Upside and downside of owning?

[bonnielynn]

I am trying to decide on buying a timeshare with Disney.. Can anyone give me advice on the upside and downside of doing this?

 

[JimFitz]

What are your travel habits? Do you go to Disney every year, mutiple times a year, or every few years? How many people in your family?

 

[vascubaguy]

Based on your trip history in your signature line, it looks like you've been traveling once a year and stay in deluxes... so...

Up-sides:
-You'll have deluxe accommodations essentially paid for during the next 36-50 years.
-You'll have the freedom to travel to other DVC resorts outside of WDW (HHI, VB, any new ones that are developed)
-There are some member perks (though not guaranteed perks) - discounts on annual passes, discounts at some restaurants and stores, pool hopping, etc.
-You can use the points towards other non-Disney/non-DVC trips (flexibility is there, but argueably not a good use of points).
-You have the option to bank or rent your points during times when you can't use them.
-You can borrow from future year points to increase current year points and take a longer vacation (or stay in larger accommodations).

Down-sides:
-Large upfront expense
-Yearly maintenance fees that do change
-High point costs to stay at DVC resorts on Friday/Saturday nights
-Currently can't take advantage of some Disney programs (like the dining plan)

I'm sure folks will chime in with more ups/downs....

 

[Tink10]

My Upsides

1) Disney is my favorite place to vacation & I can visit much more now than I ever could have before.

2) Wonderful accomadations

3) Member Perks (especially the discount on the AP's)

4) The flexibility to vacation elsewhere or cruise should I choose to

5) Disney is my favorite place to vacation & I can visit much more now than I ever could have before.

My Downsides

1) I feel like I always need to be planning another trip

2) I feel like I always need more points

3) It's a pretty big investment

4) I feel like I always need to be planning another trip

Seriously, Jim's questions sum it all up. You have to sit down & decide how much you plan on visiting WDW and how much you normally spend on lodging on those trips. It was a great investment for us because we almost always go to WDW on vacation and I'm definately a deluxe resort person. When we did the math, it seemed like a great thing to do.

 

[JandD Mom]

I feel like I always need to be planning another trip

I thought it was just me, and I thought it was because we are new members, but I am already worried about what I will book next year.

Our upsides (why we bought DVC instead of the Marriott, which is what we originally wanted):

1. Since DVC aggressively exercises ROFR, DVC has so far retained or increased in value. This is not true of other timeshares.

2. DVC is flexible so we can go for 3 days, 4 days, 9 days, until our points run out.

Our downsides:

1. We bought a decent amount of points and already feel like we don't have enough!

I never understood why DVC members just keep adding on, but now I think I am understanding why!

 

[bcvillastwo]

When my youngest son graduated from high school about 10 years ago we took him and a friend to WDW for a graduation present. The four of us stayed in a moderate resort. We had a wonderful time as the young men went their way and we went ours. We had gone once about 10 years before that but because the children were younger we didn't have near the freedome we had during my son's graduation trip. That said, we started going to WDW a more often until we were doing it once or twice a year and we always stayed in a moderate or better resort. To summarize we found that we really loved WDW and we realized we would be going at least once a year, or more.

We had looked at DVC several times but convinced ourselves that a timeshare just wasn't for us. After several years of this we finally took a tour but still didn't purchase in part because we really couldn't afford it but also because we weren't convinced yet. Then another year went by, we took another tour, and some unexpected resources came our way. So, after talking about it some more, weighing our pro's and con's we took the plunge in the Spring of 2002. Since then we've been at least twice a year. Our next trip is in 4 weeks to BCV.

To summarize for us it game down three factors (1) we love WDW, (2) we finally felt we could afford it and (3) we went frequently enough and stayed in at least moderate or better resorts. For us it's been a good choice but it wouldn't be if we could just barely afford the trips.

 

[Ethan Baby]

I just bought my DVC membership at the SSR. I have never been to WDW but I have been going to Disneyland every year since I was a little girl. I love Disney! I now have a little one of my own. I think back too all the great times we had as a family on our Disney trips and I want to offer that to my son too.

I actually bought a timeshare in Las Vegas last year. The day we signed the contract my parents had to go home so my SO and I explored Vegas with the baby. Needless to say, it is not the best place for a baby or for me to own a timeshare so I cancelled the purchase. Since then I have been considering DVC because what could be more appropriate for little ones.

I decided on my son's first birthday that I did not want to spend on another party for him until he was old enough to really enjoy it. It was too much work and it adds up. Anyways, I started looking into a trip to WDW for his 2nd birthday that happens to be only days apart from my parents 30th wedding anniversary. Well, the cost was way too much and just did not seem possible. I then decided to revisit DVC.

I could use the money that I would use to go on one trip to WDW to put towards the DVC down payment so I could later go on many other trips. I could afford to stay in deluxe accomodations with my parents in a two bedroom (they help with the baby ). The best part is, I could do the same thing for many years to come. Even if using my points outside of DVC properties was not the best use, I see it as less out off pocket expense at the time of my trip. On my two trip to Disneyland this year, I could have saved almost two thousand. It may seem short sighted to some people but it works for me on a fixed income with not much wiggle room for a vacation savings account. The incentives Disney is offering also made the decision easier. I am hoping to do the double payment strategy mentioned on DIS will help me get my membership paid off sooner. Then it will be time to add on.

I am looking forward to my first trip home in February

 

[CarolA]

The big downside.

"One more trip to Disney since I have free lodging and already bought the AP"

I would not say I save a whole lot on vacations on DVC, but I consider it an investment in me and I am VERY glad I bought.

 

[DisneyPhD]

upsides, so many, hard to list them all.

DVC resorts, need I say more.
AP discount is nice recenlty
we bought while I was still working. Since then I was laid off and am a SAHM now. But we still can aforrd our WDW trip because we already have DVC.
Many more, but they are pretty clear.

Members are magical, need I say more?

Downsides.

We never have enough points. We always want more. We are in a constant state of borrowing. Good news is you get more points every year, and never lose any this way.

One trip is never enough. We keep going more then once a year, but we bought to go once a year (like we were before we bought.)

It is addictive, you want more more more. You get spoild. Normal resorts and hotel rooms are not good enough. We took a trip to a non DVC hotel. DD (4) walked in the room and asked where the kicthen was.

Right now DVC can't do the dining plan. I hear they are working on it. I wish they would.

More poins = high dues. That can be difficult. Good news is there is ways to make 170 points to strech.

 

[gppnj]

My Downsides

1) I feel like I always need to be planning another trip

That's an upside for me. Always something to look forward to.

 

[DizWacko]

Upsides:

1) Over the long haul you save lots of money if you continue to love Disney
2) bank/borrow rules gives you flexibility in case of cancelled trips
3) Lots of choices of where to stay, half of the resort rooms are in good central locations to the parks


Downsides
1) You need to be a planner. If you want the most popular resorts, be ready to book atleast 7 months in advance
2) If you like the "balcony/view factor", DVC rooms dont offer the greatest views.
3) No monorail area resort, an the one close by is the smallest of the DVC resorts.

Have fun !

 

[dianeschlicht]

Upsides for me:
Great "better than deluxe" accommodations with a great master bedroom, full kitchen, full laundry room, living room, balcony/dining porch, etc etc etc, but that just addresses where I own and stay. Add to that:
-several trips in a year at those accommodations.
-It's Disney!
-a well maintained resort.
-It's Disney!
-The ability to stay at ANY DVC resort.
-It's Disney!
-flexible points system.
-It's Disney!
-"Welcome homes"
-It's Disney!
-Great friendly staff.
-It's Disney!
-Great member benefits (they do change occationally) like the $100 off APs.
-It's Disney!
-I can trade if I want to for other timeshares that are difficult to get (Hawaii)
-It's Disney!

Downsides:
-It isn't close enough to my house.
-I can never have enough points.
-Pricey dues.

 

[JandD Mom]

In terms of the pricey dues, I have to respectfully disagree. We own a decent amount of points and could stay in a 2 br for a week in all but the 2 highest seasons (if we wanted to go every year to a 2 br).

Comparing to the Marriott (eg, Aruba Surf or Ocean Pointe) the DVC dues were actually less than the MVC fees. Plus, if you think you want to trade you pay additional fees to belong to Interval International. Then there are fees for Florida Club if you are in FLA.

If you add up the fees, DVC is not all THAT bad.

 

[disworldnum1]

the upside for us is we go several times a year and we are nestled in between our 2 favorite parks.We have a full kitchen and there's nothing like staying on the property.No driving at the end of the day to get to a rental house someplace.
The downside..hhhmmmmmmmm
You have to pay maintenance fees...ours cost us about the same as it costs us to rent a 4 bedroom pool home off property.But its worth every penny

 

[Lisa P.]

I am trying to decide on buying a timeshare with Disney.. Can anyone give me advice on the upside and downside of doing this?

Many people choose not to buy. This thread gives some of their reasons why.

DVC is good for people who:
--- like the DVC resorts
--- plan to use points to vacation at DVC resorts at least every other year
--- want to stay in a condo/villa (no daily housekeeping, suite amenities)
--- would normally pay for a Disney deluxe hotel room (maybe moderate)
--- don't predominantly vacation on long weekends only.

Lots of people don't really suit this description. Do you?

As flexible as a points-based timeshare can be, nothing is more flexible than cash. There are lots of intangibles that enter into this decision. We are just as happy offsite and we're a family of 5 (need 2BRs) - DVC is way too pricy for us. Depends on your situation.

 

[Bugeye]

There's a downside???

 

[KennySC]

I do agree the one big downside is this feeling I have of always wanting to buy more points! It is almost like an urgent need to buy more before the price goes up or to finally have enough to never stay in a studio again. Before DVC I would never have thought I'd say that.....

The biggest upside is being able to crawl home from Food and Wine each night. Which is now only 24 days away.....

 

[CharlesTD]

Well our downside to owning is that we wish we could mae it to WDW more often than we do because we own DVC. The upside is we don't worry about the cost of accomodations because we have DVC.

 

[maxsdaddy]

Buying DVC was not an easy decision for us. We took many things into consideration. For us, the two main points were cost, of course, and do we want to vacation at Disney every?

Like others have said, the cost can seem a bit high, but if you look at the long term, you will have paid off your initial investment in about 8 years. Now that is taking into consideration that you use all of your points and don't let any expire.(like anyone would let that happen)

Asking ourselves if we wanted to vacation at Disney every year was a no-brainer. We had been doing it for the last 5 years and our oldest son is only 2. If we decide we want to do something else for vacation, we can always check the Buena Vista and Concierge Clubs.

The biggest downfalls are, like others have said, we feel we need to add on and haven't had our first DVC trip yet, and we live too far to take more than one trip per year(for now).

 

[edingerc]

Here's an upside that hasn't been highlighted yet:

If you stay in a 1-3BR Villa, you get a washer and dryer! The luxury level of having them in your room can't be overestimated.

Here's a MAJOR downside that hasn't been highlighted:

Since you dont get maid service every day, less chance of towel animals!