Is it really worth it for us?

[birmantaz]

ok, my ever practical husband may be right (I hate to say that!) We are a family of 4 (dd's 6 and 7)
But, we were running the numbers and with the annual dues at SS, it would cost us just over $2,000 every 3 years in dues alone. Then if you factor in the initial buy in (about $10,000 for 160 pts resale) - it doesn't seem to be a bargain at all. We would go every other year, but just to calculate, if we banked points from 2011, borrowed from 2013, we could go in 2012 for a week. It would cost us say $2,000 in dues, plus say $250 (10,000 % by the 40 years ownership), so $2,250. Last year we stayed at the Poly for just about $3,000, plus the kids got the free dine, play and stay... So, if we were DVC members we wouldn't be eligible for those PIN deals that can be so great... So, that's my train of thought, am I on the wrong track? Should we just continue to go and stay at a deluxe every other year and stay with the Disney deals?

 

[ToddyLu]

My take on DVC is that I am not really "saving money". I am pre-paying for a vacation in a deluxe resort. To me the up front cost was worth "owning a piece of Disney'. If you are going every other year could you buy half on what you need to stay....unless you are always wanting a 2 br or THV. If part of the charm of your vacation is getting a good deal then maybe it isn't for you....and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

My DH and I only stayed at values until our DVC purchase. I was the one who wanted DVC and he supported me. He too was fine just doing values with a 40% pin code, or whatever....until we got into the room our first trip. He set up his camera to watch animals from the balcony, hooked up the laptop, put his Monster drinks in the fridge (instead of searching for ice in a bucket to keep them cold). At 41, I wanted to be able to stay on savannah in a studio. That would have cost me $3500 for 9 nights. We actually got 2 studios (for MIL) so it would have been $7000 for 9 nights. No way would we have paid cash for that. Once the initial cost is paid off, I will go to Disney and stay in a Deluxe room for 9 nights for $1000 in MF....good enough for me.

If you are happy paying those prices at Poly and getting free dinning (which isn't free because of paying rack rates) you will have fabulous vacations. I bought it becasue it is my luxury purchase. DH doesn't hunt, fish or golf...I only scrapbook a little so Disney is our "hobby" and where we spent our money.

Good luck with your future decisions.

 

[maburke]

Are you thinking of going every two years, or every three? Where and when are you thinking of staying that would be 480 points for a week?

 

[nolanboys]

You could buy fewer points. 160 pts would let you go every year and stay in a studio. If you only want to go every other year, why not look at a smaller contract (100 pts or even less). The dues would only be about $500 a year. By banking and borrowing, that would give you a week in a studio 3 times in 4 years. We are a family of 6 and just bought 200 points at SSR through resale (we used **********.com). We plan on going every other year and always get a 2 bdrm. Even with a 40% discount, we are still saving over $800 dollars on accommodations when DH and I go alone to DW this fall. We also want to be able to go over the holidays, when DW doesn't offer discounts. Take a look at the point, you may see that the amount you need to purchase is much less than you thought to be able to go every other year.

 

[ToddyLu]

I forgot to mention..DH and I go to Disney every year for 9-10 nights and have no thoughts of ever stopping which did factor in to our decision to purchase.

 

[birmantaz]

hmm, ok maybe I am calculating points wrong. We would want to stay in a 1 bedroom (maybe a studio for the next couple of trips, but then a 1 bd). SS is about 314 for a week's stay, so I thought I would need 160 a year to go once every 3 years? I am not very good at math, so maybe I am calculating it wrong (DH is the math guy, so I let him do it all usually!)

 

[emacek]

I'm with the "not doing it to save money" camp.

Before DVC--we would stay at a moderate resort and I think we went 3 times in almost 20 years.

Once I tasted DVC on my mother's membership....it's wonderful always knowing there's another trip in the works. My own take on it is that for those of us traveling without children it's the prepaid vacation part that appeals as opposed to the saving money idea.

emacek

 

[disneynutz]

DVC isn't for everyone. Decide based upon the numbers, not on emotion or because other people are buying.

Bill

 

[crisi]

We are a family of four. We have 150 points and travel in a lower season and stay in a two bedroom every other year for around 282 points. So that works well.

It doesn't save us money. It does allow us to have the kids in another room while we sleep and spread out a bit. It lets us scramble or fry up an egg in the room in the morning and enjoy a cup of good coffee.

If you are comparing a multi room unit to a regular hotel room - you won't save money. You will have things like a second tv set and a door between you and your kids.

So its a "value add" rather than a "value."

160 a year gives you 320 every other year. So you can get that 314 point SSR room every other year.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Keep in mind you will pay inflation on your CRO room prices as time goes on. There was a time when a room in the Contemporary went for $29.00 per nite... Your $3K vacation may become $6K quicker than you think.

 

[cvjw]

We could go to Disney every year and stay in a regular Disney room for less money than we paid for DVC. We personally don't want to stay in regular sized rooms anymore - they are just too small. We bought DVC for the ability to stay in 1 and 2 bedroom suites every time we visit. We would not be able to do that paying cash every year! We have been spoiled by the very large DVC villas and there is no going back.

 

[vicki_c]

314/every 3 years is only needing 105 points a year, not 160.

 

[babbalooey]

Yeah, I think you "goofed" up a little with your point calculations. With a 160 point contract your dues are less than $650/yr. And if you look at the 2011 point charts you'll see you can get a 1 bdrm for a week at SSR for 240 points, a 1 bdrm at the BWV in the summer for 200-220 points and even a value 1 bdrm at AKL for as little as 180 points. If you do a studio you could go every year for more than a week. I just added 2 nights at the poly onto my July stay at the BWV and even with my passholder discount a std view room was $219/night. Add tax and its closer to $250....that's $1500/week for a regular hotel room during a time when a discount is available. Compare that to your ability to stay for longer than a week in a studio villa for your $650 dues each year. Or more than a week every other year in a 1 bdrm in just about any resort you choose and maybe even a 2bdrm in some places like AKV or OKW. That's a no brainer as far as I can see....you're saving money.

 

[Sandisw]

I just looked at the points charts for 2011. A week in a LV 1 bedroom for 7 days, during Magic Season (second highest point season which includes summer and many of the school break times), would be 296.

With an every other year plan, you could get away with a contract of only 150. And, if you travel during a time when points needed are less, or stay at a resort that uses less points (BLT is one of the highest in most cases but on the monorail like the Poly), you could get away with less than that. A 1 bedroom at SSR is only 241 points, which would require you to buy only 125 points.

Instead of just staying in a hotel room, like you are getting at the Poly, you are getting a 1 bedroom for less than the cost of what you are paying now. So, while it may not be saving you a lot of money, you are getting upgraded accommodations, with full kitchen, washer/dryer, etc. for no more than you are spending right now. When your children get older, having extra space will come in handy.

This was what we looked at when buying. It wasn't necessarily saving as it was spending the same and getting so much more. And, we no longer have to hope that Disney continues to offer the deals they have in the past few years.

Of course, if you decided you were okay with just studios for the time being, until the kids get older, you can get away with just a 75 point contract. That size contract, given MF"s and initial buy in would bring that down to about $1000 a trip--$2000 less than the deals you have been getting.

So, take your time and really research what you would need based on your habits, what way you would be more comfortable with.

 

[godalejunior]

How I factored in my potential purchase is....we stay at VGC 7 nights every year for the last four years. With the AP discount this has ran us anywhere from $1800-$2000 in a standard (sometimes getting free upgrade to pool) view. Dues are $800 a year on 200 points. I am actually saving money from the get go...and getting a nicer room with more amenities...even if I just go with the studio.

Or in otherwards I am getting money back to put towards my DVC purchase. Now we have not ventured out to WDW yet and will be looking to do so in probably in 2012.

 

[bookwormde]

It is important to remember that a hotel room and a 1 bedroom villa have not relationship to each other, except that they are at WDW.

bookwormde

 

[Jen_in_NH]

We didn't really look at DVC as saving us any money over just staying in a hotel room. What really sold us on it (after renting points to stay), was the whole different way of staying at Disney. We would much rather have a separate bedroom for our son (or a way to put him to bed at 7:30 without all of us going to bed at 7:30), and a full kitchen. I like being able to make a regular breakfast before we head out, as well as keep snacks and stuff in the room without the ice bucket. My son is a diabetic, and being able to keep all of his meds, as well as his regular snacks and such in the room without making it a huge project, was incredible for us. We decided before checking out from our rental stay, that we were going to buy in. We'd always said no, as the price was too high. But when they started offering the 100 point contracts at AKV, we were sold.

 

[inatizfordiz]

We recently bought at BLT and went thru the same scenario. Our financial reasoning ended up being as follows...we have been going to WDW for 30 years with our kids...never joined. So when we joined we figured we have about 4 more trips to pay off our investment (and we'll definitely go and take the whole family). Now we have grandkids coming and will semi-retire soon. We won't be paying anything but annual dues during retirement and can still enjoy going with the grandkids. You can't plan on your kids wanting to go, but if they don't want to, we love Hilton Head so we can definitely use the points. We should have done it 15 years ago.

 

[raenyny]

We started looking into DVC about 3 years ago while I was pregnant with baby #4 ...At the time we had 2 kids plus one under 3 and were able to stay at a value...we knew we were going to start needed bigger accomodations...Last year we stayed at Riverside and loved it but again with the thought that what the heck are we going to do when my now 2 year old turns 3? I can't imagine getting 2 value rooms and even though the family suites look great they are still costly...we went to dinner at Fort Wilderness one night and although the cabins seem great getting around within the resort just seemed like a hassel....so...we recently bought in!!!! We haven't even made our first DVC trip and we already added on ...we have 100 points OKW and 100 points AKV....Just made sense for us

 

[DisneySJB]

What sold me on DVC was that I was pre-paying at TODAY's prices. God only knows how much Disney will cost 10 years from now.... Don't look at what you paid this year for the Poly. Think about what you might be paying 3, 5 or 10 years from now. Yes, the dues will go up, but that is when we will see a "savings" I have read several posts from original OKW owners who are so thankful they bought in when it was "affordable" LOL.