Thinking about buying DVC, but the annual dues...

[WolfpackFan]

I think the problem is that timeshares in general have a bad rep. And a lot of people put DVC in this same category. The only real way to justify it "logically" is to look at it from the standpoint that you are prepaying for future vacations. We purchased six years ago and both DW and myself are now retired. With our DVC points we get 3-4 good vacations a year. If we had not bought into DVC, with today's economy, we would never be able to take the vacations we take now. We would basically be sitting at home looking at the four walls. I know a lot of folks say taking DVC vacations actually costs them more money; but not us. We are very frugal. Our biggest expense is our AP's and I can even see us reach a stage in the future where we don't even go to the parks. We always take food to eat in the rooms plus we don't eat many TS meals. We buy very few (if any) souvenirs. I would have never thought we'd reach the pint where we would be going to WDW and HHI 3-4 times a year. But we do because we've already paid for our accommodations.

 

[DebbieB]

I'm paying $108 a month for 250 BWV points. That would give me about 10 nights a year in a 1 bedroom or about 20 in a studio. Seems worth it (initial purchase paid off long ago).

 

[crisi]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I would love to buy into DVC but it is convincing my husband that is difficult. He is a Accountant/CPA/Tax Specialist and we look at everything to do with money differently. He doesn't get the whole emotional investment period! He likes Disney a lot...but doesn't share my passion for Disney, but my two teen aged daughters do. We were there for 10 days in May and rented points to stay in a 2 bedroom at BCV. I loved having the extra space and the convenience of a full kitchen even though we did the dining plan. We were able to have coffee/juice and cereal...bagels for breakfast in the morning before we headed out for the day and used our dining plan credits for lunch and dinner. We ate WAY TOO MUCH! We loved the Beach Club and love the whole EPCOT resort area.

I just can't seem to get him to see things my way. Any suggestions?

Mary Waring has a good financial analysis over on Mousesavers that would appeal to a CPA. http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html#dvc

However, in your shoes I would caution you to look long term....your girls are going off to college fairly quickly - will they still be able to (and want to) vacation with you? Its possible that you will quickly LOVE your DVC because it gets your family together at a time when it can be very difficult to do so. And you may need to consider boyfriends, fiancees and husbands - even grandkids rather quickly - at least compared to someone buying when their kids are toddlers. Or it may mean that Disney becomes less of a destination as your family gets older and your daughters want to spend their vacations with friends - or if the family goes somewhere, they'd prefer the beach or a cruise......

 

[Chellymouse]

Another nurse here OP! I figure that as long as our dues are less than what we would have paid for a "standard" trip for us (which is about 9 days) then it's worth it. DVC has been one of the best purchases we've ever made. Even DH agrees that it's nice to have some room and not be cramped up in a hotel room anymore. We've not done a studio stay either, but if we do a super short trip, we may consider it. We will be taking our third stay as members next month and already we have made back 65% of our purchase price. This will be our third trip in a year and we would never have been able to do it without DVC.
Beware though...add-on-itis is a terrible disease and most members do come down with it. We are currently saving up for at least 100 point add on, hopefully this fall!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

We were there for 10 days in May and rented points to stay in a 2 bedroom at BCV. I loved having the extra space and the convenience of a full kitchen even though we did the dining plan.

I just can't seem to get him to see things my way. Any suggestions?

Maybe you should point out to him that any points you've rented (or will rent in the future) could have gone towards the purchase instead of someone else's pocket. The price for 10 days in a 2bdrm @ BCV adds up pretty quick.

Also, if you find WDW isn't your cup-of-tea a few years down the road you can always sell your membership. IMHO, DVC holds it's value much better than most timeshares. If you continue to visit and book through Disney or rent points, that's money you'll never get back. Good Luck!

 

[littlestar]

Your husband is right. The dues are something to be weighed and considered (besides the upfront purchase money).

If you don't think you'll keep going every year after your family gets older, I would probably just continue to rent points or maybe try to buy a smaller contract (maybe 100 points) and bank and borrow for a special Disney trip every few years.

If we still owned all the DVC points we had purchased through the years, it would have been 550. Now we're down to just 155 at SSR and that works out quite nicely for us. After our girls grew up and we had numerous trips under our belts, the girls were tiring of Disney's high food prices and mediocre quality. The kids now ask us to book SSR so they can get to offsite restaurants and shopping quickly. It's amazing how things change over time. Used to be BCV or VWL would have been their top choice when they were teens.

 

[bbowers]

One thing that helps us out each year - we use any Disney Dollars we have from our Disney VISA towards our annual dues. We usually vacation in Sept so have time to build up more for our trip (and I put every dang thing I can on that card - phone, cell phone, groceries, medical expenses, business expenses - ANYTHING. I barely remember what cash looks like.).