Is DVC really worth it?

[Snow Shoe]

For our family it made since and was well worth the cost. After our first stay at BWV in 98, in a 2-bdrm villa, we asked ourselves why we hadn't bought it sooner. Its been wonderful ever since.

We started going to Disney every year beginning in 86 with three kids. We always stayed at the CR in one room. Eventually we had to go to connecting rooms. Costs just went up big time! Now the kids are all grown up with families of their own. We go our selves every other year now. Off years one of the kids usually wants to use it for their family. This coming June we have a 3-bdrm villa for all of us to stay in. We're all looking foward to this family vacation!!!

There's many reasons as to why some choose to purchase or not to. You can do all of the math to justify purchasing or not, and you can get lots of advice. The one reson I can give to not purchase, is for an "investment" reason.

Now for us, it was a no brainer, it was all about our family having fun together.

 

[TheDalys]

To us, it is well worth it. On our travels we are not picky people. We take advantage of the staying onsite transportation, cuts out the rediculous car rental price. The flight for us is only 2 hr 30 mins. So the flight doesnt need to be comfortable, a $50 Spirit flight is just fine. And a full kitchen cuts back on the restaurants.

We are heading to Saratoga Springs in January for a week. Our kids (4&2) love it, it will be the 4 yr olds 3rd disney trip. We only do 3 days of the main parks each trip, just incase too much disney kills the experience. Most likely would not, but kids get tired and need breaks also.

We will be back for the christmas season in november with our family of 4 and my neice (disney virgin), which will be awesome.

 

[Donna M]

It has been worth it for us.

Our house and cars are paid off. I received an inheritance which we used some of to pay for the points, so we don't have a loan.

Now we stay in a one or two bd and enjoy the space that is not available in a standard hotel room. We also invite friends and family to join us.

We would not have bought if it wasn't for our situation because the money would have been used in other ways, but if you can afford it, I say go for it. I love it!

 

[Donna M]

But if you don't LOVE Disney I'm not sure it is worth it.

I totally agree with this statement.

 

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

It has been more than worth it for us.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

We just went into ROFR with ours, but I ran a very OCD spreadsheet over the purchase. (One portion of my job is data mining, another portion is accounting, another is program review, among other things.)

There are three major factors involved here:


Are you looking for an investment (something that will gain value over the years) or a depreciating asset (something for which you've paid the value up front and will lose value over the years)? If you only want the first, put your money into a good investment account and stop here.

DVC only makes sense when you accept that it will depreciate over time. Cars, computers, clothes, furniture - we buy them all with the understanding that their value will depreciate. As a depreciating asset, though, DVC is an extremely good value. In less than 9 years, on my and DH's purchase, we will, including projected maintenance fees to that point, be at break even on our purchase. But we will still have sooooo many more years to use that investment, with only maintenance fees in payment.

Even if you accept that it is a depreciating asset, there are still two other factors, or this is not a wise purchase.

The first is your vacationing style. If you don't care if you're on property or not or if you're perfectly content in the values, this is probably not a wise purchase for you. It makes best fiscal sense for folks who stay in the deluxe accomodations or who would otherwise rent DVC points from an owner, although, if you don't do deluxe or rent from a DVC owner, over time, you will still wind up on the positive, but it will take many more years. (Note: I figured our value out at DVC rental rates, not deluxe rates. At rack rates for the same room we will get in our DVC membership, we would be to the positive much, much, much sooner, but that's not an honest figure for our vacationing style. If we didn't own, we'd just rent points.)

The second is your love for Disney. If you don't actually USE your points every year (okay, so one or two years you take the kids to see Yellowstone or Mesa Verde or to follow the Freedom trail and rent your points, that's fine.) it's not a good investment. The value is predicated on actually using your DVC membership.

 

[brucerob62]

Just my opinion we always rent off DVC members ..its a pain sometimes.but never a problem .we have gone to DW the past 12 years and pay less than or the same as maintenance fees are..so to us doesnt make sense to be tied down to a timeshare..but once its paid for and just the dues its probably worth it..if someone were to give me a DVC membership i would take it..but wouldnt pay upfront several thousand for it..just an opinion

 

[Missyrose]

Just my opinion we always rent off DVC members ..its a pain sometimes.but never a problem .we have gone to DW the past 12 years and pay less than or the same as maintenance fees are..so to us doesnt make sense to be tied down to a timeshare..but once its paid for and just the dues its probably worth it..if someone were to give me a DVC membership i would take it..but wouldnt pay upfront several thousand for it..just an opinion

Couple of things here. If you've found owners who will rent you points for $4 or $5 a point, then it will never be in your financial interest to buy.

The sticking point for many in the renting vs. buying debate is the issue of control. Renters have no control over their reservations until they check in and everything (requests, dining plan, etc.) goes through the owner. So some folks (myself included) bought to regain control over their DVC reservations.

 

[zavandor]

If we didn't own, we'd just rent points.

I don't agree on this. I'm not confortable with renting points. Even if renting from trusted sources lowers the risk a lot, I would be too anxious to get in WDW and find I don't have a reservation.
Not saying that renting is not a good idea (it is for many people), it is not for me.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I don't agree on this. I'm not confortable with renting points. Even if renting from trusted sources lowers the risk a lot, I would be too anxious to get in WDW and find I don't have a reservation.
Not saying that renting is not a good idea (it is for many people), it is not for me.

Renting is not an option for me, either. I am glad to be an owner.

 

[KingRichard]

Just my opinion we always rent off DVC members ..its a pain sometimes.but never a problem .we have gone to DW the past 12 years and pay less than or the same as maintenance fees are..so to us doesnt make sense to be tied down to a timeshare..but once its paid for and just the dues its probably worth it..if someone were to give me a DVC membership i would take it..but wouldnt pay upfront several thousand for it..just an opinion

Could you please tell us where to rent points for around $5?

Thank you from my Disney children!

 

[jelliott04]

Is it worth it? That is like asking is the DDP worth it. LOL

We own two contracts. One we bought via Disney and one we bought via resale.

Have I been happy? Yes. Would I do it again? I'm not sure.

The cons for me:

• We prefer two beds and not one bed and a sofa bed
  
• We prefer daily maid service (for the fresh towels)
  
• Annual maintenance fees

The pros:

• We like the 1 bedroom
  
• Flexible

My maintenance fees this year are $1540 (approx because I couldn't find the exact price of 2013). I just looked up for a friend the cost of renting points and I think renting points is the way to go. You get the benefits of DVC rooms without the annual maintenance fees.

I'm not sorry we bought in and if I had extra money, I might buy more resale points. But, do I think it is worth it? I'm on the fence but leaning towards no. If you have a chunk of money that isn't needed and burning a hole in your pocket and you visit Disney often, then I'd say yes. But if money is tight, and you have to finance, I'd say definitely not.

Quite a conundrum isn't it?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Could you please tell us where to rent points for around $5?

Thank you from my Disney children!

Probably from a dear, close friend who owns DVC, can't use the point and would be willing to give them up for the price of the annual dues. Most resorts are over $5 a month, if not now, then by Jan 1 with the dues increase.

 

[Dean]

Probably from a dear, close friend who owns DVC, can't use the point and would be willing to give them up for the price of the annual dues. Most resorts are over $5 a month, if not now, then by Jan 1 with the dues increase.

Two other situations can get that low, distressed points/reservations and RCI exchanges that are rented out.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

[*]We prefer daily maid service (for the fresh towels)

If you just want fresh towels, you do know you can call the lobby and request them, and then on the days you do have maid service, you can request extra?

I usually request extra shampoo and conditioner and some extra towels at checkin (It's just DH and I, but invariably just ONE thing will need washing - usually because DH doesn't pack enough of something - or we will get caught in a downpour and need to dry out our shoes or somesuch, so I need the extra towels.) and then leave a note to the maid on our cleaning day requesting the same thing.

Mischief managed!

 

[jelliott04]

If you just want fresh towels, you do know you can call the lobby and request them, and then on the days you do have maid service, you can request extra?

mischief managed!

Love your "mischief managed" phrase! HP is a favorite!

As for the towels, don't they charge you extra? My point with the towels is not so much that I need daily maid service because I generally keep our room neat. BUT to expect a family of 4 to use 4 washcloths for 4 days is nuts. I'm even willing to reuse a towel but with 3 of the four being girls with long hair, we need plenty of dry towels and there just isn't a whole lot of places to dry them out. The wash cloths is really an issue with me. If the reservation is for a family of 4, then they should give you 16 wash cloths so you can make it through until trash and towel day.

When we stay in a 1 BR I just wash them myself and it is a non issue but when staying in a studio it is an issue.

 

[stmize]

I love my Dvc. May have a case of addonitis

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you just want fresh towels, you do know you can call the lobby and request them, and then on the days you do have maid service, you can request extra?

I usually request extra shampoo and conditioner and some extra towels at checkin (It's just DH and I, but invariably just ONE thing will need washing - usually because DH doesn't pack enough of something - or we will get caught in a downpour and need to dry out our shoes or somesuch, so I need the extra towels.) and then leave a note to the maid on our cleaning day requesting the same thing.

Mischief managed!

Any extra that you want, towels, shampoo, etc, you will pay for. In a timeshare, the owners pay for all the extras. That's why lots of us bring stuff from home instead of paying Disney extra $$$ for those tiny bottles of shampoo. It they allowed unlimited free stuff, the dues would go through the ceiling.

Housekeeping
Trash & Towel Service
For stays of seven or less nights, Trash & Towel Service is provided on day four, regardless of whether you're using Member-discounted cash, Vacation Points or a combination of both.

With Trash & Towel service, Housekeeping will:

•Empty trash and replace liners in trash bins.
•Provide fresh bathroom linens.
•Replace shampoo, facial soap and bath soap.
•Replenish facial tissues, paper towels and toilet paper.
•Replenish coffee, sugar, cream and sweeteners.
•Replenish dishwashing liquid, dishwashing detergent, sponges and laundry detergent as needed in one-, two- and three-bedroom Vacation Homes.

Full Cleaning Service
For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash & Towel Service is provided on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day 12, regardless of whether you're using Member-discounted cash, Vacation Points or a combination of both.

With Full Cleaning service, Housekeeping will provide everything included with the Trash & Towel Service, plus:

•Change the bed linens.
•Vacuum and dust the Vacation Home.
•Clean the bathroom(s).
•Clean the kitchen/kitchenette and wash the dishes.

Pay As You Play
With Pay As You Play service, you'll be provided with the following amenities free of charge at the start of your stay. After that, you may purchase more for the following fees:

•Toiletries Package, $5.00 - 1 facial soap, 1 bath soap, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 shower gel
•Coffee Package, $3.00 - 1 package of coffee, 8 sugars, 8 creamers, 8 artificial sweeteners
•Towel Package, $6.00 - 4 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 4 washcloths, 1 bath mat
•Laundry Detergent (only in One-, Two-, and Three-bedroom Vacation Homes), $1.00 - 1 box

Additional Full Cleaning Rates:


•Studio/Inn Room - $30.00 per day requested
•One-Bedroom - $45.00 per day requested
•Two-Bedroom - $60.00 per day requested
•Three-Bedroom - $75.00 per day requested

Additional Trash & Towel Rates:


•Studio/Inn Room - $15.00 per day requested
•One-Bedroom - $20.00 per day requested

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Love your "mischief managed" phrase! HP is a favorite!

As for the towels, don't they charge you extra? My point with the towels is not so much that I need daily maid service because I generally keep our room neat. BUT to expect a family of 4 to use 4 washcloths for 4 days is nuts. I'm even willing to reuse a towel but with 3 of the four being girls with long hair, we need plenty of dry towels and there just isn't a whole lot of places to dry them out. The wash cloths is really an issue with me. If the reservation is for a family of 4, then they should give you 16 wash cloths so you can make it through until trash and towel day.

When we stay in a 1 BR I just wash them myself and it is a non issue but when staying in a studio it is an issue.

They haven't in the past. I usually just hie myself down to the lobby and ask for some or ask if I see a cart in the hallway. Maybe I've just gotten lucky? I'd pay for it if they did - not a big deal. Heck, you could always grab some from the pool. They'll get back to the pool area - they have those stripes, after all.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Oh wow! We've always rented points before this and they've never charged me once! I didn't know they were supposed to!

Still, looking at those prices - they're really cheap, so I'd happily pay it just to have enough of the things I want in my room. I'm not bringing shampoo or towels from home! 11 bucks for enough towels and toiletries so that I'm comfy? Not really all that big a deal.