Need Help; Have lots of ???

[rt2dz]

OK, we are thinking of buying DVC and I have a few questions I'm hoping you owners will answer for me.

First, let me give you some minor background, as this info. might be needed to answer some of my questions. We currently have 2 kids (3yo, 9m), planning on 1-2 more (threw out the birth control this morning). Growing up, my family went to Disney every spring break and I plan on taking my kiddos every year (7-9 days) now too. Although, I prefer off times to have less of a crowd--no problem pulling the kids out of school, my parents did it all the time and I graduated with a 3.8. However, I wouldn't rule out the occasional holiday visit. I don't want to stay off site; I really like being on site. We do also plan on taking another "big" vacation once a year and we have the habit of taking many long weekends. So knowing that, here are my questions--and sometimes I may be truly looking at the intristic value and not just the monetary value.

1--How long does it take to pay itself off?

2--How important is your home resort? And in what ways?

3--Is it better to buy the points you will need in the future or to buy only what you need now and add on later? Right now a studio would be ok, in 1-2 years a 1 bedroom will be necessary, & in 3-4 years we will certainly need a 2 bedroom.

4--When you add on, is it better to add on to the same resort or different resorts? How does that effect your ressie possibilities? Can you only reserve up to your point value at that resort 11 months out and then add on days 7 months out...?

5--How hard is it to reserve 7 months out v. 11 months?

6--Do you feel you are getting your money's worth (even before the payoff)?

7--Is it better to buy new from Disney or from resale the first time? For add ons?

8--Are there any other things to consider???

 

[DeeCee735]

<1--How long does it take to pay itself off?

2--How important is your home resort? And in what ways?

3--Is it better to buy the points you will need in the future or to buy only what you need now and add on later? Right now a studio would be ok, in 1-2 years a 1 bedroom will be necessary, & in 3-4 years we will certainly need a 2 bedroom.

4--When you add on, is it better to add on to the same resort or different resorts? How does that effect your ressie possibilities? Can you only reserve up to your point value at that resort 11 months out and then add on days 7 months out...?

5--How hard is it to reserve 7 months out v. 11 months?

6--Do you feel you are getting your money's worth (even before the payoff)?

7--Is it better to buy new from Disney or from resale the first time? For add ons?

8--Are there any other things to consider???>

I'll take a shot at answering some of these questions.

#1 question I cannot answer, we paid for it outright.

#2 - Home resort is important in that you get an 11 month out booking window. All other owners (with other home resorts) get to book 7 months out, giving the home resort owners 4 months over them to get the ressies they want. I also think owning at your favorite resort is important in a personal way (just MHO).
Location can also play a part in personal preference.

#3 - I think buying as many points as are affordable (or as close to the desired amount) now is the best way to go. First, prices increase, you will, most likely, pay more for that add on per point than you will now, second, depending on when you want to add on, you have to see if the amount of points you want to add on are available in your use year month. One way to figure out how many points you'll want (at least it worked for us) is to figure out when you like to go, and what size accommodation will fit your needs. We like to go in Feb. and stay in at least a one bedroom, so we based our purchase on that, and the amount of points we bought serve us well (even though I got the "add on bug" and bought more anyway - paid $24 more per point than my original purchase in 2000. We initially bought what would serve our needs.

#4 - Yes you can buy an add on at a different resort, lots of people on this board do do that. And yes your ressies at each resort you own are governed by the 11 month/7 month window. So if you added on 50 points at WVL but originally bought at SSR you can book SSR stays at 11 months out with your original amount of points purchased, and (for the same vacation stay) 7 months out with WVL points to stay the whole time at SSR, and visa versa, but you could also book your vacation for both resorts at 11 months out and split your stay - X amount of days at SSR, and then move for X amount of days to WV. I hope I'm making sense.

#5 Can't answer as it has never been my experience - I usually plan way ahead of everything!

#6 I can only answer this from my point of view because, as mentioned above, we paid for our points outright. We definitely feel it is a worthwhile cost. I think this is kind of a personal preference question, because there are different things to consider for different people. For us it was a matter of having that "forced" vacation, hubby is a work-a-holic (sp?)and wouldn't take off without the "push". He also won't fly, so going around the country (or the world) isn't happening, and we can (and do) drive to WDW. We fell in love with it the first time we took the kids when they were little, and it became our favorite vacation destination. We have visited a few times before purchasing and each time we spent LOTS of money on accommodations, (to be on site, or to be on the monorail). Owning DVC is having a prepaid stay for the next 37 years, in even better accommodations than the resorts. So for us, yes it's worthwhile.

#7 - Sorry can't answer this either as we haven't experienced resale purchases.

#8 - Other things to consider is what type of accommodations have been acceptable/suitable to you in comparsion to a DVC unit, onsite/offsite preferences, cost of park passes/how many "park days" each stay will require - this, obviously, adds to the cost of th vacation.

Good luck with your decision

 

[hezzie]

Welcome!

I can certainly share my thoughts having only owned DVC for 2 years:

1. Not sure...never really calculated it, but I know others will know the answer to this.

2. I found it very important and we just recently bought a 2nd resale so that we could change our home resort. Didn't think it was important when we first bought, but have learned differently.

3. Having bought a 2nd resale with more points, I would suggest buying what you think you will need b/c the cost only continues to go up and you can never have enough points!!

4. I have never done an add-on, so cannot comment.

5. This really depends on the time of year you are looking to go, but having the 11 month window is always better!! With the Food & Wine Festival and the Flower Show, the slower times are becoming harder to get.

6. Absolutely!! We have already been to Disney 4 times in 2 years and probably would have only gone once had we not bought DVC.

7. We have bought resales both times and have received the best service. Resales give you more options on resorts and amount of points. If you are patient, you will find exactly what you are looking for and usually with some banked points, if you are lucky!

8. Seems like you asked all the right questions. I just strongly suggest getting the number of points you will need in the future. Having 2 kids, I'm sure you could benefit now from having the 1 bedroom and being able to put them down for a nap while enjoying the rest of the room! Good Luck!!

 

[Dean]

1--How long does it take to pay itself off?

It depends on how it is used. For long weekends, never. For just Sunday to Friday, maybe 6-7 years. Most people are likely in the 10-12 year range or longer assuming they would go and stay on property anyway. These are very big assumptions as it turns out.

--How important is your home resort? And in what ways?

Depends on how your travel and your needs. If you want a more difficult to get choice or unit size, it is imperative. Examples would be a 3 BR most any time, standard view at BWV or HH mid June to mid August. If you want one specific resort most of the time, buy there PERIOD. If you just want to try them all and rotate through, any will do as long as it's on property. Only buy HH or VB is you plan to stay there a significant portion of the time. Use year can also be important, again it depends on your personal situation as to how important.

3--Is it better to buy the points you will need in the future or to buy only what you need now and add on later? Right now a studio would be ok, in 1-2 years a 1 bedroom will be necessary, & in 3-4 years we will certainly need a 2 bedroom.

Again, it depends on your situation. In general, I'd buy enough points for a 1 BR at BCV, etc for the length of time and frequency you usually travel. Maybe 200 to 250 points or so. Though another valid approach would be to get 150 now and see how it goes then if things work out, do an add on, maybe at a different resort.

4--When you add on, is it better to add on to the same resort or different resorts? How does that effect your ressie possibilities? Can you only reserve up to your point value at that resort 11 months out and then add on days 7 months out...?

It totally varies with your situation and desired usage. But remember you can only add on what is available either through DVC or resale. You can buy a totally new stand alone contract though.

5--How hard is it to reserve 7 months out v. 11 months?

As noted above, it varies with what you want. In general, assume that BCV, BWV and VWL as well as certain units types and times of the year will require one to own points there much of the time. As the membership grows, these resorts and unit types will become increasingly harder to get UNLESS another destination DVC resort is added at WDW, something like the Contemporary rumor.

6--Do you feel you are getting your money's worth (even before the payoff)?

Yes, but again it depends on how you use it. It is possible to make DVC a very good deal or a very bad deal with your choices. And everyone is welcome to make stupid choices if they want.

7--Is it better to buy new from Disney or from resale the first time? For add ons?

Again, no one answer. It depends on what resort you want, your age and expected usage. Plus your need for financing.

8--Are there any other things to consider???

I don't think there are other things, the above is more than plenty. Let me make it very simple. Unless you will go to WDW at least every 2-3 years and stay on property at a moderate or above and avoid heavy weekend usage; DVC will never make sense. As for the other usage options, if you're seriously thinking about them, just buy less points and pay cash for the other choices in the future.

 

[Scoootch]

The only thing I can really add to what everyone's already posted is to your question about "7--Is it better to buy new from Disney or from resale the first time? For add ons?"

Resale can be a great way to go as you can buy into the resorts that are already sold out and Disney will not directly sell anymore and for less per point, but the flip side is that you will need to find your own financing. Either thru taking out a Home equity loan or I think there's an internet lender called TUG or something like that who will finance timeshares. Plus you would have to pay closing costs for the resale contract you purchase. Now, if you have the means to pay outright and won't need financing, then it's not really an issue - just the closing costs. But something to keep in mind as if you buy directly from Disney, they don't charge closing costs and have there own financing available. Also if you know you will always want to stay at a sold out resort the majority of the time like BCV's or VWL for example then I agree, re-sale would be the much smarter choice - for the most part, depending on the time of yr you want to vacation booking at 7 mos isn't all that difficult at non-home resorts but that could all change with the addition of more and more members competing for the same rooms at the 7mos window. And if you know you definetly would want to stay at a sold out resort during Peak seasons as Dean said, it's actually imperitive you own at that resort for the 11mos booking advantage.

You need to weigh the options for yourself. If you are in love with SSR and would love to stay there most of time, again same rules apply -- buy to have the 11mos window,can be obtained directly from Disney, etc.etc.

Best of luck!

 

[laceemouse]

I would start with what you can comfortably afford now and add-on later. If you get a studio in low season now, buying mega points would just be over kill IMO. We started small and are now adding on. As far as always taking the kids out of school I have a few comments. 1-School is not the same as it used to be. They are requiring more and more from kids at younger and younger ages. 2-Hard to imagine now, but your kids may not be like you were in school. I loved school, found it pretty easy all the way through, and LOVED making good grades. Two of my kids are similar to how I was, the other two are NOT. They are smart, oldest is MENSA, but they are not "nose to the grindstone." The workload in our schools makes it hard for them to even miss one day. 3-Schools have different rules now. Many states, and I'm pretty sure Texas is one of them, have very strict rules for missing school for vacations. 4-Other activities, like sports, cheerleading, and the like are also hard to miss. Often as kids get older they don't WANT to miss these activities, or school for that matter. We have 4 kids, never take them out for more than a day of school for trips, and of course always need a 2 bedroom.

 

[rt2dz]

Thank you everyone for your opinions so far. I'm still looking for more, as I want as many different people's personal views & experiences as possible (even if they are the same) so that I may have as complete of a picture as possible.

I would like to add a question--What resorts does everyone like best? And why? Whether it be theming, service, location, availability, etc.

Also, to add so that I may get a more complete picture--we would probably show up on a Friday night/Saturday morning and stay until the next Sunday once a year. Then there may be an occasional long weekend--as we have ugraded APs. We also generally would stay at a deluxe, occasionally a moderate, NEVER a value (too loud & crowded with the kids). As the boys get older & we add another one, home a way from home will become more likely.

I appreciate the opinions about taking the kids out of school. And yes, we do have the 80 day law in Texas. However, the kids will be going to private school & the law only applies to public schools. Part of that decision has to do with the fact that our oldest is very, very bright (My dad and brother our genises and I think somehow my son inherited it) and the education is more in depth, but the other reason is the flexibility that the school has--many of the kids are pulled out frequently to travel for various reasons and the school is set up to accomadate that.

 

[poohj80]

Originally posted by rt2dz
2--How important is your home resort? And in what ways?

7--Is it better to buy new from Disney or from resale the first time? For add ons?

8--Are there any other things to consider???

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that if you buy into SSR (only property available currently through Disney) the ownership is for 50 years where if you buy resale the other DVC properties are only for the next 38 years (I believe). So, you may also want to ask yourself how much the extra 12 years is worth to you and your family.

 

[queenof4hearts]

Hello,

We bought 350 pts at BCV 2 yr ago. We love all the resorts (1st for SSR will be this Dec.2004, & we haven't made it to VWL), but for our family BCV suits us best. The location and SAB were the main draw for us. We always rent a car so public trans. is not an issue.

350 pts. is what it "cost" to stay 8 nights in a 2 br villa in the dream season (middle of the road). Since we have bought we have gone all throughout the year though.

We just added on 130 pts. at SSR w/ Feb. use yr (just like our BCV).

We have 3 boys ages 4,5,& 8 and another boy due Feb. 14th.
I would certainly give some serious thought to at least get enough pts. for a 1 br in the resort that interests you most and maybe even a 2br. It is always nice for my boys to have some private time when we are "home", esp. the oldest.

Have you checked out the resorts? Are you already familiar w/ all of them. It sounds like you are prettty familiar w/ Disney.

Our boys all go to private school in NY but I have a hard time taking them out (at least the 3rd grader) because they love school so much. Usually only for a day or two right before their vacation. Although I have no problem w/ the "issue" of taking them out. It gets harder for me as they get older. 1st grade is the last week we did this.

Good luck. It is great for the family!! We love it!! Hope this helps.