Is it a good idea for our family?

[Disneydreamer5]

I am seriously considering becoming a DVC member but I am not exactly sure what that means,lol. I know its a timeshare and that I would get one week every year and that it ends up paying for itself but I am not really sure if I know what the heck I would be getting us into.
We have 5 children and it goes without saying that we LOVE Disney.
We usually go once every 2 years. I would like it to more like every year but funds being what they are that is not possiable at this time. Our trips normally run us around $5,000 and that is without transportation fees included or meals. I am thinking we would get more for our money if we owned a DVC, but I am not exactly sure how it works. Do you pick one place to always stay so its your home away from home? I know there is information to read and I already got the DVD but I would love to hear from some of you who have one and tell me how much it runs you monthly and how exactly it works.
Thanks all.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you spend $5K on lodging, it might be worth it. If you spent that on the entire trip (less the transportation down), you would still have to purchase food and tickets. DVC is a points based timeshare, so you purchase points and get them yearly. You can borrow from one year or bank a year (or portion of a year) to give you a few more points in the current year. You can stay any night for as long as you want as long as you have the points to cover your stay. You can stay in a studio (similar to a regular hotel room) all the way up to a Grand Villa (like a three bedroom house) if you have the points to do so.

Points are now running about $101 per point (your initial buy in), minimum through Disney is 160 and maintenance fees run about $4-5 a point per year.

We figure we will spend about $120,000+ for our 40 years of Disney on lodging alone. We usually spend another $1-2K for food and incidentals on each trip. Plus PAPs cost us about $1500 per year. We usually go two, maybe three times a year. We are a family of three.

DVC is not cheap and you really don't wind up saving money, because you will spend more money on vacations to Disney.

 

[Kosmc4]

Our family of 4 bought in 96 when our girls were 6 & 8 because we "love" Disney too. We just came back with our 18 year and 16 year old and other family (we rented 2 studios). They brought friends and still love it. Best family decisioon we've ever made. We bought in 96 for $ 9,600 for 150 points. $600 a year in maintenance fees x 40 years= 24,000 +$9600=roughly $34000 for 40 years=for our family $850 year for 2 luxurious vacations (in a studio). Unfortunatley you'll need a 1 bedroom every time out. Check the resales & talk with Disney, do the math weigh out how much you love Disney and you'll have you're answer. Going rates for a 1 bed during off season start at $375 If you want a luxurious vacation every year for practically camping rates you'll probably want to do it.

 

[wildernessDad]

I know its a timeshare and that I would get one week every year and that it ends up paying for itself but I am not really sure if I know what the heck I would be getting us into.

It is very similar to a timeshare, but you would not get one week out of every year. What you receive is a yearly allocation of points. You can use those points at anytime during the year, subject to availablity. Also, certain times of the year requires more points than others and weekend stays also require more points than weekday stays.

 

[FishRFriendz]

We are a family of 5 all together and it goes w/o saying that it's easy to spend 5K on one trip- we thought of the DVC as a way to insure that we will get a vacation every year at a nice place (1 BR/ 2BR w/ a Kitchen!), a little less expensive over the long haul and when the kids are in college and DH and I want to go outside of DVC- we can! We are doing a resale at OKW for $76/pt- it is cheaper then SSR at 104/pt (as of 4/30) but is also a shorter length of contract (which we liked). We also liked the fact that you can save,bank and borrow points so you don't "lose" your time as can happen w/ other timeshares. LOL thinking it over

 

[drakethib]

I would definetly talk to a DVC guide. Also, maybe call the Timeshare Store and they can probably give you good advice as well. I have both a contract from them and they were great.