disneyhoneymooners said:
We live in FL and are annual passholders, so are there quite a bit, and most recently starting to consider buying into this. Is it too late to be worth it?
No.
Would it just be easier to rent points from someone?
No. You could, obviously. But that involves paying $10-12 per point now, and who knows what down the road. And it's a hassle, isn't it? You specify your needs. Somebody checks availability, and hopefully gets what you want (which depends on their home resort, use year, and a bunch of other stuff you won't even know about). If they can't find exactly what you want, they either give up or you go back and forth until you and they are satisfied. They make reservations in your name, and you can verify those, and it's probably all fine...but still, your vacation is in
their hands, not yours.
Comfy? Wouldn't you really rather control all of that yourself?
Isn't it only until 2042 or something?
Or something. Saratoga Springs (SSR) expires in 2054; Old Key West (OKW), Beach Club (BCV), Boardwalk (BWV), Wilderness (VWL), Hilton Head (HH), and Vero Beach (VB), expire in 2042.
So we would miss out on years that most of you have already had?
Yes...but by following that same logic, you also have missed out on the wonderful years of wedded bliss most of us have enjoyed. Would you have skipped your four-year honeymoon because of that?
Still have so much to learn
That's the essential first step to understanding.
...and hoping you'll help me!
Oh yeah! You came to the right place.
It would be very helpful if you could outline the following things: 1) How often do you visit WDW? 2) How long do you usuallly stay? 3) What kind of accommodations do you usually use? On-site? If so...value? moderate? luxury? Answers to those questions will help us help you.
I think the conventional wisdom is that if you visit WDW once a year for a week at a time, and you stay on-site in a moderate or luxury resort,
DVC will give you more room and lower cost. I am also a Florida resident/AP holder, and that still applies for me.
You will also usually have better accommodations. At a minimum, a studio is larger than most hotel rooms. From one-bedroom up, the DVC units are awesome by comparison.
My personal perspective is that DVC offers a way to
lock in future vaction costs, at a place we love, owned and managed by Disney, for less than similar accommodations cost now, and a fraction of what they will cost in the future.
When I was considering DVC, I looked ONLY at using my points at the seven DVC resorts -- and frankly, based my decision almost exclusively on using the points at WDW itself. I didn't consider using points for non-DVC resorts, or
DCL cruises, or other timeshares around the world, or any of the cool Adventure Collection things. I also did not consider any of the perks members get, because those can and do change. I didn't look at the opportunity to rent points I didn't need. I do
not consider DVC an investment; I consider it a vacation plan. I bought DVC to go see the mouse.
Or to be more accurate, to take BabyGirl to go see the mouse, 'cause I am much too mature, sophisticated, and cool to get excited about things like visiting some cartoon rodent. Okay...let's be honest. I decided to buy DVC when I saw BabyGirl's face light up at the sight of the cartoon rodent.
But I was cool.
