is it worth it?

[sgsting95]

Is everyone mostly glad they have gotten in on the DVC? And you think it's worth it? I am looking into it and it looks awesome to me. Is there anything hidden about it?

 

[Sandisw]

We just joined last year after several years of consideration. We bought because they built BLT as we are MK fans and wanted to be in walking distance. Before BLT, that wasn't possible.

So far, we have found no drawbacks. You do have to be a planner as booking in advance is important. But, I teach, so our vacations are always in August and therefore, I can book my trip at 11 months without issue.

If you don't normally plan your vacations far in advance, more than 6 months, DVC may or may not be for you. Everything is based on availability and it doesn't work as well for short term planners. While nothing is impossible, I would say that this would be the biggest drawback for those that plan off the cuff.

Most often, you can get something, but certain times of the year, like October for F & W or the holidays (Thanksgiving through New Years) are very busy for DVC so booking far ahead is important.

One the biggest things I love is not having to wait and hope for a Disney deal. I know I am set for 49 more years and don't ever have to worry about things!

Good luck!

 

[5forDiz]

Yep! lots of "hidden" costs like transportation to/from WDW, park tickets, meals & other miscellaneous spending for more trips Often these things get overlooked in the excitement of considering a DVC purchase. Over the life of your membership annual Maintenance Fees will be where you will spend more money than the initial cost of your contract so you will definitley want to check each DVC resort's MF cost per point to help in your decision to pick a Home Resort. And if you haven't stayed at DVC resort(s) jmho rent points from a member and try it out before purchasing and to also get a better idea of which resort you would like to pick for your Home Resort. DVC resorts do not provide daily maid service as resort hotels do ( unless you want to pay a daily housekeeping fee ); on Day4 after your check in you will get fresh towels or it will be a full cleaning if you are staying 8 nights or more.

Ideally if you are going to go to WDW anyhow at least every other year and stay in deluxe accommodations then DVC membership will make sense as a way to prepay the accommodations part of your trip. If you can book between 11 months and 7months +1day before the check in date you'd want all the better (this is known as owner's priority booking window for your Home DVC resort); at 7 months and less before check in date all DVC members may book at any DVC resort they want not just at their Home Resort so then you would be in competition against many more members for a reservation.

Best wishes on your planning We have no regrets, it works well for our family of 5 and for our travel habits but it did take us about 10yrs to try it different DVC resorts out and to research & consider things fully to where we felt it was most definitely the right decision :thumbsup

 

[Snow Shoe]

We purchased in '98 at Boardwalk, and YES it was very much worth it for us. Yesterday we just returned home from our trip with oldest son and his family. We had a two bedrm villa with plenty of room. Our son has two children DGS 7yo and DGD 2yo. This was DGS's fourth vist with us and we introduced DGD to Disney for her very first visit. Our other son and his family came with us last October and we introduced their son DGS 2yo for his first vist as well. Our DD 20yo has brought several friends at verious times with her also. Then in 2007 we had a familt gathering during Christmas through New Years in a GV at BWV. My wife and I have gone by our selves many times as well.

We look at DVC as an investment into FAMILY vacation time together. It is not a property investment to make a profit off of. It's a hedge against the constantly increasing room rate that Disney does annually, usually around 10%. Remember that when Disneyworld opened in 10/71, the Contemporary Resort rooms were priced at $30, and now what are they.

One other thing that you need to consider is; is a room at Disney just a place to lay your head at night, or is the room accomadations at Disney just as important to you as visiting the parks is?

 

[DenLo]

Joining the DVC is only giving you a room. You still need to pay for all of those expenses associated with a WDW vacation, i.e. tickets, meals, souvenirs, snacks, water parks, Disney Quest, Mini golf, La Nouba and even alcoholic and regular beverages for your villa and the parks.

As to whether it is worth it, only you can answer that question.

Would have traveled to WDW anyway for your vacation?

For us by having the DVC membership we can travel to WDW for longer and more frequent trips.

Also by committing to the DVC program your travel dollars may be limited to going to Disney. (Although some members use their points to do trades with RCI.)

We like to travel and do travel a fair amount. If our joining the DVC had the affect of preventing us from doing any other traveling, even road trips to the national parks or non Disney cruises, then I would not have been happy with the DVC. But it doesn't prevent us from ever doing these other trips, but it does reduce how often we travel elsewhere as we do have a limited budget for travel. And that's okay with us because we really want to spend more time at WDW, or Disneyland, Vero Beach, Hilton Head or hopefully Aulani in Hawaii.

 

[disneynutz]

Take some time and read through some of the threads here on the DIS. Your question is asked and answered several time per week.

Bill

 

[Greysword]

In my opinion, DVC has been priceless!

I can't say enough how much joy my family and I have received from this one purchase. We bought on our honeymoon (5 years ago), and since then have been four times (and my wife and daughter once to Disneyland). We have played hosts to my wife's parents, my stepmom, and three sets of friends (most live in FL). We have so many great memories, seen the wonder in all of the kids' (and adults') faces, and simply had quality time with the people we care about the most. If it wasn't for DVC acting as a focal point, this would not have happened at Disney.

Bottomline, for our family, it has paid for itself with intangibles, as well as real dollars.

- Chris

 

[adminjedi]

We look at DVC as an investment into FAMILY vacation time together. It is not a property investment to make a profit off of. It's a hedge against the constantly increasing room rate that Disney does annually, usually around 10%. Remember that when Disneyworld opened in 10/71, the Contemporary Resort rooms were priced at $30, and now what are they.

One other thing that you need to consider is; is a room at Disney just a place to lay your head at night, or is the room accomadations at Disney just as important to you as visiting the parks is?

Well said. We have invested a lot of money (773 pts) and still plan to buy more. We "broke even" quickly by staying multiple times a year and with 2br villas and concierge. We like that we have prepaid our vacations, and so, no matter what is going on financially around us or with us, we don't feel guilty going and enjoying ourselves. It has also allowed us to pamper others who could otherwise not afford a Disney vacation by gifting them accommodations with out impacting our current monthly budget or cashflow.

Re other peoples remarks about additional cost for food and park passes. What vacation do you go on where you don't have to pay for food? Cruises and all inclusive resorts include food, but you definitely pay for it. As far as the park passes, the fact that we own dvc and now take multiple trips a year, the annual pass lowers our per cost trip.

Yes, vacations are expensive. All things considered, especially the quality of the accomodations, we actually feel it is the most affordable vacation and provides the most flexibility in activity options for our family of 7.

We are very happy with our decision and only regret having not bought 10 years earlier!

 

[ToddyLu]

Nope no hidden agenda...but you really need to understand what you are buying like how your UY affects your vacation plans, cancellation policies, having smaller contracts for resale later if needed. These forums have been fantastic!!

 

[dbs1228]

Only draw back for me is now I am planning 2 -3 trips per year instead of 1, Oh wait is that really a draw back! Love Disney vacations and we finally realized that when we said "this will be our last trip to Disney for a few years" we were so lying! As soon as we would get home from a trip I would be planning the next for the following year!

 

[lmshaggard]

And I wouldn't completely worry about the booking window. I know I have to book our December trip 11 months out, but I did just book in april for June and was able to stay at OKW and AKV. I have also booked end of January and end of August less than 4 weeks out. Both of those trips I was able to book BCV and BWV. I think as long as you are realistic, flexible, and pay attention to what times of year book quickly at which resorts, you'll be fine. It was the best thing we have ever done for our family, and we haven't looked back once. Good luck with your decision.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

We love DVC. Some vacations we plan 6 or more months in advance and others we do with about 1 weeks notice. Either way---we can usually get the resort we want. Often we use wait lists and they have worked out really well for us. Our home resort is SSR and they seem to always have avability.

We did forget to think about annual dues when purchasing as part of the deal...but...overall it has been worth it

 

[ACDSNY]

Add-on-itis is the hidden agenda! I seem to never have enough points as we love to use DVC.

 

[Crystal_27]

Is everyone mostly glad they have gotten in on the DVC? And you think it's worth it? I am looking into it and it looks awesome to me. Is there anything hidden about it?

We are still relatively new owners, so we may still be wearing rose-colored glasses, but I am absolutely thrilled that we bought into DVC. DVC has changed the way we vacation, and has allowed us to do a parks vacation and a cruise every year (versus having to pick either/or). We get to stay in Deluxe accommodations and, even better, don't have "sticker shock" at the end of our vacation because our accommodations have been pre-paid. DVC also allows us to get creative with our points so we can take longer vacations (for example, I'm staying for 14 nights at BLT in December - the rack rate on that would have been $7,700 which we could have never in a million years afforded). It was a great decision, and I don't have any regrets.

 

[lmshaggard]

We are still relatively new owners, so we may still be wearing rose-colored glasses, but I am absolutely thrilled that we bought into DVC. DVC has changed the way we vacation, and has allowed us to do a parks vacation and a cruise every year (versus having to pick either/or). We get to stay in Deluxe accommodations and, even better, don't have "sticker shock" at the end of our vacation because our accommodations have been pre-paid. DVC also allows us to get creative with our points so we can take longer vacations (for example, I'm staying for 14 nights at BLT in December - the rack rate on that would have been $7,700 which we could have never in a million years afforded). It was a great decision, and I don't have any regrets.

We have a similar situation for December - taking my family - mom/aunt/uncle/cousin - got a 2bdrm at AK that would have cost us $1350 a night ($8100) - is costing me around $2000 for 6 nights when I look at initial investment plus maintenance fees. We couldn't have done this for several more years without DVC

 

[eliza61]

Pros: guaranteed deluxe + accomodations are discounted prices. No way would I pay rake rate for the 1 bedroom unit we adore.

I've been an owner since 2000 and so far I still enjoy my vacations at the world.

That being said, my love affair is decreasing not because of DVC but because of changes I've seen over time at the world. I've been going to wdw for maybe the last 15 years and there has been a huge decrease in quality IMO, so I probably suffer from "back in the dayitis".

So, while I adore my dvc (WL probably keeps me coming back) and glad I made the purchase, would I buy into it now? Probably not.

Also remember that the answer you get here are going to be very, very skewered. As much as I love the Dis, we don't handle criticism of the mouse very well so people tend to make every thing "sunshiney and pixie dust".

Think of how your family vacations and then ask specific questions. that may give you a better insight.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We've been DVC members for 13+ years, and the biggest problem we have with DVC ownership is that we didn't do it sooner! We wasted 5 years where we could have beem members and werent'!

 

[dandave]

We have a similar situation for December - taking my family - mom/aunt/uncle/cousin - got a 2bdrm at AK that would have cost us $1350 a night ($8100) - is costing me around $2000 for 6 nights when I look at initial investment plus maintenance fees. We couldn't have done this for several more years without DVC

Imshaggard, Hi! That 6 day stay would take about 379 points, if you're only staying one weekend night. Wouldn't the maintenance fees alone be almost $2000 for that many points - not counting the original cost of the points? I'm just curious.

 

[disneynutz]

Pros: guaranteed deluxe + accomodations are discounted prices. No way would I pay rake rate for the 1 bedroom unit we adore.

I've been an owner since 2000 and so far I still enjoy my vacations at the world.

That being said, my love affair is decreasing not because of DVC but because of changes I've seen over time at the world. I've been going to wdw for maybe the last 15 years and there has been a huge decrease in quality IMO, so I probably suffer from "back in the dayitis".

So, while I adore my dvc (WL probably keeps me coming back) and glad I made the purchase, would I buy into it now? Probably not.

So true and yet so sad.

DVC/Disney has the ability to really make the DVC something special but they choose not to.

Wouldn't it be great if the resale price of our contracts actually increased and there was a waiting list of people wanting to become members?

Bill

 

[VAN]

I am not a member but a long time annual visitor to WDW.

We have not really considered it because we don't normally stay in deluxe accomodations. We either camp at Fort Wilderness or stay in a Value resort.

Yes we have the money in the bank to pay for a DVC membership with cash, but I don't want to have to pay the maintenance fees.

We have been visiting WDW the last few years using discount codes, etc. We, personally, are just as happy staying at the value end of the magic.

If you normally stay deluxe and are financially sound, then you will probably find that it makes sense to buy. If you are comfortable with the values/moderates and if you would have to "stretch" financially to make the purchase, I think you'd better pass.

Just MHO though.