Need help deciding on DVC....have many questions!

[Sandisw]

Dean, why would we need a 2BR? Our guide said that we would need a 1BR for a family of 5.... a 2BR would be even MORE points!!!

We will always be on property people because my family like to get there for RD. Also, staying on site gives us the EMH and the full Disney feel... I can't see us staying off property. We tried it once and hated it....

I see us renting a DVC property in the future to try it out. Maybe that will be the trick to falling in love.... We were so on the fence. If we had the cash to put down the money - it would be a no brainer for us. It's the finance charges and how long it takes to break even that is stopping us.

The 1 bedrooms at both BLT and AKV (not the values) have a sleeper chair so you can sleep 5 so yes, you will be able to stay in these without any issues.

 

[Dean]

Dean, why would we need a 2BR? Our guide said that we would need a 1BR for a family of 5.... a 2BR would be even MORE points!!!

We will always be on property people because my family like to get there for RD. Also, staying on site gives us the EMH and the full Disney feel... I can't see us staying off property. We tried it once and hated it....

I see us renting a DVC property in the future to try it out. Maybe that will be the trick to falling in love.... We were so on the fence. If we had the cash to put down the money - it would be a no brainer for us. It's the finance charges and how long it takes to break even that is stopping us.

True it is more points and that was part of what I wanted to convey. Currently DVC will allow you to put 5 people in a 1 BR but that may not always be the case going forward for all but AKV and BLT, in spite of what a timeshare salesperson may say. Ask them to put it in writing that you can have 5 in a 1 BR no matter the age and see what happens. Plus, as they grow, there will come a time when you will outgrow the 1 BR OR be very crowded, even if they are all the same gender. If they are different gender, that time will come even more quickly. But that line of thinking also applies to one vs two rooms at POR or similar. Then at some point they may not all be going with you and you can downsize again to a studio or 1 BR.

To add to your calculations, most people significantly underestimate the time it takes for them to break even and often erroneously use the rack rates of DVC as their benchmark. In your case I'd suggest using the rack rates for POR for one room then figuring two rooms starting at some year into the future, maybe when the 6 y/o group hits 13 and compare to the points for a 1 BR matched to one room for POR and to a 2 BR when you use 2 rooms at POR as your comparison. If you're close in price and can afford it, DVC would be a great option because the DVC resorts are a considerable upgrade from POR and the 1 & 2 BR a considerable upgrade from a regular hotel unit.

Use a full week or at least include 1 weekend if you compare to less than a full week as the points for S-F might go up. Generally I'd use a discounted rack rate for POR but for the time you're looking at, rack rates are likely better since it's not discounted as much that time of year.

 

[3smithboys]

Dean, your post makes us even more worried about buying into DVC. As we learn more and more, we are finding out information that our guide didn't tell us....hmmmm.... I know they are salespeople and as always it's "buyer beware" but we thought that a 1BR would sleep 5 regardless of where we would be! We were so busy crunching numbers, we weren't looking at that aspect of it. We took for granted that all 1BR were created equal....

But, this whole process has had me wondering... when we came home we thought that we had enough points to come down for a week at Christmas, but when we looked into it, we found out that we wouldn't have enough points to stay for a week - only 5 days and not at any resort of our choosing. I'm not even sure we could even stay for a weekend with the 250 points that we were quoted.... We certainly couldn't stay in the best rooms with the great views - we would have to stay in the lowest rooms. All of this for the buy in price of $24,000 plus fees. Since we would have to finance a decent portion of this, it just doesn't make financial sense for us.

We are going to Disney for the Disney parks and the experience. At this point, our kids want to do the rides and see the characters, and swim. They don't hang out at the resort. Since we don't stay at Deluxe resorts right now and really only nap and sleep in the room, spending DVC prices for the room (granted - it's one heck of a room) just is too much for us.

And this doesn't even take into consideration having to get a 2BR....yikes!

 

[Dean]

Dean, your post makes us even more worried about buying into DVC. As we learn more and more, we are finding out information that our guide didn't tell us....hmmmm.... I know they are salespeople and as always it's "buyer beware" but we thought that a 1BR would sleep 5 regardless of where we would be! We were so busy crunching numbers, we weren't looking at that aspect of it. We took for granted that all 1BR were created equal....

But, this whole process has had me wondering... when we came home we thought that we had enough points to come down for a week at Christmas, but when we looked into it, we found out that we wouldn't have enough points to stay for a week - only 5 days and not at any resort of our choosing. I'm not even sure we could even stay for a weekend with the 250 points that we were quoted.... We certainly couldn't stay in the best rooms with the great views - we would have to stay in the lowest rooms. All of this for the buy in price of $24,000 plus fees. Since we would have to finance a decent portion of this, it just doesn't make financial sense for us.

We are going to Disney for the Disney parks and the experience. At this point, our kids want to do the rides and see the characters, and swim. They don't hang out at the resort. Since we don't stay at Deluxe resorts right now and really only nap and sleep in the room, spending DVC prices for the room (granted - it's one heck of a room) just is too much for us.

And this doesn't even take into consideration having to get a 2BR....yikes!

It's not my intention to scare you off but to make you think and to make sure you know what you are and are not getting. Currently they will allow 5 in a 1 BR but you get a King in the Master and a queen pull out except at AKV, VB and BLT where you'll also get a twin size pull out. Not very workable for big kids or mixed genders but likely workable for a while. As you note, 250 points won't even get you the 1 BR for 7 nights every year but it will get you close to 6 nights if you miss one weekend and if you get off by a few days into Choice season in Dec or Adventure in Jan, you can likely make 250 a year work.

Unfortunately you're looking at an expensive time to go to WDW and one that likely does not compare as favorably for DVC as would some of the other times. If the concept still makes sense to you, maybe you could look at resale where you could buy in about 2/3 the price that it costs directly if you looked at SSR or OKW. Even if you rent, this time will still be more expensive but you wouldn't have the long term commitment. And note that DVC doesn't save most people money, even those that think it does, but it does give you a significant upgrade at a controlled price.

You could consider other approaches like off property for part of the time combined with DVC points. Or you could buy to go on points every 2 years and look at other options for off years. As the kids get older you'll either have a smaller or larger group as they bring friends or have other obligations.

 

[3smithboys]

Dean, don't worry about scaring us - I appreciate your honesty. I would rather go into this with eyes wide open than believing in something that wasn't quite true. At the end of the day guides are salespeople - and a lot of what they do is smoke and mirrors. (I know that people will disagree with me, but we found a lot of things to be not quite what they seemed or not quite exactly as they were portrayed...) If we were asked to sign on the dotted line that night, we probably would have - we loved it that much (and we love Disney that much too.) Luckily, our guide was not pushy at all. We never felt pressured by him to buy, and all along he said that we had to go back and make sure that this was the right decision for us. BUT if we did not go back and CAREFULLY go through all of the figures, research how long it would take us to "break even," look at the cost-benefit, etc... and not just go on what we were told and raw emotion - we would be another DVC owner (who knows - maybe we looked too carefully! )

 

[Pirate Jack]

Another way to buy into Disney is to start with a small resale contract. I started out with a 25 point contract at VWL. This contract came with 25 banked points for a total of 50 points. I paid a little under $2500 for the deal including the closing costs. It was a manageable amount. I also don't like to pay finance charges! I have since added on 50 points at BLT and 25 points at BWV. As I save, I add on points a little at a time. My intention is to own at several resorts. If I want to stay at one, I can bank and borrow to get enough points for my stay at that resort. Currently, we take several small trips each year and so far it has worked out. BTW, I usually book only a few days at a time, am flexible where and when I stay, and have booked my stays within the 7 month mark. Good luck!