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

[Carl'n'Ellie'sDad]

Just wanted to echo some other posters who mentioned that knowing you'll be back again changes how you experience the Disney parks. My wife was the classic theme-park commando; one year we had laminated lanyards with an itinerary for each park! We'll be going this summer with DD2.9 and DS1.5 and we'll be able to take our time, do one "big day" at each park, and a few mornings just for pictures and characters.

I remember the Unofficial Guide describing visiting WDW as performing a ballroom dance -- once you know the steps inside-and-out, then you can enjoy the moment, without having to always be thinking about what to do next. Joining DVC has given us that familiarity, and I'm so looking forward to sharing that with my kids.

 

[GettinReadyforDisney]

I remember the Unofficial Guide describing visiting WDW as performing a ballroom dance -- once you know the steps inside-and-out, then you can enjoy the moment, without having to always be thinking about what to do next. Joining DVC has given us that familiarity, and I'm so looking forward to sharing that with my kids.

I LOVE this analogy. So true.

 

[18sprint]

No real regrets here at all. It has forced us to schedule and plan more vacations than we were used to, which has given us a whole new look on life. I would say that the only regret we can see is the high point cost of going to non-DVC hotels. DW and I really enjoy Port Orleans and Carribean beach resorts, but they simply aren't the best use of our points.

I would agree with many other posters on the board to at least visit the resorts and check them out. There is a lot of differences in the dining/gift shop areas that may have an influence on your decision.

One other thing...remember the maintenance fees. The more points you have, the higher the annual fee is..and it will go up.

 

[shonnons]

2 years ago we went on a 10 day vacation with my sister and brother-in-law who own BWV. I had said originally that there was no way I would spend the money for staying at a Disney resort when I could just Priceline a room. My brother-in-law insisted on using their point for a studio and booked the room for us despite my protest. We even split the stay at AKV, I have always thought AKV was amazing but would never spend the money.

They would not let us pay them for their points so I just bought their park tickets.

It was the most amazing vacation ever as I to realized

I don't want a house in Orlando! I want to "live" at Disney World!

I ran the numbers with a little help from this spreadsheet http://www.mousesavers.com/DVCvsCash2008.xls

I paid cash for 2 110pts AKV contracts from Disney for a total of 220pts. I would like to have more point but I will hold off until I have the cash to pay for it. For now I just thank/blame my brother-in-law for insisting I stay at Disney costing me $20,000. What is the correct for you in buying DVC only you can know but as for me I love it.

 

[mike9950]

No regrets at all.....

And I don't many will have them if they

1) Love Disney
2) Buy the resort they love (ideally one more longer life spans left)
3) Can pay cash (or pay off the loan in 6-12 months)

Seams like most of the people upset are having to leave DVC, and those who sometimes came across a negative CM. That might upset me too, but not enough to sell all my points!

 

[hugscot]

Only that I didn't buy them on the resale market.

 

[rcchello]

Biggest regret is reading some of the post on the Disboards.

Most are good discussions and helpful, but then there are the doom and gloomers - the contracts will be selling for $1 on ebay, you are stupid for using your points that way, etc.

I love my DVC and have had a great 15+ years. I enjoyed every good and stupid use of my points, Disneyland, DIsneyworld, Disney Cruise Line, Salzburg have all been great. I enjoyed treating family to rooms in Disneyworld.

 

[Dumbo_Husband]

None. Absolutely none. We love it! Best money I ever spent. We are new members, not even a year in. We stayed at BCV, SSR 2X. We first owned 200 SSR and then just recently purchased 200 BCV because we liked it so much and its convenience to Epcot and DHS.

I only regret I don't have enough money to buy 5,000 points.

You will love it.

 

[brrabit]

Honestly, my only regret is we didnt buy more points at BLT when we got ours at under $100 per point. Now id have to go resale at what the points are at.

ditto.

 

[Spikerdink]

My only regret was that when I first looked into buying DVC the Wilderness Villas were the home base... I waited too long and was uncertain... when I finally committed, Saratoga was the sale option.

I have stayed at SSR once - always transfer to any other resort rather than stay there....

So my regret is I wish I had bought Wilderness when I had the opportunity

 

[marx]

• I toured OKW when DVC was new and put a deposit on BWV (and cancelled) but did not commit untl 2007 when I purchased at AKV. My first mistake was not buying sooner.
• Instead of purchasing one 270 point AKV contract, I would have purchased a few more points (300) and split between AKV, BWV and HH (150/100/50).

 

[cdnsluvdisney]

My recommendation is that if you have a specific resort you are interested in, and would stay at the most, buy at that resort. The advantage is that you can book 11 months in advance, which can be a benefit if you want to go during a holiday season, ie. Christmas, Spring Break, etc. If you are interested in a particular resort, that doesn't happen to be the current resort for sale, ask the sales agent to check if there are any contracts that may be available for the resort you're interested in. If you are interested in the current promotion, then go for it!!

We went to a sales presentation 5 years ago at SSR, when they were selling off the final phases of SSR. My husband did a lot of research into DVC beforehand, finding alot of info from disboards, so he was well prepared. We were very interested in BWV (Boardwalk Villas) for the location, atmosphere, entertainment and close proximity to two parks. After the tour of SSR, we were ready to sit down with the agent to discuss our requirements, pricing, etc. The agent went through the point charts, costs, etc. for SSR and the new resort purchase incentives, however, my husband told her that we were really interested in BWV and asked if there was anything available for that resort, so the agent checked inventory and lucky for us there was a contract of almost 200 points available from a sale of a contract, so we bought them. Of course, there wasn't the incentives there is with buying at a new resort, but we were paying cash so didn't need to take advantage of the financing option deal they were offering. We absolutely love our "home" and wish we would have bought sooner!! We have since added on and go "home" twice a year. We have booked at other resorts with our points as well, but prefer our "home" best! We love being DVC Members We just bought points for Aulani and look forward to spending Spring Break there next year

 

[dumbo_buddy]

None. Absolutely none. We love it! Best money I ever spent. We are new members, not even a year in. We stayed at BCV, SSR 2X. We first owned 200 SSR and then just recently purchased 200 BCV because we liked it so much and its convenience to Epcot and DHS.

I only regret I don't have enough money to buy 5,000 points.

You will love it.

LOL! Amy, that's my hubby! 7 years ago he had NO desire to go to Disney. LOL!!

 

[EvilQueen4Real]

My son are grown and one had a 4 yr old son and a newborn. I just purchased last year and because my children are older wasn't a deal breaker for me. My boys grew up visiting every other year and no matter what there age will always go to WDW. Some trips we all go together, some just me and hubby or with our grandson. Either way we have a blast. Considering I'm already 50 I know I personally may only have about 20 or 30 more years ofus of Disney fun left in me. My sons and grand children will have a little something from Mommy that they know gave us so many memories. If I didn't become a DVC member I would still be going to WDW and cruising WDW. Ppl without young children still have a life and want to have Disney fun.

 

[ilikedvc]

No regrest. Best move we ever made!

 

[Diz'nsince71]

The only regret is that we didn't buy sooner. We've been going to WDW every year since it opened, many times two or three times a year. Don't know what took us so long!

 

[BBG-BLT]

We bought 300 points to start with and I wish we had broken it into 3 100 point units so we can pass it onto the kids. Now I'm having to 50 point myself to death.

I also wish we had given a reference - we had a bunch of friends who were members and without mentioning them they lost out on 200 Disney dollars

 

[Judique]

Regrets.....That I did not buy in 2000.

I bought in 2000. I regret I did not buy in 1996. I would not have had the money in 1992.

I spent over 3 years calculating whether it was a good deal and spending 10k a year in trips.

 

[BlackRock]

We have none; I have 4 contracts 910 points and it is the best thing I ever did. Granted the points have gone up a lot since we bought; you may want to look at some resales. the only thing I would suggest is to look as small packages. I have beem told that if you ever want to sell the contracts you can get more and they are easier to sell.

People always look to add to what they have.

Good Luck
Black Rock

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

This isn't really a regret...but we really should have thought more about the cost of tickets, foods, transportation, and souvenirs.

DVC makes our trips cheaper...but it doesn't make the trip free.

I wish I had realized how good the hotel discounts were with annual passes, but then again...we would have never sprung for our annual passes without the $100 discount for each person.

If you are interested in staying mostly in studios, you may consider purchasing fewer points. There is no law that says you have to purchase all of the points that you eventually want to have at one time.

Don't let people on the DIS make you think that you've got to 250+ points to be happy. We are very happy with 100 points. Yes, we've considered adding on, but we didn't and now that we've gone on numerous WDW trips...we are kind of glad that we don't have a large contract. You can always get points transferred into your account as well.