someone PLEASE convince me!!!

[aprilzw]

I am so confused, as many of you probably have been at one point or another. I think buying in makes sense for us practically-speaking, but I can't actually say that it isn't ludicrous, financially. We recently bought annual passes and have made 3 trips thus far this year with 2 more in the planning and a cruise planned for May 2003. So we are addicted. But usually I do ultimate bargain shopping and get great deals... but it adds up nonetheless.

The problem is my husband is a new doctor who just opened his own practice and I'm a doctoral student, so we have lots of wonderful student loan debt between the two of us... then there's the struggling new business, we have a 4-yr-old in preschool, blah, blah, blah... it could be argued that the LAST thing we need to do is take on more expenses.
BUT.... (BIG BUT), we LOVE and NEED our Disney vacations. And I just know us... we will always find a way to go. And I feel like in a few years, looking back, I'm going to kick myself because we could have paid for the darn DVC membership.

Anyway, I need some words of wisdom... especially maybe from people for whom it was a little strectch - but totally worth it. I know it's a personal decision, but I can't seem to be objective on this one because I want it so badly.

Thanks guys.

 

[adamak]

I bought in DVC on our honeymoon 4 years ago, when my DH was still in law school, and we're broke. I know it's not a bargain. You can always find a room cheaper. But, DVC allows you to get a delux vacation, paying All Star price. I have always thought that DVC is not so much a discount program so to speak. But it's a prepaid vacation plan. You will end up spending equal if not more if you don't have DVC (provided that you're addicted to Disney).

In order to get DVC worth, in my opinion, would be willing to travel to WDW or the home resorts at least every other year. The other hotel exchange alone doesn't worth the cost. And then you've to budget in the cost of travelling. We lived on E. coast, so it's not so bad. If you plan to take family along frequently, that's even better. We treat our immediate family to WDW, getting a 2-bedrm in BWV during peak season. Without DVC, there is no way I can dish out $1000 a nite for a week. But DVC allows me to plan ahead. Bank points/ borrow, and we can have a family reunion every 3 years.

Also, we bought the minimum # of points, and finance for 10 years. And guess what, now we have a little bit more savings, we're paying it off tomorrow! You can always buy more later. Plus, you can rent out points if you cannot use them.


If you're planning to go 2 more trips this year.... go for it!

 

[Lyndarella]

My question is: How much will you spend on WDW vacations if you DON'T join DVC?

It sounds like WDW is a continuing expense for you. You will probably come out ahead with DVC. Besides, if you start now, you will reach a point where DVC is paid for, and you still have many years to enjoy it. We talked about joining a few years ago when we could least afford it and decided not to. I wish we had, as it would be all paid for now!

 

[Lisa F]

I'm currently doing my M.Arch and my husband works. Our schedules are so hectic that we work around 100 hours a week and find ourselves needing a vacation where we can forget everything at least twice a year. WE always end up at WDW. We decided that we were going to go ANYWAY so we might as well have something to show for the money that we spent.

Now we spend less than we used to for AP discounted rooms/year including the loan and dues, and we have lots of great vacations. The great thign will be when the loan is done and there are ONLY dues. Even rounding up to $4/point, see what dues alone will buy you and you'll see that the money you are paying for dvc now is really going somewhere for the future.

Lisa

 

[Dumbo]

>>>We recently bought annual passes and have made 3 trips thus far this year......<<<


My goodness. It's only the second week of February. I'll say you are addicted.

Actually you can buy into the Disney Vacation Club, finance it for up to 10 years with Disney, and your monthly loan payments will be less than $200 a month. And that also includes your annual dues payment.


Dumbo

 

[LUVDVC]

We joined DVC while staying at the All Star Sports. When we ran the numbers, if we had been DVC members, we would have been staying at BWV for the same price. We bought the base package, 150 points. That's all we could afford at the time. Within the first year, we were so totally hooked and knew we had made the right choice.

Flexibility is a great benefit. If you're only going to be at a resort a few days, a studio will do, and will leave you points for something else. If you're planning a longer stay or are travelling with a larger group, you can get a larger unit with all amenities. This little luxury will break the bank without DVC membership.

We bought more points when finances got better, and we're thinking of buying more still. The nice thing about DVC is that you can start small and keep adding on as you're more financially comfortable (and more addicted to the Disney vacation culture).

And there is something to be said for spreading those vacation payments out. Vacation expenses can be quite startling when that American Express bill comes in. DVC is a much gentler payment plan.

If there is any way for you to swing it, I just don't think you can go wrong.

Carolyn

 

[Terry S]

The truth in the matter is we just purchased 600 points on Tuesday at BCV. I know we really can't afford to purchase that many points, but in the long run (the next 40 years) it is definatly going to save us money versus paying for 2 vacations a year staying at the BC like we were doing. Logically we should wait until we were financially more able and we probably should have started out smaller, but we just decided this was the right decision for us. I think you need to decide what is right for you.

 

[ZerasPride]

I guess I feel comfortable making my post on this thread now. I know we should have waited until we paid off some other bills before making a purchase like this. I can't even believe we are considering a 50-100 point add on but we are! The way I figure it, we would be taking our at least once a year Disney trips credit card payments or not. I would like to be debt free but that's not going to happen overnight. We are working on it though! Anyway, I appreciate the way the previous poster put it, only you can decide what is right for you. For my family, it sure is easier making a monthly payment than getting a gigantic credit card bill when you come back from vacation. And this way, eventually, we won't have a DVC mortgage payment - just dues. Can't wait for that day.

P.S. Don't forget if you do finance, there is no penalty for pre-payment. That is what I keep telling myself. We can pay off the mortgage balance any ol' time!

Lisa

 

[manning]

Convince you? None of us can nor should we!! What we don't know and should be weighed into your decision is:

What is your financial situation? (you have given a good indication)

What are your priorities in life? ( is becoming financially sound more important than having a good time?)

This is what happened to me. My wife is five years younger than me. We vacationed almost every year at a level that we could afford and enjoyed every minute of it. We stayed out of serious debt and managed to save some. At fifty I got seriously sick, and a year later was downsized (retired). Four years later my wife got downsized (retired). Now I am in my late fifties and we will be buying into DVC. If only I knew if 501 points is enough.

It's not important where you vacation, It's who you vacation with! Without my good health, that i now have, and a wonderful wife, life would be empty. DVC or not. DVC is a bonus.

Convince you? only you can make that decision. You are the one who will live with it. All of us can make it for you. But then we can walk away from it!

Somehow I think you will make the right one.

Now, everyone, if you will excuse me, I will put my soap box away.
I apologize for being a bore.

 

[nisiemouse]

We are in the process of buying a resale. DVC is something I have wanted to do for a long time. My dh doesn't think it financially makes sense and he is a finance person.There are a couple things that helped him go along with it though. Our kids are 4 and almost 8 and it will be nice to stay in a bigger place as they get older. The villas are just too expensive when you think about the rental market unless you rented points maybe from a member. I love to stay on site.
We are buying resale and will save a lot of money over buying from disney. You can also look for a resale with lots of points banked which is an even better deal. My dh also likes Hilton Head so this helped also.
I love disney and wanted it badly also. It means a lot to me that my dh did this for me. I hope you make the right decision for you and your family.
Manning: I don't think you were boring. You made some good points and I am so happy that you have your health and a wonderful wife.

 

[JackieMD]

OK this is why you should buy into DVC...

If you plan or expect to go once a year (or close to that) it makes economic sense. Take the minimum, of 150 points at $75 per point = $11250.
Compare that to a 1 week at Disney at rates say $1000 for six nights at the CB (thats ~$1600 for 12/1-7/2002 (the lost rate season) -$600 for passes for two for 6 days or $50/person/day). That means you would pay for the DVC in 11 years of staying at a moderate. Your DVC points will give you 40 years of vacation.

Now I know there is no interest/time value of money in this estimate or the anual mainteance fee. But remember that the rack rates at Disney have typically outpaced the rate of inflation by a whole lot. Add to the fact that DVC points have been appreciating in value. Most detailed analysis shows a payback in about 7 years.

We bought our first ponts at $65/point and it is now up to $75 for retail (resales go for less). SO if you NEED to get out you most likly will get most, if not more, out than you put in. Now add to the fact that the DVC units are MUCH niceer than the regular rooms and you will discover that you get a great value.

You buy your house rather than rent because it makes sense.
You should buy your car rather than lease because you then have an asset in the end and it makes sense.
If you expect to be at Disney for vaction, why rent your vaction?

This the the DH not Jackie and I appolgies for bad grammar and spelling.