My Brain Hurts! Is there something I'm Missing?

[dmoore22]

My DW and I have been strongly leaning toward joining DVC. However we have a large family (5 kids still at home + 1 on her own) so, when we checked the new prices for the UPH + the yearly maintenance fee for the points we were considering it blew our minds. Do DVCers have creative ways to have "their cake and eat it too." I can see the long term benefits of DVC but in the short term "My brain hurts!"



Disneyland 76
Disneyland 77
Disneyland 97
All-Star Music 01
All-Star Music 02

 

[CarolMN]

DVC is not cheap and it doesn't work for everyone. Think of it as a way to prepay (and lock in the cost of) on site lodging for the next 40 years.

In general, DVC is a good value if:

* You visit WDW (or VB or HHI) at least once every other year and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future

* You stay in at least a moderate on site hotel when you visit

* You can plan your vacations 10 -11 months in advance of arrival

It is a better value for those who visit annually (or more often)and stay in a deluxe on site hotel.

DVC does offer its members some other discounts/perks/lodging options, but those are subject to change and are not guaranteed. If you cannot say yes to the above three "criteria", DVC may not be right for you.

Travel costs other than lodging (airfare and/or ground transportation, food and ticket media) will probably continue to rise and are a concern (especially for those of us not lucky enough to be Florida residents ). Your family will still have to have enough disposable income to cover those other costs as well as the cost of DVC.

We've been members since 1999 and still spend quite a bit of time in the parks. We have been buying annual passes and scheduling our yearly trips so that we get two or three one week trips out of the annual passes. We eat most breakfasts and some lunches/dinners in the unit to save on meals (and because portion sizes in most of the restaurants are too large for us). We also take advantage of the discounts available to us as DC members, AP/PAP passholders and DVC members.

HTH a little. Good luck with your decision.

 

[chris1gill]

I agree with Carol, DVC is not "Cheap", BUT... with a family your size, you would need to rent two hotel rooms, so keep that in mind. Also, you said you were looking at the UPH & Maintenance fees & that blew your mind... BUT, you should only be looking at the Maintenance fees... the UPH has nothing to do with DVC... A lot of us buy AP's & get two vacations out of them... one when they're new & one right when they're about to expire & then some people don't even go into the parks! One of these days we'll just do the Bike/boating plan for the length of our stay for a total of 200 for the whole party!

So, while evaluating DVC... keep focused on what DVC provides, hotel accomodations... you'll also save money if you use the full size kitchen to prepare some of your own meals, just an FYI on that...

 

[Dean]

I agree, Disney is expensive with or without DVC. Tickets for a family of 8 for one trip might run $1500 or more depending on specific choices. One might be able to get 2 trips in for around $2100. Add to that the idea that putting 8 even in a 2 BR will be somewhat of a stretch, especially as the children get older. OKW would do better as the rooms are bigger but even then, only 2 BR. A Grand Villa (3 BR) would be ideal but there's no guarantee you could reserve one. Of course you could get more than one room as well. Tell us your vacation habits and goals and we could likely make better suggestions.

One option would be to buy a 3 BR unit in the Orlando area if you wanted to go there most years, somewhere else if that fit your needs better.

 

[robinb]

I think the UMPs are great for the occational visitor, but not the frequent visitor like a DVC member. I would say that most DVC members buy hopper passes or annual passes. We personally buy annual passes and had my own case of "sticker shock" when I had to buy my just-3 year old her own pass. $1000+ for 3 people! Yikes! But, we'll get at least 2 10 day trips out of those passes and possibly even more.

I think that in order to keep your head from hurting too much, you need to take the passes out of the equation. You should assume that you will be going to WDW as a DVC member at least as often as you have been. What you should really compare is the price of your accomodations.

 

[Zurg]

if you are in DVC and do annula trips, agt AP and make those trips 11 months apart - use the APs for two trips. Then in a year buy another AP for two more trips.

 

[Lesley]

LOL, Robinb! Yes, it was shocking to pay $1000 for passes for 3......but I'm really dreading the next time we buy our passes. My dd turns 3 in March (our passes expire in Jan.) and next time it will be $1300 or $1400.....ugh! But really, she enjoys it so much its a great bargain that we've taken her 3 times for free! And it will be 4 this December!

 

[dmoore22]

It seems that our vacation habits have really evolved the last couple of years. After our first visit to WDW (our previous experiences where at Disneyland)he were hooked. This past July we managed to have the whole family together for the first ever. Our kids cover the age range from 10 - 29. Our goal is to take time out each year rather than finding reasons not to go. Our thought was that DVC would make us take time out. Of course the kids are all for it. As long as we are still working in education we are limited to traveling in the summer months. And, like most teachers,(to paraphrase Groucho Marx) we've worked our way up from absolutely nothing to a state of extreme poverty. We are also looking at retirement which isn't too many years off.

 

[dmoore22]

A couple of years ago the high school band was sponsoring a tour of Europe (6 days) which included the student/educators discount. We were psyched up to go - the whole family, until we found the cost for our whole family would be $23,000+. That really got us thinking about DVC. I see your point regarding the cost/annual fees, etc. It's the same with the purchase of a high ticket item such as a car. Depreciation, insurance, taxes are all factored in. After 40 years a car may have some value if it lasts that long. I was considering the DVC to be something to enjoy now and to become a legacy for the kids to fight over after I'm gone. With the markets the way they are now I could do much worse.

 

[anniet]

Originally posted by SlyHubby
Remember, the end value of your DVC membership is $0 - are you prepared to buy something now for $10,000 or $20,000 that you are totally guaranteed will be worth nothing in the future?

Nothing in 40 years, true, but given the rising cost of accomodations you are prepaying your vacations and after the break even point (which has been argued to be anywhere from 6 to 20 years depending on whether you compare it with DVC rooms or the current accomodations you might stay at) it is expected that we will all still be receiving accomodations for a number of years at deep discounts, of 40-60%.

DVC needs to be looked at as a prepayment on future vacations, with a future benefit of cost savings on those vacations. It should not be looked at as an investment.

Basically, dmoore22 nobody can answer the question if DVC is right for you and your family except for you. I do agree that you can only consider the cost of accomodations you are purchasing, as the other costs of travel will rise and fall with the economy and as for ticket prices, well they are pretty much guaranteed to go up! But there are creative ways to work it. I buy a 7 day Park Hopper Plus pass every two years and use 4 days one year, 3 days the next and the auxiliaries as we need them (it comes with 4 aux passes).

Also as your children get older it could be possibe that they might help you absorb some of those costs. I know I helped my Dad financially with his timeshare in Bermuda when I was old enough to use it myself, although I realize this may not be something you can "count" on.

You know your family's financial situation and you know what it is worth to you in terms of the intangibles.

Take a break until your head stops hurting and give it another look.

Good luck!

 

[chris1gill]

I think dmoore is looking at this the right way... As a way to ensure his family WILL take a vacation, instead of finding reasons why they won't... If you're comfortable with the financial outlay to purchase in, I think it's a great program for you.... Have you thought about which resort you'd want to buy into? If you purchase a resale for OKW or BWV's, you will save yourself some big $$$

I'm not sure if you know it, but Disney offers a boat/bike plan for 199.00 for length of stay, at any marina... you pick a marina & you can rent boats & bikes til your hearts content... I think it allows for 5 on the contract... anyone can ride with the driver... It's a nice alternative to going to the parks, also mini-golf is a nice family past time... There's plenty to do without going to the parks (but I find I have to spend ONE day at the Magic Kingdom)

 

[dmoore22]

We've done the math (based on the resale market)! With all the wonderful input from the DVC community we are convince that it can work for us. Now I ask for another recommendation. Which are the more kid friendly resorts? Elementary through HS age? Also, our habits have been, in the past, to decide to go on vacation at the last possible moment. What is the best timeline for making reservations at the home resort? None home resort?

 

[chris1gill]

Ewww..... you would have to mention making reservations at the last minute!! Generally it's not a good idea, you may not get your desired resort... It also depends when you're going as well... if you're going during one of the week long school vacations, you're in trouble, you can't book those couple of weeks last minute. If you're going in the summer, you should be okay, you'll get accomodations somewhere, but it might not be the resort you were hoping for. I've found the wait list does work okay, although I do call occasionally to check on our waitlists... If you can book seven months out, you should be okay (except those week long vacations during the year, those should be booked 10 or 11 months out)...

As for kid friendly resorts, we've been to all of them & each one is kid friendly... Mix it up a bit & stay at each one

 

[Geebs]

one advantage with a family that large is the ability to have meals in rather than in the restaurants. While many do not like to cook on vacation (heck..i don't like to cook at home), you can save yourselves tons in just snacks and drinks, not to mention a meal of two. Think of this, we bought a prime rib roast for about $80. It fed 16 people. With$80, you probably wont even get out of breakfast with that many people. just another thing to consider.

 

[crisi]

I typed a very nice reply to the which resort question this morning, but it got lost in the ether....

Don't by at HH or VB if you plan to vacation at Disney

Otherwise, all the resorts are "kid friendly" each has its pros and cons (and discussing them often leads to resort wars) but here they are in a nutshell

OKW - Large rooms, low dues, low point structure. Quiet and off the beaten track. You will need a car or use Disney bus transportation to get pretty much anywhere (you can walk to DTD), but will be able to park that car in front of your door. No pool slide. Spread out - Think Carribean Beach Resort (but, of course, nicer). Most and cheapest GVs. Often cheapest resales. Easiest to get into at seven month window. OKW is a standalone DVC resort - the other resorts all have regular Disney hotels attached that you share amenities with.

BWV - Walk to two parks. Hustle and bustle of the Boardwalk. Pool with large pool slide. Lots of place to eat within walking distance. Dual point structure - preferred and standard views - but you have to book early for the standard views.

VWL - Only DVC MK resort (boat ride across Bay Lake). Beautiful theming (although it is significantly darker than any of the other resorts). No GVs. Only the higher point structure. Resales can be found, but are seldom bargains.

BCV - Think BWVs, add StormAlongBay. The Boardwalk itself is a short walk, but the Beach Club is a little quieter. Only the high point structure and no GVs. Disney is currently selling this resort. Resales can be found, but are seldom bargains. Will probably be the hardest to get into at seven month window because of Storm Along Bay.

Although I personally don't think OKW is the best resort for kids (I like pool slides and better transportation options with teenagers), if I were you, that is where I'd look. You can stretch your points and dollars farther at OKW than at any other of the DVC resorts and the larger rooms will be nice for your bigger family. And there isn't any reason to pay the higher dues of the other resorts if you are only booking seven months in advance anyway.

 

[thepoohbear]

I know both of these have been said but I want to stress again...
1) You can really save a ton by eating just one meal a day in the room. We try to do a big breakfast in room, a snack around lunch time (sometimes we pack snacks,sometimes we buy) and then go back for a late lunch, nap, swim. So that's two meals in room. With baby coming soon (with luck, prayers and pixie dust from all my DIS friends) I think we'll probably do dinner in room more then too. We did grill one night at the resort and that was fun.
2) As for the park passes, we got 7 night hopper with plus features three trips ago. Now to be fair, I was sick on one of those trips so I didn't use any days but those passes have still lasted for two years. The resorts are so great you'll want some time to hang out and enjoy all they have to offer. The pools are all wonderful. You can also resort hop to visit other "worlds" of Disney for shopping or eating. That's fun and cheap if the shopping is window shopping. And don't forget DTD. That's another non-park day. There's mini golf, too. Then there are the four plus options. We used one for pleasure island a long time ago (Your oldest might enjoy this!) and one for Typhoon Lagoon which we hope to go back to soon. We still have 2 regular park days left too. So for three yearas worth of tickets we'll still be going back this November with 2 park days and 2 plus features on my tickets. If I knew for sure when we were going, I might look into the AP and I will someday probably have questions about it but the UMP is just not a good idea financially expecially if you plan to return, which you would with DVC
Seriously, I was freaked out about DVC myself. DH was all set (he's a math wizzard anyway) but I woke up in cold sweats. Finally I just gave in and said, "I don't get it but if you really want to do this, let's do it." In my defence, I had never seen a DVC resort and had no idea how spectacular they are. Once we signed those papers, I never looked back and never regretted for a minute. Everything we have done since have been things I NEVER would have done if we had to pay cash. I have seen and done things that I thought would only happen for me in dreams. And I can't imagine a regular hotel room with a ton of people. We stayed in OKW with 5 adults (me, DH, BIL, MIL, my mom) and two kids (one 4 and one 16) Could have been a nightmare but with all that room we could avoid one another at times when we needed alone time or privacy.
I'm starting to think I should start selling this stuff. I love it so much that even after freaking over the initial investment, we bought two more add-ons!