Which one to choose?

[Ducky4Disney]

Hello DVCers!

My good friends are DVC membes and they are so happy with it! They got me all excited about it and I am VERY interested in joining. I will be going to WDW in just a few short days (4 to be exact, but who's cointing?) and I figured that I would meet with one of the DVC experts and see what there is to be seen.

I am wondering which one to choose. My DH and I are more Wilderness Lodge people in my opinion, but I think the other resorts have their pros too, such as SAB. We don't have kids now, but most likely will one day, does that make a big difference? I know that they are having a discount on SSR points right now and the contract is longer, but is that worth it or should we buy resale?

Speaking of resale, we don't see a lot of WL on the resale list, why is that?

One last question - justification. How do you justify being a DVC member. I was a bit surprised that tickets are separate and at how mcuh they cost! With airfare to get down there and passes to get in, the price is about the same as a package? Does this really "pay for itself"?

Thanks
D4D

 

[jcodespoti]

Good questions.
We all like the different resorts for differerent reasons. You might want to try them all before buying or visit them on a trip and do a walk thru.

As far as justifing the purchase, you can run the numbers all you want, bottom line DVC is more of an emotional purchase than a logical one. We bought DVC for a very nice place to stay, and for its location.
You don't have to go to the parks while at DVC, it is an option, the resorts have a lot to do.

Joe in CT

 

[goofy4dvc]

The first rule of thumb with DVC purchases is to "BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY". I've seen that expressed here hundreds of times. As a DVC owner, you can make resservations at the 11-month window where you own, and at the 7-month window at the other places. If you purchase Saratoga Springs, you maybe able to get resservations at Beach Club Villas (the only DVC resort with access to Stormalong Bay) at the 7 month window, but no guarantees.

VWL has (I think) the smallest number of accommodations of all the DVC resorts, which makes it more difficult to get ressies there. Also it is very popular between Thanksgiving and Christmas because of their decorations. It is also popular because of their access to Magic Kingdom.

We justified the purchase by saying that we are pre-paying for our vacations for the next 40-some years. If you are planning to vacation alot in Orlando, then DVC makes sense because it is probably the most flexible of all timeshares, although I think they are not technically considered a timeshare because of the ending date, thus the term "vacation club". We only go to the WDW parks about 1 out of every 3 stays there, usually when we take grandkids. When it' s just the two of us, we golf and do other things (downtown Disney, Universal Studios, etc.) We get enough of the parks when we take the grandkids.

 

[BillPA]

While you are at WDW in 4 days (I'm jealous) take some time out to check out the 5 on site DVC resorts. The sales center is at the Boardwalk Villas, just call (1800-800-9100) or stop at any DVC sales booth and set up an appointment. The most often suggestion is "Buy where you want to stay the most", so you will need to look at all of them to find your own favorite. All are GREAT, each has its own special attraction, and it is very much an individual choice, what I like may not be what you like. With 5 to choose from there has to be one or more that you will "just love". Once you join (buy) you can stay at any DVC resort, but the home resort (where you own) does have a 4 month advantage in booking a reservation. As far as is it worth it, vs. the package deals, The packages that Disney offered the past year or so were great deals, but don't expect them to continue. It really depends on how often you go and where you usually stay. If you go ever 3 or 4 years, then no, DVC most likely will NOT save you anything. If you stay offsite then again NO DVC will probably not save you anything. But for about the same cost as the AllStar’s you can stay in a studio and have a almost an additional 100 sq ft of space (356 in the smallest DVC studio vs. 260 sq ft at Allstars) and if you stay at a Mod or Deluxe, the DVC will save you $$$$. Again the room type/location is a personal preference. But once you stay at a DVC 1 BR or larger, it is very difficult to go back to just a regular hotel room. Good luck with your decision, and have a great trip.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Maybe this will help:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=428249&perpage=15&highlight=factual&pagenumber=5

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Ducky4Disney
Hello DVCers!

My good friends are DVC membes and they are so happy with it! They got me all excited about it and I am VERY interested in joining. I will be going to WDW in just a few short days (4 to be exact, but who's cointing?) and I figured that I would meet with one of the DVC experts and see what there is to be seen.

I am wondering which one to choose. My DH and I are more Wilderness Lodge people in my opinion, but I think the other resorts have their pros too, such as SAB. We don't have kids now, but most likely will one day, does that make a big difference? I know that they are having a discount on SSR points right now and the contract is longer, but is that worth it or should we buy resale?

Speaking of resale, we don't see a lot of WL on the resale list, why is that?

One last question - justification. How do you justify being a DVC member. I was a bit surprised that tickets are separate and at how mcuh they cost! With airfare to get down there and passes to get in, the price is about the same as a package? Does this really "pay for itself"?

Thanks
D4D

You will see less resales at VWL compared to the older resorts due to it's small size (less points) and the fact it's newer. BCV will be similar but will likely become as or more available than VWL in the future.

 

[tjkraz]

I can't tell you what to do, but I will share our reasoning for making the decision that we did.

We bought 150 points (the minimum) at SSR. The two main reasons were the 50 year contracts and the promotional pricing. Our children are 2 and 5 mos, and we have every intention of letting their families enjoy the benefits of DVC before the contract ends. Also, at the $79 per point price level, the gap betwen DVC pricing and resale pricing is minimal--nonexistent if you factor in the 12 additional years.

We will spend the next 3-4 years until our children begin school enjoying Disney during the slow seasons and monitoring things like the ability to make reservations at other resorts at the 7-month window. We will likely be looking to add-on points around 2007-2008, and many factors will play into that decision. We may go with a resale if we develop an affinity to BCV or VWL, or we may look at another 50 year contract at (hopefully) something like Eagle Pines or another new DVC resort.

Unless you look at the photos of SSR and really don't feel comfortable with the design for some reason, I think you can't go wrong with the longer contract it offers. Particularly at $79 per point.

With regard to your question on value, run the numbers yourself and see how it compares. Certainly DVC doesn't stack-up well against an All Star resort. These are not rooms that retail for $80 per night. Take a tour when you are at WDW and I think you'll have a better appreciation for the accommodations.

This is a very general statement, so don't ask me for concrete numbers to back it up. However, if you a comparison between the DVC purchase price and the "Rack Rate" at which Disney rents the same accommodations, I believe you will find that the initial DVC investment will be paid for in under 10 years. You then get 40 years of vacations for the sum total of your annual dues.

The numbers will vary depending upon the days of the week you stay (Sunday-Thursday nights are much cheaper point-wise than Fri and Sat) and the time of the year you travel.

With regard to ticket prices, you can somewhat control that via purchases of Annual Passes. If you buy into DVC with the intention of taking a weeklong trip every July, you can travel in the last week of July one year and the second week of July the following year. Those two trips fall under the same 365-day annual pass. DVC points can also be used for resorts at Vero Beach and Hilton Head, Disney Cruises and dozens of other hotels in the US and abroad. So it's not a foregone conclusion that you need to buy park passes every time you make use of your DVC investment.

Good luck with your decision. Make sure to ask if you have other questions because there is a LOT of accumulated knowledge on these boards. They sure helped me out a couple of months ago...

 

[CarolynFH]

We bought DVC because our kids were getting old enough that we needed two regular hotel rooms. We already had the fact that one's a DS and the other's a DD, so they couldn't share a bed, but we were rapidly outgrowing the "2 double beds and a rollaway AND ONLY ONE BATHROOM" stage! So we bought enough points for a 2-BR for a week at the time of year we were going then. Everyone gets a comfortable bed, and we have 2 baths.

We also like having a full kitchen -- we don't cook much, but eating breakfast in the room saves us lots of time and money, and we can have cookies and milk at bedtime!

And we also feel like we're prepaying our accommodations until 2042, when DH and I will be way too old to worry about what happens then. We financed through Disney, so we have the mortgage, but once that's paid off, we'll have access to deluxe rooms for the cost of dues -- doubt we'd be able to get into the All Stars for that!

It's doubtful that we would stay at BWV or any other deluxe resorts if we had to pay cash all the time. Needing two rooms would have put us into the moderates, or maybe the Ft Wilderness cabins, or, heaven forbid, KEPT US AWAY from WDW completely!

In the five years we've been members, we've found that there are a lot of other advantages we had never thought of when we were contemplating buying in. We have had several wonderful vacations with family members and friends -- we love being able to treat them with a stay in such deluxe surroundings, and it doesn't cost us anything extra (yes, we do borrow ahead on points if we need to).

Given your situation, you might think about buying a relatively small number of points (enough for a studio or 1-BR) now, then adding on as your family grows. Our kids are slowly leaving the nest now, so we'll sort of have extra points -- means DH and I can go more often instead of using the whole year's points on one week's vacation!!

Oh yes, almost forgot -- re passes. Our DVC mortgage payments are just another routine monthly expense, so it's almost like getting our hotel rooms free and paying only for the passes, transportation and food when we go.... We do like to take advantage of APs too as mentioned above.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

Thank you for all of your help and please keep it coming!

I will definitely visit the resorts while I am there and ask all kinds of questions to the salesperson I meet with. I am trying to decide whether we will really use this and it's worth it for us, or whether I just want it for the sake of having it. My DH and I have a habit of talking ourselves into things

I like the fact that I can use it all over the world, that is a huge plus. And when I use it elsewhere - there are no passes to buy! I didn't even think about that! My new job gives me 5 weeks of vacation a year under a "use-it-or-lose-it basis". Having a DVC membership would be like having a vacation partially planned. A whole list of places to go - just pick one!

I know that SSR sales at $79 a point will be going away on our last day there, and I don't want to panic and buy into that hastily. I have to remember that there is resale!

A tough decision, well not really, it would be an easy "YES" if it were free!

I'll let you know what we decide!

D4D