Not sure where to start

[Cyvil]

have started to look into whether, or not, DVC make sense for my family. I have spoken with A DVC rep at a park, and have found many articles available online. In my case, the decision is going to come down to whether, or not, my wife wants to change her park habits. She is a fan of "Disney Death Marches," and I prefer a more laid back.....vacation. Disney cruises are very much my speed. I love the parks too, just not for 10 hours a day, every day.

Assuming that I can convince my wife to slow down a bit, and enjoy the resorts themselves, I decided to look into the DVC. What I don't know is what I am looking for. I am trying to get a handle on the costs, but I don't have an idea of what I need to determine to know what goes into those costs. How man points do I need, at which resort? Am I best off calling the DVC, even if I am planning to by resale?

The trick is that we have a family of 6 (Kids 17, 13, 11, 10) and our experience with Disney is that we always need 2 rooms. I am not sure where to find the room options, if any, to accommodate 6, plus 1 or 2 friends (at times).

Would someone be kind enough to point in the right direction?

 

[AppleDisneyDad]

We too are a family of 6. You can get 6 folks in a Deluxe Club Room at The Wilderness Lodge if you want to stay the hotel route, beyond that, you need to run the math to see if DVC works for you.

Two major options to investigate are resale vs. direct and the resort where you want to buy. I won't hit you with my opinion, but if you scratch around here, you will find a lot of threads on these and other topics.

 

[DizBub]

have started to look into whether, or not, DVC make sense for my family. I have spoken with A DVC rep at a park, and have found many articles available online. In my case, the decision is going to come down to whether, or not, my wife wants to change her park habits. She is a fan of "Disney Death Marches," and I prefer a more laid back.....vacation. Disney cruises are very much my speed. I love the parks too, just not for 10 hours a day, every day.

Assuming that I can convince my wife to slow down a bit, and enjoy the resorts themselves, I decided to look into the DVC. What I don't know is what I am looking for. I am trying to get a handle on the costs, but I don't have an idea of what I need to determine to know what goes into those costs. How man points do I need, at which resort? Am I best off calling the DVC, even if I am planning to by resale?

The trick is that we have a family of 6 (Kids 17, 13, 11, 10) and our experience with Disney is that we always need 2 rooms. I am not sure where to find the room options, if any, to accommodate 6, plus 1 or 2 friends (at times).

Would someone be kind enough to point in the right direction?

With a family the size of yours you will be needing a 2 bedroom for sure.

First thing is to determine when you travel and where you want to stay. There are different seasons for DVC and they are not the same as the regular cash seasons. That should give you a good idea of how many points you may need. Try using David's calculator for this. http://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

Buying DVC involves purchasing an interest in a specific resort and requires an up front outlay and then yearly dues or Members Fees (MFs). MFs are determined by which resort you own at an how many points you have.

Buying resale will save you thousands and conventional wisdom around here is that Saratoga Springs is the best combination of buy-in, MFs and contract end date. You can make reservations at your home resort at 11 months and at 7 months at the other resorts. The DVC resorts at WDW are Old Key West, Boardwalk Villas, Beach Club Villas, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom Villas, Bay Lake Tower and Villas at Grand Floridian. You can buy resale at all the resorts except VGF.

Buy where you want to stay or don't mind staying at. I would suggest that you try renting points at a DVC resort to see if you would really be interested in the long term commitment. Try looking here to get a good idea about the types and styles of villas. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/#/deluxe-villa/

 

[Dean]

have started to look into whether, or not, DVC make sense for my family. I have spoken with A DVC rep at a park, and have found many articles available online. In my case, the decision is going to come down to whether, or not, my wife wants to change her park habits. She is a fan of "Disney Death Marches," and I prefer a more laid back.....vacation. Disney cruises are very much my speed. I love the parks too, just not for 10 hours a day, every day.

Assuming that I can convince my wife to slow down a bit, and enjoy the resorts themselves, I decided to look into the DVC. What I don't know is what I am looking for. I am trying to get a handle on the costs, but I don't have an idea of what I need to determine to know what goes into those costs. How man points do I need, at which resort? Am I best off calling the DVC, even if I am planning to by resale?

The trick is that we have a family of 6 (Kids 17, 13, 11, 10) and our experience with Disney is that we always need 2 rooms. I am not sure where to find the room options, if any, to accommodate 6, plus 1 or 2 friends (at times).

Would someone be kind enough to point in the right direction?

You didn't provide your usual stay and it's critical to the recommendations. Frequency, length, usual resorts would be helpful. In general terms I'd suggest DVC only makes sense if comparing staying on property at least every 2 years, can plan at least 7 months out and can afford it (pay cash, no consumer debt). The other restrictions would include the compromises of a timeshare and enough Disney hotel experience to establish a good base but given your description of park habits, I'm guessing that's not an issue. I'd venture that you normally stay in value or moderate's but on property. If so, and you meet the other criteria, I'd think DVC is likely a very good options for you. A 2 BR compared to 2 hotel rooms should work out very favorably in your situation.

I'd think that your wife's preferred parks might determine the best choices to look at for home resort. In your situation a specific home resort is not likely to matter (though location might) so price is likely the most important factor. Therefor SSR will be the cheapest in general but if you're thinking of splitting up during the day, BWV, VWL or BLT might end up being better home resort choices and there would be no reason for you to forego the savings of resale in your situation.

 

[Nabas]

Price depends on which resort and what type of room. Rooms range from a Studio (basically a hotel room) all the way up to a 3-bedroom Grand Villa. For 6, you're going to need a 2-bedroom villa (2BR) which basically is 2 bedrooms and a combined kitchen/living room. (3 rooms total with 2 or 3 bathrooms, depending on resort.)

I'll assume you want a 2BR in the peak summer months and will use DVC's largest resort, Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR), as an example for prices.

DVC works on a points system. It takes a specific number of "DVC points" to book a room. At SSR in July, it takes 315 points to book a 2BR for 7 nights.

To pay for that, your options are:

1. Rent points from a current DVC member ("renting").
2. Buy a DVC membership from Disney ("direct").
3. Buy someone else's DVC membership ("resale").

With renting, several companies act as brokers for DVC members looking to rent their points to a third party. The most common price for this is $14/point. Thus, 315 points costs $4410 or $630/night.

The other two options require buying a DVC membership, which means making a commitment to vacation at a DVC resort (there are resorts at WDW, Hilton Head, Vero Beach, Disneyland, and Hawaii) or making sure to rent out your points so that someone else uses them. Renting points is very popular. Generally, it's easy to use a broker to rent out your points.

Purchasing has two primary costs: the actual purchase price and an annual Maintenance Fee (MF). Like renting, purchasing usually is thought in terms of price-per-point.

The direct purchase price for SSR is $130/point. So, the price for 315 SSR points is $40,950. There are some other small closing costs but that's the main purchase cost through direct.

The resale purchase price is negotiable between the buyer and seller. In February 2014, the median SSR resale price was $72/point. (Yes, purchasing through resale is much less expensive.) So, the resale price for 315 SSR points is $22,680. Resale has higher closing costs. For a contract this size, I'd estimate around another $500. Purchasing through resale also takes longer, around 2 months.

Direct or resale, DVC members pay a MF every year. In 2014, the SSR MF was $4.91/point, which works out to $1547 for 315 points. The MF increases every year, typically 2%-to-4%. This is the only reoccurring cost. Some of that $1547 is in real estate taxes and is tax deductible.

Hope this helps.

 

[sleepydog25]

have started to look into whether, or not, DVC make sense for my family. I have spoken with A DVC rep at a park, and have found many articles available online. In my case, the decision is going to come down to whether, or not, my wife wants to change her park habits. She is a fan of "Disney Death Marches," and I prefer a more laid back.....vacation. Disney cruises are very much my speed. I love the parks too, just not for 10 hours a day, every day.

Assuming that I can convince my wife to slow down a bit, and enjoy the resorts themselves, I decided to look into the DVC. What I don't know is what I am looking for. I am trying to get a handle on the costs, but I don't have an idea of what I need to determine to know what goes into those costs. How man points do I need, at which resort? Am I best off calling the DVC, even if I am planning to by resale?

The trick is that we have a family of 6 (Kids 17, 13, 11, 10) and our experience with Disney is that we always need 2 rooms. I am not sure where to find the room options, if any, to accommodate 6, plus 1 or 2 friends (at times).

Would someone be kind enough to point in the right direction?

DVC isn't for every family, but if the associated costs and your travel and stay habits fit the mold of a DVC family, owning an interest in a DVC resort can be beneficial. Here are but a few tips:
1) Do lots of research before deciding to buy. There is a ton of information on the DISboards, and it would serve you well to read through many of the applicable threads. Here's a link to some helpful info: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2823943
2) While the DVC agents are generally helpful and truthful, their job is to sell you a timeshare, plain and simple. They generally don't tell you about the warts of the system, just the benefits of ownership.
3) While buying direct from DVC can be useful, in terms of sheer financial terms, buying resale is usually the better route. DVC does not offer resale, just direct buys. If you want resale, you'll have to go to a resale site, most of which can be found by doing research on this site.
4) One huge question to ask yourself is "Will we be visiting Disney World often enough in the next few decades to make owning a DVC timeshare worthwhile?" In addition to the initial buy-in, there are yearly maintenance fees (MFs) which range from $4.78 per point (Bay Lake Towers) to $7.75 per point (Vero Beach). In other words, say you buy a 150 points at Bay Lake Towers (BLT), then your maintenance fees this year would have been $717; at Vero Beach (VB), the fees would have run $1162. Those fees increase most years by 2-4%. Most MFs run in the mid-$5 range.
5) Based on your post, you would seem to need at least a 2BR when you visit, and those cost more in points; therefore, the number of points you need for any given visit would be in the higher range. Each resort has its own points charts, and they're easy to find on this site. A good idea is to determine how and when your family is most likely to visit WDW in the future. If you visit mostly during the summer for a week, then you can find how many points you would need for a particular resort. That would be a starting point.
6) Naturally, that begs the question: at which resort will you most likely want to spend your time when not at the parks? While Saratoga Springs (SSR) offers among the best bang for the buck (for as little as $69 per point resale), it might not be a resort you like as it is spread out and not close to any parks (though it is close to Downtown Disney). The only way to know which resort you might like the best is to visit them, or at least visit the ones that sound most appealing to you (perhaps you've done this ). The Villas at the Grand Floridian (VGF) is the latest addition to the DVC resort menagerie, but the direct buy-in for that resort is a hefty $150 per point (resale actually is available but only in limited supply given its newness--about $135-$140 per point).
7) Which resort you buy into (called your home resort) can be important as it is the only resort at which you can reserve at 11 months--all other non-home resorts can be booked only at 7 months. If you don't much care where you stay, then that issue becomes lessened. However, if you love the Christmas decorations at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge (VWL) or want an Epcot resort (Beach Club or Boardwalk Villas) for the Food and Wine festival, then it's extremely difficult to book at the 7-month point during those times unless you own there.
8) You mention Disney cruises. If your thinking is that you can use your points to help pay for a cruise, that is certainly an option--if you buy direct. Buy resale, you can't use them. Moreover, the number of points needed to purchase a Disney cruise is extremely high. It can be convenient to do so (I've done it), but it's not the best use of said points.

Sorry this was such a long post, but hopefully it has given you some things to think about. I suspect others will come along and offer more links and tips which is good. Above all, make sure you know exactly what you're buying if you do choose DVC. It can be a wonderful purchase--we've loved ours--but it does have complications that require due diligence. Good luck and good hunting!