Vacation club annual dues or fees & other concerns ?

[Chefster]

I am thinking of purchasing a new or resell time share with Disney but it seems to me if I had 200 points per year I could have to pay over $1000.00 a year for dues . Is this correct & how does this make sense ? For another 800.00 I could stay at the allstar resorts for a week with food included . That is part of my other question I guess you get park tickets included & what about if like now Disney does a special with food included to the public do I get the food offer also being a vacation club owner? Thanks for any help .
Tony
P.S I have been going to Disney every couple years since 1975 . I must be missing something with this vacation club thing because I am balancing on the edge of purchase,

 

[mprewitt]

DVC probably doesn't make sense for those folks who typically stay at a Value resort at WDW.

It makes great sense if you typically stay at a Deluxe resort, and probably still good sense if you stay at Moderate resorts.

Many DVC members purchase Annual Passes for entrance to the parks all year round. Disney currently gives DVC members a $100 discount on APs.

 

[chalee94]

if you only go every couple of years, why are you calculating that you would need to buy 200 points?

and no, DVC owners do not get any "free food deals" as we are not paying rack rates.

as already stated, DVC rates will generally be more comparable to moderate and deluxe accomodations. OTOH, if you avoid weekends and buy a small resale contract, you can easily stay in studio rooms for the equivalent of $55-80 per night, taxes included. i bought a smaller resale contract and my annual dues are currently less than $180 per year. it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish whether DVC is a good deal for you or not...

 

[Mtnman44]

Not really an apples to apples comparison. Compare to a one or two bedroom unit at a deluxe or moderate hotel in order to get a more accurate comparion. These 1 and 2 bedroom DVC villas are $300 to $800 per night rooms, easily.

 

[Chefster]

Thanks for all your imput so far it gives me a whole new look at the purchase idea . It is obvious that it is better to hear from owners.
Thank You all very much.
Chefster

 

[Luv4Disney]

We go to Disney at least once a year and typically stayed value. However, we crunched numbers and found it to work in our favor to buy into Saratoga. We're so happy we did it as it will definitely pay off for us. We have 200 points and our dues come to $800 and change a year. This was definitely a great investment for us!

 

[starbox]

Dues should not be quite that high unless you are looking at a Vero Beach resale. SSR dues would be closer to 800.

Also, you'd only need about 100-120 points to do 7 nights in a studio - which is closer to the size (although much larger) of a single resort room. As others have said, you can't compare that 7-night stay in a studio to 7 nights in a value because it is in a totally different league. Compare it to the Poly, WL, AKL or CR and you've got a better feel for the comparison. For example, 5 nights (Sun-Thursday) in a savanna-view room at AKL in November costs 60 points. A savanna-view room through Disney for those same days is a little over 1,800.

 

[castleri]

I am thinking of purchasing a new or resell time share with Disney but it seems to me if I had 200 points per year I could have to pay over $1000.00 a year for dues . Is this correct & how does this make sense ? For another 800.00 I could stay at the allstar resorts for a week with food included . That is part of my other question I guess you get park tickets included & what about if like now Disney does a special with food included to the public do I get the food offer also being a vacation club owner? Thanks for any help .
Tony
P.S I have been going to Disney every couple years since 1975 . I must be missing something with this vacation club thing because I am balancing on the edge of purchase,

Park tickets are not included but you can buy an annual pass with a discount which is good if you plan on going two or more times within the 12 month period that it is valid.

 

[hellerjw]

Also, don't forget the additional 12% in sales/accomodations taxes you have to pay for staying at the traditional resorts, on top of the nightly rate. This is often missed in doing comparisons and isn't always included in the online price quotes.

You don't pay this at the DVC resorts. Any taxes are already part of the annual dues.

 

[Chefster]

How many people can sleep in a studio ?

 

[chalee94]

How many people can sleep in a studio ?

4.

also important to know: OKW studios have 2 queen beds but all other DVC studios are 1 bed + 1 pullout sofabed.

 

[tiggercraZ]

I have read on other posts that you can get 5 in a studio. Is that true? My youngest is 5 and usually sleeps with us on vacation.

 

[Fortywinks]

I am thinking of purchasing a new or resell time share with Disney but it seems to me if I had 200 points per year I could have to pay over $1000.00 a year for dues . Is this correct & how does this make sense ? For another 800.00 I could stay at the allstar resorts for a week with food included . That is part of my other question I guess you get park tickets included & what about if like now Disney does a special with food included to the public do I get the food offer also being a vacation club owner? Thanks for any help .
Tony
P.S I have been going to Disney every couple years since 1975 . I must be missing something with this vacation club thing because I am balancing on the edge of purchase,

We have stayed in the value resorts several times in the past and have loved it. I live in motel rooms most of the year with my business and the values aren't much different. Once my family was able to stay in a 1-2br at a DVC resort then all the comforts of home are there---thus "Welcome Home". If you can afford the initial upfront cost ($$ per pt) then the annual fee is not a problem. If you are happy with the values then DVC may not be what you are looking for. As for us we have never regretted our decision and have even added pts twice...

 

[tjkraz]

I have read on other posts that you can get 5 in a studio. Is that true? My youngest is 5 and usually sleeps with us on vacation.

No. The occupancy limit for a Studio is 4.

 

[mikeandkarla]

4 plus an infant under 3 in a crib or pack-n-play.

 

[usewickhouse]

Question...will the points requirement per day ever go up? I emailed the DVC rep that we spoke to this week about this and he sent an email that we would have to speak to him. That he could not give the answer to that question without going through an approval board? I really want to buy into DVC but I am scared to death that the points we buy now will not give us the same vacation time per year up the road from now. Have any of you been members for 10+ years? Have the points per day ever went up? If they do then do you have to constantly keep adding points to your contract in order to keep vacationing? I'm sorry for all the questions but I want to hear this from people who already own and get the real story!
Thanks, Becky

 

[tjkraz]

The total number of points in a resort cannot change. In other words, legally DVC CAN increase the number of points required for a given night, but in doing so they would have to make an identical decrease elsewhere on the calendar. You'll occasionally see people refer to this process as "reallocation" of a resort's points.

In the 16 year history of DVC points have only been reallocated once--that was back when there was just one DVC resort. It's possible that we may see other adjustments made over the years, but it's not going to be a regular occurrence and the changes would likely be minor.

EDIT: To be clear, the above applies only to the 8 DVC resorts. The nightly point requirements for things like the Disney Collection (cruises, non-DVC hotels) and Concierge Collection CAN and DO change annually.

Incidentally, when your Guide referred to getting approval to answer your question, I believe that he was specifically referring to responding to you in writing. Depending on who you talk to, DVC Guides are either highly discouraged or all but prohibited from corresponding with people via email. The reason for this is simply because doing so has a great potential for liability from DVC's standpoint. If a salesperson were to misrepresent some portion of DVC--even unintentionally--that email could end up being the basis for a lawsuit against DVC. That's not to say that anyone would intentionally misrepresent what you are buying, rather it's just reflective of the fact that some people will invariably describe things in clearer terms than others.

I'm sure you will get proper answers to all of your questions if you set aside a few minutes for a phone call with your salesperson. But should you decide to move forward, remember that the Public Offering Statement (POS) and other printed program guidelines are the only things that truly matter. Read those documents carefully so that you fully understand what you're getting into. I don't think there are any major landmines within the docs, but they do serve as the basis for a lot of "what if" discussions around here.

 

[usewickhouse]

The total number of points in a resort cannot change. In other words, legally DVC CAN increase the number of points required for a given night, but in doing so they would have to make an identical decrease elsewhere on the calendar. You'll occasionally see people refer to this process as "reallocation" of a resort's points.

In the 16 year history of DVC points have only been reallocated once--that was back when there was just one DVC resort. It's possible that we may see other adjustments made over the years, but it's not going to be a regular occurrence and the changes would likely be minor.

EDIT: To be clear, the above applies only to the 8 DVC resorts. The nightly point requirements for things like the Disney Collection (cruises, non-DVC hotels) and Concierge Collection CAN and DO change annually.

Incidentally, when your Guide referred to getting approval to answer your question, I believe that he was specifically referring to responding to you in writing. Depending on who you talk to, DVC Guides are either highly discouraged or all but prohibited from corresponding with people via email. The reason for this is simply because doing so has a great potential for liability from DVC's standpoint. If a salesperson were to misrepresent some portion of DVC--even unintentionally--that email could end up being the basis for a lawsuit against DVC. That's not to say that anyone would intentionally misrepresent what you are buying, rather it's just reflective of the fact that some people will invariably describe things in clearer terms than others.

I'm sure you will get proper answers to all of your questions if you set aside a few minutes for a phone call with your salesperson. But should you decide to move forward, remember that the Public Offering Statement (POS) and other printed program guidelines are the only things that truly matter. Read those documents carefully so that you fully understand what you're getting into. I don't think there are any major landmines within the docs, but they do serve as the basis for a lot of "what if" discussions around here.

Thank You for such a detailed response! I will call him this week to discuss further but I am actually thinking of doing a re-sale instead of going with Disney. I would like to find a small contract at SSR to get our feet wet and then when and "IF" CRV becomes a reality I would then like to buy a full contract there. We were approached at the CR about a month ago by the DVC agent. My family was sitting and waiting "stand by" for Chef Mickey's and this really great guy came over and started talking to us. He really had my DH wanting to buy and my DH had never before even entertained the idea of it. He also went up to the host at CM and got us right in! He was our one and only "dream" that trip but he was awesome. BTW...NO...he did NOT confirm BUT would also NOT deny the rumor about CRV. He said something to the effect that CRV may turn out to be the WORST kept secret in Disney history? Just saying what he told us. Thanks again, Becky

 

[vandy]

I am thinking of purchasing a new or resell time share with Disney but it seems to me if I had 200 points per year I could have to pay over $1000.00 a year for dues . Is this correct & how does this make sense ? For another 800.00 I could stay at the allstar resorts for a week with food included . That is part of my other question I guess you get park tickets included & what about if like now Disney does a special with food included to the public do I get the food offer also being a vacation club owner? Thanks for any help .
Tony
P.S I have been going to Disney every couple years since 1975 . I must be missing something with this vacation club thing because I am balancing on the edge of purchase,

Every person's situation is different so try to figure out what your per year cost will be for both stays. There are two ways to do this. First: Take your total purchase divided by number of points divided by the number of years remaining on the contract to find you cost per point. Add on you maintenance fee per point and multiply by number of points used for your stay to find your cost. The second way is to take the total purchase price divided by number of years to find a yearly cost, then add your yearly fee cost. For us, we used two years worth of points for a 10 night stay in a 2BR villa and it cost us around $2000.00. Two rooms at the All-Stars, plus tax, would have been around $2100. Remember that Fees may go up, but so will the room rates at the non-DVC resorts. For us, it made perfect sense. For you..........well, you will need to find that out.