Things I need to Consider

[skyler]

The title says it all. I am considering buying into a dvc and do not know what I need to consider before purchasing. Meaning does it matter what club package I buy into. Do the rules change. Do the required points change or am I locked into a point structure. What are the pros and cons about buying a dvc compared to just paying each stay. Over the l;ong term do you save money. And I would also like to know from people who have purchased if you could do it over again what would you do differant. Meaning purchases from disney or from a reseller. I know this is a very broad post. But I would like to know as much as possible before making the purchase. Thanks for all the help

 

[Granny]

I think most people here are pretty happy that they bought DVC. Certainly there wouldn't be a lot of motivation to hang out on a board like this if someone were completely regretting the purchase. I'll take a stab at some of your questions, though you might find the search function very helpful.

Meaning does it matter what club package I buy into.

I'm not sure what this means. Do you mean does it matter which resort you buy your points at? If so, check out this thread on Home Resorts

Do the rules change.

In general, the rules don't change but the perks can come and go.

Do the required points change or am I locked into a point structure.

Disney cannot change the point structure at any DVC resort without balancing it off somewhere else in the point schedule. So they could make a season somewhat more points but they'd have to reduce that same number of points for a different season or villa type. In reality, Disney hasn't changed the point structure except once at OKW and that was a minor tweak as I recall.

What are the pros and cons about buying a dvc compared to just paying each stay.

That's a huge question. I don't want to have to look for codes and discounts that may or may not show up for the times of the year that I want to travel. There are many other benefits but that's the biggest one for me...locking me into affordable vacation accommodations that I would never be able to afford paying cash each year. We stay in a 2BR villa for the four of us...we'd never do that paying cash.

Over the l;ong term do you save money.

You can save money with DVC but we haven't. We go to WDW more often and that means all the food and travel expenses have gone up. Some have been able to save money by staying only in studios and avoiding weekend stays when the points are higher. As indicated before, we never looked at DVC as a money saver. Instead it is a way to stay on-site at WDW in upgraded accommodations.

And I would also like to know from people who have purchased if you could do it over again what would you do differant. Meaning purchases from disney or from a reseller.

Here's a good thread on the pros and cons of direct vs resale

 

[Granny]

Here's another thread on the DVC Planning board: IS DVC WORTH IT?

Personally, I'd try to avoid the "crash course" on DVC. It is a fairly complex timeshare system and not something that can easily be written out in one post or thread.

Read these boards to get a feel for how DVC works, and people's opinions. If you read most of the threads, especially on this board, you will gain a good understanding of the pros and cons of DVC ownership.

Good luck!

 

[BrentR]

Here's another thread on the DVC Planning board: IS DVC WORTH IT?

Personally, I'd try to avoid the "crash course" on DVC. It is a fairly complex timeshare system and not something that can easily be written out in one post or thread.

Read these boards to get a feel for how DVC works, and peoples opinions. If you read most of the threads, especially on this board, you will gain a good understanding of the pros and cons of DVC ownership.

Good luck!

Granny is right, you can learn alot by surfing these threads. I did not know about them until after we purchased but have learned a tremendous amount sifting through the various threads. Even threads that don't have catchy titles, I look at and often times pick up bits an pieces of info.

In short DVC is definatley worth it if you typically go to WDW at least every other year and stay in moderate or deluxe accomodations.

Generally, many will tell you that if you buy DVC you will break-even in 7-9 years if you travel to WDW once per year. There are many others who can give you great illustrations of savings but this info is also in many other threads, it just takes a little time to sift through all the threads.

 

[chalee94]

DVC can save you money under certain circumstances. definitely hang out on the boards, read the threads, and learn to use the search function to learn more about DVC...

that's how i got comfortable enough to figure how to buy in.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Granny covered most of your querries, but I can answer the one about Things we would have done differently with our purchase. We would have purchased back in 1992 instead of waiting until 1997!

 

[mpusateri]

You should clearly buy resale as it is much cheaper than buying direct from Disney. 2nd, I would not put much value in the interval exchange option of being able to exchange Disney points for other time share resorts. I do not think this works. You can never plan ahead so your airfare will always be very expensive and I traded in some points that after two years I was unable to find a connection of a resort that was available and they expired unused. That is the biggest problem I have with the purchase.

 

[TisBit]

You should clearly buy resale as it is much cheaper than buying direct from Disney. 2nd, I would not put much value in the interval exchange option of being able to exchange Disney points for other time share resorts. I do not think this works. You can never plan ahead so your airfare will always be very expensive and I traded in some points that after two years I was unable to find a connection of a resort that was available and they expired unused. That is the biggest problem I have with the purchase.

Resale vs Direct is also a highly debatable topic. Read a lot of boards there are a lot of differing opinions and it really depends on where you want to buy and how many points. Closing costs can be higher on resale and if you are financing that can be higher.....but advantages are if you are interested in a sold out resort or you are paying cash, you can find deals. Unfortunately there is no cut and dry, this is the best way to buy. We bought direct for a lot of reasons and I don't regret it, but that was for our situation.

As already stated, look at some of the past threads and you will find all the debates back and forth on it!

 

[skyler]

Thanks for the direction it helps alot.

 

[Y-ASK]

#1. DVC is a great value if you're going to stay at a DVC resort.

#2. Trading into II or one of the other non-dvc disney resorts is not a good value.

#3. Purchase at the resort you really want to stay at the most.

#4. Resale is great but takes awhile to complete the deal.

#5. If you can, try not to finance your purchase.

#6. Resale will allow you to purchase fewer points up front. DVC min. is 160 points to buy in.

Y-ASK

 

[Chellymouse]

Surfing the threads will give you the most information. Way more information than your guide. We looked things up on these boards and then called our guide. You most certainly need to do your homework to make sure this is right for you. If you generally travel to Disney at least every other year, then DVC is worth it. If you don't, then DVC may not be right for you.

 

[DVC Mike]

#2. Trading into II or one of the other non-dvc disney resorts is not a good value.

Why do you think trading into II is not a good value?

 

[Y-ASK]

Because the Points needed to make such a trade are pretty substantial from what I understand. I've never tried to trade into II and I have no specifics but ever since coming to the DIS forum that has been the advice given by other members. Buy into DVC and vacation at DVC in order to get the best points value. If you could figure out how many points I would need to trade into a 2 Bedroom week at Marriott's Oceanwatch in Myrtle Beach I can probably show you how to do it cheaper.

Y-ASK

 

[DVC Mike]

Because the Points needed to make such a trade are pretty substantial from what I understand.

While no one should buy into DVC with the intent of primarily using the membership to trade out to II, I think the occasional trade into II to do something outside of Disney is fine.

 

[Y-ASK]

While no one should buy into DVC with the intent of primarily using the membership to trade out to II, I think the occasional trade into II to do something outside of Disney is fine.

I agree it's what ever your preference may be but let's take a look at an example. I choose a simple "Magic" season week (7 nights) because it's not the most or least points used and I was able to find the exact same dates. In this case the points total is 316 points. So let's compare locations by choosing Marriott's "Horizon's by Marriott" vacation club also in Orlando. I can rent a 2 Bdr. at this wonderful resort for $1,200.00 cash. If I were to trade I would have to use 316 DVC points. 316 points at DVC is worth like $3,160.00 ($10 per point) minimum. See what I mean .


Y-ASK

 

[flyerron]

There is no perfect answer. I would not say that clearly you should buy resale or direct. The cleanest purchase is direct but you may save some bucks on teh resale. Resale can cause heartburn during the trade & it is not gauranteed, Disney has the right of 1st refusal & may nix the deal. If you want to buy at a special resort then do it, however there are incentives for SSR & AKV. Disney should have some available units at most of the resorts however. IMHO I don't think you can go wrong at any resort.
Good Luck

 

[Disney Doll]

Things DH & I considered when we were going to buy DVC:
1. Would we be going to WDW at least every other year? DH's research showed that DVC was still a value for an every other year trip. Any less frequently and it was not as much of a value.

2. Did we prefer to stay in at least a moderate level of accomodations when we were at WDW? The Value level of resort would probably still work out to be less expensive per night than the DVC would cost if one broke it down to a per night rate, comparing a studio DVC (which is essentially a hotel room with a kitchenette) to a Value hotel room. But, our preference is for Moderate level resorts at least, and of course who doesn't love a Deluxe???? With DVC, we feel that we get the equivalent of Deluxe resorts at a much better price.

3. Could we comfortably afford the monthly payments? We didn't want to go out on a financial limb for a timeshare ownership.

4. Would DVC hold its value? We determined that because it was a Disney-based, Disney-backed product, that it would.

5. Is it easy for us to get to WDW to take advantage of the DVC? Yes. We live about an hour north of NYC and there are 6 airports within a 1-1.5 hour drive that could get us there. Westchester is actually about 45 minutes away, has JetBlue & AirTran now, so our total travel time from leaving the airport to hitting MainStreet USA can be as little as 5 hours, if we hit luggage, rental car and traffic just right. We have left Westchester at 8AM and been having lunch at Tony's at 1PM!!!!

Things to remember:
1. Ultimately you will probably be spending more time at WDW because it makes vacationing so enjoyable, so you will overall spend more money on vacationing but you will save on what you spend on accomodations.
2. "Add-on-itis" will get you. You'll buy your first contract. You'll finagle your points and go and do. You'll split stays and do what you have to do to s-t-r-e-t-c-h those points to their maximum amount of use. You'll decide one day that "X" number of points is just not enough and if you had 50 or 100 or 200 more, it would be perfect. You will buy another contract. You have just caught "addonitis" and there is no cure for it.
3. Vacation is a lot better than work. I am a nurse. I have seen many people die in my 25 year career. No one on their death bed ever said "Gee I wish I had worked more".
4. We have derived untold enjoyment out of our DVC. We have brought friends and relatives. Every January we are there for the marathon weekend and are able to have a big group gathering in our condo unit pre-race. The pace is relaxed, you feel more at home, there is nothing like sitting on your balcony looking at Disneyworld...a golf course, a waterway with the ToT in the background, Bay Lake, lovely serene woods, DTD...while you're drinking your morning coffee.

It was something DH & I could comfortably afford, and we have never regretted our decision.

Good luck!!!!