Why are DVC members paying so much?

[normr]

PamOKW & Ripleysmom, you're great! Iloved your responses, my exact sentiments also, If DVC was just studios, I know we wouldn't have bought in, it was the WOW factor of the one bedroom and above accomodations that sold us, we were tired of the cramped hotel room type of accomodations (2 beds, small bathroom) plus we even tried a DVC studio once, but having to go to the pool area to use the washer and dryer and the ensuing assault outside said laundry room by the rude persons husband clinched it for me that I would never again stay in a studio.

If anyone who is negative about DVC obviously has never seen the larger DVC rooms, if they would just look at the one-bedroom and above then it would finally make perfect sense to them as the two ladies said.

 

[normr]

One of the best things I love when I go "home" is the leisurely breakfasts even if is just bagels and coffee and juice on the patio overlooking the golf course fairway, it sure beats rushing to get dressed and running to a food court and stand in line to buy their expensive gruel and then hoping to find an open table just to have the opportunity to eat a meal.

I'm sure all us DVC owners get the picture!p

 

[Pixieduster]

normr:
That is one of my favorite things too! There's nothing like sitting out on the balcony in that wonderful florida weather, taking in all that beauty around you. while enjoying a nice quiet breakfast. I wish I were there right now!!
We are so happy with our decision that we just added on another 100 points at WLV.

 

[dianeschlicht]

It is always nice and quiet, and last year all three of trips we had accomodations in the same Southpoint area (completely by accident, we made no requests), so we got to know the wild life specific to this location quite well! A bunny lives between buildings there, and he is in the same place every morning and evening!

Disneydiane

 

[robinb]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>7) I reject all the comparisons to rack rates. I think comparisons to discounted rates that people actually pay would be more realistic.
[/quote]

FWIW, most people do pay rack rates. Especially now that the MKC is replaced with the DC. Even so, let's assume that that my $4215 rack rate was really a 20% discount (like that would happen over NYE 1999/2000 when I stayed ) I would have paid $3372 ($3742 incl tax) for the same accomidations.


-- Robin

 

[PamOKW]

You're right Robin. One holiday stay and you've got most of your DVC paid for! There are no discounts at that time of year. I checked on the Resort board and discounts of 10-25% are sometimes available. 10% for DC and up to 25% for AP. But the AP discount is not usually available until the 60 day mark. Even with a 25% discount during value season the least expensive you could do is $203.13 per night for a studio at OKW...or more than $1,400 for a one week stay this year. Figuring a 6% increase you'll be at $1,500 by next year. Christmas Week an OKW studio will run $387.39 per night or $2,700+ for 7 nights.

[This message was edited by PamOKW on 01-06-01 at 04:13 PM.]

 

[normr]

During our last stay when we came back early to rest, my wife, myself and older daughter crashed, but my younger daughter grabbed her walkman and her drawing materials and went out on the patio (OKW has real fenced patios, with a table and 4 chairs, a paddle fan with light) and went out there to relax and draw some of what she saw, When I woke up 2 hours later, she was still out there very content and having a great time, I remember peeking out throught the slats of the shade and getting this great feeling of how much happier we are when we're in our DVC home, if we would have been in a regular hotel room I would have never been able to witness this.

 

[tony9000]

You said " if you invested the $25K in the market" you could use it to pay for your vacations. Well if you invested $25K in the market in the last year you would have about $12.5K now or less if you liked Dot.com's....DVC is not for everyone...If you don't like it don't buy it...We happen to LOVE DISNEY that's the missing piece to your puzzle...Those that "Love Disney" want to and need to stay in WDW. I for one have been 57 times and we go 3 times per year. If you use the points to your benefit, you can do great with 350 points per year. My 2 cents.....PS...I do understand your view of investing the money, but Disney room rates have gone up about 6-8% per year that's a good investment also.

 

[tony9000]

I would like to do some numbers...

When I bought DVC if was $62 per pt. 350pts 21,700. Taxes etc..$1100 per year. I will even use the $25,000 number you taking about. Let's break it down to 42 years/$595 per year plus the tax, etc. Or about 1695 per year for 350 pts.

Now let's see what we can get for 350pts.

I happen to have 3 vacations planned so this will be easy.

May 6th-May 11. 4nights/ 5days Would cost $2,303.25 One Bedroom at the BWV's
Sept 9th-Sept14th 4nights/5days Would Cost
$1,665 One Bedroom at the BWV's
Dec9th-Dec15th 6nights/7days Would Cost
$2,534 One Bedroom at the BMV's

This is using my 350pts. Cost would be $6,502.

My average cost for this is about $1695.( I paid less and also sold back 1/2 my pts in the start to make my cost even less, but this only helps me)

Going to WDW 3 times per year for 42 years would be $273,000

My Cost is About $71,000.

OK now lets look at if the money was invested. $25,000 invested...Double it in about 10 years because you are removing money to go vacation each year $50,000 in Ten years, 100,000 in 20 years, 200,000 in 30 years and 400,000 in 40 years. Sorry we did not remove the cost of the Vacation each year. $65,000 would be the cost of your vactions for 10 years....Somehow this is not going to work. Your 25K invested is only $50K now and you need $65 for you vacation. Wait we have more...Increased cost of the vacation which is about 6% per year or another 4,000 or Total of $69,000 for the first 10 years.

DVC is not for everyone.

It is for me

 

[Dizpro]

to debate the "gung-ho" DVCers.
To Tony-how many folks can vacation 14 days at WDW?-not many HAVE that amount of holidays-also i notice ALL your dates are when school is in session-THIS is a BIG reason many don't join DVC!
But the most "rabid" DVCers here are single(Pam),Grown kids(Doc) or hate the educational system(you know who!).

To say all the folks doing resale bought simply to resell is funny!Things change,people divorce,people buy before,kids ,mortgages,braces,college-in other words the expenses of life!

What I find simply ridiculous is the "rack rate " of these condos!I rented a beachfront condo this summer-1500 square foot-Luxury 2 br-on a holiday week for the total of $200 a night! and in the fall,winter and spring it rents for as low as $150!
Of course WDW is the big draw and everyone here thinks they will go EVERY year for the next 42 years and never tire of it - so i guess you all made the best decision for you.

 

[lsjp]

Yes, Dizpro, that was how I was seeing it too. I mean, if you are going to stay at Disney no matter what the cost, well you might as well do DVC. But I've been doing some searches on not just luxury condos but entire luxury homes. You can rent these for a week for what Disney charges for a single night. I just don't see why it would be worth an extra $1000 per day to be "on-site" (according to these ridiculous rack rates). Especially if you were at Old Key West which is separate from Magic Kingdom, Boardwalk, etc. What is different about that than staying at any of the very nice places that are real close to Disney?

And do DVC owners never go to Sea World? Never go to Universal Studios? Never go to the Strawberry Festival? Never go to ANY of the other attractions in the Kissimmee/Orlando area? They are not "on-site" for any of those activities.

And if I want better accomodations than Disney or anyone else can provide me, I'll stay home. No Grand Villa of Disney's will be bigger or more comfortable than my own home. The little mortgage I have is less than one night at most of these DVC properties.

And 42 years of Disney, Disney, Disney, Disney, Disney? There is just so much more to do in the world. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Disney too. There is no greater theme park in the world than Magic Kingdom (Splash Mountain!). But after spending 42 years doing nothing but Disney, have you ever seen Arches National Park? The Grand Canyon? The Monahan Sand Hills? Grand Cayman's Sting-ray sandbar? Been in a real submarine? Seen a real wild moose? Find wild deer so tame you could pat them? Wild deer, not petting zoo. Real wild deer. I've done all these things and much, much, much more. My life would be much poorer if I hadn't experienced all this.

Ironically, some of the best adventures are the ones that cost the least. Go figure.

 

[bicker]

We're heading to Egypt in the Spring. That doesn't preclude us going to WDW to relax in the Fall. WDW isn't a "go see it" kind of vacation for us, but is a comfortable place to go and relax -- our beach house, so to speak.

Brian Charles Kohn
"in my own words"
Some Imagination, huh? - Mickey Mouse

 

[RobDoc]

As has been repeated numerous times in this thread- DVC is not for everyone.

Since some are obviously more interested in the great value to be found in off-site accommodations, please check out Orlando Hotels & Attractions here at DIS, since your comments have now become off-topic for this Board.

Thanks!

Doc
DVC Board Co-Moderator

 

[DisneyMim]

I am coming in very late on this topic, and I want to admit that I have not read all the posts throughly, but I want to add my 2 cents in here. First off, DVC is NOT for everyone. Second, after being part of this wonderful board for awhile I have found that, on the whole, DVC members are a more "travelled" group of people than your average person. I know I can't speak for everyone, but DVC ownership is only a part of our yearly vacation plans. We know a lot of people who own second homes in such places as Cape Cod, Maine, etc. (I'm from New England so I will use these places as my reference). We did not want to do this. Instead we choose Disney as our second home, and I do mean our second home. We truly look at DisneyWorld as our "other house", even our children talk of it as another place of residence. As other people have said we enjoy the spacious accomodations that only DVC can provide us. It's wonderful having our own bathroom and knowing that the children have their own bathroom as well. We love eating breakfast together and looking out over the golf course, or the boardwalk or the ocean. This is our precious family time, time that unfortunately we do not always have at home since we are all running in different directions in the mornings. You cannot get this in an average hotel room. Also we LOVE Disney, it is a big part of our lives, the magic we feel there is priceless to us and no other place in the world has given us as much enjoyment. And while we are on this subject, yes we have and do go to other vacation destinations. We have been to Hawaii, the Caribbean, national parks (where we have seen live moose very up close and personal), Washington DC, Williamsburg, etc. Our future plans include the Grand Canyon, and more travel out west. I guess what I am trying to say is that just because you love Disney does not mean that you cannot go anywhere else. In fact, one of the big draws for us to become DVC members was the fact that we could travel anywhere we wanted. Again, I want to stress that no DVC is not for everyone, but for some of us it is one of the best things we ever did. We became members on 1991, just when it began and I'm glad we didn't get too stressed and concerned with pure numbers. We went with our hearts, and we are so glad we did.

 

[Jeanne]

I have found these 5 pages!!! of replys to be getting rather boring. It is sounding like we are trying to convince this guy that magic exsists. Scrooge is a hard sell, and quite frankly, I want the magic. As to Sea World, Univeral etc, been there, done that, missed the magic the mouse provides. Until you are a member, I don't think you understand the difference being a member makes. If you can't invision the magic it brings, Best Western is the place you should be. Too much energy wasted trying to sprinkle our pixie dust on someone who is just going to complain that it makes the place look dirty. I say invest your 25k in the nearest mm and enjoy the view from home. The rest of us will be squandering our fortunes in our "happy place", while you smile on the way to the bank. I don't need to take it with me, I want to enjoy it while I am here in luxury.

 

[PamOKW]

Actually, I haven't been to Universal or Sea World or even the Belz Outlet! I have explored the Orlando area and been to the Bay Hill Invitational but believe it or not....I'm not really an amusement park type of person. I enjoy all the shopping, restaurants, shows and people watching of the Disney parks and resorts. I agree...it isn't for everyone but it is for a lot of people. Like DisneyMim I don't really think of it as going to WDW but as going to my Florida home. And that's actually what I compared it to at the time as well as to the cost of Disney vacations. I've got a furnished turnkey home on a Florida golf course and I can change the size of it whenever I want!

 

[nestlejean]

We stayed iff site for 2 years when visiting Disney. The 2nd year we purchased DVC not EVER intending to purchase a time share. Once you stay on site vs. off site....well, it CAN'T compare. We feel the price we are paying to stay on site is more than to stay off site but the benefits are far outweighing the additional cost. We have access to transportation, we can walk to several parks and reorts (from BW) we have beautiful rooms with all the extras (1BR and up) and at a Disney resort, the service just can't be ebat. With DVC, you have to plan a little ahead depending on the time of year but we feel we can stay on site for a better price than wothout DVC over the long run at MUCH better accomadations. We don't simply have a hotel room!

 

[Lisa P.]

Hm. What an interesting thread. Why so many posts with an edge of defensiveness, even hostility? There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying that you just *like* it! <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz"> LOL! I buy filet mignon and jumbo shrimp rather than turkey for our Christmas dinner because we like it!

For those of you who would actually pay Disney prices on every Orlando vacation (or at least, for any DVC vacation every other year) - sure you are getting your money's worth. Anyway, value is as we see it and quibbling numbers only has to satisfy the buyer.

We sold our DVC because it was too much money for our family to keep it at the time, for what we got in return. Other timeshares, bought for $1,000-$3,000 apiece (with half the average maint fees) have given us wonderful vacations, often at the very same luxury resorts into which DVC'ers may exchange. Discrediting offsite timeshares while defending DVC is pretty pathetic.

Asking why DVC members pay so much is like asking why Beach Club visitors pay so much: Because you like it and the money is worth it to you. There's really little more to say. All the other explanations are available for much less $ outside DVC. Flexibility? Nothing more flexible than cash. Onsite? There's FW and the All Stars too. Condo? There's DI, Cabins at FW or offsite too. Prepaid or "forced" vacations? Offsite too (sometimes with food/sports inclusive packages). Luxury, beauty, amenities and space? Definitely available offsite. Golf course or pretty water view from the balcony? DI or offsite. Any amenity that you may find at DVC is probably available at some offsite resorts, besides that easy transportation to the Disney parks. Since so many DVC'ers spend comparitively less time visiting the parks, even that perk is "worth less," except in the owner simply liking that it is there!

Having stayed at DVC and non-DVC, having owned DVC and non-DVC, I see little difference except for transportation - especially for someone who enjoys spending some of their vacation time outside Disney parks. Over the last 5 years, the Disney money-machine has become less masked and more blatant, IMHO, and I (who used to vacation at WDW several times a year) still enjoy it but the gloss is wearing thin.

The better, newer villas offsite can be just as plush and the DVC can show signs of wear. We have been given friendly, efficient Disney-style service at other area resorts and we've gotten our share of burnt-out Disney CM's onsite too.

We used to think there was no comparing DVC to offsite. But that's not true. It's all in what you want, in what matters to you, in what you like. So you like DVC. And here this is a DVC bulletin board. LOL! Shocker.

Some people here were courteous, honest and direct in their posts and replies. As a frequent reader here, I sure appreciated that. For the others... are you the same people who automatically answer most inquiries with "it's the best thing you'll ever do... buy, buy, buy" regardless of the person's individual circumstances? Please remember that someone who has tight finances or who is lured to the points so they can mostly visit during peak holidays and long weekends... DVC may actually be a disappointment. The happy campers post here. Those who've been disappointed are not likely to stick around. Just giving another opinion.

 

[tony9000]

I happen to be able to vacation many times per year...I also happen to vacation in other places..However....WDW is my favorite place on EARTH. Going into the "vacation home" thing..They are great, price is right, but you need to know all you can about them before booking something without seeing it(many of my friends have had bad times with vacation homes, yes it can happen with anything)...With WDW you know what you will get. Your right you will pay for it. Now as for investments...I did not want to bring this up in my posts above, but I own a Home in the Disney Area and rent it for an investment. I use the home when on business and other family matters, but when it comes to vacation I use DVC. Like many have said before DVC is not for everyone, but for those that love WDW it really is something to think about. I think all the post here are great ...All the best to everyone.

 

[drb]

I really enjoy reading all the opinions of this group, pro or con. My husband and I are struggling with the idea of joining the DVC and have been struggling with the idea for years. We have gone back to Disney every year for the past 3 years and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We don't ever see ourselves staying off property and as such the DVC seems the way to go. We have two small children and staying on property is a god-send in that situation, but I would stay on property even without the kids. However, now that we have gone so many times, my husband is getting a little sick of Disney and wants to take trips elsewhere, for example, Europe. In addition, we are only really starting out financially. We just closed on a home and we have tremendous student loans. You can imagine that it just seems insane to loan out even further for vacations.
My one real weakness when it comes to spending money is going to Disney. I don't have a lot of jewlery or high priced cars/clothing. I just wish I knew what to do. Buying into the DVC would mean taking out at least a three year loan for the DVC and prolonging our student loan payments an additional 3 years or more. Then there is the issue of convincing my husband that you can go to other places such as Europe and Hawaii with DVC points. Ultimately though he would readily join if he thought it would make me happy because that's the kind of wonderful man he is. If we continue to do Disney and other high priced vacations like Disney we are essentially throwing money away on the increased rates of accomodation. HELP!!!! Can anyone tell me what to do.