Why choose DVC over other timeshares?

[crisi]

I disagree with the just use at DVC mentality.

My way of thinking is that once I bought it, it really did not matter to me which was the absolute most cost effective use of my points. I have them and I have to use them. If it costs a few dozen extra points to pull off a great vacation, I am not going to worry about it.

I am not going to sit there and worry that I am not getting every penny out of my membership.

Life is too short to play with spreadsheets all day! I'd rater be on Maui drinking a martini.....

To each his or her own

Which is a great attitude to have if you can afford to make decisions without having to worry about best value. Since the OPs husband was concerned about cost, its probably a good idea for them to evaluate their decisions using value as a criteria.

 

[mj2vacation]

Which is a great attitude to have if you can afford to make decisions without having to worry about best value. Since the OPs husband was concerned about cost, its probably a good idea for them to evaluate their decisions using value as a criteria.

That is true, but my attitude devloped after joining. Yes, I considered all of the financial aspects ahead of time, but on the backside of the purchase, comes a certain "freedom" of having the points, and having to use them. It's my glass half full and a full bottle waiting to refill it attitute.

Once you own them, You can look at them as "I have to get the absolute best value for them everytime that I use them", or you can take the attitude that I have that I broke even vs renting 7-8 years later (yes, I ran the numbers), so at this point, I get a great value no matter how I use the points.

In the end, I just enjoy the life out of my points.

My kids have seen the world (quite literally), and we did not feel like we were beaking the bank every year to do so.

There is no right and wrong, just differnt ways of vewing the whole spectrum.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Agreed, but I didn't get the same feeling from their posts.

I had gotten the same feeling from the posts as you Dean. However, since TCHRRX has chimed back in, it sounds like it is probably a good fit.

The one thing that bothered me about this thread was the focus on getting more than the initial investment back if one decides to sell. I strongly feel that this should NEVER be considered a given and that this is something that is NOT guaranteed in the future. I would strongly hope that someone doesn't invest in DVC based on this assumption.

TCHRRX, that sounds like a great plan regarding how you plan to use your tickets. and Welcome Home!

Edited to add: One last thing. I do consider it to be a different situation all together when one owns DVC already and then decides to take advantage of the various options available to them vs. someone purchasing DVC knowing that they will be using the other options more than the staying at DVC option. For example someone who's onsite Disney vacation is a stay at the Poly or GF and purchases DVC to do so.

 

[Dean]

I disagree with the just use at DVC mentality.

My way of thinking is that once I bought it, it really did not matter to me which was the absolute most cost effective use of my points. I have them and I have to use them. If it costs a few dozen extra points to pull off a great vacation, I am not going to worry about it.

I am not going to sit there and worry that I am not getting every penny out of my membership.

Life is too short to play with spreadsheets all day! I'd rater be on Maui drinking a martini.....

To each his or her own

That's fine and your option. But wouldn't you want all the info up front prior to buying?

 

[salmoneous]

TICKET QUESTIONS:

1) Yes, you can by a 10-day non-expiring pass, use 6 days now, spend two years going on annual passes, then use the 4 remaining days

2) An AP is good for 365 days after first use. I get this wrong sometimes, but I believe it is actually good through the same calendar date the next year. So if you first use it on July 7, 2007, it is good up to and including July 7, 2008. But the real ticket experts can clarify. The important point is that it is good for a year from the time you first use it, not when you pay for it. (As with everything, there is an exception. If you *renew* the AP, it's good for a year from the renewal date, not a year from the time you first use it).

 

[mj2vacation]

That's fine and your option. But wouldn't you want all the info up front prior to buying?

The disboards are a great research tool for potential members. There are numerous threads on this subject.

My only issue with the post was that they had already decided to join, and had access to years of disboard postings on this very topic. To post afterwards just seemed unnecessary.

I don't think anyone who uses the disboards does not have all of the info on the program!

Dean, you are very knowledable about timesahre and DVC and your input is appreciated. I just have a different view.

 

[OneMoreTry]

......[snip]....
To the OP, the reason to buy DVC is pretty simple, really. If you would pay extra to stay onsite in Disney-owned deluxe hotels or suites anyway (or perhaps moderates?) and you plan to visit at least every other year for more than just long weekends, then DVC may truly be the best choice for you.

If you plan to vacation in very nice resorts while visiting WDW and you enjoy more than just Disney, look into timeshare rentals or resales at other area resorts. For $5,000 or less, with maint fees of $600-$700 or less, you could be vacationing in 2BR Gold Crown or 5 Star timeshare resorts (on resale) in the area with much more flexibility to use it elsewhere. Some of them are points programs with nearly the same flexibility in time, unit size and length of stay as DVC offers but with alternate destinations in many more places than DVC. And this can be a huge savings - a lot of cash for nice restaurants, park tix, airfare and more frequent travel. Timeshare rentals in the region commonly range from $300 (skyauction.com) to $1,500 per week for 1-3 BRs at top resorts.

DVC is really for the onsite WDW enthusiast and you pay for that. If it's what you want and none other will be the same to you, buying something else will probably lead to disappointment later. If you would not use it for DVC resort stays at least every other year, then you're overpaying if you buy, IMHO. Visit TUG (see my sig below) to learn more about how they all compare. HTH!

If I were not a huge Disney fan I would not have purchased DVC. My sister owns Vistana and LOVES it. She has had some great vacations in Mexico and elsewhere with accomodations she raves about.

But for me I wouldn't consider anything else BUT DVC -- didn't even look. But I must say I may look at the Iron Blosam at Snowbird in the future.

 

[DVC Grammy]

I agree with you. Also, Disney must be considering opportunities to extend the existing contracts. I just did a DVC survey and there were a few questions on would we be interested in buying and extention to current contracts and also for how long of an extention 10-15, 15-20, etc. years.

Ooooh! That survey sounds very promising!

 

[TLinden16]

I like DVC because I do enjoy making frequent trips to Disney World, and it really is a great bargain if you can afford that initial investment. I like the flexibility of options to use points not just the DVC resorts, but also other Disney World resorts and Disneyland resorts. I haven't explored options outside of Disney yet, but someday...

One of the things that really sold me on DVC was the positive comments I heard about it. I don't hear many complaints about the program.

Buying DVC was probably the best thing I've done for me.

 

[Disney Doll]

We chose Disney because it is a high-quality product which is located right on Disney property. We knew we were going to want to stay at WDW at least once or twice per year, so it worked for us.

If you do not think that you are going to want to stay on Disney property at least once per year, you might be better off looking at another timeshare product, such as the Marriott, which has properties in various locations throughout the country (and maybe the world??) and is supposed to be of a comparable quality to DVC.

If price is your DH's only consideration, remind him that you get what you pay for.