What regrets do you have/mistakes made re: DVC purchase?

[DVC SSR Owner]

No regrets!

 

[rmcildw2m]

No regrets ,I bought in at hhi at a very good price I think and it had banked points which were the kicker . I t was aresale but who cares ,I am in at DVC .

 

[lisareniff]

Regrets....

That we didn't split our first 300pt contract into two.

Perhaps that that first contract was a little too big. It didn't leave room for adding on.


Regrets that didn't happen, either due to taking DISboard advice, guide guidance or just plain luck...

- BWYWTS (Buy Where You Want To Stay) - BCV was what Disney was selling. Somewhat luck some what DISboard, it was where we wanted to stay. (Slightly considered resale but was abit scared at the process)

- Buy a suitable UY - It was what the guide gave us. Lucky it was perfect for us.


We were actually pretty lucky that everything worked out to our liking. We purchased without seeing DVC or even being at WDW in our adult life. I think we were a little crazy.

 

[cseca]

Been a member since 2000 and my current regret is the unknown changes coming down the line almost every year.

Sorry, not trying to scare you. But as DVD(evolpment) is trying to stay profitable as a company the more and more changes are happening.
Some are beneficial to some members (banking window changes, points reallocation, the upcoming online booking system), and some are not (bad materials and design flaws at BLT, continuing mousekeeping issues). I understand that changes are constant but not knowing what changes coming under the guise of "Improving member satisfaction" or "Based on member feedback" gets scarier and scarier every year.

Anyways, you ask for my regret... that's about it.

Overall I still love my membership, I just don't like it when they do white lies and not just outright say "We need to make more $, so we're cutting this off or cutting that off".
I do appreciate they keeping the annual dues increases around 3.5% every year. But I think I'd pay a little bit more IF that would mean better mousekeeping, better material and design in our units.

 

[leane]

We bought sight unseen... stupid I know but we did. We purchased BLT (180) and AKV (200) add on during a holdiay webcast special. I would have added more BLT if I had already been to both.

Our trips to date include - March BCV 4 nights and AKV 8 nights Oct 2 nights Poly and 6 nights BLT

AKV was not my favorite. It could be that the stay was too long, perhaps the fact it was FREEZING or the fact I broke both of my thumbs on day 3 bracing myself from a fall but it was just ok. To be fair we liked walking to BCV but our villa was worn down so that wasn't our fav either.

Oct was warmer and we LOVED BLT. Walking to MK was such a benefit! It may have been that we were more comfortable, I didnt get hurt and it was warmer but I am SO happy I bought there.

There are so many more resorts for me to visit but I think the only other I would be intersted in purchasing may have been BWV. We havent been there yet so I can't comment.

So the long story short... Go to the resorts, experience them and then decide. If you can rent points or pay cash to stay at a DVC to try it out do that first. Don't jump into it and take your time.

My regret -I wouldn't have purchased AKV it was nice at first but I can book a savanah view at 7 mo so I dont need home resort for that one. I would have put more into BLT or another resort instead maybe. I got "add-on-itis" too quick. Would I turn back the clock and not buy... HECK NO! I didn't take a vacation for 10 years. This will in a way "force" us to go on family vacations. I am happy with my purchase just maybe not my locations

 

[Lancer]

Regrets- Only two,
1. Purchased only 160 pts, wish I had atleast 200. Could have easily did back then but now cant afford the add on yet.
2. Purchased in 2008. Have visited WDW 1-2 times a year, every year since 1997. Wished I had purchased sooner.

What to look out for-
1.If your window for vacation is just a few months span, the same time each year(school teacher for example), try to get a use year that works with your your schedule as far as booking,banking etc.
2. Once you buy, look at all the DVC discounts you are eligable for, it can save you alot. Look at the annual pass discount, if you plan right, you can make atleast two visits for the price of one(if you bought regular tickets).
3. Regularly check for incentives, some are better than others. You may want to purchase a little earlier than planned.
4. As always, purchase where you would want to stay the most because of the 11 month booking window. The AKV are awesome!

 

[Tamar]

No regrets! We did end up selling our first contract (HH) and we have added on 4 times (BWV and OKW), but if we'd never gotten our feet wet with that first purchase, where would we be?

Okay, if pressed, I guess I regret we have a December UY. When we first purchased, we always planned to travel in March-April, now we're F&W regulars and so December is the worst UY for us. We just make our plans 11 months out and stick to them!

 

[disneydotlee]

We've been members since 1997 and it is one of the best purchases ever. We no longer do "commando-style" park visits because we know we will be back. I love DVC.

 

[JWG]

We've been members since 1997 and it is one of the best purchases ever. We no longer do "commando-style" park visits because we know we will be back. I love DVC.

This is exactly what sold my wife on purchasing. My willingness to not need to do everything and relax knowing we'd be back.

Such as this last trip where we mostly got character autographs. 41 of them to be exact. Our daughter got to drive the bus.

 

[DebbieB]

I would have split my 250 points into 150 and 100 to give me the option to sell one off if I need to. Other than that, no regrets! Love BWV and DVC!

 

[culli]

We've been members since 1997 and it is one of the best purchases ever. We no longer do "commando-style" park visits because we know we will be back. I love DVC.

DITTO DITTO and DITTO on the no "Commando Parks" - people think I'm lying when I say we go to Disney and relax. They keep saying your nuts it is so hectic there how can you put up with that insanity all the time. For us DVC has = laid back relaxing with the ability to hit the parks when WE FEEL like it.

 

[2binak]

1) I regret buying at SSR before the resort was built. I grew up close to Saratoga in upstate NY & still live in the Northeast so the resort doesn't give me that "I'm on vacation" feel. Instead it looks & feels exactly like a condominium complex I lived in. We've been able to get our waitlists for 2 of our trips and a few for friends of ours too so it's not too bad. 2) I regret not buying maybe 40 more points to get us through a full 6 nights in a 1-bdrm at AKL

 

[Disneypapa]

Have not read all of the responses, so please excuse if this has already been mentioned.

Bought one resale contract 200 pts at OKW in 2002. No regrets.

Had to do over, I would have purchased two 100 point contracts instead, in order to pass the contracts over to children in equal proportion at my death (DVC will not permit splitting of contracts ).

 

[Bellecruiser]

We love our DVC. It is one of the best decisions we made. Our only regrets are we didn't buy sooner.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

No regrets so far.

Not to be cliche--but we waited 11 years to buy, so I do felt we waited "too long" and that is my only regret. However--we bought when we felt the time was right. So let the time be right.

I could stand to own a few more points than the 160 we have to make it easier to navigate booking a 2BR as we are a family of 6. But that isn't really a regret. Just have to wait until it can be added into our budget.

We own at AKL.

 

[hbehrman]

One more thing - I wish we had purchased all our points resale. Our first contract was direct. Second contract resale. Saved a lot of money going resale (a few thousand $).

Remember to do multiple contracts if you are buying direct (either 50,75 or 100 pt). There is no additional cost or hassle (except the initial paperwork, a set for each contract). The benefits and opportunity cost of doing this is one great advantage of doing this direct at no additional cost. See some of the threads if you are not familiar with this. Also, you might wish to purchase at two or three different resorts if you are purchasing over 200 pts.

 

[appleorchard]

Wish we had bought more points in 1999. Also wish we'd known about splitting contracts. We have more kids than contracts! Ah well, we're leaving our DVC to my niece anyway--she's the one who appreciates it the most lol.

We were fortunate that Disney was selling BWV so that's what we bought. And it's our favorite--by FAR. We rushed to buy BLT and don't love it--we'd switch those points to BWV if it weren't for all the selling fees involved. Don't like the condo feel at SSR or OKW; BCV is okay but feels like an afterthought to me (and of course, it is). AKV--to far from everything. WVL--not our style.
Regrets?? None!!!! Wish we had more points.

 

[nyck]

Wish I had bought sooner! I bought 300 points BCV 2003 then 200 points at SSR in 2007. I wish I had split my 300 BCV into 2 contracts and had bought 500 there to begin with. BCV is truly my favorite place to stay and I tend to use my SSR points to stay at the THV and anywhere except SSR (I only bought it because it was cheap at the time and I need more points). OP I am similar to you as I am 34 y old, no kids, and I am not married. I travel to disney and universal every 6 months and use my points for DCL and concierge collection, so nothing goes to waste. It is nice that I can take my mom on vacation every year and she doesn't have to pay

 

[mtw58]

Wish I would have bought more the 50 BLT points!

 

[BBG-BLT]

Wish we had done it sooner and really wish I had stayed at all the resorts before we bought. We own at BLT and really like it but I think we're going to like BCV better (if we can get in at the 7 mo mark).