To DVC or not DVC

[LilGMom]

My husband & I have been tossing around the thought of buying into the DVC for about three years and this year we've gone a step further and have actually talked to a DVC rep. My big qustion is would it be financially worth it for us?

Here is the lowdown:

We live in Florida so we always get FL res. rates, we have FL Seasonal passes (try to go during Value or Reg. seasons), usually go for at least 2-2.5 weeks (4-5 days at a time), and tend to stay at FWL or a Mod. resort. We are a family of four, with two members being young boys, and for now one room is enough but I imagine in 8-9 years we will be wanting/needing two rooms.

Since they are trying to sell out the Saratoga we can buy now, immediately get our 200 (or however many) points and in Aug. get another 200. The rep. would somehow backdate our anniverary date to Aug. so we'd have 2006-2007 points but not have to pay main. fees from Aug. to now.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!!!

~Jen

 

[wisbucky]

If you planned on going to Disney twice a year and wanted to stay in a luxury type resort then you are looking in the right area. Staying at a DVC resort especially in a 1br has all the comforts of home. As far as it being financially worth it here are some issues to consider. Prices of accommodations will continue to rise. Yes dues do have a tendency to increase but not like the cost of hotel stays do. Plus you always have the tax to pay for each nights stay. If you ask most folks they will say that anywhere between 5- 7 years DVC pays for itself. After you have your DVC points paid off the only cost you will have is the annual dues. If you feel that in a few more years you may have less of a desire to visit Disney continuously each year than DVC may not be for you. My advice would be to stay a few nights at a DVC resort and see if you really enjoy it. DH and I had mixed feelings about DVC until we stayed a week in a DVC resort. It took us less than 24 hours after leaving to buy.

 

[lisah0711]

From the perspective of someone who just bought I can understand your dilemma. The best thing to do is to run the numbers and see how the costs work for your family and what it costs for where you stay now and where you might want to stay.

For our family we bought to be able to stay at the same level of accommodations where we have in the past -- something that we would likely have been priced out of in the not too distant future.

When we bought from Disney last week we received our 2006 points and the 2007 points will be available later this year. I was able to book a trip for DL right away and will book our first DW trip next month for January 2008. Annual dues are prorated for 2007.

I agree with the previous poster that if you haven't seen the DVC resorts that you should check them out and do the tour and then decide based on what is best for your situation.

Hope this helps!

 

[spiceycat]

don't know.

Floridan resident have always gotten some great discounts on rooms and tickets. DVC is a little better but not much.

I would say it would take you at least 10 years to get your investment back.

third and most important reason - lots of Floridian like to go for a weekend here and there.

fri/sat are the most expensive time to be at WDW in a DVC resort.

during the week (adventure season) OKW is 8 points per night for a studio - but fri/sat it is 20 points per night.

here is current point chart - see for yourself.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

 

[jodifla]

We bought in 10 years ago, and have been thrilled with our purchase.

Of course, prices were substantially cheaper then, but we bought in at 150 points, and used them pretty frugally. Now it's all paid off, and we vacation like kings for only the cost of our dues.

What makes it worth it to us is the SPACE. Being crammed into one room with kids is NOT my idea of a VACATION! I love putting DS in his own room, closing the door, and then having a nice night alone with DH. No reading on the bathroom for me, or having DH and I take turns leaving to go have fun while trying to get DS to sleep. I mean really, how fun is that??

We just got back from 5 nights at OKW. We got a 2 bedroom even though most nights it was just the three of us. Two nights, friends came up with their baby girl, and they were blown away by how nice it was. We cooked nice meals, hung out together...it was terrific.

In fact, we've traveled to WDW about a dozen times with various friends, something we'd never be able to do without DVC.

Weekend points are high, but ways around them. We'd often stay over Sat. and Sunday nights instead of Friday and Saturday nights. Or we'd stay in a studio (which I can stomach if it's only a couple of nights with DS.)

 

[Anal Annie]

From the perspective of someone who just bought I can understand your dilemma. The best thing to do is to run the numbers and see how the costs work for your family and what it costs for where you stay now and where you might want to stay.

For our family we bought to be able to stay at the same level of accommodations where we have in the past -- something that we would likely have been priced out of in the not too distant future.

Ditto. We started out staying at AKL then moved down to a moderate the next time (and missed staying in the deluxe). Started looking into rates for this summer & couldn't believe how much more it was going to be if we wanted to go back to even a moderate resort, let alone a deluxe. We had thought about buying at SSR (briefly) back in '04 when it first started - but we didn't . Then when we checked into it this time I was amazed at how much SSR had gone up too! That pretty much settled it for us - we realized that we were being priced out and would eventually be reduced to the Value resorts if we didn't buy now - and that by the time we have grandkids we'd probably not be able to go at all... We estimate that with what we've spent on our vacations over the past 4 years we'll have this investment recovered in about 6-7 yrs. And ya gotta like THAT idea!! Take a look at how much you typically spend on vacations & find the average - then compare that to the cost of buying enough pts. in the DVC to equal the type of vacation you usually take - and remember, once this is pd. off (if you're financing) all you've got are your annual dues. That thought is going to sound pretty good to us in another 15 or 20 yrs.!! It's a big step but we're glad we finally did it. Good luck!

 

[Stinky_Pete]

My ex and I bought into DVC at the very end of '99. I think we paid something like $63/pt for 222 pts. at BoardWalk. When we split 2 years ago we sold on the resale market for $77/pt. I thought that was sweet - a timeshare that increased in value! Now I see resales at the same resort for over $85/pt. with fewer years on the plan. Looks like a lot of people are seeing some value in DVC.

I am now trying to plan a trip to WDW for December 2007. I love the WL and am probably going to book a hotel room there. The rate is $215/night for a standard view room (standard = parking lot or trash pick up view - it costs more for woods view). For a 7 day week the standard view room is $1,505. Our dues at the BoardWalk (our home resort) were just slightly over $800 a year when we sold two years ago. Perhaps they have gone up, but I'm thinking not by that much. For the number of points we bought, and those dues, during the same time of year, we could have stayed at the BoardWalk in a 2 bedroom villa for our annual point allotment. To be clear - that is a 2 bedroom villa - two bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen, king bed, jacuzzi tub washer and dryer, sleeps 8 - for $800. That's like $115/night. And we could invite friends or family to join us, because we had so much room! Try gettting a moderate for that .

Compare that to the small hotel room at the Wilderness Lodge for over $1,500.

Plus, we were able to go much more frequently than we could have otherwise.

I didn't regret any other action that happened during the breakup, but I still regret the decision to sell our DVC memebership.

 

[NurseKim]

Hi Jen,
I have no words of wisdom for you, but just wanted to let you know that you are not alone with your decision to DVC or not.
I want to buy into AKV, but DH is not into it, and we are value resort people.
Good luck with your decision!