Pro's and Con's of Purchasing DVC ???

[Piglet]

After entering one of the contest run by DVC, as I expected I got a call last night and DVC reps are sending me a packet - I'm just curious----what do you see as the pro's and con's of purchasing?

We generally go to WDW every other year, but like to go with specials (free dining, etc..) and don't have any problems staying in the values but will do moderates if the budget allows.

 

[chalee94]

We generally go to WDW every other year, but like to go with specials (free dining, etc..) and don't have any problems staying in the values but will do moderates if the budget allows.

You don't sound like a good fit for DVC.

Values will almost always be cheaper and if you enjoy hunting for deals, there's not as much need with DVC.

The benefit is that you get consistent discounted accommodations for the length of the contract. There are some other perks that come and go but if the value of the stays isn't there then it's probably not worth it.

 

[robinb]

I've been a DVC member forever. We have only 1 DD and we usually stay in studios.

My list:

Pros:
1) Deluxe resorts and condo-type resorts. I could never stay at any of the Deluxe resorts without DVC because I'm too cheap to pay Disney prices.
2) Large studio rooms, most with sofa beds that fold up during the day to make more room. Some also have a murphy bed that fits kids and small adults (my 5'4" DD sleeps on it).
3) Studios have a mini fridge, toaster and microwave for quick meals in the room. All DVC resorts have public grills (gas at some resorts, charcoal at others).
4) Once paid off, all you are paying for your stay is dues. I pay nearly $2,000 per year for my 300 points (200 BWV, 100 AKV) and I can get 2-3 weeks out of that depending on when I go and where I stay.
5) DVC holds it's value. I purchased OKW on the resale market and sold it about 7-10 years later for $20 more than I paid for it. I could sell my BWV points for twice what I paid for them and my AKV points for $30 more than I paid for them today. YMMV.
6) Free laundry.
7) Larger villas are available if you need more room. 1BRs genaerally sleep the same number of people with twice the amount of room. You also get a king sized bed in the bedroom, a big whirlpool tub, private laundry in your unit and a full kitchen. I have stayed in all unit sizes except the SSR treehouses and the Poly Bungalows.
8) You can rent out your points to cover dues/etc if you need to.
Available to people who buy a minimum number of points directly from Disney:
9) Rotating discounts on park passes and APs. Sometimes *really* great deals.
10) Special Members Only park perks like "Member Magic" (I think it's called) and previews of newly opening rides.

Cons:
1) It's expensive. EXPENSIVE! No getting around that. Resales will save you money but you also lose perks.
2) It's hard to get into certain resorts in the 7-month window if you don't already own there and book in your priority window. if you want a studio at BWV/BCV over NYE or Food and Wine, you better own there. 1BRs are easier to get than Studios.
3) It's not for people who can't plan in advance.
4) You miss out on a lot of perks if you don't buy the minimum number of points from DVC.
5) Although I will make money if I sell my DVC points, one should not consider it an investment. It is a pre-paid vacation.
6) There is no daily housekeeping.
7) You cannot get "free dining".

 

[robinb]

@Piglet, I don't recall the particulars of your family. It looks like you have 2 DDs. How old are they? Would they share a bed or do you get 2 rooms when you go to WDW?

 

[Lynne M]

IMO, DVC is all about the resorts. It's a way to make stays in villa-style accommodations more cost-effective. If you don't have any particular interest in the DVC resorts, DVC probably won't have much appeal for you.

If you compare it to staying in values with discounts, DVC will almost certainly cost you more than you've been paying for your accommodations. So, it then comes down to whether or not you're interested in paying more for upgraded rooms. I'd approach it this way: learn about the resorts and the villas, then run the numbers and see what the increase in cost would look like for you. Then it's just a matter of figuring out whether the cost difference seems worth it to you.

There are some concrete benefits to the DVC resorts aside from the nicer rooms. Several of them are on the monorail or within walking distance to one or more of the parks. They tend to have better recreational options, and more table-service dining choices than values or moderates.

 

[disneynutz]

Rent a DVC reservation from an owner for your next stay at your favorite DVC resort to see what a DVC room is like. If you like value stays then IMO DVC isn't worth the money for you. Just because you can buy DVC, doesn't mean that you should.

Bill

 

[Dean]

After entering one of the contest run by DVC, as I expected I got a call last night and DVC reps are sending me a packet - I'm just curious----what do you see as the pro's and con's of purchasing?

We generally go to WDW every other year, but like to go with specials (free dining, etc..) and don't have any problems staying in the values but will do moderates if the budget allows.

You already value staying on property. If you can afford it (pay cash), will only use the points at DVC resorts, buy resale and are OK with the loss of free dining and the compromises of a timeshare, it may be a good choice. It will likely not save you money, it may cost more, but it might provide sufficient added value to justify the purchase. I'd compare to what you're spending and to renting privately. I'd look at both, the cost should come in between those 2 when you take into account you've generally been getting a discount of some sort either a code or free dining. Just don't compare with dining on the cash side to not on the DVC side.

 

[lovin'fl]

We bought in 2006 with 3 elementary aged kids. We did our 1st family trip to WDW in 2003 and stayed off site. We had limited funds at the time so we also didn't eat any meals at WDW. We loved the trip but some magic was missing having to drive in and take trams and eat sandwiches for lunch and do fast food after leaving the park at night. So, in 2005 we booked a stay at POR with dining plan. Boy were we wowed and hooked. Only thing was we were a fam of 5 crammed into one regular room and no way could we afford 2 rooms. So we bought DVC.

Pros...we get deluxe resort stays and villa style rooms (1BR/2BR/3BR) with separate master bedroom, jetted tubs in some resorts, kitchen and in room laundry. We are forced to go often. And if you cant then its easy to rent out your points. Many of the resorts are great locations and some are even walking distance to parks or have boats or monorail so minimizes busing. If you are a blue card member, which I am, you get discounted APs and dining discounts and access to lounge in Epcot. Those are the biggies that comes to mind.

Cons...annual dues. Annual dues go up every year. Studios are hard to book at 7 months anymore so you have to own the resort you want to stay at anymore...especially if you want studios. Requires more pre-planning ( on top of FP and ADR pre-planning you now have to get your room booked). That's about all I can think of.

 

[CraigInPA]

My wife and I were always looking for a "deal" stating at WDW. We've stayed in values, moderates, and deluxe resorts. Frankly, once you move up from value to deluxe, you will NEVER want to stay in a value again! One thing to consider is that "free" dining is offered in lieu of a room discounr. Lately, the free dining promotions haven't been as good as in the past. People report taking the room discounr instead. And, like a lot of Disney promotions, may not continue to be offered going forward.

Buying DVC, with a huge up front cost, allows you to budget your yearly cost of the room. For $1300 a year, my wife and I stay in a lake view studo at Bay LakeTower for 10 nights every year in early February. Compared to the price of a regular hotel from at the Contemporary, we are "saving" $2700 a year on the room. Of course, we really aren't, because we are ignoring the $25k up front cost for the points and the lost income if we invested that money. But, it makes us feel good about the purchase, since that "savings" represents more than 1/3 of what we would ordinarily spend on our vacation.

 

[Ben E N]

We've stayed in values, moderates, and deluxe resorts. Frankly, once you move up from value to deluxe, you will NEVER want to stay in a value again!

I completely agree there. I was in very similar shape as the OP 2 years ago. Always value, but took a sales call from DVC in order to get a $25 giftcard. No way I would consider staying a Poly when Pop was so much cheaper! That year I stayed at CBR. Then I tried out renting BLT last year, just out of curiosity. Uh oh, I was hooked. Now I can never go back to value and am glad I bought DVC resale. Guess where I am staying in a couple of months? Poly! With resale prices. I will be paying less than $200 per night after purchase price and MFs are factored in. This is still more than Pop, but I'm so excited to be staying there that I really don't even care about going to the parks this next trip.

I also completely agree that DVC ownership will change your vacationing habits. I also used to be an every year person. Now I am looking at 3-4 visits in the next 12 months alone. It can be a great deal if you consider each visit to be a value and don't mind spending the extra money to make them work, but it is not a good value if you are purely looking to save money vs. staying off site or at values.

 

[gharter]

From what you said, I would agree that DVC doesn't seem to be a good fit for you. In general, DVC is better for those who go frequently. If you prefer staying in a value resort, DVC has nothing comparable (the studios are above that in price as well). You can get discounted tickets depending on when and how you purchased. DVC has never offered free dining that I know of.
DVC is rarely a cheaper vacation as we go more often now and spend money in different areas as our room is "already paid for".

 

[lovin'fl]

Another pro is that it holds, sometimes even increases, in value pretty well compared to other timeshares. You can always resell if it's not working for you and get a decent amount back. We added 100 AKV points in 2013 for $65pp and then resold them in 2015 for $80pp.

 

[Piglet]

Thanks for the info - for right now, DVC is probably not for us. My girls are 10 years apart (one in middle school & one in college) Once my youngest is older and we don't have to work around school schedules, I may change my mind. I think I'll take your advice and try to rent points on a future trip to check it out. I appreciate all of your help!! Now I'm off to read up on renting points.

 

[kniquy]

We generally go to WDW every other year, but like to go with specials (free dining, etc..) and don't have any problems staying in the values but will do moderates if the budget allows.

With these considerations DVC is not right for you. DVC works if you do go every year or at least every other year (so this you do have), but the savings occurs when you like to stay in deluxe resorts or even if you stay moderates and would prefer deluxe. You can not get the free dining option, but there are DVC dining discounts. Like PP have mentioned -- just checking out the resorts by renting is a good idea. Deluxe are a nice splurge, but if you are ok at Values or moderates and prefer more time in the parks it almost doesn't make sense to spend so much on a room.

 

[peabody58]

Frankly, once you move up from value to deluxe, you will NEVER want to stay in a value again!

And.... once you move up from Studio to 1 BR, you [i.e., your DW] will NEVER want to stay in a Studio again! Then you catch the dreaded 'Addonits' disease.

 

[kmc8826]

I just wanted to jump in and add that although it sounds that for OP DVC will not work for her right now the thoughtful posts in response to her question have helped me immensely. We have pretty much decided DVC would be worth it, but I have had some hesitation as no matter what it is a huge chunk of cash. But we have had AP's on and off since 2013 (last year even renewed) and while we have stayed off site just to fit our family of 5 we have the last couple trips decided that the bubble is worth spending more to us. Last two trips in January and May we were in 2 rooms at CBR. We have done the meals and see a lot of value in the kitchen. It sounds like DVC is for us. So thank you!

 

[kboo]

And.... once you move up from Studio to 1 BR, you [i.e., your DW] will NEVER want to stay in a Studio again! Then you catch the dreaded 'Addonits' disease.

Actually it was my DH who decided he didn't want to stay in a studio again. (And we were in larger studios - VGF and BCV!) So we are working on our 4th contract in 14 months...

I just wanted to jump in and add that although it sounds that for OP DVC will not work for her right now the thoughtful posts in response to her question have helped me immensely. We have pretty much decided DVC would be worth it, but I have had some hesitation as no matter what it is a huge chunk of cash. But we have had AP's on and off since 2013 (last year even renewed) and while we have stayed off site just to fit our family of 5 we have the last couple trips decided that the bubble is worth spending more to us. Last two trips in January and May we were in 2 rooms at CBR. We have done the meals and see a lot of value in the kitchen. It sounds like DVC is for us. So thank you!

One thing to remember for you, especially, is that resale will likely be your best bet, because CCV studios and 1br only sleep 4. There are some good home resorts that sleep 5 in a studio, and many, but not all, sleep 5 in a 1BR. BLT has great 1BRs for 5 because you have 2 full baths, but the studios are tiny. Poly has great studios that can sleep 5 with a split bath, but no 1Br. VGF has nice studios that sleep 5 and a somewhat split bath, but they cost a lot.

 

[kmc8826]

One thing to remember for you, especially, is that resale will likely be your best bet, because CCV studios and 1br only sleep 4. There are some good home resorts that sleep 5 in a studio, and many, but not all, sleep 5 in a 1BR. BLT has great 1BRs for 5 because you have 2 full baths, but the studios are tiny. Poly has great studios that can sleep 5 with a split bath, but no 1Br. VGF has nice studios that sleep 5 and a somewhat split bath, but they cost a lot.

We were at WDW last week and did the tour. I did go through a brief period of seriously considering CCV but then sanity returned. 2 bedrooms as the only option for us doesn’t make sense. I have been mostly lurking following the threads but have pretty much decided on BLT. We stopped by there last week and they were nice enough to show us a one bedroom lake view that was unoccupied. So sweet. It just definitely seems to be a seller market right now so that is a little intimidating.