Pros and Cons of buying DVC

[notaclue]

We're talking about buying into DVC (OKW) but we are so clueless about the whole timeshare scenario. Please would someone tell me the pros and cons of ownership? We usually only go to WDW for a week and usually just stay at the Poly.

 

[Sandisw]

One of the biggest benefits, IMO, is that you are prepaying for your vacations and over time, will save money in terms of what you are saving on your roomm and/or will be able to stay in larger accomodations for less.

We only go once a year and typically stayed at the CR for 5 - 7 nights. We bought in when they built BLT because we love that location.

We own 180 points and this is enough to get us our yearly vacation. This summer, we are doing a split stay and doing 3 nights in a studio and then 3 nights in a 1 bedroom.

My total cost for ownership was around $17,000 and my yearly MF"s are around $680.00. I was spending around $2500 yearly for my CR tower room, so in less than 10 years, I will have recouped my money. And, at that point, my room will only cost me the price of the MF's.

Now, one of the drawbacks is that you must be able to book your trips in advance as timeshares are different than a typical reservation. Most members book 7 - 11 months out. If you can't book until last minute, it might not be a good choice as availability will be limited.

Good luck!

 

[ToddyLu]

Stay on the DVC forum and read, read, read. Read the header stickies and visit sites like DVCNews.com and Allears.net. Pass Porter also has a DVC E book. you can down-load for info. You can purchase OKW direct through Disney for a premium price or buy resale and once an owner have all the privledges due anyone. If Disney sells you OKW then you will get the 2057 extension automatically. When buying resale at that resort be sure to see when the end year is....2042 or extended to 2057. Many resalers did not extend their contract when Disney offered.

 

[robertdangelo]

DVC is great! Many mambers say... "we only wish we'd done it sooner!"
The Timeshare Store(sponsor of this board) is great to deal with!
Good Luck!

 

[Crystal_27]

DVC is a way to pre-pay your vacation accommodations and can be a measure of cost savings if you typically vacation at Disney every year and if you usually stay in Deluxe resorts. It sounds like you might be an ideal DVC candidate. In terms of pros, outside of the actual program, there really are no big pros - you get what you get. You buy XXX number of points at a certain DVC resort, and receive those points every year in order to utilize for DVC resort accommodations. If you choose, you can trade those points out for Disney cruises or other vacations through RCI, but you will get the most "bang for your buck" by using your points at DVC resorts. If you find yourself in need of additional points, you also have the option to bank your points into the next year's allotment, as well as borrow points from the next year.

In terms of cons, being locked into Disney vacations for the next 30-50 years may seem very daunting to some. Disney vacations are expensive, and DVC only covers your accommodations - - you still have to get there, pay for park tickets, meals, entertainment, etc. Also, you have to pay annual dues on your points, which equate to approximately what a Value stay would cost for a week. And, although you do have the ability to sell your contract, there is no guarantee that you won't lose money on the sale.

With all that said, though, DVC will either make sense for you or it won't. Continue to research so you know all your options, as well as the ins and outs of the program, and then buy (or not) accordingly. Good luck!

 

[JHM]

DVC membership makes one big assumption - that you do want to go on a vacation every year and you prefer to stay (or need to due to size of party) in the nicer resorts. Assuming that, it is a very good deal. Disney will tell you that you break even in approx 5-7 trips and the work we did seemed to support that. We also looked at what we could of done with our purchase $$ and annual dues, and in order to pay as we went for annual vacations through 2060 (BLT expiration date) we would have had to average over 13% post tax return on our investment. When you look at it that way, DVC is a steal. If you trade in your points for other resort (non Disney) you seem to get a pretty good exchange rate, but I have noticed that if you wanted to use your points for the Poly or another "regular" resort" you do not seem to get a lot of $$ for your points. About the only other negative is having to plan so far in advance, but that just means more time to look forward to it.

Another big plus is that DVC resorts are usually in very good locations relative to the parks - at least BLT, BCV and BWV. Good luck making up your mind.

 

[DeeCee735]

Pro's:

With that 180 points you are buying tremendous flexibility. I understand that you go once a year for a week....we did too (6 nights) before we bought.
Our initial purchase was 185 points at BWV. It gave us our 6 nights +
That's one pro to ownership in DVC as opposed to timeshares that sell weeks. You are not restricted to a specific week in a specific season and you are not restricted to a specific size unit. The studio's sleep 4 comfortably, so if you choose to use a studio at a lower point cost season you can save some of your points to go another time during your UY.

I didn't look at it this way when we first bought. My goal was President's week in a one bedroom standard view at BW for 6 nights every year. It, at the time cost 171 points. I rounded up and we bought 185.

A few years after our initial buy in, which did get us what we wanted, our vacation needs started changing alittle bit. Kids were a little bigger, and my husband started flying (instead of driving) so we found that we wanted to go at other times during the year, and the points system was perfectly suited for that flexibility.

Cons:

Uhhhhh, hummmm, ahhhh, nope, sorry, I can't think of any

Good luck with your decision and HAPPY PLANNING!

 

[Coach81]

Stay on the DVC forum and read, read, read. Read the header stickies and visit sites like DVCNews.com and Allears.net. Pass Porter also has a DVC E book. you can down-load for info. You can purchase OKW direct through Disney for a premium price or buy resale and once an owner have all the privledges due anyone. If Disney sells you OKW then you will get the 2057 extension automatically. When buying resale at that resort be sure to see when the end year is....2042 or extended to 2057. Many resalers did not extend their contract when Disney offered.

 

[StevesBLT]

One "con" is that DVC generally doesn't work well for last minute vacations. As a general rule, there may be availability only at the SSR or OKW resorts--or even no availability--if you wait until the last minute to call. DVC works well if you plan vacations well ahead, 11 months for your home resort, 7 months for other resorts.

Still, I'm very happy with my DVC purchases!

 

[rentayenta]

We're talking about buying into DVC (OKW) but we are so clueless about the whole timeshare scenario. Please would someone tell me the pros and cons of ownership? We usually only go to WDW for a week and usually just stay at the Poly.

Honestly, I have yet to see any cons. We bought in May 2009 and it has been the best vacation decision we have made. Thus far we have traded into RCI for a week in Cabo and it was amazing. Our next vacation will be at Disneyland this June at the GCV in a 2 bedroom. The rack rate on that would be half our loan amount alone.

DVC allows my growing family of 5 to stay in comfort with all the fabulous amenities of home.

I am a planner by nature so last minute is rarely an issue.

 

[dmoore22]

In terms of cons, being locked into Disney vacations for the next 30-50 years may seem very daunting to some.

After your first margarita at the Gurgling Suitcase it won't matter.

Disney vacations are expensive, and DVC only covers your accommodations - - you still have to get there,

We paid for our points up front so we hit the breakeven point in a very, very short time. We currently visit DVC twice a year for 12 - 13 nights each visit. We calculate our per night stay, based on our purchase cost and annual dues, is $68/night. Pretty cheap for the quality of accommodations at DVC.

pay for park tickets, meals, entertainment, etc.

Anytime you spend over ten days the Annual Pass is more cost effective, especially with the DVC AP discount. There is a ripple effect because of the additional AP discounts, if you choose the TIW dining discount (only available to AP and Florida residents), and, coupled with DVC discounts it does make a positive difference in the expenses.

Also, you have to pay annual dues on your points, which equate to approximately what a Value stay would cost for a week.

When we first bought into DVC we were a family of 8. We always had to get at least two rooms which, even discounted, was still a chunk of change, even in the Values.. Moving from two value rooms to a two bedroom DVC actually cut our expenses over staying in a value plus enhanced the quality of our accommodations and our stay. Plus, since we itemize our taxes, the property tax part of the Annual Dues becomes a part of our itemized deductions. Every little bit counts!

Basically I'm saying I haven't found any "Cons" yet.

 

[dacky041208]

As far as cons, I asked that about a month ago, and some people came up with some good ones:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2426620

Still, we bought in and are now owners at BLT, but it is good to see both sides.

 

[dmoore22]

If your looking for major "Cons" it is doubtful that you will find many on these threads. As DVC owners we are generally pretty happy with our decision. Otherwise we would have sold our interests. Certainly there are some "rules" that can be annoying but they're not insurmountable or enough of a nuisance to get rid of our ownerships. Again it is all relative. I love to plan last minute trips. So the booking window is a "Con" for me. My DW loves to plan well in advance. For her the booking window is a "Pro." Of course I think she would love a 24, 36, 48 month, etc. booking window (If anyone tells my DW I said this I'll be forced to deny it). It's one of those situations where there is enough latitude that once your comfortable with the guidelines you can actually have them work to your advantage. I believe I provided a link to the DVC Primer at Mouseplanet.com for you on another thread. Read through them and other sites PP have suggested, take the tour, price resales, follow the DVC incentives, and stop at the Gurgling Suitcase for your favorite libation. Once you feel comfortable with your decision, assuming you do buy, don't be surprised if you suffer a little buyer's remorse initially. It will all fade away the first time your greeted with "HOME!!!"

 

[katied]

Pros-
Staying in a 1 bedroom with full kitchen and washer dryer on the monorail (or walking distance to MK) for approx cost of $180/night. (average cost buying points plus maintenance fees for my BLT points based on our upcoming stay).

To book this thro Disney direct, even if I got a 40% discount, would be over$350/night.

So - a great deal.

An even better deal when I use my BWV points, since they were much less expensive to buy.

Also, I like the AP discount. Even if you go just once a year - plan one trip for Jan 2011, and then next for Dec 2011 (so really 11 1/2 months apart) and you can use one AP for both trips (plus you get a $100 off the AP purchase, and then with the AP you get certain other discounts). This adds up to significant savings

Cons-
Need to book in advance (doesn't really both us. I'm happy to plan vacations 11 months out).


Other comments:
I don't believe in financing vacations, so that means we only bought when we could pay for it upfront and not finance. Up to personal preference though.

I also know we'll be traveling to Disney every year for a while. Maybe we'll try out Hawaii when it opens (if we can get in) and maybe we'll try out CA one year (again, if we can get in).

Overall, we're happy with DVC. Its a great way to vacation at Disney. (which is why we've added on to our original purchase)

 

[Deb & Bill]

Dues continue to go up each year. So what you are paying when you first buy in, it not what you will be paying in future years. Ultimately, you will pay more in dues than you paid in for your original purchase of points.

And you still have to buy tickets, food, transportation to Disney.

DVC is no good if you can't plan at least 7 or 8 months out. If you travel on the spur of the moment, you may be disappointed repeatedly by DVC.

 

[ValpoCory]

DVC is a way to pre-pay your vacation accommodations and can be a measure of cost savings if you typically vacation at Disney every year and if you usually stay in Deluxe resorts.

Exactly. Although DVC salespeople don't let you know that .

notaclue, In general in America, if you buy in bulk, you save a little per unit. DVC salespeople get you to buy in bulk, knowing most owners would never had come back 40 times in the next 40 years without the DVC. Some would, and DVC saves them money. But most commit much more money to Disney than they would have without the DVC

As mentioned above, most on these boards are biased in favor of the DVC timeshare. But in the end, it's a timeshare. And as any financial planner would tell you, timeshares are obligations. DVC is a fun obligation, but nonetheless an obligation.

We priced it out, and we decided to stick with renting DVC points and/or staying moderates with the vacation package specials, going every 2 years or so. The DVC was not for us, financially speaking.

But notaclue, if you stay at the Poly already, then it may be more worth it. Do the spreadsheet calculations yourself.

 

[ValpoCory]

We only go once a year and typically stayed at the CR for 5 - 7 nights.
...
My total cost for ownership was around $17,000 and my yearly MF"s are around $680.00. I was spending around $2500 yearly for my CR tower room, so in less than 10 years, I will have recouped my money. And, at that point, my room will only cost me the price of the MF's.

If you are a customer spending $2500 for 5 to 7 nights every single year, then yes, DVC is for you.