have younger children and staying in a park all day is very exhausting. With DVC, you are on property and very accessible to get back to resort quickly. DVC resorts all have kitchens and full size refrigerators so you can bring plenty of drinks, and make quick breakfast or lunches. This will save you on the dining plan. Also, you can go to one park in the AM, return to resort for lunch and go to pool! Very refreshing and recharge your energy for a trip back to park at night. DVC is priceless!

 

[sonofanarchy]

DVC is more than just the room! You have younger children and staying in a park all day is very exhausting. With DVC, you are on property and very accessible to get back to resort quickly. DVC resorts all have kitchens and full size refrigerators so you can bring plenty of drinks, and make quick breakfast or lunches. This will save you on the dining plan. Also, you can go to one park in the AM, return to resort for lunch and go to pool! Very refreshing and recharge your energy for a trip back to park at night. DVC is priceless!

With the exception of the full size fridge, how does this differ from any other resort on property. I love the 1 bedroom villa as well. The point of the thread isn't whether the Villas are nice. I stay in one every year and I'm not a member.

 

[Dean]

With the exception of the full size fridge, how does this differ from any other resort on property. I love the 1 bedroom villa as well. The point of the thread isn't whether the Villas are nice. I stay in one every year and I'm not a member.

And in reality those principles apply to many of the off property resorts as well. To me it's all a balance of resort/vila appeal, location and price. While I prefer on property, I find some of the off property resorts nicer overall.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

We do every other year - we own a smallish number of points and use about two years of points for each vacation. Its, as said above, spreading the cost of the accommodations over two years. But we only have one set of airfare - which for us is the big expense. And frankly, we aren't every year wdw people. Some people can go three times a year for twenty years and not get bored. Not us.

In the other years we take other vacations for cash, not on points - they may be Disney offerings (cruiseline, ABD) or they may be completely unrelated (a trip to Hawaii pre-Aulani, a trip to Washington DC or San Francisco, we go to London next summer).

I just want to point out that you can probably only take 2/3 vacations like a week at WDW for $15k depending on how you do it, but any thorough examination of DVC requires a full spreadsheet with NPV projections and a true understanding of whether you are doing it to save $ or to bank vacations for future years when you have the available funds.

It's easy to show how much $ the outlay for DVC may be and although members may/do see realization of savings/value long term it's not something everyone is in the position to do and not something wants to sink costs in.

 

[Trooper8286]

I'm not trying to sound rude or judgmental. But honestly, the way some people talk about being a member of DVC is almost as if they're ignoring the facts to justify their purchase.:

I totally understand your point. I spoke to a member who said I should buy direct because it "was official Disney." I was sort of astonished.

We have tried to budget about $1000.00 a year for a primary,"big" vacation. That is our portion of the rental for a larger beach house with family. For the types of accommodations we normally use ( nicer vacation rental houses close to the ocean or on the monorail at WDW) the DVC option was not monetarily out of the question. It is not even debatable that DVC will cost more in the short term. I will go more, spend more and stay longer. But that was what I wanted. I want to go to Disney instead of other places we have been. By locking into DVC, I have structured my vacation expenditures into a framework that fits our desires.

I do think in about ten years we will have gone enough and used our points enough that our initial expenditure will be recouped in terms of what we would have spent. (Think rack rate for One or two rooms at the Contemporary or Poly).
From that point on we will stay on MF alone and the stay at Aulani will be gravy....

We won't really save a ton, but we Wil know going in what our expenditures will be.

This scenario is ours and not necessarily a fit for anyone else.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Dean]

I'm not trying to sound rude or judgmental. But honestly, the way some people talk about being a member of DVC is almost as if they're ignoring the facts to justify their purchase.

Honestly, I think this happens a lot more than you realize. For some it's such an emotional purchase that your statement is right on. I'd venture to guess that is true for more than half the buyers (most buyers are retail) but even for those that are aware of the full options including resale, it still happens. Unless DVC makes financial sense (both from a personal affordability standpoint and savings/value standpoint), it's really foolish to buy. To buy simply to be a member of the club makes no sense but I've seen it happen.