When do you have enough?

[Deb & Bill]

We are a family of three. Most of the time it is just us three. We used to have 500 points, but sold two of our five contracts. So now we have 325. The monthly dues were a pain in the butt. We were sending so much money to DVC each month, we could have taken a nice vacation with just that money alone.

We will probably sell off another contract sometime, but the economy isn't good for selling now.

 

[MayzDisney4]

We bought 70 points resale a few years ago. We would like to add a little more, but for now its just right. We can go a few years, then take one year and pay cash at a value, then stay again at DVC. We have used our points to stay in Disneyland in 2008 and will again in 2012. We go every year. We never need more than a studio. We are a family of 4 and we have learned in the past never to go and share a room with any of our family!

 

[cvjw]

Like PP said, the extras that come along with DVC can be very expensive. We own 695 points, which is about $3500 a year in dues. Add to that the cost of 4 annual passes, dining plans for our stays (3 weeks per year), additional tickets to other Orlando parks (the kids get bored with Disney only every trip), and the costs really add up. I think we have enough points.

 

[DisneySJB]

We have 160 points and, thankfully, have resisted the urge to add on. We have been able to stretch these points by staying in mostly Studios and the occasional 1BR. My plan is to eventually always stay in 1BR and with banking/borrowing take every 3rd year off from Disney. While I absolutely LOVE WDW, I have wonder lust and want to see other parts of the world. And, as you all know, RCI shouldn't be counted on for that. I'll stick to paying cash for a cruise or vaca from Costco when we venture outside of Florida.

 

[bwvBound]

Tiger926 -- Thanks for telling your story. Much appreciated perspective.

 

[bdkane]

I keep buying points! it becomes addictive. I have a friend who is now 48 and divorced, his yougest child being 16, he JUST bought 300 points , bringing his total to 800, when asked why would you buy MORE points at this time, he simply states- "Its my Happy place"... hey - when I need extra points - guess where im going

 

[uncw89]

We are a family of three. Most of the time it is just us three. We used to have 500 points, but sold two of our five contracts. So now we have 325. The monthly dues were a pain in the butt. We were sending so much money to DVC each month, we could have taken a nice vacation with just that money alone.

We will probably sell off another contract sometime, but the economy isn't good for selling now.

We too are a family of 3. We only have 150 points and stay in studio's to maximize our points. I would like to add on 50-150 points someday so we can stay in a 1 or 2 bedroom, but for now I will just have to be satisfied with what I have. I hear once you stay in a 1 bedroom, it's hard to go back to a studio. That's one reason I haven't booked us in one!
Since they've reallocated the points it's made it harder to stay the same amount of nights that we used to stay. I've had to learn how to juggle my points.

 

[nunzia]

How many of u take extended family and friends more often than not on your points?

This is actually why we bought. We'd become spoiled and only wanted to stay at the Grand Californian in DLR. Our 'real' life is very frugal and our Disney life is a splurge. We have 3 grown kids and 8 grandkids (with the 9th on the way) ranging in age from 10-1. We wanted to be able to treat our kids and their families to the room portion of Disney trips. We've also taken extended family as a treat and are taking friends next year.Yes, we've shelled out alot of money but our total DVC purchase price has cost less than a mid range car. Our annual fees come to $900 a year which is about a normal Grand Californian hotel room stay. Next year we will use our points for 16 total nights. We started small at VGC with 125 points and have since added on to 225 and that works fine (quite alot of borrowing going on). At some point we may want to sell some points and since our points include 4 small contracts this shouldn't be too difficult. We truly feel the memories are priceless, and DVC has helped us get alot of them.

 

[Tiger926]

Tiger926 -- Thanks for telling your story. Much appreciated perspective.

Thanks. I didn't want to derail the thread, but I am very sensitive to this subject. Last week hubby asked to add-on, and as usual I said no, and once I updated the spreadsheet, I realized that DVC has cost us way more than if we had just continued to stay in moderates over the years. Disney is great in marketing the small chunks that DVC costs, which may give a false sense of savings, when in fact, the money needed to maintain a DVC contract is very high.

Have we had great vacations? Sure! But we could have had them without DVC, and in the process, kept way more money in our bank account, and that is why I highly encourage everyone to really and truly count all spending as DVC members, so you can see exactly what your trips are costing. I am a teacher, so I can only go during peak seasons, so this is a factor as well. This way you can make an informed decision, instead of an emotional one, as over time, the cumulative financial committment to DVC is staggering, and with continous add-ons, it just gets worse, IMHO.

I wish everyone wonderful Disney trips, Tiger

 

[bz8bls]

Understand the OP's point of view. However, before we made our purchase 7 years ago, we understood the cost of DVC (i.e. transportation, dues, park tickets).

We bought the points so that we could create memories with our DGC (3 of them). We took our DDs every year before the DVC and wanted to create those memories with DGC. We have enough points for an annual stay in a 1 bedroom.

To save money, we never buy the DDP, we take advantage of the kitchen. Also, we didn't go this year because DH and I took a seven day cruise on the Oasis of the Seas. However, next year we have rented our points to go on the Disney Dream and a pre-trip at WDW.

Will we add on? Nope. If we are short a few points we will just look to have points transfer if we need them...so in short, I plan our points very carefully. We've had several trips at Xmas and summer.

 

[RLRDA]

We are a family of 5 and have 225 points in total (150 SSR plus 75 AKV add-on). That is plenty of points for us and we have no intention of adding any more at this time. We only take one trip to WDW each year (in a 1BR)....we usually get a 2BR and invite family every other trip - which usually ends up being a shorter trip (5 nights). Some trips other family/friends have joined us but fortunately they have their own DVC that doesn't affect our point usage since they book their own villas.

 

[Miss SD]

I also wanted to thank Tiger for writing exactly what DVC cost her in cold, hard cash. I don't think I've ever seen it laid out so dispassionately before.

 

[LSchrow]

tiger offered a great perspective on the cons of DVC (yes, there are absolutely are some, but we don't often see them listed here).

the gist of all the advise is to not let your emotions rule in any large purchase, especially difficult when it involves wonderful memories with your family.

with each purchase (3 totalling 400 points, starting in 1999) i figured out our price per point including dues, over the course of ownership. then i compared the cost of a trip using points vs non-dvc cash. our 10-12 days 2x a year (studio), plus a 2-bdrm every other year costs us significantly less than a moderate (we have no desire to stay in a value). in addition, we can sell our contracts for quite a bit more than we paid, in effect making DVC a huge value for us.
BUT we bought all 3 contracts (BWV, BCV, and SSR) a few years ago, with CM discount. only resale could come close to what we paid, and that is with quite a few less years than we bought ours with.

we would only add on now if we found a small BWV contract to add to our original, and give us more points at the 11 month mark. we would probably sell off our BCV contract at the same time though....

imho, enough points is before DVC becomes a financial hardship, or you find yourself renting or banking points because you really don't use them.

 

[Kuzco]

My dream scenario would be to have enough points each year to stay in a one bedroom for a week as well as two long-weekend trips, either in a studio or one bedroom. Maybe someday.

 

[arthur06]

I think that Tiger does make a very good point as to some of the cost in addition to the actual cost of DVC. However, being that Tiger is from Canada is complicating her issue more severely then what it might be had she lived in the states.

We only own a small amount of points 30 at BWV and 125 at BLT. I am finding that the 30 at BWV don't do us alot of good and am looking at selling those sometime in the future. I found a nice 125 point AKL contract thru resale. We have a THV trip planned in December and if we like it there I might look for a 100-150 point add on there.

I think for our lifestyle and financial situation that if we had 125 at BLT, 125 at AKL, and 100 at SSR we would have enough for quite a while.

We also live in Iowa, so our cost of living is rather low. I have a company car that is zero maintenance, zero cost! We also make sure to effectively use frequent flier programs and scavenger for great airfare!

While I would love to have my mortgage paid off/paid down, I know that if I did, my wife would just want a newer, bigger, fancier one!

 

[BeesKnees]

In a nutshell we are all different. Not only do we have different financial situations we have different ideas of what makes a good vacation. Personally, we can afford more but have no interest in doing so. The 300 points we purchased 10 years ago have served us well. We take family about every other year and we have gotten as much mileage from our points as we could ever want.

In 10 years we have changed quite a bit. Our jobs are more stressful and we deal with crowds with less patience. It may not happen to everyone but it is hard to predict what future you may want or need. Disney keeps changing too, and not all for the best, so before people add on they better really think it through. Of course, I say that to new buyers too. I tell them to think of all the reasons they shouldn't buy and if the reasons they should outnumber then think about it.

 

[tomandrobin]

We are members of the 1000 point club. We own at four resorts and have 1420 DVC points now. We go 4-7 times a year, most are just 3-4 day trips. We tend to travel at Peak times, over holidays....including New Years Eve. We rent out our excess points to cover maintenance fees. Before DVC, we had to rent two rooms for the five of us. Now we can get a two bedroom unit and get all that extra space not found with connecting rooms.

 

[Sammie]

You have enough when you begin to regret "having" to go to Disney.

Never buy thinking, that when you tire of going to Disney World you can visit all those hundreds of places your agent will sell you on. It is not that easy. Using DVC for anything other than a DVC resort is definitely not a good financial decision.

The thing to consider and many others have mentioned this before, going to Disney World and just using your timeshare is no fun.

Paying for DVC is only a small portion of what you will spend. Cost to get there, tickets and food are really expensive and as Tiger said when you begin to add up what you spend being a member it can be huge amount of money.

For 80% of the years we have had our DVC I felt it was worth the initial cost and dues. But now dues are higher and I see less quality in the purchase. Rooms are not as clean, nor as well maintained.

Disney parks does not do as good a job of keeping things clean and maintained. We experienced numerous breakdowns during our October trip. In early years of our going we would hear of people getting stuck on a ride or a ride being down, and we would go "gee that never happens to us". In the last 4 trips we have experienced several rides broke down and have gotten stuck way too many times for comfort.

I was majorly disappointed in the reduction in Christmas decorations last Dec. compared to previous years and disappointed in the lack of Disney caring if some guests attend MNSSHP without purchasing a ticket. My enjoyment of my DVC purchase is greatly tied to how much I enjoy the parks. Sadly going to Orlando and just staying in my condo is not very much fun. I just don't feel the cost to enjoy DVC at Disney World is giving me as much return on the investment.

I am glad we got the years out of our purchase we did, if I was looking at it now, I would definitely not buy.

The only points I have never regretted owning are the ones at Hilton Head Island. I could honestly go there and never leave the resort and be very happy. Same with Vero Beach.

If the rumors are true that DVC is going to change the benefits and perks for those that buy resale, we will all be stuck with those points we wish we could sell.

 

[toniosmom]

I started with 160 points and quickly caught the addonitis bug. I now have 420 points -- a bit more than I need on an annual basis. For two years, I have extended family trips planned, but I think after those are done, I will be selling one or two of my smaller contracts. The dues are killing me! Hopefully, with the direct prices going up, the resale market will improve by then.

 

[jekjones1558]

I am definitely an emotional buyer. DH and I began with 220 points and after numerous add-ons we have 1150 points. The monthly dues are over $500. We are debt free, not even a mortgage, so we can afford DVC, but that is only because we live in a basic house and are frugal in other areas.
We are retired, so we can travel when we wish. One thing we did not consider is health issues. For a few years we were not able to use all of our points because of various health issues. DH said we should sell but I became physically sick thinking about it (told you I am emotional about DVC). Instead we rented out points for a couple of years--something I never thought we would do. Now we will be borrowing because we are doing a big family trip that will use 1200 points. We often treat others to rooms when we travel. I don't think any of them has any idea what our "treat" really costs, if you consider dues and some initial buy-in costs.
For us it has been absolutely worth it. We do have the additional costs that others mentioned (airfare, rental car, ECV rental, annual passes, food, Owner's Locker) but because we have no debt it is not a problem.
This thread is a good one for new buyers to read because every family's finances and priorities are different.