We're thinking about buying into DVC but we need some advice....

[flyerron]

DVC is going to cost you waaaay more than 9,000 in the next few years. Just make sure to budget all your travel expenses - probably an additional 1,000 if you are flying.

Dining - you are talking about a week or two - we spend about 800-1,000 per week on all our meals (including travel) - and that's with a combo of DDP/DDE.

Tickets - even with the discount, AP's will be another 1,000 or so depending on the age of your kids.

So - that's realistically at least an additional 4,000 (and won't your kids want Princess dresses? Trading Pins? T-shirts? Stuffed Mickeys? Photos? Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Hairdos?) per Disney World vacation if you are traveling from CA and staying two weeks.

IMHO, DVC is a really, really expensive timeshare when you factor in the enormous amounts of money you have to spend each year to use it in addition to the already high buy-in cost and dues. It can be a great thing - but it costs a lot more each year than finance payments and annual dues. We live within driving distance from Orlando, and we easily spend 4,000-5,000 in addition to DVC each year.

Those expenses are there whether you pay cash or own. I'm not sure what point you are making. If the plan is to vacation at WDW on a regular basis, DVC is the most sensible way to go. You need to consider the room size, kitchen, washing machine, etc. vs. a room or two. Then the break even point should be in about 7 years. It just makes good sense if you want to be a regular.

 

[starbox]

Those expenses are there whether you pay cash or own. I'm not sure what point you are making. If the plan is to vacation at WDW on a regular basis, DVC is the most sensible way to go. You need to consider the room size, kitchen, washing machine, etc. vs. a room or two. Then the break even point should be in about 7 years. It just makes good sense if you want to be a regular.

This is true. But the OP said they were finacing and trying to pay off credit cards - but wanted to invest the 9,000 they'd spend over the next several years and invest it in DVC. I've just found that a pretty good indicator of whether DVC is right for you or not is about a minimum of 4,000$ per year. If you were paying 4,000 a year (approx. the cost of 7-8 nights in a moderate with MYW package) you can do a 7-night studio DVC vacation for about the same amount.

The amount you spend - even if you only do one week per year in a studio and eat cheap - over the course of several years is going to be much, much more than 9,000. It can still be right for you. You just have to be aware that the $$ you spend on the DVC membership will be a relatively small percentage of your vacation spending. If it's stretching to afford the monthly payments, it may be a burden to pay for all the ticket/meals/transportation expenses. The one thing I underestimated when I bought DVC was how much money I'd spend in addition to the direct-DVC portion of my budget. That's all I am saying. Make sure you run all the numbers and not just the payment and make sure you're really comfortable.

 

[global_mom]

Thats all I am saying. Make sure you run all the numbers and not just the payment and make sure you're really comfortable.

I see where Starbox is coming from. We already were going to WDW 1-2 per year prior to DVC but with DVC we will now go more often b/c we have the points to do so. DH gets so excited about his DVC purchase and often refers to it as his free vacations and I have to say "wait a minute, its not free". We did APs for the 1st time and then we like to include the DDP (we may not do that anymore) and these things all add up quickly. You do have to figure a total cost for the vacations as only the accomodations are pre-paid. We also drive and that helps to save a ton of money. I dont know that we could go to WDW more than once a year if we had to pay airfare for 5 people each time. We love to eat at TS restaurants but we have the option of cooking in our own kitchen, or at least ordering an inexpensive pizza.

We also want to try other locations like DL and that has additional costs involved. So for us, I did crunch tons of numbers based on our increase of travel to WDW.

We are happy with our decision and only regret that we did not buy DVC before we spent about $20,000 on accomodations at WDW in the past 5 years!

 

[DIZCOWZ]

It is good you are really thinking this through. We also contemplated buying DVC in 05 when we did the Mexico cruise. I sure wish we did then. We just bought in Feb. and are so glad. We are also doing the cruise next year and used points to pay for two adults. We also just got back from three nights at the Grand Calif. using points. It was great to see the bill at the end of the trip with no tax and no resort fee parking. We live two hours from Anaheim and go to the parks often. We have never been to WDW but plan to in two -three years. When are littliest DD4 is a bit older(we have three DD10 DD8 and DD4). What I am tring to say is that for us we are so glad we purchased and wished we would have sooner but you know what is right for your family. Also when we bought in Feb. they had an AP deal were we got two vouchers for two free premium AP's. Good Luck.....

 

[bwvBound]

DH & I are seriously thinking about buying into DVC. <snip> ... however we've never been to WDW.

Links to a few threads between "West Coast" residents ...

• West Coasters: Are you members of DVC?, general questions about ownership from a "west coast" perspective
• West Coast DVC members, where are you?, primary topic, "How often do you use your points and where?"
• West Coast DVC owners ... sound off!, primary topic, "How often do you go to WDW?"
• West Coast, post #5 contains a links to even more related threads

 

[starbox]

We are happy with our decision and only regret that we did not buy DVC before we spent about $20,000 on accomodations at WDW in the past 5 years!

Yup! This is just what I am saying. Everything the OP was saying in her logic and reasoning was right - I just think that the amount of money she plans to spend on the next few years of vacation needs to be adjusted to reflect what 1 week trips to WDW with DVC will actually cost - and 20,000 for 4-5 years is what I come up with too (not including airfare).

 

[sasha]

I can't even tell you how much all of your stories/advice has helped. Thanks! Really. It's great to get different perspectives.

Starbox - You make some good points. They are things I have already taken into consideration. I know first hand how expensive everything at Disney is. DH & I discussed it and although we would do some expensive Disney meals at WDW, we wouldn't go overboard. We're good about that even at DL. And we RARELY buy our girls souvenirs at DL. They take their own stuffed Disney animals each time and seem happy with it. Plus I looked into flights and as it turns out they're even cheaper than I had originally thought. Flying to WDW every other year won't break us financially (under $1000 total for the 4 of us). So even though I know there are big costs associated with other things, it would be nice to have our accomodations taken care of, especially if we have a kitchen to prepare some meals.

BWVBound - Thank you so much for posting those websites! DH & I read through all of them and they really helped answer a lot of questions we had.

As it turns out, our financial situation has taken a turn for the better over the past few days: 1) We found out we have more equity than we originally thought so we are refinancing in order to pay off our credit card debt; 2) DH's job announced on Thursday that will be moving their studios to our neighborhood within the next few months so we will literally be saving HUNDREDS of dollars each month on gas; 3) On Friday DD's preschool asked me if I would be interested in working there p/t (9-noon) and not only will I get paid for it, but DD's expensive tuition will be free. All of that will free up close to $1500 per month. Doors are certainly opening up .

So thanks to all of you! Again, we haven't made our decision yet but things are looking better now than ever.

 

[global_mom]

That is all so awesome! Good luck with your decision process. Sounds like it will all fall into place for you!

 

[MouseHouse71]

Make the decision on your own. Don't ask total strangers for money advice. You know your current situation better than anyone. Sounds like you may have made up your mind and are just seeking approval.

If you are comfortable with the purchase----GO FOR IT!!!


Good Luck

 

[flyerron]

Thinking things through is important. Overthinking is counter productive. Once you have done an analysis & slept on it a few days. Your answer should bbe ready. Sometimes you just have to pull the trigger. Not doing it is a decision & you may be sorry you didn't. That goes either way ie: deciding to buy or walk away. But coninuing to analyze solves nothing.
Good luck!

 

[mickeychic]

one thing to consider is the number of times that the point price has gone up. so if you wait 2-3 years, you could be paying $5-10 more per point.