Thoughts on DVC for us

[poshjesi]

Just looking to get some advice from experts. Flirting with the idea of DVC and would love to hear what you would do.

We are a young family of 6, we are in our early 30's and have a 7 year old, 4 year old and 3 year old twins. We love to travel as a family. We did our first family WDW trip last summer (so twins were under 3) stayed at a preferred room at Riverside. We have gone alone as a couple pre-kids and I have gone several times growing up so I am pretty Disney-smart

Now that our twins are over 3, our options to stay at WDW are slim. However we are a military family so we do get 30-40% off the rack rate. But the space, kitchen, and washer/dryer look might appealing..plus as our kids get bigger they are going to take up more room.

IF you were to do DVC at our age with our family makeup what would you do? Where would you buy? Disney direct or resale? And poly is my dream resort but I cannot see it being affordable to get a bungalow since we would have to get a 2 bedroom.

Share your thoughts please!

 

[disneynutz]

Take the time to learn the ins and outs of DVC.

Buy resale.

Do your math and consider renting from an owner.

Stay in the resorts before buying or you may find that your dream resort isn't your favorite.

Bill

 

[amcnj]

Also consider how often you would like to go to WDW, and what times of year, to get a feel for how many points you would need to suit your situation.

 

[staceymay00]

Just looking to get some advice from experts. Flirting with the idea of DVC and would love to hear what you would do. We are a young family of 6, we are in our early 30's and have a 7 year old, 4 year old and 3 year old twins. We love to travel as a family. We did our first family WDW trip last summer (so twins were under 3) stayed at a preferred room at Riverside. We have gone alone as a couple pre-kids and I have gone several times growing up so I am pretty Disney-smart Now that our twins are over 3, our options to stay at WDW are slim. However we are a military family so we do get 30-40% off the rack rate. But the space, kitchen, and washer/dryer look might appealing..plus as our kids get bigger they are going to take up more room. IF you were to do DVC at our age with our family makeup what would you do? Where would you buy? Disney direct or resale? And poly is my dream resort but I cannot see it being affordable to get a bungalow since we would have to get a 2 bedroom. Share your thoughts please!

The 2BR villas are my favorite thing about owning DVC. We love the space for our family of five. We used to stay in regular hotel rooms when we first started going to WDW, but back then we were usually at the parks more than we are now and only in our room for naps and overnight. We now spend more time hanging out at the resort.

We bought resale at OKW and our contract expires in 2042, which is ok for us since we'll be in our early 70s then. I really recommend resale to make DVC a better value, especially if you are concerned about keeping costs as low as possible. Since you are younger, I would consider AKV, BLT and SSR for the later expiration. AKV and BLT have standard view rooms that can help conserve points.

Buy enough points to meet your needs, but don't overbuy. I originally figured we would have added on by now, but my kids' schedules are now a lot busier, we like to do some other things besides WDW now that they are older, and to be honest my kids got a little burned out on Disney after going twice a year for a few years. As a family, we don't want to spend quite as much time visiting theme parks these days, and once all three kids were teens/tweens we started visiting Universal in addition to WDW and like to stay on site there for the front of the line passes. So, it turns our that the number of points I didn't think would be enough long term has ended up being good for now.

I am also a fan of Poly - we stayed there for a couple of times before buying DVC - but the cost of direct points these days in conjunction with the high points for a stay means we will not be adding on there. But, I will certainly consider booking a couple of nights in Poly studios there once in a while with my $70 OKW points! There are a lot of Poly studios, so I have a feeling we'll be able to do that once in a while at the non-home resort booking window.

Good luck with your decision - do plenty of research!

 

[jerseyduke]

Learn the system. There are ways to go every three years, but there are risks associated with that. (You have to bank and borrow, and if you end up cancelling, you have issues). Or even every two

DVC is ideal when you go yearly. You do not run the aforementioned risks.

You can rent points to try out the resorts.

The Polynesian: with a family your size, you would need the "connecting studios" which do not have the kitchen, washer, dryer, etc. To go one week a year, and get two studios, you are going to be looking at a minimum of 40,000$ purchase. (Do not know your financial situation)

Realize that even with "Free hotel" the trips are still not cheap! A family of 6, and you are looking at 2,000$ in park tickets a year, 1,000 or more in maintenance fees every year, airfares, etc.

Not that that is a reason to NOT buy into DVC, just be aware, it is still expensive.

I would not buy Direct unless you were buying the Poly. Maybe the VGF (resale is cheaper, but its a longer process, and the savings at VGF are not huge, though I would still buy resale there)

Ask questions. Search. Read

(and one week per year at a Poly Bungalow is going to start at about 135,000)

 

[disneynutz]

Learn the system. There are ways to go every three years, but there are risks associated with that. (You have to bank and borrow, and if you end up cancelling, you have issues). Or even every two

DVC is ideal when you go yearly. You do not run the aforementioned risks.

You can rent points to try out the resorts.

The Polynesian: with a family your size, you would need the "connecting studios" which do not have the kitchen, washer, dryer, etc. To go one week a year, and get two studios, you are going to be looking at a minimum of 40,000$ purchase. (Do not know your financial situation)

Realize that even with "Free hotel" the trips are still not cheap! A family of 6, and you are looking at 2,000$ in park tickets a year, 1,000 or more in maintenance fees every year, airfares, etc.

Not that that is a reason to NOT buy into DVC, just be aware, it is still expensive.

I would not buy Direct unless you were buying the Poly. Maybe the VGF (resale is cheaper, but its a longer process, and the savings at VGF are not huge, though I would still buy resale there)

Ask questions. Search. Read

(and one week per year at a Poly Bungalow is going to start at about 135,000)

Owning also locks you into Disney vacations, travel, food, dues, purchase cost, tickets, hard ticket events, paid events like what DVC is currently pushing, can cost a couple hundred thousand dollars over the length of ownership.

Bill

 

[ldo]

DVC is a great vacation product, but it is $$$$. We have a family of 5 and have also stayed at very nice offsite timeshares, Marriott, Hilton, etc., but have decided that when we go to Orlando, we want to be onsite. You have to do a 2BR or 2 studios--6 cannot stay in a 1BR. Since you will need a lot of points for a 2BR, I would buy resale and only enough points for every other year. You can then supplement your DVC stays with 2 rooms at WDw hotels (say when there is a free dining offer), go on cruises (RCCL has family ocean view rooms that sleep 6 that can be a very good deal), stay in Ft. Wilderness cabins which sleep 6, etc. That way, you are not locked into DVC for every year. Plus, as your kids get older, vacationing habit change--we bought 2 beach timeshares when our kids were young, then as tweens/teens, no one liked the beach anymore! Our older DD has tired of WDW and Orlando in general, while our younger 2 love it more than ever. Plus, a resale for every other year will be a MUCH smaller financial outlay (look for a contract with all 2014 points and maybe even with 2013 points to be able to get an extra vacation out of your points). Ticket prices have gone up. We alternate with an annual pass and get at least 2 trips out of it, or get 10 day non-expire and then use only 2 days in the parks during a week and do other things. good luck. Elaine

 

[Deb & Bill]

Rather than putting out a bunch of cash to buy into DVC, you might want to rent a reservation a few times to see how it goes. Tickets are the biggest expense right now and since your youngest are now three, you will be buying tickets for six of you. If your husband retires from the military, you'll be able to get discounted tickets through DoD.

There are no free meals with DVC, no free tickets, no free nights, no discounts on points.

With four college tuitions in your future, I can't even imagine buying DVC directly from Disney at this point. And the points required for every two bedroom villa (which you would need) are a lot, even at OKW and SSR.

You might save more money just renting a villa offsite.

 

[Dean]

Just looking to get some advice from experts. Flirting with the idea of DVC and would love to hear what you would do.

We are a young family of 6, we are in our early 30's and have a 7 year old, 4 year old and 3 year old twins. We love to travel as a family. We did our first family WDW trip last summer (so twins were under 3) stayed at a preferred room at Riverside. We have gone alone as a couple pre-kids and I have gone several times growing up so I am pretty Disney-smart

Now that our twins are over 3, our options to stay at WDW are slim. However we are a military family so we do get 30-40% off the rack rate. But the space, kitchen, and washer/dryer look might appealing..plus as our kids get bigger they are going to take up more room.

IF you were to do DVC at our age with our family makeup what would you do? Where would you buy? Disney direct or resale? And poly is my dream resort but I cannot see it being affordable to get a bungalow since we would have to get a 2 bedroom.

Share your thoughts please!

Buying DVC only makes sense for Disney and even then it only makes sense for a limited subset of people. My criteria for someone who should consider buying DVC would include no consumer debt, pay cash, enough Disney/Timeshare experience to understand what one is getting into including compromises, value on property enough to pay significantly more, go at least every 2 yrs. Even then staying Shades of green, cash discounts and value options may reduce or eliminate the savings for many people. However, if DVC makes sense for you and you're prepared to pay for a 2 BR consistently, DVC may be a good choice.

 

[yitbos96bb]

What are you basing your estimate on? Poly points chart hasn't been released.

Learn the system. There are ways to go every three years, but there are risks associated with that. (You have to bank and borrow, and if you end up cancelling, you have issues). Or even every two

DVC is ideal when you go yearly. You do not run the aforementioned risks.

You can rent points to try out the resorts.

The Polynesian: with a family your size, you would need the "connecting studios" which do not have the kitchen, washer, dryer, etc. To go one week a year, and get two studios, you are going to be looking at a minimum of 40,000$ purchase. (Do not know your financial situation)

Realize that even with "Free hotel" the trips are still not cheap! A family of 6, and you are looking at 2,000$ in park tickets a year, 1,000 or more in maintenance fees every year, airfares, etc.

Not that that is a reason to NOT buy into DVC, just be aware, it is still expensive.

I would not buy Direct unless you were buying the Poly. Maybe the VGF (resale is cheaper, but its a longer process, and the savings at VGF are not huge, though I would still buy resale there)

Ask questions. Search. Read

(and one week per year at a Poly Bungalow is going to start at about 135,000)

 

[Deb & Bill]

What are you basing your estimate on? Poly points chart hasn't been released.

Yep, they are. There's a thread somewhere with them.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Yep, they are. There's a thread somewhere with them.

That's interesting... I idn't see them on the member site earlier and the comments by Disney cast on the news announcement on the site said Monday. I'll have to look again. Thanks!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Here's the thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3366939

 

[yitbos96bb]

Here's the thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3366939

Thanks... Wow, those bungalow prices are insane. 230,000 to stay there each Christmas for a week.

 

[poshjesi]

Thanks for all the thoughts! Here are a couple things...

We can already get military tickets which are a huge value and makes our trips less expensive, we don't mind driving for vacay so travel isn't a huge issue either . We are going to be completely debt free except our house by next summer so this isn't anything we are looking at as a quick decision. Your comments reinforced that for us if we do want to continue to do disney regularly we may start saving towards a resale at an older property maybe 200 points. I saw wilderness at $80 per point currently so for 200 points we could likely go every other year in a 2 bedroom. If that cost around $17k it's something we would save and pay cash for and then enjoy long term.

Still not sold if disney keeps rolling out the room discounts and tickets but it's food for thought! Dh and I love disney with or without kids and would love to do boys only, girls only trips in the future so it's something for us to consider

 

[Dean]

Thanks for all the thoughts! Here are a couple things...

We can already get military tickets which are a huge value and makes our trips less expensive, we don't mind driving for vacay so travel isn't a huge issue either . We are going to be completely debt free except our house by next summer so this isn't anything we are looking at as a quick decision. Your comments reinforced that for us if we do want to continue to do disney regularly we may start saving towards a resale at an older property maybe 200 points. I saw wilderness at $80 per point currently so for 200 points we could likely go every other year in a 2 bedroom. If that cost around $17k it's something we would save and pay cash for and then enjoy long term.

Still not sold if disney keeps rolling out the room discounts and tickets but it's food for thought! Dh and I love disney with or without kids and would love to do boys only, girls only trips in the future so it's something for us to consider

Ultimately you'll have to decide what's best for you. Congrats on the work and dedication to get debt free. DVC can be a blessing or a curse or somewhere in between. It does tie you up long term. my view is it has to make sense for the long term. if one thinks it only works for say 8-10 yrs, I wouldn't buy, esp in your situation where you have discount options more than most. I'd suggest you rent from a member or stay on a cash discount in a DVC room but renting is likely both cheaper and better so you can get a feel. The best value, both short and long term, is SSR. OKW (2042 exp), VB & HHI will be cheaper short term but more long term. If you're going to pay more, make sure you're getting something that adds long term value for your situation.

 

[Tig-girl]

I thought I'd put my two cents in also, as a DVC owner since 2008. We were/are big Disney fans and found ourselves saving and going to WDW over and over, but only every few years in the beginning. With two older sons we wondered if we were wise to invest in DVC so "late", but we took the initial jump buying the minimum points. We ended up adding points because we found that adult or not, our sons still wanted to go with us and only a two bedroom would suffice! The past few trips have been just my husband and I, but we still get at least a one bedroom (usually a two and have my sister and teen kids a night or two) and can't imagine being able to stay in those accommodations without DVC. Love having the full kitchen and the extra bathrooms AND the washer and dryer in the villa so we don't have to pack as much. I can't imagine going back to the basic room after years of DVC villas. We have used our points in California (Grand Californian at DL) and also in Las Vegas at a beautiful resort. I guess I'd say, if you are a Disney fan (or just a travel fan) and plan on going as much as you can, it's worth it just to know your accommodations are going to be great. And with your military discounts on tix, you will have some savings there. I do agree with other posters, rent DVC points one time first and see if it's what you expect as far as room and amenities, then make your decision. We are headed down again in a few weeks and will stay at BLT for the first time before going on our first Disney cruise! (not using points for cruise as it's not a good deal).

 

[gdrj]

We have been DVC members for 15 years. Our kids were young and having access to 1 and 2 Bedroom villas enhanced our vacation experience. It allowed us to bring friends and relatives (when we wanted), and allowed us the space to relax and not be crammed into a hotel room.

IMO you family is the perfect age to take advantage of DVC, You can purchase enough points for every other year if you want or every year. Even as a young adults our kids enjoy trips. We now use DVC mostly for studios when its just the two of us for a long weekend or longer.

When I look at what we paid at the time and costs for hotel rooms in 2015, I wish we purchased more points at that time. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

 

[Minniesgal]

We love our DVC and love the 2 bedrooms but we don't need one anymore. My older two kids have moved out and realistically we are going to be a party of 3 for 3-4 trips then a party of two unless our adult children decide to come later. I don't think the older two will but who knows how they will feel as they get older. So from now on I on I see us booking 1 bedrooms. I actually wish we had bought earlier. We should have bought when BLT came out. We have only had two trips the 5 of us in 2 bedrooms. I'd say your kids are only little for a little while so if you can swing it financially the memories are worth it. We will spend out dotage sitting in our DVC saying remember when......

 

[niffer13]

First, my situation is similar to yours. My husband and I are youngish, with 3 girls, 10, 5 and 1. We also usually take my 16 y/o nice with us on trips. We like the 2 bedrooms. We bought after an amazing trip where we stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort (not DVC, a moderate), and although it was great, we wanted more... We love having a kitchen on vacation. We don't have to eat out all the time. Since we own at BLT, the park is right there and we come home for lunch and a nap, then play on the park till midnight. We are in driving distance, so we usually do 1 day in the park and 2 days swimming (pools are heated!!) And going to the FREE activities around the resorts. We love it so far. This year though, we wanted to surprise my nice with a cruise (bad use of points). So I rented them out. The price I got for them more than paid for 2 staterooms (on Carnival not Disney).

Recently we added on at the AKL cheap. We could have done a tad better at SSR, but I have 17 years left with a kid... Kids love animals. And by the time my youngest is out, I'll probably have grandkids. We did resale and saved a bunch of $$$.

I should mention that I teach economics. So I ran the math. Our points will run us about $100,000 profit after maintenance fees and inial purchase price (if we were to rent them out every year instead of use them). Over 45 years, that is about 2.5% rate of return. Not great, but not bad. And that is if you don't use the points. We rent out enough points to cover our maintenance and travel (like flights to Hawaii), and stay with the rest. We are doing a disney cruise with just the big kids this year by renting out the points, and we'll still have $800 to do port adventures.

You are building memories. You can't really put a price on that. Besides, you can always sell your contract. For now, prices are holding pretty steady because Disney keeps them artificially high with the FROR. That is good for long term investment.

Also, I don't know if this would make sense with your military discount, but 3 years ago we bought 10 no expiration tickets for all of us with the park hopper and more package. It cost a big chunk of change. BUT we have 20 tickets total (10 major, 10 minor parks) for $26 apeice. We even bought them for the baby we didn't know we were going to have. Lol! N/E tickets for 10 days have since gone up $60 each or so. By buying them ahead, we save inflation as well as getting the 10 day discount. With prices going no where but up, consider doing this too. They will exchange a child ticket for an adult ticket at no charge when he or she turns 10. We'll be testing this in March.

Bottom line. Is it a great return on investment? No. Is it a safe return. Likely. We have taken amazing vacations since we have bought. We are planing several more. If you value vacations and time dedicated to your kids, then it is a good investment.from a monetary investment, it's just ok.