Just wondering....

[csatulovsky]

After reading all areas of this board I was just wondering...what's the advantage of ownership at DVC other than the obvious room guarantee ....
Do not missunderstand me...I am really happy of my new membership at DVC but I thought that as a member we will have some "advantages" than regular vacationers don't......

 

[disneynutz]

Pre-paid discounted resort rooms and other discounts for DVC Members including a $100 discount on the AP. The current perks are listed on the member website.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you vacation smart, you can leave with a zero bill.

 

[Lynne M]

You do have an advantage....you're getting upgraded accommodations at a vastly reduced cost when compared to the cash price. You're pre-paying for decades of accommodations at today's cost.

I saw that you mentioned a 'room guarantee'...that's one thing that we don't get. There's no guarantee at all that you'll get a villa whenever you want one.

 

[rocketriter]

For our family (including two teenagers of different sexes who can't share a bed), the advantage is that for an initial investment, we get years of low-priced but much roomier accommodations and longer stays at WDW. Other perks like meal/pass discounts and trades are gravy.

 

[Granny]

Do not missunderstand me...I am really happy of my new membership at DVC but I thought that as a member we will have some "advantages" than regular vacationers don't......

In general, DVC members are not "treated better" by Disney than regular WDW Resort guests. Some would even claim that DVC members are treated worse, but in my opinion the treatment is pretty much the same.

We do get some perks as mentioned, the best (IMHO) being the big AP discount. That makes the AP very affordable and provides all the AP discounts (which generally exceed the DVC discounts), allows us to enjoy the parks in a more leisurely fashion, and allows us to buy into the DDE...or whatever it's called now.

Besides the AP discount, DVC members enjoy pool hopping privileges and free valet parking at other DVC resorts (BC, WL, AK and BW) that have valet parking.

The value of DVC lies in the ability to stay in accommodations upgraded from regular resort rooms at a relatively fixed cost. Anything beyond that is a perk which could be given or taken away by Disney at any time.

We think it's a great value. But no, we are not treated like Disney VIP's. That's fine with us as we feel that the CM's generally exceed those of anywhere else we go.

 

[Anal Annie]

Personally, whenever we start to plan a trip I love knowing that our accomodations are already covered and that we don't need to budget for that portion!

I also love the idea that even tho DS11 is still a child now, that we will be able to provide him and HIS family with trips to WDW one day! With the way everything just keeps going up, up, up I wonder if the average family will be priced out of going to even the "value" resorts in 20 or 25 years without DVC. I know we were already getting priced out of the "Moderates" and we like staying in the "deluxe" resorts so it was an economical choice for us once we saw how much the rooms were going up.

I also think the discount on the AP is a great value...and I like knowing that we can get a 25% discount on cash ressies if we're out of points. We've already used that perk twice.

 

[wdwnut]

Hi: Just another point of view: we've been able to do larger, extended family vacations. We had 19 people at BWV from 10/1-10/7 in a GV, 2BR, and 1BR. Rack rates with taxes would've cost over $ 16k; even AP rates would've been over $10k. How nice is that, to be able to do this every other year if we want. We have done 4 trips with 15-28 people as well as many others with just immediate family. I think it is just great!

 

[mfd25wife]

We definitely would not be staying at AKL every year without the membership. Plus, it makes me take a vacation even when the economy is tanking. I can eat in my home if I want. And, I don't have to go to the parks if I don't want. There appears to be plenty to do without them. I am a worrier by nature, so with the membership I don't have to worry about my vacations.