slo’s MONDAY 3/24 poll - Traditional Timeshares or Disney DVC

[slo]

This topic has been heavy on my thoughts since we’ve been home, because we went on a DVC Open House at the end of our trip. My family isn’t new to the timeshare world - my in-laws had 2 traditional timeshares. One was in the Clearwater, FL area and another was in Orlando, FL. They were both very nice, but nothing I wanted, so they sold them. They weren’t very happy with me, since we go to to WDW, but I just like staying on property when we go to WDW. If we do decide to become DVC members, we will most absolutely not be telling them about it. So I’m curious today about your thoughts on traditional time shares or Disney DVC. So let’s talk about timeshares today…….

Do you currently own a timeshare?
If yes…… is it a traditional timeshare or is it Disney DVC
What is your opinion of owning either?
Have you owned a timeshare in the past?
Did you sell it or did you give it to a family member?
(multiple choice)



For Me…….As I mentioned above we are currently not owning any type of timeshare or DVC, but we are considering it. I’m like a pendulum in regards to making this decision - one minute the pendulum swings towards doing it and then the next time the pendulum swings towards not doing it. We will be making a final decision by the end of this week.

 

[Kitty 34]

I don't "own" anything.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We own DVC, and enjoy using it. We have owned since 2003 and because of health and age concerns, we are selling some points.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I own DVC I had four contracts I sold all four contracts for reasons I’m not going to get into and then I have re-purchased back into DVC because I do love owning DVC I have never owned any other timeshare
I have bought resale and I have bought direct everybody’s journey is different and I respect everyone decision on how they go about their journey to DVC I feel there’s no right or wrong answer because everyone’s situation is different on what they want and how they want it I don’t judge
For me personally I immensely enjoy staying at the DVC properties- don’t get me wrong I enjoy staying at Pop Century too but how much prefer Bay Lake or Animal Kingdom Lodge and I like knowing that I can just look it up and book me a room with my points and it’s all taken care of and I don’t have to throw any cash at it

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I have never owned a timeshare. I have heard so many horror stories about them. I would be afraid get involved with any type of timeshare. As far as DVC, I am not really familiar with that so I couldn't comment one way or another.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We've never owned timeshares and don't plan to buy any. We have stayed in WDW dvc resorts on cash reservations for the 2 br villas and renting points for the studio. We really didn't like the studio at all. The bathroom has only one sink. The room has one queen and a sofa bed and/or Murphy bed. A regular resort room is much nicer. We will never rent points again. We couldn't cancel our trip when we rented points last year without losing our money when something came up.

I think the biggest negative I hear about is how hard it is to get the dates and resort you want when it is time to book a trip.

 

[bennifer]

We are DVC at the Poly. Have 2 contracts. We absolutely love it, especially when younger DS was little. However, our vacations lately have veered from Disney. This past June we were able to use it for Aulani, and that was fantastic, so we are still getting use out of it.

 

[easyas123]

We've never owned a time share. We do however rent DVC points when possible for trips to WDW. We've done the math several times, never made sense to purchase - but always makes sense to rent the points!

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Other. My dad owned a points based timeshare with Diamond Resorts. In theory, I inherited it last year when he died.

At first, DH and I were planning on keeping it. But then, we realized the growing limitations after Hilton bought it and the increasing maintenance costs.

We love staying at a handful of the old Diamond resorts in Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. We even visited with my parents at a couple of the Orlando resorts, they seemed alright. But, the places we could visit seem confining too. And I would hate to be in a situation where I wanted to visit on place, but don't because I have more timeshare points to burn.

So we never finished the paperwork to complete the transfer.

At this point, I'm content to rent other people's points, etc. It's worked really well for us the last several years.

This summer, we're going to Hawaii for a couple of weeks and visiting Oahu, the Big Island and Maui. All three resorts are timeshares. We did the same thing 7 years ago during our last visit.

And next winter DD and I are doing another girl's trip to WDW. We're borrowing points and staying in the Beach Club Villas. Very exciting.

 

[Dan Murphy]

No timedhsres here, DVC or otherwise.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We do not own any kind of timeshare/DVC and have no desire.

My MIL has one and we used it once for a cheap trip. I was not impressed with hers. My FIL had one for ages that he never used. He offered to will it to us before his passing, but we read the terms and it was just not worth it. We've sat through a few presentations for freebies like show tickets in Vegas and Medieval Times in Orlando, but the whole industry feels so scammy. We have old friends who have DVC and even they complain. They've made it work, but have found that they can never get their home resort and are often disappointed with what they do get as they can't always plan trips far enough in advance (due to their schedule constraints) to make it really work to their advantage. I don't know all of the ins and outs but I know they don't think DVC is the amazing thing some make it out to be. I heard something similar from a friend who was gifted DVC years ago as an engagement gift. Ultimately, we like going too many different places and often don't see the value in Disney to consider DVC. i.e. we enjoy Disney but the price to quality ratio has shifted a lot over he years, making DVC far less enticing.

 

[lovesmurfs]

We nearly did -- we fell for a Marriott deal (IIRC--it was 30+ years ago) but used the 3-day exit clause. Since then, I've heard too many horror stories of people trying to get out of their timeshares to ever want to consider it.

I do understand that DVC is a little more sellable, but I still don't want one.

 

[Micca]

We are DVC members, it has worked out very nicely for us

 

[AppleDumpling]

Have never owned, no desire. Stayed only once at a timeshare, many years ago, with friends who owned one in Kissimmee.

 

[hhisc16]

This topic has been heavy on my thoughts since we’ve been home, because we went on a DVC Open House at the end of our trip. My family isn’t new to the timeshare world - my in-laws had 2 traditional timeshares. One was in the Clearwater, FL area and another was in Orlando, FL. They were both very nice, but nothing I wanted, so they sold them. They weren’t very happy with me, since we go to to WDW, but I just like staying on property when we go to WDW. If we do decide to become DVC members, we will most absolutely not be telling them about it. So I’m curious today about your thoughts on traditional time shares or Disney DVC. So let’s talk about timeshares today…….

Do you currently own a timeshare?
If yes…… is it a traditional timeshare or is it Disney DVC
What is your opinion of owning either?
Have you owned a timeshare in the past?
Did you sell it or did you give it to a family member?
(multiple choice)



For Me…….As I mentioned above we are currently not owning any type of timeshare or DVC, but we are considering it. I’m like a pendulum in regards to making this decision - one minute the pendulum swings towards doing it and then the next time the pendulum swings towards not doing it. We will be making a final decision by the end of this week.

View attachment 950712
View attachment 950713

Bought DVC in 2021 and love it!
(we own resale and direct)

 

[soccerdad72]

Yes, we own points with Westin (now merged with Marriott). In essence, we own enough for 8 nights in a one bedroom condo in Maui once a year or a two bedroom every other year.

 

[loves to dive]

Don't own any kind of time share and have no desire to. If I want to own something, I want to own it and not share it with others to tear it up or not be able to use it when I want to use it without having to jump through hoops. I have stayed in some DVC villas and we stayed in what I'm guessing was a time share on two dive trips to Grand Cayman (although that might have just been an individually owned condo that was rented out).

 

[disney212]

We love our DVC, BLT and BWV. My dad owned SSR and had to sell in 2019, he sold the contract for more than he paid for it. We go yearly at a minimum. Direct purchase for ours.

 

[GAN]

We’ve owned DVC for almost 20-years …bought when the kids were young and we’ve taken so many great vacations. Now, my kids use the points for the most part. A lot of people try to rationalize the “investment” but there are so many factors. First, you should be comfortable knowing that Disney is a place you’d like to visit regularly for the next 50-years(and your family as the term may outlast you). Financially, it was a sound “investment” …we paid up front so that helps, the value has held strong -I could sell my contract with relative ease and get back 100% of my money. The cost of the maintenance fees has been offset by renting my points out -which is ridiculously easy with such high demand …renting points out in a year we didn’t plan on going nets enough money to cover 2+ years of fees. So we’ve had dozens of trips and loads of memories with my children, family, and friends -there is no price tag for that. The prices today look staggering compared to when I bought but I suppose it’s all relative. Based on my experiences, I couldn’t recommend DVC enough -in fact, I’m looking at maybe buying a new contract with my daughter so she’ll have something way beyond my life…

 

[kanerf]

I own DVC and love it, recently purchased some resales that put me into the 1000 point club. I own other time shares as well, Hilton and Wyndham, but my reasons are a bit different. These are not used for vacation. I live in them during the week in the DC area so that I do not have to pay rent. Hilton has one DC area location in Georgetown and Wyndham has one in Alexandria, VA and National Harbor, MD and between the 3 of these I usually stay during the week, about 45 weeks out of the year. The other weeks I am either staying in a hotel or I am on vacation in one of my DVC time shares.