What sealed the deal for you?

[nboicepardee]

My husband and I went every year. We first looked at DVC in 2001 and decided it wasn't the right time. We went in January/early February with our 22 month old and, while we had an amazing time, we were frustrated by having to go to bed so early and whisper while she fell asleep. We realized that we wanted better vacation accomodations for our growing family. We will probably end up spending more money for accomodations, however, the quality of the time we spend in them will be so much better. I am such a great bargain shopper that I have never paid more than $109 per night to stay at Disney (and that was for Animal Kingdom Lodge, savannah view!), but I still feel that it is a great investment for our family. I am sure it will end up costing us less in the very long run. The extra 12 years at SSR also helped me make my decision. I want to vacation at Disney into my 80's if I am lucky enough to be around then. I am such a kid at heart!
Good luck with your decision.

 

[bwvBound]

What "sealed it" for us ... was waiting until we had a far better knowledge of ourselves and our vacation habits ... then when we had first toured.

Our first brush with DVC, in 1998, was surrounded by a whole bundle of "firsts." Married only 2 years this was our first true vacation together since the honeymoon; it was our first ever cruise; and our first introduction to timeshare as we stayed in a BWV Studio unit as part of Disney's "land/sea" package.

We took the tour. It was attractive, low pressure, and made sense -- but we were far from "sold." Our biggest obstacle was not knowing if we would be interested in returning to Orlando every year.

While not yet hooked on DVC -- we were very hooked on travel and placed it high on our priority list. Since our first cruise had gone well ... we added a Holy Lands cruise in '99, Iberian Treasures and Panama Canal in '00, Antarctica and Transatlantic in '01 ... etc. (I made out like a bandit buying cruises from the former Egghead Auction website. It was good while it lasted!!)

In the summer of 2000 we returned to the idea of timeshare. Knowing that we enjoyed different experiences ... we looked for a club with many locations, a flexible plan, and an excellent reputation. We reconsidered DVC - but found it had too few locations, all of which were too far from San Diego. Instead we made our initial purchase that summer in a Club offering ~30 properties located mostly along the West Coast. It was an excellent decision for us at that time. (Proven by a string of many wonderful vacations.)

Shortly after buying our first membership ... I joined TUG and began reading up on timeshare travel with as much intensity as I had once put into usenets on cruising. Hooked again! Not only did I learn the "ins and outs" of vacation ownership -- I also saw how different ownership programs met different needs. I learned that "points" and "weeks" may compliment one another; that some programs offered day use, bonus time, and other special features; and that trading can be exciting.

We jumped in with both feet ... we both bought and sold a few products with different features ... until we created a mix of products that met our travel and living style.

But I digress -- where does this story come back around to DVC?

Oh, right. We eventually learned that we do visit Orlando each and every year. However, at that point our employer was paying for our annual stay at the Yacht Club for a work-related conference. We kept an eye on DVC -- but why buy if we can expense our visit?

Then it happened. A big monster company bought our employer. New employer still sends us to the conference (grudgingly) ... but won't pay for an "on campus" hotel. We faced the dreaded "conference shuttle" to outlying locations. (The shuttle itself isn't a big deal -- except that it causes you to lose about 3-5 hours of "on campus" conference activity each day.)

That is what did it for us. It was time to immediately buy into DVC. We knew we enjoyed and were successful with timeshare vacations; we knew we needed to return to Orlando each year; we knew that we'd enjoy visiting Vero and Hilton Head if the conference should ever be discontinued; and we were comfortable with Disney's reputation and quality. Problem solved.

 

[rantnnravin]

We were on the fence for about 3 years before finally buying. I spent about a half hour on the phone with our guide (Jenna Mazza-Cornell), very low-pressure, and over the few years, she sent us new marketing materials every few months--
In the past 2 years, we've made 3 trips and stayed in All-Star Movies, and POP 2x. (The first trip was 15 days for us and an additional 7 that we paid for my ILs)- We'd have had DVC 1/2 paid for already! But, we were content with the values and couldn't imagine "needing" Deluxe accomodations--we were at the parks most of the time anyway, right?
Well, DH and DD arrived 4 days before me this past trip, so he decided to take a tour of SSR--he called me so excited and that i had to take the tour when i got down there, and what did i think? should we buy it? can we afford it? When i arrived, he was still stoked and insisted i take the tour.
He made another appointment and we met our guide who walked us through and I was ruined for the values once i saw the 1-bedroom. DH was already sold at this point and we signed the papers that afternoon. (We also got Q&C vouchers, and FP cards)
what did it for us:
*upgrade in accomodations
*inflation proof
*banking/borrowing
*points flexibility
*Disney vacations for many years to come
*ability to take different vacations using points exchange
*tax write-off for property taxes
*tax write off for interest on loan
fiscally, the write-off's put DH over the fence
after the presentation, we couldn't help but notice the convenient locations of all the DVC resort bus stops--another plus
can't wait for our first trip home

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

What did it for us was all the DVC excitement by all of you on these boards.

Where never is heard a discouraging word....

 

[Machta]

We'd been thinking of buying a timeshare for a long time, but since we're in real estate we know the dreadful truth about most timeshares and their hideous depreciation from the get-go. We had saved enough money for a new car, but couldn't find anything we really liked enough to spend THAT MUCH money on. Once we realized that cars all depreciate, while DVC appreciates (plus you get to use it!), the old van didn't look so bad!

 

[CHOPR]

WHAT SEALED IT FOR US?
I said to my wife just look at our history WDW in '91,'97,'99,'00,'02,'03,'04,'05 . Is there a pattern here? What are we waiting for? My only regret is why did we not do this sooner?

 

[cristbaby]

WHAT SEALED IT FOR US?
I said to my wife just look at our history WDW in '91,'97,'99,'00,'02,'03,'04,'05 . Is there a pattern here? What are we waiting for? My only regret is why did we not do this sooner?

I'm right there with you. There was a pattern and DVC was the cheaper way to go. As for the "if", knowing that we could sell it for almost the same as we paid helped us over that hump.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We took our first trip in '97 and stayed at the Polynesian. We brought our two nieces and we spent a bundle. We did it all. We knew we would want to go again, but just couldn't see spending another $5K for a week's vacation. We thought it would be years before we could go again. Then my TV-holic husband starts watching the DVC channel and he set up an appointment for us to go over to OKW to talk to them. The three kids got to play, color and watch movies while we talked. It made so much sense. Now about 17 trips later, we still love it. We've taken my husband's parents, my mother, two more nieces, my husband's sister, his brother's family (all five of them). We have had some great trips and made some wonderful memories.

 

[RealMickey]

What sealed the deal for us?

1) Forced vacations. (I'm cheap and always think we cannot afford a real vacation)
2) Flexibility (in location, time of year, room size)
3) Ability to share with family and friends
4) We love Disney

Oh, that's right you only asked for the one reason.

 

[Greg K.]

Sitting down and adding up all the money we had spent already on Disney vacations, over several years -- and realizing, gulp, we could be OWNING some of that now.

That -- and bumping into people on vacation at WDW who had already bought into to DVC. We kept hearing the same thing, again and again: "Love it. Only wish we had done it sooner!"

Yep. Now I know exactly what they meant. Because I'm saying the same thing.

 

[cutedisney]

We had actually signed all the papers last Sunday and were convinced it was a great deal. When we got home and punched up some numbers what they tell you at the presentation are very deceiving.
It's great that the points at the DVC's dont go up but its pretty definite that
the maintenance will. We did the calculations and by 2054 the maintenance will go up gradually to $15/point. And let's just say you have the min of 150 thats
2250 just on maintenance. For us it just didnt add up to being an advantage. So we're calling them on Monday to cancel before our 15 days are up.. Sorrry

 

[MaryAnnBaum]

In 2054 the maintenance fee may be at $15 but everything else will be up too. This is because of inflation which generally runs 3 to 4% every year. You need to assume that your income also keeps up with this inflation which in most cases it usually does. The cost of taking vacations which today may be $575 in
50 years will probably be $2200 because of inflation. I see it as all relative. You can't compare 2054 maintenance fees to 2005 dollars.

 

[rchristiansen]

In 2054 the maintenance fee may be at $15 but everything else will be up too. This is because of inflation which generally runs 3 to 4% every year. You need to assume that your income also keeps up with this inflation which in most cases it usually does. The cost of taking vacations which today may be $575 in
50 years will probably be $2200 because of inflation. I see it as all relative. You can't compare 2054 maintenance fees to 2005 dollars.

I was just thinking the same thing. I remember 20 years ago when my parents took us to the Poly for one night and it was $100/night. To them that was A TON! Now $100 a night for the Poly would be a BARGAIN!!! In 2054 you probably will only get a Starbucks coffee will probably cost $15!!!. Think about how much stuff cost 50 years ago - a burger was 15 cents....now it's $3.00! It's all relative. Don't cancel your contract becuase maint will be more in 50 years.

 

[jkovick]

For us it was our vacation history----8 trips to WDW in 4 years. The money spent on those trips would have more than covered our entire contract!!

 

[harleyquinn]

Bumping!

A few of us have been asking about this stuff, and I think there is some great info on here!! And even someone who had a negative point of view, which I barely ever see!