New DVC owner

[jrgrady]

Just returned from DW today and joined the DVC before we left.
We go twice a year and only go during non peak times. I'll be surfing all the tips and tricks till October. We have the BW booked for October already. So freakin excited right now.

 

[Tink2312]

Welcome home I joined in 2010 and it was one of the best things I've done. Have fun planning October (and all of your many future DVC vacations!)

 

[Andrew015]

Just returned from DW today and joined the DVC before we left.
We go twice a year and only go during non peak times. I'll be surfing all the tips and tricks till October. We have the BW booked for October already. So freakin excited right now.

JRGrady – Congrats on your recent DVC purchase and welcome to DISBoards! You will find this place to be a terrific resource for anything Disney, and the DVCBoards in particular, for us DVC owners.

I certainly don’t want this message to sound negative, so right off the bat, I want you to know that this message is only being written to offer a second opinion that may perhaps help you or others who are considering such a purchase. While many of us are happy DVC owners, there are a number of folks (more than you might think) who’s joy soon turns to regret, as they made an emotional, uniformed purchase decision and soon find that they are not getting the value out of the program that was promised to them by their guide. I am not insinuating that you made a “bad” purchase. I just want to ask you a few questions to help reinforce the fact that you made a good decision for you and your family, and if upon further review, you find that you didn’t, know that you are probably still within your grace period to cancel the purchase.

The first thing that an informed DVC buyer does is to ensure that they “fit the profile” for DVC. In other words, will your family use your DVC membership in such a way that you will optimize the value of the system? Here’s a few questions to ask yourself: Does your family currently travel to Disney at least once every other year, and if so, do you stay on-site in their deluxe accommodations? If the answer to this question is anything but a "yes", then a caution flag should be going up right about now. If you travel to Disney every year but typically stay in Value resorts, know that DVC is not going to be a "cheaper" option. You may be OK with that, but just know this piece of info.

Secondly, do you plan on continuing this habit for the next ~40 years or so? Again, if your answer is "no", then you should really begin to re-think this purchase, as you just made a very expensive, long-term financial committment. There's nothing wrong with making this committment if you understand the magnitude of the purchase. Many folks "think" that DVC is the right purchase because it fits their current vacation habits "now", but fail to realize that once the kids reach a certain age (5-10 years from now), their vacation habits may change and the value proposition of DVC soon begins to fade. Food for thought.

Thirdly, do you always intend to use your points at Disney, or rather, do you think you will take advantage of things like Disney Cruise Line or trading into RCI? While these "options" are marketed by the guides as perks of ownership, what they fail to tell you is that these "options" are a terrible use of your points from a value standpoint. In reality, you would be far better off paying for a Disney cruise with "cash" than you would be by using your DVC "points" from a value standpoint. Without a doubt, the best "bang for buck" is to use your DVC Points at the various DVC resorts. Anything else does not utilize the best value of the program. If your intent was to use your DVC membership for travel outside of Disney World or Land, then once again, the warning flag should be raised.

Fourth, know that your annual dues (maintenance fees) come up every year, and will increase every year without fail for the remainder of your contract. Historical trends for each home resort are readily available on these forums, so if you haven't checked this out yet, you might want to.

Lastly, were you aware that many DVC members purchase their ownership via resale (second-hand market) rather than directly from Disney at a substantial savings? Many of us here on the forums have done so and saved thousands on our purchases, but your DVC Guide would never tell you this. The trade-off is that you lose certain perks, namely the ability to use points for things like Disney Cruises, but for many of us, that is not a concern, as the options that you "lose" are not the best use of your points anyway. Purchasing via resale has it's ups and downs, but for many of us, the upside far outweighs the downside. Again, just another thing to consider.

To summarize again, my intent is simply to play devil's advocate, not to rain on your parade. I hope that you have been thinking about this purchase for some time, and also that you have done your homework to ensure that DVC is a good fit for your family. When I see that you only have two posts as a new member, and also that you made your purchase direct from Disney while on vacation, this is a warning sign to me that perhaps you aren't aware of some of the things that I mentioned to you above. I feel very strongly about this topic, as DISBoards helped me to understand the pro's and con's about DVC, and reaffirmed that for me, it is the right move. Having said that, I personally believe that DVC is only right for a certain kind of buyer, and unfortunately, Disney doesn't care about that. They simply care about getting your cold, hard cash, and I hate to see people sign up for something that they do not fully understand or will not take advantage of as it was intended.


Ask questions, feel free to PM me, and I am happy to help answer any questions that I can about your purchase.

 

[jrgrady]

So a little about us. We go solely to disney and have since we married in 2001. We have been gone about 3 times from 2001 to 2012 and stayed at pofq. We went twice in 2013 and twice in 2014 and have had so much fun that we keep planning trips for the off peak season. We have no children and this is our thing. Were not weird or odd or anything, just two normal people in their upper 30's that enjoy disneyworld. So, this was my logic. We take two trips to disney and spend approx 8k a year on disney vacations. At this rate, I will break even in about 4 years. I am paying my initial investment off in 2 years to avoid the high interest rate, and we don't do cruises at all. The guide told us that dvc members can get the ap for $450 a year so once the initial investment is pd off, I will spend $900 a yr for ap and $650 a yr for dues which I understand go up with the cost of living. So for me, its worth spending about 1600 a yr for 2 vacations at disney minus airfare and food. The reason I did direct from Disney was because if I wanted to use points to get a hotel elsewhere to go fishing, I can. I understand that its a horrible waist of points but thats my decision. We have never done Disneyland and this now allows us the option to do that. In my opinion based on our vacation habits, we feel its a good move for us.

 

[DeeCee735]

So a little about us. We go solely to disney and have since we married in 2001. We have been gone about 3 times from 2001 to 2012 and stayed at pofq. We went twice in 2013 and twice in 2014 and have had so much fun that we keep planning trips for the off peak season. We have no children and this is our thing. Were not weird or odd or anything, just two normal people in their upper 30's that enjoy disneyworld. So, this was my logic. We take two trips to disney and spend approx 8k a year on disney vacations. At this rate, I will break even in about 4 years. I am paying my initial investment off in 2 years to avoid the high interest rate, and we don't do cruises at all. The guide told us that dvc members can get the ap for $450 a year so once the initial investment is pd off, I will spend $900 a yr for ap and $650 a yr for dues which I understand go up with the cost of living. So for me, its worth spending about 1600 a yr for 2 vacations at disney minus airfare and food. The reason I did direct from Disney was because if I wanted to use points to get a hotel elsewhere to go fishing, I can. I understand that its a horrible waist of points but thats my decision. We have never done Disneyland and this now allows us the option to do that. In my opinion based on our vacation habits, we feel its a good move for us.

Welcome Home! Awesome!!

If this is what works for you and yours, and if it makes you happy, then it's the right decision for you regardless of what others may have based their own decision on.

You'll get a lot of tips, tricks and opinions from this board. And lots of pixie dust coming your way for a lifetfime of wonderful vacations.

We own for 14 years, have added on 5 times and have never looked at it in any other way than positive, a good fit for us, and a great decision for living life the way we want to, even though some around us may not agree or may have chosen not to purchase for whatever reason of their own.

Enjoy your membership

 

[disney junky]

Welcome.

 

[Andrew015]

So a little about us. We go solely to disney and have since we married in 2001. We have been gone about 3 times from 2001 to 2012 and stayed at pofq. We went twice in 2013 and twice in 2014 and have had so much fun that we keep planning trips for the off peak season. We have no children and this is our thing. Were not weird or odd or anything, just two normal people in their upper 30's that enjoy disneyworld. So, this was my logic. We take two trips to disney and spend approx 8k a year on disney vacations. At this rate, I will break even in about 4 years. I am paying my initial investment off in 2 years to avoid the high interest rate, and we don't do cruises at all. The guide told us that dvc members can get the ap for $450 a year so once the initial investment is pd off, I will spend $900 a yr for ap and $650 a yr for dues which I understand go up with the cost of living. So for me, its worth spending about 1600 a yr for 2 vacations at disney minus airfare and food. The reason I did direct from Disney was because if I wanted to use points to get a hotel elsewhere to go fishing, I can. I understand that its a horrible waist of points but thats my decision. We have never done Disneyland and this now allows us the option to do that. In my opinion based on our vacation habits, we feel its a good move for us.

JRGrady - It sounds like DVC does make a pretty good fit for the two of you. It also sounds like you went through the numbers pretty thoroughly, and have made a good decision. Once again, my only intent in writing my post was to give you another perspective - one that is based in reality rather than pixie dust. In my experience, some folks often overlook one or more key element of a DVC purchase, or try so hard to "make the numbers work" and justify their purchase rather than looking at the cold hard facts. At the end of the day, so long as you are happy, that is all that matters. Again, it looks like you have considered the important pieces of the purchase, and I think you will find yourself to be very happy with it. I just like to offer this perspective to new members or potential buyers, as it is one that they will NOT hear from the guides.

Again, congrats, and welcome home

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Welcome home! How exciting! You sound like us. We are a little older in our 40's. No children only vacation in Disney. We bought direct in 2008 and have added on twice! Recently at Villas at Grand Floridian
The AP makes a lot of saving we sometimes get 3 vacations out of one ( we are from the UK ) . We enjoy trying different resorts but our heart lies with SSR and AK so far. Try GF in September can't wait!

Have fun!

 

[jstarcze]

Welcome Home and Congratulations from Mickey, Goofy, and Me!

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

welcome home and have great disney trips

 

[CocosMeme]

Welcome home! We bought in 2007 and have had nothing but fabulous times using our points. We have not only been to DW, but have tried ABD twice, Hilton Head, and Aulani. We have stayed at all the resorts except Vero and VGF (have that one booked in September) and have liked them all for different reasons. We have gone solo(meaning DH and me) for F&W, F&G, and early December for the Christmas experience, and have also taken our children and grandchildren. The options are limitless! Get ready to have a wonderful time!

 

[sleepydog25]

Enjoy your purchase! Sounds as though you have a handle on things.