vacation club?

[dana1003]

anyone thinking about joining the vacation club? the initial price seems kinda steep!!

 

[kissy]

I would LOVE to join DVC but am worried about the initial cost too!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

I bought the Hilton Head vacation club to start and bought resale so I only invested about 5,500 and then I add on when I can. I couldn't afford the 150 points to start with, now they are running a sale for $86.00 if you buy the 150 points. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer for you!

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Niope looked at what I was already spending and what I would have spent anyhow in the 2 years and It just made sence to do it now.

We are financed through Disney and as I know this is not the best route to take we would have been spending the money anyhow so what the hey.

Best decision we ever made it's great.Leaving in 5 days for SSR and MVMCP.


Also you can get less then 150 buy-in through a resale.Do that for a start and then add-on as you feel you can.

 

[Ariel8676]

We bought in to DVC last year and love it. We have 3 girls (5,4 and1) and were already going to WDW AT LEAST once a year (sometimes 2 or 3), so it just made sense. We bought 210 points for now and will probably add on next year or the year after.
They are offering some incentives if you buy in now..not sure if it is for all new members or if you know a member....pm me with any questions

 

[pbharris4]

We bought into DVC in 2002..never even been to see the rooms or resorts. We did talk to our guide and my sister who bought into it. We haven't regretted it one bit. We initally bought 175 pts (wanted 225-but wanted to be conservative) and last year we added another 50. It's the right amount for us. We may add on another 50-100 in the next 5 years and that's it. What's best about it is the flexibility with regards to resorts, accomodations, and dates, plus you can go other places. And if you get it and decide later that it's not for you..you can sell it.

 

[KristiKelly]

We bought DVC 2-1/2 years ago. It was a great decision for us. We like staying in the deluxe resorts. 3 mo. after we purchased we found out we were havig baby #3. DVC has made it so much easier traveling wth 3 kids. We stay in a 1 bedroom, have a washer & dryer so we can pack much less, and have a full kitchen so we don't have to eat out every meal.

The cost of a 1 bedroom booked thru Disney would be almost $500.00 a night (~$3,500/week), for the time of year we go. So far we have used DVC for 2 weeks. If we had paid rack rate it would have been nearly $7,000 for 2 one week trips. Our initial investment was $17,000 for 180 points so it will have paid for itself in about 5 trips. Of course we still have to pay yearly maintenance fees.

Keep in mind, the point system will not change but the cost of booking a room thru Disney will. So we are locked in at a rate for the next 48 years. Maintenance fees will increase but probably not at the rate of the rooms.

It comes down to what is best for you and your family. If you are happy staying in value resorts then it may not be cost effective for you. Jump over to the DVC boards and you will get tons of info.

 

[happypooh]

We bought into DVC in 1996 (I think!) and have so made use of it! The initial cost was slightly cheaper back then and it really helped that I had a cast member discount (I worked for Christmas at the disney store and still got a discount!) so if you can get a part time job at the Disney store to get the discount that can help (at the time it was 20% off)! We went to WDW 3 times this year and DL once (only have 150 points!) and usually go at least once a year. We've also taken our family (extended with sis,bro,grandparents etc) for a christmas vacation that we will never forget for 5 nights in a grand villa which was awesome....no way we could have done it without DVC...that one trip alone would have cost as much as (or maybe more than) what we paid for the whole timeshare! Right now there is a special for friends and family with a discount of $15 off per point at saratoga. Hope you have fun making a decision!

 

[KristiKelly]

We bought into DVC in 1996 (I think!) and have so made use of it! The initial cost was slightly cheaper back then and it really helped that I had a cast member discount (I worked for Christmas at the disney store and still got a discount!) so if you can get a part time job at the Disney store to get the discount that can help (at the time it was 20% off)! We went to WDW 3 times this year and DL once (only have 150 points!) and usually go at least once a year. We've also taken our family (extended with sis,bro,grandparents etc) for a christmas vacation that we will never forget for 5 nights in a grand villa which was awesome....no way we could have done it without DVC...that one trip alone would have cost as much as (or maybe more than) what we paid for the whole timeshare! Right now there is a special for friends and family with a discount of $15 off per point at saratoga. Hope you have fun making a decision!

The Disney Store is no longer owned by Disney instead it is owned by Children's Place. I'm not sure if they honor that anymore. I know that The Disney Store no longer sells Park Tix. Also, DVC use to get a 10% disc @ The Disney Store but no longer. If they still do though, maybe I'll get a PT job for my add-on at AKV.

 

[daisyduck123]

We bought into DVC this past October....DH gave it to me for a birthday present!!! We bought 200 points & will probably buy another 25 in January.

We've got 3 trips planned for 2007...

1) 8 days in May at SSR (pulling DD12 & DS8 out of school)
2) 6 days in August (DD12's birthday)
3) Christmas week

Can't wait!!!

 

[Deesknee]

I know there are alot more educated people in this matter than I. I have to say though, DH and I thought about it in the early 90's and didn't buy in. I wish so much we had. We finally bit the bullet a couple of years ago and love it. We bought through Disney itself, we paid more per point, but at that time they paid the closing costs. We love it. The maint. fees come right out of our bank acct. My only regret (besides not buying sooner) is we bought 270pts in one contract. I wish we had split it into two.
We were going about once every two years. This past year we went 3x. Once brought a dear friend as his Christmas gift. Once brought another friend (she paid us) Once went with just dh and kids. Would love to be going again. We bought Annual passes for everyone. So basically 2 of the trips we just bought airfare and food. It's kind of like a prepaid vacation. They say it takes about 5-7 years to get your money back.

 

[bradisgoofy]

We made three trips to WDW ( see signature ) by buying package trips from AAA. On the third trip we took the DVC tour. Those three trips would have been enough to pay for our first 150 points. We have since bought additional points totaling 690. Our kids come down every year the second week we are there. This spring we are staying at FW for 11 days with our best friends ( staying in their own Coach ) using our points. And in '08 we've invited the whole family to come down and stay in a Grand Villa while we stay at FW. If I sold my points right now I would make a nice profit, so there is no way you can go wrong buying into DVC.

 

[disnutt]

Only regret is that I didn't buy sooner! Well, also regret that I probably won't be able to buy points at the AKL when it opens. Check out the DVC boards here for more info.

 

[Benducci]

Check out the DVC boards for more info but I have to say it was one of the best investments. We love the DVC! We own at OKW & Hilton Head.
We bought back when they gave park passes for free every time you booked. It was fun while it lasted!

I look at it as it is cheaper than buying a new car (reasonably) and lasts a lot longer. My parents were able to go down 4 times this year. We went one year & brought 18 people with us - the memories alone were worth it.
If you break it down over how long you will be using it, it is not that expensive. We try to go down once a year but I think we will be going down every other year.

 

[TMB1203]

We bought in 2001 and have never regretted it. We go once a year and stay from 7-10 days. We have been able to invite our entire family over the past 6 years and have paid for their rooms. We have also went on the Disney Cruise using our points. When we bought, points were $75.00 and we bought 200. We financed through Disney, which is a bit more expensive, but we were planning on taking a home equity loan for home upgrades and didn't want to tap into it.

We spent $15,000 upfront and we have "paid for it twice now".

My only regret is that we didn't buy into it sooner. We had been there every year from 1999-2001, stayed at CR and paid OOP. I could have almost paid for our entire timeshare if we would have bought earlier.

The ONLY thing I don't like about the DVC is that when Disney offers free DDP, but that does not include DVC stays. I know over the long run, we save much more than a person who pays for their trip OOP so I guess I can live with this...

Also, you don't have to only go to Disney. You can use your points at alot of other vacation destinations. We are thinking about using some of our points next summer at Hotel Del Cornado in San Diego.

 

[crisi]

We own as well.

It works best if:

You stay in Deluxes anyway

You are committing to at least every other year at Disney for the next 40 years (or the next decade and sell - that's about the break even point).

You need to stay onsite

You avoid long weekends (weekend points at DVC are very expensive).

You can pay cash

You have a pretty stable financial situation

You want a multiple room unit (in which case your choices are DVC resorts, offsite, or the cabins at FW).

DVC does not work well if:

You are strapped for cash and Disney vacations are a stretch - DVC pays for your room - but you need to pay dues every year, buy tickets, buy food, get to Disney. The initial buy in is nothing compared to the money you are committing to spend over the life of the contract.

You do a lot of long weekends.

You are happy offsite - there are lots of nice resorts offsite that are lots cheaper. There are nice timeshares in the Orlando area that can be bought for much less.

You are happy in Values - moderates are arguable - some people feel its a value over moderates.

You like "bargains" - DVCers can't get free dining staying on points.

You expect a Deluxe hotel. DVC is Deluxe Hotel-Lite - mousekeeping is on a limited schedule for instance. I don't think the DVC rooms are kept up as well.

You absolutely need non-smoking. DVC does not (CRO doesn't either) guarentee non-smoking. DVC will not refund your points if you end up in a smoking room.

You are buying to trade out or cruise. The best value with DVC is to stay at DVC resorts. If you want to trade out or cruise occationally on those points, hey, they are your points, do what you want. But if you are buying for the purpose of trading out and are asking if I think that's wise financially, I don't think so.

You like last minute trips - DVC resorts work at pretty much fully occupancy - getting a room last minute is not always possible.

You need flexibility in cancellations - DVC is a timeshare with much different (and less flexible) cancellation policies than CRO.

You have a lot of variations in trip time and length year to year. DVC gives you a certain amount of points, and banking and borrowing can get you more points in any one year. But you need to average out over the life of the contract (or go through the hassle of renting out your points, or stay CRO, or do something else). For instance, if I want to go three weeks this year, I won't have enough points to go next year. Because of some strangeness in a family reunion trip and they way points worked out, I'm taking two trips six months apart (we are usually every other year people) - one I definately wouldn't be taking (and wouldn't have the airfare, etc) without having to "use" those points. A lot of people buy in their initial "Disney infatuation" and as that dies out (or their family changes) find they have too many points. Buy the minimum points to get in and buy additional needed points as add ons so you have flexibility in selling off as your travel style changes.

It can be more expensive and not save money. We go more often. We treat people to rooms. Because we don't have a room bill on checkout, we spend more when we are there.

 

[Desnik]

We are DVC'ers and it was the best thing we did! We go to WDW twice a year now!! We would normally go once a year, stay at a deluxe on WDW property. We have 2 small kids and we know we will be going to WDW for as long as our contract lasts!!LOL I just wish we would've bought in earlier!! The previous poster did a great job explaining things! I don't agree that you have to pay it in cash in order for it to be a good fit for you. Eveyone is in different situations and DVC wouldn't offer financing if everyone just paid cash. For us, we didn't want to lay out that chunk of money, but can easily afford a monthly payment, which is the same money we would save for our vacations anyway. We do plan on paying it off next year and we did put a few thousand down. At the time it is what worked for us. For most of our trips we stay in a studio and don't do the weekends at DVC. This has really worked out for us. However we were just in a 1 bedroom and we are booked for a 1 bedroom again, it is really great!! You do get spoiled by the size.

 

[Desnik]

Oh, one more thing to add is if you like daily housekeeping then youeither have to pay extra or get use to how DVC works. It's never been a problem for us.

 

[Denine]

We have been members since 1995. We LOVE it! We have added to our points twice, but really would like to buy more. We just can't afford it right now.
I don't know if I would do it at today's prices, but it has paid for itself many times over.
You can always check out the timeshare store for re-sale.

 

[dana1003]

wow- thank you all so much for all the info..i actually downloaded the dvd online and plan to watch it tonite..