New to DIS and considering DVC

[Pluto11]

Hi there! I'm new here but was hoping to ask a question right away.
I live in the UK and travel to WDW every 2/3 years. We always travel in August and usually stay for 3 weeks with our 2 children. Would DVC be worth it for us since we always stay at a busy time of year or are we better just picking resorts as and when?

 

[RobynPrincess]

Hi there from another Brit.

Only you can decide whether its worth buying into dvc. Compare the cost to what you pay to stay each year and work out how many years it would be will you broke even. For us, we have just submitted our first ever offer in a dvc resale contract, it will take 3 years to break even. That's for 3 weeks per year in September or October which is when we usually go.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Pluto11]

3 years seems quite reasonable.....

 

[collections]

Hi there from another Brit.

Only you can decide whether its worth buying into dvc. Compare the cost to what you pay to stay each year and work out how many years it would be will you broke even. For us, we have just submitted our first ever offer in a dvc resale contract, it will take 3 years to break even. That's for 3 weeks per year in September or October which is when we usually go.

Good luck with your decision!

I'm curious, how did you calculate 3 years as your break even point?

 

[jo_de_vil]

Hi another Brit here we are DVC members it only took two trips to balance it out we have BWV and normally have 2 weeks in October in a 1 bed for 3 of us every 2 years. We like to stay at Deluxe resorts and 1 beds have washer dryer so it is less to pack and just chuck a load in and out we go. For us it was the best thing we have done, we don't want to use our point anywhere else so buying resale wasn't a problem. You have to do the numbers for what works best for you, if you stay at a value or a mod it might not work out. Happy hunting TTFN Jo

 

[RobynPrincess]

I'm curious, how did you calculate 3 years as your break even point?

Well our hotel bill is usually around 4000 pounds per trip

Edited to add more explanation.

We worked out how many points we would need for a 3 week trip every year in September or October and threw in a few extra points (250). Then added the annual dues in and it worked out to 3 trips at the current disney price. Hope that helps

 

[RobynPrincess]

3 years seems quite reasonable.....

Yes it definitely is a no brainer for us. But it's not the same for everyone, it depends on your holiday habits and where you usually stay.

 

[RSWA2]

OP, where do you normally stay when you visit WDW?

 

[ELMC]

Fair warning, I think that a three year break even point is overly optimistic. DVC salespeople will tell you that at current direct prices you will have about an 8-9 year break even point vs. rack rates. Given that resale is half of direct up front (but the maintenance fees are the same) I would say that a 5 year break even points is more realistic, assuming you are paying rack rates. But that brings me to my next question....why are you paying rack rates?

Numbers are a funny thing and you can make them say whatever you want. Take an honest look at your travel habits, real costs, etc. and compare them to DVC. Also consider what you would do with the points if you were not able to make it to Disney. Are you comfortable renting them out? Typically DVC works for those who stay in Deluxes and visit every other year. But there's more to it than that, and I would recommend you take your time and do a lot of reading on here. Good luck!

 

[Minniesgal]

I agree that payback time of three years is extremely optimistic. We have calculated 9 years for ours. We bought some points direct but added on twice resale. We did the analysis comparing to the cost of renting points at 14 per point.

The thing is we didn't actually buy to reduce what we were currently spending. We were staying offsite in three bedroom condos and could have continued to do that. With DVC we can stay onsite in a 2 bedroom for around the same money. Our logic was not that it would save us money but that it would get us the lodgings we wanted for the same money.

we plan to go about every 2 maybe 3 years and want to stay in a 2 bedroom for the moment, we have 375 points and we think we will get on average 12 to 14 nights for that depending on where we chose to stay.

 

[bookwormde]

If you stay in studios only your payback is much faster, but that leaves you without the benefits of a villa, which is the best part of DVC. At 250 points I am guessing you would split and do a mix of studios and 2brs.

The other big difference is if you buy direct or resale. With where prices are now and if you consider that the lost income on the money you use (say 4%) and the amortization over 50 years and add maintenance fees then buying direct has a payback that is decades. Resale is much shorter, if you can pick up a contract at $50/pt then yes 5-8 years payback is possible.

The biggest thing is can you plan 8-11 months in advance.

 

[Pluto11]

Planning in advance isn't an issue for us. We love to plan in advance! I didn't even know you could do anything other than buy direct from Disney, but after reading aroubd these forums it seems not lol!