More and more questions...

[Crisi83]

On a cruise right now and been looking into DVC. Talked to a lot if current members and the sales guy and getting close to at least comitting with a down payment (they day refundable if I back out... it is right??)and having paperwork mailed when I get home.

One question I was just thinking of - can my annual dues/maintanance go up? Does it typically go up alot?

Can they/will they increase the number of points if takes to sTy somewhere? So say it takes 125 points for a week right now, will it take more points in five years?

Also not sure which property I'd rather buy at - Aulani or ... the wdw one I forgot now. I do live on the west coast, but I'm more likely to use this for DL or WDW I think.

What questions aren't I thinking of???? Everyone on board loves DVC and it seems like it could be a good fit.. benefits of booking onboard are savings starting at $2500 off at 150 points.

 

[DisDadDVC]

On a cruise right now and been looking into DVC. Talked to a lot if current members and the sales guy and getting close to at least comitting with a down payment (they day refundable if I back out... it is right??)and having paperwork mailed when I get home.

One question I was just thinking of - can my annual dues/maintanance go up? Does it typically go up alot?

Can they/will they increase the number of points if takes to sTy somewhere? So say it takes 125 points for a week right now, will it take more points in five years?

Also not sure which property I'd rather buy at - Aulani or ... the wdw one I forgot now. I do live on the west coast, but I'm more likely to use this for DL or WDW I think.

What questions aren't I thinking of???? Everyone on board loves DVC and it seems like it could be a good fit.. benefits of booking onboard are savings starting at $2500 off at 150 points.

My 2c. Don't buy on a cruise. You need to do a LOT more research. Enjoy your cruise and look into it when you are back. Spend a couple of days reading the DVC boards here.

I believe you will find:

1) If you want to use it at VGC, you should buy at VGC
2) If you want to use at WDW, you will find that resale will be a better choice.

 

[supersnoop]

Unless you plan to always stay at Aulani or the Polyneasian, you can save much, much more money by buying resale. So, for starters, don't buy on board.

Yes, maintenance fees will increase as the cost of maintaining the resort increase. At least expect them to increase at the rate of inflation.

The total number of points at any given resort cannot change. In general, the number of points per room rarely chance, but they can shift in an effort to balance out demand. DVC is a timeshare that's expected to run at 98%+ occupancy every night of the year. If one type of room is always booked and another is sitting empty, they may move the points around. For example, they could decrease the points required for a one-bedroom while increasing the points for a studio. But the total points required to fill the resort cannot change. They would give a year or two notice if they did reallocate.

Finally, if you'll always stay at the Grand Californian, buy there. You will not be able to get a room otherwise. There are only 46 rooms there, and they're booked by owners before the rest of the system has a shot at them.

 

[chalee94]

One question I was just thinking of - can my annual dues/maintanance go up? Does it typically go up alot?

typically around 3% - the history of annual dues costs can be found here (along with a bunch of other great info):

http://disboards.com/threads/dvc-resource-center.2823943/

Can they/will they increase the number of points if takes to sTy somewhere? So say it takes 125 points for a week right now, will it take more points in five years?

for DVC resorts, point costs are fixed for the whole resort for the whole year. so if they raise the point costs to stay at OKW for weeknights or for nights in december, then they would have to reduce costs for weekends or nights in another month to keep the total point cost for OKW for the year the same.

if you plan to buy to trade out, you should be aware that point costs for trades like disney cruises or wdw hotels can change over time. many of us don't think this "perk" of buying direct is worth very much but that's another discussion.

Also not sure which property I'd rather buy at - Aulani or ... the wdw one I forgot now. I do live on the west coast, but I'm more likely to use this for DL or WDW I think.

if you don't plan to use it at aulani, do not buy there. if you buy at VGC to use in california, you will need to plan well in advance (10-11 months, to be safe). DVC in general is not a great choice for last minute trips.

buying direct to get the perk of staying at disney hotels can be a benefit in CA due to the tiny size of VGC - so you might still have an option of booking DL hotel or such with points...but again, those non-DVC hotel point charts can and do go up over time.

i would not rush into buying DVC - take a few months to do some homework on the DIS and DVC will still be there. you can purchase resale or direct with a better sense of the risks and benefits involved...

 

[Crisi83]

Grand Californian is one I might be more interested in...
My hesitation on resale is that it looks far more complicated and I can't use it on cruises which is one of the uses I'd be considering, though I understand it might not be the best uses age of points (though doing some quick math on what we paid for this room and how maNY points it would take to have booked, points would habe been cheaper I believe by quite a bit.)

I was considering starting the paperwork which still gives me 20 days to cancel so I have more time to research and debate...

DL is by far my closer park, but I may continue to pay that as cash cause you can get cheap rooms off site and use DVC for WDW and cruise every other year perhaps. I also interested in being able to use it to stay at partner locations.

 

[davper]

:jedi mind trick: You are not ready to put a down payment on DVC :jedi mind trick:

Enjoy your vacation and then do major research at home before you make a costly mistake. Despite what the salesman tells you, it will be there next week, next month, next year.

You should look at all the resort possibilities. Understand what the Home Resort benefit is. Know that you can buy much cheaper on the resale market than direct from Disney. And match all this up to how you will vacation at Disney.

They are telling you that all they have is Aulani and Poly points but you can use them anywhere. What they aren't telling you is that you are unlikely to be able to use them at your preferred resort because you don't have the Home Resort benefit of being able to book at 11 months in advance. You would have to wait until 7 months in advance and by then, it is all booked.

:jedi mind trick: You are not ready to put a down payment on DVC :jedi mind trick:

 

[Crisi83]

[QUOTE="chalee94, post: 54085510]
buying direct to get the perk of staying at disney hotels can be a benefit in CA due to the tiny size of VGC - so you might still have an option of booking DL hotel or such with points...but again, those non-DVC hotel point charts can and do go up [/QUOTE]
What do you mean does that mean you can use points at the DL hotel as well? Yeah, I probably don't know enough to buy right now...... but I have met so many onboard who love it!

 

[Crisi83]

Is there a way to look at current availabilities without being a member? I can travel in off peak times at least, so I'm lucky in that I could travel more around when a place is free...

If you buy resale through disney can you still use the points on cruises?

Also if I talked to someone like when I'm at disney land if I'm ready to buy direct, do they have deals going on as well?

 

[chalee94]

[QUOTE="chalee94, post: 54085510]
buying direct to get the perk of staying at disney hotels can be a benefit in CA due to the tiny size of VGC - so you might still have an option of booking DL hotel or such with points...but again, those non-DVC hotel point charts can and do go up [/QUOTE]

What do you mean does that mean you can use points at the DL hotel as well? Yeah, I probably don't know enough to buy right now...... but I have met so many onboard who love it!

here are some sample 2014 point charts:

http://www.dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/141-disneyland-hotel-points-chart

as you can see from the charts, it's a pretty expensive option (but i suppose it's nice to have options).

i am very happy with my DVC. but we have had people post who didn't understand the program and had wrong expectations that led to a lot of frustration (and sometimes selling their contract at a loss).

DVC works great for certain people, but it does not work well for everyone. That's why we recommend to take some time and figure out if it will work in your situation.

 

[chalee94]

Is there a way to look at current availabilities without being a member?

nope.

I can travel in off peak times at least, so I'm lucky in that I could travel more around when a place is free...

offpeak travel for DVC is probably july/aug. early december is peak season. there are several situations where DVC peak and off-peak does not match the parks.

If you buy resale through disney can you still use the points on cruises?

you cannot use resale pts to book cruises. but there is no such thing as "resale through disney" - disney is the "developer", so they only sell "direct" contracts.

but do make the guide show you the point charts for cruises (the point charts show a per-person rate) before you put any value on that "perk."

Also if I talked to someone like when I'm at disney land if I'm ready to buy direct, do they have deals going on as well?

i'll leave this one for a west coaster...

 

[Crisi83]

Well thanks guys, I think you killed my need to do it now which is a good thing! probably....

 

[DisDadDVC]

Grand Californian is one I might be more interested in...
My hesitation on resale is that it looks far more complicated and I can't use it on cruises which is one of the uses I'd be considering, though I understand it might not be the best uses age of points (though doing some quick math on what we paid for this room and how maNY points it would take to have booked, points would habe been cheaper I believe by quite a bit.)

I was considering starting the paperwork which still gives me 20 days to cancel so I have more time to research and debate...

DL is by far my closer park, but I may continue to pay that as cash cause you can get cheap rooms off site and use DVC for WDW and cruise every other year perhaps. I also interested in being able to use it to stay at partner locations.

They aren't going to sell you VGC on the cruise. You will have to buy resale or try to get on the waitlist to buy direct (I'm not even sure if VGC waitlist is still open).

 

[VGF Ben]

Don't let them sway you. You are correct, you have time to change your mind and it can be done instantly if you choose to do so....but because you are interested in using the points for other things like cruises and DL hotels...plus the fact that there is a cruise incentive $2500...AND the fact that you are leaning in that direction, I would do it. Then do your research and change your mind if you think that's the right decision.

If you wait, here's what you lose:

$2500 incentive that you cannot get back...

I agree with the others...do not buy at Aulani...Aulani already has a low resale price, whereas PVB should retain it's resale price for at least several years. That way, if you change your mind in a few years, you can sell for pretty near what you bought for and you've gotten several trips from it.

The others on this board will try to influence you heavily to purchase Resale, but resale is not the answer for a lot of people, despite what some on this board would tell you are ironclad reasons.

But resale will NOT give you the option to use your points for cruises, DL hotels, or other yet to be named incentives that Disney keeps adding to for Direct purchasers only. And that list of incentives can change (up or down, though recent trend is certainly UP) any day.

Many of the things you want to use DVC for are not available to resale purchases, though many will tell you they are poor uses of your points, but that is often a subjective thing....there are MANY that use their points for these things and are very happy.

I just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents....

 

[Ck57524]

I've also seen some people who go in with what they want and get some contracts for less points than they say you have to have, or resorts they weren't offering. Worth a try.

 

[VGF Ben]

I've seen a lot of posts on here recently that you have to make a minimum purchase of 150 or 160 point....and, while that may be true for certain incentives, it is not true. They will readily sell you a contract for 100 and I've heard of fewer for those people who insisted to their guides that they would not need more than 75....

 

[DisDadDVC]

Don't let them sway you. You are correct, you have time to change your mind and it can be done instantly if you choose to do so....but because you are interested in using the points for other things like cruises and DL hotels...plus the fact that there is a cruise incentive $2500...AND the fact that you are leaning in that direction, I would do it. Then do your research and change your mind if you think that's the right decision.

If you wait, here's what you lose:

$2500 incentive that you cannot get back...

I agree with the others...do not buy at Aulani...Aulani already has a low resale price, whereas PVB should retain it's resale price for at least several years. That way, if you change your mind in a few years, you can sell for pretty near what you bought for and you've gotten several trips from it.

The others on this board will try to influence you heavily to purchase Resale, but resale is not the answer for a lot of people, despite what some on this board would tell you are ironclad reasons.

But resale will NOT give you the option to use your points for cruises, DL hotels, or other yet to be named incentives that Disney keeps adding to for Direct purchasers only. And that list of incentives can change (up or down, though recent trend is certainly UP) any day.

Many of the things you want to use DVC for are not available to resale purchases, though many will tell you they are poor uses of your points, but that is often a subjective thing....there are MANY that use their points for these things and are very happy.

I just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents....

I don't think the big question is if they should buy direct or resale. To me, both Aulani and Poly seem like bad choices for the op no matter how you buy them. If they were going to sell them VGC on the cruise, then I would say go for it.

 

[zavandor]

Yeah, I probably don't know enough to buy right now...... but I have met so many onboard who love it!

I love it!
But it took 5 months of active investigation (ie reading almost every post on the DVC boards) for me to do the right choice for me. DVC is not right for everyone and different people have different needs. DVC can grant wondefult years of vacation or a costly mistake. I think you did the right think deciding to wait and take your time.

 

[supersnoop]

But resale will NOT give you the option to use your points for cruises, DL hotels, or other yet to be named incentives that Disney keeps adding to for Direct purchasers only. And that list of incentives can change (up or down, though recent trend is certainly UP) any day.

Many of the things you want to use DVC for are not available to resale purchases, though many will tell you they are poor uses of your points, but that is often a subjective thing....there are MANY that use their points for these things and are very happy.

Keeps adding? What benefit have they added? Ever?

Someone recently did the math on a cruise, and the value received for the points was less than the maintenance fees on the points. That's not "subjective."

 

[davper]

You cannot use points acquired through resale for the Disney Hotels and Cruises. You would have to buy direct from Disney for this 'Benefit'.
But from what I understand, you are better off economically to rent out your points and using that money to pay cash for your cruise or hotel stay.

 

[VGF Ben]

To me, both Aulani and Poly seem like bad choices for the op no matter how you buy them.

It isn't a bad choice if they are getting $2500 off of the purchase of PVB. That should be a valuable property regardless...and getting in at $16 off asking price is a great deal. That would be about $144. VGF is reselling for 140-145 right now...and opened lower than PVB did. So buying in at $144, you have a better than even chance your purchase will at least retain value for the first 4-5 years. That's a valuable thing....

It's better than waiting to buy another property direct where the delta between purchase price and resale is already a big gap and purchasing without discount. Sometimes, you need to think outside the box...