Is DVC really cheaper than staying at a resort?

[HFC1969]

We are doing #'s and cuirous to see what everyone else has come up with..

 

[I'mNoPrince]

If you are talking non-discounted price then yes hands down no if ands or buts.We are paying now what we use to pay to stay in a MOD for the 2 trips a year we did.

Now we financed so that changes things a bit but for when and how much we were going down ,I'm paying the same amount but spread it over the course of the year in monthly payments.

Last year we stayed at BCV for 7 nights it would have been $2915 through the WDW web-sight.

It cost us 123 of our 170 points for that same price. We pay right around $220 per month in Loan and maint fees.

i can't find my numbers right now but booked 12 days for 183 points for BWV and AKV around the 4th of July this year and it was about the $5000 mark if booking from the Web.

Now yes you can get those same rooms at a discount but after the 10 years (we do plan on paying it off early) we will only be paying Maint fees so that same $2000-$5000 stays (not including price increases) will be ours for $800 or $900 ayear after that . So you really ca't beat it if you go every year or more then once a year like us.

 

[crisi]

Here are some ifs ands and buts...

If you stay in a Deluxe, DVC is cheaper. If you stay in a moderate it may be cheaper. If you stay in a Value, it won't be cheaper.

If you limit yourself to studios, it will be cheaper. If you upgrade accomodations when you wouldn't paying cash (to a one or two bedroom) it won't be cheaper.

It may not be cheaper for long weekends or over holidays, when points are very expensive (though cash rates for those times are also expensive).

If you are happy offsite, it will not be cheaper.

If you use DVC as an excuse to treat your parents, siblings, friends, mailman and the guy you met once at this party, it won't be cheaper.

It will not be cheaper if you use owning DVC as an excuse to take trips more often, spend more money on other things, and come down with addonitis.

It won't be cheaper if you need to resell quickly due to a turn of fortune (selling after a few years is generally a break even proposition).

It may not be cheaper if you decide you need daily housekeeping and pay out of pocket for that.

 

[ammo]

I agree with I'mNoPrince and crisi, there are definitely two sides to this issue. The big cost savings for us is the kitchen (which rules out studios). We will eat every breakfast, almost every dinner, and most lunches in our kitchen. Otherwise, we would be in a WDW restaurant, which means $$$ for a family of 5.

 

[ilovecoasters]

For us, DVC is definitely better and we are so sorry it took us so long to decide. We stay in studios and are extremely flexible of when we stay. We were staying in deluxe resorts at least 4 times a year. Most of the time spending at least $279 a night (with passholder discounts). Our cash rate this past year exceeded what we now pay monthly for our points. Another perk is we are now able to stay more often and have 6 trips planned for 08 and we still have points left to bank. I have found it easier to get reservations now then when I had to wait for discounts and hope for the best. The web price of the BCV we just stayed in this past weekend was $490 a night. If paying cash, we wouldn't have went.

 

[starwood]

A few things that helped DH decide this was right for us.

1. If we ever decide to sell we will get back most of the money used to purchase our points.

2. We use our Disney Visa Reward Dollars to help pay the maintenance. This year (since we purchased another 50 points) our dues should be around $650-$700 (not sure of exact figure yet). I have $304 reward dollars. This will pay almost 1/2 of my dues. So for approx $400 this year we have 185 points.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC is not a cost saving measure to go to Disney. It's merely a prepaid vacation package. With the cost of points continuing to go up and the cost of dues continuing to go up, I don't see it as a cheap way to go to Disney.

The cheapest way to go to Disney is to rent the reservation from a member. Let them buy the points, let them pay the dues. And then they rent out the points for $10 a point or less.

Also, with resales, I don't see current buyers recouping their initial investment as easy as the members who bought when points were $75 or less a point. Even that is just a break even point when you figure in the resellers commission.

 

[DVC Mike]

Also, with resales, I don't see current buyers recouping their initial investment as easy as the members who bought when points were $75 or less a point.

Deb, you don't think the price per point selling price from DVC won't continue to go up? I'm sure the price per point 10 years from now from DVC will be much more than the current selling price.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

DVC is not a cost saving measure to go to Disney.

While I agree that the cheapest way to go to WDW is to rent points from a member, owning DVC has been a cost savings measure for our family of 6. Our last non DVC stay was for a week at the Poly in connecting rooms. The bill for the week for the rooms alone was over $5,000.00. Now those same rooms would be a few thousand more. For large families who stay in deluxe resorts and go to Disney often, DVC will save money.

HBC

 

[Esmerelda]

answer: YES!!!

(the following is my response to a similar post a few weeks back, best of luck to you and DO your math!

QUOTE=Esmerelda;21926711]I realize you did ask "why is DVC not for you" in your post. I have read everyone's complaints/concerns posted.

Here is why DVC WAS for us (maybe this will shed some other light on it)

We normally go to Disney and stay in a deluxe room for at least 6 days per year. (WL is my favorite resort) We have two sons, teens that enjoy going but we all like our space. Normally, we were staying at the WL for 6 nites so my post reflects these prices for 2008 and DVC points for 2008.

6 nites @WL in a courtyard room for June of 2008 $2,229

if we stayed at the 08 prices @WL for the next 50 years (length of our current SSR contract) we would spend over those years a grand total of
$111,450.- (yikes!)

Our current contract with DVC cost us around $13,200 for 180 points and was purchased in summer of 2004. Our annual dues run @ about $725.00 per year.

this works out too: $13,200 total contract
36,250 total for dues at 08 prices for 50 yrs of dues
total $49,450.-

If we paid cash at SSR for our 1 bedroom each year at 08 prices we would spend a total of $145,150 for the next 50 years. (yikes again)

As I stated, I based my math on the 08 prices but that is as far as I can go at this point. As we all know, the room rates will rise as well as the dues but the dues have only minimally risen (or at least for us)

The other advantages it the tax write off and the fact that its a deeded property we can will it to our boys if anything happens to us. We will have years and years to enjoy it. Plus the options for exchanges are endless. We have plans for Hawaii in 2 years. Also, we have never had ANY trouble staying whereever we want. We plan ahead at 11 months or 7 months and sometimes 2 months.

As you can see DVC DOES work out to be money saving. If you plan to do Disney each year at least once or do what we do. We do Disney E/O year and take a cruise E/O year. We absolutely love it.

It is a lot to think about and only you know your family and your finance and what you want in the future. For us, it was a no brainer for the money we were giving to Disney each stay in the years past. Our contract will be paid off in the next 2 years and then we will pay just our dues. If it comes to paying $2229 for 6 nites in a resort room or $725 for annual dues and having a beautiful condo with tons of space/kitchen/washer/dryer....I'll take the dues anyday.

best of luck to the OP on ALL their future vacations,
Esmerelda[/QUOTE]

 

[DebbieB]

Pre-DVC, I liked staying in deluxe resorts. When I stayed at OKW in a 2 bedroom with friends, I knew I wanted that luxurious room for my vacations with my mom. No way was I going to pay $400+ a night for a 1 bedroom. 250 DVC points gave me 5 nights at OKW (May) and 6 nights at BWV (early Dec) in 1 bedrooms. It was well worth it (I bought at $65 per point in 1999).

 

[DVC-Don]

Back before DVC we stayed in the Deluxe resorts and easily spent $8,000 to $10,000 per vacation and went once per year. We'd bring, in addition to the 4 of us, a set of grandparents along too so we'd get connecting rooms.

 

[disney junky]

The turning point for us was when we needed to begin booking two rooms as the kids got older. Suddenly, DVC made a lot more sense.

 

[Disney Legend]

Here are some ifs ands and buts...

If you stay in a Deluxe, DVC is cheaper. If you stay in a moderate it may be cheaper. If you stay in a Value, it won't be cheaper.

If you limit yourself to studios, it will be cheaper. If you upgrade accomodations when you wouldn't paying cash (to a one or two bedroom) it won't be cheaper.

It may not be cheaper for long weekends or over holidays, when points are very expensive (though cash rates for those times are also expensive).

If you are happy offsite, it will not be cheaper.

If you use DVC as an excuse to treat your parents, siblings, friends, mailman and the guy you met once at this party, it won't be cheaper.

It will not be cheaper if you use owning DVC as an excuse to take trips more often, spend more money on other things, and come down with addonitis.

It won't be cheaper if you need to resell quickly due to a turn of fortune (selling after a few years is generally a break even proposition).

It may not be cheaper if you decide you need daily housekeeping and pay out of pocket for that.

If you book a 2 bedroom, it will not be cheaper?

 

[Anal Annie]

We're confident that with the trips we've taken, have planned / booked and are talking about taking thru 2011 that we will have our initial investment back within 6 years. That leaves us another 40 years on our contract after it's "paid for itself" to enjoy it knowing that it's already paid for itself! The rack rate of these trips combined would no doubt cover what we put into it at the time we purchased! So for us - YES! Worth it! (Oh! And knowing that we can leave it to DS so he can afford to take HIS kids one day - PRICELESS!)

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you book a 2 bedroom, it will not be cheaper?

I don't think that was the jist of that post. The idea was if you booked a larger accommodation than you would normall book for your family, it wont be cheaper.

Those of us who enjoy bringing others with us and always getting a 1 or 2 bedroom villa because of it, choose to do that. Sure, it's probably a bit of a splurge, but also one of the reasons we purchased in the first place.

 

[eliza61]

We are doing #'s and cuirous to see what everyone else has come up with..

I think Mike, like others have said it depends on the angle your looking at it. Here was my families thought process.

1) We always stay on site. When we want to go to Disney we want to be onsite and have the available perks.
2) I'm not a big budget traveler. So while I will check the AP rates on rooms, My family and I are just to set in our ways to compromise. We love the deluxes We tried values and moderates and they were ok but since we only get 1 vacation a year, we try not to be just "ok". If we couldn't afford to go deluxe we would wait and save until we could.
3) We found ourselves returning to WDW at least every 16 months, lately its been 1-2 a year.
4) We are no longer park commandoes. So the room is really important for us. We don't get up early for rope drop, so we enjoy having a kitchen and for really long trips (10 days +) I don't have to pack a ton of clothes for every one. (washer/dryer in unit)


So for us there are a lot of "incidentials" that make it well worth the money. I would just caution you to look realistically at your vacation "style" along with the $ and cents. factor every thing into your equation.

 

[pilferk]

If you book a 2 bedroom, it will not be cheaper?

I think what crisi meant was that if you book a 2BR, but wouldn't normally book that size room (ie: would normally book a "regular" hotel room), it won't be cheaper.

If you'd NORMALLY book a 2BR suite in a deluxe on cash, and instead are booking a 2BR villa at a DVC resort on points then yes, it will be cheaper.