Is DVC right for us?

[mjp12831]

A big deal in the op's question is that they have a fam of 5.

The 5 limits you - in terms of where you can stay (only POR as a moderate or in family suites). It also limits the DVC properties you can consider.

I have a 5 also. I'm very math oriented and I need to see financial value before buying DVC - I can't make it work.

Others see value in other subjective ways, which is fine, but with annual DVC maintenance fees and the inability to take advantage of discounts like 30% room or free dining, and our willingness to squeeze in a regular POR hotel room, it just doesnt work out.

 

[disny45]

and we are also considering taking the leap into dvc. i keep flip flopping as well. BUT i can tell you as a family of 5 with older children than yours-we have had to do the double room bookings for the past 3 times we were at disney. why you may ask? because having 2 bathrooms were well needed in our 5-7 day stays.
also the trundle beds in POR really are not worth to squeeze all 5 of us in a room with just one bathroom. so- we have sprung for 2 rooms for the 5 of us. even when we added up our military room only discount on the moderate resorts we like to stay at- DVC is looking like a better deal as we can book at BLT or AKV in a one bedroom and get 2 bathrooms.

- my viewpoint on it all so far is that i am liking the idea to be able to make our own breakfast in the rooms before heading to the parks.it saves on both money and time when traveling with kids.

- i am liking the idea of being able to have a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom with more bathrooms and keeping the family all together instead of having to book 2 rooms and hoping that the resort does not put us in adjoining rooms instead of connecting rooms.

-i also am liking to be able to resort hop and try out different resorts for point values-as well as have options for more space if we invite my parents or other family members along.hate having us in one area of a resort and the family clear across on the other side.


i am also still trying to work out everything myself before taking the plunge- but imo with a family of 5 it is something to seriously think about as the little ones grow up-space and bathrooms seem very important during vacations.

 

[BBG-BLT]

I love my DVC - have to admit. One of the reasons we like it is that the only expense we have now are the tickets and transportation to Orlando. We've never stayed at a value - only off site and then DVC which I believe most are deluxe. You should be able to stay in a 1 BR with 5 people where we have to stay in a 2 BR because of our 4 kids, so the the overall cost should even out over time.

 

[dmoore22]

I love my DVC - have to admit. One of the reasons we like it is that the only expense we have now are the tickets and transportation to Orlando. We've never stayed at a value - only off site and then DVC which I believe most are deluxe. You should be able to stay in a 1 BR with 5 people where we have to stay in a 2 BR because of our 4 kids, so the the overall cost should even out over time.

We were a family of 8, my DW, 5 DDs, 1 DS, and myself. We bought resale, didn't need to take out a loan, and found that it actually cut the cost of our visits almost in half. That was on the assumption of the cost of accommodations, ie. the DVC membership, over the life of the membership, and the cost of admission media, at full price, with the average increases factored in also. We did not consider the costs for food and transportation as that would be a given whether we stayed onsite, offsite, or visited any other non-Disney destination. Being able to bring groceries and prepare meals, which we could not do in a AS or moderate, saved a nice chunk of change. Plus the requirement of renting two rooms for the eight of us wasn't really cost effective. The seasonal deals always seemed to fall when school was in session which was not doable as my DW and both taught and the kids were still in school. This year we finally sent our youngest off to college and we are empty-nesters. The adults only visits are so nice. Don't get me wrong, I love our kids and the memories but Disney for adults is fantastic, and with DVC, even so much cheaper for so much more. Oops! looks like I'm about to go

 

[shalom]

The only reason we were even considering buying into it now was because of the low resales and thinking it may be better to buy sooner rather than waiting for the inevitable.

I don't think it's inevitable that the resale prices will go up. Remember that the DVC contracts all have a deadline attached that will drive the price down over time. So I'm seconding Dean's belief that prices will not rise with inflation or even much as the TS market improves. Don't feel rushed!

Also, can you buy outright, or would you be borrowing? That's a significant price difference, and a significant difference in risk. If you own outright, renting out your points is a great resource right now. If you're still paying off your loan, renting out your points may not be enough to make up the difference.

I think you should try staying in a condo offsite and see how that works before you buy into DVC. A lot of people who go every year find they enjoy staying offsite and doing non-Disney things for part of their trip, especially as their kids get a bit older and start developing other interests. It may be that by the time your 7 yo hits nine or sometime shortly thereafter, the older kids will be lobbying for a Universal visit, meaning if you buy in for the then-3 yo, you could end up staying in DVC for a more "Orlando" vacation, which isn't ideal, IMHO. If you're not staying in the Disney bubble anyhow, why stay in the smaller DVC units?

I'd also look into renting points, either onsite or at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort (which is as close to the parks as most of the Value resorts, although of course you don't get Disney bus service or the DDP). Whether you're going DVC or another TS, remember that you can do breakfast in your room so easily, and also other meals if so inclined, so the (possibly) higher per night room cost can be balanced out by the lower cost of food, especially if you have kids who may or may not eat their breakfast while on vacation anyhow. Most of my kids at those ages did better eating breakfast cereal in the room without distractions than eating in any restaurant or hotel breakfast we tried, and so we didn't get the "ten o'clock starvies".

But I've also seen Wyndham Bonnet Creek prices where you'd be getting a full 2 BR condo for less than it cost that season for Disney Value resort rooms, just depends on when you go and what kind of rentals you can find. Definitely something to consider.

You could also stay off site some years, and rent DVC points from someone else some years, and come out ahead compared to buying into DVC. So there's some other possibilities to consider. And, again, it's not like DVC resale prices are likely to skyrocket anytime soon. If you're fine with Value resorts, you'll be fine with DVC points at SSR or OKW, and those prices aren't likely to go up much in the next few years, and they're likely to be the last ones to rise so you'll have plenty of warning if it happens.

 

[ccgirl]

Here's more food for thought:

Doubletree Guest Suites in the WDW resort (not WDW owned) are suites that sleep up to 6 and has free continental breakast for around $119 a night. That is $937 for 7 nights. Probably less than the maintenance/taxes of a DVC for the 7 nights, nevermind the buy in.

Buena Vista Suites are all suites that sleep up to 6 and have free daily breakfast buffet. Rate is $99 for an average.

Royal Plaza in the WDW Resort is on Disney Property (not Disney owned) and their rooms sleep 5. Kids eat free at breakfast. The rate is approx $100 a night.

Caribe Royale - 1 bedroom suites that sleep up to 6. Average of $120 a night.

Most of those also provide free transportation to the parks.

 

[Dean]

Here's more food for thought:

Doubletree Guest Suites in the WDW resort (not WDW owned) are suites that sleep up to 6 and has free continental breakast for around $119 a night. That is $937 for 7 nights. Probably less than the maintenance/taxes of a DVC for the 7 nights, nevermind the buy in.

Buena Vista Suites are all suites that sleep up to 6 and have free daily breakfast buffet. Rate is $99 for an average.

Royal Plaza in the WDW Resort is on Disney Property (not Disney owned) and their rooms sleep 5. Kids eat free at breakfast. The rate is approx $100 a night.

Caribe Royale - 1 bedroom suites that sleep up to 6. Average of $120 a night.

Most of those also provide free transportation to the parks.

I usually average about $300 for a week in a 2 BR for nicer resorts in Orlando nicer than the hotels you mention but it requires a timeshare commitment for both obligations and a learning curve. For a single week once a year, it would not be that cheap per week.

 

[littlestar]

I'd probably try a rental at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (next door to Disney's Caribbean Beach resort) before I bought into DVC with the size of your family. You can rent a two bedroom at Wyndham Bonnet Creek most seasons for $700 or less for a week (from a VIP platinum owner). Bonnet Creek has frequent park shuttles, a Disney cast member in the lobby, and even a Disney resort TV channel.

Having said the above, DVC resale prices for SSR and OKW are a great bargain in my opinion. And if only Disney onsite will do, I'd consider a resale at SSR or at OKW (extended contract).

 

[dmoore22]

Here's more food for thought:

Doubletree Guest Suites in the WDW resort (not WDW owned) are suites that sleep up to 6 and has free continental breakast for around $119 a night. That is $937 for 7 nights. Probably less than the maintenance/taxes of a DVC for the 7 nights, nevermind the buy in.

Buena Vista Suites are all suites that sleep up to 6 and have free daily breakfast buffet. Rate is $99 for an average.

Royal Plaza in the WDW Resort is on Disney Property (not Disney owned) and their rooms sleep 5. Kids eat free at breakfast. The rate is approx $100 a night.

Caribe Royale - 1 bedroom suites that sleep up to 6. Average of $120 a night.

Most of those also provide free transportation to the parks.

Sounds like an educated guess on the maintenance fees. We average three visits a year with our DVC points for a total of 28 nights in a year. Our maintenance fees are $1,946.24/yr. With each scenario presented above our cost would range from $825.76 to $1,413.76 more than our annual dues if we stayed offsite for those 28 nights. Also we would not have had access to extra magic hours, annual pass discounts, DVC discounts, and other conveniences and benefits of being onsite. Certainly we did have the expense of paying upfront to purchase our DVC interest. However, in our situation we purchased a resale using cash rather than a loan so we don't have the issue of monthly payments or interest to deal with. We did not buy into DVC thinking in terms of an investment but, rather, that we have prepaid for our accommodations at a cost which, other than the annual dues, is pretty much locked in. We passed the break even point years ago.

 

[shalom]

I usually average about $300 for a week in a 2 BR for nicer resorts in Orlando

We've always had the option of $300/week for a nice 2 BR when going to Orlando as well, although we haven't gone that route every time because we wanted a particular resort or whatever. But the option was always there. We don't hit Orlando even once a year, so I'm not sure why you say it wouldn't be as cheap if you only went once a year. Orlando is overbuilt in terms of Timeshares, meaning there are always bargains if you belong to RCI or know of enough rentals or whatnot.

So far we've always had the option to trade into DVC when we like to go, in a 2 BR, for less than it costs in yearly fees for a DVC owner who is paying $4/DVC point. Which may or may not be true by the time we get around to going again (May 2013), but since we're fine with offsite that's not a problem for us.

DVC is a great deal for singles, couples and small families who go to Disney a lot, don't mind studios, and can afford multiple short trips a year. It's a good deal for families who go every year and currently stay deluxe onsite, and who never want to stay offsite. It's not a good deal financially for families of five or more who're fine with offsite so long as they're as close to the parks as the Values, because you can get so much more room in nicer offsite places that cost less. Also it's not as good a deal for those who're fine with Values, since Values are cheaper upfront and staying in the Values gives you access to deals you can't get using DVC points.

Some people make it a better deal switching from Value Resort to using DVC points by preparing all or most of their meals, but that's not for everyone.

 

[dmoore22]

DVC is a great deal for singles, couples and small families who go to Disney a lot,

We're a family of eight. For us DVC has provided us with the benefits of the economies of scale. It's been more cost effective that our pre-DVC stays at AS. It definitely works well for large families also.

 

[Dean]

We've always had the option of $300/week for a nice 2 BR when going to Orlando as well, although we haven't gone that route every time because we wanted a particular resort or whatever. But the option was always there. We don't hit Orlando even once a year, so I'm not sure why you say it wouldn't be as cheap if you only went once a year. Orlando is overbuilt in terms of Timeshares, meaning there are always bargains if you belong to RCI or know of enough rentals or whatnot.

So far we've always had the option to trade into DVC when we like to go, in a 2 BR, for less than it costs in yearly fees for a DVC owner who is paying $4/DVC point. Which may or may not be true by the time we get around to going again (May 2013), but since we're fine with offsite that's not a problem for us.

DVC is a great deal for singles, couples and small families who go to Disney a lot, don't mind studios, and can afford multiple short trips a year. It's a good deal for families who go every year and currently stay deluxe onsite, and who never want to stay offsite. It's not a good deal financially for families of five or more who're fine with offsite so long as they're as close to the parks as the Values, because you can get so much more room in nicer offsite places that cost less. Also it's not as good a deal for those who're fine with Values, since Values are cheaper upfront and staying in the Values gives you access to deals you can't get using DVC points.

Some people make it a better deal switching from Value Resort to using DVC points by preparing all or most of their meals, but that's not for everyone.

We usually do DVC as well, in the past the additional added cost is the $95 fee. With the RCI changes related to TPU the costs may go up slightly but not much. The reason I said that one week is more expensive is in the idea of owning to ONLY trade one week a year to Orlando. There is a considerable economy of scale in the way most Orlando trades work so owning RCI (or II) simply to trade one week a year increases the costs a fair amount though it still can be a good deal for many situations.

I believe DVC's best savings are seen comparing hotels to studios and 2 hotel rooms to a 2 BR.

 

[dmoore22]

I believe DVC's best savings are seen comparing hotels to studios and 2 hotel rooms to a 2 BR.

I'll drink to that.

 

[shalom]

We're a family of eight. For us DVC has provided us with the benefits of the economies of scale.

We're a family of seven and I don't think DVC is a great deal because the units are so cramped. We can get larger units offsite for less cost, so not a better deal financially for us, either. But my main problem with larger groups is the size and layout of the onsite units (I'm comparing standard 2 BR to standard 2 BR -- haven't compared Disney's Grand Villas to offsite offerings).

But I'm comparing the units to other Timeshares -- compared to getting 2 hotel rooms, clearly DVC's the better deal.

The reason I said that one week is more expensive is in the idea of owning to ONLY trade one week a year to Orlando.

Gotcha. I can see that. We use our Timeshare for most of our vacations, so we could trade here and rent there and use RCI's Last Call or Extra Vacations somewhere else, meaning it's pretty easy to use the cheapest option in Orlando, whatever that may be for where we want to go. If we had to trade in there, or waste our week, we couldn't do so well. I'm a big believer in "buy where you want to go," so I wouldn't buy a week to trade in. For us, staying DVC is more of a nifty extra than a fundamental.

If we were only happy staying onsite, we'd buy DVC points, because we would hate staying in two hotel rooms. And DVC would be cheaper for us than even 2 Value rooms, because with a 2 BR DVC unit we'd be doing a lot more cooking and eating "at home." With four teenagers, our food bill is way higher than our room bill pretty much always, so any savings on that front go far.

 

[amypetecar]

Some people buy boats at our age (40s) some buy cars, and a few get the ole Rolex--we got DVC and love it.

Great point. I had a choice when my car was paid off. Trade it in and buy something better, or live with a used car for a few years to pay for the dvc. Of course you should never compromise your financial stability, but if it fits in your budget, and you know you love visiting Disney.... why not?

If you end up not liking it (and I have yet to hear of anyone that doesn't) you could rent out your points to break even over time.

 

[Dean]

Gotcha. I can see that. We use our Timeshare for most of our vacations, so we could trade here and rent there and use RCI's Last Call or Extra Vacations somewhere else, meaning it's pretty easy to use the cheapest option in Orlando, whatever that may be for where we want to go. If we had to trade in there, or waste our week, we couldn't do so well. I'm a big believer in "buy where you want to go," so I wouldn't buy a week to trade in. For us, staying DVC is more of a nifty extra than a fundamental.

If we were only happy staying onsite, we'd buy DVC points, because we would hate staying in two hotel rooms. And DVC would be cheaper for us than even 2 Value rooms, because with a 2 BR DVC unit we'd be doing a lot more cooking and eating "at home." With four teenagers, our food bill is way higher than our room bill pretty much always, so any savings on that front go far.

There is definitely an economy of scale when you position yourself appropriately. This is true for our Marriott and our Bluegreen ownership and even DVC ownership to a lesser degree. I would question the thought that it's EITHER off property timeshares or hotel room/own DVC for on property, this is not automatically the case. We enjoy both on property on off and swing between the 2 for different trips and sometimes, the same trips.

 

[shalom]

I would question the thought that it's EITHER off property timeshares or hotel room/own DVC for on property, this is not automatically the case.

Not sure how what I said could be interpreted that way, since I mentioned trading into DVC, which is not either of your choices. Once we're traveling with fewer kids, we figure on doing DVC for our first week and then going offsite for the rest of our vacation, thus getting the best of both worlds. Although we've also considered doing DVC at WDW one week, and then Disney's Vero Beach or HHI the next, since what we'd want the second week is a quieter experience and either of those would fill the bill. But we prefer to spread out our park days, so that would only work if we were just hitting the parks for a couple of days.

 

[Dean]

Not sure how what I said could be interpreted that way, since I mentioned trading into DVC, which is not either of your choices. Once we're traveling with fewer kids, we figure on doing DVC for our first week and then going offsite for the rest of our vacation, thus getting the best of both worlds. Although we've also considered doing DVC at WDW one week, and then Disney's Vero Beach or HHI the next, since what we'd want the second week is a quieter experience and either of those would fill the bill. But we prefer to spread out our park days, so that would only work if we were just hitting the parks for a couple of days.

The reason I interpreted it that way was you seemed to conclude that you would need to buy DVC points just for on property given your other timeshare options. Sorry if I misinterpreted your thoughts.

 

[shalom]

The reason I interpreted it that way was you seemed to conclude that you would need to buy DVC points just for on property given your other timeshare options.

Ah. I just meant that if I "had to" stay onsite, if it were that important to me, I'd buy DVC points because I'd feel more secure that way. I do know people who stay DVC every time by trading in through a different timeshare, but personally I'd find that too nervewracking.

 

[Dean]

Ah. I just meant that if I "had to" stay onsite, if it were that important to me, I'd buy DVC points because I'd feel more secure that way. I do know people who stay DVC every time by trading in through a different timeshare, but personally I'd find that too nervewracking.

There is some risk and compromise included in such an approach but the cost benefit is very high.