What was your DVC tipping point?

[Fargoman2]

We are seemingly ready to finally take the DVC plunge. Excited, but very nervous. I'm wondering two things, actually.

One, what was YOUR DVC tipping point--why did you ultimately decide to join?

Two, I started scanning these posts and started becoming intimidated by all the timeshare terminology--"developer" points, etc.? Half the posts I'm not even sure what people are talking about. So, my question, Will this all make sense soon? Or is this like joining some ultra advanced form of fantasy football where you have to know so much about everything just to compete? I don't want this whole thing to become so complicated that it becomes "work."

 

[DVC Mike]

One, what was YOUR DVC tipping point--why did you ultimately decide to join?

When I realized that DVC would allow me to return year after year to WDW without spending the Deluxe rates I was spending, and which would keep on going up and up.

Two, Will this all make sense soon? Or is this like joining some ultra advanced form of fantasy football where you have to know so much about everything just to compete? I don't want this whole thing to become so complicated that it becomes "work."

Actually, the basic program itself isn't that complicated. If you do have any questions, there are a lot of folks here who would be glad to help answer them.

 

[disneyistheone]

I understand your frustration. I have been following DVC threads off and on for about three years. What finally pushed me over the edge was going to a DVC tour at SSR but I knew before I went that I was probably going to buy and then found out that they make it soooo easy. It all just makes so much sense and especially since I retired from my primary job this year and joined my DW in our bricks and mortar travel agency business. We decided that in order to become more familiar with the various parks and properties that we would have to make multiple WDW trips each year. DVC makes sense for this plus the fact that our grandchildren are now at the age that they want to go to WDW.
As far as the jargon that you encounter, keep staying tuned to this forum; that's how I learned a lot.There are lists of abbreviations used in the forums found on the very top permanent threads
By the way, developer points are just points that are currently being given to new members who buy through Disney. They are limited to use at SSR currently and expire after one year. They technically belong to the company behind the Disney Vacation Club which I think may be called the Disney Vacation Development Company.

 

[edk35]

My husband calls it the DISNEY CULT!!!!! WE LOVE DVC THOUGH.....best move we ever made. Almost did it back in 1993 and wished we had.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Our tipping point was when we realized we were spending $5000 a trip, and that just one trip would make a good dent in a membership. Of course, that was back when points were about $61, so we were able to pay cash for our original 230 points. I think if I were making the decision now, I'd probably have to think a bit on it and plan a bit more for it.

 

[edk35]

Our tipping point was when we realized we were spending $5000 a trip, and that just one trip would make a good dent in a membership. Of course, that was back when points were about $61, so we were able to pay cash for our original 230 points. I think if I were making the decision now, I'd probably have to think a bit on it and plan a bit more for it.

You know....we feel the same...we almost bought in back in 92 and wished we had gone through with it. WE SURE HAVE SPENT A LOT between now and then on accomodations.

 

[ITGirl50]

Us too...we've been going twice a year since 2000. After 9/11 deluxe hotel rooms were cheap and we didn't think about owning DVC. Then prices started going up, so we started renting from DVC members and REALLY liked the one bedroom. Then we thought "why just throw away money on renting a room from Disney or a DVC owner? Just put that money into owning ourselves." We also really like AKV. We probably would have bought two years earlier, but didn't really like SSR because we really like staying at the deluxe resorts.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

You know....we feel the same...we almost bought in back in 92 and wished we had gone through with it. WE SURE HAVE SPENT A LOT between now and then on accomodations.

Ditto. Just got sick of throwing money to the wind year after year. At least I'm throwing it into something I can enjoy, and sell if I decide to down the road without taking too big of a hit. There's no crystal ball, and I would never buy banking on it, but historically, things have been pretty good in the resale market for DVC.

Wishing you the best on your upcoming purchase, and here's an early HOME!!!

 

[vandy]

I agree with being tired of throwing money away. This was reason #1. We stayed offsite before DVC and really wanted to stay onsite and get those advantages. When we planned a vacation staying at a moderate, the cost of needing two rooms for six people hit me hard. Even staying at a value resort with two rooms wasn't that much cheaper than what the yearly cost for DVC in a 2 BR villa was. Next, having a kitchen saves us from eating out for breakfast and at least lunch or dinner per day. So for us, money actually was a deciding factor. We had better rooms for about the same money, we save money on food plus who knows what the regular resort room rates will be after a few years. It only made sense. Reason #2 is that this forces us to take a vacation every year which we had not done before.

 

[bangzoom6877]

DH and I decided we will buy a resale at BWV in 6 to 8 months from now.

What was our tipping point? The fact that we want to go every other year for 10 nights with our kids as they grow older. Our kids are 3 and 1. We want to stay deluxe. In fact, we would ONLY stay deluxe. (Stayed Value last month and we did like it, but we want bigger beds!!). Deluxe for 10 nights? Roughly looking at $4,000 in today's money!! TODAY's money! Imagine in 10 years from now when my kids are 11 and 13 and we are STILL enjoying Disney trips for 10 nights in a one-bedroom!! How much will a deluxe resort cost then?

Anyway, that was the decising factor for us. Basically locking in today's price for tomorrow's vacations!

 

[KKKKCS]

We just returned from our very first cruise ever and had a simply magical time. It was our first family vacation in 7 years. We attended the DVC presentation on the ship and realized that for the cost of 2.5 cruises for our family of 5 we can vacation every year for the next 50 years. Plus they gave us some pretty great incentives to join while on board the ship. It was just too good a deal to pass up

 

[photobob]

We were staying at a moderate after three previous Yacht Club stays and went and visited friends staying in a one bedroom villa at VWL. We went a met with the DVC people on the day we left and the rest is history.

The developer points you are reading about is simply a sales incentive. If you buy they throw in some extra points for you to use for a vacation within a certain period.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Ours was a $7,000.00 bill for two rooms at the Poly. Next trip was to the VWL and we used what we would have paid as a down payment.

HBC

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We came really close when we took the sales tour at BWV in 2002. However, DVC would not sell sub-150 pt. contracts.

We were sold when we found smaller resale contracts available from reputable sellers on the internet.

We our 100 pt. contract.

Without the resale boards, DH and I would have definitely bought into the 100 pt. deals at AKV.

 

[mmmagic7754]

Almost bought 5 yrs ago but didn't really understand how it worked.Rented points last yr from a friend who explained it to us and then we took the plunge.They offerd double developer pts and we purchased about a month before we had to bank. We purchased 200 pts at AKV but ended up with 600 that had to be used within a year. Took a cruise and have stayed at 3 resorts and have 3 more trips booked If you add all we have done and are gonna do we have 3/4 of our investment already.Plus we have trips for the next 50 yrs Years ago you could find codes to discount rooms but no more.

 

[Disney_Daddy]

My tipping point was a holiday stay at the WL. We had my wife and I in one bed and our two kids (5 and 7 at the time) on bunk beds. Our baby was in a pack & play. The room was very cramped and we were ready to go home after a few nights.

A friend owned DVC and when he told me about the size of the rooms, I was sold.

We now stay in two bedroom units and absolutely love the space. So the comfort factor was definitely our tipping point!

 

[twinklebug]

I was sold on DVC from the moment we first stepped foot into a BWV studio we rented through the Disboards here. "We got this for what price?!"

To actually take the plunge, however, required divorce. Been there, done that, got the T shirt - now I'm ready to sign. Just waiting for the perfect moment financially & incentive wise -or- for exactly what I'd love to find show up in resale.

 

[kellybus]

Our was that we were blowing all of the money we were using to stay at Deluxe resorts when we went to WDW. We have a Family trip scheduled for May 2009 with DD,DW + DS & DW & DD + DD, DH, TWIN DS. I figured the price for the room was 1/3 to 1/2 of DVC and decided to take the plunge. Now we can go several times for short trips or once a year for big trips. It just made sense to join DVC and put the money into ownership and get bigger rooms for a smaller price. Besides when I'm dead and gone (I hope not soon) the kids can have DVC for their use.

 

[Granny]

One, what was YOUR DVC tipping point--why did you ultimately decide to join?

They built a DVC resort at Wilderness Lodge. Honestly, if they hadn't I'm not sure I would have ever looked into this "Disney timeshare" thing.



As for complicated...well, yes it is a bit complicated. Most of the complication is due to the flexibility of the ownership, so that's a good thing. Borrowing and banking needs to be thoroughly understood. Penalties for late cancellations needs to be understood as well.

Also the importance of early planning is something not all owners look into. If you like to book a lot of last-minute trips, then DVC might not be for you.

But with the complication comes flexibility and very nice accommodations for a reasonable price on-site at WDW. If you have questions, come to this board and you'll get a lot of good answers from seasoned DVC owners.

Good luck!

 

[Disney Spaz]

Our tipping point was when I added up what we had spent this past year on room only to visit WDW three times. We had always stayed on a discount, eithter AAA or AP, and stayed anywhere from ASMu to GF. The totally this year alone was $5000. That was 1/4 of what my buy in cost was for 50 years of vacations and DH and I would get atleast a queen bed which makes a huge difference for us as DD, 2 often ends up sleeping in the bed with us at some point in the night. I have to say we were hard pressed to fit all three of us n a double bed this past Easter.