Should I buy??

[yarlenna]

My DH and I are in our mid 60's and have no children. I think we would love it for about 20 years, if we live that long. What about the other 20 years? We LOVE the Wilderness lodge and would LOVE to spend lots of time there. I just don't know if it would make sense for us. Help?

 

[yarlenna]

Oops, I forgot to click for email notification

 

[Coach81]

Buy and pass on to your kids when you think the time is right???

 

[charight]

I have found from people I have talked to that people who are retired seem to be able to get the most use and/or value for the points they buy because of their flexability when booking trips. Unfortunately, I am a teacher for instance and the only times I can get away with my family are the times of the year when the points are very costly to book a trip. Consequently, if you are able to travel in January or September for instance, you could end up getting almost twice the amount of vacation time in for your points. I hope that makes sense and isn't too confusing??

 

[dbs1228]

My DH and I are in our mid 60's and have no children. I think we would love it for about 20 years, if we live that long. What about the other 20 years? We LOVE the Wilderness lodge and would LOVE to spend lots of time there. I just don't know if it would make sense for us. Help?

If you can afford it and love to go with the upgraded accomodations I say go for it! Once you get to the point where you do not feel you will use it anymore you can always sell the points. Since you have no kids if you do not sell your contracts they still can be left in your will. Good luck with your decision.

 

[wdrl]

You don't have to look at a DVC membership as a 20 or 30 year commitment. Instead, you should ask whether its something you'd enjoy for the next 4 to 7 years. If you plan on going to WDW once a year and usually stay at deluxe Disney resorts like the Wilderness Lodge, then you'll probably "recover" (I use that term very loosely) your initial investment in 4-7 years. After that time, if you have no desire in traveling to WDW, you can sell your points and recoup a little bit more of your initial investment, or transfer your ownership interest to a family member.

Keep in mind that VWL contracts are being sold on the resale market for around $70/point, which is much cheaper than Disney's direct price of $102/point.

My wife and I are retired and in our late 50s, and just joined DVC last year. Although we know we will expire long before our BLT and AKV deeds, we know we'll get good use out of our membership for the next 10-15 years, if not more. And, besides, here is photo of our niece riding the teacups. Knowing we can ride the teacups with her makes our DVC membership worthwhile.

Good luck on making your decision!

 

[toniosmom]

It's a very personal decision, but if you like deluxe accomodations and plan to go to WDW at least once a year for the next 10 years or so, it may be worth the money. If you don't care about the accomodations, and want to take advantage of special prices like free dining with value accomodations, then it is probably not the right decision to buy DVC.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Mtnman44]

Not to throw cold water on it but since you are asking for opinions....

I personally don't think buying a 40 or 50 year timeshare lease is a good idea for a mid 60's couple. The key benefit in buying DVC is some substantial savings over the long run. I don't think you have enough time to make the savings all that great compared to the risk and opportunity costs you are taking on.

I hope you are healthy and mobile for decades, but the statistical reality is that by the mid 70's age, both are at or past average life expectancy. Other health and age issues will likely make travel and theme parks difficult if not impossible.

If it were me, I would invest the purchase money in relatively liquid, interest bearing accounts and use that money for vacation lodging. I don't see this as a step down from DVC. This may actually be a far superior way for you to visit WDW. Think about it...more resort choices, possible free dining deals, no need to plan 11 months in advance (more last minute trips!), etc etc.

 

[dvcterry]

we became members (BCV) in 2002 and brought my sister & her family and my parents down the following year for a grand gathering at BW in a GV. They loved DVC so much they each became members in 2003. I was surprised my parents became members~they never said they were going to take a tour on that trip but I am so happy they did. We just stayed at WL/BLT split stay this Aug. and my mom called all the time to ask how was WL. We loved it! So she'll be looking to go there soon! She loves HHI and Vero too. But maybe she secretly likes having the kitchen and washer/dryer. Regardless I'm happy DVC has something for everyone and maybe you'll find it's right for you!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Hubby and I are in our very early forties and are dealing with fertillity issues.
We hope to have children or adopt. IF not...

We will be in our early 70s when our Boardwalk contract expires, so that should work out pretty good...However, if we happen to expire before our contract...we purposely brainwashed our nephews to love Disney. We may leave them the money for the dues.

 

[Friendofpluto]

If you have the income and it makes you happy, then it would be a pos. I would consider resale to get your money's worth now. I would also look only at the resort you plan on staying at. If you plan on resale, several Dis members can help guide you. Good Luck on your decision.

 

[GranddadTom]

If I were you I wouldn't hesitate for even a second in buying points on the resale market assuming you have the cash to do so. My wife and I bought points 5 years ago as we were entering our 60’s and it has been great for us. Both of us have adequate annuity plans and, frankly, have all the cash we need. One problem we have is how to invest the funds that we have outside of our annuity plans. We like Disney and have gone there often since 1973. We decided to pull some money our of an IRA and “invest” it in Disney points. If it all goes “poof”, I could care less. After all, isn’t that what stock market investments do? For us, the bottom line is that the points cost us annually $5 per point in maintenance costs. Do you think we like staying in a studio at the Boardwalk for $55 a night? You bet we do. I haven’t checked recently what my points are “worth”, i.e. what they are selling for, but I’ll bet they’re no worse than my stock market investments.

 

[eliza61]

Personally and this is just my gut talking, without crunching any numbers.

Any thing I can do for 20 years and get a great deal of enjoyment from, is pretty much a win-win in my book.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

My DH and I are in our mid 60's and have no children. I think we would love it for about 20 years, if we live that long. What about the other 20 years? We LOVE the Wilderness lodge and would LOVE to spend lots of time there. I just don't know if it would make sense for us. Help?

I bought because I loved Disney and the resort area and would love it for many years to come! How many years, sorry no crystal ball but when my times up, my son and his family can enjoy it!

You have no children but you can leave it to a friend or family or better yet donate it to a children's charity like Make A wish Foundation when the time comes that neither of you are able to enjoy it !

Go fot it~

 

[dbs1228]

One more thing we looked into dvc over 5 years ago (when we were getting a good return on our money) and I could not see tying up the money for a contract when I could vacation on the interest of that money. Well..... we all know what happened and I would have been way better off investing the 25000.00 or so for the # of points we were looking at back then because since then I have lost that money through the stock market, bonds etc... I would have at least had my vacations prepaid. Just my perspective.

 

[Granny]

I think we would love it for about 20 years, if we live that long. What about the other 20 years? We LOVE the Wilderness lodge and would LOVE to spend lots of time there.

Personally and this is just my gut talking, without crunching any numbers.

Any thing I can do for 20 years and get a great deal of enjoyment from, is pretty much a win-win in my book.

I agree with Eliza. If you purchase a VWL contract via the resale market it will only have 31 years left on it as that resort's contracts expire in early 2042. If you get 20 good years out of visiting WDW, then I think your costs will be well worth it. My only suggestion would be to get enough points for a one bedroom villa so you can really enjoy the luxury of DVC with the kitchen, living room and in-room washer/dryer. Even when it's just my wife and I, we book a one bedroom villa.

By the way, I am in total agreement with your feelings about Wilderness Lodge. And the DVC villas give you all the same great atmosphere with the additional amenities I listed above.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[adminjedi]

Buy and pass on to your kids when you think the time is right???

They mentioned they do not have kids.