Should I purchase a DVC membership?

[jfptn]

We go to WDW at least every other year, and sometimes every year. Would a DVC membership be worth it?

 

[Pirate Jack]

Do you see yourself continuing this trend for the next 10 - 20 years? If so, then this is probably for you. I have gone to Disney at least once a year for the last 18 years. I am sorry that I did not purchase earlier. For us, it was not the right time. Now, is a different story and we just purchased a small resale in April. We are looking forward to out next trip as DVC members.

 

[Brancaneve]

Although you can travel to non DVC locations, the best bang for your buck(points is to go to a DVC property. We were a little sucked in by being able to use Interval Intl(now RCI) but now we realize that the only place we want to go is WDW, DL and the cruises. We just feel so at home at the DVC resorts that now a regular hotel room just doesn't cut it for us anymore. We have also had the best family vacations in WDW and we will never forget the memories and wonderful experiences. Staying at a DVC resort really enhanced our experience! We would have had to pay about $6000 out of pocket for a week at Animal Kingdom and a week long cruise! Ouch!


But there are more and more options like Hawaii, cruises on the west coast(we live in CA) and the new GCV villas in Disneyland.

The only problem is we need more points!!!

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

We go to WDW at least every other year, and sometimes every year. Would a DVC membership be worth it?

We are in the process of purchasing a DVC membership after many years of thinking about it. We enjoy going to WDW every other year and staying at deluxe resorts. After doing the math, we realize this is a good deal for us. Think about what type of resorts you stay at while at Disney and price it out. Hopefully that will help you.

 

[gtrist4life]

Yes you should purchase.................

 

[rentayenta]

Join join join!!! I have the next 4 years of trip planned out. 2 Disney, Mexico, and Europe.

 

[JW2]

I think that there are a few things to consider - as another poster stated - will you keep the trend of every year or second year to WDW for at least some time. Secondly, if you are budget minded and stay in value resorts or off site, then it may not be for you. We figured we will do a trip every year or 2nd year; may not even do parks but be able to hang around pools/beaches AND have the luxury of beautiful rooms with full kitchens. The possibility of II or RCI now was an extra bonus and we're not even sure we'll try it.

We have no regrets yet. And nothing is forever - it's a hassle I'm sure, but one can always sell.

 

[disneynutz]

Your best bet is to keep reading the DIS. There is a wealth of info here.

 

[quirty30]

I think you're asking the wrong people if you want us to talk you out of it.

 

[Sandisw]

Yes, if you see WDW as a place you want to continue visiting. We love it and have been going since 1994 almost every year!

We bought DVC this year because of BLT (we liked to stay at the CR for the walk to/from MK, our favorite park and didn't buy in sooner because we didn't want to stay at the other DVC resorts).

I LOVE knowing that my vacation is all set for the next 50 years (well...not for me, but hopefully, my kids and grandkids someday will be)

And, now that all the initial money has been spent, the only room costs will be my dues and it will feel like I am saving a ton every year!!!!

 

[RLRDA]

As a previous poster said, no one here is going to talk you out of joining, but it doesn't hurt to inform yourself as much as possible. Here's a link to a great thread you may find helpful: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2152512. Good luck with your decision!

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

Originally posted by: jfptn
Should I purchase a DVC membership?
We go to WDW at least every other year, and sometimes every year. Would a DVC membership be worth it?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: quirty30
I think you're asking the wrong people if you want us to talk you out of it.

OP - The frequenters of the dvc section of the disboards are quite possibly the most biased audience you could have asked this question.

This is a question only you can answer with considerations being strongly given to the financial aspects and obligations of dvc ownership (up front costs and/or loans, annual dues, cost of wdw vacations besides accommodations), identifying future vacation plans & habits, knowing your personal (& family) situation regarding the ability to plan vacations far in advance and knowing and understanding all the rules that go along with DVC ownership and how the system works.

The fact that you go every other year or more frequent would make you a possible candidate for dvc ownership but there are many other factors to be considered. As others have said, you will find a wealth of knowledge and information here regarding the dvc which may be of benefit in making your decision. I would suggest you read up on all aspects of the dvc and ask as many questions you have, here and/or on other dvc forums. You should know exactly what you are getting in to before making any decisions as is with any legal contract.

 

[RCharnay]

We used to take vacations every 4 years or so and stay at moderate resorts. As we gained a better financial picture, we starting going more often and longing for the deluxe resorts (although I could never talk myself into putting over the cash for one.) I'm sorry we didn't buy into DVC sooner. By pre-paying I have given myself permission to take the kind of vacation I want and not feel guilty about coming up with the money. Although we are saving great amounts over paying OOP for a deluxe resort, I don't fool myself into thinking I am saving money on my vacation. I still spend a bundle because now I can focus my available cash on better dining, staying longer, taking more family and friends. But I think it is a great investment in my family and our making of happy memories. It's funny but, even though we are fairly new to this, I feel we've already gotten our money's worth out of it. ( I know, I know...too much of the kool-aid.) But the last few trips we've taken have at least assured me we made the right decision for our family.

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

I still spend a bundle because now I can focus my available cash on better dining, staying longer, taking more family and friends. But I think it is a great investment in my family and our making of happy memories.

This is exactly what happens and exactly how we look at it as well. The investment in the family (and close friends) is what makes it all worth while.

I know many people, including myself, that when they had purchased DVC, thought they would save money only to find that years later, we are spending more money now, but on different aspects/portions of the trip(s). Instead of spending 2-3k on accommodations, now it is spent on more frequent trips (more airfaires, car rentals or limo transfers), longer stays, in larger accommodations, on fine dining, buying AP's instead of hoppers, bringing other people (famly/friends), taking tours, specialty cruises and on and on. I even thought we would save money on food by having a kitchen and cooking which now seems almost laughable in hind sight. We do utilize it for a light breakfast (bagel, english muffin,etc) here and there but that is the extent of our cooking while on vacation at wdw. I always laugh when I see threads about "saving money by owning DVC" as I personally dont see it happening.

 

[chalee94]

Your best bet is to keep reading the DIS. There is a wealth of info here.

x 2.

it's a good idea for many wdw fans but do take time to read the DVC forums to learn the ins and outs. and consider starting with a DVC rental or a small contract to try things out before jumping in with both feet...

 

[dmoore22]

We agonized over whether to purchase or not to purchase. We did the math, created scenarios, analyzed the excel spreadsheets over and over again. Normally we would save and take a vacation once every 5 to 8 years or a special trip when one of our kids graduated. Would it be worth it for us with our vacation patterns? We did a lot of rationalizing. Then decided, what the heck. We were fortunate and found a resale at a very reasonable price that included a year's worth of banked points. We found another resale in which the seller paid a year's maintenance fees. Initially our elation turned to buyer's remorse when we started to wonder why we got such a great deal on a resale. Perhaps we bought someone else's problem? Perhaps it wasn't such a great deal? etc., etc. After 7 years of ownership we are as happy as can be. We vacation more often than we did in the past. We manage to visit WDW at least twice a year for less than we would normally spend for an abbreviated stay at a value or moderate resort. I'm not sure if it would be as cost effective today considering the deals such as book 4 nights and get 3 for free or other incentives Disney is using to fill the parks and rooms. In spite of this we are toying with the idea of another add-on.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'll give you my long story/opinion:

DH & I got married in 1991 & went to WDW for our honeymoon. We stayed at the Beach Club Hotel. Driving around WDW one day, we saw OKW being built. I said "We should look into that" since we had already decided that WDW was going to be a place that we were going to be going on a pretty regular basis. DH, the realtor, thought that perhaps we should save for & buy a house before we bought a vacation timeshare...Mr. Logical. So that's what we did. We spent the next few years going to WDW 1 or 2 times/year, staying in moderates for the most part, with an occasional foray back to the Beach Club or over to the Swan/Dolphin. We bought a house in 1994 & bought our first DVC contract (200 points @ OKW) in 1997. I will tell you that my DH the realtor looked at this purchase every which way from Sunday and determined that there was no way we would probably get hurt financially. We took out the 10 year loan, since that had the lowest monthly payment requirement...we figured that all we HAD to pay was the low payment, but we could always add more to it to pay it off more quickly. One thing we did quickly determine was that we would get the best return on our investment once the initial loan was paid off. So that's what we did....every month we would pay more toward the loan, and we got that 10 year loan paid off in about 3.5-4 years...it's been awhile now so I don't remember the specific time frame, but I know it was paid off by 2001. There were those who were of the opinion that we could have taken the $$ spent on DVC & invested it and gotten a better financial return on our investment, and they are probably correct. However, our train of thought was "This isn't a bad choice for us, we like Disney, we like going, we like being able to bring people with us, and if we are going to be coming here yearly anyway, why not be able to have bigger, better accomodations than just a regular hotel room?". The caveat here is that the cost of the DVC fit into our budget without causing any financial hardship whatsoever. I will say in no uncertain terms that, no matter how much we both love WDW, we would not have purchased DVC if it meant that something else was going to suffer. We were still able to save for retirement, we were still able to easily pay all our other bills, we were still able to do all the things we had been doing. Adding DVC wasn't a "stretch" for us.

So 2001, comes, DH's parents both get sick and die , DH gets left some money. We put osme of the money into home renovations, we put osme of the money into retirement accounts, we buy another 230 point DVC contract with some of the money!!! So, we currently have a total of 430 points, which allows us to stay for our whole vacation in a DVC property, instead of having to spend a couple of days in a moderate hotel (to conserve points) and then move to the DVC property. So it has given us more freedom and flexibility.

So basically what it boils down to is this...now that my DVCs are fully paid off, the only charges I have are the monthly maintenance fees, which amount to about $2000/year. For this $2000, so far I have spent 10 days in a 3 BR GV at OKW in January and will shortly be in a 2BR villa at OKW for 6 days in July. So, my deluxe-level accomodations for this year thus far have cost me $125/night...not bad....

When we were intially looking, DH determined that if we went to WDW either yearly or every other year, that it would still be a good investment. If you plan on going every other year, one year's points can be banked and used the next year. So for example, if you have a 150 point contract, that means that every other year you would have 300 points available for your use. You can do pretty well at a DVC with 300 points.

Some things to think about:
~Do you like planning vacations pretty far in advance? While we have sometimes been able to "sneak in" at the last minute, it really is better if you are able to do advance planning.
~Buy where you want to stay. Yes, they will tell you that you can stay anywhere with your points, and you can, depending on availability. If your vacation will be ruined if you cannot stay at the Beach Club, then make your home resort the Beach Club because it gives you the 11 month booking window, so you'll have a better chance of actually being able to stay at the Beach Club. When DH & I bought, OKW & BWV were the only 2 properties available. OKW was a bit cheaper per point, we looked at them both, we liked them both, we bought OKW. What we asked ourselves was "If we could never stay anywhere else on WDW property except for here at OKW, could we be happy?". The answer was yes, so that's where we bought. We have been fortunate because since we don't have kids, we travel at "off" times, so we haven't had much issue with getting in where we want, but the possibilty always exists that at any given time, there will only be availability to you in your home resort.
~Your best use of points is staying at a DVC resort. Yes, you can switch out with their sister timeshares, and go on cruises and even use points to stay at the Poly or the Carribbean Beach or some other non-DVC resort, but you will burn through points quickly that way. So, if you're buying DVC to be able to go on all sorts of other trips outside of the DVC resorts, just be aware that you go through points faster that way.
~You are buying a vacation experience. If you are truly a person who is happy staying in a cheapie motel because you literally spend from 6Am-midnight schlepping through the parks, you may not need DVC. I have noticed since buying DVC that our WDW vacations have a bit more of a relaxed pace. We tend to linger in the room a bit in the morning, we make a light breakfast (cereal, toast, fruit...we do not do any significant cooking on vacation...light breakfast and snacks mostly), we relax on the deck and look at the scenery. We go often enough now where if there is an attraction that is crowded, we feel no need to wait in the 2 hour line because "we'll see it next time". Sometimes we go to a park, don't ride a thing and just walk around soaking up the ambiance...the World Showcase in Epcot is one of our favorite places to do this. DVC and our ability to go more often because of it has afforded us this luxury. But, if you truly are the run, run, run type on a Disney vacation and don't see that changing, you may not need that extra bit of vacation luxury and, especially with some of the current discount offerss, you may do better staying in regular hotels. That really is something to consider.

So, think about it, long and hard. Think about your finances, think about what you want from vacation, think about how you vacation. We have never regretted our purchase, but DVC is not for everyone.

 

[smep013]

Yes.

 

[Hunclemarco]

I'd also mention that although some of the perks are good, you don't want to buy because of the perks...because they do change from time to time, and you'll read on the boards at times how people are upset about not having enough perks and so forth.
Technically, you're not buying into any perks; you're buying into room accomodations. If all of the perks were to disappear, would you still be satisfied? I only say this again because through your research, you will come across disgruntled people concerning perks.
With the time and money we can spend on DVC, it's been noted that Disney is not the type that "shows loyalty" to their die hard fans. They're a business. Not that i don't appreciate the perks, I really do, but this is a consideration if purchasing DVC.

 

[mdinme]

I have a hard time thinking and saying that a purhcase is wise... To wit:

You still spend money on maint/taxes (like a poster said) that often will total as much as the cost of several days in a resort. YOU could have instead used that money to simply rent from an owner and in doing so you'd still have ALL the thousands you used to advance pay dvc to own.

Advance is the key item here. You're advancing someone money for a future item (in this case a room rental). I know of very few financial advisors that recommend sucha purchase nor do I ever here of FA's recommending the purchase of any time share period.

When you sign on for a 15K payment, add interest that makes the loan amount even higher you've advanced money to them, money that you could have had earing interest or simply giving you piece of mind.

I can't recommend that to anyone, but perhaps, if you're loaded, have a truly secure job, do not want to deal with renting from dvc owners (at $9 pp you can get 6 nights at AKV in a one bedroom which can be cheaper that 1 year of tax and maint) and generally like to spend wildly go ahead!