Stays seem to expensive-???

[wtg03]

Hello all!

I've just found this site and LOVE it!!! I'm looking for some help and hope you can provide it.

We are looking at going to Disney World in June and again in November. I would love to stay in one of the Vacation Club resorts. I used the point calculator just to get an approximation of how many points it would take. I looked at June 15 - June 22, 2001. It varied anywhere from 136 points to 330 points (based on a studio at OKW(I think) to a one bedroom at Wilderness).

Renting points at about $10 per point would cost between $1,360 to $3,330. Is that correct???

I'm renting a timeshare at Vistana for the same period (a one bedroom) for $750. Sure it's offsite-about one mile-but that's a heck of a price difference.

Am I calculating the points/price incorrectly?

Thanks for your help!

 

[wdwnut]

hi: welcome to the boards. i'm assuming that 6/21 will be the last night of your stay and check-out will be 6/22. that would be a total of 7 nights. if you will be there the night of 6/22 as well, i put the points cost over to the right. the points breakdown would be as follows:
OKW: studio- 109 points 27 pts. for 6/22
1 br- 218 54 pts. for 6/22
BWV: studio-standard view 111 points 28 pts. for 6/22
preferred view 134 32 pts. for 6/22
1br- standard view 222 51 pts. for 6/22
preferred view 270 60 pts. for 6/22
VWL: (same as BWV preferred views)

i think that renting the points is still way cheaper than paying even discounted rack rates for these units. the studios are about the size of a deluxe hotel room and include a small kitchenette with a refrigerator and microwave. the 1br units have a full size fridge, stove, microwave, toaster and laundry facilities right in the room. it is a lot more than an off-site timeshare, but the time you'll save by being on site can be worth it. it's a fairly busy time for both of your trips and it depends on whether or not fighting the traffic and parking is worth it to you or not. hope this helped.

 

[drusba]

Above points are correct. The point calculator is a little odd. If you are going 6/15 and leaving 6/22, the arrival date you put in the calculator is 6/15 but the end date is 6/21 (it calculaters based on actual "nights' there).

Regardless, you can definitely do Vistana or other off-site cheaper. Renting through a DVC owner means you get to stay on-site for anywhere from $500 to $1000 less than the going rental rate for the same unit through Disney. It is for those who want to stay on site which a lot people consider to be (a) the only way to go, (b) a necessity, and (c) beats the snot out of staying off-site. However, a lot of people think differently. If staying on-site is not a necessity for you then definitely go with the cheaper off-site resort.

 

[normr]

Vistana IS not Disney or staying on site, that's why it's less money, You CAN ALWAYS stay offsite for less money, if it's the convenience of staying onsite and the added perks of staying onsite, then you'll need to pay a little more.

 

[PamOKW]

You have lots of variables but I'll look at just two options for June 15-22.

OKW Studio would cost 109 points. If you could find someone to rent to your for $10 per point that would run you $1,090. The Disney rack rate would be $269 per night or $1,883 (plus $207.13 tax) $2,090.13 for the week.

25% would probably be the maximum discount you could get from Disney bringing the total with tax to $1,568.

A BWV one-bedroom (not standard view) would run 270 points and cost $2,700 at $10/point rental. Disney cost would be $415 per night or $3,224.55 with tax. A 25% discount brings it to roughly $2,418.

The value of DVC is to be an owner and spread your costs out over a much longer period. Renting from members (when you can find someone) may work out cheaper than a direct Disney booking. The problem is that weekends are more expensive when you use points but the same when paying Disney. Renters are better off not using Friday or Saturdays if they are trying to save money.

Vistana is a lovely resort and is close to Disney....but it's not in Disney. There are other great resorts in the Orlando area also that may be even less than Vistana at times. Comparing on-site to off-site is an apple to oranges comparison and offsite will always be less. For example, the offsite economy hotels are substantially cheaper than the All-Stars.

Frequent renter Nuthut posted yesterday that he is now getting $12.50 per point.

 

[wtg03]

Thanks for the responses. It still seems that the vacation club resorts are expensive! Am I missing the benefits of staying on site? I've stayed on site before but this trip I thought I could save CONSIDERABLE money by renting at Vistana. I get a 1 Bedroom unit and it's only ONE MILE AWAY and it's only $750 for a week! What do I miss by not staying on site? I understand that offsite is cheaper. But I'm not looking to stay in an Econo lodge 50 miles away. Please let me know what I'm missing in case I need to make some changes fast!
Thanks again!

 

[robinb]

I get a 1 Bedroom unit and it's only ONE MILE AWAY and it's only $750 for a week!

First of all, $750 a week is really good. Do you have to pay taxes on that too? Also, will you be required to take a timeshare tour? That will take between 1.5 and 4 hours of your time. Does it have a shuttle or will you be driving?

What do I miss by not staying on site?

The main thing you'll miss is the 24/7 Disney experience. It can be a whole lot of fun! You're also missing the Disney bus system, Early Entry, Magic Kingdom E-Ride night (see http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/eticket.htm for more info), free parking ($6 per day) at the parks & free valet parking at the other resorts.

FWIW, I usually stay at a DVC resort for 5 days and off-site for 5 days. That way I can stretch my DVC points by staying only Sunday-Friday and I can visit WDW longer. We buy Annual Passes, so our parking is free when we stay off-site.

 

[sgtdisney]

To many of us here, there is nothing that can compare to a Disney Resort. Sure the Vistana may be less money, but it isn't Disney. For some people the 'Disney touch' is not worth the extra money, for others it is. How large is the unit you have rented at Vistana? What kind of resort is it? Would you take advantage of Early Entrance if you were staying on property, these are all things to consider.

I can tell you from experience that one year we had to stay off property for a couple nights due to a late booking at OKW and no rooms were available. We selected the Hampton Vacation Resort (which I believe was part of Vistana but I am not sure) because we needed some extra space and decided if we had to stay off property we would save some money. It was a very nice place, and I wouldn't have a problem staying there again if we had to stay off property again, but it wasn't like the DVC. We got calls on our unit phone asking us to take the timeshare tour as well as slight pressure to do the same checking in.

All in all though, it really depends on the kind of room you expect and your budget.

 

[dtheboys]

I'm a DVC member, so I'm pro Disney! You can't compare a Dvc resort w/ Vistana resort.
Look at the value, Disney is worth 2x the money. Start comparing, POOLS, on site restraunts, transportation, services, etc.
If that doesn;'t do the trick....Just ask your kids if they want to stay AT Disney or off premises and drive eveyday to Disney???
P.S. Consider the built in value of staying on premises. We take the boat for a ride from WVL to the campgrounds and go to the petting farm. We take the monorail over to the Grand Floridian for dinner, etc. We can even walk over to Putt-put from our resort.
We go to the water park, jump on a quick Disney bus back to our hotel and get ready for an evening of fun at the Boardwalk.
Forget price....can your hotel do that??

 

[LIDisneyFan]

I stayed at Vistana several times before buying DVC, and it is considerably cheaper. The rooms (in the newer sections) are very nice, larger than even OKW, there are many pools and the property is nice.

However, our last cash trip, DW (the one who doesn't like to spend $$$ when she doesn't have to!) insisted we stay at BW - she wanted on on-site magic, and the experience of being 'in' Disney all the time.

And that's the basic difference. It depends on your priorities. For us, being in the magic from beginning to end is paramount, and buying DVC reflects that decision. If it weren;t key, I would choose Vistana.

 

[kamgen]

I don't think you can compare Vistana to a WDW resort at all. Staying onsite is the only way to go for us, that's why we joined DVC.
Now, I think it sounds expensive when you put it that way. At $10 a point, I probably would not do it either. That is why we joined. You don't look at it as a per point thing. The price is spread out among many years of use for members.

For what you get at the DVC resorts and how much the regular rates are, $10 a point is a good deal.

I agree with PamOKW. The rates are MORE if you don't rent points.

I guess it is a matter of persepctive and priorities. If you want 24/7 Disney....onsite is key!

 

[Richyams]

I really don't know how you can get much cheaper. If you don't count the free passes that we got in the begining, my OKW Grand Villa stays cost me a little over $100 per night.

Whats even better, I can sell my membership for about $20 per point more than I paid for it.

 

[chris1gill]

Most of the time you couldn't even book a moderate resort, like Port Orleans or Coronado Springs for the price you got at Vistana... How could you expect to get a Villa for less than that? Our DVC resorts are one heck of a lot nicer than that... JMHO If you are okay with off site and driving... Vistana has it all over Disney....

 

[wtg03]

I must say I'm thrilled with the price I got for a 1 bedroom at Vistana. A 1 bedroom at Disney would cost 4 TIMES AS MUCH!!! However, I hope I won't be missing too much by not staying onsite. We have an annual pass so parking will be free. We have small kids so we wouldn't do the e-night. Lastly, we don't do early entry due to the crowds-we go to a different park instead. However, even with all that, I'm really feeling down right now that I'm not staying on the park! I think I will extend our vacation and at least stay a couple of nights on the park. I still have reservations for Grand Caribean but thought I would be doing a GREAT thing by saving all this money and still staying at a pretty good resort and a bigger room! Hope I haven't screwed up!!!

Now you guys have got me thinking about purchasing a place on-site! Where's the best place to look for DVC resales and which resort is your favorite???

Dazed and confused!

 

[mrsdon]

Im a DVC member and have also stayed oof-site. We got a great rate through (i just had a brain cramp and cant remember the name.) They are the high rise looking ones close to sea world. The units were beautiful inside and had diffeeent amenties than Disney.
I love my DVC and love staying on-site, but if your budget only allows the $750 Vistiana stay, stay there.
Your vacation is what you make it. You'll still have a wonderful time at the parks and can eat at any of the resteraunts.
There are 1000's of people who go and can only afford a Days Inn. They manage to have a good time.
As for the best place to find a good resale.
The timeshare resale store, which is one of our sponsors has a listing.

 

[Snowgod]

Until you stay onsite at WDW, you just cannot compare the Artificial world that Disney created for us to the real world offsite. It' costs less because you have to leave the World to get there. DW and I started by staying offsite the first time we went together. We thought it would save money and leave more to have fun with. We ended up spending that extra cash to travel back and forth to the World over and over again to enjoy all there was. Next time we stayed at the ASM to save money and be in the World and fell in love. Stayed at the ASM again with Inlaws and DS and DD and started touring other resorts. After Seeing the WL, DW and I decided that that's where we should go for our 25th. We loved it so much on our 25th that we went and signed up for DVC with Arnealt our guide for a present to each other. DW and I have owned 2 other timeshares which we struggled to get out of. Disney has provided us with something that cannot be equaled offsite. Now we spend at least a few days every week planning our trips to the world both online and in our book. With DVC I can say we definitely got what we paid for and then some. Cannot wait to go home in DEC. inkbounc

 

[baileybrad]

Not sure of your past WDW visiting patterns, ie., have you gone often in the past. What is the make-up of your party? Have you stayed on-site or off property in the past? A week at Vistana for $750 in June is a good deal, hopefully it is in a newer section of the resort. I would definitely ask to see the unit before unpacking. If the resort (Vistana) is trying to impress you to join I would not think that they would put you in a lousy section. If you are not looking to join the DVC or don't plan to visit WDW a bunch in the future, I would not pay the extra cash to stay at a DVC resort. We are members of the DVC but have stayed several times in the condo type accomodations provided by Vistana, Hampton Oaks, etc. As long as you have an automobile, you can and will have a perfectly acceptable visit to WDW. It won't be "Disney" non-stop but you, again in my opinion, will have a great experience.

 

[Lisa P.]

I agree with mrsdon and baileybrad. Don't let the posts here get you down. We've stayed at DVC resorts, at non-DVC Disney hotels (in all price/style categories), and at several offsite timeshare resorts (including Vistana). We sometimes combine onsite with offsite these days. And we still enjoy each trip a great deal, continuing to return to offsite more than onsite.

Remember that this thread is on a bulletin board of DVC owners and those considering it. You will naturally see a heavy slant toward onsite. But there are those of us who enjoy offsite as much or more, especially when it means that we are able to enjoy more for our money (more space, amenities, luxury & privacy in our room, more days to visit, more $ for fun restaurants, perhaps even an extra vacation the same year).

You'll find others who have chosen to return repeatedly to offsite stays after staying onsite for similar reasons on the "Orlando Hotels and Attractions" bulletin board at this site. Don't expect that here though, where most have clearly decided in favor of onsite only, for their own individual families.

In your second message in this thread, you said you have stayed onsite before. So you know what it's like and how nice it is. You also know whether you tend to make much use of the "onsite perks" or not. That's quite individual. Your sense of whether onsite is worth the extra cost to YOU will be well served by splitting your stay and ending with a couple of nights onsite. We've done that. While we enjoy the theme, restaurants and pools, we miss our great offsite rooms and space. It's a trade-off. But don't take my or anyone else's word for it. Try it for yourself and decide. Go ahead with your plans - you are on the right track. With the sound of your messages on this thread, I wouldn't buy anything yet. See what's right for you and have a fun trip!!!!

 

[mikesmom]

We bought into DVC, but it's not because of some touchy-feely "magic". We did it because over time it made financial sense AND it was a higher quality vacation.

Finance: we've stayed offsite many times. You can certainly get a better deal in the short run and have a perfectly lovely vacation. That being said, if you tend to return to Florida, the DVC cost stays pretty consistent, while the offsite keeps going up in price. DH, the accountant, ran the numbers pretty tight, and over time DVC made more sense. Also I discovered last trip that the refrigerator made a REAL difference in food costs for our family.

Vacation: that one mile to Vistana is a VERY long mile when you're fighting the Orlando traffic, especially going home in the evening. We discovered that if we took a mid-day break we just didn't go back to the parks later in the day - we couldn't face the hassle! Being able to walk back to our hotel (we're at BWV) for a break or a snack, being able to nap and shower before supper, taking an evening stroll around the resort - the quality of the trip increased immensely. Also, being onsite made it more fun for our teenagers. If DS wants to go to the park when we're fading , he can. Offsite, we all had to go or stay together.

On past trips we needed a rest from the vacation. With DVC, we really get a vacation.

 

[TrudyZ]

Just a quick note to chime in on a few things.

Now, I have to preface this by saying my husband is very conservative with our finances. We rented points recently because it was the least expensive way to get deluxe accomodations on site and to test run DVC. After he saw the advantages to staying on site; we ended up looking for a resale (which I never thought he would consider!).

We have a 2 1/2 year old, I would never want to drive back somewhere out of the parks for nap time. I think that would get old real quick.

Early entry is also a lifesaver at MK with little kids. You can just walk right on to Dumbo, the Pooh Ride, Tomorrowland Transit, etc. You get more done in that hour and a half than you can get done the rest of the day (and a cooler part of the day too). Our plan was to do the rides at EE, go to Mickey's Toontown at rope drop and spend some time in that area with the characters and the "Barnstormer" ride (her favorite!), ride another ride or two via fastpass, and then it was lunch with the characters and nap time. (And back to a different park in the early evening).

And I also have to put in a plug for E Night. Because we had a 2 1/2 year old, we didn't really get to experience the adult rides during the day-and our fast passes were usually devoted to rides she liked--Pooh, Buzz Light Year, Jungle Cruise, etc. We were skeptical, but we tried E night to see what it was about. My husband and I said it was the best $12 we ever spent. It was great. We got to ride all the "big ones" with no wait at all--hence no crabby 2 1/2 year old. There were characters there for her to see too. We felt it would have taken 3 days to do what we were able to do in 3 hours. And it was wonderful being in the park with no crowds!

Believe me, until our trip a few weeks ago I was not a Disney or DVC cheerleader. I think you need to make the best decision for you. You may consider renting a smaller unit, or multiple smaller studios instead of one larger one. I just wanted to express my opinion that I found with smaller kids, it seemed more important to stay on-site because time is too valuable and they don't have the stamina the older ones do!

Trudy