So glad I have DVC

[DebbieB]

After reading some of the threads on the discount board, I'm glad I don't have to go through all this anxiety.

Disney should have either no discounts or discounts for all!!

So are the rest of us totally out of luck?

With all the discussion about free dining, I went online and priced the "free dining" promotion for my 6 night BWV stay in late October. 1 bedroom, 6 nights, 2 adults = $3,848 (includes 2 two day tickets). I'm using 175 points. If I used $10 per point as a comparison, that's $1,750. Then pay for 2 adult dining plans for 6 nights = $504. We have AP's, don't need tickets. Total = $2,254. About 40% off. Even if I used $13 per point, still a 28% discount. Doesn't take into consideration that I have a boardwalk view, which you can't get through CRO, also free internet. I'll keep my DVC.

 

[mousefan1972]

I saw those same threads and had the same reaction.

I really don't miss the waiting-for-a-discount anxiety game at all. Also, many people had to change their dates and/or resort to take advantage of free dining. No thanks; I'll take my DVC anyday!

 

[JimMIA]

I didn't look at the thread, but the OP on the "discounts for all or discounts for none" thread obviously doesn't appreciate the "discounts for all" that apply to the Disney Dining Plan.

With the regular DDP, over the last 3-4 years, they've raised the price about $10 per day per adult. Ah...but discounts for all! They discounted the benefits of DDP and lowered the food quality about 30-35% -- for ALL!

For those that impacted, they created the CS plan -- which gives you zero sit-down meals for the price of the old full DDP, back when it included the appetizer and an 18% gratuity! If that's not a discount available to all, I don't know what is!

And don't even get me started on how they've discounted the park tickets the last 5 years!

The Mouse loves us!

 

[Granny]

Debbie...hang on to those links and pull them out the next time you see a thread titled "DVC just doesn't make financial sense to me with all the codes and discounts".

Okay, that's a long thread title. But we sure see a lot of those from prospective buyers who can't justify the DVC financial angle in their minds.

 

[Sammie]

While I am glad those that have DVC love it, I am sure many on those threads would love to not have to work at getting a discount of any kind.

I am not convinced that DVC saves money at all over the long haul, convenience yes, prepay plan, sure, but best value, no.

There truly is no way to compare the situations, I seriously doubt many booking free dining are going to book the BW.

If I was comparing I would never compare the cost of renting points, I would compare the Disney cash cost of a one bedroom and when you do that you do save some with the free dining over paying for a room and paying for a meal plan.

Also many who worry about discounts are not good candidates for DVC for many reasons. It does not mean they would not like to be it simply means they aren't. That trip they are so worried about and trying to find a discount might be their only one.

I think Mousesavers sums it up best:

Best Candidates for DVC Membership

DVC membership might make sense if you meet most or all of these criteria:

You have the cash in hand to pay all of the upfront costs of membership without borrowing.

The cost of dues does not appear to present a financial hardship based on your current expectations.

You vacation at Walt Disney World frequently: ideally at least once every two years.

You plan to continue staying at Disney World far enough into the future to make the membership at least break even.

You prefer to stay in Deluxe or DVC accommodations and/or you stay a long time (10 days or more per year).

You are able to plan your vacations well in advance -- ideally 7 to 11 months out.

We have had our DVC for over 15 years and enjoyed every trip. However if I could have had a crystal ball and seen into the future, would I do it again. No.

 

[tjkraz]

If I was comparing I would never compare the cost of renting points, I would compare the Disney cash cost of a one bedroom and when you do that you do save some with the free dining over paying for a room and paying for a meal plan.

You could perhaps quibble with Debbie's methodology, but the numbers still speak for themselves. To get the same villa + dining plan either costs $3800 cash or one year's usage of 175 DVC points plus $500 in cash.

I don't need a calculator to tell me that using DVC points is going to pay off in spades.

And it doesn't really matter whether "free dining" participants are booking a BoardWalk One Bedroom villa or not. That's the accommodation Debbie has chosen and DVC is clearly the best means to that end.

 

[adminjedi]

love knowing I have a quality place to stay on our trips....makes it a resort vacation instead of just a park vacation.
We crunched our numbers and for us, DVC makes a whole lot of sense. We don't worry about paying the cash price for a 2br villa each night!

 

[nickspace]

Another variable is eating in restaurants important for you? I prefer to eat in the villa most of the time and eat out only once in a while. For me the dining plan is not important. But for the person who enjoys the restaurants as part of the vacation experience it can be a big incentive.

 

[Snurk71]

I am not convinced that DVC saves money at all over the long haul, convenience yes, prepay plan, sure, but best value, no.

No offense, Sammie. But us self-proclaimed financial wizards have analyzed the numbers up one side and down the other, and I can assure you that DVC saves some of us a LOT of money over the long haul. We always stayed at GF at WDW and DLH or GC at DL, getting discounts some years and not others. And even when I compared the DVC cost of a 1BR against a 40% cash room discount at these properties (including the time value of money on the initial cash outlay for DVC), I'm still making out with DVC.

 

[StitchFan73]

There truly is no way to compare the situations, I seriously doubt many booking free dining are going to book the BW.

If I was comparing I would never compare the cost of renting points, I would compare the Disney cash cost of a one bedroom and when you do that you do save some with the free dining over paying for a room and paying for a meal plan.

Also many who worry about discounts are not good candidates for DVC for many reasons. It does not mean they would not like to be it simply means they aren't. That trip they are so worried about and trying to find a discount might be their only one.

In Sammies' defense I sorta agree. There really isn't any way to compare someone who stays at a Value resort and utilizes the "free dining" promo to a DVC owner. Two totally different vacation styles IMO.

If someone normally can afford to put out the money for Deluxe and Villa stays then DVC makes great financial sense. But if the Values are all you can swing then it doesn't.

Also your vacation style plays a big part of it too. Park commandos would never consider "wasting" time relaxing at a resort lol. If you can only get to Disney every few years (factoring in not just your accommodations but your airfare, time off, tickets, etc) then you're not gonna hang at the resort-there's way to much to see/do. I think that this is one of the reasons why the QSDP was also put in place for Value resort guests (well that and it works out better for Disney).

Not saying that people can't change-we sure did. And if I am correct it was because of renting points from Sammie . We started out as complete park commandos. When we first started we didn't think we'd be back every year. We never expected to be able to be there for 2 weeks stays, and we never thought about the fact that our then 6 year old wouldn't want to be in the parks 24/7 as she got older. But all that changed for us. Our family has grown into a DVC family and we are now looking to buy. But 3 years ago we were fine with our little Pop room and tickled pink when we got the dining plan for free

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

No offense, Sammie. But us self-proclaimed financial wizards have analyzed the numbers up one side and down the other, and I can assure you that DVC saves some of us a LOT of money over the long haul. We always stayed at GF at WDW and DLH or GC at DL, getting discounts some years and not others. And even when I compared the DVC cost of a 1BR against a 40% cash room discount at these properties (including the time value of money on the initial cash outlay for DVC), I'm still making out with DVC.

Agreed. Sammie, I suggest reading this thread of mine: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2137102

Over the entire length of the thread, I go over many many many of the arguments that people use to say that "DVC doesn't save you money" using actual numbers.

The facts of the thread are that: The worst case DVC scenario (no discount on the points, paying full price, financing at DVC's worst rate, time-value of money, annual dues increases, etc.) is leaps and bounds better than the best case cash scenario. (40% discount, free dining, etc.). Usually to the tune of several hundreds of thousands of dollars, over the life of a DVC contract.

DVC will even save you one to two hundred thousand dollars if you normally stay at moderates, and will typically break even if you stay at the values, over the entire life of the contract.

 

[Sammie]

You could perhaps quibble with Debbie's methodology, but the numbers still speak for themselves. To get the same villa + dining plan either costs $3800 cash or one year's usage of 175 DVC points plus $500 in cash.

I don't need a calculator to tell me that using DVC points is going to pay off in spades.

And it doesn't really matter whether "free dining" participants are booking a BoardWalk One Bedroom villa or not. That's the accommodation Debbie has chosen and DVC is clearly the best means to that end.

And what about the money used to purchase those points and the dues, I see no way that can not be a factor. The 175 points were not given to Deb free of charge.

 

[Sammie]

No offense, Sammie. But us self-proclaimed financial wizards have analyzed the numbers up one side and down the other, and I can assure you that DVC saves some of us a LOT of money over the long haul. We always stayed at GF at WDW and DLH or GC at DL, getting discounts some years and not others. And even when I compared the DVC cost of a 1BR against a 40% cash room discount at these properties (including the time value of money on the initial cash outlay for DVC), I'm still making out with DVC.

It saves you money, based on what you book. And at least you factored into your analysis the initial cost to get in and the dues.

It does not save everyone money. I will totally agree that if one goes to Disney at least once a year or even every other year and stays in deluxe or deluxe villas then yes you can save money. But I still stand by my belief that most of the people looking for a discount and using the Free dining are not booking deluxe or deluxe villas.

It just seems at times that some feel like if you don't own DVC and you go to Disney you are a financial idiot. I have never felt like DVC was a big money saver as far as taking a Disney vacation. It will save money over a long period of time, on certain accommodations booked on a yearly basis.

What works for one, does not work for everyone and that includes saving money by purchasing DVC.

Stitchfan, must be another Sammie, I never have any points left to rent. But maybe in the future.

 

[tjkraz]

And what about the money used to purchase those points and the dues, I see no way that can not be a factor. The 175 points were not given to Deb free of charge.

Well sure it is. But with a $3300 cash difference between the two approaches, it isn't going to take long to break even on 175 DVC points. Deduct about $1000 for the dues and you're still "saving" $2300 in one year by using DVC points rather than booking under a "free dining" code.

7-8 years worth of savings and the points are paid for. The rest is gravy.

There have certainly been more meaningful analyses of DVC economics posted over the years. But as long as you're comparing apples to apples, DVC still comes out ahead of any promotional offer I've seen Disney run.

 

[StitchFan73]

Stitchfan, must be another Sammie, I never have any points left to rent. But maybe in the future.

Sounds like that's how we're gonna be soon(hopefully)-never having points left over
Wasn't sure if it was you who I rented points from-heck I'm not even sure if it was this board but it definitely made us DVC converts

But I agree with you-it works really well for the people who normally book a higher accommodations, but if someone regularly stays at a Value resort it doesn't work out for them in the long run. In fact 3 guides told us the same thing.

 

[Sammie]

I am glad it works for some, it does not work for everyone. That was my only point.

 

[Inkmahm]

While I am glad those that have DVC love it, I am sure many on those threads would love to not have to work at getting a discount of any kind.

I am not convinced that DVC saves money at all over the long haul, convenience yes, prepay plan, sure, but best value, no.

There truly is no way to compare the situations, I seriously doubt many booking free dining are going to book the BW.

If I was comparing I would never compare the cost of renting points, I would compare the Disney cash cost of a one bedroom and when you do that you do save some with the free dining over paying for a room and paying for a meal plan.

Also many who worry about discounts are not good candidates for DVC for many reasons. It does not mean they would not like to be it simply means they aren't. That trip they are so worried about and trying to find a discount might be their only one.

I think Mousesavers sums it up best:



We have had our DVC for over 15 years and enjoyed every trip. However if I could have had a crystal ball and seen into the future, would I do it again. No.

Can I ask what you would have done for those 15 years instead?

Before buying DVC, I booked rooms at WL or AK and always looked for an AP discount to help with the cost. Sometimes AAA discount was all I could get. Sometimes there were general codes available for discounts. I always tried to get a discount but paid full price if I couldn't find one. I never did DDP at all until we owned DVC and then I've only done the Deluxe version for a day or two on rare occasions. My only regret with DVC is that I didn't buy years earlier than I did. All the $ I spent at AKV and WL for hotel rooms, wow. I wish it had all gone towards buying DVC.

 

[Granny]

While I am glad those that have DVC love it, I am sure many on those threads would love to not have to work at getting a discount of any kind.

I am not convinced that DVC saves money at all over the long haul, convenience yes, prepay plan, sure, but best value, no.

Count me in on those who don't care to search high and low for discounts. One of the blessings of DVC is knowing that we're getting upgraded accommodations at a good price for many years. I know that some years there will be great discounts that I could have used, but I don't like to make going to WDW like playing the stock market.

And I agree that it's hard to make a DVC financial comparison. Frankly, without DVC we wouldn't be booking 2BR suites on-site for all our trips.

 

[DebbieB]

I am glad it works for some, it does not work for everyone. That was my only point.

That's very true. It really depends on your vacation style and what you want. The point I was trying to make is with DVC you don't have to sit on pins & needles waiting for a good deal to come out or if you will be sent a PIN code. You know what you have. If you like deluxe accomodations, chances are it's better than what is offered to the general public. If you are happy with value or moderate accomodations, maybe not.

 

[tjkraz]

And I agree that it's hard to make a DVC financial comparison. Frankly, without DVC we wouldn't be booking 2BR suites on-site for all our trips.

That's very true but in discussions like this I think we are often too quick to dismiss the quality of the accommodations. I find it hard to believe that many DVC members would be quick to sacrifice their two bedroom villa even if given a guarantee that they could get a Value with free dining for the next 30+ years.

Am I spending less on my trips as a DVC member than those booking a Value with free dining? No. But I wouldn't be making regular trips to WDW to stay in a Value. Getting those One and Two Bedroom villas for a reasonable price is a HUGE part of why I have chosen to spend so much of my time and money at the Disney parks and resorts.