Trying to understand DVC

[Deb & Bill]

I think until our kids get a little older, yes will will stay in a studio. We are used to the Poly rooms that have 2 queens and a daybed. It's plenty of room for the 4 of us and would be fine when DD10 brings a friend in the future (we are thinking of a girl in particular whom we have known since she was 2 - she's like a niece to us). Besides, we are only in the room to sleep and shower/get ready.....

But you can't have five in a studio except for the GFV studio. And that room is going to be really full with three tweens and two adults. Plus you can get an OKW one bedroom for almost the same points at the GFV studio.

An OKW one bedroom will give you one king bed, one queen sleeper sofa and one twin sized sleeper chair versus one queen bed, one double sleeper sofa and one twin murphy bed.

If you are only in the room to sleep, shower and get ready, why not just book a value hotel room and save money? It will be cheaper in the long run. There are only 47 GFV studios and they all connect to a one bedroom to make a two bedroom lockoff. I think the studios are going to be hot property because they do sleep five.

 

[Nabas]

But you can't have five in a studio except for the GFV studio. And that room is going to be really full with three tweens and two adults. Plus you can get an OKW one bedroom for almost the same points at the GFV studio.

An OKW one bedroom will give you one king bed, one queen sleeper sofa and one twin sized sleeper chair versus one queen bed, one double sleeper sofa and one twin murphy bed.

If you are only in the room to sleep, shower and get ready, why not just book a value hotel room and save money? It will be cheaper in the long run. There are only 47 GFV studios and they all connect to a one bedroom to make a two bedroom lockoff. I think the studios are going to be hot property because they do sleep five.

DVC is not designed to compete financially with staying at a Value or, in most cases, a Moderate Resort. Someone who is contemplating DVC is primarily focused on staying at Deluxe Resorts. Otherwise, DVC makes no sense for anyone, including all DVC owners.

Note that the OP indicated that they enjoy the Poly and were wondering if rather than paying ~$5,000 per year to stay in the Poly, a DVC would make more sense.

Also, please recall that just like most DVC Studios, Value Resort rooms only sleep 4. A family of 5 needs at least 2 Value Resort rooms or a Moderate Resort room, such as POR, that sleeps 5.

 

[tjkraz]

DVC is not designed to compete financially with staying at a Value or, in most cases, a Moderate Resort. Someone who is contemplating DVC is primarily focused on staying at Deluxe Resorts. Otherwise, DVC makes no sense for anyone, including all DVC owners.

Note that the OP indicated that they enjoy the Poly and were wondering if rather than paying ~$5,000 per year to stay in the Poly, a DVC would make more sense.

Also, please recall that just like most DVC Studios, Value Resort rooms only sleep 4. A family of 5 needs at least 2 Value Resort rooms or a Moderate Resort room, such as POR, that sleeps 5.

I don't disagree with anything you've said. However, OP's comments are somewhat at odds. Most people aren't willing to pay $5000 for a place to "sleep and shower."

If you love the resort and and are willing to pay extra for the surroundings, pool, amenities, park access, etc., then it shouldn't be downplayed as just a place to crash for the night.

 

[tjkraz]

I do see needing a 1br or 2br in the future, hence my estimation of getting a lot of points. It's also nice to be able to bring family along and put them in a separate studio.

That's fine...and many DVC owners do exactly what you describe.

But again, if you want to make an honest buy/don't buy decision, it needs to be as close to apples-to-apples as possible. Concluding that it would be unwise to buy because a standard Poly cash room costs less than a 1200 sq ft villa is somewhat misguided, IMO.

You can choose to keep paying $5000 per year for the Poly room...but you'll never have space for friends or grandparents without paying move. If you want to factor extra space into your decision, then you need to consider what it would cost you to pay for those extra guests' accommodations if you decide not to buy.

DVC CAN be a vehicle for saving a lot of money on Disney accommodations. But you're probably not going to triple your living space and start treating friends & family, while also quickly reaching a break-even point on the upfront costs.

 

[holden]

I don't disagree with anything you've said. However, OP's comments are somewhat at odds. Most people aren't willing to pay $5000 for a place to "sleep and shower."

If you love the resort and and are willing to pay extra for the surroundings, pool, amenities, park access, etc., then it shouldn't be downplayed as just a place to crash for the night.

We do love the resort. I mentioned that we enjoy pool days on our vacations there. We just don't spend a lot of time in the actual room itself. We do enjoy our time at the resort - pool, Great Ceremonial House, watching fireworks on the beach, etc. The size of the room we just had at the Poly was generous, and it sleeps 5. As the girls get older, I'm sure we will want more room so that's one of the things I'm taking into consideration.

I know some DVC members (family and friends) who enjoy cooking in their rooms and hanging out there, but that's not us. Our time spent in the room is minimal, at least for now.

 

[holden]

That's fine...and many DVC owners do exactly what you describe.

But again, if you want to make an honest buy/don't buy decision, it needs to be as close to apples-to-apples as possible. Concluding that it would be unwise to buy because a standard Poly cash room costs less than a 1200 sq ft villa is somewhat misguided, IMO.

You can choose to keep paying $5000 per year for the Poly room...but you'll never have space for friends or grandparents without paying move. If you want to factor extra space into your decision, then you need to consider what it would cost you to pay for those extra guests' accommodations if you decide not to buy.

DVC CAN be a vehicle for saving a lot of money on Disney accommodations. But you're probably not going to triple your living space and start treating friends & family, while also quickly reaching a break-even point on the upfront costs.

Very true, and this is one of the things we are considering. We are also just coming down front the high of visiting WDW and still caught up in the magic. We want to share that with everyone

 

[Nabas]

I don't disagree with anything you've said. However, OP's comments are somewhat at odds. Most people aren't willing to pay $5000 for a place to "sleep and shower."

If you love the resort and and are willing to pay extra for the surroundings, pool, amenities, park access, etc., then it shouldn't be downplayed as just a place to crash for the night.

I think we're in full agreement but I want to note that someone who stays at the Poly just might be using the room itself as a place to "sleep and shower" while still being willing to pay extra for the Poly's location and amenities.

I also agree with your other post that comparing a single Poly room to a 1- or 2-bedroom villa is an unfair comparison. As bwvBound wrote earlier, staying in a 1-bedroom villa is vastly different experience than staying in a hotel room, for someone who actually intends to enjoy the room itself.

Saying they might want to buy 300 points for future stays in a 2-bedroom villa (essentially the square footage of 3 hotel rooms) is one thing but then comparing that to a single room at the Poly is not an accurate financial assessment of DVC.

As you wrote, someone considering DVC really needs to do an apples-to-apples comparison.

 

[Nabas]

I do see needing a 1br or 2br in the future, hence my estimation of getting a lot of points. It's also nice to be able to bring family along and put them in a separate studio.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you buy the 300 points you were thinking of but don't need them for several years, you can always rent them out through an intermediary such as David's DVC Rentals. David's currently pays $11/point to DVC owners.

If you buy direct from Disney at around $150/point at a future Poly DVC, $11/point should be slightly more than enough to cover your annual MF along with the amortized purchase price, assuming you don't finance.

The point is, you can purchase the DVC points now and then simply rent out the extra points until you decide that you actually want to use them.

 

[holden]

One thing to keep in mind is that if you buy the 300 points you were thinking of but don't need them for several years, you can always rent them out through an intermediary such as David's DVC Rentals. David's currently pays $11/point to DVC owners.

If you buy direct from Disney at around $150/point at a future Poly DVC, $11/point should be slightly more than enough to cover your annual MF along with the amortized purchase price, assuming you don't finance.

The point is, you can purchase the DVC points now and then simply rent out the extra points until you decide that you actually want to use them.

Good point about renting out the points. Is there a fee for using a service to rent out the points?

 

[Nabas]

Good point about renting out the points. Is there a fee for using a service to rent out the points?

David's DVC Rentals acts as a broker. The DVC member receives $11/point, the person wanting to rent pays $14/point, and David's receives the difference as their fee for managing the deal.

It usually works out well for everyone, David's gets the commission, the DVC member quickly rents out unused points, and the renter gets a room for much less than they'd pay Disney.

Renting points is becoming increasingly popular.

 

[disneynutz]

Good point about renting out the points. Is there a fee for using a service to rent out the points?

The service just matches a renter to an owner. You still have to make the reservation for the renter and you might still be responsible if they cause damage to the room since you are the member.

You can also find the renter on your own or you can post a for rent listing here on the DIS or other websites.

Bill