Was this a mistake??

[Tigger031266]

Cancel the contract first. In my opinion, if you don't go during busy times you can book 3 mo in advance. Home resort is very important. Investigate first but dvc may work for u if you don't travel during busy times and like SSR.

 

[robinb]

I think you made the right decision. You can always revisit DVC later and buy at WDW on the resale market.

 

[thelionqueen]

From what I understand, WDW is a larger resort than DLR. Plus, the poster stated that she primarily bought to go to wdw. In that situation, then yes, I would say buying at DLR is insane.

I would also say that if your primary reason to buy DVC was to go to Disneyland, then buying at the Beach Club would be insane. If you just want points to go to Disneyland...then either buy at VGC or find the absolutely least expensive DVC. Beach Club is not that resort.

Forgive me for using a word as strong as insane. I guess the point that I was really trying to make is that a flight to California costs several hundred dollars and takes several hours. I've been to California, but I haven't been lately.

To the OP, congratulations on making the best decision for you and your situation! DVC will always be there when the situation better works for you!

In response to this post, yes WDW IS a much larger resort than DL but I don't see how that really equates into the logic here.

My point is that everyone buys DVC for whatever reasons best suit them, and to refer to someone as "insane" (strong wording intentional or not) is not appropriate.

As a pp stated, they are primarily going to stay @ GCV but bought at BLT, they are perfectly happy with their decision and, surprisingly, don't consider that a bad decision (nor would I).

Because YOU feel that buying on one coast with visits primarily on another coast doesn't make sense, does not make it the basis for everyone else in their decision making.

I bought GCV because I love visiting DL as much (if not more than) WDW. And, this may be shocking, I've already used the majority of 2 years worth of my GCV points @ WDW I fully intended to use them @ DLR this year, but things change. And that's really the beauty of owning DVC. I am not tied to using my points anywhere, I can use them that best suits me.

I wish I could remember where I saw that picture of the guy beating the dead horse pretend that picture is here

 

[littlestar]

I think you made a good decision canceling the contract you were considering. For timesharing to work, you really need to be able to plan in advance. And buying DVC points to trade is not a good idea either (especially if you only plan around 3 months out). You're better off sticking with cash from the sounds of it. One thing you could think about would be picking up a smaller resale SSR or extended OKW contract if you find you can plan a trip or two in advance - that would give you the Annual Pass discount (which sounds like something that would come in handy for you with the AP discounts).

Owning in CA when you plan to use the points in Orlando would not be a good idea. Disney could limit you to your home resort - and with all the changes they have made in the past two years, who knows, it might happen.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

To the OP, congratulations on making the best decision for you and your situation! DVC will always be there when the situation better works for you!

In response to this post, yes WDW IS a much larger resort than DL but I don't see how that really equates into the logic here.

My point is that everyone buys DVC for whatever reasons best suit them, and to refer to someone as "insane" (strong wording intentional or not) is not appropriate.

As a pp stated, they are primarily going to stay @ GCV but bought at BLT, they are perfectly happy with their decision and, surprisingly, don't consider that a bad decision (nor would I).

Because YOU feel that buying on one coast with visits primarily on another coast doesn't make sense, does not make it the basis for everyone else in their decision making.

I bought GCV because I love visiting DL as much (if not more than) WDW. And, this may be shocking, I've already used the majority of 2 years worth of my GCV points @ WDW I fully intended to use them @ DLR this year, but things change. And that's really the beauty of owning DVC. I am not tied to using my points anywhere, I can use them that best suits me.

I wish I could remember where I saw that picture of the guy beating the dead horse pretend that picture is here

My wording was indeed unintentional.

I'm not the one that keeps bringing it up.

Please quit beating me up about it. Geesh!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...some posters mentioned future changes. i think that is likely too!
i know i am going to be pushing for stronger restrictions,
maybe things like limiting to 2 resorts. as far as i am concern
...we are members, and paid all this money....there is no way
those renting points & non-members should be bumping us out
of a room @ the 11 month window. then who should get the best
rooms- members or non-members? i think only members @ a
resort should be able to make room requests.....

Non-member cannot push members out at 11 months. However, if a resort is not sold out, there are rooms available to non-members when you want to make that 11 months reservation and there is nothing you can do about that. Plus if a resort is sold out and a member who owns at that resort wants to use their points from that resort to book something outside of DVC but still Disney like the DCL or Adv by Disney, someone is going to get the reservation those points represent and it may be a non-member.

As for renters getting what you want at 11 months out, as long as renting is allowed, a member who owns at the same resort as you can make a reservation at 11 months out and do anything they like with it. The DIS has made it more difficult to spec rent a specific reservation, but there are other websites that allow it.

I don't understand what you mean about limiting to two resorts. DVC is not going to tell someone "NO" if they want to buy points at each and every resort available. They can tell them "NO" if a single membership wants more than 2000 points (I think that's the magic number) at a single resort and 5000 total points.

 

[jspahn]

I was feeling very bummed about our decision all last night. The emotional part of me that just wanted to be a DVC member was hard to ignore!

But we ran all the numbers in a large spreadsheet comparing costs of DVC vs Delux vs Moderate hotels and various vacation lengths, and really talked about what we felt our vacation habits were going to be for the next 10 years or so...
I know we made the right decision by cancelling for now, and we may look into a resale at one of the WDW resorts in the future. Right now given our lifestyle (short notice planning) and our desire to travel not just to disney but other places as well, makes owning DVC not quite as attractive as we thought.

 

[bumbershoot]

fyi....i am not thrill with this purchase as much as my wife is.
& brought alot points to boot. on our first try, @ 9am + the
11mos window, there were no rooms & my wife was told she could
try next year. needless to say, i got involved @ this junction.

They really said it that way? Like she was entirely out of luck? That's pretty weird.

some posters mentioned future changes. i think that is likely too!
i know i am going to be pushing for stronger restrictions,
maybe things like limiting to 2 resorts. as far as i am concern
...we are members, and paid all this money....there is no way
those renting points & non-members should be bumping us out
of a room @ the 11 month window. then who should get the best
rooms- members or non-members? i think only members @ a
resort should be able to make room requests.

And only members can make reservations and communicate room requests. Can they do it FOR people? Sure! If I want to make a reservation at BLT at 11 months out for my cousins, I have a hard time seeing why that would be less important than if I were making the arrangements for ME. Er, well, for DH, as he is the member and I am the associate, LOL.

As a pp stated, they are primarily going to stay @ GCV but bought at BLT, they are perfectly happy with their decision and, surprisingly, don't consider that a bad decision (nor would I).

Just to be exact in our reasoning, we don't plan on staying at Grand Cal villas often. That's our least fave hotel, below HoJo even. So many good choices for DLR, on and off site. Which is why we didn't choose the Grand for ownership.




OP, sorry about the emotions. We had similar thoughts immediately afterward...but stuck with it.

 

[Dean]

As a pp stated, they are primarily going to stay @ GCV but bought at BLT, they are perfectly happy with their decision and, surprisingly, don't consider that a bad decision (nor would I).

That someone doesn't consider it a bad decision to buy doesn't make it a good one. Not really replying to a specific situation just a general principle. Anyone can do what they want with their money but I reserve the right to formulate an opinion on any such decision posted. Just because someone is happy with their decision doesn't make it a good one, we see such situations on these BBS every day. As to whether it's appropriate to say so depends on the situation and context. There are many nuances that affect such situations, those are up to the individual to decide about their appropriateness or lack of.

 

[whitfamily]

Hi from the wedding side of the board

Third point: it really comes down to OVERALL price. Yes, we could have paid a lot less for a SSR resale, but if you plan on keeping the membership for the lifetime, the greater cost is the maintenance fees. BLT is the lowest, but VGC is right next to it. Sure the fees will change, but history has shown they increase incrementally together. It makes sense that BLT and VGC are low, since the overall footprint of the resort is much smaller.

To compare, I took our purchase price at BLT and divided by the # of points and number of years (came out to $2.10 per point/per year) and added MFs (2009 was 3.69, I think). So, it came to 5.79 per point for my 2009 points. If we had bought resale at a really good price at SSR, the MFs pushed my per point price for 2009 higher than it was for BLT.

I look at the math differently. Question is just what do the points cost to purchase, but what do those points buy you. I ran these numbers when planning out a trip for this year. DISCLAIMER: This is a quick run, I'm sure you could pick seasons and room size and change some of the ranking comparisons.

My assumptions were that the market value of a point is $10 (high-end rental) and that you were getting 2 weekend nights and 3 weekday nights in a one-bedroom. I also took the MF for each resort and multiplied it by the total points used. Here is the comparison of points and cost:

Resort/Points Rental Value MF Total Cost

SSR- 142 $1420 $616 $2036
AKL- 124 $1240 $602 $1842
BWV- 129 $1290 $672 $1962
VWL- 156 $1560 $785 $2345
BLT- 168 $1680 $616 $2296
BCV- 156 $1560 $780 $2340
OKW- 128 $1280 $606 $1896


Interesting thing I found about BWV was it seems to be one of the most expensive on weekends, but close to Value cost at AKV on weekdays.

 

[Dean]

I look at the math differently. Question is just what do the points cost to purchase, but what do those points buy you. I ran these numbers when planning out a trip for this year. DISCLAIMER: This is a quick run, I'm sure you could pick seasons and room size and change some of the ranking comparisons.

My assumptions were that the market value of a point is $10 (high-end rental) and that you were getting 2 weekend nights and 3 weekday nights in a one-bedroom. I also took the MF for each resort and multiplied it by the total points used. Here is the comparison of points and cost:

Resort/Points Rental Value MF Total Cost

SSR- 142 $1420 $616 $2036
AKL- 124 $1240 $602 $1842
BWV- 129 $1290 $672 $1962
VWL- 156 $1560 $785 $2345
BLT- 168 $1680 $616 $2296
BCV- 156 $1560 $780 $2340
OKW- 128 $1280 $606 $1896


Interesting thing I found about BWV was it seems to be one of the most expensive on weekends, but close to Value cost at AKV on weekdays.

I know you ran these based on your personal situation as you should have. However, I'll point out that this is about the worst case scenario for a rental situation. You assumed $10 per point, low IMO, esp since I haven't gotten that little in several years. You used a 1 BR, worse case situation other than a GV in most cases. And you used weekends but not full weeks which gives a lower return even after both reallocations.

 

[whitfamily]

I know you ran these based on your personal situation as you should have. However, I'll point out that this is about the worst case scenario for a rental situation. You assumed $10 per point, low IMO, esp since I haven't gotten that little in several years. You used a 1 BR, worse case situation other than a GV in most cases. And you used weekends but not full weeks which gives a lower return even after both reallocations.

Yep. This is our situation. I will say this though, I consistently hear the BLT is good because of low MF's, but don't take into account the per stay cost of points. We were pondering an add-on to VWL, until we realized how point heavy the resort is.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

But - honestly - if you are not planning on booking more than 7 months out then you should think about resale at SSR instead. A WDW property and some of the lowest dues for the FL properties. And - you should at least be able to get a contract in the low $70's/pt and maybe could even get one in the high $60's although that has apparently gotten more difficult.

I would agree with this advice. If someone typically makes reservations less than 7 months in advance when the home resort doesn't matter I think Saratoga Springs via resale is the way to go. You can purchase these points for about $67 to $72 per point and they have the 3rd lowest annual dues.

Jason

 

[thelionqueen]

That someone doesn't consider it a bad decision to buy doesn't make it a good one. Not really replying to a specific situation just a general principle. Anyone can do what they want with their money but I reserve the right to formulate an opinion on any such decision posted. Just because someone is happy with their decision doesn't make it a good one, we see such situations on these BBS every day. As to whether it's appropriate to say so depends on the situation and context. There are many nuances that affect such situations, those are up to the individual to decide about their appropriateness or lack of.

I totally agree with the majority of your post, which is the exact point I was trying to make. What may, in general, may seem like a good or bad decision, cannot be judged by someone outside of that situation, IMO.

Many people like to claim that financing a luxury purchase is a bad decision, "period." In "general" that is probably true, but for our situation, it is perfect!

 

[Dean]

I totally agree with the majority of your post, which is the exact point I was trying to make. What may, in general, may seem like a good or bad decision, cannot be judged by someone outside of that situation, IMO.

I would word it differently and I think I disagree mostly with your last statement. What I'd say is that I can only make a decision or interpretation of any situation based on the facts presented. Is it possible there are relevant facts that might affect my impression of a given situation, at times yes, often no. However, assuming one is reasonably on topic, I think it's expected the poster will supply appropriate facts and that it is appropriate to make interpretations based on the info that IS provided. IMO once the info is posted on such a BBS or email list, depending somewhat on the context, one is opening themselves up for such opinions. Again, just because someone is happy with their decision doesn't make it a good one. However, one has the right in most cases to make bad decisions, happens every day in life and on DIS.

Many people like to claim that financing a luxury purchase is a bad decision, "period." In "general" that is probably true, but for our situation, it is perfect!

Perfect example. I would say that financing a luxury purchase is essentially never OK. Well, maybe you know you're getting a guaranteed major influx of cash soon and can pay it off, but that's about it. You see it as a reasonable choice and I do not. That said, it's not the end of the world for most people but can be for some, if you lose your job, etc.

I would disagree with the statement in that I think there may be appropriate reasons for someone to buy a given resort even if they never intend to stay there (perceived resale value, part time usage, even ? price or fees, etc) but for most people in most situations buying a resort in another general location than their intended usage IS a poor choice. I've said so many times about HH and VB, I'm sure I will again.

 

[mmmcq]

I don't have an opinion whether you should cancel or not......but as a family who is not able to plan more than 6 months out right now because of college students - I am still happy that I bought DVC 10 years ago.

In 2006 and in 2008 we made short term decisions to go to WDW over Thanksgiving. That's the busiest time of the year. And while we didn't get to stay at our home resorts, we were perfectly happy to be in a DVC resort at all (OKW both times). In 2006 we didn't get all our nights, but in 2008 our waitlists came through. So it can be done if you are flexible and don't get hung up on being in a certain location.

 

[leslieh]

We bought in 1993, I have never planned a year in advance, usually 3 to 4 months or less, sometimes with a week or two, everytime I have gotten somewhere, most of the times our home OKW, I called last month with one week in april (after easter) and wanted somewhere different 1st choice AKL, got a 2 br with SV right from the start. Just be patient and be waitlisted, it has always come through for us, even day by day for a christmas week in a studio a few years ago. We have no regrets, we have bought 3 add-ons over the years and now expecting first grandson for our next trip. 25 trips + I couldnt even count them all now.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

Personally, I think you made the right decision canceling for now. You can always buy later if your change your mind.

If you do decide to buy later, I would consider:

Buying where you most want to stay

Buying resale, if that fits with your needs

Breaking up a 225 point purchase into contracts of 75 pts or less. 225 point contracts can be hard to resell, but 50 pt contracts tend to be snapped up.

 

[photobob]

I think cancelling right now was probably a good idea. Research some more and you may want to look at it another time. If you aren't one to plan your trips between 7-11 months out, the resort you buy into doesn't really matter. That being the case, you would probably be wise to purchase a resale that has the lowest price and MF.
DVC does work more favorably for those who can plan well in advance, but if you are happy getting any resort that is available it can work for short term planners as well.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

when i first saw this post, i didn't post right away because i think
something this big should be decided on what is "right" for them.


however, i think they did make the right choice in holding off this
major purchase.


when my wife attempted to make our first revs. , was when the
girl told her to try next year. however, my wife felt she was trying
to make a suggestion because there were nothing available.
i don't think she understood what that meant. and based on
the problems they are having with blt revs.

and i think a major problem isn't individuals making revs., but any
business gathering up blt points & taking up all the rooms. i don't think
the system is designed for this. i feel our guide was sure this
would not happened, but it isn't his fault what happened to us.
except we went over & over this point, and he made us the promise
that we would never have a booking problem if we called @ 11mos.
this was our first time, & here we are having the problem we
were promised.

as for non-members getting 11mos revs, yes they are by buying from
the business that are using other members points & the business
making those revs. @ 11 mos [most likely walking them}, and then
reselling on a secondary market.

all i know , we are having all kinds of problems with something we
were promised. i wish we live close by, so i could go to the office
instead of doing problem solving over the phone.