What are the negatives?

[dacky041208]

Another one that hasn't been mentioned and has nothing to do with Disney - DVC can encourage you to bring friends and relatives you wouldn't dream of treating if you were paying cash for a room. And while this is one of the BEST things about DVC (or any vacation home), it can also be one of the most frustrating. Your friends may not understand cancellation policies, may not get back to you promptly regarding invites, may start treating your timeshare like theirs, etc.

If you are bringing people to your DVC room, are there any policies like the cash rooms where they charge for each extra adult? Or is it more like, you have the room, cram as many people as you can in there?

 

[crisi]

If you are bringing people to your DVC room, are there any policies like the cash rooms where they charge for each extra adult? Or is it more like, you have the room, cram as many people as you can in there?

There are occupancy limits (and a HUGE thread dedicated to those issues if you want all sides of that topic), but no extra change for guests.

But what happens to a lot of people is that they ask guests and book a bigger room to fit their guests. Then the guest cancels at the last minute - and they are holding the bag on the room that they can't use. Or they book eleven months out - getting a high demand room - and then four months from the start of the trip, their guests decide that moving the trip by two weeks would be better for them, and "why can't we stay in a Magic Kingdom view at the Contemporary." Or their guests invite more guests...or...or....pretty much every variation on "my relatives are flakes."

 

[chalee94]

If you are bringing people to your DVC room, are there any policies like the cash rooms where they charge for each extra adult? Or is it more like, you have the room, cram as many people as you can in there?

there is no charge for additional adults but there is a maximum limit per villa. all discussions are limited to the occupancy thread, though.

 

[backyardponder]

No extra charges. Cram until you reach room occupancy limits!

 

[backyardponder]

One caution...make sure you can afford doing this. In a previous post you indicated that right now there's just the 2 of you, meaning you are probably young and expect to have kids, I guess. You are locking into annual dues, lots of expense in buying tickets, transportation, meals, souvineers, etc. The Mouse eats a lot and knows how to get us all to pay for his hunger and other needs.

 

[YoMickey]

What erks me is that we can put 2 adults and 3 small kids in the Resort room but not in a 1 bedroom villa.

edit:--> I'm referring to the situation at Beach Club only. I don't know the scenarios at other DVC properties and resorts. We bought where we want to stay and that's what we do.

 

[Deb & Bill]

What erks me is that we can put 2 adults and 3 small kids in the Resort room but not in a 1 bedroom villa.

If one of the three is under the age of three, you can put them all in any one bedroom villa. If none is under the age of three, you can all stay in a one bedroom at AKV (not value villa, though) or BLT. Those both have beds for five.

And if one of the kids is three or older, you cannot stay in a standard value room and the only moderate you can stay in a standard room is POR (Alligator Bayou rooms with the trundle). Plus AKL and WL standard rooms only sleep four as well.

I think you are a bit confused.

 

[YoMickey]

Not confused, I forgot to mention our home resort is Beach Club Villas and the Resort I was referencing was Yacht and Beach Club Resort.

 

[crisi]

What erks me is that we can put 2 adults and 3 small kids in the Resort room but not in a 1 bedroom villa.

edit:--> I'm referring to the situation at Beach Club only. I don't know the scenarios at other DVC properties and resorts. We bought where we want to stay and that's what we do.

Which brings up something else people are (not me, but others) can be disappointed by.

DVC units don't have a lot of configuration options (although there are enough that it is confusing, it isn't generally mix and match). A one bedroom is always a king bed and a living room with a pull out sofa....no option for two queens (or fulls).....A two bedroom always starts with that King bed and then adds a bedroom which has two beds - although frequently that second bed is a pullout - no four bed configuration. No bunkbeds (except at the Tree House Villas). No studios with a King bed (and the vast majority of them are a bed and a pullout - only OKW has two 'real' beds).

It seems that some people assume there is more flexibility there than they discover there really is when they buy (and other people know there isn't the flexibility at purchase, but still crave bunk beds).

 

[disneychic]

Beware of ADDONITIS..... It hit us about 1 1/2 years after our first DVC purchase.

Um...diddo!!!! We purchased in 2000 (BWV) added on at HHI in 2001, then added on at SSR, followed by BLT and then on our last visit in February, we added on at AKL.

Once "ADDONITIS" hits you, there's no cure!

 

[Saratoga Souris]

Lack of daily Mousekeeping can be viewed as a positive for me.

I don't like having someone "in my space" everyday, especially when we have a day of "hanging around" - since we have been going to WDW since 1974, we tend to have more and more days like that.

Just another way to look at it!

 

[mac_tlc]

I agree with the PP. Originally, lack of daily mousekeeping seemed like a negative. But, 18 years later, I actually prefer not having someone poking through the room every day. Especially with 1 bdr and above, with the washer/dryer, even towels are not an issue.

Who says you have to make the bed everyday?

mac_tlc

 

[ToddyLu]

Not being able to tell friends and family that you own DVC--because they think you are already Disney obsessed--and letting them in on the "secret" makes you seem like a crack head/freak.

 

[DizGirl20]

Not being able to tell friends and family that you own DVC--because they think you are already Disney obsessed--and letting them in on the "secret" makes you seem like a crack head/freak.

That is so funny because we have only told our close friends who are Disney Freaks like us... no one else knows (not even my family)! I get comments all the time like: "weren't you just there?!". That's why I like to hang out here on the DisBoards with you guys!

 

[dbs1228]

I completely agree we have been going for over 18 years many visits before that as a kid and I always get the comment "you are going to Disney again"! I like the "down days" at the resort just as much if not more then the park days, which is why I am so excited to have finally joined dvc and can now experience ALL the resorts!

 

[dacky041208]

I think these 3 pages of "negatives" make me more sure that we are going to be DVC members soon

 

[mwmuntz]

The only negatives that I can come up with are:

1) If you ever need to travel outside of DVC or RCI, you will be forever ruined with staying in a hotel, space-wise. While the hotel may make it up in amenities and service, going from a 1 or 2 bedroom villa to a "regular" hotel room is a bit of a culture shock. Unless of course you are staying at the Four Seasons, or something on that level.

2) Any money you might save in accomodations will be negated by the other expenses associated with going on more vacations, at least in our case. We went from going to Disney once a year or every other year to 2-3x per year.

So again, these negatives are really positives..... DVC has allowed us to go on more vacations in better accomodations.

 

[sskem96]

Negatives about DVC? Never! The only negative I could come up with about Disney at all is that it's too hot in the summer!

Obviously I'm not a critical person. I could have just stayed at Pop Century forever, but I got tired of having to bring the air mattress so the kids wouldn't have to share a bed. With the 2 pull-outs in the living room at AKV, it's not an issue anymore. The second bathroom is a huge bonus too since the kids have gotten older and need privacy to change. We also cook 2 meals a day in the room, so we save a small fortune by not eating out so much. Laundry is free and right there in the room so I can throw a load in the wash before bed and put it in the dryer in the morning. See, lots more positives than negatives!