Is it worth it for my family?

[lillieandlilahsmommy]

I would appreciate anyone's insight into my situation. My husband and I are currently considering purchasing a DVC membership, possibly a resale, but we just don't know if it's worth it for us?

We went on our first vacation in 2009 and stayed at All Star Movies with free dining.
We went on our second vacation in 2010 and stayed at POP Century with free dining.
We went on our third vacation in 2011 and stayed at POP Century with free dining.

Notice a pattern here?

We are not necessarily worried about the level of our hotel (Oh THE HORROR, I know)!! I and my two girls are actually looking forward to staying in the Arts of Animation Little Mermaid Rooms & one day staying in the princess rooms at POR. We are on the go park people, we get there when they open and stay till they close!! We try not to miss a thing. We go for long periods of time, our next vacation, planning for Feb 2013, 10 nights!! We also, right now while they still offer them, like to go during free dining. It saves my family a lot of money. I know a lot of people don't like the dining plan because it's a lot of food. I like having my meals prepaid, it feels like an all inclusive vacation.

We never planned to go on Disney vacations yearly, but after taking my daughter when she was three for the first time and her little sister was 15 months old we are hooked! Going to Disney as a kid was great, going as a parent is indescribable. Seeing the excitement in my girls when we are in Disney is addicting and we just keep going back. We are planning a trip in 2/2013, a cruise in 2014 and I definitely know of another cruise we plan to take, just haven't settled on a year yet.

I know I am writing a book, but to get to the point. We go often, but we go when the best deals are being offered, off peak seasons, free dining, etc. I want to know if buying a DVC membership is going to be a good deal for me. I haven't read much about the DVC and cruises so I don't know how the points translate. Any help, suggestions, opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[vicki_c]

If you are happy with the style of traveling you have been doing (values with free dining) and said you want to do (AoA or a moderate), you do not sound like a good candidate for DVC.

You can't use DVC points for cruises if you buy resale. If you buy direct, you can, but that's often not a good financial deal anyway - paying cash usually makes more sense.

 

[princessaloha]

Hello!

I can't answer your question, mainly because I haven't had my coffee yet but two thoughts occurred to me regarding your specific situation that you might want to think about.

1. DVC is in essence pre-paying for your vacation rooms at today's prices. Do you think the prices you pay now for your cash rooms will stay the same or only slightly increase? And will you be ok if it's a significant increase?

2. Do you think your current MO for seeing WDW will change over time? Meaning, after a dozen or so visits and seeing and doing pretty much everything, would you consider spending more time at your resort using the pool and other amenities?

If you answer Yes to the first and No to the second then DVC will probably not be a good fit for you, considering everything else you said.

If you answer the other way then MAYBE DVC MIGHT work for you.

Good Luck in your research!

 

[ELMC]

We are not necessarily worried about the level of our hotel (Oh THE HORROR, I know)!!

We are on the go park people, we get there when they open and stay till they close!! We try not to miss a thing.

We also, right now while they still offer them, like to go during free dining. It saves my family a lot of money. I like having my meals prepaid, it feels like an all inclusive vacation.

We are planning a trip in 2/2013, a cruise in 2014 and I definitely know of another cruise we plan to take, just haven't settled on a year yet.

We go often, but we go when the best deals are being offered, off peak seasons, free dining, etc.

All of these statements you have made make me think that DVC is not for you. DVC is ideally for people who like upgraded accommodations; spend a lot of time in the room or at the resort; don't necessarily use the dining plan and stay at DVC resorts as opposed to going on cruises. From the sound of it, you are none of the above. So I think you should do all the research that you want because it's fun and exciting to learn about DVC. But in the end, I think you will reach the same conclusion. Good luck!

 

[marsh0013]

From what you've said it may not be right for you. If you're happy to stay in values it's probably more expensive to buy DVC. By who knows you may enjoy the more spacious accommodations. But you cant do free dining with DVC. Why not try renting points for an upcoming vacation to see if you think it's worth it. I dont mind staying in the values but when I do I always wish I could be in at least a studio instead. I've rented a bunch of times and that really helped me decide I want to own.

 

[AllieV]

There have been small rumblings on the board here about disney building dvc rooms at the value resorts. A mention in an employee newsletter, someone with an inside contact who said the same. Just little stuff. It all must sort itself out first. If that comes to pass, it may be something that interests you.

Who knows what disney has in store, but if they start going after the value customer to get them to buy into value dvc contracts at those already-loved resorts, it's a whole new customer base.

 

[DougEMG]

For 4 people (2A + 2C), DVC + paying for quick service will never be cheaper than staying in a value resort paying rack rate with free dining (quick service).

Your QS is worth $95 a day (assuming you would buy it anyway) which means your room is only costing you $20-$30 per day. A DVC studio is normally 10-15 points a night, with MF at least $5/point, so your MF cost for the DVC room is $50-$75 per night minimum and that doesn't include your buy in costs.

If you're happy staying in a value with Free Dining and don't care up upgrading your accomodations to the deluxe level don't bother with DVC.

 

[lillieandlilahsmommy]

Thanks for your help everyone!! I was really curious about the cruises and after perusing the site some more, I did see a lot of cons regarding cruising with points! From the research I have done it did not seem like the DVC fit into our current style of vacationing. I just wanted some opinions from the experts!! Thanks so much!

 

[AJA]

Thanks for your help everyone!! I was really curious about the cruises and after perusing the site some more, I did see a lot of cons regarding cruising with points! From the research I have done it did not seem like the DVC fit into our current style of vacationing. I just wanted some opinions from the experts!! Thanks so much!

I think it's a very wise decision to at the very least give it more thought.

We first thought about buying DVC in 2009. But, in 2009 we decided against it and booked a moderate resort with free dining for our vacation. Since then some things have changed for us, free dining is no longer a discount we use and we can't count on always being free to travel in September anymore. Those two things together have knocked us out of Disney's biggest discounts.

Also we've taken two recent trips to Disney resorts and didn't step foot inside a Disney park. It was only after we realized we would use DVC on a yearly/semi-yearly basis rather we visited the Disney parks or not and we would be booking at the resorts even without a discount (although without any discount it would be a moderate) that we finally decided to purchase.

Even after the buy in costs, yearly dues are still going to be in the neighborhood of $1000. If that same $1K goes a long way to paying for your resort and your dining, and you're happy with your resort location since you're at the parks most days anyway, then DVC wouldn't be "saving" you any money at all kwim?

 

[Deb & Bill]

The only way you get those freebies as a DVC member is to book directly with Disney and pay them the money. You can't use points and get free dining. And if that is what you are happy doing, then continue doing that.

You might want to try purchasing a reservation from a DVC member (usually called renting points) just to see what it is all about.

 

[amypetecar]

DVC may still work out for you.

Will it be cheaper than a value resort, pretty much never.
However, if you go every year, you may find that you enjoy the upgrade in accomodations. I'm perfectly happy staying at POP when I run out of points, but boy is it nice to stay at BLT or Boardwalk and not have to worry about paying $400 per night b/c i travel during thanksgiving.

By the way, you may want to try renting points to see if you like it. I rented points for 1 night for $9 per point off Disboards.

That means I paid $135 all taxes/fees included per night to stay at the boardwalk. There are no discounts available as it is during a holiday week. The same room is going for $506 taxes included on kayak and $153 to stay at the POP.

Sometimes DVC is cheaper.