looking into DVC

[dairyou]

Hello!

We were looking into become DVC members. Our trip to WDW is not until the end of October and we needed a little help. We were hoping we would be better prepared for the DVC tour if we got a few questions answered first.

Our first question is, do you still have to buy passes to the park, or is it included in the price of being a DVC member? If you do have to purchase passes, is it cheaper to you?

We homeschool our children so we are available to go at cheaper times during the year. I read that 150 is the mimimum you should buy. Can you tell me if this is enough to stay a week or so? Or how much would we need to purchase for 8 nights?

We have just spent 6000.00 to stay 4 nights at CSR and the 7 day cruise. I hate to thing that I could have spent that 6000.00 on being a memeber. When do you see if it is profitable for yourself to become a DVC memeber?

We have come to the conclusion that we only like Disney. We tried Royal Carribean and Beaches in Jamaica and no one treats us like Disney. Were just trying to figure out if it would be to our benefit to become DVC members. If we do, all we have to do is pay for our dues and our airflights from California. Do most DVC memebers only live in the East Coast because it's closer?

Any help would be appreciated!
Deb

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

I'm pretty new but will try to answer some ?!
1st: Sarasota Springs resort is the only one for purchase through Disney right now. It is opening in May 2004 (so I've read) with a 50 year contract ending 2054. Minium point purchase I believe is 100 points. How many points you purchase depends on what size unit you need. Example studio: sleeps 4, 1 bedrrom also sleeps 4 and a two bedroom sleeps 8. We didn't buy into SSR but we wanted to be able to stay in a one bedroom most of the time & was told that between 210 to 220 points was a good start. I am not sure what will work for your family but someone here will have a better idea.

Park Passes are not included in the price of DVC. You do get a 10% discount if you get the Ultimate Park Hopper.

I have read & heard that DVC can pay for its self in 3 to 5 years. Rememer that you are paying for your future vacation alittle each month. So you do save eventually. You don't plunk down a big chunk every time you go on vacation. You will have to pay dues every month or year depending on what you want to do even after you pay off your mortage. So that's something to consider.

My advice is to buy where you like (it is your 2nd home after all.) If you take a trip to Disney once or every other year, DVC might be for you. Good luck. I hope I was some help.

Allison an associate
Offically DVC 7/23/03

 

[MrsG]

You can also use your points for a Disney Cruise. If you know that you will be visiting Disney or taking a cruise on a regular basis over the years, DVC is for you.

I think the minimum point purchase through Disney is 150 pts, not 100 pts, although you will probably choose to purchase more or add on more through the years as your needs (or family) grow or change. Right now you have the luxury of travelling during the off season, but once your children are in high school, that may change. Remember, you will have DVC for many, many years.

Good luck with your decision. You came to the right place to ask your questions. The people on this board are wonderful!

 

[Doc and Family]

Dairyou,
Congrats!! on your decision.
You need to consider a couple of things:
1) The ages of your children
2) Whether or not you would rather stay in a studio, 1 BR, or 2 BR
3) The number of trips per year, or number of years between trips
4) Once the initial purchase is paid off, all you pay annually is dues
5) The number of points depends on where you stay and the size of the room. Rough estimates: 95 to 350 points for 8 consecutive days (studio to 2 BR).
6) With the ability to bank and borrow, if you go every other year, you can get by with purchasing fewer points. If you go every year, then it depends on which season and room size.
7) Break even point varies and depends on which numbers you use for your calculations. If you use the rack rates, the break even point is obviously sooner than if you consider the possible discounted rates. I use an average to "rationalize" our decision to purchase. Our break even point is 3 years, after that, it's going to be even sweeter when we stay.
8) I believe the minimum purchase is still 150 points, unless tinkgrl knows something I missed, which is very possible.
9) We live in New Orleans, not to far away-- appox. 652.4 miles by car from my door to BCV valet drop off! Or 71 minutes by Southwest or Delta. And I have seen members from the UK and California, but the majority, at least on these boards, seem to be from the Mississippi River eastward.
10) Hope some of this helps. If you don't have a guide, don't worry, they are all great. Ours is Hassan Jahnmiry--first class gentleman, typical of disney. We have sent several friends to him and they are all very pleased.
11) Finally, WELCOME HOME!!!!

 

[July]

DVC is so great!
I think you should defintly do the tour. Maybe look into a resale if you can come up with the money or the do offer financing too! You can usually get the points cheaper. The due are cheaper at OKW. Next is HH. Somewhere there is a list. Probably on the resale site here.
Good Luck on your decision.

July

 

[dairyou]

Hi,

Thanks for all your answers!

We were thinking of purchasing a 1 bedroom. There is my two children ages 10 and 11, along with myself and my husband.

We have come to Orlando 3 times in the past 4 years. I think it would benefit us to join DVC. I'm hoping 150 points will be enough for now since we are very flexible with the time we would go. We usually go in October, January, or February.

We very much like going on DCL. We''ll be going to the DVC tour on the ship in October. Can you tell me how the points work with the cruise. That is a huge selling point for my husband!

Thanks!
Deb

 

[spiceycat]

my guide is Judy Kaufman 1-800-827-7163

the standard inside stateroom class 11 - is off season (value)
is 62 points per person, children 6-12 is 36, 13 and over 43 - so you are talking about 196 points for a 3-night cruise

4-night 76 per adult, children 6-12 - 50 - so 252 for 4 nights

7-night 123 adult, 58 child - eastern = 362 points

7-night 130 adult, 72 child - western = 404 points

you can use points for one person or more and pay cash for everyone else.

we haven't done the Disney cruise yet - did a day cruise and I hated it....

no dvc members are from all over the world - many fly for several hours (even days) to get to WDW.

the most are from Florida, NJ, NY, and I think California - but that is also where most of the money is.

February because of spring break - the last part is as expensive as summer - January is a great deal - October is getting up there too - could you change to Sept?

the value season at WDW DVC resorts are all of Sept and Jan - the first two weeks of Dec (this is very hard to get unless you own where you want to go and get it at the 11month time).

sorry I forgot to give you the points for a 1-bedroom

these will all be adventure season - Sept, Jan and the first two weeks of December for 2004

OKW
sun-thurs 16
fri/sat 40
a week 160

BWV (preferred), BCV, VWL
sun-thurs 22
fri/sat 45
a week 200

BWV (standard) just about impossible to get unless you own at BWV and make you reservations 11 - 8 months
sun-thurs 16
fri/sat 41
a week 162

 

[Lisa P.]

Or how much would we need to purchase for 8 nights?... We usually go in October, January, or February.

Do the 8 nights include 2 weekend nights (Fri/Sat) or 3?
What size unit?
Which is your preferred DVC resort?

A studio in January, 8 nights (2 weekend nights, Sun. thru Mon.) at OKW = 88 points.

A 2BR in late February, 8 nights (3 weekend nights, Sat. thru Sun.) at BCV = 425 points.

...two children ages 10 and 11, along with myself and my husband.

Are they the same gender? Will they share a sleeper sofabed in a Studio or in the LR of a 1BR? Would one use a pad to sleep on the floor, if they won't share a bed? Or will you need to book a 2BR, having them sleep in separate beds and keeping the LR of the 2BR free?

Can you tell me how the points work with the cruise. That is a huge selling point for my husband!

It's probably best if you don't consider the cruise as a selling points for buying DVC. This option tends to be more expensive than seeking a good discount with a cruise wholesaler or travel agent during the offseason (since your schedule is flexible). Also, the points required are subject to change and not guaranteed to continue indefinitely. They have risen and may again.

 

[bcvillastwo]

It sounds as if your family is a good candidate for DVC membership. The advice given so far is very good. You will see over and over on these boards that one of the frequent refrains is to "buy where you want to stay." I endorse this position heartily.

As to the number of points you will need, if you have a computer and access to the internet you may want to try Casbills DVC planner. I think its a good tool to help you analyze your points needs. I don't know the link right off the top of my head but if you search under the "Caskbill" you will find it straight off.

As to cost, once you've figured out how many points you will need then you can figure out your per points cost which can assist you in arriving at your break even analysis. As you've seen already some people have concluded that their personal break-even point is in the 3-5 year range while others show a range of up to 10 years or more. The bottom line where break-even is concerned is that it really depends on assumptions that we each make. (I'm sure that if you're interested you won't have any trouble getting ideas of what is typically included in a break-even analysis.)

The fact that you home school is a big plus (as long as you continue to do so) because it gives you much more flexibility and thus the ability to travel at less expensive times of year (points wise).

Good luck with your decision.

Oh one more thing, you really should consider taking the DVC tour so you can see the models. If I recall, you said you were going to do a DVC presentation on the cruise.

 

[dairyou]

Thank you all for your informative advice. It gets clearer and clearer that this should be a serious concideration for us.

Do you think we should take the tour while we are Disneyworld instead of the cruise?

Deb

 

[paults]

at BWV you can see all the resort room layouts.

Good luck

 

[tjkraz]

One word of warning--the Disney Cruises are fairly "pricey" in DVC terms, mostly because they are not formally part of the DVC program. I'm sure others could explain this in much better terms than I can, but suffice it to say that you will get much better value from your DVC dollar by staying at the resorts.

spiceycat shows a DVC point cost of 404 for a 7-day cruise. Assuming that you buy into Saratoga Springs, your annual dues on those 404 points alone will be $1535. The cash price of the same cruise is 2-3 times that figure, depending on the time of year. So you will still be "saving" if that's your benchmark.

But you'll also be using nearly 3 years worth of points if you purchase at the 150 level.

And, with an initial investment of $11,850 (with the current SSR incentive), it's clearly going to take you much longer than Doc and Family's stated 3 year break-even point.

I've also read (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that while the point values for each DVC resort do not change from year-to-year (with the exception of the variable "spring break week"), the point costs for cruises have steadily increased over the years.

 

[dairyou]

Thanks for all the helpful information!

Just one more question... (I hope)

My husband and I were talking about it tonight (so exciting!). He was wondering if this will change our taxes by owning a timeshare. I didnt think so, but wanted to ask you experts!

I think we are well equipped now to go on the tour.. Hopefully when we come back I'll be able to tell you guys we are DVC members!

Thanks again for all your help,
Deb

 

[dairyou]

Whoops, forgot one more question... sorry...

We looked at all the resorts and so far like the Boardwalk the best.

What is your opinion on buying the new resort, SSR without seeing it? Or is it better to buy Boardwalk resale on the DVC resales listed above?
Deb

 

[tjkraz]

You'll hear this repeated over and over again--buy where you want to stay. You can reserve 11 months in advance at your home resort and only 7 months at other resorts.

If you buy resale, figure on adding about $500 in closing costs to the prices quoted. Also, DVC has Right of First Refusal on resales, so you may not even get the property even if you are the high "bidder." Resales also will often have future points "borrowed" so read the fine print.

That said, resales are still most often cheaper than DVC's prices. But you do need to pay cash or finace the purchase yourself.

SSR is the only resort available now from DVC, and you would be buying "unseen." However, they are running a promotion that gives you $10 per point off of the $89 purchase fee. You can finance through DVC with as little as 10% down, and the finance rates are much better than most timeshares offer. Payments and dues do not start until the resort opens in May '04.

All of that said, remember the cardinal rule--buy where you want to stay!!!!

 

[Caskbill]

Originally posted by bcvillastwo

As to the number of points you will need, if you have a computer and access to the internet you may want to try Casbills DVC planner. I think its a good tool to help you analyze your points needs. I don't know the link right off the top of my head but if you search under the "Caskbill" you will find it straight off.

You can find a link to my DVCPlanner program in the signature below.

As to taxes, if you itemize on your tax returns, then the portion of the annual dues that goes to property taxes is deductible on your tax return. Also, if you finance (through Disney, or via a home equity loan), you should be able to deduct the finance charges also. (Just like you do on your primary home)

Hope this helps.

 

[Donna]

Definitely take the tour at WDW. On the cruise, all you can do is talk to a guide and look at pictures. On the tour at wdw, you can see actual room layouts and walk thru an actual unit. If THAT doesn't sell you, nothing will! good luck!