Novice here! Questions about DVC . . .

[Deb in IA]

We will be heading to WDW in July, for our 4th trip in 2 years. We are thinking about checking out the DVC. Can someone here help me with some really basic questions?
1. If we go to one of those DVC information booths, what will we get? Do they do the hard sell, 3 hour we-are-not-going-to-let-you-go-until-you-buy presentation? Do they take you on a tour of OKW? How long does that take?
2. I know you get points, and you can use these points for OKW, and Disney cruise. Can you use them at DL (CA)? Are there other properties you can trade for? The brochure says that you can get "a ski resort in Vermont, and a vacation in London". How does that work?
3. What kind of commitment (20 years? 30 years?) are we talking about here? And what if we don't like it, and want to quit after 5 years?
4. Do you save money by doing the DVC, versus booking resorts and passes yearly?

OK, that's all the questions for now. Thanks for any help!

Deb

 

[Galahad]

Hi! You'll get a lot of posts here, but I'll get it started. If you go to a booth, they will talk with you as long as you like. They will, if you like, arrange a tour/sales pitch for a day later in your stay. It is not a hard sell (at least it wasn't 6 years ago) but if you go back for the pitch it will take a couple of hours. They will pick you up at your resort, entertain your kids and take you through thier whole pitch. You can decide then and there to buy or take info with you and decide and buy after you get home.

The points can be used a lot of different ways. At the DVC resorts (OKW, BWV, VB, HH, WLV) first off. These will give you the best return on your points investment. You can also use them at other WDW resorts and DL resorts. The ski vacations and such are trades much like any other timeshare.

You make a purchase that is good until 2042. If you pay cash, the only yearly expense is maintanence and taxes. If you change your mind later you would sell your membership through a timeshare reseller.

Yes, you do save money on the long run over booking yourself into most deluxe and some moderate resorts (and certainly over booking yourself into a DVC style resort). But, there may be a lot of discussion that will follow about the financial pros & cons .

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Mary Ellen]

If you've been to WDW 4 times in the past 2 years I would think DVC might be a great choice for you. However, if you tend to take your trips on the spur of the moment, it can be difficult to get in at DVC resorts during some times of the year.

The tour would be of WLV not OKW, since that is what DVC is now selling. If you are interested in OKW or BWV you would need to buy on the resale market. I would still go to the DVC presentation to learn about how the club works and get questions answered.

There will also be a new DVC opening at the Beach Club in the next few years.

We bought over the phone without a sales presentation but from what I understand they are VERY low key, they were on the phone.

We've found that we've saved money even in the few years since we've joined. Unlike almost all other timeshares, the resale market for DVC is very good. We can sell (if we should suddenly lose our minds ) for just about what we paid to join - maybe more. Our annual costs divided by the number of nights we stay (lowest season in a studio) comes to about $35-44 a night. We don't pay the room tax of 11%(?). We can't stay off site for that amount.

Some of the annual cost is tax deductible (if you itemize) as it is for property taxes.

If you haven''t already, check out the link to DVC resales at the top of the page to see what I mean about how well the price has kept its value.

Some people do very complicated spreadsheets and take into account the interest lost (until 2042) on their purchase amount. We didn't because if we hadn't spent the money on DVC, it would have been spent within 2 or 3 years on other vacations.

We haven't regreted (or questioned) for even a moment our decision to buy. For us it has been a very wise decision, but others in different financial and lifestyle situations it may not work as well for them.

 

[MinnieMe2]

Hi, Deb!

We just took the tour last week. We went to the kiosk on the Boardwalk, Carol called the office and walked us over, we sat with coffee and cookies for a few minutes, and then our guide, Jackie, talked with us and gave us the tour. The units being sold now are the ones at Wilderness Lodge and are beautiful. The pitch was very low key and informative. We were with Jackie for a little more than an hour because we had a lot of questions. We could have left much sooner than we did. We left with a lot of info and are seriously considering purchasing (but we'll have two in college next year and our two younger kids will be right behind). If only we had done this years ago. We've gone to the World nine times in eleven years, and the $$ we've spent would have paid the mortgage and fees. We'd be staying on property for nothing outside of annual dues from now on . Oh well, live and learn.

Counting the Hours Til We're Back in the World

Mother-of-Four (Five, If You Count My Husband)

 

[Lisa P.]

Adding to the above:

1. The booths just have some photos and a person who can help you schedule an appointment. The tour may take an hour or so, more for the travel to/from The Villas at Wilderness Lodge, where they are currently selling. Remember there are resales out there for BWV and OKW, if you prefer those home resorts. You are free to leave at any time since you haven't agreed to stay in exchange for an incentive gift (meal, discounted room, park tix).

2. The only guarantee is that you will be able to use your points to request reservations at your home resort through January 2042. Other DVC resorts are extremely highly likely to remain available to you as well as some other exchange options, which are more subject to change. When you use points for any non-DVC accommodations, you pay a higher point rate (pricy) and if they are not Disney properties, you also pay a $75 reservation or exchange fee. Member Services helps with all arrangements and the details - everything is subject to availability. Many people have enjoyed these options. There are points charts and a guidebook to help you plan. DVC resorts offer the best value for DVC points usage.

3. The commitment is through January 2042. If you don't want to keep it, you may sell your membership. We loved it but we did have to sell ours. It was not complicated.

4. You will save money if you expect to vacation at DVC properties at least every other year in the future. It's most valuable to those who would otherwise pay cash for deluxe onsite WDW resort stays at least every other year. If you are happy with some visits offsite at WDW, or plan to regularly use the points for traveling elsewhere, consdier only buying enough points to cover your onsite visits with banking and borrowing. Hope that helps.

 

[dianeschlicht]

As usual, everyone beat me to the good advice, but I would like to add that we were traveling that often too, and we have saved so much by doing DVC. Our only regret is that we did not do it sooner!

Disneydiane

 

[Daydreamin]

Our family was at WDW last June staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort. A terrible thunderstorm happened that kept us in the food court. We were thumbing through the DVC material and then decided to take the tour at BWV. They got us right in. It was a great way to find out about DVC (very low pressure, friendly sales pitch) and get a trip to the Boardwalk (an attraction in itself). We spent a short hour listening to the guide, touring the villas and then took the materials back with us to the hotel. We had dinner at the ESPN Club, rode the boat to the Studios for evening fun.

I don't think I could have gotten my husband to listen to the speil without the storm/dinner idea. We ended up signing the papers (for BWV, Feb 2000 use year) the morning we left WDW. Haven't gone home yet...but looking forward to our trip to Vero Beach in less than 2 months....

Take the plunge...listen to the pitch, you'll never regret it!!

Dream it and you're there!

Off Site - '80,'82,'84,'87
Caribbean Beach - '92,'95,'00
DVC Purchase - 6/00
Vero Beach - '01