is dvc worth the $$$

[ncligs]

Originally posted by 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 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!!!

cdy16zz.........excellent post above, we must think alike .
DW is 46 and I am 47, and the memories we have already from DVC in 5 years,is worth the price already, and we have 39 years to go.Even if DW and I only live 20 more years

, we know our 2 kids (DS-28 DD-17 will have a 300 pt contract each ) will be able to enjoy DVC for 19 years after that and only have to pay dues.

P.S. DW and I plan on using it for the next 39 years though...

 

[ripleysmom]

Linda if you are not sure if you want to go to WDW every year, you could vacation at HHI. You can certainly drive there in a day from your location.

 

[Merilyn]

We stayed at OKW with cash for the first time and it cost a bundle. We wanted a place with a kitchen and had tried the other Disney places before OKW. When we found out about the timeshare, we did the math and it just made sense. We joined in 1994 when my daughter turned 21 so she could be on the contract. We have never been sorry we did and have added many points since then. Wish I had more so I could take even more trips. We also have traded off several times and that has been very nice. If you trade, you can be assured that the trade will be nice. DVC doesn't let us trade with locations that are not nice even though there is not much as good as DVC. We added points to VB last year so we could have the 11 month window for the cottages. We wanted a beach locations and that seemed a great location. It is!!!!

 

[paults]

Just in case no one mentioned it yet but when you stay at a Disney resort (POLY, POR, GF, etc) you need to factor in the extra person or persons over 17 years old (now adults) at the cost of between $15 to $25a night depending on resorts.

example: Poly with code $164 nt plus tax 11.5% = about $185 plus say 2-XTRA adult family members at $25 a nt each=$50 nt



TOTALS $185 NT WITH TAX at poly
$50 NT (2 XTRA ADULTS 25 EACH
-----------
$235 NT IN A ROOM WITH 2 BEDS

with DVC STUDIO 4 in a room ,no extra charge per adult.

You need to do the math to see if its a good deal.

 

[vernon]

If you're comparing the $$ cost of a 2 bedroom DVC home to ONE hotel room at the Poly or CR, then you're going to struggle to justify it in pure $$ terms. But I think if you asked your sons would they prefer to share a Queen sized bed or get a bed each in a 2 bed unit( plus their own bathroom for your sanity) I think they would go for the 2 bedroom unit.
If you're talking about a one bedroom, why not bring an airmatress so one of them gets the sofabed and one gets the airmatress and a sleeping bag. There is nothing that says if you have four people in a onebedroom they have to sleep 2x2 in the beds. As long as you don't exceed the occupancy rates I see no reason why that should be a problem.

It's also worth considering 1) how much longer would you want to sleep in the same room as your 2 sons 2) how much longer will they want to sleep with each other and 3) how much longer will they continue to vacation with you. If they are both already teens I would think it's going to be 5 years or less. In which case your calculations should be looking at a smaller DVC unit once they have "flown the nest" or at least until you trust them to look after the house while you're on vacation )

Again it is a VERY VALID POINT with two growing teens that food is likely to be a major cost, I would think you could easily calculate on a saving of $200 a week by making use of the kitchen. That doesn't mean you cooking, just sodas,drinks,breakfast (cereal,bagels, and toast) and maybe having a couple of frozen pizzas in for the boys while you and DH enjoy a nice meal out together.

 

[mikesmom]

and 3) how much longer will they continue to vacation with you. If they are both already teens I would think it's going to be 5 years or less.

Hey, Vernon, don't count on it! Ours was 16 when we bought into DVC. We thought it would be the last trip, or at best, two, before he didn't want to vacation with us. HA!!!

He's been on every summer trip since then. (DH and I sneak off in November for a few days at Food & Wine without him).

You have to realize there's a whole world at WDW that has nothing to do with MK. Between DQ, Epcot, MGM and AK, swimming pools, great food, girls, free workout room for DVC, Downtown Disney, girls, a fabulous movie theater, music, sunshine, Bike & Boat plan, hot tubs, PI, etc. Did I mention girls? He loves to vacation with us. He usually has a buddy along and I swear his friends are in line to go with us. Plus as he gets to adulthood they love it for the reasons any adult likes vacation. No worries about finals, grades, finding jobs, etc. Just sleeping in, staying up late, playing - and the room and food are paid for, so what's not to like?

If you're thinking the teens may go away, don't count on it. They may come to consider it "home away from home".

 

[dmoore22]

Don't think in the short term. We purchased realizing that the kids won't be with us forever and DVC will provide wonderful alternatives when we retire.

 

[cdy16zz]

Originally posted by mikesmom
Hey, Vernon, don't count on it! Ours was 16 when we bought into DVC. We thought it would be the last trip, or at best, two, before he didn't want to vacation with us. HA!!!

He's been on every summer trip since then. (DH and I sneak off in November for a few days at Food & Wine without him).

You have to realize there's a whole world at WDW that has nothing to do with MK. Between DQ, Epcot, MGM and AK, swimming pools, great food, girls, free workout room for DVC, Downtown Disney, girls, a fabulous movie theater, music, sunshine, Bike & Boat plan, hot tubs, PI, etc. Did I mention girls? He loves to vacation with us. He usually has a buddy along and I swear his friends are in line to go with us. Plus as he gets to adulthood they love it for the reasons any adult likes vacation. No worries about finals, grades, finding jobs, etc. Just sleeping in, staying up late, playing - and the room and food are paid for, so what's not to like?

If you're thinking the teens may go away, don't count on it. They may come to consider it "home away from home".

Sooo True! You made me LOL!!!! Can't go to WDW w/o the kids, they make you feel guilty!

 

[crisi]

I'm going to read your post a little differently....you seem to be concerned about the overall cost of being locked into a vacation every year. And regardless of whether its at Disney, or you take advantage of one of the other DVC collection offerings, a vacation is generally an expensive thing to take. (There are cheap options, camping, a town close to you and a few nights in a cheaper hotel, staying with friends and family - but few vacations come free and Disney in particular can get pricey fast - and the free options don't make use of your DVC points).

Keep in mind that you can rent your points and skip a year of vacation if money is tight and airfare and park tickets out of reach. In all probability, you'll easily recoup your dues costs, plus some reclaim on your original outlay. If you don't want the bother of renting to strangers, friends and relatives will often be more than willing to take care of your points for you - and even with them if money is tight for you, you can ask that they pay the dues on the points they use.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I was a little confused about the room...it almost seems like you are comparing staying in one studio with staying in one hotel room. As earlier posters said you could stay in OKW and get a bigger "hotel room" than you could get anywhere else...and it would be essentially the same situation you'd have at CR.

Another thing is...if you are comfortable with your sons being in their own studio you could get two studios for the price of a single one bedroom. This would free you up to stay anywhere...VWL, BCV, BWV. In their own private studio one kid could sleep on the sleeper sofa and the other could take the bed. Or they could both share the bed which is huge.

At the same time I understand your concern about airfare. While that has to be thrown out of the comparison amongst accomodations at WDW it cannot be thrown out in a comparison against other vacation destinations.