vacation club?

[4greatboys]

If you buy resale its a lot cheaper than through disney. We paid around $20 less per point resale vs Disney back when we bought.
We have really enjoyed our DVC membership. The Villas are so nice We use the kitchen and the washer/dryer and its nice with the 1 and 2 bdrms so there is more room to spread out and not be so on top of each.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You're not really joining a club. You are buying real estate of sorts.

 

[Miss Jessr!ca]

my family (me, my grandma, and grandpa) are in DVC.
and i love it! i get special pins

 

[pbharris4]

My sister and her DH bought into it and they are very tight with their $$$ so if they would buy into it..it must be great!

 

[barkley]

we bought in '99 and added on in '02 for a total of 400 points. our total investment (p&i-we paid off this may when we sold our home) was recouped by 2005 via 2-7 day disney cruises (for 4), 1-7 day alaska cruise (for 4), 1-14 day 1 b/r stay at boardwalk, 1-5 day 1 b/r stay at ssr, 1-5 day stay at the disneyland hotel, and a 2 nite stay at the claremont resort. we've found that the trade-outs are not a bad deal at all (esp. if you don't want to go to wdw all the time-just bank one years to the next and then borrow from the following if you need to).

 

[kissy]

Thanks so much for all the info! When we go to the world in Sept I want to meet with a rep for DVC and see what happens. So when you are a memeber of DVC do you pay anything for your room? (I mean I know you pay monthly stuff but do you also have to pay a per night fee?) KWIM?>

 

[4greatboys]

Thanks so much for all the info! When we go to the world in Sept I want to meet with a rep for DVC and see what happens. So when you are a memeber of DVC do you pay anything for your room? (I mean I know you pay monthly stuff but do you also have to pay a per night fee?) KWIM?>

No. when you buy into DVC you buy points, then you use those points for each nights stay. Studios, require the least amount of points then going up from 1 bdrm, 2 bdrm and grand villa. Point requirements are less on the weekdays and more Fri/Sat nights.

You can pay your mainentance fee all at one time in Jan or spread out monthly over the year.

Why not rent some points from a DVC member for your next trip then talk to the DVC guide as well. That should give you a very good idea if thats what your family wants.

 

[crisi]

Thanks so much for all the info! When we go to the world in Sept I want to meet with a rep for DVC and see what happens. So when you are a memeber of DVC do you pay anything for your room? (I mean I know you pay monthly stuff but do you also have to pay a per night fee?) KWIM?>

There are a very few add on costs - but its possible to walk out with no room bill (do keep in mind that you are moving your room bill - and possibly reducing it depending on your usage - large up front cost and dues - not getting rid of it). DVCers get charged if they want extra towels or extra housekeeping. I think phone calls are now charged (but maybe not, we have cells and don't use the room phones), internet service is charged. There is no tax on your stay.

Some of the amenities are a little different. Like, without mousekeeping, you'll want to bring your own shampoo - there will be a container there when you arrive, but it won't get replentished every day. Same with coffee - if you want a daily coffee replentishment, you'll pay for it (we always bring our own)

To me, the biggest thing to be aware of (other than the financial committment) is that you are not prepaying for Deluxe hotel rooms - you are buying a timeshare. There is a difference and some of the disappointment people have with DVC comes from not understanding what the differences are. Renting points for your next stay is a good idea - it will give you an idea of what I'm talking about. (And not everyone agrees with me, a lot of DVCers thing DVC rooms are better than Deluxe hotel rooms).

 

[3DisneyKids]

If you buy resale its a lot cheaper than through disney. We paid around $20 less per point resale vs Disney back when we bought.
We have really enjoyed our DVC membership. The Villas are so nice We use the kitchen and the washer/dryer and its nice with the 1 and 2 bdrms so there is more room to spread out and not be so on top of each.

Not necessarily. Disney is offering a GREAT promotion right now, where you can buy in at $86 per point. Yes, you can find some resales for around $80 per point, however those contracts end in 2042. So, going with Disney you get the extra 12 years as SSR contracts ends in 2054.

We have 3 young kids, and as others have mentioned, staying in a regular hotel room with 3 kids is not fun. The DVC villas can't be beat! Talk about feeling like you're living in luxury!

As others have said, the biggest difference for us is the amount of trips we can take now! From my signature, you can see that we did 3 trips in 9 months this year! Yahoo! Plus, our trips are soooo different now! No more park commandos. We actually have REALXING Disney vacations. There is no pressure to do it all, because we know we can and will come back soon. Addtionally, as the kids get older (7, 5 and 4 now), I plan on doing little one-on-one trips with each of them. And DH and popped down this fall to do F&W without the kids! DVC has added SO MUCH to our quality of life!

By all means, head on over to the DVC Boards and read until your eyeballs fall out of your head...there is so much information there, and wonderful people who will patiently answer all of your questions. Fair warning--we are a bit, ummm, fanatical about our DVCs, so people give lots of info. and lots of opinions.

Think about paying up front vs. financing. Most on the DVC boards will state the cost is only worth it if you can pay upfront and save on the financing charges. The other way to handle this is to take out a home equity loan (much lower finance charges, which are tax deductible) and thus pay Disney in full, rather than to finance through Disney.

lol...Ok, enough. I could go on and on an on...I just LOVE DVC and it is the best vacation decision we ever made!

 

[3DisneyKids]

Ok, one more thing to think about (sorry, just couldn't leave it alone!)

DVC just announced that the next resort will be the Animal Kingdom Villas. So, if you love or are interested in AKL, then this option will be available to you soon as well. They will start selling AKV in Feb. or March (no specific date announced yet). But that is also why they are having the great promo for SSR right now.

Good luck and come on over to the DVC boards!

 

[NYCDVClover2000]

We bought DVC in 2000, it's the best thing we ever did. We have been on a family vacation every year since for 2 weeks at a time. It has paid for itself already with all we have done.

 

[laceemouse]

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

How large is your family? We bought into DVC because we have 4 kids and would always need two rooms or a large suite. It made since to us, but then we had to sell due to some financial difficulties. You really haveto compare the price to what you normally get. If you stay in values or even moderates, and one room, and that is fine with you, it will take you a LOT longer to break even. You really have to compare it to the Deluxe resorts, which it really is. Everyone in it will tell you how great it is, but you really need to crunch the numbers for yourself. We feel like we can book a room or two for what our dues costed us.....

 

[4greatboys]

How large is your family? We bought into DVC because we have 4 kids and would always need two rooms or a large suite. It made since to us, but then we had to sell due to some financial difficulties. You really haveto compare the price to what you normally get. If you stay in values or even moderates, and one room, and that is fine with you, it will take you a LOT longer to break even. You really have to compare it to the Deluxe resorts, which it really is. Everyone in it will tell you how great it is, but you really need to crunch the numbers for yourself. We feel like we can book a room or two for what our dues costed us.....

That brings up a really good point. Try to buy small contracts. You can get more than one. I think the minimum with Disney is still 150. If you should ever need or want to sell the small contracts go very quickly while some of the larger ones linger on the market a while.

We have 3 contracts; 50, 65 and 100 for a total of 215.

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

Best disney decision we EVER made, wish we would have done it sooner

 

[all4fun]

Hi, posting from my room at BWV right now.

I have to say I agree with most of what has been posted here. We bought into BWV from Disney in '99 and then bought OKW resale a few years later. It has been a great investment for us (in the sense it's investing in our future vacations, not that it will somehow make us money). We feel it has more than paid for itself in the many trips that we have taken since we bought in. And in comparison to another timeshare we own we feel that DVC is very well run and easy to use. It is a very flexible plan IMO at least compared to the other TS programs we have been exposed to over the years. We also experienced a time when we could not travel due to health reasons and did not lose any money since we easily rented our points out which covered the yearly dues that year. Since Disney is such a popular destination there is never a problem finding someone who wants to rent.

I also recommend checking the DVC boards -- there's a wealth of info there and many knowledgable people.

If you happen to be at Disney, then take the tour. Our first experience with the DVC sales staff was very good. There was no pressure to buy at all, which ironically actually sold us even more on their product. They really don't need to pressure anyone because they offer something no one else can compete with (on property timeshare). As a matter of fact, when someone tries to hook me into a TS presentation I love telling them that I already own DVC. They are almost always speechless. LOL.

hth.

 

[dana1003]

How large is your family? We bought into DVC because we have 4 kids and would always need two rooms or a large suite. It made since to us, but then we had to sell due to some financial difficulties. You really haveto compare the price to what you normally get. If you stay in values or even moderates, and one room, and that is fine with you, it will take you a LOT longer to break even. You really have to compare it to the Deluxe resorts, which it really is. Everyone in it will tell you how great it is, but you really need to crunch the numbers for yourself. We feel like we can book a room or two for what our dues costed us.....

yeah we actually sat down w/pen and paper and it doesnt seem worth it for us. we're simple and dont mind staying in the values. the kids love it and the family suite we were in was very comfortable.

 

[crisi]

yeah we actually sat down w/pen and paper and it doesnt seem worth it for us. we're simple and dont mind staying in the values. the kids love it and the family suite we were in was very comfortable.

If you don't mind staying in values, it really does not make a lot of sense. And with the advent of the family suites at the values, it makes less sense than it did several years ago for a lot of people.

 

[Starr W.]

Unfortunately we got spoiled doing 2br villa/condos in Northern MI. When we decided to try WDW for Thanksgiving, I stumbled onto SSR. We booked through Expedia. Absolutely loved it! We made the purchase of 400 points, after doing the tour and running numbers at home. This allows us a couple of 2br trips through the year. No way would I make my DS's sleep in the same bed on vacation, they don't at home. For the way we travel, the investment really was a no brainer when I did some discoutned cash flow spreadsheets(the dormant MBA coming to the surface).