Need advice about DVC

[martyncarmen]

We just recently came back from WDW and we took the DVC tour we were impressed with the information we received. Now my question is when we got back we called and decided to join the DVC at SSR for 150 points, but now I'm worried, all that I read states that if you plan on using DVC for anything but WDW resorts it's not a value. We live in California and we plan on going back to WDW but not every year the year that we don't do WDW we were going to use the points for other vacations now is that not a good idea we thought it was. Our contract is not finalized so any input would be great ,Disney just seemed to be better then the traditional timeshare. We wanted to use our points for Hawaii next year but now i"m afraid of all that I've read.

TIA
Carmen

 

[offtheice]

We just recently came back from WDW and we took the DVC tour we were impressed with the information we received. Now my question is when we got back we called and decided to join the DVC at SSR for 150 points, but now I'm worried, all that I read states that if you plan on using DVC for anything but WDW resorts it's not a value. We live in California and we plan on going back to WDW but not every year the year that we don't do WDW we were going to use the points for other vacations now is that not a good idea we thought it was. Our contract is not finalized so any input would be great ,Disney just seemed to be better then the traditional timeshare. We wanted to use our points for Hawaii next year but now i"m afraid of all that I've read.

TIA
Carmen

So go every other yr . Use your points for other adventures. .

 

[browniemtb]

DVC is better then most tmeshares and if you travel to WDW every other year so be it. Use the points as you wish. The best bang for the points will always be with the DVC resorts but I find the world passport collection not a bad deal either.
Brownie

 

[jcodespoti]

I think your statement is to strong when you say its "not a value". DVC was created to vacation at WDW. That said it can be used to trade out for other places. Do you get as much bang for your buck? Probably not, but its not a bad deal either to trade out. You just might want to trade out every year (which doesn't sound like you will anyway).

Joe in CT

 

[rinkwide]

I think your statement is too strong when you say its "not a value"...

That's funny, I don't think it's strong enough.

 

[disneydenisel]

We wanted to use our points for Hawaii next year but now i"m afraid of all that I've read.

Carmen,

We live in CA and plan to go to WDW every other year. We plan to bank our points in the off years so that we will have enough for a week there in a 2 bedroom. We thought we'd use any "extra" points to bring family with us. So far, we are in borrow mode so there aren't any extra points and we are considering an add-on . I think our problem is that we weren't supposed to go to WDW in 2006 but those points were just sitting there so we used them . Now I really would like to go this year, but my every other year plan would really be ruined! I am trying to refrain from borrowing from 2008...

Regarding a Hawaii trade, you can try and use II to trade your DVC points for Hawaii, but my advice would be to find a timeshare rental and pay cash for that week. There are a lot of owners renting Hawaii timeshares (craigslist, redweek, myresortnetwork, etc.) and you will probably be able to get a week that you want. I have nothing against using DVC points to trade, but you have to be flexible with your dates and your best bet would be to travel off-season to get the best exchange. By paying cash for Hawaii, you avoid all of that exchange uncertainty and can usually pick the dates you want to travel.

Another option would be to do a private exchange of a DVC reservation for a Hawaii reservation.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[TenThousandVolts]

but now I'm worried, all that I read states that if you plan on using DVC for anything but WDW resorts it's not a value.
Carmen

True - you will get the most bang for your buck staying at DVC resorts, but there are trades (mainly World Passport) out there that are not a bad deal. As an alternate -You could rent out your points for about $1500 and use that $ for Hawaii.

Use the points for what makes you happy- if you choose locales other than DVC resorts occasionally- you may notbe maximizing your points dollars but you will maximize your enjoyment and that is what it is all about.

WELCOME & GOOD LUCK!

 

[Dean]

It ultimately depends on how you use it both within and without DVC. It's likely you'd spend far more over time than not owning in the situation you described than if you just paid cash for everything. I'm going to describe a few scenarios and give my opinion. of where you get value and where you lose value or even $$$.

For DVC you will get a much better value if you go light on weekends. Maybe pay cash for weekends or go for 2 weeks but only one weekend. If you go neutral on weekends say for 7 days it can still be a value but is less so. For long weekends you are actually losing money.

For Concierge Collection, DCL, Disney Collection and Adventurer collection, you'll be getting a value of somewhere between $4.50 and $6.75 per point in most cases. The DL resorts are a temporary exception where you are getting about $10 pp right now but historically that is not the case and appears to be a special promotion that is likely to change by 2008.

The World Passport collection (mostly Interval International Timeshare Exchanges) can be a better or worse value depending on which resort and time you chose but is complicated, risky if you are not educated and requires a lot of investigation and planning. It is also difficult to impossible to get the best resorts during peak times.

So my feeling of whether it's a good value to you depends on HOW you fit into this situation and also whether DVC ever builds in CA which has been rumored for years. Personally I'd buy the # of points you can use currently and look to other methods for the non DVC trips.