Is this crazy reason for finally buying into DVC!!! ??

[Ronferr80]

This might be a little long winded but I hope some people stick with it and give me their thoughts, input, etc...

I have wanted to buy into DVC for a while now. Almost did it a while back but chickened out. Needless to say I think I should have because in the past 5 years we have been to Disney 3 times, Disney Cruise last year, and planning a Trip to Hawaii/Aulani next year. So while looking into renting points at Aulani as well as Grand Californian (going to do a couple nights at Disneyland) I noticed that with the amount of money I would be spending for my family of 5 I could purchase a decent size contract into DVC and have countless years of Disney Fun!!! Forgot to mention I would be renting 2 bedroom villas both places because I'll have my parents with us as well.

I guess the problem or possible concern comes in that I don't really want to buy into Aulani so if I did this I would purchase points at a resort I would want to stay at all the time or be ok staying at if other resorts weren't available at 7 months (learned that rule on this site!!! lol). I guess the kicker would be if I bought into DVC but then couldn't get a 2 bedroom villa at Aulani and end up spending more money lol. While I've read its difficult to get Grand Californaian at 7 months I figured it would be worth a shot and wouldn't be end of world if we didn't get that hotel.

So my questions are is this a crazy reason for finally deciding to buy into DVC?? Am I setting myself up for failure trying to book Aulani 7 months out (it would be summer time probably July). Finally has anyone else ever made the leap into the DVC family for a crazy or spur of the moment reason???

Thank you to anyone that actually took the time to read this whole saga!!! It actually feels good to just get this thoughts written down!! lol

 

[icc2515]

Nope, I do not think that you are crazy at all. I am thinking of doing this, but at Aulani. We already own at several other WDW resorts. A quick check shows a stay in a 2BR Ocean view(If you are going to go to Hawaii you better stay in an ocean view is my thought) shows that July for a week is around $11,000. 2BR ocean view DVC is 588 points. 200 point contract at $85pp is $17,000 plus closing costs and maint fees 1st year about $2000. Buying a fully loaded contract (no problem) bank 1st year and borrow 3rd years for your 588 points. If we love it, keep the contract and stay there for a month every third year in Jan. If we do not like it sell it for what we paid and pocket the savings.

You should not have a problem getting Aulani at 7 month for July. You might have a problem with June. You will have a problem getting into CA.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I have to agree. You cannot count on getting into VGC on non-VGC points. Aulani in June can be difficult.

DVC is nice, but it's no guarantee you'll get those resorts for the dates you want unless you split down into multiple contracts, and even then, that means the points will be 7 months at other resorts.

I'll caution not to buy for Disney Cruises. You have to buy direct, buy crazy points, and the exchange rate for points is poor.

 

[disneynutz]

IMO you should buy DVC to save money, at the resort that you will stay at most often, that you have trouble getting at 7 months. WDW gives you the biggest bang for your buck, more to do, more places to stay.

Bill

 

[Ronferr80]

I have to agree. You cannot count on getting into VGC on non-VGC points. Aulani in June can be difficult.

DVC is nice, but it's no guarantee you'll get those resorts for the dates you want unless you split down into multiple contracts, and even then, that means the points will be 7 months at other resorts.

I'll caution not to buy for Disney Cruises. You have to buy direct, buy crazy points, and the exchange rate for points is poor.

I would buy resale which obviously limits my benefits but I would never use points on Cruise.... I was just elaborating on how pro Disney I am!!

 

[JETSDAD]

If the trip to Aulani-VGC is kind of a one off trip you could always buy where you'd normally want to stay, rent them out for the year of your trip, and then rent pts at 11 months from owners at Aulani & VGC.

 

[Ronferr80]

If the trip to Aulani-VGC is kind of a one off trip you could always buy where you'd normally want to stay, rent them out for the year of your trip, and then rent pts at 11 months from owners at Aulani & VGC.

wow!! didn't even think of that one...very interesting...thanks for the idea!!!

 

[ELMC]

You obviously have given this some thought and I encourage you to continue to explore the possibilities. Remember that there are two comparisons when looking at the cost of purchasing DVC. The first is relative to the cost of non-DVC accommodations. In this comparison DVC frequently comes out ahead. The second comparison is the cost vs. doing nothing. Now I'm not suggesting that you don't go on vacation, but when you focus solely on the first comparison, sometimes it is easy to overlook the fact that you are committing tens of thousands of dollars to a vacation purchase. If this doesn't bother you, then keep going. But if it gives you pause, it's a good thing to think about as you navigate your options. Good luck!

 

[Dean]

You obviously have given this some thought and I encourage you to continue to explore the possibilities. Remember that there are two comparisons when looking at the cost of purchasing DVC. The first is relative to the cost of non-DVC accommodations. In this comparison DVC frequently comes out ahead. The second comparison is the cost vs. doing nothing. Now I'm not suggesting that you don't go on vacation, but when you focus solely on the first comparison, sometimes it is easy to overlook the fact that you are committing tens of thousands of dollars to a vacation purchase. If this doesn't bother you, then keep going. But if it gives you pause, it's a good thing to think about as you navigate your options. Good luck!

To me the question is first whether buying DVC at all makes sense. To me that includes appropriate travel preferences that favor DVC, personal stability, financial stability, ability to plan ahead at least 7 (preferably 11) months. Presumably the OP has made the decision that DVC is a good fit for them in general but there is not enough info here for us to look at those components. After that it's home resort (s), UY & number of points if one proceeds. I wouldn't buy points oriented specifically for 1 trip and I'm assuming they're not local to CA where VGC makes sense otherwise. Certainly renting both directions to lock in a given trip can be a great options and is often the best. For some, multiple home resorts can be the best choice.

OTOH, buying in to try to get that next trip in as a discount is normally sitting oneself up to pay more and make less than ideal choices. I'd only buy HI if I planned to go around every 2-3 years but impart depending on how else I planned to use the points.

 

[kniquy]

is this a crazy reason for finally deciding to buy into DVC??

Not at all. We decided to buy in when we were planning an extended family trip and needed a 2BR. To stay at AKV for one week Rack rate even with considering a 25% discount would be ~$7000. So we ended up buying a contract at AKV for $8600 and now aside from yearly MF we will be close to breaking even in a short time. Of course we are planning many more trips so it was worth the initial investment.

When you travel to WDW often (at least every other year) and want nice accommodations it often makes sense to buy into DVC.

failure trying to book Aulani 7 months

Like any other resort Aulani will have its busier times. Just from reading on these boards i recall that June was a particularly busy month. July might be as well because of it being school vacation -- Later august might be better. You'll have to research on here what to determine the busier times. But just like another member mentioned -- you could rent your points and use that cash to rent at 11 months if you want a hot DVC time. VGC might be impossible to get, but you could also look to do this same thing.

Overall you need to consider how often or for how long you foresee doing WDW trips. If you see many years of trips then buying in can make sense. Certainly buying resale makes the most sense. Explore the points charts so that you can determine the number of points you would need for your desired time frames.

Just do a lot of research before jumping in to buy.

 

[Shellyred8]

We have some friends that bought into DVC because their daughter was getting married down there. When they ran the numbers of what it would cost to pay for the hotel rooms vs. DVC cost, it was a no-brainer. They were Disney lovers already, but this was their first venture into DVC. They have since bought a couple more.

From personal experience, getting into VGC is really tough at 7 months. So, if you want to stay there on any kind of a regular basis, I would recommend finding a resale contract and buying there. It's a smaller resort and there is a lot of demand for it. We happened to luck out last year and got in in early Nov. After staying there, I can understand why it's so popular. It was a fantastic place to stay.

Whatever you decide to do, I would recommend looking at resale before retail. If you haven't already looked into the price differences, know that they can be significant. If you buy resale you won't get the Member Magic benefits, but if those are really important to you, you can look at doing a small add-on later going the retail route.

We bought DVC knowing very little about it. But we knew we loved Disney and would be making more trips back there. Financially, we were able to pay cash for it, so it made sense for us to buy in. So far, the only regret is not buying earlier and not buying more points when we initially bought in.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Ronferr80]

We have some friends that bought into DVC because their daughter was getting married down there. When they ran the numbers of what it would cost to pay for the hotel rooms vs. DVC cost, it was a no-brainer. They were Disney lovers already, but this was their first venture into DVC. They have since bought a couple more.

From personal experience, getting into VGC is really tough at 7 months. So, if you want to stay there on any kind of a regular basis, I would recommend finding a resale contract and buying there. It's a smaller resort and there is a lot of demand for it. We happened to luck out last year and got in in early Nov. After staying there, I can understand why it's so popular. It was a fantastic place to stay.

Whatever you decide to do, I would recommend looking at resale before retail. If you haven't already looked into the price differences, know that they can be significant. If you buy resale you won't get the Member Magic benefits, but if those are really important to you, you can look at doing a small add-on later going the retail route.

We bought DVC knowing very little about it. But we knew we loved Disney and would be making more trips back there. Financially, we were able to pay cash for it, so it made sense for us to buy in. So far, the only regret is not buying earlier and not buying more points when we initially bought in.

Good luck with your decision!

Your friends sound like exactly what I'm looking at when I put the numbers together... Again I kick myself for not getting into DVC sooner as we have made multiple trips the past few years but I think this vacation planning has finally give me that "lightbulb" moment when I need to become a member.

I 100% will go the resale route at least for my initial investment. While their is something cool, or maybe even a sense of pride buying from Disney Directly the savings is TOO MUCH to not start off at resale and like you said look at possibly buying a small amount directly

VGC wont mess me up because from what I have been reading I see how extremely difficult it is. I just can wrap my head around buying into Aulani, even though I need it for this trip, knowing that it wont be a repeat trip. So my research begins in finding a resort that I would be A-Okay with being their every trip if need be, but having enough points to hopefully get a room at Aulani... It seems that if anything is available it will be ocean view or pool view is what would be available

I have 3 young kids who love Disney (how can you not!!), and knowing that we would make great use out of DVC for years to come I'm excited about hopefully becoming a DVC member!!!

Thankyou for taking the time to read and all your helpful information!!

 

[Ronferr80]

You obviously have given this some thought and I encourage you to continue to explore the possibilities. Remember that there are two comparisons when looking at the cost of purchasing DVC. The first is relative to the cost of non-DVC accommodations. In this comparison DVC frequently comes out ahead. The second comparison is the cost vs. doing nothing. Now I'm not suggesting that you don't go on vacation, but when you focus solely on the first comparison, sometimes it is easy to overlook the fact that you are committing tens of thousands of dollars to a vacation purchase. If this doesn't bother you, then keep going. But if it gives you pause, it's a good thing to think about as you navigate your options. Good luck!

Thanks for taking the time to read and providing your thoughts!! There is a great photo that I tried to upload but I'm having issues with but its a family with their young kids staring at the Castle and it says " Take Vacations You can always make more money. You Can't always make more memories" I love this saying and try to live by that. While I would never put my family in any type of financial burden I'll never get back these years with my 3 kids (currently ages 7,5,2). Everything is so innocent and pure with them and every Disney trip we have taken has been magical in its own way and their is no price you can put on that!! (within reason of course lol j/k)

 

[kniquy]

So my research begins in finding a resort that I would be A-Okay with being their every trip if need be, but having enough points to hopefully get a room at Aulani

If you are not picky on where you stay then SSR frequently can give you the most bang for your buck with a fairly longer contract (2054)and lowest maintenance fees. We personally chose AKV because of the good price per point and length of contract. The MF are slightly higher, but to us it is worth it to pay an extra $100 per year to be stuck at AKV vs SSR (nice resort, just not our favorite).

You really need to narrow down by looking at your wants and needs for a resort. I always suggest reviewing some of the resort youtube reviews, since actually visiting each one is not practical before a purchase. There are other resorts with decent price per point, but earlier expiration of 2042 (OKW, BD, BWV, BRV(WL)) so you need to factor the length of time.