To Buy 2042 or not to buy 2042

[Jlo85]

Just wait and see how much higher VB dues will be for hurricane insurance next year anything on the Florida coasts will see a big increase for insurance premiums.

Hey - WDW gets hit by hurricanes too

I agree with your point in general for a resort like SSR. But VB dues are just too crazy, and DVC is mostly dues.

I just think the whole premise of DVC is that your dues should be less than the hotel room rack rate. So, yeah if you have concerns that won't be true, then I'd be worried about dues. But otherwise, I think the focus on dues is a little overblown. Whether I'm saving $20/point or $25/point over rack, I'm still saving money.

Valid points, but does anyone ever roll the savings from VB into the market? What about people who did so and started last year? What about someone bought BWV 20 years ago? Would they get 6%/yr back on a sale of their BWV points if they sold today? They also got 20 years of vacations.

I think more in terms that people buy DVC for the whole purpose of saving money. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's why I bought. So kind of good to think about "What if I didn't spend any/less money, and just put it in a mutual fund to pay for future vacations?"

 

[BeachClub2014]

I think more in terms that people buy DVC for the whole purpose of saving money.

Oh, I think most of us try and convince ourselves that this is true. I'm willing to bet that DVC doesn't end up "saving" most owners too much money. I look at it, in my more self-aware moments, that it's more cost-avoidance than true savings.

Owning DVC has "forced" us to visit WDW far more often than we likely would have done so, and have stayed in far pricier accommodations in doing so. If we didn't own DVC we wouldn't go as often or stay in the same accommodations. So owning DVC has actually cost us a lot more money than not owning, but has allowed us to stay in pricey joints at a healthy discount.

 

[Stargazer65]

I suspect I probably am no richer or poorer for having DVC in terms of actual money. Probably if I didn't have DVC I'd have a big 4x4 Truck and a camper trailer instead of a Subaru, and a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack instead of a Hyundai Elantra.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I suspect I probably am no richer or poorer for having DVC in terms of actual money. Probably if I didn't have DVC I'd have a big 4x4 Truck and a camper trailer instead of a Subaru, and a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack instead of a Hyundai Elantra.

I am much richer for having had DVC for all of the years that we have. Our "kids" are all adults now and we have had the joy of watching them grow up at WDW and keep the amazing memories that were created. That never would have happened, absent DVC. We still did other vacations and created other amazing memories, but sharing those is for a different venue.

I also recognize that if we had sunk all of our WDW dollars into an index fund all along the way, we could probably be retired already. But where's the fun in that!?!

 

[RoseGold]

I just think the whole premise of DVC is that your dues should be less than the hotel room rack rate. So, yeah if you have concerns that won't be true, then I'd be worried about dues.

Then why are we even doing this? I think I would have been better mathematically at the Swan. If I had known that, I'm not sure I would have bought in.

 

[Sandisw]

I suspect I probably am no richer or poorer for having DVC in terms of actual money. Probably if I didn't have DVC I'd have a big 4x4 Truck and a camper trailer instead of a Subaru, and a Dodge Challenger Scat Pack instead of a Hyundai Elantra.

I am definitely poorer!! But I get sooo many more trips too!

That happens when you start with 180 and get to 900 along the way!!

But, the money used when we bought was vacation money that got spent yearly so all those other aspects like time loss, etc simply weren’t a part of how we looked at it.

We took the simply view of it all, made sense, and went for it!

 

[Bearval]

Hey - WDW gets hit by hurricanes too

I just think the whole premise of DVC is that your dues should be less than the hotel room rack rate. So, yeah if you have concerns that won't be true, then I'd be worried about dues. But otherwise, I think the focus on dues is a little overblown. Whether I'm saving $20/point or $25/point over rack, I'm still saving money.


I think more in terms that people buy DVC for the whole purpose of saving money. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's why I bought. So kind of good to think about "What if I didn't spend any/less money, and just put it in a mutual fund to pay for future vacations?"

WDW may get hit with hurricanes but there is no risk it will get washed out to sea with a storm surge.

 

[CraigInPA]

Realistically, many, many people buy "for the long term" and then find their children are engaged in so many sports and activities year around that they can't find a time to actually go once the kids are older (my neighbor claims 10 to be that magical age where you live in the car taking them to event after event, while I think it's more like 12). So, base your math on that reality.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

I own BWV because I want to stay there every time. BUT I have a small contract and will stick with that until (if) BWV contracts become a "bargain" near the end and we're planning on using them up.

We own additional points (and will continue to add on) at longer exp resorts in the meantime.

FWIW, points at BWV and OKW studios can go really far and a small contract should be plenty if you're just looking to replace your typical hotel room for a 6-7 day / 5-6 night yearly visit. So, while you don't get a longer 2060+ exp, you can buy in for maybe $10K and call it a day. Dues at maybe $50/ mo... not really noticeable for most.

At those numbers, it's really not worth the opportunity cost math IMO.

 

[Nursemanit]

I am in my early 50s so I purchased my main/direct points at RR and then added 100 resale BWV since you need the 11-month advantage at BWV my favorite resort. That gets me a week in September for F&W for the next 19 years. However, I could have rented points for about the same amount factoring in TVM so I am really not saving money on the BWV contract. What I am gaining is control (modifications 31 days out / exact dates / direct contact with MS) which you don't have when you rent.

 

[Nursemanit]

Then why are we even doing this? I think I would have been better mathematically at the Swan. If I had known that, I'm not sure I would have bought in.

I agree - The Swan and Dolphin have simply not raised their rates at the super-inflationary pace of WDW. I am doing slightly better at RR but not much. The inflated "Rack rate" of WDW is not realistic as WDW can not sell out at their excessive rates and has to discount and even use wholesale websites to sell the remainder.

The real downside of S&W is the Resort fee and parking keeps going up and they are losing some perks such as Disney busses. In addition, I have ended up with an unusual amount of billing issues at the Dolphin requiring me to check the bill daily and causing me extra stress on my vacation. The complete inability to get a human from S&D on the phone is really frustrating and they are worse than most other hotels in that area. They were much better in that regard when they were Starwood Properties.

 

[Jlo85]

WDW may get hit with hurricanes but there is no risk it will get washed out to sea with a storm surge.

I mean, if you’re worried about climate change, 2042 resorts are probably a safer bet. Who knows how hot and underwater Orlando is going to be in 2070?

 

[E2ME2]

Then why are we even doing this? I think I would have been better mathematically at the Swan. If I had known that, I'm not sure I would have bought in.

Your DVC travel dates can change this assessment.
We visit WDW in January & February. We have stayed at SWOLPHIN a few times. The DVC Points are relatively cheap in January, but we found the SWOLPHIN rates higher in January, and when you add on the resort fee and parking, it's no longer a bargain.
We found this out the hard way in 2021, when our Marriott booking at the Marriott Village just outside of Disney Springs, was cancelled due to "COVID Impacts". So I was able to salvage the points from that stay and transfer them to the Dolphin, but the points only covered half of that stay, and we were OOP the rest, and that's when I suffered the sticker shock!

 

[Bearval]

I mean, if you’re worried about climate change, 2042 resorts are probably a safer bet. Who knows how hot and underwater Orlando is going to be in 2070?

I will be dead by then and won't give a mouse's *** on that happening.

 

[DVCsloth]

I wouldn't mind picking up a BCV/BWV contract, it will still probably still be worthwhile if you get a well-priced contract. It's not like you can't buy another resort later if you want a longer contract. Even if the math is similar, I would still prefer DVC over cash reservations. Just like the DVC resorts and some of the perks that can go along with it. I may sell some of my points in the future and should get a pretty decent price for them when I do. No guarantees though.

 

[Nursemanit]

Your DVC travel dates can change this assessment.
We visit WDW in January & February. We have stayed at SWOLPHIN a few times. The DVC Points are relatively cheap in January, but we found the SWOLPHIN rates higher in January, and when you add on the resort fee and parking, it's no longer a bargain.
We found this out the hard way in 2021, when our Marriott booking at the Marriott Village just outside of Disney Springs, was cancelled due to "COVID Impacts". So I was able to salvage the points from that stay and transfer them to the Dolphin, but the points only covered half of that stay, and we were OOP the rest, and that's when I suffered the sticker shock!

You have to compare cash rates - Swan and Dolphin use "surge pricing" with the points so the same week in Sept can be 250,000 to 350,000 points but the cash rate was the same.

 

[Sunnyore]

I bought small contracts for BWV and BCV to give me booking advantage for popular festivals and I’m aware the savings will be minimal. Like others have said, it’s to get me control of my bookings for the next 19 years. I’m also looking forward to have these points go away in 2042 as I have a decent amount of points at other longer contracts resorts and project I would want to downsize around that time anyway. It works for me. It’s definitely true that travel plan change as kids grow older so it’ll be hard to predict what your future needs will be. My brother has HS and college kids now and they haven’t been to Florida in like 5 years and he doesn’t seem to struggle a bit to find ways to use his points.

 

[E2ME2]

You have to compare cash rates - Swan and Dolphin use "surge pricing" with the points so the same week in Sept can be 250,000 to 350,000 points but the cash rate was the same.

I used a combo of CASH for 3 nights, and Points for 4 nights. The CASH price was considerably higher in January than it was in summer.

 

[Kumanate]

I literally just bought (an hour ago) an old key west contract for 2042. My thoughts were that, for not much more than we would spend on hotels alone to stay on property we can buy in and save some money down the road. Regardless of if it’s value is nothing in 20 years, it has the potential of savings over 10 and I have 0 risk of HAVING to pay for it in 40. This will then operate as a trial run to see if it works for us, and maybe a greater buyin later in life (and maybe with more cash in hand lol).

That said I don’t particularly want to stay at OKW but when I check availability charts, there is typically availability 7mon out at our ideal spots….so, should work. Worst case we may add an additional small contract to the one we just nabbed.

But I am fresh in and took the dive , let ya know how it pans out next year lol.

 

[Cfabar1]

Yes, we are strongly leaning towards a 2042 resort contract. We are touring some of the newer resorts to decide. We like the fact that it will go away in our 50s, and then allow us to have new adventures. Maybe after we see riviera in person, we may go in a different direction. We are considering OKW, but also HH, which could be a terrific place to spend many a summer, and enjoy the restaurants and the beach.