To DVC or not DVC... that is the question!

[mom2girlsx3]

Curious as to your opinion on Disney Vacation Club. We are a family of 5... worth the money to DVC?

 

[brymolmom]

We've researched it a few times, but have determined it is not worth it for us. We are a family of 4 however - not sure if it would change if we were 5. To me - it depends on HOW you vacation. If you like to go on deluxe accomodation type vacations all or most of the time, I think it might be worth the cost and maybe even save money. However, if you are like me and like to search out the 'best deal' and save as much money as possible each trip (staying in values unless there's a great deal at a moderate, never really able to justify the deluxe), I don't think it makes good financial sense. The dues alone on the # of points I would want would be equal to about a third to a half of our average trip price total. Then on top of that I would still need to buy tickets, food, etc. By going during deals and staying at values and taking advantage of all the best deals (even staying offsite when I find great deals) - I think I save way more than the cost of a DVC would be. But then, I don't have deluxe accomodations this way. Which is fine by me, but might not be for some. A very personal choice, I would say.

 

[Mathfailure]

I think if you are doing it to "save" money you need to realize you are spending money, not saving. It is an upgrade, and an expensive one, from basic accomindations.

If you have the income and can afford it, I see it as a choice, but I cannot see it as a savings.

Circumstances change, and that is one reason I would not feel comfortable taking out the contract; however, with the right set of criteria it would be an advantage to have the larger group capacity.

 

[robinsegg]

Hi!
As a family of 5 (we just had a baby this summer), I've looked into it. However, next year will be our *first* WDW trip . . . and we're not likely to return very frequently (live in the Midwest). So, for now, our answer is "no".

 

[crisi]

Its a lengthy "it depends"

It isn't cheaper. There are cheaper ways to do Disney. And it is a committment. Points are "use em or loose em."

If you can afford it (which can be a big if) however, it is a nice way to vacation. Putting our kids in the second bedroom gives the grownups privacy for a week - it isn't cheap nookie, but its nookie. Having a washer and dryer in the room has been very nice - much nicer than I'd have thought. Some people even make use of the kitchen! (We tend to do eggs in the morning). Even then though, if you are happy offsite, offsite timeshares are cheaper, and offsite rentals are cheaper without the committment.

Do understand what Disney is contractually obligated to give you. A lot of members find that the lack of promotions (like Free Dining) or the removal of perks (recently we lost valet parking) really impacts their value with DVC. Other members, who bought for the room, don't think its a big deal.

Also understand resale if value is important to you. Right now you can get great deals resale, but you have to be aware that different resorts have different end dates, and that the home resort booking advantage may actually be worth paying more for to you.

 

[msp2mco]

Some of the reasons we purchased DVC were:

• knowing we would be vacationing at WDW more often because we really love it.
• being able to invite family and friends to share the experience.
• -being able to trade into other timeshares (although this is not really a good reason).
• -with Disney's ROFR, the value of the resales is higher than with other timeshares I've seen.

Since we've taken 6 trips since purchasing our first contract, there are other things we appreciate about it, including the deluxe accomodations, separate bedrooms, resort ammenities, and washers and dryers. I'd also say that we are cooking more of our own meals in our rooms now that we've tried so many of the WDW restaurants. The dining plan is too much food for us, and we like the flexibility of a few meals in our room.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[katied]

I didn't buy DVC to save money, or make a budget decision. I think for some, if you go every year and are paying $400/nite + for 7 nights per year, it can easily make sense. You won't qualify for free dining promos, or other discounts though, so you would need to think about what you actually pay per year, and decide if it makes sense based on the number of points you'd need. For us, we never stay in studios either - we always stay in a 1 or 2 bedroom - I love having the kitchen and the Washer/Dryer, which also does not help the economic comparison (because you need to buy more points to pay for it).

There are much more economically ways to visit WDW and have condo style convenience, but DVC is the only good way of getting the condo and on-site convenience (and for me, on-site convenience only really means BLT, BWV or BCV - where I have walking access to 1 - 2 parks).

For me, I like to convenience of condo style visits AND the convenience of staying onsite. Without DVC, this would mean paying $500+ per nite for a DVC one bedroom. Also, I like being able to travel with family (like Dsister, DBIL and Dniece) and us all stay together. Most of my family can't afford their own room in a Deluxe, so then if I start thinking I'd be paying for 2 rooms, it does sort-of make sense.

Overall, it was more an emotional than economic decision, and with that said, I would never buy unless I could pay in full up front. I don't believe in financing my vacations, but again, a personal choice.

 

[VirataMama4]

We are a family of 6 and it is totally worth it for us. There is nothing like being onsite, being able to have the deluxe rooms, having a washer and dryer and a kitchen when you have 6 people.
But even though you can pay it off (if you use Disney financing) in 10 yrs, you still have yearly dues which vary on how many points and which DVC is your home resort...

 

[disneymom2one]

It makes sense for us. We go a lot and as we get older (early 40's with a teen daughter) we like the deluxe and DVC resorts more and more. What made sense for us was a small contract, bought resale for cash. No financing.

 

[mejkjj97]

We just bought a year ago. We had been debating for a good 5+ years on buying in and wished we had done it sooner. But during the 5 years we were able to save for it and not finance the purchase.

We were able to go this year with my DH parents and get a two bedroom and enjoy a week with them and next year we are going with my family.

Some of the benefits we have found for us is
- Space with little ones
- washer and dryer
- kitchen- we ate breakfast and one other meal in the condo everyday.
- and we go to Disney every year. In the end this would have paid for itself by now and we would just be paying dues. (for us this is much cheaper than paying room rates for the length of time we like to go for)

But in the end we took a long time to decide and really planned everything out. And since this is where we love to visit it works for us.

 

[james'mommy]

DH made a spread sheet to decide if it was a good financial move. We vacation alot. DVC has allowed us to go to Disney more often then we would have gone without it. The first time we went we stayed at a value. We hated the value. DVC allows us to stay in deluxes which we wouldn't spend the money for if we used cash. We bought 175 points which is enough for us to rent a studio for a week anytime during the year. We are only 3 and we will be using a stufio until DS is much older. I am miserly when it comes to points. I am able to stretch the points to last almost 3 trips per year.

 

[puffkin]

It made sense for us, but it really is a big "it depends".

Prior to DVC we stayed value or mod (2 weeklong trips per year). Spent a lot of time stressing about codes and deals. Liked to park hop. Started to want more out of our resort than just a room. Also found it difficult to budget. Something always came up that tapped into our vacation fund.

We now own 250 points. We take 2 trips a year and stay in Deluxe accomodations in a one bedroom. With DS now, the 1 bedroom is great. Even though we mainly do breakfast/snacks in the room, we still enjoy the full kitchen and love the washer dryer. We love having space to unwind and all the amenities of the deluxe resorts. The $100 discount on AP's is handy too as is some of the other "perks".

I like paying our dues monthly. We needed to finance and pay that monthly too. Even with those payments and the cost of the AP's, food, and airfare....we basically are breaking even with our two trips before at a mod with discounts. In two years our points will be paid off so we should be coming out ahead with a lot less stress and much better quality of vacation!

I don't think DVC is worth it if you aren't going to visit at least once a year though and if you love value accomodations.

 

[El&Asmom]

It was worth it to us. We have three kids, and the ability to eat some in our villa, have more space in our room, and stay at places like BCV and BWV which we would never pay OOP for was a big selling point. Yes, there are much cheaper ways to do Disney, but we were looking for a combo of deluxe villas, proximity to the parks, and value.
Mousesavers has a good breakdown of DVC and who it makes sense for. I don't have the link, but if you go to their homepage, and look for DVC it is there.

We love our DVC. It was an investment in our family and our future vacations all the way through retirement. I can't wait to take my grandkids to Disney one day. Given my kids are 6, 4 and 11m, it will be a while.

 

[aksivers]

We are still debating. I can see if you go twice a year and stay in deluxe resorts how it would be well worth it.

 

[shelly3girls]

We are a family of 5 and for us DVC was a good decision. We vacation at least once a year during peak season (when discounts are very rare) and often with family or friends. We always stay deluxe. We purchase annual passes (using the DVC discount) that carry over for two or more trips. Now that the new 1 bedrooms sleep 5 there is even more value to DVC. We know we saved money buying DVC because of our vacationing habits. We basically pre-paid for vacations. We do not view it as an investment even though we could sell it now (7 years later) for more than we paid for it. We have no intention of selling though and realize it will lose its value over the years.

In general DVC is not worth it if you stay value, maybe even moderate (depending on when you vacation). It is also not worth it if you are happy staying off site or travel during low season only when great discounts are available. If you cannot afford it or it is a stretch to purchase then it is a bad decision.

 

[5 for WDW]

Best decision our family of 5 ever made!
Our only regret is not doing it sooner.

 

[Fall1]

We are a family of 4 and debating purchasing too. We just stayed our 1st DVC stay by renting points last month and we loved it!

My main concerns are the sleeping arrangements as the kids get older, we have 1 boy and 1 girl. Eventually they won't want to sleep in the same bed and I really don't think buying enough points for a 2 bedroom is a value, so we aren't sure.

I'm trying to see if we can make a 1 bedroom work long term.

Good luck deciding

 

[crisi]

We are a family of 4 and debating purchasing too. We just stayed our 1st DVC stay by renting points last month and we loved it!

My main concerns are the sleeping arrangements as the kids get older, we have 1 boy and 1 girl. Eventually they won't want to sleep in the same bed and I really don't think buying enough points for a 2 bedroom is a value, so we aren't sure.

I'm trying to see if we can make a 1 bedroom work long term.

Good luck deciding

But what are you going to do in a regular hotel room with them?

I suppose you could daybed one of them in a Deluxe.

A lot of DVCers get a one bedroom and bring an air mattress. The one bedrooms at AKL and BLT have a pull out chair bed that would sleep one of the kids as well (and there have been rumors that perhaps the other resorts might get a chair bed - I'm not sure they'd fit in all the resorts with the couch pulled out.)

 

[robinsegg]

But what are you going to do in a regular hotel room with them?

I suppose you could daybed one of them in a Deluxe.

A lot of DVCers get a one bedroom and bring an air mattress. The one bedrooms at AKL and BLT have a pull out chair bed that would sleep one of the kids as well (and there have been rumors that perhaps the other resorts might get a chair bed - I'm not sure they'd fit in all the resorts with the couch pulled out.)

There are also bunk bed rooms at AKL and WL, and trundle bed rooms at POR.

 

[holden]

We thought about buying into DVC too, but I just can't crunch the #s to make it worthwhile. We stay in a Deluxe with a discount (castmember). We don't do the meal plan and we buy discounted tix. Plus DD6 just announced that she's getting "tired" of going to Disney each year (she's been there 6 times since she was 3). I am too. We are doing one more trip in Aug, but after that we'll take a break.

I would feel obligated to keep going to WDW if we bought DVC. I know you can use the points elsewhere, but for the "best bang for the buck" you need to use them at your home resort.

We also have a ton of Hilton points that we can use at resorts around the world.

So...for those reasons and more, DVC is not for us.