When do you have enough?

[honeymo78]

We just did another add on and now have 800pts. Yes its a lot for just DH and I - we don't have children yet - to use in a year. However, at least one trip a year and most of the time 2 trips, we take my mom and brother. As my brother gets older and perhaps finds a significant other, we will need larger accommodations. We also try to take my in-laws every once in a while (they aren't interested in going very often). We discovered that we like to cruise and used points on our first cruise, however we will now pay cash and rent the points we won't be using to pay for the cruise. 3 trips a year in a 1br or larger eats up points pretty fast. I am overjoyed that I was able to take my mom to Disneyland and will be taking her again for mother's day. Using points for the hotels or VGC isn't cheap. We also plan on having children and will likely end up with more points at some point.

For now, I think we have found the magic number where we won't be constantly borrowing to fit in our trips.

All of our adding on really hasn't created much of a change in what we spend on vacation. Actually I think we have cut back on spending, not necessarily purposefully, because of the way our vacationing style has changed due to knowing we will be back again in just a few months.

Before DVC we either went for one big trip a year, averaging close to $8000 for two of us or two trips closing in on $10,000 total (neither figures included airfare). We now go 2-3 times a year and also have started driving. When my mom and brother join us, we basically only had to pay airfare. For their share of the lodging, they pick up the tab on most meals.

 

[disneynutz]

We spend more time away from the parks and only visit them when we want, not because we have to. We check the crowed calendars and pick and choose the least busiest times.

We enjoy the resorts, DTD and having quality time as a family without rushing to make a ADR or rope drop.

Bill

 

[tomandrobin]

The more you go though, the more in associated costs you are spending, so your cumulative costs can be quite high. By the end of the contract, your costs to own DVC will be much higher. Each 'extra' trip from adding on, becomes more in transportation costs, food costs, and any other costs associated with being a DVC member.

At first glance, what you say seems reasonable. However, we live within driving distance of five major airports with extremely reasonable airfare to Orlando. Also, if we did not go to Disney for 3-4 days, we certainly we be going someplace else. We use to go to B&b's for those getaways, now its Disney. So, for us we really are not spending more, but definitely less overall.

 

[mikron]

Just wondering about when people with smaller families feel they have enough points? I read a lot about Dvc members with addonitis and 1000 point members. Do you really easily use 1000 points? How painful is that dues bill? We just have 200 points and it feels adequate, but we are just planning one or two weeks a year. What do you do with so many points? Just curious. Thanks!

Try 2 weeks in a villa with 200 points. We are self employed and can stay for long vacations.

 

[Sammie]

I guess my point is and not sure I am doing a good job of stating it, except to Tiger926, is I love the resorts but I would have never bought DVC in Orlando if the parks were not going to be a very significant part of our visits. I would have bought a timeshare in the mountains or the beach.

I can go to mountains or the beach year after year and never get tired of sitting at the condo enjoying the view. I don't feel that way about the DVC resorts and if some of you do then certainly the changes and declines I see at the parks will not affect your enjoyment of DVC. For me sadly it does.

I am thrilled we have DVC at Hilton Head though for truely I can go there for years and years and never tire of the resort.

If our enjoyment of the parks continues to decline I see us selling those points or renting them. If we want to go somewhere to enjoy family time, quiet time, good restaurants, it would not be Disney World.

We don't do rope drop and we certainly don't stay all day but years of visiting DVC without visiting the parks has no value to us. To us they are one and the same.

Which my point to the OP is, make sure you really enjoy being at DVC because your options for anything else will not be what you are told it is.

 

[Tiger926]

I guess my point is and not sure I am doing a good job of stating it, except to Tiger926, is I love the resorts but I would have never bought DVC in Orlando if the parks were not going to be a very significant part of our visits. I would have bought a timeshare in the mountains or the beach.

I can go to mountains or the beach year after year and never get tired of sitting at the condo enjoying the view. I don't feel that way about the DVC resorts and if some of you do then certainly the changes and declines I see at the parks will not affect your enjoyment of DVC. For me sadly it does.

I am thrilled we have DVC at Hilton Head though for truely I can go there for years and years and never tire of the resort.

If our enjoyment of the parks continues to decline I see us selling those points or renting them. If we want to go somewhere to enjoy family time, quiet time, good restaurants, it would not be Disney World.

We don't do rope drop and we certainly don't stay all day but years of visiting DVC without visiting the parks has no value to us. To us they are one and the same.

Which my point to the OP is, make sure you really enjoy being at DVC because your options for anything else will not be what you are told it is.

I think we might share the same brain.

Tiger

 

[Deb & Bill]

I think we might share the same brain.

Tiger

Can I get in on that brain, too? I was just thinking this morning how much I love Yellowstone and Glacier and would rather be there than Disney. With our son heading to college in Missoula, it makes Yellowstone and Glacier much easier to get to for us. With no DVC in that location I wouldn't have a need for those points anymore.

 

[Reaseyann]

I was wondering the same thing. I saw a few guys with hundreds of points to rent several times a year. It made me ask why they had so many points in the first place. We are a family of 5 and don't need even a quarter of those points.

 

[Tiger926]

Can I get in on that brain, too? I was just thinking this morning how much I love Yellowstone and Glacier and would rather be there than Disney. With our son heading to college in Missoula, it makes Yellowstone and Glacier much easier to get to for us. With no DVC in that location I wouldn't have a need for those points anymore.

I do need to clarify that we still love going to Disney World. We regret spending so much on DVC at this point in our lives, but we have had amazing family vacations together. We bought DVC for the parks, and can't imagine staying there without visiting the parks! We have been doing too much the past few years though (that's why we added on), so we are slowing things down in order to enjoy more family time together, instead of rushing to ADRs, or, waiting in long lines.

We are going to commit to enjoying the resorts a bit more, and eating most of our meals in our villa. We slowed down quite a bit after becoming DVC members, in terms of how we tour the parks, so now, we are working on how we eat at Disney, and relaxing a bit more at the resorts. Hubby and I have talked about it extensively over the past few weeks, and it really is an important place to us (that is why we purchased DVC in the first place), so we are working on slowing down to enjoy each other a bit more while at Disney. This is why I caution people when adding on, as for us, it brought busier vacations and more money spent, when we didn't need to spend it at that time. We just needed to rework our vacations a bit!

Tiger

 

[KPOP]

I had 200 points and just bought a cheap resale for another 270. I'm done after this -
I wanted to be able to go on a cruise every other year (in addition to my regular Disney stays) - and when I retired, I wanted to be able to stay in a studio for the month of January. Mission accomplished.

 

[tomandrobin]

I was wondering the same thing. I saw a few guys with hundreds of points to rent several times a year. It made me ask why they had so many points in the first place. We are a family of 5 and don't need even a quarter of those points.

We have all those points so we can book what we want, when we want it and where we want it.....any time of the year.

We also are in it for the Long Haul....not 5-8 years, but till they commit us to the old age home. We have visions of spoiling grand children and large family vacations.....all our treat. Plus in 10-15 years, I hope to be semi-retired and can spend 3-5 week vacations.

 

[Tink6666]

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

Just curious if you have tried to rent out your points to get some of the cost back? Also it looks like you have stayed in non DVC resorts since you have owned...did that add to your $71,000??? If so, why not try to cut those out and just stay within your DVC points?

We have only been owners since 2008 and purchased 200 points on the resale market. Right now that is enough, but I would love to be able to add on so I have the ability to let my teenage daughters bring friends and so we could manage a couple different trips each year. But with 2 teenage daughters, college is right around the corner and we need to help with that versus adding on to DVC. We may have to just start going every other year...no big deal in the scheme of things. Maybe we will add on once we have married children and grand kids!!!

Good luck with all your decisions!

 

[Tiger926]

Just curious if you have tried to rent out your points to get some of the cost back? Also it looks like you have stayed in non DVC resorts since you have owned...did that add to your $71,000??? If so, why not try to cut those out and just stay within your DVC points?

We have only been owners since 2008 and purchased 200 points on the resale market. Right now that is enough, but I would love to be able to add on so I have the ability to let my teenage daughters bring friends and so we could manage a couple different trips each year. But with 2 teenage daughters, college is right around the corner and we need to help with that versus adding on to DVC. We may have to just start going every other year...no big deal in the scheme of things. Maybe we will add on once we have married children and grand kids!!!

Good luck with all your decisions!

I would never rent out points...too much risk involved.

We have stayed in non-DVC resorts as we had extra Developer Points to use with our AKV add-on, so we could only stay at non-DVC resorts, or risk losing those points.

As I said, the $71,000 is the initial buy-in, add ons, yearly dues, plus all costs of vacations (tickets, food and transportation).

Thanks, Tiger

 

[lisaviolet]

I am thrilled we have DVC at Hilton Head though for truely I can go there for years and years and never tire of the resort.

We don't do rope drop and we certainly don't stay all day but years of visiting DVC without visiting the parks has no value to us.

on HH. Some days I imagine sitting on those balconies just listening to those trees. Magic.

And I too love outside Disney vacations and take them on a regular basis. NYC - ADORE . Williamsburg - love. Too many loves to list. And I would hate for the money I put into DVC to get in the way of these trips. I would hate that and wouldn't allow that to happen.

As for the second - every single year I would buy an AP. Every single year but I can't see - for my financial situation and way of thinking - budgeting that. Unfortunately.

I think one of my issues is - that with the MYW passes my brain has a really big issue with using a day and doing the parks the way I want to. Staying most of the day if I want BUT only go in for a couple of hours if that is what works for me that day. I can't seem to get over using a day if only for a couple of hours. I wish that wasn't my way of thinking but it is.

So if I was in the financial situation to be okay with APs every year - that's the way I would go. The one year I had an AP I just felt so free. In/out - long stay - short stay - run over for Wishes only one night etc. APs are heaven.

And I know people are leery of the monthly AP payment plan b/c they think that means one can't really afford it. But for me that would be the best. It's the lump sum that kills me - my head. It's just like MFs - the minute I went monthly with them - it became a non-issue. Yes I could do that on my own but I haven't.

I guess my point is and not sure I am doing a good job of stating it, except to Tiger926, is I love the resorts but I would have never bought DVC in Orlando if the parks were not going to be a very significant part of our visits. I would have bought a timeshare in the mountains or the beach.

.

And this I understood completely. And you were doing an excellent job of stating it.

I was being overly sensitive because I just felt I was being misunderstood - not by you/in general - and portrayed as buying DVC for non-park vacations. So not true. I would never buy DVC to solely vacation outside the parks. It just happened to be the way life worked out and wasn't - for me and not you two I GET IT smiling - necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Tiger926]

on HH. Some days I imagine sitting on those balconies just listening to those trees. Magic.

And I too love outside Disney vacations and take them on a regular basis. NYC - ADORE . Williamsburg - love. Too many loves to list. And I would hate for the money I put into DVC to get in the way of these trips. I would hate that and wouldn't allow that to happen.

As for the second - every single year I would buy an AP. Every single year but I can't see - for my financial situation and way of thinking - budgeting that. Unfortunately.

I think one of my issues is - that with the MYW passes my brain has a really big issue with using a day and doing the parks the way I want to. Staying most of the day if I want BUT only go in for a couple of hours if that is what works for me that day. I can't seem to get over using a day if only for a couple of hours. I wish that wasn't my way of thinking but it is.

So if I was in the financial situation to be okay with APs every year - that's the way I would go. The one year I had an AP I just felt so free. In/out - long stay - short stay - run over for Wishes only one night etc. APs are heaven.

And I know people are leery of the monthly AP payment plan b/c they think that means one can't really afford it. But for me that would be the best. It's the lump sum that kills me - my head. It's just like MFs - the minute I went monthly with them - it became a non-issue. Yes I could do that on my own but I haven't.



And this I understood completely. And you were doing an excellent job of stating it.

I was being overly sensitive because I just felt I was being misunderstood - not by you/in general - and portrayed as buying DVC for non-park vacations. So not true. I would never buy DVC to solely vacation outside the parks. It just happened to be the way life worked out and wasn't - for me and not you two I GET IT smiling - necessarily a bad thing.

RE: AP - We buy APs every other year, and schedule 2 vacations 11-12 months apart. This helps quite a bit, but that lump sum is a huge amount, you are so correct! We would love to have the monthly payment plan to spread it out. Since we go for approx. 2 weeks each trip, the price of a day at WDW is very cheap. MYW tix just aren't worth it, for the amount of time we spend there. We love going to the parks just for a few hours at a time - APs are great!

Tiger

 

[OhioDVC]

I will not have enough points until I can spend 365 days a year on Disney property!

1/2 in a one bedroom
1/2 in a two bedroom for company

Just dreaming!!

 

[DHar]

we just added on and now have 360...we have 3 on the deed...splitting the maintenance fees 3 ways is a huge savings....475 each of the 3 of us for the year vs. 1400 for one person

 

[CALIFLADY]

This is a valuable thread to read. I struggle with the "should I add on another 50 or 100 points" question, too.

I'm single, in my mid-40's, and own 400 points now. BLT is my only home resort and the point charts are higher there than most. I don't think I'd own as much elsewhere. But if Disney ever imposes the "home resort" only rule, I want to be prepared.

I like a full two weeks vacation down there every year, but owning for such a short amount of time (two years) makes it hard to determine what will be "normal" vacationing patterns. So far, I've had a friend along on my DVC trips. The BLT studios just seem small to me, even for two, so the 1BR is a better fit. But I'm not sure having a friend along will always be the case. So a studio will be more than sufficient.

Like others, I'm risk averse, so renting out doesn't appeal to me. While I fully understand how points aren't a good use for cruising and cruising is also only a DVC perk that can go away anytime, I also had it in the back of my mind that when I get older and parks get harder to manage physically, cruising may be a good option once in a while. And by that point, my points useage will have paid for the ownership anyhow, so burning points on a cruise wouldn't be so painful.

Trying to figure out that balance between too few (and constantly borrowing or not going) versus too many (and constantly banking or tacking on a day here or there to burn the points) is difficult. Who knows where we'll be in 3 years or 7 years or 10 years from now, much less 50!

Anyhow, it's good to read other people's take on this "how many" dilemma...

Anyone else have experience(s) they want to share?

 

[Minnichok]

250 points works for me,..the wife and 3 kids.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

I am glad I asked the question! Lots of great points! We have 200 points and it is plenty! We have one boy and now one child on the way so we will probably change from using studios to getting 2 bedrooms and bringing grandparents to help with the little one! May go every other year on 200 points now. Not really wanting the extra dues!