Upside and downside of owning?

[SyrCinderella]

We went back and forth for many years - we originally considered the purchase back when you received free passes for 10 yrs, but didnt do it. It was a timeshare, and we had always heard they are "bad".

Fast forward many years and now our DD is grown with boyfriend in tow. We go on vacation and take him with us, staying at the Poly concierge. He isnt impressed - where is the kitchen he asks. Come to find out, he has grown up w/ a home at OKW. He gets us interested in looking at DVC again.

We just stayed at BCV for our first trip home. It was wonderful - cleaner than I expected, beautiful room with kitchen and jetted tub, and now I understand jr OKW's disappointment. This is home!

 

[wdwstar]

UPSIDE... When we first bought DVC we only planned on going once, twice a year. After a few years we started to learn how easy & in exspensive it was to get away for long weekends and dont have to worry about $$ for hotels. Now with Magic Express you can even say money on not renting a car. Whether you are in Wdw or at home you still would have to eat, so we dont count eating is an exspense. when we go on vacation we found out that we dont have to be at the parks every time we go to WDW, sitting at the pool, golfing, just spending time as a family is what works for us. The only exspense we have is airfare and airfare really doesnt cost us that much, not when your the queen of find cheap direct airfare

Downfall..... Listening to your family and friends(i think just all jealousy) your going to WDW again. Dsis finally just keeps her comments to, Oh your back home in IL. how long are you staying before you go back home to your real home in WDW

But they all dont complain when you invite them home with you and use your points for their room and dont ask for $$.

another downfall... not owning enough points , we will be doing another add on by the next dvc resort offer....


one example on how used our dvc and loved every min. of our trip...

Dsil got married up in MD at a bed and breakfast resort and DH & I decided that instead of staying up in MD for the rest of the long weekend that we would apply the $$ we would have spent on more nights at this B&B to our airfare and fly out the next morning down to WDW and stay at the BCV, hanging out at the pool, play a few rounds of golf, eating at restaurants that we have not ate at and just being at a place we enjoy and know we will have a great time instead of a B&B that there was really nothing to do.

by the time we ended our trip we actually saved $400 dollars by going to wdw instead staying in MD.

 

[bonnielynn]

I like the Wilderness lodge.. is it still available to buy and what exactly do you pay for in dues? Are there any hidden costs?? Do you get treated the same as a vacationing customer as oppose to a timeshare owner?

Has anyone bought from other places... like the timeshare store sells disney, should I consider this or just stick with Disney?

Thanks.

 

[Dean]

I like the Wilderness lodge.. is it still available to buy and what exactly do you pay for in dues? Are there any hidden costs?? Do you get treated the same as a vacationing customer as oppose to a timeshare owner?

Has anyone bought from other places... like the timeshare store sells disney, should I consider this or just stick with Disney?

Thanks.

If you want VWL, buy resale. While it appears you have sufficient trips to justify buying DVC, let me summarize the situation you need to be in. One should only buy DVC to stay at DVC resorts and either neutral or better, light on the weekends. One should be able to plan at least 7 months out and use it at least about every 2 years. One SHOULD NOT BUY to use for exchanging, long weekends or other points exchange options like the Disney Collection or DCL.

It appears you have timeshare experience and thus you need to know that DVC will be dramatically higher than you could get by with otherwise trading to Orlando.

 

[dsneygirl]

I like the Wilderness lodge.. is it still available to buy and what exactly do you pay for in dues? Are there any hidden costs?? Do you get treated the same as a vacationing customer as oppose to a timeshare owner?

Has anyone bought from other places... like the timeshare store sells disney, should I consider this or just stick with Disney?

Thanks.

We used the Timeshare Store for our VWL purchase this spring. Just check the link at the top of the page.

 

[StormTigger]

Upsideside - It's Disney!!!!!!!!

Downside - it ends, unlike most timeshares, and after all the money (upfront cost and dues) you are left w/ nothing but great memories and lots, and lots of pictures.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Upsideside - It's Disney!!!!!!!!

Downside - it ends, unlike most timeshares, and after all the money (upfront cost and dues) you are left w/ nothing but great memories and lots, and lots of pictures.

But I figure I'll be dead by then! LOL! I'll be 95 when our contrat ends!

 

[SEC]

The downside is it is quite addictive! We have owned at WLV since 2000 and love it! We have used our points at Disney World several times, traded to a wonderful B&B in Vermont for 6 nights, Grove Park Inn in Asheville and Grand Californian. For us, it was a no-brainer after we added up our hotel bills from previous trips. As a bonus, we have used points outside of Disney and have had several vacations on points in just 5 years.

 

[erikthewise]

I agree with much that has been said, esp regarding upsides.

-- Upside: We don't have to decide whether we can afford a vacation, and where to go. And I don't have to convince DW to go to Disney. We have the points, so we HAVE to go! When we joined DVC, we had just gone to WDW, which was our first vacation in 9 years.

-- Upside: You know you're staying in better accommodations than you ever thought you could afford onsite. So "resort envy" is not a concern.

-- Downside: Annual dues are the real estate tax of DVC. Not literally, but by analogy to when people buy a $300K home, but don't quite realize they have committed to paying $6K or so in real estate taxes every year in addition to the mortgage payments.

-- Downside: Even after the large upfront payment and annual dues, your vacation is far from paid for. There are still transportation, admissions, dining, entertainment and shopping to consider.

-- Downside: If you sometimes like to stay in other resorts, it's inconvenient to do so. We still want to sometimes stay at the Polynesian, but we can only go once a year. So we have to either have a split stay or rent points to make it work.