Opinions...Point reallocations: Would you buy DVC based on what you know now?

[zmanandshan]

I've been really considering buying in. But I've seen a lot of negative comments on the point reallocations. Mainly this year, it seems to be centered around the increase in cost for weekday rentals (2010 to 2011) and decrease for weekends. This seems to counter which is typically a trend to get more business during the slower days (which are typically weekdays for Disney based on experience). Maybe these units are always sold out anyway so it doesnt matter? SO here's my question: If you wouldnt mind telling me how long you've been a DVC owner and if you'd do it again based on what you've been through up to now (and maybe why), it would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
John

 

[Inkmahm]

Yes, I would. I still wish I'd have purchased sooner than we did. We bought our first points in 2005 UY (We're October.)

I never intended to stay only Sun to Thurs nights. I bought enough points for us to vacation on the weekends as well as weekdays. The recent point reallocations don't materially affect me either way.

We LOVE owning DVC.

 

[Chuck S]

While it is fine to discuss why or why not to purchase, please remember that we are limiting the 2011 reallocation discussion to this thread only.

I purchased in May 1992. Yes, I would purchase again and familiarize myself with the documents so I know what is and is not a component of the DVC program. If Disney/DVC states they have the right to do something in the contracts, bear in mind that at some point they will likely implement it. Whether it be a re-allocation, suspension of banking/borowing, minimum stay, Holiday Preference List...whatever. These are all things that can be implemented. Just know that going in and don't be caught off-guard when it happens.

For me, these are not the first re-allocations I've been through, there was a re-allocation in 1996. When I purchased, they did use the Holiday Preference List so I would also not be shocked if the need arose to restart that in the future.

Buy enough points to fill not only your current expected needs, but add a buffer of 15% to 20% and continually bank any unused points, treat friends and family every few years to use up any surplus (or rent them). DVC is a good system, but like everything, it needs tweaking from time to time to keep in step with current travel habits.

 

[NEMO93]

I bought in 1992 and would do all over again. JP

 

[dallastxcpa]

The only thing I would change would be to have bought more initially. However, I have three kids and the 150 contracts each will be perfect to leave or transfer someday. Then based on maintenance fees in the future they can either sale their contract or purchase more points to add on to what they have.

I am pretty sure that two of the three intend to keep whatever they get.

 

[Sandisw]

I just bought in last year and did so with the intent to vacation at BLT in a manner similiar to what I had been doing.

I didn't actually plan whether that would be weekday or weekend, and bought what I could afford. I knew it might mean spliting my stay between a studio and 1 bedroom but since I had been staying in hotel rooms up until this point, I was making out, even if only half my stay was in the 1 bedroom.

So, for me, the point changes are not that big a deal as I always expected to be flexible of when, where and in what I travel. It was one of the key selling points for me. I am still thrilled and would buy in again in a hearbeat!

 

[Micca]

We're lifelong Disney fans but have only been in DVC a little over a year. For us it is a happy thing to always have a WDW trip in the planning stages. Of course you don't have to be in DVC to make that happen but the concept of DVC as "home" is special to us. Good luck with your decision John

 

[chalee94]

i only bought in in 2006.

i had done my homework on the boards and knew a reallocation was possible. ...but i was hoping one wouldn't happen for a few more years...

despite the changes, i've had a great couple of years and still plan on keeping my OKW till 2042. i'd do it again...

but i have been hunting for another timeshare for use in non-disney trips...i would still buy only as many DVC pts as needed for onsite stays...(and be flexible about what i'd expect to get out of those points given the risk of reallocations.)

 

[Inkmahm]

I purchased in May 1992. Yes, I would purchase again and familiarize myself with the documents so I know what is and is not a component of the DVC program. If Disney/DVC states they have the right to do something in the contracts, bear in mind that at some point they will likely implement it. Whether it be a re-allocation, suspension of banking/borowing, minimum stay, Holiday Preference List...whatever. These are all things that can be implemented. Just know that going in and don't be caught off-guard when it happens.

For me, these are not the first re-allocations I've been through, there was a re-allocation in 1996. When I purchased, they did use the Holiday Preference List so I would also not be shocked if the need arose to restart that in the future.

Buy enough points to fill not only your current expected needs, but add a buffer of 15% to 20% and continually bank any unused points, treat friends and family every few years to use up any surplus (or rent them). DVC is a good system, but like everything, it needs tweaking from time to time to keep in step with current travel habits.

That is excellent advice! I'm amazed at how many people spent thousands of $ on DVC and really didn't understand what they were buying. We see new people here all the time asking very very basic questions. It's one thing to be lost on the ins and outs of exactly how does DVC work. It's another entirely to not have a clue what it is that you bought.

Do your homework and research research research before buying ANYthing as expensive as DVC!

 

[quirty30]

I only bought last year - I was very fortunate to be able to buy outright without financing. I love knowing that for the cost of my maintenance fees every year, we can plan several trips and experience Disney magic over and over. I love the variety of DVC properties and the ability to book outside of my home resorts (BLT & AKV) and have had really good luck so far finding availability at 7 months. I love the flexibility of a points system and fully understood the possibility of reallocation. And I would absolutely buy again.

 

[wildernessDad]

Yes, I would.

 

[cvjw]

Yes, we would buy again - and are going to buy another contract. We only bought last year, but are incredibly happy with our purchases. We really did our research and knew what we were getting into. We also did not buy for just week day stays, so the new allocations aren't really affecting us like they are other people.

 

[Tozzie]

I would, I never figured out how many points I would need per stay I purchased what I was comfortable with then made the mistake of staying in a 1 bedroom on developers points and well lets say I needed more points because I always want a 1 bedroom. What made me buy was the $2000 I spent on a SV room at AKL for 5 days.

 

[mikron]

I've been really considering buying in. But I've seen a lot of negative comments on the point reallocations. Mainly this year, it seems to be centered around the increase in cost for weekday rentals (2010 to 2011) and decrease for weekends. This seems to counter which is typically a trend to get more business during the slower days (which are typically weekdays for Disney based on experience). Maybe these units are always sold out anyway so it doesnt matter? SO here's my question: If you wouldnt mind telling me how long you've been a DVC owner and if you'd do it again based on what you've been through up to now (and maybe why), it would be greatly appreciated...

Point reallocations to us are not that bad. We bought in 2004 at SSR and in 2005 add OKW through resale. We would do it again twice, we have been through wonderfull times.

 

[jamstew]

I would definitely have bought a few more than 60 BLT points, but it was enough for what I wanted to do with a small cushion. Another reallocation, and my little cushion is gone, and there's no way I'm going to add on another 25 points. I'm perfectly satisfied with my 150-point BCV & VWL contracts.

 

[rlovew]

We originally looked at DVC about 5 years ago- as FL residents and with my DH military retired and having the ability at the time to only vacation on weekends we choose not to buy as it was much cheaper to use Shades of Green and FL resident rates (although they were not as readily avialable at the time).

We have changed jobs and lifestyles so last summer we bought - knowing that more of our vacatrioning would be weekdays than weekends. At the moment we use our points more for DH's seminary classes in Orlando than anything else and many times we reserve a Wed through Sat (using 1 weekend night). Our stays during this first use year would have been cheaper in this coming use year but this summer we have 2 stays that are Sun-Fri and would have been cheaper last year.

We really researched things and waited until there was a resort we really wanted (BLT) before puchasing. We also now have the ability to plan things out better than we would have in the past.

In reality with last summer's discount the price per point was only $2 a point higher than what we were quoted 5 years ago so we bought at the right time for us. I do know that I would have thought about buying 5 yers ago if the points had been balanced out like they are now but at the time it wasn't right for us.

 

[BroganMc]

We purchased the Dec '05 UY in May '06. Originally we bought 200 SSR points because we were thinking about our buy-in cost and comparing it to comparable costs of our Marriott timeshare. (Roughly $20k bought us a week in a 2BR during Spring Break at Marriott then.)

Looking at the charts, I figured we could squeeze out 10 weekdays a year from those 200 pts. A 5 day add-on to our Marriott weeklong stays in Spring and Autumn. DVC only gave us the room size of studio for 10 whole weekdays at that price, but we figured it was plenty available and enough for our "after trip" trip.

First thing that hit us was availability not being as promised on the sales presentation. We called at precisely 7 months to book early December in a studio. All they had left was 1BRs, even at the largest resort SSR. But we had banked '05 points so that gave us enough of a surplus to afford a 1BR.

We loved the extra space so much, we added on again that year and put us up to 320 points. That was enough for a full week in a 2BR over Spring. Same as we had with Marriott but at $10k more. We justified it with the knowledge that Disney offered onsite transportation and onsite hours. Staying onsite allowed us the ability to alter our vacations from Commando Pack Touring to individual flexible schedules. X can get up and go somewhere and Y can sleep in to join X later. Offsite you are stuck with the same car and schedule.

Next we did the "extend your trip by paying for weekend nights" strategy. Since we were already paying substantially more than our Marriott ownership (in purchase and MF), it was obscene to waste double points on weekends. But even with the cash discounts, it seems kinda crazy to pay $400 extra dollars just to stay weekends. They had a decent deal at the time so we did one more add-on.

Since then, we've experimented with "more time in studios" vs. "more space in 1BR+". We've added on at BLT and BWV so we didn't have the same problems with 7 mos. availability in studios issue. And when we started taking family, we added on another SSR contract solely for Spring studio stays.

One thing that has evolved for us is that we stopped buying direct from Disney. We've found much better prices in the resale market. Our last two contracts have been resale at substantially lower prices.

The point reallocations would have given me a lot of pause mostly because it introduces instability. If I was buying today, I'd probably decide on the number of points based on cost and use. The cost is much higher now and with the point usages changing two consecutive years I'd be hesitant to trust Disney sales rep's on what I would need 5 years down the road. My Marriott timeshare has risen in cost too but a 2BR Platinum week is still giving me a 2BR unit over Spring.

In the end, I think I'd research a lot more, buy more points than I thought I'd need and turn to the resale market for my purchase. IMHO, it just isn't a good deal to buy direct from Disney anymore.

 

[AKV707]

Yes, we would buy again. Without question. We bought knowing that reallocation could occur. And we almost always have a weekend in any of our stays.

 

[PSC]

Yes, we're still happy with our purchase. We usually only stay Sunday through Thursday nights, and really feel the impact of the recent reallocations, but we're still happy. It probably means that we won't be able to be a generous as we have been in the past, inviting family and friends.

If I knew then how the past 2 years would have worked out, I probably would have concentrated on adding my resales to my 1st home resort instead of building up points at a 2nd home resort.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We would buy again. Each trip we find more things to be thankful for in DVC.

I like the point allocation because Disney is working to best balance points with supply and demand. Our trips' point costs have fluctuated where some go up a little and others go down a little depending on our days used each time.

I feel like all the years they did not restructure, they were not effectively managing the system.