Pros and Cons

[linfin]

My husband and I have been thinking about buying DVC for quite a while. I would like to know what your pros and cons are, if you have had any bad experiences with it, what i should watch out for...ect...ect..

Thanks

 

[franco]

My husband and I have been thinking about buying DVC for quite a while. I would like to know what your pros and cons are, if you have had any bad experiences with it, what i should watch out for...ect...ect..

Thanks

Pro's: Prepaid vacation for the next 40 plus years.

Con's: None (in my experience)

Bad Experiences: None

My only regret is I didn't buy sooner.

That being said do your research and make sure it is right for your family.

 

[starbox]

I think that the main pro/con with Disney versus another timeshare is as follows:

Pro - You have access to Disney-owned resorts and all the amneneties that come with staying on-property. If you know you love visiting Disney and staying in a mod or deluxe on-property resort - than you know that DVC is going to be your cup of tea.

Con - Disney vacations are very expensive and DVC only pre-pays the accomodations part of the expense, so it's only a very partially pre-paid vacation.

 

[TomD]

Over the years your question has been asked many times and you will get alot of different reasons to buy but 2 things remain constant in people's answers.

1.I wish I had done it sooner

2.2.Buy where you want to stay

As DVC continues to grow #2 is more important then ever. Your home resort and the 11 month booking window is very important during the busy season.

 

[1000th happy haunt]

What you should watch out for is a disease called addon-itis. It's when you realize you want to own at a different DVC resort, or want to upgrade from a studio to a one bedroom, and you're forced to add more points.

We've only been DVC members for two years and really enjoy having our rooms pre-paid. However addon-itis has already struck twice.

I wish we had done it sooner (see #1 stated above). Luckily we bought where we want to stay (OKW), and added on at a different resort (VWL).

 

[vandy]

Two parts to the pros: First, if you only want to stay on property and want all the WDW amenities, then DVC can be a pro. Second, if you stay at a mod or deluxe resort OR if you have a large family like mine and need two rooms at a value, then it can be a pro.

Any cons that you may have should be weeded out before you buy. These 'cons' are things like annual dues (how much and can you afford), correct number of points, picking the resort, cost of DVC versus normal stays, frequency of visits and so on.

Personally for us, our room expense would be huge without DVC so DVC is a pro. Only con is wished we had more points.

Good Luck!

 

[wantalemon]

One pro that we enjoy, is we purchased two contracts...one from Disney which was VWL and then one through Timeshare Store for BCV. With having the two contracts, you have your 11 month windows at two different places and they are not hard to transfer in between but have to plan accordingly. Con...wish we would have purchased both through Timeshare Store because purchased at a cheaper price.

 

[Didney Daddy]

Think carefully through the number of points you really need at a MINIMUM. You can add on later if your minimum goes up but you do not want to over buy points.

Our best advice is to try it out, once you stay at your home resort a couple of times then you are in a better position to determine whether you want to make a bigger committment.

DVC has been wonderful for us but do not let our enthusiam cloud your thinking.

Good luck,

 

[Dean]

There are too many variables to give a single answer. I'll give a general answer of what I feel is appropriate, you can supply the details that would help the group to help you such as family size, how you plan to use it, how far ahead you can plan, do you usually go a full week, how much Disney experience you have, would you only use it for DVC stays and the like.

In general I think buying DVC is only appropriate for one who plans to use points at DVC resorts but not long weekends, can plan at least 7 months out, has enough Disney experience to know they will be happy at Disney at least every year for a long time, who doesn't plan to use the exchange options much or at all and who can pay cash.

 

[eva]

Dean makes a very good point. If you are a planner and make vacation reservations a year out, then DVC may be for you. If you are used to making reservation 3 or 4 (or even less) months out and don't see that changing, then DVC is probably not for you. My DS and DBIL purchased a few years back after a trip with us in a grand villa. I really didn't think DVC was for them. They enjoy WDW, but were fooling themselves that they would want to go there often. I think DVC is for people that want to go to WDW at least every other year and stay in the more deluxe resorts. They ended up trading every year for about 4 years and were not happy. But I think one of the main reason they were not happy is because they are not pre-planners. They rarely knew more than 5 or 6 months out when and where they were going to vacation. They would then call MS and try to find something at WDW or with a trade and found it difficult to get anything they wanted. They finally ended up selling the points.

 

[starbox]

Think carefully through the number of points you really need at a MINIMUM. You can add on later if your minimum goes up but you do not want to over buy points.

Our best advice is to try it out, once you stay at your home resort a couple of times then you are in a better position to determine whether you want to make a bigger committment.

This is really good advice. I know that after staying at almost all the DVCs, I've been surprised by my responses to each resort. Two of the resorts I assumed would be by favorites are not. I ended up liking one resort a whole lot more than I expected to. I also ended up with only one resort that I feel strongly enough about to think I *have* to own a small contract there to guaruntee I can always get my reservation - and it's not even at Disney World!

I don't think it's really possible to know what you'll like until you stay everywhere (at least it was not for me - because I was WAY off), and I'd strongly caution anyone about making a decision based on pictures in the wish book, theoretical location benefits/drawbacks, or mock-up rooms.
By purchasing the min. number of points, you can use a few years to sleep around and then add-on if you find a second "home" that you can't live without.

 

[crisi]

Pros: Kids in second bedroom "affordably" (for us), regular "enforced" vacationing, nice accomodations, washer in room.

Con: Tied to Disney - while you can use points other places, you aren't likely to save much money doing so, you are committed to the additional expense of Disney vacations - sure, I get my room for dues, but airfare, tickets and food still create a minumum $3,000+ vacation for us. Minimal mousekeeping (some people think this is a pro - I like having my bed made daily), less flexibility in reserving than with cash. Room maintenance does not (IMO) appear to be up to Deluxe standards.

 

[mikesmom]

I second pretty much all the reasoning of the previous posters. I've got to say, though, we don't feel like we're "tied to Disney". We feel like we've got 8 lovely resorts we can vacation at... and with some of them there are theme parks (if we want them).

I'm sure the notion would horrify some folks, but we've taken several trips and never gone near the parks. We've looked at these as lovely resorts, where we know what to expect, we can relax, have access to good food, sunny climate, reliable transportation, make ourselves at home and get a truly comfortable vacation. We both travel a fair amount for business, so often we are not looking for new experiences, we are looking to relax. DVC fills the bill for us.

 

[blossomz]

Pros: Knowing we are going to vacation every year. We no longer are commandos. We also have plans to try the cruise and try some other destinations in the future!

Cons: Can't think of a single one!

Bad Experiences: None

My only regret is I didn't buy sooner and that I didn't buy more points at the start! We also had addonitis for several years and recently bought at VAKL!

Good luck with your decision!

 

[crisi]

I second pretty much all the reasoning of the previous posters. I've got to say, though, we don't feel like we're "tied to Disney". We feel like we've got 8 lovely resorts we can vacation at... and with some of them there are theme parks (if we want them).

I'm sure the notion would horrify some folks, but we've taken several trips and never gone near the parks. We've looked at these as lovely resorts, where we know what to expect, we can relax, have access to good food, sunny climate, reliable transportation, make ourselves at home and get a truly comfortable vacation. We both travel a fair amount for business, so often we are not looking for new experiences, we are looking to relax. DVC fills the bill for us.

What I mean by tied to Disney - we like to vacation other spots (just got back from San Francisco/Monterey). We only have enough points to do Disney every other year (we've been cruising DCL on cash in our alternative years lately). A Central Florida vacation every year is not what our family wants in vacation.