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

[Peggy Sue]

We purchased in 1997 at OKW and have added on 4 additional contracts since then .. 2 through DVC and 2 through the resale market. We now have a total of 600 points between OKW and BWV. We enjoy DVC and really don't have an issue with point reallocation. Living in the North East our trips to Florida are generally 1 week or longer. We like to check in and stay put for the duration of our vacation, so we purchased more points to ensure we had enough for 10 and 12 night stays. Most of the time our longer stays include 4 weekend nights ..which was another reason for purchasing more points.

The reallocations have not impacted us at all .. I'm glad DVC continues to monitor how points need to be allocated each year .. I do believe weekend points must always be higher than week day points to ensure DVC does not become a "weekend get away" for those who live within driving distance, which would impact those of us who travel to WDW and like to stay a week or better. I believe this was the reason our guide gave us for why the point allocations were so much higher over the weekends.

The best part of DVC is the memeber has total control of when they wish to reserve a unit and the size of the unit they wish to reserve (providing there is availability)

 

[Disneypirate85]

I would Definately still buy in. Our vacations mean so much to us. Gives us a chance to reconnect with the kids. Having already raised and seen 2 leave the house it is so nice to be able to plan vacation with the remaining kids and to plan trips with our grandchildren now is AWSOME, points reloaction has effected us 0%! we own 160 pts (Dec uy) and we get 2 trips a year out of these. We do plan on buying 70-100 more pts but at BWV for the 11 month window option there. But to be honest we have yet to not get any ressie in any DVC we chose to stay in, as long as we book far enough ahead. Good Luck with your choice, If your asking, then I would tell you to Buy in now. But thats just my Opinion...Shawn

 

[jekjones1558]

We bought at BWV on a whim while on vacation at WDW, didn't consider use year, didn't even know there was another resort available (OKW), had never considered a Timeshare before, hadn't heard of a resale market, didn't have a clue how many points to buy (so just took advice of guide), had no benefit of advice from folks on the DIS (and weren't that "into" the internet then anyway) and I can't even remember how carefully we read the paperwork. It is, frankly, a miracle that everything turned out well for us. I could not put a price tag on the memories we have of vacations with family and friends, including my deceased father and my mother who now has Alzheimer's. We now have the luxury of add-on contracts that shield us from the effects of point reallocations. If I were considering buying for the first time today, I would want to be better informed and I would absolutely buy a cushion of points but I would definitely buy DVC again.

 

[CMOORE185]

We purchased in 2000 and would do it again today in a heart beat. When I purchased I was unhappy with the cost of weekends but purchased anyway. We just decided we would travel Sun. thru Thurs. to take advantage of the lower points during the week. I am happy with the point re-allocation for two reasons, 1st I feel I can now travel on weekends and 2nd I feel DVC is doing this for the best interest of all of us.

 

[colonialtinker]

Yes we would. I just wish we had done it in 06 when we went on the tour instead of waiting until 08. We currently have enough points for 2 Sun.-Sat. trips per year in a 1 bedroom.

 

[JenSop]

Yes, we would still buy again. (We only just joined in 2007.)

The only part of the reallocation that effects us is the Grand Villa at AKV. Our 160 points was going to be able to get us 5 weekday nights (through banking and borrowing), now we only have enough for 4 nights.

Otherwise, it's really not going to effect us at all.

The only thing I would have done differently, is sucked it up and bought more points in our initial contract instead of the minimum 160. Would have at least made it 175.

 

[mckryan]

I would definitely buy again. We bought in 2003, and on the advice of our guide, we purchased 270 points - enough for a 1BR at BCV (our home) for 1 full week. We can still get that week in a 1BR at BCV with those points, and that's all I'm concerned about. Sure, I got more than one week out of my points by going Sunday-Thursday and staying in studios at times, and that's been great.

DH has a difficult time taking weekdays off from work, so the reallocation will allow us some long weekends instead which makes him happy.

We also purchased 130 AKV points during our last trip, so that gives us some more flexibility with our stays.

I only wish we had purchased when we were down in 1997! We've had some great trips since 2003 that we wouldn't trade for anything, and it's nice to know we can go "home" for many more years!

 

[Hunclemarco]

You can add us to the many others that said they'd still join.

 

[AnimalPrincess]

It has only effected us because we want to do short stays during the week at GCV and now that will be even higher than it already is, which bums us out. Still happy with the membership though!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Yes, we would have still bought into the system.

We love our DVC!

 

[Dean]

I would. I don't think the reallocation or any other change in the last few years would affect my decision to own DVC. I might buy in differently now than I currently own and with less points but that would be due to other factors and not the reallocation.

 

[Starr W.]

Yes I would buy again, we've been very happy with our ownership and the ability to book rooms. I think we have a good number of points that lets us be pretty flexible in room sizes and length of stays.

 

[Mom B]

Despite the reallocations, I'm sure we'd still do it all over again. We love our DVC and if it takes a little figuring now and then to maximize our points, that's okay. Especially since the family keeps expanding, we will probably add on again when we're able, because it seems you can never have enough points, but I don't see that changing anytime soon...and it has nothing to do with the reallocations. To paraphase the old saying, "have points...will travel!"

 

[dismedvc]

We would definitely buy DVC based on what we know now. We bought in 1999 at BW when there were only 2 DVC locations, OKW and BW. We had looked at OKW in 1993, and loved the concept, but not the location, at least for us. We recently added on at BLT.

Since they have added so many resorts since 1999, we are even happier we purchased DVC. With more resorts, it does not effect our chances at our home resorts in the 11 to 7 month window, but we think it does give us a better chance of being able to find something, somewhere in the DVC system for "short notice" trips, or when we need to change our plans.

BTW, we have stayed at HHI, VB, and all the Disney World DVC's, except BC. We booked Disney Paris for our daughter, and have also used our points to stay at DL California. We have never done an exchange or rented out our points, although we have given DVC room nights to my family. (They cannot believe we are giving them a $500+ room, but we do tell them it did not really cost us that much)

 

[alamode]

For everyone whining about relocation of points, let me bring up one point.

I checked availability and price of our first DVC trip, 2 bedroom AKV, May 27th to June 4th of this year (can't wait). From Disney's online reservation site, the cost of the room alone would be $13,185.

Considering I paid $9,000 for 130 points, I can do the same trip every other year (approx 260 points/trip) until 2054, that's 22 trips in all, for $409/trip plus dues.

So yea, I'd do it again.

 

[Quilter007]

Sure, we typically stay over a weekend in addition to 2 or 3 weekdays, so the point reallocation HELPS us a little. Not enough to make up for the amount we've borrowed! So, we will eventually need to buy a small resale contract anyway....

 

[Crystal_27]

For us, we bought more points than we needed so we, thankfully, have a little bit of a buffer for point reallocations. Additionally, we take week+ trips, so we aren't affected by the shift between weekends and weekdays. Also, we understood going in that there had been recent reallocations made, so DVC making them again doesn't really surprise me. So, to answer the OP's question, yes, I would buy again.

 

[eliza61]

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!

Hi Inkmahm, I think one of the issues is that before you actually start using it, you don't know what you don't know.
I purchased in about 10 years ago and I thought I read all the literature inside an out (I did not know about these boards at the time) but nothing prepared me for "wait listing" until I actually had to figure out what it was and even after researching I would not have thought to add on 15% extra points to cover the same period of vacations.

And while points reallocations, perks and other things were clearly stated as being able to change, it still sucks whenever you are getting less of what you got before. NO one likes that.

Points reallocation would not have effected my decision to purchase. I have other issues more with Disney than with dvc that would probably prevent me from purchasing again. Which is probably why I have not added on or no longer recommend DVC.

 

[daisygirl902]

I'm so glad this thread popped up...after reading so much negative about the reallocation I was starting to get a bit frustrated.

I would absolutely buy again, although I bought a bit differently than some others...I rounded up slightly from what I "needed" so that I would have a couple more points to play with....now keep in mind I still want more, and am planning to add-on next year on our cruise, however I bought 200 points for the 2 of us knowing it would allow me to be a bit flexible, as long as we weren't super picky about where we stay all the time.

Does my 200 pts cover 2 vacations a year at BLT? No...however can we do one at BLT and a smaller vacation in a BW studio? Yes....I may have to be creative with how I use my points, and I may have to bank and borrow at least until I get another 100 pts....I may EVEN (gasp) have to pay cash for a 7 nighter at POP Century at some point if I don't get my extra 100 pts soon enough....but it's still Disney!

I may get flamed for this, but I have always found that people on these boards tend to lean towards the negative side....and it's unfortunate because I am simply happy to be fortunate enough to have what DVC is to me....a guaranteed vacation every year at Disney! As long as I have that I can be flexible on the room type or place that I stay....

 

[jekjones1558]

I may get flamed for this, but I have always found that people on these boards tend to lean towards the negative side....and it's unfortunate because I am simply happy to be fortunate enough to have what DVC is to me....a guaranteed vacation every year at Disney! As long as I have that I can be flexible on the room type or place that I stay....

What a refreshing post!