thinking of taking the plunge!

[princess mom]

My husband and I are once again thinking of buying into the club....still very unsure nervous! We actually went to the sales promo and signed right on the spot...then once we returned home we had buyers remorse!! So we still had time to back out of the contract. Well, several years later, now we have started the process over again. My question is: if you are buying into SSR is the point price the same for everyone? I know about the incentive going on...which brings the price down....$10.00 a point. Also is 150 pts enough? We do visit WDW often, that's why we think this may work for us. ( we have children 3 and 7). I have read some threads from very negitve owners....got me a little scared!! thanks for any insight you could offer.

 

[magicalmcwho]

Hi,

Do you go every year? What resorts do you stay? Do you go more than once a year? What are you nervous about?


Jim.

 

[princess mom]

yes, we seem to go at least once a year ( last year it was twice!!) Since my husband is military, we stay at shades of green, even there we spend at least $97.00 per night. ( off season) i guess is it really a good finiacial move? I think the concept is great....but is it really worth the money? Shades of Green is considered a deluxe resort...when there we usually have two rooms for family.

 

[magicalmcwho]

Hi,

If you go every year then I think its a good financial move. Sounds like you spend $97 a night right now, so figure how much your stay is every year times 7 to 10 years. This would be what you are already willing to spend for vacation stays. Then compare that to the price of points plus dues for 7 to 10 years (the break even point).

How many in your family when you stay and when do you normally go? This wil help you figure out how many points you will need.

Jim.

 

[princess mom]

we have 4 in our family, plus we usually have at least one set of grand parents..sometimes two. That' why i like the idea of villas...a lot more room, plus we can stay together. Also, i know that within 3 years the price at SOG will go up because my husbands statis will change to officer. So i understand what your saying....do you get a discount on AP's?

 

[TCPluto]

$100 off adult AP and, I think, $75 off childs AP. Plus the many dining discounts.

 

[JUDSON]

just a couple of thoughts...

1) don't base your decision solely on dvc promo discounts as they may be revoked at any time by dvc.


2) 'crunch the numbers' as Jim mentioned. another example might be:

Expected Yearly Resort Cost =
(Total cost of contract + [Annual dues x Number of years on contract])
div by
Number of years on contract

This is pretty simplified (doesn't account for mortagage interest or any possible fees), but you should be able to take this Yearly Cost and compare it to what you spend at SOG for any given year to get an idea for how much more/less you would be paying.


3) By buying into the dvc you are pretty much locking into future resort stays at today's rates (ok, so the annual dues can go up a little), whereas other places (including SOG i guess) could cost who-knows-how-many dollars 20-30 years from now.


4) your decision shouldn't be based just on dollars, but on how much you like your home resort, as well.


5) if you decide it is not for you, you can always resell without taking a huge loss, these things don't depreciate on the same scale as, for example, a car. you may even find, like many of us, the value appreciating in a couple years.


Just one final caveat... if you do go thru with this, make sure you understand completely the dvc concept of 'allotted points' vs. 'banked points', vs 'holding account points'. you really need to plan use of your points well to avoid losing some (or being restricted in using some).

 

[WDWJWEB1]

princess mom

SIMPLE:

If you like Disney and you like vacationing and most importantly you can afford it, by all means it's a great investment!

As far as the 150 points. It's never enough !!!!!! But it's a good start.

 

[princess mom]

Thanks for all of your response! I do have a call into Tony...our DVC person to ask more questions...we are leaning towards the purchase....if it were just me, i'd do it, but my sensible husband wants to cover all the bases first. Has SSR fully opened yet? Again thanks for all of your help!!

 

[athenna]

Thanks for all of your response! I do have a call into Tony...our DVC person to ask more questions...we are leaning towards the purchase....if it were just me, i'd do it, but my sensible husband wants to cover all the bases first. Has SSR fully opened yet? Again thanks for all of your help!!

Nope, not expected until copmpleted w/phase 3 until approx '07. They are currently working on phase 2-that is why my closing date is 3/31. Keep us posted!

 

[magicalmcwho]

princess mom,

If you do decide to purchase and dont need financing then you should look at a resale. There are resales for all the resorts and may find a good contract with banked points. If you need financing then you would have to puchase at SSR thru DVC. I dont know what the current incentives are right now, but i did see a thread on the subject.

Jim.

 

[princess mom]

from what i understand....they are selling SSR points for $95.00. The incentive is either a vacation useable right away ( not able to book at SSR) or they will give you$1200.00 towards your purchase....bringing the point cost to $87.00...when we looked into buying several years back the point cost was $89.00! So it's a little cheaper then before. I will have to finiance....thanks again!

 

[magicalmcwho]

Hi


Sent you a pm. Keep us posted on how thing turn out.

Jim

 

[Jynohn]

We're military too and SOG was the one thing that was keeping us back from buying DVC for the past couple of years. We really like it at SOG and it's really hard to beat the price!

However we started to realize that it might be nice to spread out a little more in a one bedroom during our vacations, plus the fact that as nice as SOG is, it doesn't hold a candle to the DVC resorts in terms of theming. We still plan to stay at SOG during some of our trips, maybe on weekends when points are higher, etc. so we feel as if we're getting the best of both worlds.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[princess mom]

We do like the quality of SOG, so i am sure we'll love SSR! Also as i stated earlier, my husband is becoming a Chaplin in the Army, so i know that officer rates are quite a bit more than enlisted.

Thanks magicalmcwho! i'm sure you'll hear from me!

Jynohn....thanks from one military family to another...we're all in this together!

 

[ParrotAtOKW]

princess mom,

If you do go there at least once a year and plan to keep on doing that for a long time, and if you can afford it, then go for it. We have yet to hear from anyone that regretted the decision. I know I was pretty reluctant; my partner was dead set against it for the longest time, but she eventually decided it made sense for us and convinced me to go ahead.

I expected that I would end up regretting it or saying "the wife made me do it" but it hasn't turned out that way at all. I really like it, and while I still consider it expensive, I feel like it is a decent value.

150 points will currently get you 13 weekday (sun-thurs) nights at SSR in a studio during adventure (cheapest) season. A studio has one queen size bed and a very serviceable sofa sleeper. As a couple we found it to be perfectly adequate. It might suite yourselves and your children, but if you take the GPs or anyone else then a studio would be too small. A two-bedroom would be more than adequate I think, and you could stay in one of those (again during Adventure season) sun-thurs for 135 points (according to the calculator on www.dvctrader.com).

Old Key West rates are even lower (8/night for studio/Adventure seas/sun-thurs) versus 11 at SSR.

There are a lot of ways for you to go. So, again, if you really do think you'll be going there regularly for a long time to come, and you can afford it, why not do it. If you decide it's not for you, you can always sell your points back to Disney or on the secondary market. In our case, we started with 180, then almost immediately bought 40 more (both at OKW), and then broke down and picked up 100 more at SSR. We'll probably pick up a few more there too, before we're done. So, if you got in and then wanted out, you might even end up selling yours to us!

I know it's not easy to decide. I don't envy you for what you're going through. Sorry for the overly-long reply.

Best wishes from 2 more happy DVC members.

 

[princess mom]

Thanks for your reply.....knowing that we CAN get out of it, if need be really helps. I was very unsure of how well the resales part of it was.

 

[Greysword]

I will err on the side of caution for this one. SoG is a great deal, so you will need to do a careful analysis. I agree you should get into DVC sometime, but you do have the opportunity to wait for the next resort to be built, since you can stay military. SoG can be very inexpensive, especially for enlisted (I know you will be an officer family soon, congrats!!).

The big thing I would stress to you is take your time and make sure it is perfect for you at the time you do decide to buy. With SoG stays in your pocket, you most definately take take a deep breath and wait it out if things do not feel right. I don't think your decision to buy DVC should be based on money, rather based on the magic of owning a piece of WDW and the fun things that come with it (DVC member discounts, special pins, special events like the member cruise, etc).

Good Luck and Thank you for you and your family's service to our country!!!!



P.S here is a free Mickey bar for you!!

P.S.S Thank you as well, Jynohn!!!

 

[lllovell]

I don't know if the $10 off per point incentive is still going on. I kinda thought it had been replaced with $8 off plus a thing or two. You need to call and find out. One thing for sure, the price will just keep going up up up and the longer you wait to join, the less years you will get.

Start small. 150 is a great size and if you decide you don't want to go every year, you can bank your points and take a big vacation every so often where everyone you would like to invite can come Its really flexible!

 

[princess mom]

i just spoke with my guide on Wed. and that is what he offered. I did notice when i called on Monday, the person noted that i had called asking about the incentive on the 28th. I did read somewhere that the incentive ended on the 28th. Who knows maybe there will be a better offer for this month. Your right, it will keep going up....we'll have to really do some thinking (and praying!)