Starting small

[logan115]

Will toss this out to those that obviously know and have much more experience with this than I do. We've been to the World twice in the last two years (DW, DS 5, and myself) and have recently added a DD (2 months) to the crew. Each of our last two stays we "rented ressies," once at BCV and once at SSR. Our typical trip would most likely be staying at a value on the weekends, then DVC Sun-Fri (figure about 150 pts), and I think we'll probably go to the World once a year, or at least once every other year for the next 10-15 years.

We don't (yet ) own DVC, but would it make sense to buy a 25-50 pt contract for starters so we at least can make our own ressies (provided we buy additional points from another member if needed) and get our foot in the door ?

We can afford to buy a small contract in a few months, so the upfront cost of a small contract is not going to cause any financial hardship, just not sure if there's much of a benefit to doing so.

I know if we bought a 50 pt contract our points alone would be enough if we banked/borrowed from previous and future years, but am having a hard time justifying the expense (although I really really really want to).

Thanks fellow Dissers,

Chris

 

[culli]

Not sure I'm completely following your question. We have a 6, 3 and 2 year old and can't imagine having to stay in another hotel for vacation. Appears you know how to do your research and if STAYING ON SITE is your priority DVC makes sense. If you want to get a small contract to "get your feet wet" keep in mind you will probably pay a premium on the resale market. Take your time and do some number crunching.

But yes it makes sense for a small contract but you can only get points transfered in once per UY. But that is not a bad strategy as you can buy a small contract and look on the rent board figure out what points you need for your upcoming trip. It saves you the upfront investment and there is always plenty of points out there to rent! Hmmmmmmm I could see some advantages to this but have not really thought it through so take it with a grain of salt! Also you will get DVC benefits such as $100 of an annual pass.

 

[Carolc]

Hi Chris,

I think you and I are somewhat on the same wavelength. I'm not yet a member, and am thinking of buying a resale. For affordability's sake, I'm thinking of buying a small contract of around 50 points which would yield 150 points if I bank and borrow... enough for a 1 bedroom Sun - Thur at most resorts during Magic season, which is when we'd most likely travel. I'd like to think we can come every other year, but every third year seems more realistic, so 50 points seemed like a good amount. I don't mind staying at another resort for Fri/Sat nights, and as the kids get older, we won't need as many points (i.e. studio or off season are options), so a smaller contract seems to make more sense. But then, I learned (thank you, Doc) that you cannot bank borrowed points. So if I make a reservation with the borrowed points, and for some reason have to cancel the trip, then I can't bank those borrowed points. They'd have to be used before the end of the UY or they will expire... so I'm worried, what if we can't find time/money/resort availability before they expire. Then we'd be hosed for another few years because I will have wasted next year's points. So, I'm thinking that my strategy has a potentially fatal flaw. So now I don't know what to do.

But, with respect to your post, I do think there are definitely some advantages to owning even a small contract if you will be going to Disney as often as you hope. You'll be able to enjoy a few nights at a nice DVC resort, and enjoy some nice perks like 'legal' pool hopping (except at SAB and Kidani), which would be nice for the kids, and some discounts. Though the larger contracts generally seem to have a lower price per point, I have seen some smaller contracts that weren't too unreasonable (not at BCV, though). Good luck, let me know what you decide to do.

Carol

 

[mikesmom]

but would it make sense to buy a 25-50 pt contract for starters so we at least can make our own ressies (provided we buy additional points from another member if needed) and get our foot in the door ?

Just to clarify...
You could only use your 25-50 points (plus banked and borrowed) to make your own ressies. Any "additional points from another member if needed" would still be under that member's control and you would have to count on (and trust) that member to make a ressie. It would still be just as if you were not a member and renting points if you use points from another member to vacation. The only exception to this would be if you had another member transfer points to you. Then you could use those to make your own ressie. You would still have to have a certain amount of trust in the transfer process.

 

[5forDiz]

Just to clarify...
You could only use your 25-50 points (plus banked and borrowed) to make your own ressies. Any "additional points from another member if needed" would still be under that member's control and you would have to count on (and trust) that member to make a ressie. It would still be just as if you were not a member and renting points if you use points from another member to vacation. The only exception to this would be if you had another member transfer points to you. Then you could use those to make your own ressie. You would still have to have a certain amount of trust in the transfer process.

Mikesmom makes a good point here : if you are going to take the plunge and buy a small contract get extra points transferred to your membership from another member if you find you need extra points to cover your reservation but just keep in mind you can only transfer points in from another member once per year so be sure on amount you'd need or you will come up short and then not be able to get another transfer during that same year. Imho this makes the most sense because then you control your points and the transferred points when it comes to making the reservation and that entire process can be seamless - if you are an owner why go back to renting a reservation from another member where they control the reservation for the nights they reserve for you and then your reservation and that reservation are two different reservations which could even possibly mean you might have to switch villas.

Jmo but I think purchasing a small contract is a good way for your family to ease into DVC as it gets your foot in the door as a member and of course, at a future date, if when might decide you want to travel more or book larger villas you can always purchase add-on. This is how we got started and the strategy worked well for our family.

All the best on your planning & hope you'll find just the right contract for you and your family

 

[logan115]

Thanks to all who have replied, will keep all of these suggestions in mind.

Appreciate all of your help.

Chris

 

[permavac]

This is just what we did. My DH and I have rented points twice and, while we haven't encountered a problem yet, I would rather be in control of the reservation. We bought a 25 point contract and we plan on adding on over the next few years. We don't want to pay the finance charges so we're saving until we can get another 25 points, etc. I guess I would look at your reasons for owning. My DH and I love Disney and have been going at least twice per year since 2005. We expect to go on one vacation per year on our points, then take advantage of any promotions during slower periods and pay for the hotel packages. For us, we definitely plan on going and we love BWV so it made sense for us to buy in and starting with the small amount of points is something that works for us financially. We do expect to do a few transfers until we have enough of our own points and already did a transfer for a small number of 2008 points. I'm also excited that we get the AP discount for our small amount of points. Works for us! Good luck.

Terri

 

[kmintheville]

Just do it. You will be glad you did!

 

[Dean]

50 points is likely a good starting point for your situation. I'd recommend saving and paying cash as I don't think it's reasonable to finance such a purchase. Do realize that you'd only be able to buy resale and that smaller contracts go for a premium. Give yourself a cushion as it's possible the best deal you find will be more (ore less) than 50 points. And while UY is important, it's not important enough to pass on the right deal othewise. Good luck.

 

[mikesmom]

Go take a look around at VWL or reserve a stay there. You really can't tell where your heart will be until you check it out.

I'm on the other side of the VWL fence. We do not own at VWL (all our purchases were made before the Villas were built). I always thought I would love VWL because I'm very much a pine tree, Craftsman syle decorating kind of girl. I tried for numerous trips to get a ressie there. When we finally had success, turns out I didn't like it nearly as well as I thought I would. LOVE the lobby and grounds, but the rooms were just too dark for me over the long haul. Much prefer Boardwalk and my very favorite is OKW. You just can't tell until you try it.

 

[lugnut33]

I looked at DVC for about 2 years before taking the plunge. We wound up buying a 120 point resale contract, which I feel really comfortable with. It isn't a lot of points, but it gets us a trip every year (Monday through Friday) if we want, or a longer trip every other year in a one bedroom. Since the contract I bought in August had 08 points, we are using them in 09 for a large family vacation so everyone can enjoy it. With 25 or 50 points I would have felt very limited in my vacation options.

The other thing I'm very happy with about my smaller contract happened this week when the Member Fee/Annual Dues invoice came through. My little 120 point contract only cost just over $500 for the MF. That was no problem to pay off immediately. I cant imagine having a huge MF bill every year.

In my opinion, starting small is a good thing, but I feel like 25 or 50 points is too little for your circumstances. You can find some pretty cheap 120-150 point Saratoga Springs contracts out there.

 

[thewesterberg]

We just bought in with a 40 pt resale contract. We didn't want to finance and this is what we could afford. Granted, when it's all said and done, we're paying about the same amount as what Disney's going rate is for AKV, BUT we got the number of points that we could afford at this point in time instead of having to buy in with a larger contract (which was beyond our financial comfort level).

We're a family of 3 with a DS5, and we're content staying in studios for the time being. We made it just fine at POP last year and even the Value Studios at AKV are bigger, so we still feel like we're upgrading! As DS gets older and if our finances allow, we'll add on.

 

[Dean]

We just bought in with a 40 pt resale contract. We didn't want to finance and this is what we could afford. Granted, when it's all said and done, we're paying about the same amount as what Disney's going rate is for AKV, BUT we got the number of points that we could afford at this point in time instead of having to buy in with a larger contract (which was beyond our financial comfort level).

We're a family of 3 with a DS5, and we're content staying in studios for the time being. We made it just fine at POP last year and even the Value Studios at AKV are bigger, so we still feel like we're upgrading! As DS gets older and if our finances allow, we'll add on.

Sounds like a great choice for your situation. Enjoy your contract.

 

[dsanner106]

I recently paid cash for a resale 25 point contract. We do plan to add, but this does get our foot in the door and access to benefits. We have annual passes and for 5 will save 500.00 a year on those alone. Even with the annual dues, we will break even in about 6 years not counting the fact that will will make use of our points, of course, and rent points for what we want. I think it is a great way to get into DVC and as finances permit, increase.

Drew

 

[logan115]

Thanks to all who keep posting, I'm leaning towards a 50-75 pt resale contract at this point in time. Our typical trip is for about a week, and the last few we've flown in on a Thursday or Friday and stayed at POP until Sunday when we moved to either SSR or BCV until Friday, so we'd be looking for about 140-150 pts for a 1 BR (Sun-Fri am). If we buy I'd look at staying in a studio on the weekends to avoid switching resorts, I just have a very hard time using/paying for 50 pts on Fri/Sat for a 1 BR.

Still trying to figure out where to buy - would love to own at BCV, but since we typically go in the off-season I'm not sure if we need pay up to own there, or if we'd still be able to get a ressie there 7 months out. Currently it's me, DW, DS5, and DD 2 months, so pulling them out of school (once they actually start going to school ) is what we'd probably be doing for the near future. The frugal side of me says to look at buying a larger contract at HH or VB and pay a lower per point fee (albeit with higher dues), but I don't really have any desire to stay there. The more practical side of me tells me to buy where I want to stay, so that when things change (or when we want to go at a busier time) we can stay where we want.

I don't know what's making me crazier - trying to figure out what to do with this or knowing that currently I don't have any idea when my next trip is We waited until DS was 3 before going, there's NOOOOOOOOOOO WAYYYY I can wait until DD 2 months is that old before going again...............

Thanks again,

Chris

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

You mention that you'll be going in the off-season but not exactly when that is? Often DVC is very busy during what is the off-season for WDW and that could have a big influence on the need to buy where you most want to stay vs. buying for the most value and being willing to stay at your home resort (assuming you would be).

I think that if you buy for value it should be a resort at WDW since you don't wish to stay at VB or HH. And it should be at a resort that you won't mind being at if you couldn't change at 7 months. Otherwise you should buy at the only place you're wanting to stay.

 

[logan115]

You mention that you'll be going in the off-season but not exactly when that is? Often DVC is very busy during what is the off-season for WDW and that could have a big influence on the need to buy where you most want to stay vs. buying for the most value and being willing to stay at your home resort (assuming you would be).

I think that if you buy for value it should be a resort at WDW since you don't wish to stay at VB or HH. And it should be at a resort that you won't mind being at if you couldn't change at 7 months. Otherwise you should buy at the only place you're wanting to stay.

Thanks Kathy - the more I think about it, the more I think I'll end up buying something at WDW as opposed to VB of HH that way I know I can at least reserve something at WDW and could possibly switch at the 7 mo window.

We've gone mid-May the last few years, but my wife loved when we went (before we were married with kids) in late Sep.

 

[nunzia]

Agree with the buying at where you want to stay..I also got in with a small contract (to have my foot in the door for VGC). I had looked at VB and HH for the same reasons you did, and then decided it was foolish to have my Disney timeshare home to not even be at Disney. I think the 11 month window is very important, so bought at OKW. I didn't mind paying the the resale price and colosing costs as I looked at it as paying my dues to be a member. Further purchases will be direct from Disney with no closing costs (and, alas, no tote bag). I dithered and stressed for a long time and now when I look back wonder why I did! No regrets..except I should have waited for a contract with a little more points as now I'm 5 points shy of what I want to do in WDW. So, as someone else said..just do it!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks Kathy - the more I think about it, the more I think I'll end up buying something at WDW as opposed to VB of HH that way I know I can at least reserve something at WDW and could possibly switch at the 7 mo window.

We've gone mid-May the last few years, but my wife loved when we went (before we were married with kids) in late Sep.

Most likely with the months that you are looking at going you'll have good luck in switching at 7 months but at least you'll have a reservation at WDW as backup if you purchase at one of the on property resorts.

Good luck with your purchase - there are lots of good deals out there now!!!