Just a pipe dream

[DMKEDM]

To me, the key comparison would be the amount of money you think you'd be spending on accommodations at Disney if you didn't own DVC vs the amount you'd spend on a room if you do own DVC (don't forget maintenance fees--approximately $5/pt every year; and don't use the whole cost of the vacation--only the room cost--cuz all those other costs are part of the equation whether you're staying CRO or DVC)...

So, if you're going to go to Disney and spend $300/night for a Disney resort, compare that to the cost (however you value the annual cost of the upfront acquisition, plus maintenance fees) of the DVC points you'd buy...

To me, whether you'd finance or not; or the add'l cost of park tickets, transportation, food, souvenirs, etc isn't particularly relevant if you're going to be spending (borrowed or not) money to go to stay in DVC resorts on reservations made thru CRO!

And don't forget it's MUCH more than a purely financial decision. In our case, it was my college age DS's promise to go to Disney for T-giving w/me every year...(he was at the time trying to talk me into buying)...that promise (which he has faithfully kept for 6 years now) was worth so much more than "mere money!"...AND, the add'l benefits--being able to invite family & friends, for example, are also hugely worthwhile benefits for me that are only marginally related to the cost of DVC...

Good luck w/your decision...

 

[OHJ]

A lot of great advice so far. I will add my 2 cents as well. Definitely determine how often you plan on vacationing at WDW, length of stay, and how many people will be going. In my case, I have a family of 7 and we planned on going at least once a year for 2 weeks. Now as DVC members, we go twice a year; once on property for 12 nights and once off property for 7 nights because as a DVC member you can purchase annual passes at the Florida rate and we like to take advantage of this perk. DVC members do not get the dining plan discounts commonly advertised, but we do get a lot of discounts/perks which should be considered in a purchase.
Since you live on Long Island, I would recommend going to the DVC sales office in the Roosevelt Field mall http://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/disney-doorway-to-dreams/roosevelt-field/ where you can see a two bedroom model plus get plenty of info.

Have fun in making your decision. For my family, the decision to purchase was one of the best investments we have ever made. Memories last a lifetime.

 

[amypetecar]

If you both have solid FT jobs I would say buy a small contract (100 points or so). If you are like I was when we had small children, money just disappeared with nothing to show for it. If you can sacrifice other expenses for a DVC purchase then do it, at least you will have something concrete.

Great advice! If you know that you love going to Disney enough, you'll find a way to responsibly pay for it.

I am very frugal with my money, but bought in when my car was paid off. My timeshare payment took the place of my car payment, so it fit perfectly into our budget. I'd gladly drive my old Chevy for another five years to pay for my BLT contract! If I ever get sick of going in 5 or 10 years, I can surely rent my BLT points for far more than my yearly dues!

 

[Greysword]

Yes, DVC may be right for you, so you should make an appointment at a DVC kiosk next time you are in a park. Also, go online and order the propaganda DVD to watch at home and get a good overview (the video onboard the Wonder made my DW succumb to the dark side of DVC )

The knee-jerk reaction on here is to dissuade people who may not be able to afford it from looking into the option. That said, you seem to have a Poly habit forming, so DVC will probably save you a lot in lodging costs over the next several decades. There are spreadsheets-a-plenty on the DIS and in the internet comparing DVC to the different resort categories. Almost always, DVC beats deluxe resorts hands down, even with pin codes and free dining.

Good luck, and if you have other questions, please let us know!

- Chris

 

[Aliceacc]

The thing is, I don't even know what to ask.

We're both teachers in Catholic high schools. Strange to say, our jobs are very secure; all the cuts in state aid haven't effected us at all. And, as teachers, we KNOW that we'll be vacationing in August.. I'm booking our August 2012 trip as soon as the prices come out this August.

As to resort choices, yeah, we tend to go Deluxe. (As a family of 5, our options are somewhat limited--but that means we'll need to buy more points, right??)

Anyway, just playing with options before I even mention it to my husband. Two of the other teachers in my school are also DVC members, so as I think of questions I can ask them.

But, please, keep the opinions coming. And thanks!

 

[dizfan]

The thing is, I don't even know what to ask.

We're both teachers in Catholic high schools. Strange to say, our jobs are very secure; all the cuts in state aid haven't effected us at all. And, as teachers, we KNOW that we'll be vacationing in August.. I'm booking our August 2012 trip as soon as the prices come out this August.

As to resort choices, yeah, we tend to go Deluxe. (As a family of 5, our options are somewhat limited--but that means we'll need to buy more points, right??)

Anyway, just playing with options before I even mention it to my husband. Two of the other teachers in my school are also DVC members, so as I think of questions I can ask them.

But, please, keep the opinions coming. And thanks!

Since you are a family of 5...

When looking at the point charts, look at 1BR or larger DVC accommodations. The DVC studios don't fit 5 unless one is under 3 years old.

I think AKV and BLT are the only ones with a sleeper chair in the living room so that 5 would have a place to sleep in a 1BR.
Additionally, AKV and BLT 1BR units have 2 full bathrooms. The second bathroom can be important for some families.

When we bought BLT, we never expected to use the kitchen. We are on vacation, so we didn't want to cook. Wouldn't you know, we found out that we really like having the kitchen in the 1BR. We make breakfast while getting ready. It saves us money and time.

Additionally, I see you are from Long Island. You may want to visit the Doorway to Dreams located there. They have models that you can walk through to get an idea of the rooms.
Here's a link to Disney's Doorway to Dreams New York (Long Island's Roosevelt Field) web site...
http://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/disney-doorway-to-dreams/roosevelt-field/

 

[RLRDA]

I was pregnant with our 3rd (i.e about to become a family of 5) during our 2004 trip -- that is what 'sealed the deal', so to speak, to purchase DVC. We took the DVC tour a few days before we headed home. We had thought about it before then but that was finally what prompted us to do it. We had stayed once at the GF, once at POR and once at WL. We knew we preferred deluxes so that also factored in.

I think if you see your family visiting WDW at least every other year (or every third year) it would be a good idea to research now.....maybe your 2012 trip to the Beach Club could be at the DVC villas with your points! I am embarrassed to say that we did very little research before we bought (thankfully we haven't regretted it for one second). I now feel like an informed DVC owner thanks to the DIS. My advice to you would be to read as much info here as possible, ask any questions that may pop up. It sounds like your heading in the right direction.

 

[ToddyLu]

These boards always give good advice or at least make you think. Lots of people say it is a luxury purchase and you should only pay cash. I tend to agree with that it just wasn't what we wanted to do. So we purchased points at AKV in June 2009. We financed it through DVC and have no issue or quam about our payments.

DH and I do not have children. We had only ever stayed in values, but in our 40s I was ready for a step up. We had been to Disney every year since 2002 for 9-10 nights. We were always going to do this--it is the yearly trip we look forward to---some people have the Beach house--we have DVC. Some people have a golf cart and clubs or a speed boat or a corvette...we have DVC. It is our luxury and we pay for it.

My take on financing is different. It is really just money. I work very hard as does DH. We financed our purchase for 10 years at 10.75%.

After Katrina our life changed at home. DH is a fireman and still will not talk about the days after the storm. So our priorities changed. It made us a little more carefree...not always worried about spending money on this or that. We live well within our means but that one area we splurged on. Why not spend money on a place that isn't going anywhere...millions flock to every year...and is a clean consistent provider of wholesome fun. It has been worth every financed penny.

 

[Kidanifan08]

. . .as teachers, we KNOW that we'll be vacationing in August. . .

If you know you will be traveling in August most years, you should consider getting a Use Year in the first half of the year (June, April, March or Feb). This becomes important if you have to cancel your vacation. If you have to cancel, and you are in the last 4 months of your UY, those points can't be banked. They would have to be used before the end of the UY.

My first comment was before you gave more details of your situation. We have secure jobs as well, and we bought in using DVC financing. We were able to pay off our loan in about 2.5 years, so we saved some finance charges. We have done two small add-ons in the past 2 months using cash, since we have learned we needed more points. It sounds like this could definitely work for you and your family. Have fun with this!!

 

[Greysword]

The two big questions for DVC (IMO) are how many points and what Use Year (UY).

The number of points are set the costs and are predicated on your anticipated travel plans (time of year and how long you want to stay). To determine this, you already have the month. Now, look at the number of points required for each resort. The point charts can be found at:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

There are two ways to buy points: through Disney (retail) and through Resale (used pricing). Disney's retail prices can be found here:

http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/financial/pricing-a-promotions

Resale pricing can be found here:

http://www.dvc-resales.com/dvclisting.cfm

The difference between the two are costs and amenities. The upside for Resale are the lower price points and ability to buy smaller contracts. Also, availability for the older resorts is more prevalent in the resale market. The downside for Resale is that Disney recently excluded some trading ability for these points. Resale points can be used for any DVC resort and to trade through RCI (with other timeshares). Points bought through Disney may be used at WDW and Disneyland resort hotels, the Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and a couple other collections (like the concierge collection). However, the most cost effective use of the points are at DVC resorts exclusively.

The other cost of points are the annual dues. These pay for maintenance on the property, staff salary and benefits, transportation costs (buses, monorail, boats, etc), and other costs of upkeep. The annual dues for each resort can be found in this thread (Doc has a great list in post #5):

http://www.dvc-resales.com/dvclisting.cfm

Annual dues are important, as they will be recurring for the life of the contract. Also, some resorts with a low price point may have higher annual dues, which quickly eats into the savings (after a decade or so ).


Once you know how many points, it will be important to think about Use Year. The UY is the starting month for your contract. On the first day of that month each calendar year, you will get a new set of points to spend. Two key policies are directly affected by the UY: banking and borrowing. Banking allows the member to move current year points forward into the next year. With planning, this allows reservations for larger rooms at busier times than you normally could make. It also extends the life of current year points beyond the expiration date (the last day of the month prior to your new UY). Borrowing allows you raid your future point stock and use them now.

There is a caveat to this; however, the Rule of Four. Within the last four months of your UY, you are unable to do certain things, including banking points or reserve Disney Collection rooms. Thus, choosing you UY month is vital, since you will want to be able to bank any unused points from a canceled vacation. Since you are both teachers, you may want to consider a summer UY month (such as May, June or July). For instance, a May UY will allow travel between May and December and if you cancel for some reason, the points will still be bankable. However, you will not be able to bank these points from January 1st through April 30th (due to the Rule of Four). Also with a May UY, you could not make a DCL reservation within the months of Jan - Apr (however, you can make a cruise reservation in December for February and still travel on points, the lock down is the ability to reserve).

There are many posts on these topics stickied at the top of this thread. If you want detail on these topic, simple do a search on the key words, as they have been discussed in detail many times

- Chris