My biggest mistake...

[Desnik]

I am posting this so it could possibly help those who are interested in buying DVC.

My biggest mistake when purchasing DVC was not thinking or planning for how our future trips would be. For example, when we bought in we bought 150 SSR points. We had 2 small kids and were able to travel in Nov. So, a studio was fine for us and the points worked out great for us. We added on 50 points at AKV, because we started really liking the space of a 1 bedroom and the kids got older and we needed more room. Now that DD is in middle school there is no way we can take the kids out of school anymore. So, now our trips will have to be made in the summer or over school vacations. Also, the kids are DD12 and DS7 and pretty soon they will not want to sleep in the same bed. So, 2 bedrooms are definitely in our future. So, now we need another add on!

My point is, when purchasing points, try to think of how your vacation habits may change. I would have rather bought a larger amount of points when we first bought in because it was so much cheaper than the points are now. I would have broken it up into 2 contracts so one could be left to each kid.

I love my DVC and that is truly the only regret of buying that I have!!

 

[DizGirl20]

I totally get where you are coming from. We have 2 daughters, ages 10 & 13. Right now we typically stay in a 1-bedroom and they complain about sleeping together in the sofa bed. In fact during our last trip in May we ended up purchasing an air mattress (so they wouldn't have to sleep together) and storing it in our Owners Locker. But I can definitely see in the future wanting a 2-bedroom. There are times when I wish they did have their own bedroom so we could hang out in the kitchen/living room area at night instead of having to stay in our bedroom. DVC totally spoils you that way.

We just did our first add-on so we would always have enough points for a 1-bedroom stay. I would love to add on more points to ensure a 2-bedroom. MY ONLY HESITATION is (have you thought of this yet?)... what happens when down the road they are out of the house and it is only DH and myself? And we are travelling during "off" season? Again, another vacation habit change. That is what I worry about next (having too many points). Then I am assuming at that point in our lives we won't need as many points? Although I suppose we can always use those extra points for more stays, cruises, RCI trades or CL at AKV! Would be curious to hear what others think.

 

[Cricket2]

We had thought about the same thing 8 years ago however the carrying cost for extra points up front over the years we didn't need them was higher than just buying a supplimental contract for our peak use years and then dumping those extras (or whatever) when our needs dropped again. We have many small contracts now and lots of flexibility but we have been burned with the point re-allocations twice now so I guess it's a give and take.

 

[Desnik]

We just did our first add-on so we would always have enough points for a 1-bedroom stay. I would love to add on more points to ensure a 2-bedroom. MY ONLY HESITATION is (have you thought of this yet?)... what happens when down the road they are out of the house and it is only DH and myself? And we are travelling during "off" season? Again, another vacation habit change. That is what I worry about next (having too many points). Then I am assuming at that point in our lives we won't need as many points? Although I suppose we can always use those extra points for more stays, cruises, RCI trades or CL at AKV! Would be curious to hear what others think.

That is a great point and we have thought about that! When the kids are gone and we retire we hope to spend longer trips at Disney. I could see us spending the whole month of Jan there! Or, like you mentioned use the points for the cruise, or Adventures by Disney.

 

[crisi]

The problem is - you don't know how your vacation plans will change.

We have the opposite problem, kids in middle school are less excited about Disney. We go other places - and travel on deals that you can't get with DVC points (we took an ABD trip when the travel market was down on short notice with a 50% discount). We don't have many points - and don't travel to WDW much - but we have more points than we need and end up staying longer than we would without points to use.

As Cricket said, the carrying costs for points you don't need is pretty high. Unless you choose to rent them.

And right now, if you need more points, the resale market has never been better for picking up contracts. Yeah, purchasing from Disney is more expensive than it was. An "expires sooner" contract bought resale will get a family with school age kids through school.

 

[LSchrow]

we were in pretty much the same position, but added on twice (270 BWV, then 60 BCV, then 100 SSR).
we also bought an aerobed DS and DD of course wanted their own beds, so it was the perfect solution: we still only needed a 1 bdrm, had lots of room (besides being incredibly comfy, aerobeds are very quick to inflate/deflate, and easy to carry).
now just dd and i go in may, and dh and i go in oct so we only need a studio, but we go 11-14 days (every other year, i go with my parents and brother's family in a 2-bdrm).

the flexibility of dvc has worked out perfectly for us

 

[Dizny Dad]

DW and I have added on multiple times, each time in the 60 to 75 pt range. That allows us to easily split the contracts for "Inheritance" purposes and gives the ability to cut back in small increments if times require it (small contracts sell so much faster than the mega contracts listed out there).

 

[adminjedi]

We originally bought enough for a 2bedroom 1 week once per year. Then we realized we wanted to stay longer so bought more. Then realized we wanted to go just the two of us. Then we realized we wanted another home resort. Then we realized we might want another trip just the two of us. Then we realized we like to bring others along. Now we are facing our kids marrying and then grandkids. Yes we will have to buy more!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I would have rather bought a larger amount of points when we first bought in because it was so much cheaper than the points are now. I would have broken it up into 2 contracts so one could be left to each kid.

Resale is a big help with this. If you bought both your contracts direct then I'd say that you can add on AKV or SSR thru resale and most likely pay less than you did back then. How about a a 100 Pts at AKV then you'll have 150 at SSR and 150 at AKV to leave to the kids.

 

[Desnik]

Resale is a big help with this. If you bought both your contracts direct then I'd say that you can add on AKV or SSR thru resale and most likely pay less than you did back then. How about a a 100 Pts at AKV then you'll have 150 at SSR and 150 at AKV to leave to the kids.

That sounds perfect!!!. I think that is exactly what we will do. But it will have to wait 2 years because DH wants to pay it in cash since both our contracts are paid. He doesn't want any loans.

 

[Pakey]

That is a great point and we have thought about that! When the kids are gone and we retire we hope to spend longer trips at Disney. I could see us spending the whole month of Jan there! Or, like you mentioned use the points for the cruise, or Adventures by Disney.

Have you seen how many points it takes to do an AbD? Or what the percentage increase has been in the last 3 years on point requirements for AbD? I think some of those trips have had at least a 30% point requirement increase in these 3 years--you'd have to do some serious add-ons to keep pace. We enjoyed our AbD that we took but we paid cash for it.

We are also now at the point where our kids do not desire to go to WDW (they all turned out to be beach people, something my husband and I are not, LOL). With 500 points a year for my husband and I to try to burn up, I regret my DVC purchases. And after over 20 vacations to WDW, I don't feel the need to visit as often either and would be perfectly happy just doing a hotel stay when we do go. We have 3 contracts, bought one for each child, and not a one of the 3 wants theirs (even our grandson prefers the beach). So I think we'll see how the economy does in the next year or so and try to sell them.

 

[edk35]

We bought our three 100 pt. contracts in Jan. 07 and then added on another 100 in early Fall of 2008. We always book 2 bedrooms so we need the points. HOWEVER our middle child is almost 17 and he is BURNED out on DISNEY. He claimed summer of 09 he was NOT going back, but he did go with us in July. We we also included 4 nights at Vero so that made him want to go. He loves the beach too.So far our 11 year old STILL LOVES GOING. I am not sure how these trips will go from here on out. I think we will try having ds16 bring a friend a long next trip.

I know people's lives change and therefore their travel patterns will also change. We did the same thing with the three 100 pt. contracts....leaving one for each child. However I think our middle son could care less to ever get that. Our dd almost 20 would take those extra points in a heartbeat.

 

[crisi]

We are also now at the point where our kids do not desire to go to WDW (they all turned out to be beach people, something my husband and I are not, LOL).

Right now mine like to CAMP! I can think of nothing more miserable than a night in a tent without electricity and a flush toilet. (to each their own, and if a week long hiking trip is your idea of a good time, I'll admire you - from afar.) In fact, I don't like the "condo style" resorts because I think hallways should be airconditioned and room service available. So I pack my kids off for a week every Summer so they can enjoy the great outdoors.

 

[TisBit]

Another way to look at that is to look at the MF's you saved, which should more then make up for the price increases (unless you added on quickly).

 

[JWG]

We did a purchase understanding we want to add on again. While we understand prices will go up before we purchase, we also believe that
1) What we're not paying in maintenance fees will help cover that cost
2) What we're not paying in interest we can use to cover that cost (if we'd purchased more we'd have financed)
3) What we're saving as though we had a payment will earn interest (yea yea at .0001% interest what's it matter?!)

We're setup for a studio stay now, have a DD(4) and will want a 1BR in future years, likely a 2BR to share with friends.

Since we purchased BLT, I'm less concerned about price increases as resale will become a more viable option in the years to come as BLT becomes available.

 

[quirty30]

Right now mine like to CAMP! I can think of nothing more miserable than a night in a tent without electricity and a flush toilet. (to each their own, and if a week long hiking trip is your idea of a good time, I'll admire you - from afar.) In fact, I don't like the "condo style" resorts because I think hallways should be airconditioned and room service available. So I pack my kids off for a week every Summer so they can enjoy the great outdoors.

LOL - I'm with you. I wish I could remember which comedian said his idea of camping was driving the Winnebago to the door of the Ritz Carlton. I hope my kids continue to love Disney - if they want to camp, we'll try for a THV!!!!!

 

[dbs1228]

We are ones who every year after our 10 night stay would say "ok this will be our last vacation for a while at Disney" then a month after the trip I am planning our next trip! lol
We bought finally after 15 years and 2 of our DD's are in college! 1 DD used our 2009 points to go to BWV in Aug. I also used points for OKW in May with 2 girlfriends, have a trip to BLT planned in Dec with DH and friends then finally going with all 3 DD's in Feb for our annual trip (2 in college are coming for the long weekend)! Every family is different and for sure travel habits will change (we do more non Disney days now).

I can see all my kids, family and friends coming with us on and off over the years so I do not think we will ever say we have too many points. Is there such a thing anyway

 

[eporter66]

We know our vacations will change, and we are fine with that. Our DD just started first grade, and we are taking her out this year for a week in October. We will see what we hear from the school, I am not concerned at this point, but understand that in the future we wont be able to do this. Hopefully our DD6 still loves Disney as she gets older, but for now - she talks about going all year long

We only have 150 pts, and have borrowed a bit to get 1 bedrooms. So, at some point we will probably skip a year and bank the points to get our numbers up. My wife is a runner and wants to do another 1/2 marathon at Disney, so that will be a trip for her at some point. I would like to do a golf vacation, even with just one friend and get a 1 bedroom.

Right now we have made 150 points work very well for us. I know traveling during peak times will wipe those out quickly, but we will deal with it when it happens. If we really want to do WDW we can pay for a room for a few days if need be. We like to do other vacations, so if we end up skipping a year to replenish, that will be fine to.

We may add a small contract at some point, but only will pay cash, no loan

 

[DisWitt]

This is a great discussion, especially for the lurkers and those thinking about a DVC purchase. My wife and I spent a lot of time thinking, "How will we vacation in 5, 10, and 25 years?" Then we also talked with friends who own DVC and timeshares in general. Overall, the majority said, "We keep meaning to add on [more points/days/etc] when we have the money." But for some reason, something comes up every year and 10 years later they still talk about it. They take shorter vacations or stay in smaller rooms to make use of the points they do have.

Rare was the "we have too many points" statement (though a few here, eh). Heck, at the "worst" case, we'll have to take a DCL cruise and stay in a nice stateroom with all of our points or "move in" to a resort for a few weeks... boo-hoo.

All this to say, we projected or vacations and thought about what we'll do when our DS's are in school, high school, and college; when we'll travel; and what level of rooms we like to stay in. And thus, we bought more rather that less points. I think it's a VERY individualized calculation that one must do.

Oh, and keep in mind that it's a GREAT idea to donate your points to a charity! Think about how they could auction a 1-week trip to WDW, Hawaii, or DCL with YOUR points and make those points directly impact your favorite charity work.

 

[hoffmann2828]

Oh, and keep in mind that it's a GREAT idea to donate your points to a charity! Think about how they could auction a 1-week trip to WDW, Hawaii, or DCL with YOUR points and make those points directly impact your favorite charity work.

My DH & I did this 3 years ago for our Church's Silent Auction. We donated a 5 night stay in a studio. It only went for $550 (which actually was more than they could have rented for on disboards!) but my accountant said it didn't matter, the retail value of what I donated was over $1700, so I got to deduct all of it! YAY! Double bonus - helping and saving on my taxes!

Jenny