Keeping costs down on DVC vacations

[bonrea]

OKW = 260 points $72 per point
AKV = 160 points $92 per point
BDP = $881.79 [DH & DW @ $41.99ea, DD @ $11.99]
DH deals with the dues each year so I don't see them.

We go twice a year (Spring & Fall) or on a cruse and always get the basic dining plan (meals included on the ship). We've only done one bedrooms because it has better sleeping for us and our only child [DD] loves the idea of her own room. We eat lunch early in the parks to avoid the crowds and use the snacks in the parks and book 7:00pm'ish TS meals so we can return to the parks for the fireworks. Love them!

Anways; the leftover desserts are used as breakfast in most cases, with a little OJ or milk, nothing fancy but it gets us going in the mornings.

We get 10 days of MYWBase Tickets each time we run out with the Park Hopper Option and No Expiration Option. This is $50.40 per day for adults and $47.10 per day for DD. We break up our 1 week trips into park days and down days for relaxing by the pool or other activities so we only visit a park three days each visit. This is plenty for us and we have enough Disney stuff at home so we don't buy any toys much anymore so we spend just gas for the trip down from NC, the Basic Dinning Plan, and tips for the wait staff. That is about it. $1000+ I believe. The Annual pass is $619 per adult so that is more then the 10 day tickets for us which is (with tax) $305 cheaper plus we carry over the other 4 days to the next year which saves money. DH buys 10 more each time they annouce a rate hike on the price. We have tickets left that we haven't used yet from November 2008 that were purchesed at the $72+ price.

 

[edk35]

Okay you said:

Thanks, but for us, if we knock off nights, it means that those accommodations cost more.

What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean because you are not GETTING your money's worth out of your contracts????

 

[edk35]

I am another person who love to "budget" for our WDW trips (spreadsheets), it is a fun challenge. I do it because it allows us to bring extended family along to the "party" (I supply accomidations and villa food only). Here is my list if ways I keep the $ down
First shop everything.
If air fares are high we drive.
Bought resale so the effective all in cost of my yearly points is about $7pt with maintenance, amortization and lost income from the money I committed to the DVC purchase.
We do 2 years worth of visits (15+ days per visit) on 1 DVC AP (works out to about $30/park day for a family of 4)
Only do special event dining out (character meals, shows etc).
Use CRO exceptional deals when they are available.
Transfer in last minute points at fire sale prices to fill in or replace some of our vacations (and bank back our current UY points)
Not "afraid" to stay offsite if needed for a couple of weekend days (have not had to by doing the item above)
Pack water and snacks fro when we are in the parks.
Do a day or 2 of QSDDP at the beginning of our trip before the rest of the clan arrives while we are in a studio to get our fill of WDW food and snacks.
Use Disney Visa for as many purchases as possible and pay it off each month (this is our "fun money")
Avoid buying "plastic junk"
It is great to come back from a WDW vacation without a financial "hangover"
bookwormde

"plastic junk" LOVE IT

 

[florep1]

For us, we're using APs bought from last year's 2 week trip for our park days and 10 day non expire with WP for water parks, We have TIW card and using QSDP for most of our meals with breakfast in our 2BR. We have found the QSDP to be a better fit/value for our family as we only plan 3 TS meals for our 7 day trip and we love WPE, Cosmic Rays, and AP. The 2 snacks per day is icing on the cake.

 

[Tiger926]

Okay you said:

Thanks, but for us, if we knock off nights, it means that those accommodations cost more.

What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean because you are not GETTING your money's worth out of your contracts????

So, once you add up the buy-in plus dues, you get a vacation cost total. Some people figure this out as cost per point and multiple by nights stayed, whereas I just use a simpler figure of buy-in cost plus dues for that year's vacation. If I knock off nights, then that vacation's accommodations cost more on the whole, KWIM? Since it's divided by nights, if I have less, each night costs more. Plus, I then have points to bank. If I do this too often, I will have a larger amount of points that I may not be able to use as we really only like to vacation 1x per year as it's far for us, and adds to the expense. More vacations equals more transportation budget so between gas, hotels and food, that's a lot of money. We only travelled to WDW 1x per year before DVC, so we aren't going to change that, as that just adds to our expenses.

Not sure if I've explained myself, so sorry if I've confused you more, Tiger

 

[edk35]

So, once you add up the buy-in plus dues, you get a vacation cost total. Some people figure this out as cost per point and multiple by nights stayed, whereas I just use a simpler figure of buy-in cost plus dues for that year's vacation. If I knock off nights, then that vacation's accommodations cost more on the whole, KWIM? Since it's divided by nights, if I have less, each night costs more. Plus, I then have points to bank. If I do this too often, I will have a larger amount of points that I may not be able to use as we really only like to vacation 1x per year as it's far for us, and adds to the expense. More vacations equals more transportation budget so between gas, hotels and food, that's a lot of money. We only travelled to WDW 1x per year before DVC, so we aren't going to change that, as that just adds to our expenses.

Not sure if I've explained myself, so sorry if I've confused you more, Tiger

I wonder if I am in the minority of NOT figuring out what our DVC vacations cost each year or each time we go. We just bought in, then we pay our dues each year. I never think about what the trip would cost...I kinda just look at it as accomodations are PAID FOR. I don't think about the dues either.

I meant that instead of switching betwen studios and 1 br units....why not just stay for however many nights you can in a 1 br. We like split stays too in the summer.....we have done that the past 3 years. However we always get 2 bedrooms at each resort. We own 400 points so if we were to to get a 1 br. at Kidani or BLT...we could stay for MORE nights on our points...more bang for the buck so to speak HOWEVER we didn't buy DVC to do that. We bought it to have nice spacious accomodations. Therefore we go to for however many nights we can get based on our points. That is what I meant by shaving off a night or two. If you did that..then obvious you are NOT spending as much on food. I do understand that you want to go for a longer time since you drive from Canada and all....but as your family grows your points will probably NOT go as far so then your cost factor will change because you too might have to book 2 brs. and stay for less nights.

 

[florep1]

I wonder if I am in the minority of NOT figuring out what our DVC vacations cost each year or each time we go. We just bought in, then we pay our dues each year. I never think about what the trip would cost...I kinda just look at it as accomodations are PAID FOR. I don't think about the dues either.

I meant that instead of switching betwen studios and 1 br units....why not just stay for however many nights you can in a 1 br. We like split stays too in the summer.....we have done that the past 3 years. However we always get 2 bedrooms at each resort. We own 400 points so if we were to to get a 1 br. at Kidani or BLT...we could stay for MORE nights on our points...more bang for the buck so to speak HOWEVER we didn't buy DVC to do that. We bought it to have nice spacious accomodations. Therefore we go to for however many nights we can get based on our points. That is what I meant by shaving off a night or two. If you did that..then obvious you are NOT spending as much on food. I do understand that you want to go for a longer time since you drive from Canada and all....but as your family grows your points will probably NOT go as far so then your cost factor will change because you too might have to book 2 brs. and stay for less nights.

We don't either especially since I don't pay for DVC, it comes out of dh's checking account. We have separate accounts and although they are both joint accounts, we both pay for certain bills in our household. DVC vacations for us are prepaid and all we worry about is food, gas, and tickets (which we stretch over several visits).

 

[daisyduck123]

I wonder if I am in the minority of NOT figuring out what our DVC vacations cost each year or each time we go. We just bought in, then we pay our dues each year. I never think about what the trip would cost...I kinda just look at it as accomodations are PAID FOR. I don't think about the dues either.

I'm in the minority with you. You know me Denise...I never figure stuff like that out. It would make no difference & not affect my trip...so why bother?

 

[edk35]

I'm in the minority with you. You know me Denise...I never figure stuff like that out. It would make no difference & not affect my trip...so why bother?

I'm with you Laurie.....

 

[SamiL]

Transfer in last minute points at fire sale prices to fill in or replace some of our vacations (and bank back our current UY points)

So, you can book a trip with current points and then later transfer points in and switch to using those points instead of your current points and it doesn't effect a standing reservation? Or do you make a new reservation?

 

[Tiger926]

That's interesting that some of you don't factor in your buy-in for the membership - creative accounting?

So, you are just going with each vacation total costs, but what happens to that $20,000 or $30,000 (or in our case $39,000) initial membership cost?

I am a micro manager, as you can all figure out by now - LOL! So, without adding in the initial membership buy-in, then it's not a true vacation cost. I guess this is a creative way to keep DVC vacation costs down though - LOL!

I could see this as being a way to get people into financial trouble - it's like buying Tables in Wonderland and not factoring in that cost either. I have at the end of my dining spreadsheet the cost of the card - this adds a tiny amount to each meal, just like the initial buy-in adds to each vacation, but it's necessary as paying that product cost is the only way to secure that discount.

Interesting...Tiger

 

[bookwormde]

While sometimes realocation is done, I do it for reservations that have room availabilty so I just book the new room with firesale points and cancel the room that is currnet year points and bank. It if typically done from 75 to 30 days before the reservation. It takes some planning and work, but lets us "stretch" our points. And of course their is the risk that if we had to cancel a reservaion the points would likely be "lost", but at $5/pt it is worth it. I also do soem weekend offsite reservations an fill them in "onsite" at the last minute.

I am one who figures the "cost" of my DVC stays, which is easy since I already have calculated the full cost of my yearly points is $7. It is fun when you get a deluxe room for under $100.

bookwormde

 

[DVC-Don]

Food is where we cut. We grocery shop at Publix once we get there. All breakfasts, most dinners and a few lunches are eaten in our room. We only do 1 or 2 Disney dinners per trip.

 

[edk35]

That's interesting that some of you don't factor in your buy-in for the membership - creative accounting?

So, you are just going with each vacation total costs, but what happens to that $20,000 or $30,000 (or in our case $39,000) initial membership cost?

I am a micro manager, as you can all figure out by now - LOL! So, without adding in the initial membership buy-in, then it's not a true vacation cost. I guess this is a creative way to keep DVC vacation costs down though - LOL!

I could see this as being a way to get people into financial trouble - it's like buying Tables in Wonderland and not factoring in that cost either. I have at the end of my dining spreadsheet the cost of the card - this adds a tiny amount to each meal, just like the initial buy-in adds to each vacation, but it's necessary as paying that product cost is the only way to secure that discount.

Interesting...Tiger

NOPE not us. I would love for you to post this on another thread. Or I will if you don't mind. I would LOVE to hear how many people do this. MAYBE I am just totally out of that loop.

Why do you see that as a way to get people into financial trouble? I look at it like this. DVC is paid for.... except yearly dues that we have to pay each year. We use our DVC each year so it is not like we are wasting our purchase...but I guess if we could travel in a more lower point time of year we would get more bang for the buck so to speak. However right now summers is what we book. I factor in vaction cost like this: How much will money do I need for FOOD/Dining while there, park tickets, airfare if we fly and some extra spending cash. That is what we budget for. Kinda like clothes....you buy them and you wear them. I don't figure out how many times I wear them against the cost I paid....to see if I get my money's worth.
If you think about it this is also kind of like.... the people who own/stay at OKW get the most bang for their point because it is lower point cost to stay there. Where people who stay at BLT have to spend a lot more to stay there. Some people stay in studios to stretch their trips while others want 1 bedrooms for the space luxory. We are a family of 5 so we could stay in 1 bedrooms at BLT or AKV Kidani to save points and stay longer but we would much rather have the space of a 2 br. SO maybe we are not getting the most bang for our buck.

Two summers ago we stayed at OKW for 8 days because it was much cheaper point wise and then we move to BCV for 6 nights. We were able to take a long trip. However...if we wanted to stay at BCV the entire time....we would not have been able to stay there as long. So cost factor/buy in factor will always be different depending on when you go each year and how long you stay/where you stay. It would drive me absolutely NUTS to figure this out in my vacation cost each time I took a trip to FL. If I was worried or trying to cut down on expenses for my trip...it would be going for LESS nights and cutting back on dining costs. I mean....the more you shop at the mall the more you are tempted to spend. The more nights you are WDW the more money you are going to spend. As your family gets bigger you will probably NOT be getting the bang out of your DVC buck that you are now because you are going to probably get 2 brs. SO then you will probably go for less nights than you do right now or add on. Which means MORE MOOLA.

I don't know....for me...if DVC is paid for...then vacations costs are what I mentioned above.

 

[nunzia]

I micro manage many things, but trips not so much. The way I figure my vacation costs is I write down everything I spent to get and keep DVC, original points, yearly MF, and then I write down rack rates had I stayed with cash. ( I know alot of people say this isn't really realistic, but I have stayed at GC, now VGC, at rack rates so it works for me) When my visits match my money spent I'll be traveling for the cost of MF alone. Maybe I'll keep keeping track after this break even point and see how far 'ahead' I am with DVC . As someone who is intensly frugal (cheap) in day to day life, I give myself a break on vacation..vacation money is not real money and I just won't do a cost comparison every inch of the way like I do in real life. I could save alot popping my own popcorn in the villa instead of stopping at a cart, but hey..I'll splurge!

 

[lucyem]

That's interesting that some of you don't factor in your buy-in for the membership - creative accounting?

So, you are just going with each vacation total costs, but what happens to that $20,000 or $30,000 (or in our case $39,000) initial membership cost?

I am a micro manager, as you can all figure out by now - LOL! So, without adding in the initial membership buy-in, then it's not a true vacation cost. I guess this is a creative way to keep DVC vacation costs down though - LOL!

I could see this as being a way to get people into financial trouble - it's like buying Tables in Wonderland and not factoring in that cost either. I have at the end of my dining spreadsheet the cost of the card - this adds a tiny amount to each meal, just like the initial buy-in adds to each vacation, but it's necessary as paying that product cost is the only way to secure that discount.

Interesting...Tiger

I would not call it creative accounting. The room has been bought. So for a lot of people it is not part of the yearly vacation expense they need to budget for.

I do pay attention to my buy in cost. I have a spreadsheet on my computer with 3 lists of numbers. Cost to buy in and dues, rack rate of the rooms we are getting, the room we would have gotten if not for DVC. Basically I will break even on rack rates within 5-6 years. Longer for the rooms we would have had (deluxe 2 bedrooms standard view) with any discounts I find. I am just curious about that one. It is not exactly comparing apples to apples. Once I break even on the buy in my vacation costs will be the cost of my dues.

I keep track of vacation expenses elsewhere (tickets food etc). Unlike the above my everyday vacation expenses are things I can control. This year we will use TIW and an AP and use them both again next year. The following year we may take a cruise or try the DDP. These are the figures I have control over. This is where I put my effort into finding deals on tickets and eating wisely.

 

[Tiger926]

NOPE not us. I would love for you to post this on another thread. Or I will if you don't mind. I would LOVE to hear how many people do this. MAYBE I am just totally out of that loop.

Why do you see that as a way to get people into financial trouble? I look at it like this. DVC is paid for.... except yearly dues that we have to pay each year. We use our DVC each year so it is not like we are wasting our purchase...but I guess if we could travel in a more lower point time of year we would get more bang for the buck so to speak. However right now summers is what we book. I factor in vaction cost like this: How much will money do I need for FOOD/Dining while there, park tickets, airfare if we fly and some extra spending cash. That is what we budget for. Kinda like clothes....you buy them and you wear them. I don't figure out how many times I wear them against the cost I paid....to see if I get my money's worth.
If you think about it this is also kind of like.... the people who own/stay at OKW get the most bang for their point because it is lower point cost to stay there. Where people who stay at BLT have to spend a lot more to stay there. Some people stay in studios to stretch their trips while others want 1 bedrooms for the space luxory. We are a family of 5 so we could stay in 1 bedrooms at BLT or AKV Kidani to save points and stay longer but we would much rather have the space of a 2 br. SO maybe we are not getting the most bang for our buck.

Two summers ago we stayed at OKW for 8 days because it was much cheaper point wise and then we move to BCV for 6 nights. We were able to take a long trip. However...if we wanted to stay at BCV the entire time....we would not have been able to stay there as long. So cost factor/buy in factor will always be different depending on when you go each year and how long you stay/where you stay. It would drive me absolutely NUTS to figure this out in my vacation cost each time I took a trip to FL. If I was worried or trying to cut down on expenses for my trip...it would be going for LESS nights and cutting back on dining costs. I mean....the more you shop at the mall the more you are tempted to spend. The more nights you are WDW the more money you are going to spend. As your family gets bigger you will probably NOT be getting the bang out of your DVC buck that you are now because you are going to probably get 2 brs. SO then you will probably go for less nights than you do right now or add on. Which means MORE MOOLA.

I don't know....for me...if DVC is paid for...then vacations costs are what I mentioned above.

You totally have my blessing to start another thread - I have a busy day ahead of me with my students and graduation/awards. It will be interesting to see the results!

I think it may cause people to have financial trouble because if you take out that initial buy-in, then you are starting at a much lower vacation total. So, you might splurge on things way more as you think you have a cushion there to play with. I don't mean that someone will get into major financial trouble, but I mean more with each vacation. There is actual true cost of DVC vacations which consist of every single item that goes into the vacation, and then there are yearly costs. If you are a yearly costs person, then your vacation budget will be different. It's very easy to figure out the buy-in costs for each vacation - just take your membership (remember to add in interest if applicable) and divide by number of years and there you have your yearly vacation total. Add in dues, and that's your accommdation cost for that year.

I would not call it creative accounting. The room has been bought. So for a lot of people it is not part of the yearly vacation expense they need to budget for.

I do pay attention to my buy in cost. I have a spreadsheet on my computer with 3 lists of numbers. Cost to buy in and dues, rack rate of the rooms we are getting, the room we would have gotten if not for DVC. Basically I will break even on rack rates within 5-6 years. Longer for the rooms we would have had (deluxe 2 bedrooms standard view) with any discounts I find. I am just curious about that one. It is not exactly comparing apples to apples. Once I break even on the buy in my vacation costs will be the cost of my dues.

I keep track of vacation expenses elsewhere (tickets food etc). Unlike the above my everyday vacation expenses are things I can control. This year we will use TIW and an AP and use them both again next year. The following year we may take a cruise or try the DDP. These are the figures I have control over. This is where I put my effort into finding deals on tickets and eating wisely.

I think it's creative because it's not the true total cost of vacation. It's only the yearly cost.

It really is interesting to see how people keep track of their DVC vacation costs!

Tiger

 

[Tiger926]

NOPE not us. I would love for you to post this on another thread. Or I will if you don't mind. I would LOVE to hear how many people do this. MAYBE I am just totally out of that loop.

Why do you see that as a way to get people into financial trouble? I look at it like this. DVC is paid for.... except yearly dues that we have to pay each year. We use our DVC each year so it is not like we are wasting our purchase...but I guess if we could travel in a more lower point time of year we would get more bang for the buck so to speak. However right now summers is what we book. I factor in vaction cost like this: How much will money do I need for FOOD/Dining while there, park tickets, airfare if we fly and some extra spending cash. That is what we budget for. Kinda like clothes....you buy them and you wear them. I don't figure out how many times I wear them against the cost I paid....to see if I get my money's worth.
If you think about it this is also kind of like.... the people who own/stay at OKW get the most bang for their point because it is lower point cost to stay there. Where people who stay at BLT have to spend a lot more to stay there. Some people stay in studios to stretch their trips while others want 1 bedrooms for the space luxory. We are a family of 5 so we could stay in 1 bedrooms at BLT or AKV Kidani to save points and stay longer but we would much rather have the space of a 2 br. SO maybe we are not getting the most bang for our buck.

Two summers ago we stayed at OKW for 8 days because it was much cheaper point wise and then we move to BCV for 6 nights. We were able to take a long trip. However...if we wanted to stay at BCV the entire time....we would not have been able to stay there as long. So cost factor/buy in factor will always be different depending on when you go each year and how long you stay/where you stay. It would drive me absolutely NUTS to figure this out in my vacation cost each time I took a trip to FL. If I was worried or trying to cut down on expenses for my trip...it would be going for LESS nights and cutting back on dining costs. I mean....the more you shop at the mall the more you are tempted to spend. The more nights you are WDW the more money you are going to spend. As your family gets bigger you will probably NOT be getting the bang out of your DVC buck that you are now because you are going to probably get 2 brs. SO then you will probably go for less nights than you do right now or add on. Which means MORE MOOLA.

I don't know....for me...if DVC is paid for...then vacations costs are what I mentioned above.

You totally have my blessing to start another thread - I have a busy day ahead of me with my students and graduation/awards. It will be interesting to see the results!

I think it may cause people to have financial trouble because if you take out that initial buy-in, then you are starting at a much lower vacation total. So, you might splurge on things way more as you think you have a cushion there to play with. I don't mean that someone will get into major financial trouble, but I mean more with each vacation. There is actual true cost of DVC vacations which consist of every single item that goes into the vacation, and then there are yearly costs. If you are a yearly costs person, then your vacation budget will be different. It's very easy to figure out the buy-in costs for each vacation - just take your membership (remember to add in interest if applicable) and divide by number of years and there you have your yearly vacation total. Add in dues, and that's your accommdation cost for that year.

I would not call it creative accounting. The room has been bought. So for a lot of people it is not part of the yearly vacation expense they need to budget for.

I do pay attention to my buy in cost. I have a spreadsheet on my computer with 3 lists of numbers. Cost to buy in and dues, rack rate of the rooms we are getting, the room we would have gotten if not for DVC. Basically I will break even on rack rates within 5-6 years. Longer for the rooms we would have had (deluxe 2 bedrooms standard view) with any discounts I find. I am just curious about that one. It is not exactly comparing apples to apples. Once I break even on the buy in my vacation costs will be the cost of my dues.

I keep track of vacation expenses elsewhere (tickets food etc). Unlike the above my everyday vacation expenses are things I can control. This year we will use TIW and an AP and use them both again next year. The following year we may take a cruise or try the DDP. These are the figures I have control over. This is where I put my effort into finding deals on tickets and eating wisely.

I think it's creative because it's not the true total cost of vacation. It's only the yearly cost. But, you sound like the exception as you keep track of rack rates, etc. I think that's important, and that's why I do it my way as keeping track of rack rates on a separate spreadsheet is too much work for me. I glance at the rack rate for whatever resorts we are staying at, and compare to my total accommodation cost. Easy cheesy!

It really is interesting to see how people keep track of their DVC vacation costs!

Tiger

 

[edk35]

You totally have my blessing to start another thread - I have a busy day ahead of me with my students and graduation/awards. It will be interesting to see the results!

I think it may cause people to have financial trouble because if you take out that initial buy-in, then you are starting at a much lower vacation total. So, you might splurge on things way more as you think you have a cushion there to play with. I don't mean that someone will get into major financial trouble, but I mean more with each vacation. There is actual true cost of DVC vacations which consist of every single item that goes into the vacation, and then there are yearly costs. If you are a yearly costs person, then your vacation budget will be different. It's very easy to figure out the buy-in costs for each vacation - just take your membership (remember to add in interest if applicable) and divide by number of years and there you have your yearly vacation total. Add in dues, and that's your accommdation cost for that year.




I think it's creative because it's not the true total cost of vacation. It's only the yearly cost. But, you sound like the exception as you keep track of rack rates, etc. I think that's important, and that's why I do it my way as keeping track of rack rates on a separate spreadsheet is too much work for me. I glance at the rack rate for whatever resorts we are staying at, and compare to my total accommodation cost. Easy cheesy!

It really is interesting to see how people keep track of their DVC vacation costs!

Tiger

I posted a new thread. It will be interesting to see. I am probably the only one that doesn't take all of this into consideration.

 

[jodifla]

To me, those are all sunk costs. I concern myself with cash flow. I paid off my DVC over 10 years ago. I watch the monthly dues, but I also consider that a sunk cost, and only really worry about tickets and dining. We almost never buy souvenirs of more than $50 for our whole stay.