We looked at DVC last spring and were really interested, but we just couldn't justify the Disney price for 150pts. Its just DH and I, no kids yet. We like to go once/year and normally spend less than $100/night on a hotel. I was looking at this as a way to save on future trips (ones where we will have kids- or maybe invite my parents togo with us). What do I need to know? Do the # of points required to stay at say, OKW, stay the same pretty much year to year, or will the points needed increase every year? I don't want to buy 50pts now but need 150 in 4 years to stay at the smae resort. Are there any other fees besides "annual dues"? I see some people referring to "maintenance fees"- are these the same thing? Our vacation habits have been pretty predictable for the past few years, so i think this could work for us. But it is a lot of $$ to pay in advance. Any advice/suggestions/warnings would be greatly appreciated! Oh- also, where do i find point charts for other hotels- like POR or CS. THe one at the top of the dis only has charts for the DVC resorts. You can use your points to stay at the other "hotel" style resorts, can't you? Thanks
The only normal change to the point charts are usually do to holiday dates, like spring break and Easter. However, charts CAN change if needed, to even out demand for seasons or room types. Such a reallocation has only happened once, in 1996, at OKW. Prior to that studios were available for 69 points per week in value season, they are current 80 points per week. IMO, Disney will not tinker with overall point charts unless there is a pressing need, or to even out demand as we get very close to the 2042 end date (2054 for SSR and newer resorts). If points go up for one room type or season, they must come down in another, so that the points required on the overall chart for the year remains constant. Annual fees and maintenance fees are used interchangeably on the DVC boards, and usually mean the same thing...but technically maintenance fees are a part of the annual dues, along with reserve account, taxes and management fees. Yes, you can use points for stays at most regular WDW hotels, but they are expensive, often more than the cost of a one or two bedroom DVC unit.
I would just add to take a look very carefully if you normally try to spend around $100 per night. Most people that like to stay at the moderates and deluxes ($250 to $500 per night) do save money with DVC but for the value level resorts, the cost savings can be real iffy once you figure in the costs of the initial investment and the dues. If you've decided now is the time to "upgrade" the level of accomadations for your WDW trips, great. this is a good option. If you would like to continue spending around $100 a night, you may find it better to save your money and pay cash for your trips...just a suggestion. Everyone's situation and priorities are different of course.
i'm doing the same kind of thing...starting with 40 pts, which gets me a studio 5 nights a year (sun thru thurs only) at OKW in the offseason (i like to travel in nov/dec.) by my math, it works out to roughly $60 a night. buy-in was less than $4000 including closing costs and annual maint fees are less than $200 (currently about $15 a month.) i won't need 150 points to stay for 5 nights in a few years...but as ChuckS said, it's possible that they could turn my 8 point nights into 9 point nights by reducing the required number of points elsewhere...it's a small risk, IMO, but needs to be considered. as mentioned already, it's very expensive to trade out for another WDW hotel. for me, the resorts at vero beach and hilton head are a good alternative when i'm tired of the disney parks. there are also a few (but very few) options for cheapskates in terms of trading out for non-disney hotels...such as a hotel in whistler, canada that i'm interested in trying out one day for 8 to 10 points a night (there is more risk of it costing more points per night in a few years, however.) there are tradeoffs but it seems worth it to me at this point...
You also need to take into account that in 10 years, that $100 per night might be closer to $150 or $200 -- and what will it be in 20 years? A big advantage to DVC is that your paying for your next 30-40 years of room stays at 2007 prices.
Yeah, this is where I was going logic wise, Trebor. We can afford to stay at the mods now-it isn't the money as much as- WHy would I spend $130/night for a room, when I can spend $82/night for a room? Or, on the flip side- IF I am spending $130/night for a room, (say, POR) I can find a nicer hotel for the same price off property. With DVC- we would get to stay in a studio every time we go (which is much more comfortable than a standard room) and It would only cost us what we would pay for a two week vaca. in the same room at Disney today. So for me, it's more a way of offsetting the cost of our rooms in future trips. We will definately end up paying less than $100/night in the long run- even with maint. fees. The other reason why we want so few points, is that my DH works for a major Hotel chain- so we get an employee discounts at those hotels and related hotels. So if, we don't use our DVC points, we can still stay at a nice hotel. (This is a new job this year). He doesn't want DVC at all, but I like to stay on property, so this is our way of compromising, (he probably wont have this job for the next 30yrs). Plus, we may use our points when my family comes to town, (we live on HHI). So now that we decided it's a good value, we know how many points we need, etc. I hear that Disney is snatching up all of the small contracts from non-members?! NOT FAIR! Not everybody needs 150points! We aren't ready to buy yet-(we want to pay cash and not finance it or put it on a Credit Card) So we have to wait until we have an extra 4grand lying around, and then wait for the right contract to go up for sale. Any suggestions?
We are looking at a 50 point VWL contract now and have submitted the initial paperwork. Now we are just waiting to see if it passes ROFR or not. Best advice I can say is check out the listings for the Timeshare Store and look for a contract that is within your budget. Keep in mind that you will have to pay closing costs as well as the first year of annual fees once the contract happens. TSS store has been great! Between PMing Tom and talking with Jason, who is our sales associate, it has been a great experience. They are very willing to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Definitely well worth speaking to them
