Question about visits with DVC vs hotels

[MrsRoyale]

Hello all!

I have plans of purchasing DVC next year (35th birthday present), and I was wondering...For those who already purchased it, do you find that you now go to Disney more often than you did before? For example, because of costs, for us, it is currently a once every few years vacation so it gives us enough time to save but I would love to be able to go more often now that my son is growing up. So, do you find that you are going to Disney more often now that you have access to DVC? Or do you enjoy different vacations, such as Disney Cruise or Adventures by Disney (can you even use DVC points for them?)

Thank you so much in advance for all your guidance. I have been dreaming about purchasing DVC since my parents got theirs when I was 15 yrs old, and I am getting so close now...I consider it part of my American Dream"

 

[kniquy]

Well i think the reason people will visit more often than when they didn't have DVC is that the points will be lost if you don't go (or rent them). We want to go every other year so we purchased a 120 point contract so that every other year we would have 240 points to use. I am sure your parents can give you insight on the process of banking and borrowing points if they have been members for a number of years. If you go every couple of years (more often than you do now) then you don't have to be a 7 day park commando. You can have a more relaxed and possibly less expensive trip with preparing meals in your 1BR villa and not having to dine out for all meals.

There are different ways to purchase - the best way is to purchase resale so that you can save upwards of 40% compared to direct. I am a resale buyer so i don't have the option of using points for cruises or AVD -- I have heard that if you want to do these types of trips it make more financial sense to rent your points and use the cash to pay for the trip than to actually use the points. You can still use resale DVC points for hawaii, vero beach and hilton head so if you needed a break from WDW then you could do a different vacation. If you start your research now then by the time your birthday present rolls around you should be well versed in all things DVC.

 

[MrsRoyale]

Hi! Thanks for your response! Believe me, I've been researching this for yeeeeeeeears! The problem is that my parents don't use the points to go to Disney at all, they use it more for RCI exchange, so I needed some input from someone who was well versed in using the points for visiting Disney/Disney related vacations

Thanks so much for your input!

 

[River Country]

In my experience the answer is yes. I have managed a 160 point contract a SSR into multiple trips per year. The discounted Annual Passes over the past couple of years have made it easier as well. I have not once traded in for RCI nor used any points for a Cruise. for a couple of reasons. 1. I don't have enough points for a cruise and would need to use a couple of UY's worth of points to do so....so for me not worth it. 2. No RCI while I know its an option but I bought DVC to go to Disney World/land. But that's just me. I am also looking t add on more points hopefully soon so I can go more often hehehe

 

[com_op_2000]

Member since '93.
Have added on twice since our original purchase.
We are now taking @8 trips per year and want to get enough points to go at least once a month for 2 - 5 nights per trip.
At the price point for DVC direct (which is where you have to purchase to use for a DCL), it is more effective to rent your points and then pay cash for your DCL. I say this even thou having taken 8 DCLs with 7 of them paid for with DVC points, our price per point were much less and would not recommend it now.

 

[robinb]

The true value of DVC is not in the exchanges (RCI, cruises, etc) but staying at DVC resorts. In my opinion, any use of DVC points outside of DVC resorts themselves is a waste. I became a DVC member right when my Disney parks love began, so my experience with going to WDW is tied to DVC. I don't know if I would have gone more in the past, but I do know that I would not be able to afford the current pricing for onsite resorts without DVC. My Disney vacations would have been over a long time ago.

 

[Dean]

Hi! Thanks for your response! Believe me, I've been researching this for yeeeeeeeears! The problem is that my parents don't use the points to go to Disney at all, they use it more for RCI exchange, so I needed some input from someone who was well versed in using the points for visiting Disney/Disney related vacations

Thanks so much for your input!

There are far better timeshares for RCI exchanges, DVC is a very high cost option for that with reduced benefits compared to regular RCI members. I think most members go more, longer and stay in better accommodations than they would not owning. Basically it doesn't save them money but it does give them other benefits and enjoyment.

 

[MrsRoyale]

Thanks all! So, in your experience, it would also be a good idea to buy the Annual Pass along with DVC?

 

[kniquy]

ould also be a good idea to buy the Annual Pass along with DVC?

If you buy resale you no longer get the annual pass DVC discount, but if you do buy direct then you could get the discount. I believe I have heard that the annual pass break even point is 10 or 11 visits - so if you buy enough points to travel and have either 1 or a few trips to have that many or more park days then it is a great benefit.

 

[MrsRoyale]

Thanks! You are all super awesome!

 

[Shellyred8]

We go to Disney more than we did before we bought into DVC. We don't use our points for anything but staying at DVC resorts. As others have mentioned, the value in DVC is staying at a DVC resort.

We have also found that we do Disney differently now that we have been there so many times. We are no longer park-commandos. We go to the parks whenever we feel like it. We just take time to relax and enjoy the other offerings that the resort has to offer.

One other thing to call out: We initially bought enough points to do a Studio for a week at a time. However, after a couple of shorter trips staying in a 1br, we found that we liked the space of the 1br much more. We also like having the washer and dryer in the room. So, we find ourselves wishing we would've bought a few more points.

With the AP, when we get them, we make sure we have at least 2 trips planned for the 1-year time frame that the AP is good for.

 

[disneynutz]

As a new owner you will probably go more often. In a few years you will have visited the parks over and over and stayed at most of the DVC resorts. You may decrease your Disney visits and/or skip some years. There are around 4000 DVC contracts sold on the resale market each year so people do decrease their visits.

Bill

 

[Novakm]

My plan was... Buy DVC resale, go three times, once with each of my daughters families, sell. My calculations were it would be cheaper than staying in an AOA family suite, even after taking a loss when I sell

Now i have gone 4 times with family, have a no parks trip planned with wife, and another family trip in the spring.

So yes, I definitely go more with DVC. I also expected to lose money when I sell the points, but I could actually sell at a profit today.

Ymmv

 

[ktmo]

We just purchased in December and we have already gone twice this year and have another trip planned. We had been going every year and then took a couple of years off. Last summer, I started planning a trip for this summer. Instead, I started the process of buying DVC.

We only have one trip planned for next year, but I am thinking about adding points to be able to make it longer.

So, my answer would be YES. We are going more often. We did buy the annual passes, which is part of the reason why I added a third trip this year. We had points and tickets, why not another trip to Disney.

 

[Brian0718]

DVC is what you make it to be. If you plan on only going every 3 years or so due to finances, a contract with fewer points might make sense. Then you can bank and borrow and get a decent stay out of the deal. We have enough pts that we can either stay for an extended period of time or bring family/friends with us. We also don't necessarily go to the parks every year. This year we are sailing DCL and coming back to AKL for a few nights to do SeaWorld and Universal.

 

[calypso726]

We live in south Fl and started with 180 points and were going once per year. Now we have 1300 points and go for a weekend nearly every month. During F&W we go every weekend.