Hi everyone!! Thanks for your responses. This has turned out to a DVC justification thread and that is not what I was looking for.
But since it has turned into that, I am always curious how people need to financially justify their decision to buying into DVC maybe I am wrong, I don't know. I don't doubt that many many people break even or even come out ahead over a long time, but anytime you are pre paying anything that won't pay back for several years, it is not a good financial investment. Those who say "now I can stay in a one bedroom instead of a hotel room", you know that Disney does book those rooms to everyone, right? not just DVC memebers. If you really want to stay their you can book it yourself (and I don't mean rent from a member, I mean thru Disney Reservations). For the week I am going, it is $465 for a 1 bdrm at BCV per night or 260 points on DVC. If i buy a 130 point contract, I can stay there once every two years. So assuming a 30% discount off rack which is a reasonable average historical discount, I would figure $2000 for the week paying cash.
So, in DVC, by the time I pay $12,000 and then $5per point per year, over 6 trips (12 years) I will have spent $19,800 for the one bedroom. Where as if I just book the one bedroom and pay cash, $12,000. Still not breaking even. It will take a few more years to break even.
So rates will go up for the room but so will dues. Maybe not as fast or as high as room rates although dues have nearly doubled in the last 10 years historically. Then if you are financining your initial purchase, you add in interest costs and if you are not financing, your opportunity costs of not having your upfront $$ and investing it. So, with dues increases and interest costs, I would guess the inflation of hotel rates would be about a wash.
To me, DVC is about pre paying your vacation and insuraning that you will be going to disney for the next X years. I know I am paying a premium to do so and that doing so is nothing more than a luxury...Just like buying a BMW over a Kia. The Kia will get me from point A to point B, right?
Yes, the KIA will get you from point A to point B but, since your are putting this in terms of an investment, the KIA will depreciate quickly whereas the BMW will maintain more of its value in the long term. Of course this is not a fair comparison. The return on the investment of going on vacation, whether out of pocket rack rate or DVC points, are the intangibles one enjoys. The payoff is the fun you have, the smiles and happiness you see in the eyes of your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, parents, and other individuals who have touched your life and you theirs. The reasons individuals choose to join, or not to join, DVC are as varied as the number of posters on the DIS.
I can only talk about our experience. We bought in around the time the dot-come bubble burst. We had been debating for several years to join, or not to join. We did the tours, read the discussion lists and played with the spreadsheets. With our portfolio losing value (our retirement investments) we figured we might as well spend it while it's still worth something. We actually sold some of our shares of our stock in Disney, which had gone through several splits, to make this purchase. We found a very nice resale that included a year's worth of banked points. The seller was an overseas owner that really wanted to unload quickly. Then we found an add-on with a similar scenario. An overseas seller who was willing to cover our 1st years MFs. Since we had been saving our $$$ with the intention of enjoying our retirement we did not look at this purchase as an investment for the purpose of making money at a latter date but an investment in R&R for the present. We did find some unanticipated residual benefits. These may, or may not be relevant, or important, to your situation.
1) We ended up spending about the same per trip as before joining DVC. However, since we have 6 children, we could never get by with anything least than 2 rooms. Having worked our way up from absolutely nothing to a state of extreme poverty the moderates, deluxe, and home-away-from-home accomodations were definitely out of our budget, even with the promos and discounts offered at that time.
2. Even though our costs were about the same per stay as before we bought into DVC we were now staying longer in a two bedroom as opposed to two separate rooms at a value/moderate.
3. My DW and I could now have our space together in the master suite as opposed to being split up since, when staying in the values/moderates, it was required that there be one adult in each room.
4. The jacuzzi
5. Dining costs dropped since we had a full kitchen and could enjoy a full breakfast in the room, or on the balcony, before going to the parks, or returning to the room for lunch, dinner or whatever. We even bar-b-qued with the grills available at the quiet pools.
6. Park admissions dropped because we staggered and alternated the times of our visits to get multiple trips out of our APs. That way we purchased an AP every other year which is cheaper than a renewal every year.
7. Since we itemize our taxes we gained another deduction, albeit, a small one. 20% of the MF goes to property taxes. There are other deductions available depending upon how you finance the purchase.
8. My DW is now very happy. When she is happy all is right in the world. Prior to DVC I seldom went on a vacation, much less planned a vacation. With all our kids it made my brain hurt thinking about the logistics and costs and tripping over each other in a motel room. Prior to DVC the trips were spontaneous on short notice. Now we do have to plan in advance which my DW loves. I can't make excuses anymore that hold any water.
As much as we've enjoyed staying in a Value/Moderate we find it would be difficult to go back after staying at DVC. I realize other posters have indicated they have had issues regarding their rooms and maintenance. We have not experienced any of those issues. We've been very happy and feel that we continue to get the bang for the buck. We can vouch for the advantages DVC provides for large families. We actually expected that we would probably sell as the kids moved out and the need for large accomodations diminished. To the contrary. We do stay in smaller accomodations now but with longer stays and multiple trips. We are a couple of years away from full retirement and the grandchildren coming with us.
Here is a nice link to a DVC Primer that I wish would have been available at the time we were considering whether to purchase or not.
http://www.mouseplanet.com/8739/A_Di...on_Club_Primer
The bottom line is you have to do what works best for you and your family. Just because DVC works wonderfully for us doesn't mean it will work for you.
Bill
