Is it really worth it to become a DVC member?

[Coach81]

We love our DVC and I plan to let the wife add some more points very soon..

So far, we feel it has very much been worth it for us..

 

[shalom]

Everyone's situation is different, all we can do is provide info and experience.

True enough. Mousesavers crunched the numbers a while back and said going every two years you'd do better renting, but in my experience with timeshares variables can make a huge difference. I'm usually looking for lodging for 7, so stuff that's a great deal for me might not look impressive to someone who travels alone.

I just see the amount we spend on staying on-site and think it has to save us some money???

If you're staying value it won't save you any money. If you're staying mod or deluxe and getting good discounts or bouncebacks it might or might not save you money. If you really want to save money, offsite is the way to go - and that doesn't mean being miles away. Bonnet Creek is offsite, but it's as close to some of the parks as some of the resorts. Some of the resorts toward the end of International Drive - The Fountains, Floridays - are as close to most of the parks as Animal Kingdom Lodge.

But of course you don't get Magical Express and all the perks of onsite transportation, and you can't do the dining plan. Offsite condos and DVC can also save you money because you usually have a kitchen - although that's only helpful if you would use it. Haven't done the math, myself, but if someone would actually prepare the meals in your unit, that might make up the difference between DVC and discounted moderate for some people.

 

[Dean]

But - in general with the exception of those who own at a highly desired home resort and need to have it - should one refrain from buying because you can't or won't plan long term for the majority of your reservations? Even with what the future looks like. Still at a big nope.

Strongly disagree with the not buying.

As you noted, we'll have to agree to disagree. IMO, those who can't plan at least 7 months out are taking TOO LARGE a risk to make buying a reasonable option for most situations. The truth is that anyone truly traveling at off season can get in even cheaper than buying thus the times where there would not no concerns for say 3-4 months out are also easy to get into DVC even cheaper. There are specialty situations but they also tend not to apply to those who can't plan. I think most people tend to lose track of the fact that there are other ways to get into DVC units other than owning DVC.

True enough. Mousesavers crunched the numbers a while back and said going every two years you'd do better renting, but in my experience with timeshares variables can make a huge difference. I'm usually looking for lodging for 7, so stuff that's a great deal for me might not look impressive to someone who travels alone.

I commented on that article recently on DIS. While I think the article is good as far as it goes, it only goes so far. First, it only compares to buying retail from what I can see. Todays Also, it looks like the EOY issue is comparing renting 160 points EOY to buying 160 pts EY likely because that was the lowest retail purchase possible at the time the article was written. The reality is that time has no bearing on buying as long as you'll use the points exclusively at DVC and DVC otherwise makes sense for one's situation.

 

[Hasmat]

Some pretty good opportunities in the resale market these days. A good price and some banked points that come along for the ride could tip the equation in favor of a buy.

 

[gstew24]

if like going to disney at least every other year it is worth it

 

[Panfan86]

OP, noticed you lived in Nevada. Are you planning to spend more time at DL or WDW? What are your travel habits? How long do you stay? Tell us a bit about yourself. You are doing your research first which is quite smart. One thing that I didn't understand until after I bought in was that DVC peak times are usually when the points are lowest. So those first couple weeks of December are very hard to book outside the 11 month window. Also, some people have better luck than me but despite what a guide tells you, some resorts are downright tough to get into at 7 months. Next May is the first time in 7 years that we will be staying at VWL. We did no research first, so not like me. Buy where you want to stay unless you honestly do not care. They were selling SSR when we bought, it was brand new, and we were drinking the WDW kool aid at the time. Lucky for us we love SSR but some people have different views. There are a ton of properties so one for everyone. The last thing, a mistake we made was financing it. My opinion, buy a resale contract in cash. Any specific questions just ask. There are a ton of very knowledgeable people on these boards that will answer just about any question you might have. Good luck with your decision.

Well, my bf and i are really into disney and try to go to disneyland at least once a year. I know that we would like to do a disney cruise and hopefully down the road, start going to WDW. We have really only been to Disneyland. Im looking to broaden our Disney experience. The last time we went to disneyland, was April of last year and we stayed for a week. We both LOVE the Grand Californian, and would idealy like to stay at those types of hotels/resorts. the whole problem is the affordabilty part. Thats one of the main reasons I started looking into this. Another question i have is: Could u go into buying a timeshare with another couple? Split it 50/50?

 

[Dean]

if like going to disney at least every other year it is worth it

IMO, whether you go every year or EOY really is irrelevant. The questions are whether you'd use points ONLy at DVC options, value staying on property, would stay in moderate or above and can afford it otherwise. It's not until you get to every 3rd year where you might get into trouble by potentially not using all your points. Put another way, if your trip WERE every year, would DVC make sense, if the answer is truly yes, then it does for EOY IF you only buy roughly the number of points you need. I'd consider a cushion of extra points depending on what you're looking at in terms of unit size, season and LOS, maybe 10-20% max.

 

[JimMIA]

Another question i have is: Could u go into buying a timeshare with another couple? Split it 50/50?

Could you? Sure. You could draw up some sort of contract, or form a corporation or trust to hold the asset...you could do lots of things.

SHOULD you? That's a very different question.

Any partnership (regardless of the legal form of the joint venture) depends on stability.

Buying anything with another couple assumes at least two underlying relationships will remain constant for as long as you own the DVC contract.

1. THEY will remain together throughout the term of ownership.
   
2. You and your bf will continue your close friendship with them throughout the term of ownership.

It's essentially the same thing as buying a house together, except that housing is a necessity and DVC is a luxury vacation option.

Obviously, such a joint ownership would require that all four of you have dependable and ample income to afford not only the purchase price and annual dues, but also the costs of trips to use your DVC ownership.

Between the four of you, if there is any unanticipated relationship or financial problem, the whole thing would be placed in jeopardy. If any one of you encounters a problem, all four of you will share that problem.

So could you? Sure.

SHOULD you? We can't answer that - that's for you to decide.

 

[Dean]

Could you? Sure. You could draw up some sort of contract, or form a corporation or trust to hold the asset...you could do lots of things.

SHOULD you? That's a very different question.

Any partnership (regardless of the legal form of the joint venture) depends on stability.

Buying anything with another couple assumes at least two underlying relationships will remain constant for as long as you own the DVC contract.

1. THEY will remain together throughout the term of ownership.
   
2. You and your bf will continue your close friendship with them throughout the term of ownership.

It's essentially the same thing as buying a house together, except that housing is a necessity and DVC is a luxury vacation option.

Obviously, such a joint ownership would require that all four of you have dependable and ample income to afford not only the purchase price and annual dues, but also the costs of trips to use your DVC ownership.

Between the four of you, if there is any unanticipated relationship or financial problem, the whole thing would be placed in jeopardy. If any one of you encounters a problem, all four of you will share that problem.

So could you? Sure.

SHOULD you? We can't answer that - that's for you to decide.

I agree with Jim and Dave Ramsey on this one. Creating a partnership of a house, car, timeshare, vacation home, etc is always a bad idea. Best to either one buy with a "rental" agreement or to each buy what they need independently.

 

[mch04049]

I agree with Jim and Dave Ramsey on this one. Creating a partnership of a house, car, timeshare, vacation home, etc is always a bad idea. Best to either one buy with a "rental" agreement or to each buy what they need independently.

Only buy it together if you can afford to pay it all by yourself. You also will risk the other party using the points on you in case of default. Unless you draw some contract with the lawyers I would be against it all. Why not buy halve the points you would need. Other than that good luck and I hope it works out as vacationing with friends is the best.

 

[cocoaguy]

For us yes.......

 

[Dean]

Only buy it together if you can afford to pay it all by yourself. You also will risk the other party using the points on you in case of default. Unless you draw some contract with the lawyers I would be against it all. Why not buy halve the points you would need. Other than that good luck and I hope it works out as vacationing with friends is the best.

It actually goes much deeper than the $$$ in my book. If anything goes wrong it can wreck families and friendships forever and as a minimum is going to create some tension for the majority of "partnerships".

 

[jlewisinsyr]

DVC is worth it ONLY if you plan at least 7 months out, can afford it without financing, will use the points exclusively at DVC resorts and value staying on property enough to justify the extra costs. If you vary much from this template, buying DVC is almost certainly NOT a good choice for you.

Although you added the general caveat at the end, financing really is a moot point if you can financially afford the cost of doing so (I don't follow the Suze model - credit and financing is not the devil, excessive use of it is). The amount of increased cost on an average contract when financing is a drop in the bucket when spread across the life on the contract.

Now if you plan to turn around and get rid of the contract before you finish financing it or even within the first 10 - 15 years it's probably not a good purchase, but that would hold somewhat true whether financed or paying cash up front as the net savings are dramatically diminished.

 

[Dean]

Although you added the general caveat at the end, financing really is a moot point if you can financially afford the cost of doing so (I don't follow the Suze model - credit and financing is not the devil, excessive use of it is). The amount of increased cost on an average contract when financing is a drop in the bucket when spread across the life on the contract.

Now if you plan to turn around and get rid of the contract before you finish financing it or even within the first 10 - 15 years it's probably not a good purchase, but that would hold somewhat true whether financed or paying cash up front as the net savings are dramatically diminished.

We'll have to disagree, more for the risks that financing instills than the actual cost though when you account for the time value of money (which you should do in such a calculation), the difference adds up pretty quickly.

 

[asmit4]

Is it just like have a timeshare, or is it different?

it's definitely a lot like a timeshare. it's just point-based. so instead of having a set week in a 2BR each year, you can buy a certain number of pts that allow you different options.

How does the payment situation work?

it depends on how many pts you buy.

if you buy a 75 pt SSR resale contract, it would cost less than $6000 upfront - but you'd probably need to pay cash or arrange your own financing. and you could only book a studio (which is like a deluxe hotel room) for maybe 5-6 nights a year.

if you bought that 75 pt contract, you'd also owe about $28 per month in "maintenance fees" - that amount would most likely go up each year about 3% or so.

for that money, you'd get 75 pts each year until 2054. you could easily book SSR (your "home resort") at 11 months out - and try to switch at 7 months to try another resort if you like. the point charts at the top of the page will give you an idea of how far 75 pts will go...not terribly far, but enough for some.

if you want more nights each year and/or more room (such as a 2BR villa which is more like a deluxe suite or rental condo - complete with full kitchen, washer/dryer, jacuzzi tub and so on), then you could easily spend $20,000 or more with $200 or so in maintenance fees each month.

elbow-room onsite at wdw don't come cheap.

you can also buy direct through disney, and they will finance the purchase at 10-12%. they usually require a minimum purchase of 160 pts.

here's a link to more reading material if you want it.

In your example for 75 points for 43 years @6000 resale, that's about 139/yr. plus the "maintenance fees". In year 1, the fees will be roughly 336. By the end the fees will be roughly 1233 (which was compounded at .03/yr for 43 years. (I could be off by 30 bucks as I compounded it by hand

So in essence in year 1, the cost is 139+336 = 475.
In year 43, the cost is 139+1233 = 1372.

The 75 points will buy you 5 nights in a studio at SSR every year. Right now the going rate for a studio at SSR during the lowest time is 305/night. Multiplying that out it's $1525. Which as you can see is cheaper than the price you'll pay 43 years from now during your last year. In 43 years, SSR is gonna cost A LOT more than 1525 for 5 nights OOP- I'd bet double or triple that given inflation.

I know this is a very basic and simple explanation- and there are other factors to consider but $$$ wise? If you have the 6K to spend, and you fully plan on going to disney every year, the math works out. There is no doubt about it that you WILL save $$. It's like prepaying your vacations for the next 43 years and getting a SUPERB discount for outlying the $$$ in advance.

Once again- there are LOADS of other factors to consider that are specific to your family needs but there is no doubt- you'll save $$$.

 

[zanygames]

I am glad we bought DVC but now with all the discounts, $500 free gift cards, free dining offers, etc. I kind of feel like I am missing out on all these great specials that regular non DVC guests are being offered.

I know in 2-3 years maybe the economy will be good again and these amazing deals will start to fade, but right now the math seems to be in favor of just going on one of these great deals. Plus my DVC point value has dropped like crazy. You can get some DVC resorts for $50 now on resale.

 

[Raising Disney Princesses]

We joined primarily for investment purposes. The prices were low (in the $50) when we bought our first contract and we would rent them out and pay them off and then buy more and in 5 years we had accumulated 1300 points that were paid off. We would never had bought in if we could not managed an investment scheme that worked like that bacause by the time you pay the dues...you can really afford to stay at Disney at one of their moderate resorts, not to mentionthe up front cost. Buying resale for investment purposes is no longer a good deal as the cost of Disney has WAY outpaced the increase in the rental prices....Unless you just want to go to Disney every year and stay in a nice place then it would maybe be worth it.

 

[Mtnman44]

Bingo.

....Unless you just want to go to Disney every year and stay in a nice place then it would maybe be worth it.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am glad we bought DVC but now with all the discounts, $500 free gift cards, free dining offers, etc. I kind of feel like I am missing out on all these great specials that regular non DVC guests are being offered.

I know in 2-3 years maybe the economy will be good again and these amazing deals will start to fade, but right now the math seems to be in favor of just going on one of these great deals. Plus my DVC point value has dropped like crazy. You can get some DVC resorts for $50 now on resale.

I don't feel like I am missing out on anything but overpaying for a room. Those "great specials" aren't that great. Disney gives them to bring the price closer to reality for what they provide. They take a hotel room that should sell for $120, raise the price to $300... give you discount bringing it to $200 and that's a "Great Special"????

 

[disneynutz]

I don't feel like I am missing out on anything but overpaying for a room. Those "great specials" aren't that great. Disney gives them to bring the price closer to reality for what they provide. They take a hotel room that should sell for $120, raise the price to $300... give you discount bringing it to $200 and that's a "Great Special"????

Kinda like DVD raising the price on BLT, calling you at home to warn you about it, then after the increase, lowering the price with a special, limited time incentive.

Bill