Should we buy or not?

[The Princess]

We are thinking of becoming a DVC owner in the SSR. We live in Pittsburgh and just wanted some info pros and cons. Will it be worth it for us? Not sure of how many point we will purchase. Thanks in advance.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Originally posted by The Princess
We are thinking of becoming a DVC owner in the SSR. We live in Pittsburgh and just wanted some info pros and cons. Will it be worth it for us? Not sure of how many point we will purchase. Thanks in advance.

Number of points you need depends on the size of your family, what time of year you plan to vacation and size of the room you want while there. For example, if you have a family of 4, do you want a studio or a 1BR?

If you go to WDW at least once per year (maybe even every other year) and stay in deluxe accomodations while you are there. DVC could save you some money. It could also depend on the size of your family. I have a family of six and DVC beats two connecting rooms in price by far and away.

Really it comes down to what your vacations patterns are. If you don't have a vacation pattern, DVC may also be for you because it will cause you to get into one and spend time with the family.

The biggest con for me is that my points expire in only 38 years.

HBC

 

[carlos1117]

Purchasing as an investment is the wrong thing to do. Search your feelings and emotions.

 

[tjkraz]

DVC isn't right for everyone, but you're asking a group of total strangers to determine if it's right for you.

Tell us a little bit about your vacation patterns. How often? How long? How many in your family? Ages? Where do you normally stay?

 

[av8tor]

DVC isn't for everyone but if you plan to go to WDW at least once a year then it probably makes sense for you. No one should buy DVC as a financial investment but rather as an investment in your families future vacations. We bought not only for my family but so we could also share the magic with other family and friend who might not otherwise have the opportunity. Before you buy make sure to look into both SSR and the resales at the other resorts. The resales are cheaper but have less years remaining. Most people here will tell you to decide where you most want to stay and buy there. I really believe in this advice, everything else is secondary if the location is important to you. Good Luck!!

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by av8tor
DVC isn't for everyone but if you plan to go to WDW at least once a year then it probably makes sense for you.

Unless the OP:

- Likes to make short stays over long weekends.

- Currently stays at Value resorts for financial reasons.

- Can't book trips very far in advance due to job or family obligations.

- Likes to stay at ALL of the different WDW resorts, and plans to continue this pattern.

- Wants to use DVC points to frequently trade-out to other timeshares and resorts worldwide.

- Has 5 or more members of the family (may not be able to justify points for a 2B.)

Too many variables to really offer good advice. Send more details!!!

 

[tamu91]

Without more details (i.e. vacation patterns, hotel preferences, family situation, etc.) it's hard to say whether you should or shouldn't buy into DVC. However, I'm guessing you're a frequent WDW visitor since you knew to post your question here.
With that said, if your family visits WDW at least once a year and likes staying on-site, you should at least consider the possibility of DVC ownership.
Amount of points you need depends on what you are looking to do. If you have a small family, 100-150 pts. might be all you need. If you want to vacation with your extended family or friends or want the possibities of trading out of DVC, you might need 200-250 pts.

 

[twotoohappy]

I found this DVC analysis on the web. It's from badshoe and it's really informative. I hope it helps!
http://www.badshoe.com/dvc_analysis.htm

 

[tixx]

its great fun, but there are many better things you can do with your money...the yearly maintenance fee don't forget to factor that in

 

[WDW LOVR]

We had a lot of the same questions. We finally figured if we were going to go to WDW at least once a year we should do it (We'll do 4 trips between the June just past and next May, the spring break trip and May anniversary trip our first as DVC members). Like others have said, it enables us to stay at luxury resorts at moderate or value resort prices.

As to whether to buy at SSR or resale, we decided we created a couple of DS nuts, so we would go with SSR so they would be able to enjoy the benefits for 12 years longer (plus we will make two trips before ever making a payment) as I don't imagine I'll be around in 2054.

We really enjoy the Boardwalk area but figured if we couldn't get a spot at BWV or BCV at the 7 month window, that SSR or OKW would be just as much fun - after all, if you're at the Happiest place on the planet, how can it be bad?

 

[crisi]

Also don't forget that you are making a committment to Disney vacations - which are expensive. Airfare, park tickets and food make WDW an expensive choice - even when your accomodation are "paid for" - which they aren't - you still pay dues and those dues are enough to put you up offsite someplace rather nice.

However, if you can afford the initial outlay, and it looks like you will be able to afford dues and vacations in the future, you go every few years as it is, and you already prefer on-site resorts - moderate or deluxes, and don't find that likely to change.....almost everyone here has been very happy they bought.

 

[Disney Doll]

Yes, of course you should buy!

But seriously... it depends on several factors. Let me tell you a little about DH's and my decision-making process.

We went to WDW on our honeymoon. I had been there a few times prior to that. DH had been to the MK once for about 2 hours. We both decided it was a place we would like to return to more often. Let me say at this point my DH is a realtor by profession.For the next 5-6 years after our honeymoon, we went to WDW once, and sometimes twice, per year.When we were there on our honeymoon, they were just building OKW. I wanted to buy then, but DH thought that perhaps we should save to buy a house first(practical, practical ).

Anyhow, fast forward to 1997. We had bought our house, we were still loving WDW. We were there on a quickie weekend which we had planned last minute and gotten some great deals on airfare and hotel. DH was talking to the DVC CM in the lobby of the WL, and viola! We were doing the tour.

I would have bought that day(isn't that what AMEX is for???), but DH, being the more practical out of the 2 of us, wanted to go home and think about it, and review the paperwork, the financing, "run some numbers".

Well, over the next 2 weeks, DH looked at this every which way he could, from every angle, including what the money would be earning in the bank, in investments etc. The bottom line was that he really couldn't find a way that it would be a bad investment, so we bought. Some of our tips:

1. If you are fairly sure you will be going to WDW at least every other year, it's a worthwhile investment. If you go every year, it's a very worthwhile investment. If you go more than once a year, it's a no-brainer.
2. If you buy from Disney, take the 10 year loan, as it has the lowest monthly payment. You can always pay them more every month to pay it off quicker(which is what we did), but if you have a month where money is a little "tight", all you have to come up with is the low monthly payment. We also liked the loan because it was easier for us to work the $130 payment into our monthly budget.
3. Once you pay off the loan and are then only paying the dues, it really becomes a financial plus! You're basically getting deluxe accomodations at a VERY reasonable cost!
4. You are, in effect, paying for tomorrow's vacations at today's prices.
5. You have great flexibility, and can change the way you use your points as your needs & your family's needs change.
6. Consider mixing resorts during your stay to maximize points. We would arrive on a Friday, and stay Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Sunday night in a regular WDW resort(where we could usually find a deal by using mousesavers.com or something), and then we'd move to the DVC resort for the remainder of our trip, checking out the next Friday so we didn't use points for the higher Friday night stay. That way, you don't blow a lot of points on the higher weekend nights, and it almost seems like 2 vacations, since you get to experience 2 different resorts. Disney moves your stuff, so it's not really that big of a deal. We really always enjoyed doing that.
7. If you buy resale, there are some creative ways to pay for it. We have friends who used their home equity line of credit(thus getting the tax advantage). We have friends who used their Disney VISA, got the reward dollars and then paid it off the next month using their home equity line of credit(thus getting the rewards dollars and the tax advantage). My DH had a colleague who used their Disney VISA, got the reward dollars, and then paid it off the next month using cash! There probably aren't a ton of people that can afford to do that without inheriting a huge sum of money, but these folks both had great jobs. They used the Disney VISA first to get the rewards dollars, so it was sort of a bonus.
8. Buy where you want to stay, if you have a location that is really important to you. DH and I own 2 contracts at OKW. We like the resort, the dues are the cheapest, the point values are the cheapest, and the times of year we travel are such that, in general, we don't have a problem staying in any of the other DVC properties when we want to. However, if you are a person who is just not happy unless you are in the Boardwalk area(so you'd like the Boardwalk Villas or the Beach Club Villas), or you are just not happy unless you can buzz over to the MK whenever you want(so you'd like the Wilderness Lodge Villas), then buy points in a resort located with easy access to one of those areas. If you love the Downtown Disney area, then Saratoga Springs is probably the place for you. Old Key West has a boat or a walkway to get you to Downtown Disney, but it's claim to fame is being located on the golf course, having condo-style rather than hotel-style set-up, and having the biggest units size-wise.

This is some starting information. Feel free to PM me with any quesitons. We are happy to help "newbies" in any way we can.

It is one decision that DH and I have made that we have never regretted. It is a fabulous way to vacation.