Quick question for DVC

[Dean]

I yearly make a trip to Disneyland and want it at a cheaper rate than the hotel packages. I'ma Disney pro! I've been going to Disneyland since I was born and go at least once a year. I end up spending about 8k per trip but soon I'll finally be moving to California. So the idea of paying up front cash for 5 nights yearly for 50 years (I think I'm upping it to a week) and paying the 1k/2k annual fee sounds awesome. I've stayed on property in every room except the themed rooms. I hate paradise peer with passion but Disneyland hotel and grand Californian are great. We end up staying at the grand Californian more because I get a military discount and it's a difference of 25 dollars a day. My enlistment will be over next summer and I'd like the idea of the vacation club. I've read things but came to this board for an insiders opinion. If I'm going to do this I'm buying, I'm not looking off property because I don't want to leave the bubble, and I love magic morning. I also like the idea of the kitchen.

"Simplistically speaking, DVC will be more expensive than value rooms and roughly the same as moderates but with added value and benefits" This is the kind of input I was looking for and thank you (all of you) for taking the time to write out thoughtful informed responses. I really appreciate the time you all put into answering and thanks you! I'll look into those website and read a little more just to be sure. My only worry is getting one at disneyland. Thanks again.

That certainly colors my reply significantly. The issue owning at GC is that it's more difficult to find, more expensive and very difficult to book. You'll generally need to be 11 months out and even then, you may have trouble at times. One thing I see is you seem to be comparing the total cost of a trip or package to the cost of just the room with DVC. If this is the case, I'd suggest you simply compare one to another. In reality DVC rarely saves money but it may give you more value. For there you may want to look at one of the other timeshare systems that are close as well. If you get a good discount you may find it really doesn't even save you much, esp when you consider you're paying up front for DVC and over time for cash trips. Spend enough time you could answer the questions for others then you'll know if you're ready to proceed.

 

[LisaS]

So the idea of paying up front cash for 5 nights yearly for 50 years (I think I'm upping it to a week) and paying the 1k/2k annual fee sounds awesome.

Currently there are no resorts that will give you a full 50 years. The closest will be PVB (the Poly) where contracts expire on Jan 31, 2066, giving you 49 years and 5 months. All of the other DVC resorts expire earlier than 2066. For example, all contracts at VGC (Grand Californian) expire on Jan 31, 2060, giving you 43 years and 5 months. In other words, the end dates are fixed so you only get 50 years if you buy when the resort first opens.

There is a list of the resort expiration dates in post #10 in the thread mentioned above. Here is a link directly to that post: http://www.disboards.com/threads/so...e-disney-vacation-club.3514582/#post-55842692

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I yearly make a trip to Disneyland and want it at a cheaper rate than the hotel packages. I'ma Disney pro! I've been going to Disneyland since I was born and go at least once a year. I end up spending about 8k per trip but soon I'll finally be moving to California. So the idea of paying up front cash for 5 nights yearly for 50 years (I think I'm upping it to a week) and paying the 1k/2k annual fee sounds awesome. I've stayed on property in every room except the themed rooms. I hate paradise peer with passion but Disneyland hotel and grand Californian are great. We end up staying at the grand Californian more because I get a military discount and it's a difference of 25 dollars a day. My enlistment will be over next summer and I'd like the idea of the vacation club. I've read things but came to this board for an insiders opinion. If I'm going to do this I'm buying, I'm not looking off property because I don't want to leave the bubble, and I love magic morning. I also like the idea of the kitchen.

"Simplistically speaking, DVC will be more expensive than value rooms and roughly the same as moderates but with added value and benefits" This is the kind of input I was looking for and thank you (all of you) for taking the time to write out thoughtful informed responses. I really appreciate the time you all put into answering and thanks you! I'll look into those website and read a little more just to be sure. My only worry is getting one at disneyland. Thanks again.

Disneyland? That makes a bit of a difference. First, the only DVC is the Villas at Grand Californian and you would need to own there if DL is where you are always going. That means resale and that means you won't be able to use the points for any of the other DL hotels and can only book VGC due to the restrictions placed upon points purchased resale. VGC has 23 dedicated 2BR's, 23 2BR lockoffs which equates to 23 studios and 23 1BR's, and 2 GV's. You definitely want to be book in the home resority priority window - booking even 5 to 6 months out will be too late for almost any time of the year.

As Dean mentioned - DVC will only be covering the room cost and you need to compare your hotel room only to the cost of DVC ownership, not comparing the DVC room to the cost of a total package. Also, if you can't always book far in advance then forget DVC at DL.

 

[LisaS]

Duplicate...

 

[brittanidp]

Whoa! You have completely forgotten the maintenance fees for those 50 years! It is not just the initial $26,000 but is that plus lots and lots of maintenance fees.

I did, but the OP mentioned them in her response so I didn't go back to edit it when I realize I left it out. I was initially just trying to convince her that 1 week of a room wasn't $26k!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Do not buy points at a WDW resort in hopes of booking Grand Californian. Availability at 7 months is spotty at best.

Do not buy points at a WDW resort in hopes of swapping tor a Disneyland hotel. Points per night for a Disney Collection property is crazy.