We really want to buy but...

[CdnKayDee]

we (mostly me the wife) are nervous. We have been reading up about it for awhile. Feel that we have done our research but wanted to know if there is something that you learnt after your purchase that had you known you wouldn't have bought?

Thanks in advance!

 

[tomandrobin]

we (mostly me the wife) are nervous. We have been reading up about it for awhile. Feel that we have done our research but wanted to know if there is something that you learnt after your purchase that had you known you wouldn't have bought?

Thanks in advance!

Yeah, I wish I bought in 2000 the first time I went to Disney and heard about the Vacation club.

Other then that, no.....I would not change my decision.

 

[tomandrobin]

Just one more comment.

DVC is not for everyone. If you only visit WDW every 3-5 years, then you are better off renting points or paying cash for the other WDW resorts.

 

[CdnKayDee]

Just one more comment.

DVC is not for everyone. If you only visit WDW every 3-5 years, then you are better off renting points or paying cash for the other WDW resorts.

Our vacation pattern so far has been 6 times in the last 9 years. We like to go for about 2 weeks each time. Some vacations have been a bit less some have been a bit more. We are currently a family of 3, Me, hubby and our 16 month old son. We enjoy taking our niece (12). She has came up with us 3 times. Last time we also took my mom. We love Disney and would now only stay at a moderate. We had stayed at Values then made the "mistake" of trying POR and we now can't go back to the value. We think we would really enjoy the DVC for the fact that we have done almost everything in the parks and with our son we now want a hotel that offers more there as we don't want to go to the parks everyday. From looking at all the reviews we think that we will like OKW as we really enjoy the boat ride to DTD. So from what I have read until son turns 3 we can all stay in a studio or 1 bedroom after that if the whole crew came we would need to move up to a 2 bedroom. Let me know if any other info would be helpful.

Danelle

 

[Donna M]

If you can afford it, go for it. We love the space. After staying in a time share with relatives we can no longer go back to a single hotel room. We get a two bedroom and only have two kids. I love being able to sit in a living room after being out all day. DVC also gives you the chance to stay in different places.

 

[5forDiz]

I'd just add that be sure to take into consideration annual Maintenance Fees and the amount(s) they have increased over the years ( MFs calculated based upon number of points you own & cost per pt depends upon resort your points are from ). Also, although DVC is defined best as 'pre-paying accommodations' there is always all your other expenses to take into consideration ( travel to/from, tickets, meals, other purchases, etc. ).

If you need larger accommodations at regular hotels in WDW ( find that you are needing to book room that sleeps 5 or more or that you'll need to book 2 rooms to accommodate the size of your party ) and are staying regularly at deluxe and moderates then it probably can be worth your while to make the move to DVC. jmho, but if you are inviting even just 1 more person along you need at least 1 bedroom villa ( AKV Kidani 1 bedrooms & BLT 1 bedrooms will also give you a second full bathroom ) and 2 bedroom villa is probably even better choice.

If you are thinking of regularly staying at non-DVC resorts (ie 'trading-out') then there are better timeshares to purchase instead of DVC - DVC's best value is to use your points at DVC resorts.

Best wishes on your planning

 

[NJ Goofy]

My thoughts are that if you visit Disney every year or every other year, stay in a moderate or deluxe resort and can plan several months in advance then DVC is worth it.

I wouldn't count on using the other vacation options as a decision to buy or not though. They may be a good perk but the best value of our points is using them at WDW.

We just recently added a 50 pt. contract at BWV to the contract we have at SSR because we really enjoyed our stay there and we love the option of walking over to EPCOT.

 

[DISNEYMOMx5]

We have no regrets about our purchase. I do wish we had done something differently, though. I wish we had broken our contract up into smaller contracts instead of one bigger one. Love DVC, though!

 

[tomandrobin]

Ok...From what you described, looks like you are a perfect fit for DVC.

If you a "OK" with the values, then DVC is not good. If you need larger rooms, two bedrooms, then DVC is what you want. Plus, if you are staying for two weeks, you have a full kitchen at your disposal.

If you are buying OKW, there are two types of contracts. The original contracts, that expire in 35 years. And the extended OKW contracts, that now expire in 50 years.

 

[tomandrobin]

So from what I have read until son turns 3 we can all stay in a studio or 1 bedroom after that if the whole crew came we would need to move up to a 2 bedroom. Let me know if any other info would be helpful.

Danelle

You can stay in a Studio past the age of 3, as long as total occupancy remains below 4.

 

[Terese]

We were also concerned about the DVC being worth the money. As we only go about every other year, I wanted to be sure it would pay off in the long run. My husband & I are in our mid 40's and didn't want to be obligated for 50 years (as we have no kids), so we decided to buy on the secondary market. We were able to buy into OKW, which turned out to be a lot more economical than the other resorts. We figured out how many points we would need for a week's stay every other year, and bought just enough points to cover it. We wound up saving a few thousand dollars in the end. In hindsight, I wish we had bought years ago, but since we didn't, this worked out well for us.

 

[allshookup]

Like others have said, we just wish we bought sooner. We always knew we were on-site people, because neither DH nor I like to drive so WDW transportation is key for us. But we never had a problem staying moderate & sometimes even value & I always enjoyed waiting for codes to come out to find the latest "deal". We looked at DVC, but the maintanence fees seemed to be higher than what we normally paid for a week at WDW. Then we went during the holidays one year & after paying rack rate, we decided to bite the bullet & buy DVC knowing that we would most likely want to go during peak times in the future.

Since we bought DVC our WDW vacations have changed so much. We tend to buy an AP & go a couple of times a year. We hang around the resort much more & enjoy just sitting over a few cups of coffee before heading out to the pool or parks. Now that we have a separate area from the kids, room to spread out, a kitchen for breakfast & snacks & the washer/dryer, I wonder how we ever survived in a regular hotel room. It's hard to know what you don't have till you have it & once you have it, it's hard to go back!

 

[MommaX03]

I am a very happy DVC purchaser. If you have your heart set on a particular resort, buy there. The 7 month window is getting harder to book. I am sure that if you researched this, you know the mantra of "Buy where you want to stay." I have used DVC for the WDW resorts as well as a DCL cruise. I have dovetailed as many trips as we could into one AP period for the best use of our park tickets. Consequently, we are in our "without points" period due to our banking and borrowing. We still are plotting and planning future trips.

Like the prior poster, our lounging in the rooms is awesome. When we are in non-DVC accommodations outside of the Mouse, we often negatively compare them to DVC! We love having the laundry, the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. We usually stay in a 2 bedroom because we are a family of five. My husband laughs that I seem more on top of the laundry when I stay at DVC! My friend, who also is a DVC member, says the same thing about his wife! Something about the convenience of it all!

Do not count on the perks such as the annual pass discounts, etc. Be an educated consumer. I think you are if you researched.

DVC ownership ended our commando-style park touring, allowed us to bring family who would not have afforded to go otherwise, and afforded us a relaxing vacation. If we see a tremendous line at a ride, we skip it because we always can do it another time or trip. Kinda smell the flowers vacation.

Do keep in mind the MFs go up each year to a certain percentage. They always will be there even if your DVC intital outlay has been paid off.

Do smaller contracts to the extent you can in case you want to divide it for kids in the future or sell the contracts if times get tight. A large contract is hard to sell and goes for less money on a per point basis on the resale market.

So, there is the good and bad of it. Good outweighs in my opinion.

Good luck with your decision. Pull the trigger only when you are completely comfortable with DVC.

 

[ScottDW]

We are happy DVC owners, but it did not work out the way I expected.

When pricing it out, we compared costs for a hotel room v. points for a studio. Given our one a year trips, the studio route mades a substantial savings and we went for it.

We have never actually used the studio, instead taking a 1BR or 2BR with guest family. Overall, that balanced out the economic equation. Basically we get bought better accommodations (1BR v. hotel room) for the same money. Sometimes we charge our quest family the point differential for the extra room, which covers the maintenance fee.

Pick where you want to stay for the 11 month window. The 7 month window has become less reliable.

Do your research, and good luck.

 

[lah3hh]

The only thing I know now that I wish I knew then....make sure it is a good fit for your family and vacation style (it is perfect for us) and buy a few more points then you think you may need.

We started out with an initial contract of 210 in 1998. Since then we have added on many times and the price to buy never gets better than your initial buy!!!

After you make the decision and if you decide to become a member....sit back and let the wonderful DVC memories begin and continue for many years to come. We still living the good life!!!!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

You are perfect for DVC!

Go for it!

One down side -- if you really, really love POR...you will miss it.

The ambience of POR is just as magical as the DVCs (IMHO), and you won't visit as often once you have DVC.

So...we stay at POR occassionally anyway.

 

[kkbeaton2]

Our only regret is that we did not buy it earlier. I had heard about it 2 years prior to us purchasing, and I wish that we would have done it when we first learned about DVC.

 

[tgropp]

In 1992, we started taking bi-annual Christmas vacations when the children were younger. I remember seeing DVC around, but instead I always spent close to $3,000.00 for hotel rooms each Christmas visit. In 2007, I rented points from a person on the Disboards, came home from vacation and purchased a VWL contract. If only I would have done this 12 years earlier. Two weeks ago, I purchased a 50 point contract at VWL with my pending income tax refund and yesterday, the furnace went on my house. I have a gas fireplace so we had some heat last night and I am getting a new furnace installed at this present moment = $3800.00. I wishd that I would have waited to do the add on, but next year at this time I will be glad that I did buy it. Even if you only visit every 2 years, the extra room is so nice, and you are so glad to be home.