Is just off-site better than DVC?

[Dean]

You have a lot of varying thoughts and all are good to one degree or the other. It is a personal choice and what's best for you might not be best for me. I have stayed on and off property but have not stayed off at any of the timeshares. Orange Lake, Vistana, Marriott's and all great properties. If I were going to do mostly off WDW activities, I'd definitely consider staying off property.

We do own timeshares other than DVC and it would be no problem to get a 2 BR at any of the above resorts and Frankly for much cheaper overall than $150 a night. Try $25-70 per night for most times of the year and I'd say a max of $100 per night with no tax. There are two BR Marriott's right now on the II getaway list for $199 a full week mostly at Cypress Harbour and Grande Vista. If you don't own other timeshares, you could always consider buying one for exchanging or just renting from a member rather than a company or the resort itself.

No doubt that staying off property will be cheaper but only you and your family can decide if it's worth it.

With multiple or larger families and with teenages children, being able to travel at different times of the day is important. While we generally use the car (except for MK), we freqently split up and go different directions or return to the resort at different times. Also the teenagers will sometimes go back out in the evening on their own, with rules of course.

 

[TriciaT]

I truly feel that there are people that vacation in Orlando, and there are people who vacation in Walt Disney World and to me, they are two separate locations. I have a cousin who always stayed off site and felt that she had the best vacations ever, all the money she saved eating on International Drive, went to play mini golf outside of Disney, or just shopped the outlets. She also visited the Disney and Universal Parks.

I, on the other hand, view WDW as a resort, a full vacation. I do not venture off Disney grounds, less an occasional trip to Sea World or to visit friends we have in Winter Park. I pretty much pout the entire time we do that (ask my dh). I could never find myself eating a meal on I drive...I need to be totally within Disney magic for my entire vacation.

So the value of staying onsite, or buying DVC, depends on how you vacation. Do you like to spend time in Orlando, or do you like to be in WDW exclusively?

I've had many well meaning friends and relatives suggest that I save money by staying offsite or even invest in a nearby condo of our own in Orlando. I explain it to them maybe once or twice, but then I just smile and nod my head....some people just don't get it.

Good luck with your decision. It is great that you are asking a lot of questions and really researching DVC. It is quite an investment and you would want to be certain it is right for your family.

 

[john23tc]

We have owned at Vistana since 88 and have loved staying there. We think it is a wonderful resort to vacation at. We have always stayed in the newest units and have had few problems in 13 years. However, my wife and I decided to look at the DVC a couple of years ago with really no intention of buying since we already owned close by. We were so impressed with the place that we bought that day and have stayed onsite since. There is something special about being on property that is hard to describe. So now when we plan our trips to WDW we have to stay on site. Once you do it(onsite), it is hard to go back(offsite).

 

[invalid_char]

Thank you to everyone who responded!

After taking this all in, I think that he primary practical advantage of staying on park is that different people can easily go in different directions, which is important when your children are of widely different ages ( our kids range from 18 months to 18 years). This is especially true for US in the evening when, for example, parents and toddler may want to see Illuminations and still get to bed reasonably early, and the teens may want to go to Disney Quest and not get back til 2AM! I don't see how this would work off-park with 1 car.

Also, I do personally think that the restaurant experience on park is especially wonderful, with the combination of quality, variety and service making dining an important reason for going in the first place. And especially if you want to be civilized and shower and change before going to dinner... what a hassle that would be if your room were off park.

Because there is so much to see, a WDW vacation can be somewhat regimented and this can be offset by being on park and being spontaneous. You've got to plan things more carefully if you need to limit the number of trips back and forth to the car and maybe pack changes of clothes, etc...

Then, in the subjective column, there's how much do you want to live and breathe Disney on vacation? Do you feel the magic or don't you. I guess if you really do value the service and the aura, then it may be worth the extra money ... and if you don't value any of the above then it is a waste!

BTW, my sister-in-law has never actually stayed on park!

Thanks again for your input!

 

[tiggersnj]

I think if this is what makes your sister-in-law happy then that is what she should do. Your telling us what she thinks but you have to decide what would make you happy. I must say that it took me awhile to join DVC, I just didn't understand it. My only regret is that I could have been a member a lot longer. I prefer being on site, it's all part of the magic. The choice is yours, think hard and do what is best for you. Remember with DVC you have a lot of options, you don't have to vacation just at WDW. Good Luck inkbounc

 

[coldnorth]

I am in the same boat as you are. I have been considering DVC for a few weeks now. I have looked at the financial side several different ways (mouseplanet.com has a good financial sheet). If you think that resort prices will inflate at 7% or greater as some say, DVC will become much cheaper than the $150/night off-site place in 8-10 years (even including the lost investment). If it really inflates at 3%, you will barely break even over the life of the club. This comparison, however, is for a lower quality resort (but more real life for me). I saw a great quote from one person stating that "its like getting filet mignon for the price of hamburger".

My main concern is do I want to invest if we only do WDW every 2-4 years and do other DVC vacations (Concierge, II etc. ) on the other years? I think it will finally comes down to personal choice and interests. I think the financial side is not bad though if that is your main concern. Another great quote was "you can always sell it" and prices have stayed pretty high. I will probably go for it.

ColdNorth

 

[CaptainMidnight]

There are lots of valuable viewpoints shared on this thread.

One I'm not sure that was mentioned is that relaxed feeling you have when you walk around the parks actually knowing that you own part of the magic. No need to rush to see it all, you'll be back.... just enjoy, stop when you want to stop, go back to the rooms for a nap mid-day (we've got little ones) and start again when your ready. And enjoy that magic all through the resort...finding new things here, there and all around.....

Good luck with your decision.

 

[druzicka]

Yes, LIDisneyFan-
I agree with your Disney magic remark--
My family calls it "Disney-esque" We have stayed on and off-- And really prefer on-- which is why I am reading this board to gather info about puchasing DVC points. Wish we were owners like all you folks already!
Any pointers?
DRUZ

 

[Lisa P.]

On this board, you would naturally find an overwhelmingly strong leaning toward staying onsite and DVC over nearby off-site timeshare resorts, like Vistana. Please take that into account. If you were to read bulletin boards of general timeshare owners, such as TUG, you would see that this varies much more with the general population. I've known of several people whose exchanges into OKW didn't wow them as it does for DVC'ers. If you are a person who loves Disney-everything, and who anticipate annual WDW vacations, don't waste your time and money on an offsite timeshare for those vacations.

Personally, though, we have thoroughly enjoyed both. We own timeshares offsite (outside FL) and have traded into Marriott Grande Vista and Vistana. Both vacations were GREAT fun and we'd readily do them again. We also used to own DVC and enjoyed our stays at OKW & BWV very, very much. While I agree that they are excellent resorts and offer convenience to the parks (especially BWV), I disagree that the actual resort experience is terribly different for someone who just wants to vacation at a really nice resort and enjoy the great Disney attractions but doesn't care about theme during every waking moment.

BTW, at Vistana, we were easily able to beat OKW bus times by driving and we took regular midday breaks from the parks. Your SIL is correct about that, IMHO. It's rather like driving from Goodings, but without the DD traffic because of the highway around the back of the resort and straight into MGM/Epcot without traffic lights. Very fast!

If you really think you'd vacation in Orlando most years, consider splitting a trip onsite/offsite at the resorts where you'd consider buying. Even a couple of nights at each would show you the difference and you'd see if it matters to you. We are selling a couple of cheap timeshare weeks that trade EASILY into Orlando (not enough vacation time for all our weeks), even at holidays so feel free to pass my email along to your SIL, if she'd like to save substantially on her rates. Enjoy your decision!

 

[ScottOKW2K]

From reading many of these posts, I can guess that we were luckier than others in a fashion - we purchased DVC shortly after our first WDW trip. At the end of our first stay in '99 (DxL) we knew nothing about DVC, by the second trip in 2000 we were owners at OKW !

We were fortunate to stumble across this board, and all the kind people who inhabit it. Though many here could easily be described as DVC cheerleaders from the posts here, all are equally willing to point out problems when they do exist.

Why did we personally decide to purchase ? First, we knew that any future stays HAD to be on-site - we were bowled over by the quality that we observed and came to appreciate throughout WDW. We also know that we had to come back to WDW again, as often as possible. We must have been standing under Tinkerbell when she sprinkled "pixie dust", because we definitely felt the "magic!" We were hooked !

Even though we have yet to stay at a DVC resort, it still manages to give me a deep sense of satisfaction. I enjoy the feeling that WDW is "my" park, that I will have a place there far into the future to share with mine and my friends, that my 250 points is worth about $5000 (rack rate for dvc rooms vs. using points.) per year to me. We've made very few decisions that have felt this "right", and we exercise enough forethought that we make very few wrong decisions.

Personally - it doesn't get any better than this !

 

[normr]

We used to do the offsite shuffle MANY years ago and it was always an ALL-DAY attack, leave the hotel in the early morning and come back LATE at night, and then we had kids and started staying on-site because there was no way i was going to do the all day assault with children. I remember when my daughter was a couple of years old and being able to stand on our balcony of the Contemporary to show her where Cinderella lives, (i know you can't do that from Vistana)

It is so easy to do early entry and then come back to the hotel and relax a little and go back later in the afternoon or evening, like everyone here relates, and the best part is IF I sold my DVC, I could sell it for more than I payed for it, lets see if a vistana owner can do that too!

 

[disneygals]

Hi Normr..my old buddy

You know I enjoy on-site and off-site, so let's not go there.

But actually, I paid $5500 for my floating week Vistana and can now probably get $7500.


disneygals

 

[lodgelady]

My 2 cents , after staying on and off at a wide variety of places (even Vistana!) is that most of Orlando outside of the Disney gates is ugly urban sprawl, traffic jams and too much of what I am trying to escape on vacation. When I stay on site I try to leave my watch in my pocket and be one of the kids. When I walk or take the bus I don't know how to get from here to there, I just arrive! Magic! It helps me feel refreshed to be surrounded by beauty and minimize the worries/responsibilities.

 

[LIDisneyFan]

disneygals

Just curious about the Vistana prices. I was looking last year at 300 pts at DVC for $67/pt, or about $10,000 for a yearly float week at Vistana.

Looking at the Timeshare Store website, I see no BWV resales at all, but the very few OKW are going for about $68/pt - That means my $ 20,100 sales could now return $20,400. And I've used it twice. Not bad.

The Vistana sales for float week are about $6000 so my $10000 could return $6000 if I got asking price. And there are a lot of them out there for sale. Don't know when you bought yours, but $10K was about the lowest they were coming down to last year.

Again, I feel more comfortable with the upkeep at Disney vs. what I saw in the older sections (buildings with units under 100) 2 years ago - I wouldn't stay in them, and made them move me to the newer area (which is beautiful right now - I just don't know what it'll lok like in 10 years)

Just another point of view

 

[disneygals]

LIDisneyfan

I bought Vistana resale in 1996, normr was really referring to buying from developers and he's right, DVC is one of the few that you can resell for more. I just couldn't resist busting his chops.

As more people learn about it online, other timeshares will drop and from what I understand, Disney doesn't allow resales to drop past their decided amount, so that saves you there.


I am by no means a timeshare or Vistana expert, have only stayed in the newer section. And I agree that you're probably "safer" with the Disney name. Hopefully, with Sheraton taking over, they'll upgrade the older units and maintain the quality of the newer ones.

disneygals

 

[TampaDisneyFreaks]

Everyone else has pretty much stated my feelings on this well. IMHO, On-Site is worlds apart from off-site! You can't beat onsite!
However, Lisa put the DVC jingle in my head with her post, and I can't get it out of my head. Since that jingle sums it up pretty well anyway, here we go.......

If you believe in magic.......you belong!

 

[Dean]

It should not be difficult to get a Vistana or OLCC for $6K or a little less. Marriott will be difficult at that price but not impossible either. You must refrain from assuming too much about selling prices based on listed and asking prices. I've bought weeks at other resorts for 20% of what most people are asking. You must realize that most people who are trying to sell bought from the developer or resort resale agent. They way overpaid and were told in many cases that they could sell and get their money back, etc, etc. For that and many reasons, most timeshares that are offered for sale are never sold, only about 4% are sold. You hear things like Just trying to get my money back, best reasonable offer, below resort prices; none of which really have much meaning.

DVC is a special case as is Marriott to a certain extent. I own two DVC contracts, two Marriott weeks and two Aruba weeks. OKW contracts both right at $50 pp so I could obviously sell for more at present. Also, I could sell the Marriott weeks through Marriott and get more after commisions than I Paid. The Aruba location will buy them directly from me for about double what I paid.

The points is that DVC is not for everyone but it is great for most. Even though we usually drive to the parks, I still prefer to be on property and pay the extra "cost". You may be able to drive quicker to some locations than using the Disney system. Not MK though and still not faster than I can drive from OKW. Off site has advantages and disadvantages and it depends on your vacation habits and preferences. For WDW trip about once a year for mostly WDW activities, it's worth it. For others it may not be. If budget is a problem, it's definitely cheaper to own somewhere else and trade in or buy one of the cheaper Orlando area locations. some are as low as $2500 or less for a 2 BR lockout. South Africa for $1K or less including 6 years RCI membership and yearly dues around $150.

 

[mickeyc]

I have stayed at many places outside the park and inside the park. There is an entirely different feel when you stay with the mouse. It is like you never leave, until your vacation is over. We always enjoyed our stay; however, for our family we will stay with Mickey. Enjoy!