Need DVC advice, any would be appreciated?

[Darkside]

I am thinking of buying a a DVC resale. I am wondering if 150 points is enough? I know this depends on how many times you go to Disney. What are average points used? Time of year is not a real issue with me, but we are looking at maybe doing two 3-5 day vacations a year.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Anewman]

Up on top of this page is a link to "DVC point charts". There you will find how many nights you can get with 150 point in what season and type of room for each resort.

Just by looking at the chart it looks like you maybe able to the above if you go midweek(Sun-Thurs nites). And more if you do it in a studio instead of 1bedroom.

 

[ccw]

I have 80 points (OKW) and for the past five years have managed just fine. Others will tell you that 300 points would not be enough for them. Personal preference. In addition to looking at the POINTS CHARTS to see how many points might be required for a hypothetical stay, be sure to think about the ANNUAL DUES which you pay based on your point total. Also keep in mind that, especially if you don't have to go to WDW EVERY year, banking and borrowing can stretch your points! DVC is awesome.

 

[iankh]

You've already received good advice in this thread. The way I approached buying a resale was to think about where I preferred to stay and would in a pinch like to have an 11 month window home resort advantage. I then thought about the type of accomodations I would want to stay in, and then finally looked at the point charts. It was easy for me to rule out certain times of the year since I knew that even if I had the points, I wouldn't want to be in WDW at that time. That gave me an idea of what number of points would be good for me on average.

 

[JimC]

I am thinking of buying a a DVC resale. I am wondering if 150 points is enough? I know this depends on how many times you go to Disney. What are average points used? Time of year is not a real issue with me, but we are looking at maybe doing two 3-5 day vacations a year.
Thanks in advance!

Welcome to our little community on the DIS! Some thoughts for you. If you stay Sunday night to Thursday night your points go much further. Given your planned length of stay (3-5 days) -- I would consider this seriously. Friday and Saturday nights are significantly more expensive -- not so bad if you figure a weeks stay and average it out, but for shorter stays it makes the visit much more expensive.

The time of year, resort you stay at and size of accommodations also affect the number of points you need. Look at you historical vacation patterns. Use the point charts to replicate that pattern. It is a good way to begin assessing your point requirements. See what the requirements would be for stays at OKW, SSR and VWL. Those three will give you a sense of the requirements for on-property stays. Do the math for studios and one bedroom villas and two bedroom villas if you think you would want those.

Read the past threads here, much good advice from people willing to share. Keep asking questions of us. Also go to the following two links that have nice summaries of the program:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/dvc.htm

http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html#dvc

Once you have some idea of the program what you need call The Timeshare Store (the sponsor for our board). I have used Pat Spell there for three transactions (2 purchases and one sale). They are quite good. They know the DVC program and are willing to answer questions. Seek their advice - I have found it very helpful. Good luck!

 

[vascubaguy]

One thing to consider... it's pretty easy to add-on points if you find out that you didn't get quite enough (thru DVC you can add-on in increments as small as 25 pts).

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you are uncertain, you could always start out with what you consider to be your minimum best choice. We did that back in '97 and purchased 230 points. IT only took one year for us to realize we needed more, so we added on 150 points. All of our purchases were through Disney and at the same resort, so they have the same use year. We wanted the ability to use the 11 month booking window with all the points, so that is why we purchased both contracts at the same resort. If you like more than one property, you might do your add-on at a different resort.