Is it worth it?

[caspersmom83]

I am looking into the DVC. DO you think it works out to be worth the money?

Laura

 

[disney junky]

You are asking owners this question. Be prepared for a variety of responses. Worth is not measured merely in dollars and cents. If you are looking at this as a purely financial decision, you will probably be able to run some numbers and figure your costs over the lifetime of ownership. There are so many factors that contribute to that. How often do you travel to WDW? What are your demographics: kids, age, etc? What can you afford? How many points you would need to purchase? The intangibles are how much you love WDW. How flexible are your vacations times? Can you project your lifestyle choices ten, fifteen, twenty and more years down the road? It took us 5 years to take the plunge from our first visit to a DVC to our purchase. Watch the different responses and if they apply to your situation, take note. Good luck and happy reading.

 

[blossomz]

The only regret I have is that I didn't do it earlier! Now we know we will be vacationing yearly! We have never regretted our decision! But you have to think of it as investing in vacationing-not for a way to make money or invest. We think of it as an investment in our mental health in that we feel we can vacation at a much more reasonable rate than we ever did before! Good luck with your decision!

 

[Daitcher]

I am looking into the DVC. DO you think it works out to be worth the money?

Laura

I know I might be in the minority here, but here is my take for what it is worth. Timeshares as a rule, without exception, are not a good investment or a good deal. I don't care how many numbers people might throw at you it isn't a good deal, period. Any breakdown given I can give you alternate ways to look at it. If you invested the buy in money for DVC over 50 years that sum would be quite substantial. Buy in money plus your annual dues adds up over 50 years. Invest the annual dues amount each year would also add to this sum. Now, I am a DVC Member and I don't regret it for a second. We simply wanted larger rooms than a standard hotel room. Sharing rooms,beds, etc. isn't not my idea of vacationing in style. DVC gives you access to superior rooms. We love WDW and plan on visiting yearly, usually twice. We also love the flexibility of DVC and the fact that it offers 2 beach Resorts, DCL and the concierge collection and the exchanges. For me it was more of an emotional decision. We simply love the feeling we get each time we visit WDW. We also "aren't hurting for money" and did not have to finance the buy in amount. DVC is IMO the best of the best when it comes to timeshare programs. In a nutshell, if you have younger children and plan on visiting WDW or the beach Resorts every year and can comfortably afford it then go for it. If you plan on exchanging, are iffy about how often you'd visit, have to finance the buy in, then I say skip it. Also do yourself a favor and stay at one or more of the DVC proerties on cash to get a feel for it. Good luck and I'm sure you'll get a good variety of responses.


DAVE

 

[senecabeach]

IMHO...Loving "All Things Disney" is certainly the criteria for my ownership in the DVC. Knowing I "own" a piece of this "Magic" draws my desire to visit as much as possible.

Staying in affordable "style" in my lil' condo rather than a "hotel room" (for big bucks) is a huge plus and the flexibility of the point system is terrific!!
No ...its not the Poly..in the Hawaii longhouse facing the castle...but its also not $350+ a night either.

My greatest satisfaction is being able to take my extended family, who in some cases couldn't afford to go. For the first time ever (in 34 yrs that Ive been going) ...in May '06...I am taking 3 little "KIDS" to WDW (2, 5 and 7)..along with other family members...who have never been to WDW!!
I am sooooo very excited about this blow out trip and convinced I could "NEVER" afford a GV any other way!!

 

[GrumpyCAdad]

I am very interested in the DVC as well, but I am very confused with the whole "points" thing. Can someone explain it to me in layman's terms?

I sent away for the DVD and can't wait to get it!

 

[athenna]

I am very interested in the DVC as well, but I am very confused with the whole "points" thing. Can someone explain it to me in layman's terms?

I sent away for the DVD and can't wait to get it!

For starters, I would check the links at the top of the page-the dvc point charts, and the faq's and then ask away!

 

[DavidPJ]

We just joined a few days ago while at the preview at Disney. As Daitcher said, it was an emotional decision. You'll never be able to determine the exact financial situation with the purchase. But given the exclusivity of DVC and the price increases, I think it was a safe bet. We previewed Marriott before DVC and never felt comfortable. And it was a good thing too, because later we learned it's nearly impossible to exchange into Disney from Marriott.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

The "easiest" way to to figure out the points is to consider them as dollars. If you buy 150 points, say you have $150 to spend. It depends on where you stay, when you stay, what size accommodations you stay in and for how long that determines how many "dollars" you spend. If you choose a studio for 4 nights that takes 8 points a night, then you have used 32 points or $32 of your $150. You then have $118 dollars left to use for your year. At the beginning of your next year, you will receive another $150 to spend.

Pretty simplistic, but most people can equate to dollars easier than they can points.

 

[GrumpyCAdad]

The "easiest" way to to figure out the points is to consider them as dollars. If you buy 150 points, say you have $150 to spend. It depends on where you stay, when you stay, what size accommodations you stay in and for how long that determines how many "dollars" you spend. If you choose a studio for 4 nights that takes 8 points a night, then you have used 32 points or $32 of your $150. You then have $118 dollars left to use for your year. At the beginning of your next year, you will receive another $150 to spend.

Pretty simplistic, but most people can equate to dollars easier than they can points.

Okay, but you don't receive the points, you have to buy them, correct? Or do you get 150 and have the ability to buy more at X amount of dollars per point?

 

[bavaria]

It also depends on where you are in life. Ten years ago, when I started going to WDW (up to 4x a year) I would never have considered DVC. I took the tour a year ago, and my guide really zeroed in on my comment about road trips with my grandparents in Germany when I was young. This was definitely his emotional 'in' for me, and although I hadn't spoken with him for a year, when I called him last week he remembered and metioned it again (must be in his notes in my file!)

For me, it was a difficult decision since I have access to free/almost free nights in good hotels all around WDW. I realized however that at this point in my life, I am willing to spend to stay onsite vs stay for free/almost free just offsite. I am also hoping to take my grandparents for a trip to WDW and this definitely played into my decision.

Granted, I am not considering my (future?) children in my purchase - I just looked at the changes in my travel patterns recently as well as changes in income and financial commitments. Based on that, I chose to start with a small resale and build from there.

So, the answer is - everyone has their own feelings on this. No, it's not really an investment, it's more prepaying your future vacations.

 

[stingmom]

Okay, but you don't receive the points, you have to buy them, correct? Or do you get 150 and have the ability to buy more at X amount of dollars per point?

If you buy direct through DVC, then you MUST purchase the minimum 150 pts (currently selling for $87, roughly, then increase to $95 per point the first week of June,). You can then purchase "add-on" points from them in increments of 25 (at whatever the current dollar/per point value is). Or, you can buy through resale at lower increments and lower pt values and still reap all the DVC benefits. HTH

 

[utahkennedys]

I think a good way to figure out the value is to figure out what the type of room you plan to stay on will cost per night/visit. I did this and it was a total no brainer to me since we plan to go every other year or so (at least that is what I told DH but secretly I hope we still go every year!). There is no doubt we are paying more per night, but we are getting a lot more too. I see a lot of posts about a "Break Even Point", but I really don't see that to be honest. More than anything I know what I am going to pay for a 1BR at OKW or BWV for the next 37 years not including the increase in maintenance fees. It's a good deal today, and it will be an even better deal as the years pass.

 

[goodcook5]

all the rest is filler

 

[dianeschlicht]

Okay, but you don't receive the points, you have to buy them, correct? Or do you get 150 and have the ability to buy more at X amount of dollars per point?

Just an FYI...You buy your points one time. Then each year on your "use year" date, you get that same number of points added to your account. You pay an annual maintenance fee per point just like you would for any timeshare. The cost for maintenance (taxes, etc) is set each year at each resort and can fluctuate as much as 5%. Most are around $4 a point with SSR and OKW being a bit less than the other DVC resorts.

 

[GrumpyCAdad]

Just an FYI...You buy your points one time. Then each year on your "use year" date, you get that same number of points added to your account. You pay an annual maintenance fee per point just like you would for any timeshare. The cost for maintenance (taxes, etc) is set each year at each resort and can fluctuate as much as 5%. Most are around $4 a point with SSR and OKW being a bit less than the other DVC resorts.

Okay, now I get it. Thanks, that was my main question.