Talk some sense into me

[RaymOOOnd]

When people reference "breaking even" I've found it helpful to stop and think about what that truly means. In most cases people mean beating the rack rates for the same accommodations over time, until the amount saved equals the amount paid for the contract (with or without considering the dues). BUT... do people consider the rack rates to be reasonable in the first place, and is anyone (save for the 0.1%...not to get political with my terminology) really paying them as if they're a normal thing to be paying? Hey, we're not DVC members, but let's go spend 7 nights in a 2 bedroom for $1800 per night.... after we sell the car.

Disney can always make DVC look like a good deal by increasing rack rates (to greater and greater levels of absurdity).

 

[skier_pete]

When people reference "breaking even" I've found it helpful to stop and think about what that truly means. In most cases people mean beating the rack rates for the same accommodations over time, until the amount saved equals the amount paid for the contract (with or without considering the dues). BUT... do people consider the rack rates to be reasonable in the first place, and is anyone (save for the 0.1%...not to get political with my terminology) really paying them as if they're a normal thing to be paying? Hey, we're not DVC members, but let's go spend 7 nights in a 2 bedroom for $1800 per night.... after we sell the car.

Disney can always make DVC look like a good deal by increasing rack rates (to greater and greater levels of absurdity).

I did my original comparison using 25% of rack rates for moderate resorts, and assuming both rack rates and dues would rise by 4% every year. It took like 9 years to make it to "break even" but the rates diverged faster and faster, and by 20 years I had saved like $50,000 versus paying cash and over the life of the contract (42 years at the time) it was like $200,000 in savings. Against deluxe resorts - which we didn't stay at before this - the break-even was only like 5 years. From November 2016 to October 2017 we stayed 26 nights on property with our DVC - and even factoring in the initial buy in cost ($/point/year - $74 over 43 years is $1.72/point/year) we saved move than $5000 in a single year.

Now we got AKV points at $74 a point. Direct buy points at $188 a point will not save you money that quickly. But what we didn't factor in was how wonderful our stays were at the deluxe resorts versus the moderates we were previously staying at. So not only are we staying at Deluxe properties for a little less than moderate prices, we are enjoying the resorts more. I'm not sure I would buy in at $188 a point even now, but I do not regret buying in. We even bought a second small contract at Boardwalk which was not nearly as cost efficient as the original one ($105 for 25 years = $4.20 /point/year) but once we realized how much we enjoy these resorts it was totally worth the extra $70 or so a night that the higher point price requires.

 

[RaymOOOnd]

I agree; happy with prior purchases but having a tough time justifying buying again. We got AKV for $69 (no brainer) and BLT for $121 a year or two later (not as obviously worth it but still relatively decent)

 

[Deb & Bill]

Friends and family may jump at a chance to stay with you at WDW, but when they find out how much it costs to enter the parks, to eat, to travel, it may change their mind quickly. And they might not be aware that there are booking concerns. So they tell you at the last minute that they can't go. You have a two bedroom villa or a treehouse booked for your family alone unless you can get someone to go at the last minute. And that messes with ADRs and FP+. Plus if they aren't sure how timeshares work, they think it's all free. You aren't out any money if they cancel last minutes.

If you still want to buy, buy the amount that works for your family, not all the guests you want to treat to a trip.

 

[LuigiSpice]

Friends and family may jump at a chance to stay with you at WDW, but when they find out how much it costs to enter the parks, to eat, to travel, it may change their mind quickly. And they might not be aware that there are booking concerns. So they tell you at the last minute that they can't go. You have a two bedroom villa or a treehouse booked for your family alone unless you can get someone to go at the last minute. And that messes with ADRs and FP+. Plus if they aren't sure how timeshares work, they think it's all free. You aren't out any money if they cancel last minutes.

If you still want to buy, buy the amount that works for your family, not all the guests you want to treat to a trip.

I get what you are saying and completely agree. My thought was to get enough that with banking I could have people come with us (hopefully chipping in lol), or we could do our longer 10+ day trips on our own.

 

[crisi]

Friends and family may jump at a chance to stay with you at WDW, but when they find out how much it costs to enter the parks, to eat, to travel, it may change their mind quickly. And they might not be aware that there are booking concerns. So they tell you at the last minute that they can't go. You have a two bedroom villa or a treehouse booked for your family alone unless you can get someone to go at the last minute. And that messes with ADRs and FP+. Plus if they aren't sure how timeshares work, they think it's all free. You aren't out any money if they cancel last minutes.

If you still want to buy, buy the amount that works for your family, not all the guests you want to treat to a trip.

I was going to say the same thing. Be really careful when buying with guests in mind - guests are a can of worms. Especially if you are considering guests, understand banking, borrowing and cancellation policies. A not uncommon guest scenario is you ask someone to go along eighteen months out (because you'll need to book eleven months out) and get a verbal "that sounds like fun" At eleven months out you touch base, and they are still on board and you book. Sometime over the next eleven months, your guests discover the cost of park tickets, dining, airfare - and that little Dylan has a soccer tournament that weekend. You now have a bigger unit than you need, you can't cancel it because nothing smaller is available for your dates, you can't move the trip because of use year......

We had FOUR people in a BWV Grand Villa one year. Our guests had a good excuse - he died and his family really didn't want WDW two months after the funeral.