What don't you like about the DVC?

[goofyguy1958]

Well, it has been a little while since my last post but I was lurking when I had a minute. I have been really busy with a new position, DD receiving communion, redoining our dinning room, travel with the new position, etc., etc... Oh yeah, cruising with the mouse last week, but thgat is another magic story -- loved it!!! While we were on our cruise we had a meeting with a DVC sales rep and are very interested in purchasing membership. However, my DW and I would like to get some feedback before we put out that kind of money. I can see a lot of positive benefits and have been told nothing but all the great things about the club. Are there any people out there who can give me feedback that reflects the other side of the tracks? Have there been any negative experiences? Has anyone ever sold points? Or, for that matter, anyone ever sold the entire package? Any resorts to avoid? Also, any really positive stories my help in making our decision. All in put is appreciated.

 

[Simba's Mom]

There's only one thing that we really don't like-the fact that weekend points are so much higher and since we fly, we often have to come in on Saturday to get the best airline rate (stay over a Saturday is usually cheaper on airlines). Negative experiences with any resorts-everyone has their favorites, anyone can encounter a bad day anywhere; there doesn't seem to me to be any common problem. One really positive I've found-used to have a "Disney tolerant spouse" who was also a work-aholic. In 2 1/2 years of DVC ownership, boy has he changed! He's actually really looking forward to this trip next week and is currently on a business trip, proudly wearing his "Members are Magical" jacket. Tonight he called me to happily report he'd met another DVCer. What a transformation!

 

[BWVDee]

I can honestly say the only thing I do not like about DVC and would change if I could is the 11/7 month booking window. I wish the booking window was much longer for your home resort with only a maximum of a 4 month window to book at a non "home" DVC resort. The out of DVC system exchanges I would leave the same booking window, but for your DVC "home" resort, I would definitely like to see members given a much longer exclusive booking window at their home resort than the 11/7 window.

 

[Chuck S]

.... proudly wearing his "Members are Magical" jacket. Tonight he called me to happily report he'd met another DVCer.

Oh how fun!!! That is Disney magic.

As far as the OPs question, probably most of us on these boards have not had any DVC experiences that are so bad we decided to sell our points...and really I doubt anyone selling their points would be able to fully put the "blame" on DVC for their decision. Not to say that everything is rosy all the time, there are the same real problems associated with every hotel/motel visit. You could get room not properly cleaned, you could find a rude employee here and there, etc. But those types of things are few and far between.

As far as favorite resort...I would hope that each member OWNS at their favorite DVC resort to allow them to ake advantage of the 11 month booking window. I don't think there is a "bad" DVC resort, it just depends on your personal preferences. Each resort has different positives and negatives. What makes OKW wonderful to some, the realtively quiet location, is what others dislike about the resort...this is true of all positives and negatives. The BEST thing at DVC is we all get to choose what fits our style and vacation likes and dislikes and make home resort decision and reservations accordingly.

 

[goofyguy1958]

Hi Chuck,

Thanks for the reply, you triggered a couple of additional questions. Since our children are currently 4 (DS) and 7 (DD), is SSR a good choice for us? If not, what other resort would be a good fit? The one thing is that we do not ever spend an extended period of time at the resorts. HMMMM, maybe that will change a little if we decide to buy (got the contract and packet today, just have to sign it and send the money back to DVC).

BWVDee, I agree, I am a long-term planner and love to have things set a year and a half out.

Simba's Mom, Yeah, what gives with that? They don't raise the rates in the hotels -- oops, resorts -- that much.

Anyway, thank you all for the information.

 

[BWVDee]

...I would hope that each member OWNS at their favorite DVC resort to allow them to ake advantage of the 11 month booking window.

In all due respect, for people that go to WDW numerous times throughout the year, often times the booking of a trip hinges on factors that can not be determined 11 months in advance. And yet they are people that have bought where they wanted to stay! IMO, a longer exclusive booking window should be given to members at their DVC "home" resort, then what is currently in place. Keep the exchange windows at what they presently are, but at a DVC resort definitely shorten the "non home resort" booking window. After all, if you bought where you wanted to stay the majority of DVC trips, how could this not be benefical??

 

[Granny]

The only regret you'll hear around here is from people who wished they had purchased earlier! Truthfully, this is not exactly an unbiased place to look for bad news about DVC...we are mostly very happy users of DVC.

Having said that, I do think that there are some pitfalls that the sales reps don't always point out. To us, they are not a big deal, but each person has to decide that. They include:

1. Annual dues do tend to increase a bit each year. There is a 15% cap per year on the increase, but they've never gotten close to that. I've seen 4-5% increases each year on our resorts. It is important to know that Disney can't make a profit, by law, on the annual dues, so that helps keep the lid on them!

2. Making reservations at the 7 month mark at DVC resorts is not always as easy as may be portrayed. There are several busy times of the year and if you have your heart set on a particular resort, there is a chance you'll be disappointed. It's better if you're flexible as to where you'll stay.

3. The biggest thing we found is that there is an idea that DVC is a money saver. I suppose that if someone buys the minimum, and is used to paying for deluxe on-site accommodations, that they could save money.

What we find is that we stay in nicer accommodations (1BR and 2BR), for longer stays, and go every year. We wouldn't do that without DVC, so in a way it costs us more money since we bought. However, the quality of vacations is so much better and that's what we really invested in.


Good luck with your decision. Ask lots of questions, both here and with your guide.

DVC isn't for everyone, but for those who can swing it financially and who put a premium on deluxe accommodations on-site at WDW, it's a great purchase.

 

[Chuck S]

How much time you spend at your resort, or in your room, may very well change once you join. We never spend much time when we stayed in a regular resort room, either. It was always hurry, hurry, hurry. Once we joined DVC we've slowed down and enjoy our surroundings a lot more.

While few of us, so far, have actually seen SSR in person, the artists renderings look like it would be a great resort for a family. Especially if they like pools. They may also consider BCV for a great pool. BWV and BCV are within walking distance of the Studios and Epcot, and BWV the boardwalk activity area, but I prefer OKW for it's more relaxed, quiet more "condo" feel.

There are many possible reasons for the high weekend points, the most plausible I've heard is the weekends are very popular with the "locals", even at regular Disney resorts, and it can be hard occasionally to book a weekend night at a non-DVC resort. This helps people from farther away so that those weekend nights aren't "snatched up" right at the 11 month window to allow folks a better chance of booking a full week or 10 day vacation. I know that we usually stay 8 to 12 days, and I'd hate it if I had to move in the middle of a stay because weekend nights were all already booked up. Also, it discourages people from pre-booking those weekends with the sole intend of "renting" them out to non-members, when they'd be the most popular.

 

[JonHM]

The BIGGIE: The lack of a DVC discounted annual pass to the parks.

Other than that, no complaints! We LOVE our DVC!!!

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

We generally have no problem with the resorts. They are all great vacation resorts. We've stayed at all except for BWV.

But, since you asked for the negatives, I'll feel free to unload. The exchange programs are often hyped during the sales pitch (i.e., trading points for a cruise, or Disney resort, or other member getaway), but the points required for these trades have literally exploded over the past three years. This has deminished overall program variety and value.

Also, don't expect anything "special" from Disney. To date, Disney Corp. hasn't gone to far out of their way to offer "club members" anything spectacular in the way of pass discounts and other perks. They tend to be run of the mill discounts repackaged and advertised for the DVC member. Also, special member events tend to be priced $$$ over and above the going Disney rate for comparable ammenities and services. IMO, Disney views DVCers as the cash cow that requires no prodding to get into the stall. This has caused some long time DVCers to look for other entertainment options while staying at their "Orlando timeshare".

Dues have gone up about 5% for each of the past three years. The inflation rate has been very low during this timeframe so, IMO the dues increases have been a little high. I hope that trend does not continue.

Keep in mind that you are only prepaying for your accomodations, and there are numerous other costs with vacationing at WDW.

The offsite DVC resorts are the most affordable from a budget DVC vacation standpoint. Also, HH and Vero have more onsite resort activities and function much better as stand alone vacation destinations. We love the HH resort.

If you don't care which resort you stay at, I'd buy the cheapest one you can find by resale.

Good Luck...Johnnie

 

[goofyguy1958]

Originally posted by goofyguy1958
Hi Chuck,

Since our children are currently 4 (DS) and 7 (DD), is SSR a good choice for us? If not, what other resort would be a good fit?

Additional questions: If I wanted to go with a resell, can I make an offer for 150 oints if someone is selling say 200 points?
Are there any real advantages, other than savings that is, with going with a resale?

 

[rocketriter]

Unless you're buying directly from Disney, you have to buy all the points that are contained in a particular contract. The owner can't peel some off to sell to you.

In theory, SSR is a perfectly good fit for you. While it will start out a little far from the Magic Kingdom, where your kids' first interest will lie, it will come into its own as they grow older. Bottom line, when you look at photos and descriptions of SSR, how does it make you feel? If it makes you feel good, then Welcome Home!

 

[goofyguy1958]

Thanks rocketriter, the only problem with your logic (Bottom line, when you look at photos and descriptions of SSR, how does it make you feel? If it makes you feel good, then Welcome Home!) is that if it has anything to do with WDW it makes me feel good.

Another question I have is is the transportation between SSR and the parks going to be the same as with other WDW resorts? Is there anything different with how your stay is at WDW by being in a DVC property?

 

[bcvillastwo]

Buying into DVC can be an impulse decision and we all know how some inpulse decisions turn out. With that said, for the most part the people on this board seem to have taken the time to really "think" about the DVC decision. In my opinion, taking the time to really think your decision through is the single most important thing you can do. Also, don't forget about the admonition to buy where you think you would most like to stay.

With that said, if you decide to go for it, don't think you won't have some negative experiences because it's likely that you will experience some small inconveniences from time to time or encounter a rude or unknowledgeable cast member (but remember you can have these kind of encounters anyway).

Personally, we have no regrets, we took our time in making the decision and only did so after we became convinced that vacationing at WDW was the place we most prefer to take our vacations. After that, it was an easy decision.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[colleen costello]

We are in the middle of moving to a new house. This has been crazy and I had to cancel my DVC reservations for June, or risk "losing" those points. This made me realize how tough the "31 day cancellation" policy can be. I realize that it needs to be there, but it killed me to cancel my Wilderness Lodge studio. Now it looks like we WILL be able to travel, and I have had to make cash reservations instead

Also resent no discounts on AP's.

Always feel the good of DVC hugely outweighs any "bad."

 

[Pa@okw95]

The first negative that comes to mind for me is the change in WDW so ask yourself is WDW for you and do you want to spend a lot of time there. Most people do not consider this and think only great thoughts about WDW but it has changed very much into an amusement park in recent years so that is one negative. The other negative is the demographic, a term one poster used, it has changed at DVC and WDW with DVC being sold as a savings and WDW with its value resorts, so it is no longer an upscale resort or even close to being so. DVC does have excellent accomodations. I would buy at SSR if I were you where the price is higher, you may get better service there over the long haul, plus you do not share with another WDW resort such things as check in etc. DVC people at some of these shared resorts have not had the best of experiences with the front desk being treated like "poor cousins". If you love WDW, excellent accomodations but not the best of service then DVC might be for you. I would not buy anywhere but SSR however.

 

[goofyguy1958]

Thanks everyone for the replys. Hopefully this is my last question of the day; -- I am spending the entire last day (since 7 AM this morning) of my vacation on this and other boards researching the DVC -- what are your experiences at Vero beach and Hilton Head? My DW really would like to spend some time at Hilton Head with our DD (7) and DS (4). Good experience with children?

 

[goofyguy1958]

Hilton head info anyone?

 

[Mickmse2002]

No real disappointments here. Most folks have already covered some of my minor gripes....no AP discount for DVC members, the high cost of points for trading out, guides indicating that DVC is a mechanism to save money, etc.

Ultimately what everyone has to understand you are fundamentally making a long-term commitment to vacation...period. You have few options once signing on the line:
1. Use the points
2. Rent the points
3. Sell the points

Most of us use the points and use them at WDW. I have found that our pattern of vactioning has dramatically changed since purchasing into DVC. We are no longer frantically moving from dawn to dusk trying to see everything. We spend a lot more time at the resports.

What really decided the issue for us was the recognition that having renewing points that must be used/rented/sold each year requires me (a reformed workaholic) to make the effort the be with and vacation with my family at one of the premiere family entertainment venues in the world.

We have absolutley no regrets in our purchase and would never consider selling.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

HH (and Vero) are excellent resorts and I believe were recently rated very highly in Conde Nast Traveler's list of family friendly resorts. We own at HH, VWL and BCV. We like HH so much we just added on (through resale) there as opposed to more onsite points. The HH resort is the best in my opinion. And it's funny, but we've yet to visit there in the summer...when the beach is in full swing. The resort has a very relaxed feel, and being set on the Broad Creek Marsh, is full of natural beauty. Many don't like that it is not directly on the ocean, but we actually enjoy the layout/location of the resort. I suggest you do a Disboard search on HH for more DVC trip reports. The offsite resorts are the most budget friendly of all the DVC resorts, as you are not as likely to spend as much money on a trip to one, no park passes needed, etc. A January trip to HH cost us 98 points for 6 nights in a 2-BR and $500 travel and spending money. You can't beat that anywhere else in the DVC system. The offsites also have many more organized activities for all ages, where the onsite resorts have virtually none. The offisites are a nice contrast to the WDW properties and add affordable variety to the DVC program. Personally, I'd like to see another one somewhere.

Good luck