New Member freaking out

[mikesmom]

Yes, if you only intend to go to WDW every 3rd or 4th year it's probably not worth it. DVC has value for people who want to go to Disney World and have some type of chance of locking down the costs of those trips.

I would agree that trips to HHI in the summer have practically no chance.

 

[TheBeast]

I'd agree that DVC is really for people planning to stay at the DVC resorts primarily and at least every other year. I keep saying we'll do something different but DW is a Disnut, so we've gone once or twice a year and DVC has worked out great. But I understand it is cheaper to buy timeshares outside of Disney if you want to primarily do trades and trips to other places.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

If you truly think you will only go to WDW once every 3-4 years, I'd say you need to get your money back if you are still in the timeframe to do so.

However, if you think you might go a little more often...I think you should keep the DVC membership and rent out the points when you don't need them and use the proceeds to pay for your non-Disney vacations. Do keep in mind though that as they add more resorts (and more members) there might get to be a point where there are more people trying to rent out the points than takers. So there's obviously a bit of risk there.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[JodyTG]

My suggestion is to look for a HHI resale from The Timeshare Store rather than purchase a 150+ point contract direct from Disney. This will allow you to book HHI 11 months out, plus at 7 months you can book a DVC at WDW. Look at the point charts and estimate how many you would need in the summer for the 5 nights you would usually travel and put a request in.

You can always add more points later, but at least this way you would be able to get HHI in the summer as you want. Just be sure to BOOK AT 11 MONTHS OUT because the summer fills up fast.

Good luck with your decision.

Jody

 

[Groucho]

I'd agree with JodyTG - a small contract is the way to go. You can bank/borrow points as needed, and rent some from another member if you find yourself using more than you expect.

I didn't see if you said the number of points you got - if you're spending $5k a vacation, then you might be doing well by having a 150pt contract and banking/borrowing points to have 450 to use every three years. If you have more than 150 points, maybe you can talk them into switching down.

It all boils down to how many points you need to take the Disney vacation you want. If you're not going to go at least once every three years, then you're in the wrong timeshare, unless you're willing to take the time to rent/transfer unused points. If you think you could use 450pts in one trip, then you're all set with a 150pt SSR contract. And if you think you'd only need 150 points every three years, maybe it'd be best to drop the SSR contract and pick up 50 points in a resale at another resort.

 

[shellbelle1971]

It seems to me that your problem is this:

1. You don't want to vacation in 7-night increments. DVC is one of only a few timeshares which allow nightly stays within their system. Whenever you want to exchange using an exchange company, they almost always require exchanges to be in full week increments. So with any timeshare that you want to use for short stays, you're going to run into the difficulty with flexibility (or the lack thereof). If you want points-type flexibility, for shorter-than-a-week stays, DVC is the best of the best, but you might also look at Hilton Grand Vacation Club, Fairfield (the timeshare points system, not the Marriott-affilliated hotel group), Monarch Grand Vacations and Trendwest/Worldmark.

2. You don't want to be tied to Disney/Walt Disney World resorts. If you wanted to travel in week-long increments, I would suggest buying a high-powered trading timeshare. (Like a non-Florida Marriott property.) But since that's not what you want, your best bet, again, is to look into one of the more flexible systems I mentioned above.

DVC is GREAT for people who want to stay AT DVC properties. If you mostly want the flexibility to travel to different locations, you can find it much less expensively elsewhere.

Michelle

 

[paults]

However, in looking through our options outside of a Disney property, most require a week's stay. Our paperwork hasn't arrived yet, but we are already thinking of not signing.

using pts outside of DVC is not cost effective

 

[JimMIA]

We discussed in detail last night what types of vacations we want to take in the near future. Here is what came up: Grand Canyon...

For Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Teton and several other national parks, don't even THINK about a timeshare. Stay ON-SITE!

All of the parks above, and others, have wonderful lodgings INside the parks (which in many cases is a long darn way from OUTside!). They are not only occasionally spectacular (El Tovar at GRCA, the Ahwahnee at YOSE, etc), they are also CHEAP!

Well, not that cheap in the case of the El Tovar or Ahwahnee, but there are wonderful cheap lodgings available. If you drop down from the premier properties, the decor goes from stunning to clean and rustic, but sometimes those lodgings actually offer the better views. We stayed the last two times in Yosemite at the Yosemite Lodge and had views that simply defy description.

You can usually make reservations at National Parks one year and a day from your date of arrival. For popular properties and seasons, a year and a day is THE time to make your ressies, but if you fail, get something and work to improve. You'll eventually get what you want.

The link for Grand Canyon lodging is http://www.nps.gov/grca/pphtml/lodging.html

If you can, try to get to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Imagine the Grand Canyon without the crowds. Like Shark Valley at Everglades NP, it is one of the best kept secrets in the NPS system. The lodge at the North Rim is spectacular -- the restaurant is RIGHT ON the rim of the canyon, and rim-side cabins are Rim-SIDE! Breathtaking place.

If you have to go to the South Rim, there are several options. Definitely go to El Tovar, even if you don't stay there. Again, it is right on the rim, and a wonderful place to sit and sip a beer while you watch the light change on the canyon.

Enjoy Your America!

Ranger Jim

 

[brianm27]

We spent years thinking about DVC. We finally bought a small contract this year. We will probably never stay at a non-DVC resort with our points. I just don't believeit is a good value.

Just got back from a long weekend at OKW, 56 points - 4 nights. We usually go three times a year, just not enough points to do all nights at DVC but that's the way we planned it. Some times it's hard to turn down an AP discount and pay cash for a room.

 

[Dean]

Thank you, you have all been very helpful with your posts. Please continue to pass your thoughts my way as we are truly on a fence on this thing.

We discussed in detail last night what types of vacations we want to take in the near future. Here is what came up: Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Universal Studios, etc. None of these have Disney properties. We're only interested in doing WDW or DCL every 3-4 years. Plus, we decided we will more than likely always do a Sunday through Thursday, which basically means we'll be trading 90% of the time.

It does bother me that we are very interested in the HHI property in the summer months and it seems like are chances will always be slim.

I'll continue to research the pros and cons. In the meantime, keep your input coming.

Given this you would be nuts to buy DVC. The most you should even consider is a tiny package to use every 3 years but even that doesn't seem to make sense for your situation. You may want to look at other timeshares but I do agree that none will cover all these areas well. Spend time and get educated, I'd say a min of 6 months.

 

[Nicolepa]

Another thing to consider is that every time you trade points you have to pay a transfer fee ($75 I think). We were going to go to Whistler for a few days, they have a resort that doesn't have the weekly requirement. Problem is by the time I paid the $75 fee it cost way more than paying cash. If were were going to stay for a week it would have been a better deal, but for just a couple of days I don't ever see it being worth it.

 

[Hogzilla]

I'm not sure I agree that staying outside of Disney is a poor value. The wife and I have stayed at 3 different Concierge Collection properties and each time the value of our points was in excess of $12 per point. Disney may be a better value, but we are staying at deluxe Concierge Collection properties for roughly 1/2 the cost of paying cash.

 

[unixadm]

I agree with JimMIA.....if your PRIMARY reason to buy is to trade out, then you won't get as much value for your dollar.

The BEST value overall is staying at any of the 7 DVC resorts.

The SECOND best value that I have seen so far is with DCL.

It isn't a poor decision to use points outside of DVC, but a much less value. You can use your points for some really great destinations at a savings, just not as big of a savings. It may be 1/2 off rack rate of a non-DVC property, but maybe only 1/4 off a discounted rate you may find. Still a savings better than you can get without using points.

Now....if you plan on taking DCL trips every 3 years, then you can do that perfectly with points. You can bank this years points, then borrow 2008 points and go on a great cruise in 2007.

Then in 2010, do the same thing (use 2009, 2010 and 2011 points). It depends on the amount of points you purchased and what type of stateroom you want. If you want a Cat 7 or better, then you need a lot of points....or a lot of cash.

Bottom line point costs are about $5 per point per year when averaged out over the total ownership including dues (thus why the insurance payout for a DVC trip is $5/pp). If it costs $8,000 for a cruise but you are using 900 points instead, then it really only cost you $4500 for the cruise.
...a huge savings.

If you want to do WDW every few years, you can go at an off time and stay Sunday-Friday and use about 100-120 points for a 1BR villa, less for a studio. You could then bank the rest for a future cruise.

Only you and your DH can decide if it is right for you...but worst case scenerio is that you find out it isn't right, and you can resell.....and since point prices are going up to $101/pp very soon, your resale should get you close if not more than what you paid (plus you would have had some vacations in between there too!)

 

[Dean]

I'm not sure I agree that staying outside of Disney is a poor value. The wife and I have stayed at 3 different Concierge Collection properties and each time the value of our points was in excess of $12 per point. Disney may be a better value, but we are staying at deluxe Concierge Collection properties for roughly 1/2 the cost of paying cash.

One thing to note is that you cannot uses rack rates to compare unless there are not discounts AND you would pay rack rates for those destinations.

Bottom line point costs are about $5 per point per year when averaged out over the total ownership including dues (thus why the insurance payout for a DVC trip is $5/pp).

I can't agree with you that the actual costs is around $5 per point. IF one buys now the up front cost per point is about $2 per year plus maint fees or around $6-6.50. But then you should add either the interest paid or lost income of the money paid and both to a degree in some cases. Even if one bought back when, the value is still what you could sell it for. Plus one can easily rent for $10 per point or more, why would one routinely undervalue their ownership in such a way.