snowbirding

[dvc at last !]

...interesting...

 

[DISNEY FIX]

I better retire with a boat load of money because the maint. fees on that many points would be out of this world.

 

[Dizny Dad]

I better retire with a boat load of money because the maint. fees on that many points would be out of this world.

Ahhhhhhh, Maintenance Fees . . . . . . the only medicine that is effective against Addonitis!

 

[Dizny Dad]

DW and I have also discussed the possibility of using the DVC as a "snowbird" vehicle. My intent is to have a timeshare other than Disney that can allow us to take two weeks to travel to WDW, enjoy WDW for four weeks, and then travel for two weeks back north. DW would just like to stay at The World for the eight weeks.

We have a decade to work out the differences.

 

[jade1]

On the other hand, you could buy 10 weeks (2bdr lockoff) at the Marriott in Palm Desert for about 80k. Have a 1 bedroom for 10 weeks, a studio for 10 weeks and probably easily trade for weeks in Orlando or elsewhere at one of the Marriott properties. Onging cost would be about 10k per year and you wouldn't be tied to a single location. I know it wouldn't be exactly the same..............Just something to think about.

That is true, but I think most of us are interested in the DVC at WDW and dreaming of doing it for long winter stretches. Knowing you could sell some of DVC easily after 10 years (or whatever) actually helps makes it a strong possibility. There are millions of ways to snowbird (many cheaper), but none would be like DVC at WDW IMO.

 

[StitchFan73]

LOL-we are still in the acquiring stage-as in I am trying to acquire a DVC. But during the DVC tour our guide told us that some of her customers winter in WDW and our reaction was

 

[MdmMim]

I normally spend 8-10 days in Dec, return home for the holidays, then arrive back at WDW for most of Jan, maybe into the first part of Feb.

I do have one problem--I just love big snowstorms. When I am home, I have nowhere to go, so I just sit and watch the snow pile up.

I love WDW in the winter, but I do miss the snow.

 

[Pixieflip]

thanks for all the replies!
we also look at it this way, over the course of time , if we bought 2000 pts, approx $200k, it is still less expensive than many 1 b-room golf condos around fla where you still have maint fees, but not as many amenities (trash&towel, full clean every 8days gated community, security)
you have sole responsibility year round when you are not there etc etc.
it may not be perfect, but we think it's a viable option.

Yep, our thoughts exactly.

 

[DarleneW]

We have decided to do the same thing. We are in the processing of purchasing additional points so when we retire in 3 to 5 years, we can get away from the NJ cold for a few weeks.

 

[lbdpw1285]

We have decided to do the same thing. We are in the processing of purchasing additional points so when we retire in 3 to 5 years, we can get away from the NJ cold for a few weeks.

darlene,
near your dis ID it says you are from jersey shore.
we are also, monmouth county.
we have been able to do the month of january so far the last 3 years.
hopefully in 3 more years we can do jan and feb, maybe part of march.
we take the auto train so we have wheels and dont have to rent.
it works out fairly well.

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

Snowbirding at Disney ---Sounds like a dream, a goal to help motiviate me to continue the daily grind for the next 15-20 years. ....I think I will have DH read this post. I could probably convince him of a 4-6 week goal for our retirement. I especially like the post comparing the cost of the 1bdrm. condos. That might give me some leverage...

 

[ilovethisplace]

Slightly off topic and just to be clear I am NOT a realtor, but there are 4 bedroom condos for sale in Davenport for $19,000. I am a proud owner at OKW but for the cost of less than 200 points...

 

[Dizny Dad]

Slightly off topic and just to be clear I am NOT a realtor, but there are 4 bedroom condos for sale in Davenport for $19,000. I am a proud owner at OKW but for the cost of less than 200 points...

But . . . .

I am not throwing stones here, just some initial thoughts. Who supports the condo association? What incentive do they have of keeping up maintenance fees to meet expenses to keep things as they are? Who takes care of the condo when the owner is not there? Just thoughts. I am obviously not a condo owner, nor know anything about it. I just wanted to express these thoughts for conversation in this thread.

I like the idea that Disney is really motivated to keep things up for the public reputation thet need to have to continue to be the world's number one vacation spot.

 

[bwvBound]

Slightly off topic and just to be clear I am NOT a realtor, but there are 4 bedroom condos for sale in Davenport for $19,000. I am a proud owner at OKW but for the cost of less than 200 points...

Oh, my. Why did you have to mention this idea? Now I've gone and wasted 30 minutes pouring over realtor.com. I had no idea of the bargain condo prices near WDW (Lake Buena Vista and near by areas w/in 20 miles). Goodness ... dare I consider selling two of my DVC contracts and adding another "full-share" to our lives? No ... get this thought outta my head. I'm too far from Orlando for this to make any sense ...

 

[DarleneW]

darlene,
near your dis ID it says you are from jersey shore.
we are also, monmouth county.
we have been able to do the month of january so far the last 3 years.
hopefully in 3 more years we can do jan and feb, maybe part of march.
we take the auto train so we have wheels and dont have to rent.
it works out fairly well.

We live in Ocean County. We just purchased 200 points from the Timeshare store and are just waiting for the sellers to send in their paperwork so we can close. That will give us 350 points to at least be able to spend a couple of weeks in warmth. My DH has about 2 more years before retirement and I have about 5. The autotrain sounds good. We've never done that. We figured we would just be driving so we would have a car but the autotrain is something to look into.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Revisiting this great topic...Anyone else take the snowbirding plunge? Or the condo plunge alternative? Has this VERY chilly Orlando winter changed anyone's minds???

We were just about to add-on toward our snowbirding goal but the attractive prices of real estate very near WDW (compared to monthly Membership Dues) are making us think twice.

 

[n2mm]

It's a thought of ours. We go to WDW 6 weeks a year now and still have points to bank each year. We may do one month in January one year. I can retire this year when I reach the magical age of 55 this fall. My DH is already retired. In this case we would drive to WDW to save on airfare and rental car expenses. However we would have to do a studio as this would take about 300 of our 710 points, and we have to save some points for the kids for the spring and fall trips. Still doeable. Not in 2011, but maybe 2012.

 

[bobbiwoz]

DH and I hope to spend at least 5 weeks in Florida using DVC points once we retire. I have a DSis who will take care of my pet during that time. No, the terrible cold winter in Florida didn't discourage us, and we witnessed the freeze ourselves. This was taken on January 10th this year in Florida!

Bobbi

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

 

[bobbiwoz]

Yes, but notice the sunshine! In Ohio, a day like that would be cloudy and drab besides freezing!
Bobbi