is it worth it?

[Mtnman44]

That is a much better deal. I was basing my example on our last trip which was 12 days in early dec. I tried to book a couple of cash nights to tack onto our DVC points reservation and the 2br OKW villa was in the neighborhood of $1,100 per night, obviously the rack rate. Even at $600 a night, this is a crazy amount for me to pay and would have added about $7,000 plus taxes to my trip expenses which normally run about $3,000. Obviously, over the course of 20 or 30 years, the DVC still is a net cost saver for us vs. even compared to discount rates. Right now, using a 30 year amoritization on the purchase cost, I've got my per night expense down around $200. This of course is not a discounted net present value, but a simple breakdown using 2006 dollars.

Mtnman, Are you looking at rack rates or discounted rates, though?

I can book a 2 bedroom villa at SSR from Sept 24th through Oct 1st for $2622 with tax, using the Summer room discount of 40% off. An AP discount would generally be 45% off.

 

[Mouse Ears]

When I made the decision it was based on 2 things. The accomodations and the economics. We purchased in 2004 after considering it for over 3 years.

Once we added a 3rd child, I really wanted to move beyond a standard-sized hotel room. So, for us, the main appeal of DVC was to upgrade the room. On our last trip before joining, we struggled to get our young kids to rest in the room unless we also lied down and turned down all of the lights and the same happened in the evening. We would have to go into 'quiet mode' until the kids fell asleep and then finally turn on a reading light or something. So, we drooled over the idea of a 1-2 bedroom option where the kids could have their own sleeping space, not to mention laundry and kitchen advantages. Of course, in the meantime, Disney has come up with some other options for families, but it was a real challenge before. Now we have 4 kids, so a 2 bedroom villa is the only way to go!

As far as the economics, while I was considering it and trying to sell my wife on the idea of DVC, I watched the prices continue to rise. I drew up a spreadsheet that estimated the Net Present Value (NPV) of DVC points year by year with some assumptions and saw that we should continue to see prices rise until 35-40 years into the contract period when the expiration date would start to suppress the value. Also, by the time I bought in, the resale prices were higher than the Disney price when I started watching. I realized that holding DVC points was a relatively stable place to park money, especially given the benefits.

In 2004, I paid $75 per point at BCV. Even with today's depressed real estate market, I could go resale and more than recoup my original cost. That means that my points have effectively cost me only the maintenance fees and lost 'interest' on my original investment. It was a great deal for great accommodations. I wish all of my 'investments' had such a good return.

So, like many, my only regret is that I didn't realize all of this sooner. That's the price of being so conservative with my purchases...

ME

 

[Mtnman44]

Mouse Ears,

I think you will get a lot of disagreement on the idea that DVC, or any timeshare, is a good place to park money. None of us can predict the values over the next 20 to 50 years so that is a real gamble.

However, one thing I think about is that at some point, Disney will reach capacity on hotel rooms (meaning, they either can't find travelers to sell / rent rooms to or they run out of hotel land space or a combination), at that point they may get out of the timeshare selling business. This means they would have much less reason to prop up the market value with ROFR and may give it up. This is help to push resale prices way down.

I think the idea that you can hope to break even or profit form DVC 30 years from now is full of risk with a pretty low overall return, especially when you account for the NPV of the purchase price over 30 years with an average rate of say, around 5 to 10%.

 

[DVCStudio]

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?

Yeah. Pretty happy. Member since '96. Considering what I would have spent on rooms, the DVC has saved me lots of cash. That may not be consideration for some, but it is for me. We just got back from 5 nights in a 1BR at Saratoga Springs that would have run about $3,000! Throw in the stays over the years at practically every WDW resort, Disneyland, San Diego, Key West, etc, etc, and I'm happy with my initial purchase.

Other than the usual park tickets, the only thing you should keep an eye on are the maintenance fees. They vary slightly from resort to resort.

Jose

 

[Anal Annie]

It has been worth it to US but it DOES lead to more trips!! We bought enough points to stay about 14 nights / year in studios between Dream & Magic seasons. We started buying AP's about every other year & planning our trips so that we usually get 3 trips / year off of a pass. The 3rd trip on a pass is always our gravy trip - the passes have paid for themselves at this point & it basically just costs us our airfare down & some meals. Our last AP's just expired in May so now we're entering our "off year" and are going to HHI this summer instead of buying new passes. We're going to Europe (DCL and DL) next summer so we figured it would be hard to get our money's worth out of new passes this go round. Plus we needed a cheaper year in order to do Europe. But yes, definitely worthwhile for us to have our accomodations covered!!! EXTRA BONUS now for us will be after Aulani opens - we usually go to Hawaii every 5 years so this will be a real help on those trips!!!

 

[Husurdady]

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?

The only thing that I find " hidden " is : They give no APOLOGY for you not buying into DVC sooner, it is your own darn fault, and they felt that they where not doing their job to inform you the secret [ $$$ ] of owning DVC. At this time, we are buying our 6th contract [same U Y] at OKW. WELCOME HOME.

 

[Ms.Mouse]

My husband and I are both VERY happy that we became vacation club members. Even though we have been experiencing hard times, financially, this year, we never regretted purchasing points in DVC.

 

[SpaceAce]

If you have no idea what DVC is about, other than it is a Disney timeshare, where do you go to find the most succinct summary of what it is, how it works, and a general idea of how it costs and saves money?

Thanks!

 

[blondietink]

We have been owners for 5 years now and wish we had done it sooneer. 175 pts at SSR. This year, starting in August, we will be going to WDW 3 times largely on points (have some FD at CBR mixed in there). Anyway, it is the best thing we ever purchased, other than our house. We feel that we have already gotten our monetary value out of our DVC purchase if you add up the days we stayed at each resort. So, for our maintenance fees each year we are staying at some really nice places. Don't see the value of trading into RCI or using our points for a cruise. We could get a better deal through AAA or other travel agent.

 

[cricketjamest]

Financial value aside, DVC is valuable to us because it requires we take at least one vacation a year in a place we enjoy. The demands of our work, home, or other obligations cannot override the fact that if we don't use our points we lose them. (I know we could rent our points, but for us that's not their purpose.)

Our children are grown and my wife and I go to the "Resorts" to eat, drink, swim, meet new friends, and most importantly relax. There are so many things to do at the Disney Resorts without going to the theme parks, that we sometimes go without stepping foot in the "Parks". Naps are important too!

Yes, we could do the same thing without DVC, but we wouldn't. There would always be something more important than a vacation.

For us the stress relief alone is worth the cost of DVC.

 

[DenLo]

If you have no idea what DVC is about, other than it is a Disney timeshare, where do you go to find the most succinct summary of what it is, how it works, and a general idea of how it costs and saves money?

Thanks!

Go to DVCNews.com and read their information, DVC for Beginners. http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/dvc-for-beginners

Then start reading the DISBoards in detail especially these links: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=578272

Finally post any questions you have. That's what these forums are all about. And remember no question is dumb, it's just a question that you need answered.

Good Luck.