Is DVC really worth it?

[CUKU4DIS]

We have become hooked to WDW and we have (on our last trip) toured SSR . At the time we were in the process of building our home and the Disney Guide did tell us it would be wise to wait until the whole house thing was done(gotta love her for that). We are going back in September and just called her a couple of days ago to request updated info on DVC. She mention SSR closeout and the new AKV, she then told us about the promos going on..

$8 off per point AKV/ $10 off per point SSR OR they will match the amount of points we purchase.

I am so confused, I don't know which is the better choice.
Then I question.. Is DVC REALLY worth it? It would really be a bummer if we go for it and they leave something out. Not quite sure how much $$ we would need up front, what the whole process is? Help, I really want this for our family! Maybe I just need some re assurance and additional info from actual DVC members. Thanks in advance for your help!
MEDH DD DD

 

[Marshay]

We just bought this year and are so excited to be owners! We have our trip planned this fall, soon will make our ressies for next May and are already talking about going to Aruba in 2009.

What's great for us is that once you plop down your $15-20+K, you know your vacations (room only) are already paid for. Since I am the Disney nut in our family (DH likes it but isn't as commited), it also guarantees that we will go back to Disney again and again, esp w/o complaints from DH since he, too, wants his money's worth.

What convinced us was:

do you plan to go to Disney at least every 3 years, preferably every two or every year? *YES
are deluxe resorts the only way to go? (i.e., you want/need something better than values) *YES
do you want/need the extra space? (i.e., we have a door between DD and ourselves) *YES
do you want a kitchen, w/d? *YES
are you willing to plan your vacations in advance? *YES
can you afford not only paying for DVC w/o borrowing but also the extra costs of airlines, rental car, tickets, restaurants, and the annual mtce fees, etc? *YES

Then we took the total costs (upfront + mtce fees) and divided by the # of years we would own to figure out how much it would costs (roughly). That number was MUCH cheaper than our previous trip to the Poly. Then factor in that the hotel rates will just keep going up and up and it was a no brainer for us.

You can also save even more money by buying resale, but we chose to go direct through Disney since they had a good deal and we wanted to add-on points at AKV.

Sorry for the long post -- I'd be happy to share any other thoughts with you. There is also a great article on AllEars or MouseSavers that discusses DVC which was helpful for us.

Best of luck in your decision! Let me know if I can help you further.

 

[CUKU4DIS]

Thanks for the info, it sure does help. Did you purchase SSR or AKV? SSR is beautiful and it looks like once AKV is done it will be gorgeous. The kids pool area is what I can't wait to see! We are very interested and hope we just go "gaga" and join after our trip. I can't wait to tour the AKV models in September.

 

[dheinle]

It's worth it if you can't stand a value resort and a moderate is just ok.

We have stayed at CBR and Port Orleans French quarter and were very happy with the rooms.

When we decided last year to make a last minute trip to the MK so we could get my sons first haircut at the barber shop we rented points and stayed in a studio at BCV. The first night we stayed in a value because the reservation we rented wasn't long enough. The values are way to small for 4 of us, and after staying in a studio I don't think we can go back to a moderate.

Also, what we paid to rent points for a studio vs paying for a value right before easter was about the same amount.

We have been looking at DVC for about 2 years and the price keeps going up, if you can afford it, buy it. If you don't like it, sell it, i don't think you'll lose money that way.

My DW keeps crunching the numbers and it trying to see if it is a good investment. I keep telling her it is more of an investment in our family and not necessarily a monetary investment.

 

[Marshay]

Thanks for the info, it sure does help. Did you purchase SSR or AKV? SSR is beautiful and it looks like once AKV is done it will be gorgeous. The kids pool area is what I can't wait to see! We are very interested and hope we just go "gaga" and join after our trip. I can't wait to tour the AKV models in September.

We bought 165 points at Saratoga Springs since that had the $10/off plus a year's points. Then we added on 65 points to AKV. Since we want to stay at all the resorts and don't see us sticking to one EVERY time, that works best for us.

 

[Marshay]

I keep telling her it is more of an investment in our family and not necessarily a monetary investment.

Yes, don't buy it to make money on it! Buy to enjoy vacations with your family and friends.

The weeks prior to purchasing were like a roller coaster. One day, we said, yes, the next we said no; one day it looked great, the next it didn't. But overall, we took the "plunge" and instantly felt so much better for our decision. in fact, my parents (in their 60s, retired), just bought Boardwalk Resale since they want to make sure they have a place to vacation for the rest of their lives! (wish they would have done that when we were growing up!! )

 

[CUKU4DIS]

It's worth it if you can't stand a value resort and a moderate is just ok.

We have stayed at CBR and Port Orleans French quarter and were very happy with the rooms.

When we decided last year to make a last minute trip to the MK so we could get my sons first haircut at the barber shop we rented points and stayed in a studio at BCV. The first night we stayed in a value because the reservation we rented wasn't long enough. The values are way to small for 4 of us, and after staying in a studio I don't think we can go back to a moderate.

Also, what we paid to rent points for a studio vs paying for a value right before easter was about the same amount.

We have been looking at DVC for about 2 years and the price keeps going up, if you can afford it, buy it. If you don't like it, sell it, i don't think you'll lose money that way.

My DW keeps crunching the numbers and it trying to see if it is a good investment. I keep telling her it is more of an investment in our family and not necessarily a monetary investment.

We are actually staying at the Pop Century on this lst minute trip and we have been thinking about purchasing DVC since our 2005 trip. I am sure I will fill like a sardine in the value. We usually just rent a vacation home when we go. We usually do our 4 days in WDW, hit Clearwater BEach and Univerdal Studios. This year we are actually staying ON property and sticking to Disney all week. Let's see if this is our year My DH has really shown a little more interest in it this year. Wish me luck!

 

[CUKU4DIS]

Sounds great! Now what do you mean you put 65 towards AKV??

 

[CUKU4DIS]

Lovin' the extra info, keep it commin'!

 

[hrsmom]

Since we moved to SC we felt we could go every year and we figured out how much it was costing us each trip and DVC just made sense. Last year we stayed at a Fort Wilderness Cabin and loved having that much space and felt like that's what we would want every year. It was roughly $3000 for the cabin and tickets (and those weren't hoppers), so really justifying our DVC was a no brainer and we get a great discount on the APs! Now we can go several times a year and stay at a great resort (we loved SSR and it's very quiet - which we love!).

Now, the big thing for us (well me at least, don't know DH's feelings) is that when/if CRV comes to be, I want a contract for there too!

 

[Marshay]

Then we added on 65 points to AKV.

Sounds great! Now what do you mean you put 65 towards AKV??

To "add-on" points in DVC is to purchase another contract for additional points at a specific resort. It can either be at your same resort or another one. Most common is to choose another resort -- say you want to spend Christmas at Wilderness Lodge every other year ...since this is the most popular resort at this time of year, you really have to have WL as your home resort to get the 11 month advantage in making your ressies. So you find out how much a 1 BR week cost at Xmas and purchase 1/2 the points. Then through banking and borrowing, you can spend a week at WL during Xmas, every other year. You can also use those pts at another resort but only with the 7 month advance ressies.

Other people do an add-on b/c their families have grown and they realize they need enough pts for a 2 BR now but only bought enough for a studio in the beginning.

Also, if you add on at the newer resorts, they have a longer contract life than at BCV/Boardwalk.

Disney has a minimum of 165 Pts (I think that's the correct new number, used to be a little less) that you have to buy at one resort. If you purchase resale, you can find contracts less than that sometimes. But to add-on another contract it can be as little as 25 pts if paid in full (50 if borrowing).

Hope this helps!

 

[Cruelladeville]

I thought it might help to have an "old timer's" view. Before we joined in 1997, we had the same questions that you have now. What we found is that the cost to join DVC goes up at about the cost for a regular room increases. So, yes, DVC is a good investment if you plan to continue coming to WDW. When we joined we paid $54 per point, an outrageous amount, I thought at the time. My brother just sold his contract, purchased after we bought our''s, for $90pp, which seems to me to reinforce our conclusion that DVC was a good value. It should continue to be a good value in the future, too.

 

[Donald is #1]

Disney has a minimum of 165 Pts (I think that's the correct new number, used to be a little less) that you have to buy at one resort.

I just bought my first contract in May and the current minimum through the DVC is 160 points.

I researched the DVC for a couple of months before my May trip and what really helped make up my mind was when I looked at the price that I paid for WL in October during an AAA discount and the cost of my May trip (AKL & SSR) with an AP discount, they added up to almost 1/3 of the cost of DVC. OK, to be honest, my May trip was more tahn a week so it wasn't really a fair comparison but it did help me make up my mind.

 

[Marshay]

I just bought my first contract in May and the current minimum through the DVC is 160 points.

QUOTE]

Thanks! I couldn't remember the numbers anymore...

 

[Liljam]

We bought DVC this year for several reasons.
-love the larger rooms for studios and the villas for extended family.
-love the fact that we have WDW to look forward to at least once a year (but we've already got three trips lined up from Jan 08 to July 08 - as soon as I can I'll make a May ressie and a July ressie
-We adore SSR for many reasons so we picked it knowing we would stay there at any time, but love the option of trying all the DVC resorts.
-Cost and MFs didn't scare us one bit. We felt it was worth it for us and never had a second thought that it isn't a good decision.

I haven't been on a trip "home" yet, but I'll say that I cannot wait. I love WDW, having been there over 20 times before I was 12 years old. It just felt right. We hope to start a family soon and I can't wait to take our children there too! DVC benefit in that is that when we have kids, we'll take our parents along too to help us with the children and allow us some free time. Actually I think both of our parents said "Well, you'll need a baysitter when you have kids. We'll go!"

If you answer YES to the questions Marshay listed, I'd say that it's a given. We financed ours, but we'll be paying extra to keep the finace charges down. It still works out great for us though because it comes out to about $8 per point over the lifetime of the contract.

Also, I like what the poster said about it being a family investment. We didn't look at it as a way to make a profit if we ever sell it. We look at it as a guaranteed vacation for us and our loved ones. Of course as another poster mentioned, the resale value does seem to stay pretty well around Disney's prices so you could sell it if you didn't like it.

Good luck!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

what is the home resort stuff about, cant we stay at any resorts? I will pick the animal kingdom one

 

[usewickhouse]

Can someone clarify what the OP originally asked, in regards to the incentives at SSR...the OP mentioned getting 06 points as well as 07 OR Disney would "Match" the purchase. What does "match" mean? If you buy 160 pts do they give you 160 additional points per year for free? I know this is a stupid question but we too are in the process of possibly buying and I would really like to get all the info that I can. I have one more question...in the future will it take more points per day to rent? Say OKW is 10 points per day now in value season, will they per day points increase as time goes on? If so then would we not all HAVE to add on in order to get the same amount of vacation time out of our contracts? Sorry for the questions but will appreciate any and all info!

 

[disneydance]

Thanks for this info have been debating to buy into DVC for quite some time i think we are going to buy into it on on next vacation how much does eaach point cost and whenis AKV opening tia disneydance

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Can someone clarify what the OP originally asked, in regards to the incentives at SSR...the OP mentioned getting 06 points as well as 07 OR Disney would "Match" the purchase. What does "match" mean? If you buy 160 pts do they give you 160 additional points per year for free? I know this is a stupid question but we too are in the process of possibly buying and I would really like to get all the info that I can. I have one more question...in the future will it take more points per day to rent? Say OKW is 10 points per day now in value season, will they per day points increase as time goes on? If so then would we not all HAVE to add on in order to get the same amount of vacation time out of our contracts? Sorry for the questions but will appreciate any and all info!

i was thinking of this when i was in bed last night so do we get 320 the first year?

 

[gkrykewy]

Can someone clarify what the OP originally asked, in regards to the incentives at SSR...the OP mentioned getting 06 points as well as 07 OR Disney would "Match" the purchase. What does "match" mean? If you buy 160 pts do they give you 160 additional points per year for free?

You would get 160 bonus points the first year, but they wouldn't recur year after year.

I have one more question...in the future will it take more points per day to rent?

No. The only change that can occur is that the 'season' could be changed so that certain weeks would become more expensive (would cost more points). But if this happened, other weeks would have to become less expensive. The total number of points for a given room type for the entire year cannot increase.