Tell me why you love DVC!

[virginiamama]

Help me out - I really want to see the value in DVC. I've read the benefits of DVC membership on the FAQ. DH hasn't sold me on it yet. We like to go to WDW for a week every year, or on a DCL cruise. We love the cruises just as much as the parks and I'm afraid that it won't be worth it to us to use our points for cruises. What we've got booked now are parks on odd years, cruises on even years through 2006. I know I can borrow points from the next year and bank points from this year, but I don't want my cruise trips to cause my park trips to have to be shorter, or even skipped, or the other way around. DH says his reason to buy in is so that we can stay in nicer resorts than we would be able to stay in otherwise. We're on more of a value/moderate budget! Also - the maintenance fee that is likely to increase periodically seems so expensive to me - 1/2 of what it is costing us this year to stay 7 nights at POP including park hopper tickets. It's usually just our family of 4, but we might like to take our moms with us some time, but I can't imagine doing that every year. We were thinking about getting 200 points. Anyway - tell me why you love it and what made you decide to buy in! Thanks so much! (Please don’t flame me!)

 

[spiceycat]

Have you seem the DVC resort?

I mean I love Pop Century it is cute.

but image waking up and seeing Epcot out your window - you can if you stay in BCV or BWV.

I love each DVC resorts for a different reason.

OKW - relaxing
BWV - party central
BCV - can't get any closer to Epcot
VWL - MK is a boat ride away
SSR - if you like to party at PI - then this is the resort for you!

all the DVC resort are just lovely.

You need to go visit the DVC resort on your next trip.

go see a 1 or 2 bedroom at OKW.

a studio at BCV or VWL

a 1-bedroom at BWV.

You will want to join as much as your husband.

DVC was designed by Disney - for Disney guests. It is definitely not your average timeshare. It is much, much better.

 

[jarestel]

DVC is probably not going to seem like a good financial deal for you if you tend to stay in values/moderates most of the time and want to use your points for a cruise every other year. The cruises tend to suck up a lot of points and if you're only going to buy 200 points, you'll probably be borrowing next year's points just to go on this year's cruise.

What DVC really works best for is if you want to stay primarily at a DVC resort at WDW and maybe do the cruise or some other trade out once in a while. We've done 20+ trips to WDW since joining DVC a little over 5 years ago. We've spent a fortune on travel costs, dining, and park tickets, but our accomodations costs have been pretty reasonable.

I'm sure someone else will weigh in with some spread sheet logic about determining break even points or whatever, but we just bought in because it seemed like a neat idea.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[justloveit]

We were value/mod budget before we purchased DVC also. Our vacations are SO MUCH BETTER than before. The accomodations are so much more comfortable than a hotel room. It is so relaxing and we truly feel like it is a second home. We have been able to share with family members and give them magical vacation memories also. We would never go back to a hotel room again. Good Luck with your decision.

 

[vascubaguy]

Have you seen the DVC TOTES!!!!!???




Oh, just wanted to mention that rather than using up your points during a year you want to take a cruise, you could always stay at Vero for a few days before and after the cruise. Then rent out the unused points for that year (or bank them to the next year) and pay $$$ for the cruise.

Personally, I intend to rent unused points each year in order to help offset the cost of the MN fees.

I think you'll love the difference in the accommodations. I mean we stayed at ASMo and it was ok... but we only went to the hotel to sleep. With DVC we can go down just to relax and plan days of not going to the parks. The trips can become more leisurely rather than trying to see and do everything in 5 days! We'll have 50 years to see it all.

Did I mention the TOTES? Oh... and the Lithographs!?

 

[vascubaguy]

DVC is probably not going to seem like a good financial deal for you if you tend to stay in values/moderates most of the time and want to use your points for a cruise every other year. The cruises tend to suck up a lot of points and if you're only going to buy 200 points, you'll probably be borrowing next year's points just to go on this year's cruise.

...

I'm sure someone else will weigh in with some spread sheet logic about determining break even points or whatever, but we just bought in because it seemed like a neat idea.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

I won't throw in the spreadsheet logic, but I do have a few that I could share some numbers! You can save some in the long run and improve your vacation accomodations, but it can depend on how you vacation. If you always stay in a studio and don't stay on Fri/Sat nights, you can save (even over value resort stays). If you go for a one bedroom, it would be more the moderate level, but again you have a full kitchen to help with food costs... and you get the nice master bedroom suite.

I agree though, it is a very neat idea. Oh, and one of the best parts... if it ends up not being for you, you can sell it and not lose much, if any, money. Since DVC exercises their Right of First Refusal the points maintain their value pretty well (for now at least).

 

[6IrishDisneyKids]

I don't know if what I can offer will help you, but it is one' woman's view/experience. We just bought at SSR directly from DIsney this week.

My family lives within a couple of hours of Disney World (DW). We LOVE to go there. WHen dh thinks vacation, he immediately thinks of DW (not dear wife, in this instance! LOL). He is crazy about the Mouse. I don't fully let on, but I am too! And there is just something much more magical about spending a few days as opposed to day trips (we do several of those per year). As it is, we stay overnight once a year for 3-4 days at POR (our favorite). We would like to stay more often, and/or for longer stretches of time. That's one factor.

I would like to spend a week at the beach sometime. We can still do that at VB or HHI with DVC (and for less than staying in Orlando so we'll still have points left over for a short DW stay!

With DVC, we will always have our vacation "taken care of" in many respects. We don't have to "save" for our accomodations as we usually do (yes, we will pay the annual dues, etc. but you know what I mean - many times we will spend our vacation money on other things - this way, we will take our vacations! I am hoping this translates into a lifetime of great family memories that might not have happened otherwise.) Our children love DW (ages 9 down to 1) so that is another factor. As they grow, there will still be a lot of fun things for them to do there as well. One day, we can take our grandchildren with us.


Finally, we are a family of 6 - too big for the standard hotel rooms. We need the bigger accomodations that DVC offers. Also, I just love the idea of having a full kitchen (I personally do not want to eat every meal out), a washer and dryer (for emergencies), and that we can put the kids to bed and not sit in the dark staring at the wall like we did last week at POR .

I am also looking forward to stealing away for a night or two with just dh and not feeling guilty about it because we should be spending money for vacations with the kids included.

Well, that's just me. Sorry this is a bit scattered... I hope you are able to make a decision that you are happy and comfortable with! As I have heard several times this week, DVC is not for everyone/every family, and that's okay.

 

[jodifla]

Here's my perspective: I stayed for the first time at Pop in March. And I thought it was decidedly low-rent accommodations compared with DVC. It was basically a motel 6 in Disney World, with some nice styling. If I had to stay there for a week with a family of four, I would expect to see little flames dancing around the place to indicate that I was in some version of hell. And it wasl almost $100 a night by the time you added tax.

Of course, this is how I feel now, after almost 10 years of luxurious DVC accommodations. Before that's exactly how we use to vacation -- in the cheapest place we could find. But we're older and wiser (or maybe older and more spoiled). Now when we go to our home away from home, we spend as much time enjoying our resort as we do the parks. We have a DS, and we tuck him away for the night in the bedroom while we enjoy wine and dinners and TV and romantic evenings, a far cry from trying to read with a flashlight while the kids sleep.

If you really enjoy Disney, you'll love DVC. And just do the cruises with cash...that's what we do. You'll be amazed at how the way you vacation changes with DVC.

 

[lllovell]

I love it for many reasons, but I would like to point out one of the main ones because you touched on it in your post. The cost of staying at POP might be about 1/2 your maintenance fees for NOW, but a 3 % increase in the cost of staying at the POP over the next 38-50 years versus the 3% or so increase is dues is a WAY different amount of money in the end. Also comparing the POP to any DVC hotel is like comparing a full sized condo to a Motel 6. Both are clean places to lay your head, but the condo simply has so much more to offer. (more size ....even a studio is bigger than a standard hotel room with a balcony, a kitchenette and a FULL bathroom - unlike the POP where you can barely move in the room and you have to straddle the toilet to shut the bathroom door.)

If I were in your shoes, I would buy enough points to borrow every other year for your stay at WDW and continue to pay cash for your cruises. You can see how many points your vacation desires require by clicking the links at the top of the page here and then divide that in 1/2 and you would have enough points. It also would make a big different in your maintenance fees. Instead of needing 200 points every year, you would only need 100 points for examploe, obviously cutting your MF expenses in 1/2.

There are also many values that are not financial - like a guaranteed family vacation every year to a place where we KNOW we want to go...a chance to share points with our family and friends so they can travel and enjoy WDW as well....forced vacations for people who have a hard time taking time off (you have paid for it - might as well go!)....a chance to see WDW, but also to be at a top notch resort to enjoy ourselves.

DVC resorts are really a different world. If you want it to be about money, I agree with PP that said it probably won't work for you.

 

[JimC]

Try this link for the cost perspective and an assessment of the program.

http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html#dvc

Also go to this link:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/dvc.htm


We love it for the value we get in fabulous villas on property with costs better controlled than relying on AP and other discount codes. However it is not for everyone. If you tend towards value resorts and are on property only EOY, then the dollar proposition is not likely to work much advantage for you.

 

[JUDSON]

As others have already noted, DVC will only be of value if you use your points to stay at DVC resorts; you should probably use cash to pay for cruises as jodifla mentioned above. A note on amount of points... the difference between the number of points required for a party of 4 and a party of 5 would be pretty substantial. With 4 you can do with a 1 BR villa or a studio, with 5 you would require a 2 BR villa or a pair of studios. The only exception I can think of is if the 5th person is a child who can sleep in a porta-crib. At least this is the case with BCV...

As far as what made me buy into DVC. I don't know what I was thinking We had been married just a year, just bought our first house, had a newborn... and I go and blow the tax return on a 150 contract at BCV (down pmt anyway). When the BCV deal came along I KNEW it was something I had to had, it's a feeling I can't explain. In the 90's my family had stayed at the YC and BC on many occasions and I had many good memories about that area of WDW. When BCV opened up, as precarious as my financial situation was, I still HAD to buy. I'm probably not the best example to follow since we could have easily have ended up in bankruptcy if I had lost my job or health, etc.

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[Pluto 2]

i used to stay about 8 or 9 nights off property or at the all stars. now im stayin 12 nights at one of the dvc resorts.

 

[MrsNick]

I love DVC resorts...They really afford you a little more space on a longer vacation, especially if you have kids...As they get older (i.e. teenagers) they are less likely to really want to spend cramped quarters with *gasp* their parents! (Just kidding).

But in all seriousness, if you are worried about cruises sucking up your points, maybe instead of purchasing 200 points, you could purchase 150 points. Pay cash for your cruise every two years, and then use points every two years for your WDW vacation. Bank the 150 points from the year before and pool them with your current points, and you'd have 300 points for each WDW vacation. You could have some really nice digs that way, and pay a little less in maintenance than for 200 points.

Anyway, I also like the idea of being able to invite friends along on vacations if we wanted to. I like having a kitchen available to make coffee and breakfast in the morning (I really hate being forced to go out for breakfast or coffee - not that I would never go out, but I don't like not having the option of staying in). And it costs a little to stay in DVC, but you save a little if you eat breakfast or lunch in the room. So to me, it evens out, and you end up with way better accomodations. JMO

 

[JimC]

...It's usually just our family of 4, but we might like to take our moms with us some time, but I can't imagine doing that every year. We were thinking about getting 200 points....

You might want to consider buying a 100 point resale and use banking to get the 200 EOY. Pay cash for the cruises. This will improve the economics for you.

 

[Coastie]

Have you ever seen VWL at Christmas? Snow coming down while walking Main Street? We absolutely love the idea of havng a second "home" at WDW! We NEVER went on vacation until we bought into DVC. Now we stay 6-9 nights! By the way... its also a nice inflation hedge.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

Well, I am spending 24 nights in a standard view studio in 2006! And I only have 150 points per year. That is of course two years worth of points plus a little borrowing, but if I cut the weekends, I could stay even longer! But the kids get upset with sleeping in the car all weekend. I never would have imagined staying that many nights before DVC.

I am an accountant by trade and my husband asked me if it was a good investment for our money. I hesitated....I don't believe it is a good investment from a financial perspective. Other ways to invest money earn a greater financial return. And, he was quite skeptical about buying. I love Disney and he tolerates it. But, within 24 hours of checking into our 1 bedroom villa at VB, he said that we need more points, at least 200 or more. I nearly fainted!!

But, family memories are priceless, and with our busy lives, how much time do we really spend with our children on daily basis. These vacations will be a way to reconnect with our children and each other. DVC is priceless to our family.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Too many reasons to list.

26 trips in 10 years, 2 cruises and 1 ski trip! It's all paid for and the accomodations are great..... that's it for now.

 

[rinkwide]

...DH says his reason to buy in is so that we can stay in nicer resorts than we would be able to stay in otherwise...

Your husband is a very wise man and deserves your unquestioned loyalty and trust.

 

[CherCrazy]

Your husband is a very wise man and deserves your unquestioned loyalty and trust.

Tammy Alphabets hubby is also a very wise and deserving man....he told her to buy more points!!

 

[ksoehrlein]

But, within 24 hours of checking into our 1 bedroom villa at VB, he said that we need more points, at least 200 or more. I nearly fainted!!

Oh, please send pixie dust my way so my DH will say the same thing! We also have 150 points, but will be doing a Sun-Thurs stay in a 1BR at BCV in March (total, 150 points).

We've always stayed in studios and DH has been begging for us to have our own room, so we're taking the plunge. Is it true that once you've stayed in a 1BR, you never go back to studios? Will we come down with a bad case of "addonitis" as a result? I hope so!