Need help contemplating DVC membership

[mmorten]

HI
We just got back from Disney and got "the presentation" there. I have been thinking and need some Honest answers from other dvc members.
- i anticpate we would go to disney once every 3 years or so, the other years i would want to go to the other resorts you can trade for, (world passport and intrawest) The sales guy made it sound like you just call a phone# and they reserve you a room. I keep asking him if people had problems with availibility and he seemed vague to me. If we join we know we want for sure to go to the Westin in St. John's and a nice place in Hawaii, is this feasible? We usually book vacations 1 yr ahead due to hubby's work schedule.
Have you had sucess trading? Is it a huge pain?Also we really like to vacation in Destin Fl. I saw that intrawest you can trade points per night, has anyone done this? we would most likely go in early june?
I just don't want to get stuck with points that we are unable to use, since we don't plan on going to disney every year.
Also when we do go to disney is it really hard to find a room when you want to? I saw that there are 91000 DVC members, that seems like alot of people to compete with to get a room when you want to.
Thanks
Melissa

 

[5infam]

Melissa,

I really wouldn't but DVC for trading. The reason I say that is the upfront cost to purchase, plus a higher than average maintenance cost makes DVC a poor choice as a trader. Like any trading, you need to be willing to be flexible on your dates and resort, the more flexible you are, the better chances you will have. I can't speak for St John's, but I can tell you that Hawaii is very popular and the high end resorts can be tough to get a trade into. It is simply supply and demand, and most people that own in Hawaii use it vs. trade it. That is why a lot of people buy in Hawaii to begin with, because it is a tough place to trade into (although not impossible, it just depends on how flexible you are). If you are going to buy DVC, you need to use it for DVC resorts most of the time, as that is the true value of DVC. If you are going to trade most of the time, then I would suggest buying somewhere else that fits where you want to trade.

You can probably buy other timeshares on the resale market for far less than you can buy DVC on the resale market because of the DVC ROFR. And speaking of resale, if you plan on going to DVC every three years, and were looking at the minimum of 150 points as too many points, then you can buy a smaller contract on the resale market. Let's say every 3 years you want to use DVC and you need 300 points. You could buy a 100 point contract on the resale market and by banking and borrowing, get your 300 points and go every 3 years. Keep in mind that when you buy direct from DVC, the minimum is 150 points, but buying on the resale market, the minimum contract (if you can find it) is 25 points. There is no difference in membership buying resale or from DVC (I have done both). Just some more for you to think about. Good luck - and Welcome to the DIS!!

 

[islandbeachnut]

I'm interested in hearing from members who have used the other accomodations available also. We love Disney and would probably go every year for a while but would eventually like to try another place in the World Passport collection.