Is DVC worth it?

[magic1636]

Hello,

So my wife and I was at MK earlier today and we started to speak to one of the DVC wranglers in Frontierland. We were just curious how it works and just asking questions. Long story short we will doing of of the meetings on Saturday at Saratoga Sprngs. I was just curious as to if DVC would be worth to really consider?

 

[Dean]

Hello,

So my wife and I was at MK earlier today and we started to speak to one of the DVC wranglers in Frontierland. We were just curious how it works and just asking questions. Long story short we will doing of of the meetings on Saturday at Saratoga Sprngs. I was just curious as to if DVC would be worth to really consider?

The short answer is it is for some and not for others but usually not for retail (direct purchases) for a new buyer. Spend a few months learning and educate yourself about the system and resale options. Here are a few thoughts. DVC is generally only worth it (even resale at cheaper options) for those that can plan at least 7 months out, can pay cash, who value staying on property enough to pay extra to do so and who are comfortable with the compromises and long term commitment of a timeshare. Most new buyers don't have enough info or experience to know where they want to stay most of the time though many think they do. As such even when DVC makes sense in general, it often only does for resale and for less than the newest or most expensive options. Until you have enough information to evaluate these issues without most of the emotions involved, you don't have enough info to make an informed decisions. I'd suggest you do not buy on your tour no matter how good of a deal it sounds. I'd also suggest that what you lose resale is almost never worth buying retail for at least for the full purchase.

 

[WBogley]

The short answer is it is for some and not for others but usually not for retail (direct purchases) for a new buyer. Spend a few months learning and educate yourself about the system and resale options. Here are a few thoughts. DVC is generally only worth it (even resale at cheaper options) for those that can plan at least 7 months out, can pay cash, who value staying on property enough to pay extra to do so and who are comfortable with the compromises and long term commitment of a timeshare. Most new buyers don't have enough info or experience to know where they want to stay most of the time though many think they do. As such even when DVC makes sense in general, it often only does for resale and for less than the newest or most expensive options. Until you have enough information to evaluate these issues without most of the emotions involved, you don't have enough info to make an informed decisions. I'd suggest you do not buy on your tour no matter how good of a deal it sounds. I'd also suggest that what you lose resale is almost never worth buying retail for at least for the full purchase.

I agree with all of this. I think all new dvc shoppers should be required to build their own spreadsheet to evaluate if the numbers work. You will need to consider direct purchase vs resale purchase vs discounted hotel room. Once you can compare all three you will be in a better position to see if the numbers work for you.

 

[Kimly]

It is for some and not for others. But I do believe it is hard to find a DVC owner who regrets buying.

 

[magic1636]

Thank you we'll definitely weigh out our options. While we are on the tour and afterwards

 

[Minniesgal]

It is for some and not for others. But I do believe it is hard to find a DVC owner who regrets buying.

In here maybe but trust me during the recession there were plenty

 

[alisonslp]

We bought on a semi-impulse and I definitely would not recommend that. We bought on a cruise and they had "such good deals", which they did. But in hindsight, really wish we would have waited a few weeks to explore thesee boards more, gain more information, like resales, the fact that we had the option to buy in different resorts (on the cruise, it was only Animal Kingdom), different use years (the time of year you get new points - it makes a huge difference based on when you typically vacation). There are few others but do we regret being owners? never!

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

I got back from the star wars race yesterday, and have been lurking on these forums since trying to figure out the same thing. We've been going once a year and now several times a year for races since the marathon brought me to wdw in '09. Many times we have to get 2 hotel rooms at wdw, but sometimes get a condo in Windsor hills. We like staying on property best though, so I'm finally researching it.

What I'm realizing is that buying into dvc is like getting a tattoo. It's best to think about it (and research it) for at least several months before making a decision. There are so many variables.

 

[Sammie]

The thing is you have to decide does it work for you. Makes no difference it works for someone else.

We went to Disney World every year, for many years before buying DVC. We bought when we out grew one room and wanted a two bedroom villa. Personally for me, I was not interested in DVC for studios. For that size of room to me, the resorts offer better accommodations and often at better rates. I am not interested in a room with only one bed and only Old Key West studios offer two beds.

Do your research and decide does it fit you and your family.

 

[Supplanter]

It can be worth it if you can be honest with yourself and say yes to the following:
1. You plan on going on at least 10 Disney disney vacations (aulani, Vero beach, South Carolina, Disney world or Disneyland) over the next 15 years.
2. You don't have a problem planning trips far in advance... Like between 7 and 11 months before your actual trip.

If you can honestly say your cool with both of those then there is potentially some value for you. The next question is tougher:

Knowing all the resorts are really nice, how important is staying at a specific one at a specific time of year to you?

Some resorts (grand cal, beach club, etc...) are hard to book at even 7 months before your trip if you plan on going in oct- dec. If you just have to stay at one of the preferred resorts, you'll absolutely want to buy there (most likely forcing you into a resale purchase since only aulani and polynesian are available direct)... But just know you'll need to book your room between 11 and 8 months before your trip.

If that isn't you and you want to get around to different resorts, don't have a specific place you want to go all the time, or don't plan on booking a year ahead of time, your best value per point is saratoga springs. The initial buy in is low, about $80 per point, the dues are among the lowest of any resort and it still has many years left on the contracts so you can either use it for a very long time or can expect that resale values will be pretty good in 15 or 20 years.

Buying at saratoga springs will pay for the 45 years of vacations in about 8 vacations (considering that you usually can get about 25% off rack rates).
You can even find some contacts that are cheap enough you can actually make a profit over your annualized costs just by renting points. Search around the boards here, consider what you actually want out it and do whatever feels right. Best of luck to you!

 

[gharter]

As a recent purchaser, I would agree with all of the above.
At our last trip, we went to one of the talks about DVC. It sounded really good, but we didn't jump right away.
Once we got home, I started my research. I spent a LOT of time reading the information on this site. It was a great education. I think very balanced between buying new or resale. It was about a month later, I felt like I understood enough to make an informed decision on our purchase. At this time, for our needs, I believe we made the correct choice for us. We will find out more this fall, when we have our first trip as a DVC owner.

So, I would agree with the above suggestions to read all you can, and then make an informed decision for what is best for you.

 

[jerseyduke]

3 Basic questions:

1. Will you go to WDW every year, or at least every other year?
2. Will you plan your vacations well in advance, often 11 months?
3. When you go, do you typically stay in Deluxe, or at least moderate resorts?

If you answered no to any of these, DVC is not for you.

That is just a basic first step filter.

 

[bakerworld]

We joined DVC when we found ourselves consistently visiting WDW 2 to 3 times per year followed by the ding to our vacation length by our chosen venue locations. DVC allowed us to go back to our longer vacation stays in the locations we enjoyed.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

I need to quit with the analogies, but the more I read up on it, the more this seems like monopoly. I would like to purchase Boardwalk and GF, but Saratoga is much more enticing financially! I'm sure I'll post my situation soon for a professional analysis.

 

[magic1636]

Yeah I'll definitely be reading up as much as I can beefore a final decision is made. My wife and I were talking a little yesterday about this as we were leaving MK. Initially it sounds like something that would be beneficial for us but we'll think long and hard about it

 

[StirlingSilver83]

My hubby said DVC is only worth it if you can pay upfront for it. (he's a math guy, LOL, so he ran the numbers) he said if you plan on paying it off then you more than likely won't start saving money until its paid off which could be 15 years from now. Now this was going by our numbers which would be if we were to buy into 1 of the monorail resorts and stay 1 week in a 1 bedroom, once a year...the number was outrageous to buy it retail. Then on top of that you have annual dues and then when you do vacation you still have to pay for the tickets and the cost of dining (which you would do at any resort), but my hubby was more concerned about the annual dues, he said they were twice as expensive as some of the other time share places were. We are starting to explore options with timeshares and DVC is out because its just too expensive, but there is a lot of information to have to process and take in and once, lol.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

We are starting to explore options with timeshares and DVC is out because its just too expensive, but there is a lot of information to have to process and take in and once, lol.

If this is the case, you can pretty much get them for free. My Aunt is trying to give us her Orlando timeshare for free, but we don't want it!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

If this is the case, you can pretty much get them for free. My Aunt is trying to give us her Orlando timeshare for free, but we don't want it!

LOL free is always good! Never turn down free stuff, LOL

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

LOL free is always good! Never turn down free stuff, LOL

The timeshare is "free". People are really trying to unload annual dues of timeshares they don't use in an overly saturated market. Disney has done a pretty good job at not saturating their market and maintaining a level of demand. If I buy, it would only be on property. Compaing DVC to offsite timeshares is not apples to apples.

 

[hjvigz72]

Magic- We were in the same boat as you are now, only for us it was about 3-4 years ago.
We went, we listened, and we were so high on pixie dust it sounded fantastic! The offer at the time was at Animal Kingdom which for us was our favorite. Needless to say, we didn't pull the trigger and it stung a little, but we didn't regret our decision.

Now, here we are 3 years and a couple trips later. We've revisited DVC now for the third time. In the beginning of March, we were a phone call away from buying into the Polynesian at $168/pt. Poly wasn't our first home resort choice and we expressed that to the guide who then suggested Aulani. We proceeded to tell him that we'd likely never visit it so that was out. Yeah both are super nice, but they're not "us". With all the ammo, info and pricing we had, I decided to hit "the boards" and do a little more digging. Once again, we didn't pull the trigger and we're glad because with the digging, we found resale. We decided that the "member perks" of buying direct really weren't of as much benefit to us as were the $$$ savings of buying resale. (We put in an offer of $88/pt at Animal Kingdom - our favorite and are just waiting to close now.)

For us, I think it was when we'd actually break down and bite the bullet. We've visited Disney 5+ times in the past 10 years and we know we will continue to even with kids at ages 11 & 20. (and likely without them too )

It's definitely not the right decision for everyone.
Do your research, do the math, think about how you vacation. Remember that you are looking at accommodations only - no passes/dining etc. although with a direct purchase, you may be able to purchase those at a discount. (With resale - you are not afforded those same "member perks".)

The answer is different for everyone and for us, buying resale was the way to go.
Good luck with your decision!