Talk me out of DVC

[Legacy]

Talk me out of buying a 120 pt SSR resale contract. I have a wife and one 4yo daughter, so I would think we would be going to WDW several times in the next 10 years or so, at least. I can sell an investment to pay for the purchase up front with no financing, and the 600/year in dues sounds doable.

Why not purchase it? Retirement is funded, money to pay bills is fine, left over money every month, emergency fund is funded...

 

[magicalmoments]

I say if you did your homework and it fits...go for it. Ya only live once
I am a new DVC owner at AKV and I cant wait for my first trip in December. I always stayed at the value resorts before so this will really kick it up a notch! Im excited.

Good luck,
Stacy

 

[chalee94]

have you looked at the 2011 point charts? there have been a few changes.

are you planning to hit wdw at least every other year?

can you plan 7 or more months in advance?

are you happy with POP or the all-stars?

is limited housekeeping a dealbreaker?

you sound like a pretty good candidate for the most part...

 

[crisi]

You are "stuck" with Disney.

We just got back from a great week in Mexico and the kids are burned out on Disney - they are ten and eleven and we've only been "every other yearers." Plus we've gone other places. They liked Mexico. They liked Europe. They liked San Francisco. WE like those places.

In the time since we puchased, Disney dining in particular has gone way downhill. We used to make it a big part of our vacation - now we don't even look forward to it. With the kids "done" with the rides and us "done" with the dining, I'm not sure we'd ever go again if we didn't have DVC. Or at least, not in the sort of "owning DVC makes sense" timeframe. But we probably will be too lazy to sell, and therefore probably continue to use our vacation time. Although, we've started the "maybe we should sell" conversation.

 

[Daddio]

Talk me out of buying a 120 pt SSR resale contract. I have a wife and one 4yo daughter, so I would think we would be going to WDW several times in the next 10 years or so, at least. I can sell an investment to pay for the purchase up front with no financing, and the 600/year in dues sounds doable.

Why not purchase it? Retirement is funded, money to pay bills is fine, left over money every month, emergency fund is funded...

It sounds like you are rallying troups to reinforce the decision you have already made.

Welcome Home!!

David

 

[disneynutz]

The good thing is as a DVC owner you will vacation at WDW at least once a year, maybe more.

The bad thing is the more you visit, the more you see behind the curtain.

Bill

 

[cvjw]

If you can afford it and love going to Disney, DVC could be great for your family. I am not sure that I would want a Saratoga Springs contract, but if you don't mind staying there if you can't change resorts at 7 months, you should be fine.

 

[5forDiz]

If you are wondering then don't purchase until you at least have had an opportunity to stay at DVC resort(s) you think you would like most; if you do your homework renting can be a very safe option and gives you the experience before committing to purchase. Or buy a resale at less than 120 points to start off and see if DVC is a good fit; you can always rent or transfer in additional points to cover your trip if need be or you can purchase additional points to add to your contract as needed to support your travel habits in years to come.

Best wishes

 

[ToddyLu]

I am guessing that you go to Disney already??? DH and I have been going yearly for the last 8 years with no sign of giving that up because Disney is the best vacation for both of us. If you are not in the habit of committing that much time you may want to see how many trips you do over the next couple of years. I can't imagine owning AKV for only 10 years then not being interested anymore, but that is just us. If DH and I didn't want to "do" Disney every single year, we would not have purchased....period.

 

[Legacy]

have you looked at the 2011 point charts? there have been a few changes.

I have not..I just looked at the 2010 chart. Will check into ASAP.

are you planning to hit wdw at least every other year?

Yes. Probably every other year.

can you plan 7 or more months in advance?
Don't see why not. Esp since she'll be in Kindegarten this fall, school will dictate the schedule...at least somewhat.

are you happy with POP or the all-stars?
No! We have to have at least one queen bed, and the lines for buses at the values, and even the moderates are very very long. I imagine the bus lines for the DVC resorts are much shorter, but I have no experience staying at one. I know they were way shorter for the Wilderness Lodge

is limited housekeeping a dealbreaker?
LOL...my wife will miss the free soaps and shampoos, but we can do without! How does it work with towels and washcloths? Do you just wash and reuse yourself?

you sound like a pretty good candidate for the most part...

Thanks...I think...just hoping the visits don't get old...I can see how they could, if going multiple times per year...

IF the discounts hung around, I would see no use for DVC, but after staying at the WL on the 4/3, I am spoiled to the nicer resorts, and can't imagine paying full price to stay there. It looks like DVC will be more expensive than staying @ the POP, but the same or less as a moderate with better accomodations.

I'm not wild about the SSR location, but I'm wild about the price of the points. At this point, I think most of our trips will be during the Mardi Gras seasons where the dates don't correspond to President's Week or the Daytona 500. We don't like big crowds. I would be ok with SSR if that's what we can reserve, but would be really excited to be able to book something more convenient, such as BCV, BWV, or WLV when we go. Buying at those places may put a hamper on my point plans due to the extra expense.

So many things to think about.

 

[chalee94]

LOL...my wife will miss the free soaps and shampoos, but we can do without! How does it work with towels and washcloths? Do you just wash and reuse yourself?

actually you still get free soap and shampoo and fresh towels (but only every 4th day or so).

but you can get fresh towels every day by paying a $6 fee or washing them yourself.

I'm not wild about the SSR location, but I'm wild about the price of the points. At this point, I think most of our trips will be during the Mardi Gras seasons where the dates don't correspond to President's Week or the Daytona 500. We don't like big crowds. I would be ok with SSR if that's what we can reserve, but would be really excited to be able to book something more convenient, such as BCV, BWV, or WLV when we go.

definitely book SSR at 10-11 months out and then call right at the 7 month window to try and change resorts...if you're flexible and use the waitlist, your odds are usually pretty good.

and if switching resorts doesn't work out, you're still at disney...

 

[edk35]

Biggest mistake we made WAS NOT BUYING IN BACK IN 93. Our dd was 3 and we had just had our 2nd son. We decided to NOT buy in and have regretted it ever since.....even though we are owners now. However we didn't buy in until 3 years ago...our kids were dd 16, 13, 8 I think it is wonderful that you are buying in when your dd is 4. I say GO FOR IT. It is a small contract.....and you can always add smaller contracts at other resorts in the future. We own three 100 point contracts at SSR and 100 points at AKV. We have stayed at BCV twice at the 7 month window and BWV at the 5 month window......so you will be able to secure other DVC resorts I am sure. We love SSR too. Heck...we are happy staying anywhere DVC. We stayed at OKW twice and loved that. They all offer something unique.

 

[culli]

You came to the WRONG place if you really wanted to be talked out of DVC

 

[nyisles84]

in reference to the people that fear they are or will get "burnt out" by Disney, I was wondering if you take advantage of all the other non-Disney Places to go. We just bought this month and have our first Disney vacation scheduled for June. I think our plan of action for the most park will be one year do something non Disney with the points, then the next do Disney. With the 500 different locations worldwide, I see trips to other countries and even different places in America for a lot of trips as well.

 

[ercrbc]

We are in the same boat, have small children and can see ourselves vacationing at WDW every year or maybe other year for the next 10-15 yrs at least. I would love to keep going, but if my family burns out I figure we can always sell the contract.

We just started the process with an AKV resale, was looking at SSR very very seriously but couldn't help myself when I saw the AKV contract....fingers crossed Disney lets this one slide through

Good luck to you and your decision! Sounds like you are thinking this through and getting all the info before taking the plunge, always the sign of a good decision

You have the $, you are planning the vacations anyway, your family will enjoy it....I say GO FOR IT!

 

[abdmom]

Talk me out of DVC
Talk me out of buying a 120 pt SSR resale contract. I have a wife and one 4yo daughter, so I would think we would be going to WDW several times in the next 10 years or so, at least. I can sell an investment to pay for the purchase up front with no financing, and the 600/year in dues sounds doable.

Why not purchase it? Retirement is funded, money to pay bills is fine, left over money every month, emergency fund is funded...

OK, I'll give it a shot.

You can rent points for when you want to go and where you want to go for $10-11/point. No maintenance fees with renting either.

There are thousands of very nice timeshares offsite within a few miles of WDW. These can be had for a pittance. They have pools, waterparks, restaurants etc.

There are many more thousands of timeshares far away from Orlando which can be used to trade into DVC through RCI.

If you want more people to gang up on you, visit tugbbs dot com. Lots of jaded timeshare owners there.

 

[culli]

in reference to the people that fear they are or will get "burnt out" by Disney, I was wondering if you take advantage of all the other non-Disney Places to go. We just bought this month and have our first Disney vacation scheduled for June. I think our plan of action for the most park will be one year do something non Disney with the points, then the next do Disney. With the 500 different locations worldwide, I see trips to other countries and even different places in America for a lot of trips as well.

There are a lot of threads about using your DVC pts for non WDW or WDL vacations. I would read them as this is a very expensive way to go other places. Use your DVC pts for Disney trips and find something MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper and more flexible than DVC for non Disney trips.

 

[chalee94]

in reference to the people that fear they are or will get "burnt out" by Disney, I was wondering if you take advantage of all the other non-Disney Places to go.

this is an option but it really is a poor deal financially. DVC only makes sense numbers-wise for onsite wdw stays. there's no point in paying ritz-carlton prices so you can trade down to a holiday inns every other year...you're better off paying with cash...

 

[dmoore22]

Each of the previous posters have provided you with valid considerations in the buy or not to buy into DVC debate. The bottom line is to consider your own vacation habits. Like you we also debated the pros & cons before we finally made the plunge and bought a resale. Prior to our decision our vacations seemed to be 3 to 5 years apart. We'd stay off-site when we visited Disneyland or purchased a package at the Value resorts. We have six children so we always required at least two rooms. The DVC resorts rack rates were definitely out of our price range. One of the straws that nudged us was when my uncle came down with vascular dementia and my aunt commented about how they had saved for years and now couldn't enjoy it. Life is much too short. Hence, we purchased a resale and have no regrets other than wishing we had known about DVC years earlier. Initially we discovered that we were spending the same as we did for the Value resort packages but our stays were longer and the accomodations much nicer through DVC. We've been in DVC since 2000 and have watched our children grow into teenagers and young adults. So far we have not experienced any burnout. Each vacation has provided a new experience. What our children enjoyed as pre-teens has changed as they entered adolescence and young adulthood which has varied our experiences. Now we have a granddaughter and so the cycle begins anew. We no longer have the "commando" mentality when we visit the resorts and parks. This has become a sanctuary where we can relax and savor the experience.

 

[nyisles84]

this is an option but it really is a poor deal financially. DVC only makes sense numbers-wise for onsite wdw stays. there's no point in paying ritz-carlton prices so you can trade down to a holiday inns every other year...you're better off paying with cash...

Well I guess it depends where you stay. I look at it as the price I am paying for a hotel outside of WDW is the cash I'm paying throughout the year for DVC. I can use 66 points to stay in Las Vegas for 3 nights during New Years Eve for a 1 bedroom. Or when I plan to travel to Europe and other countries where the American dollar is far less. I guess everyone see's it for what the need it for.