is dvc worth the $$$

[lindam7]

We have been saving for 3 years to purchase into DVC and now I
am having second thoughts. We live in PA and just the price of
maint. fees would be approx $800 year, the price of our park tickets would be apprx $700 and the price of our airfare would be
at the very cheapest $750. so it will cost me a minimum of $2250
every year. My biggest concern is that we usually stay at either
the CR or the POLY. We are going down in Dec with a discounted
room rate of $164 a night. If I used my point's it would cost alot
more than my cash rate. So I guess my question is, we only
travel once a year, so we don't get any frequent flyer free tickets, and driving is not an option for us. Would I really be saving by
buying into dvc or will I actually be paying more to stay in resorts
that I really would not choose outside of dvc??? Another point
is that I have 2 teenage son's that are big boys, both wrestlers
and I just could not see them sharing a sleeper sofa. But why
use so many points for a two bedroom when they could both at
least share a queen size bed at the CR.

 

[spiceycat]

sounds like you need to look at resales - they aren't that much cheaper - but you can get OKW - OKW studios have 2 queen beds -

so their setup is a little different than the other DVC resorts - they have a king in the master, a queen sleeper in the livingroom, but 2 queen beds in the 2nd bedroom.

Of course they are not as close to the parks at the other DVC resorts at WDW.

You would still need your park tickets and plane tickets - so you can't include these in your price comparison - you get have to compare your annual fees to the resort price.

Besides I love the Polyn - but just wait until you spend 1 bedroom in a 2-bedroom at any of the DVC resorts.

Rent some points for your next trip and see the difference for yourself.

 

[disny4ever]

always cost you $ 164.00 for the next 39 years. The cost of the DVC room will be the same using points.
This is definitely a personal choice, in my opinion, if you go down to WDW for at least 7 days every year, or a longer trip every other year it's definitely worth it.
You can not compare DVC 1 or 2 bdrm with CR rooms, it's just not the same. Will your sons want to take their families down later on in life, or you take your grandkids down with you.
A lot to look at and think about, I believe on this board you will find most people are very happy with their choice and most find they will add-on more points soon after their purchase. Good luck with your decision, maybe soon we can all say "Welcome Home " to you and your family.
Keep us all posted on your decision!

 

[SusanD]

The answer won't be the same for everyone. For our family it is worth it. My DH, two teenage boys and myself do not seem to fit very well in one small hotel room. It makes a world of difference if we all have some space. Not only that, but we do not all keep the same hours any more. If they want to stay up late and watch a movie it won't be a problem.

As far a the expense goes...your figures are about the same as mine. The thing to keep in mind is that the cost of the resort hotels will continue to rise. Due to our current economy the discounts seem very plentiful but that will not always be the case.
DVC gives you more space without the frequent rate hikes.

I think the question you should be asking yourself is if you will continue to be going to WDW at least every other year. If so...it will probably be worth it in the long run.

 

[Terry S]

I asked someone on this board who had a really good spreadsheet that took in to account the rising cost of resort stays as well as the increase in maintance dues and compared at discounted rate a regular room at the Beach Club (which is where I normally stayed) to the cost of purchasing points for a 2 bedroom at the Beach Club Villas. Now mind you these 2 rooms don't even compare one bit, but I wanted to see if I would be breaking even at least after the 40 years. The spread sheet showed that after about 29 years I would be breaking even and for the next 11 years I would be staying for "free". Now this is a much longer breakeven point than most people, but I wanted to compare it to a 2 bedroom which is what I wanted to stay in. I felt pretty good about all this especially knowing that the 2 bedroom room I would be getting for my family of 4 was sooooo much nicer than a regular room and I haven't regretted it one bit.

With all that said, I really never looked at it as a money saving thing, I looked at it as the type of room I really wanted to be staying in for my family to enjoy wonderful, magical memories for many years to come and I have about 1,000 pictures that I just got through looking at with my 5 year old daughter to prove it!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Yes, for us it is worth the $$$.
Actually, we bought DVC more for the lifestyle, than financial reasons.

Good luck.......

 

[HookdonWDW]

Originally posted by lindam7

maint. fees would be approx $800 year, the price of our park tickets would be apprx $700 and the price of our airfare would be
at the very cheapest $750. so it will cost me a minimum of $2250
every year. We are going down in Dec with a discounted
room rate of $164 a night. If I used my point's it would cost alot
more than my cash rate.

Okay, let's look at these things as close to equally as possible: If you are looking at maint. fees of around $800/year, you must be looking at approx. 200 points. We can take the cost of tickets and airfare out of the equation, because that's not included in your price of $164/night at the Poly either.

A room at the Poly/Cont. comes with two beds, so you are still looking at sticking yourself in your sons into one room. At the cost of $164/night, for your $800 you could stay at the Poly or Contemporary for 4 nights - 5 if you throw in a few extra dollars. The closest comparison in accomodations is a DVC studio, although these include kitchen ammenities, and IMHO are nicer.

For 200 points in early December, you could stay in a 2 BR for 5 -6 nights, and you could stay in a studio for anywhere between 13 - 19 nights, depending on the location.

Even if you figure in your cost of your original points (sorry for all the accountants out there - I'm doing this as straight math )
200 pts. @ $84pt./ 39 yrs. = $431 + $800 maint = $1,231.00.
$164 * 13/nts. = $2,132.00
$2,132 - $1,231 = 901 to use towards airfare.

DVC is NOT for everyone. Each person/family has to decide if it's the right move for them. For our family, we feel that this is one of the best decisions we've ever made.

 

[FreeTime]

DVC is definately a big decision to make. But like HookonWDW said it was one of the best decisions that we ever made. We have paid DVC off so only have the yearly dues and hte cost of the tickets. We used to take one vacation a year to different places, now we are going about 3 weeks per year and taking family with it that could never go. We buy an annual pass (which would save you a lot of money on tickets, every other year you will be going for almost free) and make sure that if we can't go several times we go for example Labor Day week then the last week in August the following year to make sure that we get 2 trips out of it. We also now know that we will go back so spend time laying around the pool. In addition, I don't like eating out every day and having a kitchen saves lots of money. We are looking forward to giving our young kids memories for years to come and getting to take our grandkids some day. Was DVC expensive-yes. Was it worth it-yes. I am blinded however because I don't truly see the cost now when I say to myself I would never pay $200 to stay in a regular hotel room. Like someone else suggested, try renting points on your next trip. Also, if you haven't taken the tour, do so. There is also a video available.

 

[poj7]

LOL.

Very nice, Hookdon. Now I know why we bought!

 

[Mouse Ears]

Another financial consideration that you don't often see mentioned here is that you don't have to commit for 40 years. When we purchased DVC, it was important to know that this could be beneficial for the short term, too.

I started exploring DVC in 1999 and bought in 2002. In that time, the resale prices steadily increased to the point where I could have bought in 1999 at full price and sold in 2002 at resale without losing anything on the purchase.

If after 6-8 years my family changes and Disney is no longer a priority, I can count on the value of DVC holding up fairly well. And in the meantime I will have enjoyed first-class vacations for the price of the dues. Of course, I recognize there is risk here, but it is not as significant as many so-called safe investments I have tried. Of course, as we get close to the expiration of the program in 2042, the value will naturally decline.

Also, I put together a spreadsheet before purchasing and looked at the value of DVC over time. It varies greatly depending on what accomodations you compare it to in order to place a value on the points, how fast you assume other hotel options will increase in cost, how fast dues will increase (almost certainly slower than hotel costs because profit is removed), and how much value you place on the lost capital (money tied up can be a major factor in the long-term value). Anyway, with reasonable assumptions it is clear to see that DVC represents a good value if you are willing to make the commitment.

So, I would focus the decision on the questions that will determine if DVC will fit your family needs and finances. Are you going to be visiting Disney yearly or every other year? Will you stay in at least a moderate? Can you plan in advance to take advantage of 11-month booking? Do kitchen or laundry facilities add value to your vacation? Will you miss the Contemporary, Poly, etc. (these cost a lot with points) or would you be happy with DVC choices?

For us, the toughest part was deciding that we really did want to spend the money to go every couple of years, so we bought the minimum number of points. We'll see how it goes. Good luck with your decision.

 

[mikesmom]

You can only compare the price of the room to your DVC costs - you will have to pay for the tickets and airfare no matter what the room costs.

As for the room, it may not be a value now, but the DVC room will be the same going forward and the Poly or CD will keep going up. Yes , the dues go up, but they have to be justified by DVC and they have historically stayed under 5% increases - sometimes even drop. The regular hotel rooms will certainly increase by more than 5%. By the way, Your $164 rate was great, but don't forget to add on that pesky Florida room tax. 13% I think? That makes the room over $185/nite. DVC members don't get hit with that tax, either.

You shouldn't do anything you feel bad about, of course. But, as a mom who takes teenage boys to WDW, I will personally attest that you will have a better vacation in the 2 bedroom.

 

[loveswdw]

Mouse Ears is exactly right. My DVC guide mentioned recently that she had a member who had bought at OKW back in the "early" days for around $45 or so per point. He recently sold his original contract for around $65 to $70 per point. So he probably made back his original investment plus had more than 10 years of great accommodations for his trips.

Not saying that the resale is always going to be good, but that is a consideration too.

loveswdw

 

[Cruelladeville]

I just figured out that if I sold my 700 points now, after 7 years, I would gain about $8400 from the sale of my points. I'm not sure, but I don't think I have paid that much in maintenance fees in the last 7 years, meaning that my vacations would be absolutely free!! What a nice thought that someone is paying $164 plus tax(about $185) for a simple hotel room, while I got my one and two bedroom villas for nothing. I have always been happy with DVC, now I'm thrilled

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Another point
is that I have 2 teenage son's that are big boys, both wrestlers

How much do those two big boys cost to feed everyday during vacation? Would you save some nice $$$ by getting a one bedroom and eating maybe two meals a day at your room?

We generally eat about 1/2 of our meals in and 1/2 out, and we don't do anything too fancy. But the food cost savings is substantial. Having two rooms with space for your two boys might be a nice treat and help for a more enjoyable vacation. Just a thought. We enjoy putting the kids to bed and having some space and privacy for ourselves once and a while that a one bedroom provides, not to mention nice snacks, the jet tub, and the biggie that is a huge help regarding the amount of clothes we need to pack, the washer and dryer. The one bedroom is a much better vacation for us. Time off is precious, a singel hotel room won't do. Only you can decide what's right for you. There are cheaper ways to go. I believe Fairfield is building a timeshare that is nearly onsite. Most people here are pretty bias because we're already bought in. Good luck. No rush, reasales will be available, but they will probably cost a little more down the road....

 

[Cruelladeville]

I just figured out that if I sold my 700 points now, after 7 years, I would gain about $8400 from the sale of my points. I'm not sure, but I don't think I have paid that much in maintenance fees in the last 7 years, meaning that my vacations would be absolutely free!! What a nice thought that someone is paying $164 plus tax(about $185) for a simple hotel room, while I got my one and two bedroom villas for nothing. I have always been happy with DVC, now I'm thrilled

 

[Dean]

As noted, your situation may be somewhat different. What's best for you may not be what's best for any of us. I don't know how long you stay or if you truly go every year. If you will go every year, stay for at least 5 days and NOT go for mostly long weekends, DVC MAY be for you. It will likely not save you money on the room but will give you a larger room and more in room amenties that you could get otherwise. Don't forget the cash rooms come with either 11 or 12% taxes and the current specials are not likely to last more than a couple of years longer. If you don't plan to stay at WDW every year or will stay mostly weekends, you likely shouldn't buy.

The point about food savings is a big one for most larger families or those who eat like they are (teenagers).

 

[jdkdorn]

We live in Wisconsin so this was a big decision for us. Like you we thought we would only get down once a year and that the airfare was prohibitive. We now are owners, as of last month, and everything has changed. We are using our points at DL to visit my sister( a trip we go on every year) this save us a lot of money on hotels and we are going home for the first time October of 2004. That will be two trips in one year. We decided to save $ by driving down. It will take a day and a 1/2 and then we will have a car there and the savings for no airfare.

AS for frequesnt flyer miles. We fly once a year but I have a Midwest Airlines Mastercard and use it for everything, including medical bills, and I get at least 1-2 free tickets a year. You might want to consider a cashback or flyer card to help save the money.

DVC is worth it for us because it forces us to go on vacation and we love Disney so much.

Judy

 

[cdy16zz]

Is it worth it? YES, YES, YES!!!!
We own at OKW, BWV, & BCV. The grandvilla at OKW use to rent for $1050.00 a night . One week in off season then would cost $7350.00. That's for ONE stay! You need only stay there once, and then stay at a 1 bedroom villa for a week, and you've already would spend the cost of your orginial pts.
Also, there is NO comparing a villa to a room, even at the Grand Floridian!!!! The villas at any of the DVC resorts are far better!!!!
We will be going three times in a one year span, ( taking each of our 2 kids families and then once by ourselves. We plan to buy ourselves each an annual pass. We will spend a little more for the pass, but the second and third time we will only need to bring spending cash! That's a big savings!
We are in our 50's and won't live to see our contracts expire, but our grown kids, grandchildern, & great grandchildern will enjoy long after we're gone & hopefully remember the fun we've shared! (They already tease about how great it will be for them to get All our points!!!!) This makes us even happier!!!
BCV...Oct. 2003
BCV.....Jan. 2004
OKW......Sept. 2004

 

[disneyworld-lover]

Although it does boil down to what an indiv really wants/chooses, I feel being a DVC member is TOTALLY worth it! In my families case, prior to joining DVC, we figured out we had already spent close to or more than, the amount our TOTAL investment in DVC at 260 pts per yr (yes, that right!) SO, in this case it is totally worth it to make that monthly payment and annual dues. We GO OFTEN THOUGH, and IF YOU GO THAT MUCH YOU WILL SAVE BY PURCHASING ANNUAL PARK PASSES! We just bought our annual passes 10/02 and so far have gone 2 times and one more coming up in April to use them. It is cheaper than buying limited day hopper passes for us. I really think that in general DVC does try to make it reasonable for families to join DVC. Yes, it sounds like a l;ot, but you can choose how many pts YOU want per yr, and THEY DO NOT PRESSURE YOU INTO ANY PURCHASE YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH! We were sorry we did not join sooner!! I wilsh you the best!! Hope to have you as a fellow DVC member though!

 

[mikesmom]

Heck, I KNOW we save it on the food bill. Even if we didn't eat in the room (and we do, quite a lot, but I like to cook) we would save. Just think about soda pop, bottled water, chips, ice cream, watermelon, pizza and all the late night "mom, I'm hungry" attacks you get with 2 teenage boys. Plus, when we do eat out, we bring the leftovers home and there's another meal or snack!