Need your thoughts on joining DVC vs. Disney deluxes

[ead79]

I just can't decide whether I think DVC would be a good choice for me or not. I know it would be much more cost-effective in the long run that what I do now, but my concerns are more about the "feel" of DVC vs. staying at Disney's deluxe resorts (especially conciege level). Here's the situation (please give me feedback):

I typically go to WDW once a year and stay for about a week. I have fallen in love with concierge, so we try to stay concierge for our trips. I also love resort-hopping, so we almost always split our stay between 2 deluxe resorts. Having stayed at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort a few times, I am very impressed with the DVC accomodations. I love the idea of extra space and jacuzzi tubs (in certain units). I don't think I would make that much use of the kitchen, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have a large refrigerator. My "fear" is mainly that I would get weary of always staying at the same resort. I know that you can also stay at other DVC resorts, but I guess I worry that I would get a craving for concierge amenities and/or non-DVC resorts like the Poly or AKL. From what I have read it is not very economical to use DVC points for non-DVC resort ressies. I also worry that the 150 point minimum wouldn't be enough for even a once a year trip. What are your thoughts on having a "home" resort instead of trying all of them out. Are there any DVC owners who used to be resort hoppers like me? Any feedback is very welcome.

 

[spiceycat]

oh yea - I still resort hop....

you can easily resort hop using DVC - from SSR to BCV, BWV to OKW, BCV to VWL - not a problem - the only DVC units that don't have the whirlpool tub are the studios. all the pool areas of DVC resorts have a whirlpool, or spa or whatever it is currently called.

however instead of the whole visit being in a different resort - I stay at a DVC resort for 4 or 5 days then go to the WDW resort of my choice for a 1 or 2 days - I use points for this too if I can't have a great cash discount (sometimes you can)

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We had similar concerns prior to joining, although we never stayed concierge level until after joining DVC.
Simply put- The 1 and 2 bedroom villa is SO MUCH NICER than a regular hotel room, that it blew me away.

My wife and I still use some of our points for Poly concierge, and we will be staying AKL concierge this April. We couple these 3 night concierge stays with a 5 night stay in a VWL 1br villa. In my opinion, it is the best of all worlds. We don't do this every trip, but our plan is to do it once a year (we are up to 3 trips a year).

If I had to pick one or the other, DVC would be the victor!

Good luck...

MG

 

[Lexxiefern]

Well, what we do is stay 5 nights in a one bedroom at one resort and then in a studio (to conserve points) on the weekend at a different resort. We also are staying at AKL on our next trip because we ran out of points

So you could just buy the minimum and stay 4 - 5 nights in a one bedroom and then stay a few nights either before or after at a different hotel with concierge.

 

[OneMoreTry]

I don't think you'll be happy without at least some time at the concierge deluxe. And you will never break even if you use your points for Disney hotels.

That said, the psychological benefit of having a "home-away-from-home" at WDW is nice. You could always do DVC every second or third year by banking/borrowing points, or alternate stays at one of the beach resorts with your deluxe/concierge stays.

(Remember, at DVC when you use points they don't come in and clean every day unless you pay extra. )

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I wanted to add-
Although using your points for WDW hotels is not the best use of points, I don't feel it is necessarily a bad use of points.

Although I stay concierge level, let's be honest...
Paying cash for concierge is not the best use of cash either. It costs at least a couple hundred bucks extra per night for the privilege of having free snacks and drinks down the hall.
At least at The Poly you can get a great view of the lagoon and Cinderella Castle.
In no way am I knocking concierge. As I said, I stay concierge also.
I am just pointing out that sometime what makes you happy, may not be the best use of points or cash from a monetary standpoint.

If it makes my wife and me happy, I consider that to be a very wise use of my points (or cash), regardless of the dollar value.

Good luck...

MG

 

[MinnieGi]

I see you are recently married. Are children in your future? If so you may very well crave the roominess of a DVC villa than a deluxe room. At least we do!! 3yo DD seems to love having so much room to roam around in and with children having a fridge and pantry full of snacks at the ready is awesome!! We do use the kitchen to whip up quick meals. Little ones cannot always wait for a restaurant meal.

We do enjoy checking out other resorts. Last year we stayed at AKL on an AP rate. We keep our DVC points for our DVC stays and if we want to check out another resort we use the AP discount. We also resort hopped this past trip from BWV to OKW and really enjoyed the switch. With 5 different DVC resorts right on property there is a lot of variety in the theming you can pick out for each trip. I would definelty look into DVC!

 

[ead79]

Thank you all for your feedback! I really appreciate it!

I thought of another question--which DVC resorts still have availability (I thought I read somewhere that OKW, BWV, and VWL are all sold out)?

 

[poohnpiglet3]

If it makes my wife and me happy, I consider that to be a very wise use of my points (or cash), regardless of the dollar value.

Well said, Maistre Gracey!!

Sherri

 

[floridafam]

I don't know how to answer this one.

We also love staying concierge. We rarely use the kitchen in DVC rooms. On our last trip to VWL my kids said that next time they want to go back to WL Concierge.

We have used our pts for a stay at YC Lagoon View Concierge and loved it. Sure, it wasn't the wisest use of pts. but we had them and we used them.

I would say that we will probably stay concierge level whenever we are at WDW and use our pts for our stays at VB.

Will you miss concierge? Probably.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by ead79
Thank you all for your feedback! I really appreciate it!

I thought of another question--which DVC resorts still have availability (I thought I read somewhere that OKW, BWV, and VWL are all sold out)?

As far as the WDW DVC resorts, only SSR is presently available for puchase from Disney. However, all of the other resorts are available via resale.

 

[MrShiny]

If you want the ease of buying from Disney and are concerned about SSR (admittedly not as good a location as BWV, BCV or VWL), consider this (it hooked me):

- lease is for 50 years (not ending in 2041)
- you can buy and use now, but make no payments until May and accrue no interest until April
- annual dues don't begin until the resort opens and your building is declared (probably May)
- Downtown Disney is a transportation hub, so you can easily get a bus to just about anywhere on property (starting in the afternoon - before that it would be just the busses that stop at SSR)

 

[rocketriter]

The poster who asked if you plan to have children was making a great point. Although you may consider it affordable to take one concierge room for a week, you won't feel much luxury even on a concierge floor if you have to jam yourselves and a couple of kids into that room. And if you start paying nightly concierge rates for 2 adjoining rooms or for a suite, the cost of your visits will skyrocket. On the other hand, 225 points will give you a 1-bedroom (which is 2 large rooms, a kitchen, a bath, a whirlpool and a washer/dryer) for a week at SSR in 3 out of the 5 seasons. You'll get the rooms, the privacy, the classy accomodations and the spaciousness. You'll lose the snacks and the daily maid service. For our family of four and our tastes it was an easy choice: we'll do our own laundry and pick up the rooms--and run, not walk, to DVC.

 

[amandaC]

Why don't you buy 150 points and use them for weekday stays (and lower points) and then hop to a deluxe on the weekend on a cash basis? That way you maximize your points and you still get concierge stays.

 

[chris1gill]

I guess I have two thoughts on this... You pose a complicated question. First, obviously DVC would be less expensive, BUT if you like concierge amenities, I'm not sure you would be happy with any of the DVC resorts. What exactly do you like about the concierge service? When you compare the favorable aspects of concierge to having a 1 bedroom villa with washer/dryer/jacuzzi, separate bedroom, which do you think you would be happiest with?

Home resort matters to the extent that if you plan 11 months out, it's helpful to plan at the resort you like the best... but DVC has become quite varied with BC, WL, OKW & now SSR locations.... about the only resort area not represented well, is the MK resort area... perhaps once every few years you could stay at the MK resort area in concierge as a splurge?

As for us, we found the extra 1 bedroom amenities to be the main draw & have never been sorry that we did... I love concierge services, but I like that jacuzzi tub, kitchen & washer/dryer MORE!

To be sure, perhaps you might trying to rent or stay at the BWV's on a cash basis & see how you like the accomodations....

 

[goofy4dvc]

If you want to buy into other DVC resorts through Disney, they have a waitlist that can be very short or not very short, depending on what you're looking for and how many contracts Disney has exercised their right of first refusal (ROFR) on. You will likely have to pay closing costs on a resale, but the price may offset those costs.

 

[Disney-Kim]

Elizabeth,
I wanted to say I really enjoyed reading your wedding reports. We honeymooned at WDW and it was great.
We are Dinks and in our 30's.
We have always stayed at 2 resorts too. Always a deluxe and concierge too. We don't have kids and go once a year.
I had always wanted to buy DVC but had to wait till it was a good financial decison. (still wish we bought in 98 )

I say "Yes". You would do good with DVC. The rooms are equal to the deluxe rooms we have stayed in as far as niceness etc. If you stay at BCV or BWV you have all the deluxe amenities you have enjoyed on your trips.
We don't cook in the rooms and eat out most meals. But the fridge is GREAT for bottled water, cokes, oj. etc. The toaster/coffe maker offer you a way to have breakfast without the concierge lounge. You can also split your stays as we are on our May trip. We are staying at VWL and BWV. both deluxe resorts !!
another huge pro....you pay on average $275-350 per night for a deluxe/conc. room...
so just 1 trip costs you $2400... thats a great down payment for DVC and just take 6 trips at that price and you have paid for 150 pts for DVC...and you get to go FREE for the next 30+ years. (well almost free...dues)
This is really honestly what sold us.
So I will be honest and tell you the CON (yes there is one)
HOUSEKEEPING/TURNDOWN .
I miss having my bed made everyday. But you can pay for that if you really want.
Feel free to ask me any more questions as it seems we have similar vacation habits.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Disney-Kim
Elizabeth,
If you stay at BCV or BWV you have all the deluxe amenities you have enjoyed on your trips.

Or VWL...

 

[Disney-Kim]

I wanted to add something else...we have stayed at the YC concierge and the Poly concierge...and I really don't miss anything about the YC but we loved Poly and stayed on our honeymoon there. I will miss getting to stay there and its just not worth the points. but....
we have a guaranteed vacation for the next 39 years....so I guess that makes it a lot better.

and 150 pts is perfect for us. We will stay in studios and there are plenty of points for us to stay in Sept/May. 104/123 pts.
but if affordable I would try to buy about 200 so you can take family or go for a 1 bedroom with a jacuzzi once in a while. We would have to borrow to do this.
but we are taking my sister this year and getting them their own studio...we just borrowed some points.

 

[manning]

Just one meal a day in the room, (and how hard is it to make breakfast), will save you at least $20 a day for two (not counting tips). Boy I never thought of it until now, The way Disney is cutting park hours, While one showers and the other prepares breakfast you will gain more time to do the parks. We bring left overs from our meals out for a light lunch or snack.