Some DVC Questions... Need advice

[pixiedustmomma]

I am new to the boards and have found some answers to the DVC questions I had but feel the need to ask some more.

Right now we are looking into the DVC. It is something we would have to save for but I still need more information to help push my DH into it. I have a Disney addiction, which hasn't been satisfied in a couple years. The last time I went was three years ago while I was pregnant with my DD. We were planning a trip for this year when I found out I was pregnant! So another year I will have to wait. 2011 will be our first trip back.

I grew up going to WDW every year and would like to do the same with my children. I took my DH for his second time while I was pregnant and he loved it! Not yet an addiction for him but he said he wants to go back and said we should look into the DVC.

So that brings me to my questions....

1. Buy resale or from WDW? I see some places are sold out? My husband wants Boardwalk while I would like Beach Club.

2. How many points do you suggest to start out with?

3. Is it better to buy points at the place you'll be staying the most or at the cheapest place to buy into?

4. I know you can bank points but how long can you bank them? I saw on a couple resale sites that some points that were banked have to be use this year.

5. What are the restrictions to using your points at a different resort other then your home resort?

6. Is DVC worth it if you just book a studio room? How about if you book a studio room and bank the points for the following year?

7. Are the Annual dues really worth it?

8. How far in advance do you need to book your vacation? How about another resort other then your home resort?

9. Is it worth it to use your points at other non DVC resorts around the world? I ask because my husband see that being able to go the Europe is a perk.

10. Is the DVC worth it if we don't go every year? I plan on going every year but you never know what will come up.

11. When is the hardest time of year to book DVC rooms?


Thank you in advance for all your help!!!

 

[Crystal_27]

I've tried to tackle some of your questions below. My responses are in blue.

1. Buy resale or from WDW? I see some places are sold out? My husband wants Boardwalk while I would like Beach Club. Even though most DVC resorts are sold out, you can still purchase them through Disney. However, you will likely find that going resale is the cheaper route given that the point cost of BCV/BWV just increased to $112/point.

2. How many points do you suggest to start out with? That depends on where you want to stay, when you want to stay, and how large you want your accommodations. Check out the point charts to get an idea of how many points a "typical" vacation would cost, and then give yourself a cushion of 10-20% more points to account for fluxuations in the point charts.

3. Is it better to buy points at the place you'll be staying the most or at the cheapest place to buy into? Much better to buy in where you will want to be staying the most, particularly given the popularity of BCV and BWV.

4. I know you can bank points but how long can you bank them? I saw on a couple resale sites that some points that were banked have to be use this year. You can bank your points one year forward and will lose them upon the expiration of the use year for that allotment of points.

5. What are the restrictions to using your points at a different resort other then your home resort? None other than you have to wait until 7 months prior to the start of your vacation at your non-home resort, whereas you can book at your home resort 11 months prior to the start of your vacation.

6. Is DVC worth it if you just book a studio room? How about if you book a studio room and bank the points for the following year? We are still at the point where we are staying in studios for our family of 3. For our December, 2010 trip, the rack rate cost of my studio is $550/night plus tax, which totals $7,700 plus tax for the 14 night stay. I would say it's definitely worth it. In terms of banking for next year, if you buy the right amount of points, you should never be banking an entire year's points into the next year -- and ideally would be using your current use year's points for your current vacation (if you plan on going every year). Because the banked points do expire, you would never want to get into a "use or lose" situation.

7. Are the Annual dues really worth it?I don't know what you mean by "worth it." They are mandatory for every DVC owner.

8. How far in advance do you need to book your vacation? How about another resort other then your home resort? Home resort can be booked 11 months prior to the start of your vacation; non-home resorts can be booked 7 months prior to the start of your vacation.

9. Is it worth it to use your points at other non DVC resorts around the world? I ask because my husband see that being able to go the Europe is a perk. The best "bang for your buck" with DVC is to use points at DVC resorts. You can, of course, trade out for non-DVC vacations, but you shouldn't buy DVC with the intention of trading out - there are better timeshare options out there.

10. Is the DVC worth it if we don't go every year? I plan on going every year but you never know what will come up. Given that you can bank your points, if you aren't able to go one year, your banked points can allow you to upgrade to a 1 bedroom or go twice the next year. There are a lot of options with DVC

11. When is the hardest time of year to book DVC rooms? Well, if you book early, you should never be in a situation where you don't get the room that you want. With that said, DVC popularity is all over the map. It follows the peak times at the parks, and you will find that early December is also very popular. Also, when Disney offers annual events (Flower & Garden; Food/Wine, etc.) DVC bookings follow those events as well.

I hope that helps!! This board is a great resource and don't be afraid to ask any other questions you may have. Good luck!

 

[chalee94]

1. Buy resale or from WDW? I see some places are sold out? My husband wants Boardwalk while I would like Beach Club.

in short, resale takes longer but (usually) saves money. nothing is really "sold out" and resorts like BWV and BCV can still be purchased directly from DVC although guides may be less motivated to sell them.

2. How many points do you suggest to start out with?

look at the point charts and decide how many you typically would need. 160 is DVC's suggestion.

3. Is it better to buy points at the place you'll be staying the most or at the cheapest place to buy into?

if you'd be disappointed to be stuck at SSR when you'd rather be at BCV, then buy BCV (or whichever).

if you'd be happy at SSR, then save some money and buy SSR resale - if you are able to switch to BCV at 7 mos, so much the better.

4. I know you can bank points but how long can you bank them? I saw on a couple resale sites that some points that were banked have to be use this year.

you can bank one year ahead (or you can borrow one year ahead) - banking and borrowing are "final" transactions and cannot be undone, so when you move the pts to a different use year, they will expire at the end of that use year.

you have up to 8 months into your use year to decide whether to bank current pts or not.

5. What are the restrictions to using your points at a different resort other then your home resort?

you have to wait until 7 months out to see if that resort has any rooms available. that might work out fine but sometimes it doesn't - how frustrated will you be if it doesn't?

6. Is DVC worth it if you just book a studio room? How about if you book a studio room and bank the points for the following year?

studios work for me. others appreciate the room of the larger villas and kitchen/laundry facilities. depends on how you want to do it.

7. Are the Annual dues really worth it?

if it's worth it to buy a house, is it worth it to pay to keep up the house? mow the lawn, replace furniture from time to time, repaint from time to time, pay for trash services?

DVC's dues are expensive relative to other timeshares but access to onsite wdw comes at a price no matter how you do it.

8. How far in advance do you need to book your vacation? How about another resort other then your home resort?

depends on the time of year. for busy times, like early december, i'd book my home resort at 11 months out. to get a reservation at a smaller resort like BCV, i'd definitely call first thing in the morning.

sometimes there is still availability at 4-5 months out or less, but you are definitely taking chances IMO.

9. Is it worth it to use your points at other non DVC resorts around the world? I ask because my husband see that being able to go the Europe is a perk.

it's not a good deal. paying cash or using a cheaper timeshare will beat DVC most every time. but if you have the points, it's nice to have options.

10. Is the DVC worth it if we don't go every year? I plan on going every year but you never know what will come up.

IMO, it's only worth it if you go to disney at least every other year and use most if not all of your pts for DVC resorts.

trading out is usually a trade down in value.

11. When is the hardest time of year to book DVC rooms?

all of the period from thanksgiving to new years is super busy for DVC, with some weeks being even busier than others. book early.

food and wine at epcot makes BCV and BWV tougher to book.

it can vary, though.

 

[sleepydog25]

I'm sure there is a link someone could provide to give you more info, but I'll give you my personal views to get you started. . .and good luck with your decision. . .

I am new to the boards and have found some answers to the DVC questions I had but feel the need to ask some more.

Right now we are looking into the DVC. It is something we would have to save for but I still need more information to help push my DH into it. I have a Disney addiction, which hasn't been satisfied in a couple years. The last time I went was three years ago while I was pregnant with my DD. We were planning a trip for this year when I found out I was pregnant! So another year I will have to wait. 2011 will be our first trip back.

I grew up going to WDW every year and would like to do the same with my children. I took my DH for his second time while I was pregnant and he loved it! Not yet an addiction for him but he said he wants to go back and said we should look into the DVC.

So that brings me to my questions....

1. Buy resale or from WDW? I see some places are sold out? My husband wants Boardwalk while I would like Beach Club. Both have advantages, but resale is usually a bit cheaper. If you plan to finance, Disney has a little easier requirements.

2. How many points do you suggest to start out with? Depends on your travel plans and how many are in your family. If it's once a year and you have 2-3 kids, you'd need at least a 1BR when you visit. You can find point charts in many places, so I'd go to one of them, find the most likely dates you would travel each year, then see how many points it would take to stay where you wish during that time. In general, most folks start with 150 - 200 pts.

3. Is it better to buy points at the place you'll be staying the most or at the cheapest place to buy into? The usual mantra is "buy where you want to stay," and that advice is sound. Your home resort allows booking 11 months out; non-home resort bookings don't begin until 7 months out. So, if you wanted BCV and will usually go during peak seasons--say during the summer--there's a chance that you wouldn't find any rooms available to you at the 7-month point if you bought into a cheaper resort, say Saratoga Springs.

4. I know you can bank points but how long can you bank them? I saw on a couple resale sites that some points that were banked have to be use this year. Complicated question. Let me give you an example. My use year is March and if I were to bank those points at any time before October, I get all of those point for the next year. Past October, then they start doing sort of a pro-rated version, i.e., there are restrictions.

5. What are the restrictions to using your points at a different resort other then your home resort? As I mentioned above, with your home resort you can book 11 months out from your trip; if it's not your home resort, you have to wait until the 7-month point.

6. Is DVC worth it if you just book a studio room? How about if you book a studio room and bank the points for the following year? Worth is a subjective term. If you plan to just use a studio, then you wouldn't need as many points, but it reduces the number of people you could have in a room.

7. Are the Annual dues really worth it? You'll get varying opinions on this, but I wouldn't call it a "worth" question. Simply put, you must pay the dues each year and they will continue to go up each year, though usually only a little bit. But, they won't ever go away.

8. How far in advance do you need to book your vacation? How about another resort other then your home resort? Depends on the season. Disney uses five seasons, with the less busy ones worth the fewest points when booking. Again, 11 months for home resort and 7 months for non-home resort.

9. Is it worth it to use your points at other non DVC resorts around the world? I ask because my husband see that being able to go the Europe is a perk. Financially speaking, it is generally regarded a better use of your points to rent/sell them and use that money to pay OOP for a trip other than a Disney resort. However, there is the convenience factor of just using points and not worrying over the hassle of finding renters, contracts, etc. that come with getting money for points.

10. Is the DVC worth it if we don't go every year? I plan on going every year but you never know what will come up. The common thinking is that if you go at least every other year, then DVC pays for itself and then some.

11. When is the hardest time of year to book DVC rooms? Not sure of all the answers, but I do know that major events such as the Food and Wine Festival and around the Christmas timeframe can be particularly hard to book, though if you stick with your home resort with its 11-month booking window, the odds are a lot more in your favor.


Thank you in advance for all your help!!!

Hope these answers at least got you started. . .

 

[drusba]

1. Buy resale or from WDW? I see some places are sold out? My husband wants Boardwalk while I would like Beach Club.

Resales tend to be cheaper but Disney makes purchasing easy particularly if you need financing. As to Boardwalk or BCV, the downside at this point is end date, 2042 (same for VWL), whereas OKW (if through Disney and some resales) and AKV are 2057, SSR 2054. and BLT 2060

2. How many points do you suggest to start out with?

That is personal decison and you can look at 2011 point charts at link at top of this page (DVC Point Charts) and start estimating how many you think you might need for when you usually go.

3. Is it better to buy points at the place you'll be staying the most or at the cheapest place to buy into?

Better at place you will be going the most to get 11 month reservation window which can be important for some times of the year (December all month, spring break times, holidays, October wine festival time) and for certain types of accomadations (Grand Villas, AKV concierge, BWV standard or boardwalk view, and BLT standard or MK view any time of year, and BCV or VWL many times of year)

4. I know you can bank points but how long can you bank them? I saw on a couple resale sites that some points that were banked have to be use this year.

You can bank all points from one use year into next use year but those particular points cannot be banked a second time and thus must be used by end of that year into which they were banked.

5. What are the restrictions to using your points at a different resort other then your home resort?

At another DVC resort, the restriction is the reservation window -- only 7 months for other than your home resort which is 11 months. When trading out of DVC restrictions vary and there is a $75 fee.

6. Is DVC worth it if you just book a studio room? How about if you book a studio room and bank the points for the following year?

Worth it in compared to what? DVC is likely not going to be cheaper in the long run if you generally just go to value or moderate resorts. Generally better if you go every year and usually hit premium resorts. You can bank points from one year to the next so you will have more to use in that second year (but of course less to use in the year from which you are banking points). You can also borrow points from the next use year for a trip in a use year.

7. Are the Annual dues really worth it?

Annual dues are based on actual costs and there is no question that for WDW DVC resorts they are high in comparison to other timeshares off-site but you are paying for all the usual Disney services related to the resort.

8. How far in advance do you need to book your vacation? How about another resort other then your home resort?

You have 11 months at your home resort, 7 at others. Best if you can make ressies as far out as possible to get what you want. Necessary for some things to have that 11 month window, e.g., if you want Christmas week or essentially any time in December.

9. Is it worth it to use your points at other non DVC resorts around the world? I ask because my husband see that being able to go the Europe is a perk.

Yes and no. It is a matter of comparing point cost to rental cost and for things like other Disney resorts the rental cost may actually be cheaper; likewise with some trade outs but then with others the point cost is just fine. The key to remember with trade outs is that the points needed can and have in the past risen.

10. Is the DVC worth it if we don't go every year? I plan on going every year but you never know what will come up.

Depends, if every other year probably OK, if every third year questionable.

11. When is the hardest time of year to book DVC rooms?

Noted some above but No. 1 hardest is Christmas week -- many things can be gone within days of the opening of the 11 month window--and No. 1 hardest night is New Years Eve. Rest of December is also a very high demand time as are other holidays particularly the two Easter weeks and July 4 time. October wine festival time (particularly for Epcot resorts) and most spring break times are fairly high demand; summer time other than July 4 time is generally moderate demand.

 

[disneychic]

So that brings me to my questions....


2. How many points do you suggest to start out with?

Buy as many points as you can up front to avoid adding on later at higher prices. Point prices have increased quite a bit over the years - when we purchased ten years ago it was only $68 per point. We've done 3 add-ons since then at much higher prices. Just my opinion, but I don't think there are many people out there who say "darn, I should have bought less points"!

 

[pixiedustmomma]

Thank you all so much for the information! I guess when I asked when if the annual dues are worth it, I really was asking is the DVC worth it with the annual dues. I am guessing that the dues are lower then the price of a room?

 

[rlovew]

Dues depend on the resort but I own BLT. I own 160 points. This year my dues were about $552. For that price we are staying at OKW for 2 Sun-Thurs weeks this summer, 2 nights at BLT in Nov, and have 15 points left to bank or use. Since I bought in at $2/point/year I spent a total of $872 for 16 studio nights and could get between 1 and 2 more depending on when/where I stay. That is less than $60 a night- less than a value resort and for a much better stay. We stay in studios to stretch points (DH uses the weeks for classes in Orlando) and because it is just the 2 of us.

 

[ToddyLu]

We purchased AKV points last year. Our studio with SV was worth $3500. Our dues for the second half of 2009 was $500. Of course I am not taking into account the original purchase price of the points themselves. You could factor that in but we financed and have our notes spread over the next 10 years with Disney. So we fill like we got a great room for the money and a 9 night stay. We will go yearly and wanted to stay deluxe.

Now add to that the SV studio that we were able to give to my MIL...and now the trip actually jumps up to $7000.00 if we have booked those rooms with cash.

So we felt we got a great deal last year.

 

[chalee94]

Thank you all so much for the information! I guess when I asked when if the annual dues are worth it, I really was asking is the DVC worth it with the annual dues. I am guessing that the dues are lower then the price of a room?

dues tend to run about $5 per pt.

DVC owners tend to be able to rent for $10-12 per pt.

i stayed 5 nights at BLT in a studio with a partial view of the castle for the equivalent of $71 per night (tax included) in dues. i stayed 5 nights at AKL in a studio with a savanna view for the equivalent of $36 per night (tax included) in dues. some of that is luck - as lake view rooms at BLT and value rooms at AKL are not guaranteed those views - but the comparable price of those kinds of rooms for cash is much, much higher.

(i would also add part of my upfront payment with those dues prices per night to get a higher total effective cost since i expect to use up my DVC rather than sell in a few years to get some of that upfront cost returned...but the totals are still much lower than even discounted cash prices.)