What exactly are the advantages to DVC?

[IdesOmarch]

Would someone mind giving me the run down on DVC and the advantages, disadvantages, do you love it, meh about it? Are you glad you are DVC and would never go back? And what exactly does it do, what all is involved, Etc. Thanks

 

[DVC Dude]

The answers to your question could stimulate a several hour discussion with hundreds of posts and opinions. However, I believe that the single best reason to join DVC boils down to only one best answer.

"It provides members with access to a collection of very nice properties that can be booked with tremendous flexibility to provide your family with a (semi pre-paid) vacation option for the next 40 years or so."

There disadvantages are:
Initial cost
40 year commitment to pay yearly dues
Being locked into a timeshare that may or may not drop in value

Also, if you are a last minute planner (less than 2-3 months) then DVC is NOT for you as this option works best for people that can plan 6-11 months in advance.

Also, I am 100% happy with my DVC purchase

 

[chalee94]

DVC is best understood as prepaid accommodations at DVC resorts (about 7 onsite at wdw, 1 at hilton head, 1 at vero beach and 1 tiny one at DLR.)

there are currently numerous perks that are nice for members: dining/shopping discounts, about a $100 discount on an adult AP, pool hopping and free internet during stays. these can go away at any time - so it's best to make a decision based on the long-term real estate lease interest (expires in the year 2042, 2054, 2057 or 2060, depending on the resort that you buy an interest in) that DVC represents as opposed to paying for onsite hotels at wdw every year.

you pay a certain amount upfront to buy a contract (over $100 per pt direct, usually less than $100 resale) - similar to buying a house. then you pay maintenance fees every year - to pay for insurance, utilities and upkeep - similar to owning a house.

the DVC works "best" for people who:

1) go to disney at least every other year
2) prefer to stay onsite at deluxes (or at least moderates)
3) can plan their vacations 10 or 11 months in advance
4) can limit Fri-Sat stays since weekend point costs are a little higher
5) intend to use DVC primarily for staying at a DVC resort at disney (rather than trading out for other timeshares or cruises, etc.)
6) need or prefer larger accommodations than a basic hotel room

OTOH, there are lots of good reasons to balk at buying DVC:

1) thousands of $ upfront plus annual fees require a certain level of financial ability and commitment (and you still need to pay for tickets and travel, etc.)
2) commitment to wdw/fear of wdw burnout (sorta - while you can trade out if you buy direct, the best value is staying at the DVC resorts)
3) DVC not as deluxe as deluxe hotels in some senses (limited housekeeping, sofabeds, no room service at some DVC resorts)
4) financing a depreciating (sooner or later) luxury purchase is generally a poor idea
5) happy with value hotels
6) amenities like a kitchen and washer/dryer have no value for you
7) you don't/can't plan vacations 6+ months in advance
8) you enjoy hunting for deals/bargains for each trip

If you’ll be upset when other people can pay cash for a room and get a discount or get “free” dining thrown in, then DVC is not for you.

also be aware that if you think you might keep DVC for 6-8 years and then sell it down the road, it may have little to no value as DVC has begun cutting perks that transfer when you sell your contract.

here is a link to a basic DVC FAQ.

here is another FAQ

it's been worth it to me and a great value, but i only bought enough for onsite stays at wdw. (BTW, there's a "do you regret anything" thread on this page that you should also look through...)

 

[castleri]

I think the big advantage for me is being ablt to stay in very nice accomodations for about the same or less than if I was staying in a moderate or value resort. When it is a family trip we make good use of the washer/dryer and eat some meals (mostly breakfast and snacks) in the room. We enjoy not having mousekeeping in the room daily and really like the extra space in the larger units. I was able to pay for my contract up front so did not have the consideration of financing which can add a considerable amount to the purchase price unless you can get a home equity or personal loan at a lower rate than Disney offers. The major con is that you have to be able to plan well in advance if you want to be sure of getting what you want for the time you want. We have had two last minute trips this year but they were only a couple of days at a time and we were not fussy about where we stayed.
If you are considering a purchase ask lots of questions and be sure you understand how the whole program works before you decide. I think you are off to a good start.

 

[IdesOmarch]

Thanks everybody for the tips.

Sounds like it may not be for me, one of my big things on vacation is I really like staying at Deluxe or other similar resorts, because we really like having large nice pools (preferably with waterfalls) that is a big part of our Disney vacations or all vacations really, sounds like I would miss out on that, so sounds like it may not be for me. I wasn't sure if this was a time share only, or some other options or whatnot. Thanks again.

 

[disneynutz]

Would someone mind giving me the run down on DVC and the advantages, disadvantages, do you love it, meh about it? Are you glad you are DVC and would never go back? And what exactly does it do, what all is involved, Etc. Thanks

If you currently visit WDW at least every 2 years and plan to keep doing so for the next 10 years or so, and you prefer the deluxe resorts, then owning a DVC contract will save you some money on your room.

Bill

 

[JimMIA]

I think others have given you most of the advantages of buying DVC. I just have a couple of comments on the purchasing process itself and some cons of DVC ownership.

Direct vs. Resale:
If you buy direct from Disney, you'll pay between $99 per point and $130 per point (I think -- someone correct me if that's wrong) depending on which resort you buy. There are often "incentives" that bring the cost of some contracts (mostly BLT) down somewhat...but it's down from a lofty peak!

If you purchase resale, you should save 15-50%, maybe more, again depending on where you purchase.

That's a huge difference. I'd be extremely hard-pressed to come up with any coherent argument for purchasing direct.

Sure, there are some outliers ("I only want to buy 25 points with an April UY at BLT, and I can't find it immediately on the resale market..."), but for the most part you're going to pay a LOT more if you buy direct. And if you buy direct and finance, you've REALLY raised your cost substantially.

Cons of DVC:
Let me say first that I think DVC is an exceptionally good timeshare for visits to WDW, and we enjoyed our ownership greatly. If you are going to visit WDW at least every other year, and you want nice accommodations ONSITE, DVC is hard to beat for that one specific purpose.

However...there are several downsides.

The first is that DVC is among the most expensive timeshares around, both in terms of initial buyin and in terms of the per-night costs of using your points. If you visit WDW regularly, you should save money over paying cash for Disney onsite lodging, but it's certainly not a bargain vacation.

For example, I recently did some comparative pricing using DVC points for a May stay in an OKW 1BR vs. the same accommodations at Wyndham's Bonnet Creek Resort using Wyndham points. There was a flukey quirk about Wyndham that gave us a better price, but if I ignored that and calculated the "regular" Wyndham cost, it came out to $189 per night at OKW and $60 per night at Wyndham (our actual Wyndham cost was $40 per night). Huge difference -- and it's not only the initial buyin cost of DVC (our buyin was at $73 per point), it was also the number of points per night and the difference in annual dues.

For comparison, if you are interested in timesharing generally, you can purchase many very good timeshare products on eBay for $1 plus closing. Last summer, we purchased the rough equivalent of a 500-point DVC contract (Wyndham) for a total of less than $2,000, including closing costs.

The other drawback of DVC -- to me -- occurs when you decide to vacation anywhere except WDW. Yes, there are other DVC resorts, and they're wonderful. Yes, you have access to a limited number of RCI exchanges (about 600 of the 6,500+ RCI resorts). But using DVC points for other options is really limited and relatively more expensive (usually) than using them at WDW.

The DVC timeshare salesmen try to portray DVC as a one-stop program for ALL your vacation needs...but it's really not.

 

[Lynne M]

Thanks everybody for the tips.

Sounds like it may not be for me, one of my big things on vacation is I really like staying at Deluxe or other similar resorts, because we really like having large nice pools (preferably with waterfalls) that is a big part of our Disney vacations or all vacations really, sounds like I would miss out on that, so sounds like it may not be for me. I wasn't sure if this was a time share only, or some other options or whatnot. Thanks again.

Most of the DVC resorts are located at the deluxe resorts and share facilities and pools with those resorts: VWL, BCV, BWV, AKV, BLT. In fact, the most elaborate resort pool at WDW, Stormalong Bay, is exclusively for use of YC/BC/BCV guests. OKW and SSR are standalone DVC resorts, but they have great feature pools, too.

As a DVC member, you're also allowed to 'hop' to most other Disney resort pools. The only ones that are off-limits are Stormalong Bay (unless you're staying at BCV), the pools at Jambo and Kidani at AKV (unless you're staying at AKV), and the pool at BLT (unless you're staying there).

 

[Brian Noble]

You've gotten some good answers, but I'll give you mine anyway:

If you purchase DVC, you are committing yourself to frequent vacations with Mickey for the next many decades, and paying (roughly) half of the cost of the lodging for those vacations up-front*. In exchange, Disney is giving you a pretty nice discount on that lodging, in units that are comparable to the Disney Deluxe resorts at a price that is comparable to a Disney Moderate.**

So, if you normally visit Disney regularly, and stay in Deluxe resorts, DVC will probably save you money on your lodging. If you normally visit Disney regularly, and stay in Moderate resorts, DVC will probably allow you to stay in nicer resorts for a similar cost.

That's it. Ignore all the other perks, bells, whistles, and what-have-you, because they are truly in the noise. You are committing to Disney, and Disney is giving you a discount for that commitment, reflecting the fact that they don't have to continue to market to you to get you to keep coming back.

(*: this depends on a couple of different assumptions, the most important of which is the time-value of money. If you use the long-term average return of broad equity markets, it's a bit more than half up front. If you use something more conservative, like a long-term bond fund, it's a bit less.)

(**: this assumes you are not financing, and you stay in studios. Personally, I prefer the 1 and 2BR units, and those cost more. A 1BR unit is approximately comparable to the cost of a single Deluxe room for cash. A 2BR unit is about 50% more, give or take, but both *much much* more pleasant for a family than a regular old hotel room.)

In short, DVC is great for those for whom "Only Disney Will Do"---and, really, only the "nicer" bits of Disney. If you would visit WDW and stay in Values or (gasp!) offsite willingly, or if you would (double gasp!) spend a good chunk of your vacationing elsewhere, DVC may not be the wisest possible choice.

 

[wdwnut]

We do enjoy our DVC contracts. We also like being able to bring other people on vacation with us and use our points to get the additional villas. Many times there were only 4-6 people on vacation; other times we've done larger groups of family up to 27 people. If you figured out the rack rates with a 40% discount on these 1 and 2 br villas and the grand villas we've booked, DVC was very economical. 10 of us will be at BLT in a grand villa this May.

 

[Greysword]

4) financing a depreciating (sooner or later) luxury purchase is generally a poor idea.

I need to take umbrage with this idea. Financing a depreciating luxury asset may not be fiscally savvy, but it is definitely a good idea in many many scenarios. However, it comes with the understanding that a premium is being paid for the use of the item sooner than later.

 

[Brian Noble]

Whether it is a good idea or a bad idea can be a matter of perspective. Personally, I would never do it. Others are welcome to do so, as long as they are not doing so with my money. The big problem with it in the specific case of DVC is that---again depending on your precise assumptions about the time value of money---it can make buying "more expensive" than renting.

Of course, it is possible to choose a time-value rate that makes buying better, and possible to choose one that makes buying worse, and either rate is plausible. So you can arrive at the answer you wish was "right" for your own biases with little inconvenience.

 

[Sammie]

I was glad when I bought in the 90s. Would I do it again, no. Its for a long, long time and frankly we are tired of it.

At the cost for points now, it is not the least expensive way to see Disney and not even the least expensive way to get a villa.

As Brian stated, make sure you know what you are getting. You are getting the ability to book your home resort with a one month advantage. Everything else can change. Right now at your home resort you are given a 11 month booking, nonhome 7 months but that can change.

There was a time when we all thought DVC would change little and would always be much different than other timeshares. That is not the case and recently changes have occurred to make many of us realize it.

I would not do it again.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I was glad when I bought in the 90s. Would I do it again, no. Its for a long, long time and frankly we are tired of it.

At the cost for points now, it is not the least expensive way to see Disney and not even the least expensive way to get a villa.

I totally agree. We bought our first DVC contract in 1997 for $50 a point. I can't imagine paying anything close to $100 a point, let alone more than that. And with the way dues are going up exponentially...

 

[DVCconvert]

I totally agree. We bought our first DVC contract in 1997 for $50 a point. I can't imagine paying anything close to $100 a point, let alone more than that. And with the way dues are going up exponentially...

I've recently purchased almost 1000 points and for the most of them paid less than $50 per point. I agree on the pricing direct however.

 

[Sandisw]

For us, it was knowing that we know have pre-paid for our vacations for years to come and we have the flexibility of it.

This summer, for example, we are going with some extended family and booked a 2 bedroom. The fact that we did it on points just made it seem less expensive. We would have never been able to do this had we had to outlay the cash.

Yes, we did put up the money at the beginning, but now that is gone, we know we have 50 years already done. Since we were staying at deluxe resorts and paying at least $350/night, in the end, we would be saving money in terms of the room.

Of course, the AP discount that is currently available is another savings that is great.

And, given the resale market, people are picking up contracts at wonderful prices, making the deals even better!

 

[mdsd8700]

Agree that is was the pre-paid room for 50 years that was the advantage for us. We had already been doing Disney Vacations for 14 years and still loved them just as much if not more. We thought about joining for years and finally it just seemed right.

However also agree with other posters that the direct pricing has gone up so much it is hard to justify when you can pick up resale contracts for such a great price.

We have only been DVC members since June so our experience is not as vast as the others who have been members for a long time. It is always best to research as much as you can and see it DVC will work for you.

 

[Scraper]

Been Members for 5 years and Love it.