Why did you buy DVC?

[irish38]

To us it was about better accomadations, saving money as well as forcing us to vacation. Didn't want to lose money on not using our points. It has made us vacation 2-3 times a year. Great family time.

 

[LUVMICKEY]

For us it was our great love of vacationing at WDW. Plus we always stayed at the Poly and loved the Deluxe accomodations. It took us a while, but we figured out that it was a lot cheaper to buy DVC and get that initial cost over with. We are at the World 2 or 3 times a year and love every minute of it. We would never have been able to do that if we had not bought DVC. I know we are so spoiled with the deluxe accomodations.

 

[kim_d]

The reason I said DVC is not about the savings is as follows.

ex. in our case (I'm rounding numbers) on a $160pts at AKV, $750MFs + $530p+i = $1280 per year. If we didn't finance the total would be $1070.This will increase every year due to increases in MFs.

I REALLY want to buy but have to come up with other reasons than money. I don't know if I can justify it.

However, you won't have the principal and interest payment forever (just 5-10 years) and still will have DVC membership for another 35+ years (depending on where you buy). So then your equation will simply be MF per year versus cost of a WDW vacation OOP at that time.

$1280/year is still much less than deluxe accomodations for a week at WDW. I just looked at 3 nights in October at the GF with AP discount and it was almost $1400.

I am not advocating that DVC is about saving money, but I do think it can be a "good deal" for some.

 

[ReneeA]

However, you won't have the principal and interest payment forever (just 5-10 years) and still will have DVC membership for another 35+ years (depending on where you buy). So then your equation will simply be MF per year versus cost of a WDW vacation OOP at that time.

$1280/year is still much less than deluxe accomodations for a week at WDW. I just looked at 3 nights in October at the GF with AP discount and it was almost $1400.

I am not advocating that DVC is about saving money, but I do think it can be a "good deal" for some.

Principal and interest is going to be $25,000 for 160 points - that's a 10.5% interest.

Spread that out over 37 years and that is $650 a year. Tack on maintenance fees and that's where we got our numbers.

Divided by only 10 years (the life of the loan), then we are paying $2500 per year PLUS maintenance dues. Even after the 10 years, we'll have dues (and those DO rise with the cost of inflation!)

Blah. I really wanted to do it, but my head can't justify what my heart really wants to do. Using the chart someone posted on the DIS earlier, it will take us 40+ years to reach the breakeven point by continuing to vacation the way we do now...which is 9 or 10 days at a Moderate staying in the value season with a discount.

 

[Claire L]

We bought DVC as we love WDW and the US. Having stayed at WL, AKL and YC then going to POFQ we really missed the balcony and queen beds. Also a few years ago when the $ was very strong I said to DH if it ever get to $2=£1 we are buying a villa, couldn't quite afford the villa as the $2 took us by surprise, so DVC was our next best option.

I must say DVC is so suited to us as with a villa we would have to arrange a letting agent and maintainence company etc plus then trying to get the rentals to pay the bills etc, just too much hassle at the moment. With DVC we own real estate with non of the ties other than the yearly MF's which are so affordable to us.

Claire

 

[kim_d]

Principal and interest is going to be $25,000 for 160 points - that's a 10.5% interest.

Spread that out over 37 years and that is $650 a year. Tack on maintenance fees and that's where we got our numbers.

Divided by only 10 years (the life of the loan), then we are paying $2500 per year PLUS maintenance dues. Even after the 10 years, we'll have dues (and those DO rise with the cost of inflation!)

Blah. I really wanted to do it, but my head can't justify what my heart really wants to do. Using the chart someone posted on the DIS earlier, it will take us 40+ years to reach the breakeven point by continuing to vacation the way we do now...which is 9 or 10 days at a Moderate staying in the value season with a discount.

Gotcha...I thought you had low P+I b.c of a large down payment, not that you were spreading it over the contract life.

 

[kim_d]

Principal and interest is going to be $25,000 for 160 points - that's a 10.5% interest.

Spread that out over 37 years and that is $650 a year. Tack on maintenance fees and that's where we got our numbers.

Divided by only 10 years (the life of the loan), then we are paying $2500 per year PLUS maintenance dues. Even after the 10 years, we'll have dues (and those DO rise with the cost of inflation!)

Blah. I really wanted to do it, but my head can't justify what my heart really wants to do. Using the chart someone posted on the DIS earlier, it will take us 40+ years to reach the breakeven point by continuing to vacation the way we do now...which is 9 or 10 days at a Moderate staying in the value season with a discount.

I defintely think if you always travel during value season and at a moderate or value than it might not be advantageous to purchase DVC. We typically stay at deluxes and can cost $$$ to stay there for 10 nights.

 

[SCFIREMAN]

We bought DVC because while we were staying at the WL on our honeymoon we decided that we did not want to go back to a value resort after staying deluxe. Unfortunatley we knew that if we did stay deluxe we couldnt go as often as we would like. So we decided we would buy the DVC to make sure we could stay deluxe at a price we could afford often. In hindsight we wish we would have bought it before the honeymoon and stayed on points then as well.

 

[culli]

Also don't forget that DVC properties are the only onsite rooms with full kitchen, for our family that is a HUGE savings and even bigger convenience.......yes you can rent or pay the outrageous rack rates to stay there but if the kitchen and living room is important to you the value or moderate are not comparisons. I never stayed at the deluxe but I don't think they have full kitchens? But when I price out what it would be to get a few rooms and what a kitchen would cost DVC was really the only option to stay onsite. Now I didn't know about renting pts at the time when we first looked into DVC. When I knew about renting pts I already knew DVC was the right move for our family.

Another benefit I found that is hard to put money on.....is knowing we are coming back and being able to relax and just enjoy the resorts.

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Has it saved us money? No way. We went from going approximately once every 5 - 10 years to 3 times a year!

I love always having a vacation to plan, love inviting friends and family, love going just the two of us (kids at home!). It is a big part of our sanity. For us it wasn't really a calculation of saving money but a calculation to see if we could afford the luxury of staying on property all the time. We have stayed in other Orlando properties and didn't like any nearly as much. We have friends that have owned since the beginning and they are still enjoying it.

Discounts may not always be available. For each of our vacations I have done a little bit of research to see what I could have booked through CRO. I compare to similar resorts (I just wouldn't stay in a value for a week, repeatedly year after year). OUr DVC has always been cheaper. (we did not finance)

As many have said before, this is not an investment. You can 'run' the numbers anyway you want. Believe me, I'm an accountant. I get that. Some decisions however, need a healthy dose of 'gut feeling' to make up your mind.

 

[ReneeA]

Has it saved us money? No way. We went from going approximately once every 5 - 10 years to 3 times a year!

I love always having a vacation to plan, love inviting friends and family, love going just the two of us (kids at home!). It is a big part of our sanity. For us it wasn't really a calculation of saving money but a calculation to see if we could afford the luxury of staying on property all the time. We have stayed in other Orlando properties and didn't like any nearly as much. We have friends that have owned since the beginning and they are still enjoying it.

Discounts may not always be available. For each of our vacations I have done a little bit of research to see what I could have booked through CRO. I compare to similar resorts (I just wouldn't stay in a value for a week, repeatedly year after year). OUr DVC has always been cheaper. (we did not finance)

As many have said before, this is not an investment. You can 'run' the numbers anyway you want. Believe me, I'm an accountant. I get that. Some decisions however, need a healthy dose of 'gut feeling' to make up your mind.

I really appreciate every-one's comments. But this really struck me, it more of going on a gut feeling & not numbers. We've stayed in a value & never will do it again & have been staying at CSR & they're in the process of putting in queen beds but I've told DW that next time I want to stay in a Deluxe and the thought of DVC has been on our minds since 1998.

I guess I need to stop looking at the numbers at they really are irrelevant to some extent to us at this time. I guess sometimes decisions come down to want & desire.

 

[ScottJ]

sorry the above post was mine. Sorry.

 

[debit34]

Has it saved us money? No way. We went from going approximately once every 5 - 10 years to 3 times a year!

I love always having a vacation to plan, love inviting friends and family, love going just the two of us (kids at home!). It is a big part of our sanity. For us it wasn't really a calculation of saving money but a calculation to see if we could afford the luxury of staying on property all the time. We have stayed in other Orlando properties and didn't like any nearly as much. We have friends that have owned since the beginning and they are still enjoying it.

Discounts may not always be available. For each of our vacations I have done a little bit of research to see what I could have booked through CRO. I compare to similar resorts (I just wouldn't stay in a value for a week, repeatedly year after year). OUr DVC has always been cheaper. (we did not finance)

As many have said before, this is not an investment. You can 'run' the numbers anyway you want. Believe me, I'm an accountant. I get that. Some decisions however, need a healthy dose of 'gut feeling' to make up your mind.

This is incredibly well put and the way I've felt about things but just haven't been able to put it into words for my husband. I'm also an accountant and have ran these numbers a bunch of different ways trying to get them to make a decision for me. In the end, I just know it's what I want/need to do.

To the original OP, one good thing that I keep telling myself anyway (as we too are trying to decide about buying), is that it's really easy to sell should you change your mind. It's not like you'd be stuck with a "bad" decision (if it could even possibly be one) forever.

 

[Hunclemarco]

We purchased partly on the "inflation" idea, but mainly because of emotion and "sanity" issues.
We bought so that it would force us to take a vacation each year, or every other year. Going without a vacation for a period of years is not good. Been there, done that.
We also like the fact that staying DVC will cost less due to the number of people able to stay with us. We pay for the room, not for each person in the room. We've got a group of about 20 or so going on our next trip, and if we were to have each person pay as you would in the moderate resorts, the price would be outstanding. Then there are the perks of the kitchen, washer/dryer and so forth that make our stay easier.
Buying from another timeshare would have been less expensive, but also more restrictive for the way that we take vacations.
So, again, our decision was both emotional and realistic for our personal needs.

 

[eliza61]

I really appreciate every-one's comments. But this really struck me, it more of going on a gut feeling & not numbers. We've stayed in a value & never will do it again & have been staying at CSR & they're in the process of putting in queen beds but I've told DW that next time I want to stay in a Deluxe and the thought of DVC has been on our minds since 1998.

I guess I need to stop looking at the numbers at they really are irrelevant to some extent to us at this time. I guess sometimes decisions come down to want & desire.

Not only want & desire (because basically any time you take a vacation it's about desires) but also "Truthfullness". When we went through the decision process, we also thought about moderates and interest and all the "breakeven" numbers but don't forget to include how you really like to vacation.

We don't like values & I'm not a type of person who will search out or try to wait endlessly for codes, probably because that's how my day to day life is so I needed to realistically realize that when I go to Disney it will always be on site and always be at a Deluxe. We never fell into the "calculate in the interest on 20K over 20 years" because we would not have had 20,000 sitting in the bank for 20 years.. we would be spending it at Disney.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

If you usually stay at moderates in value season, I would highly encourage you look at a smaller contract, especially if you have to finance.

A standard boardwalk studio in January is only 45 points!!

You can always add on.

If I were buying today, I'd pick up one of those 100 point contracts at AKV in a heartbeat.

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

This has been a great post and has really helped convince me that we are doing the right thing. We just had our guide write up a 175 point contract for AKV. I have been all for this for a while now and have run the #s every which way I can think of. I have been telling DH this is for us. But when it came down to actually starting the paperwork I started having second thoughts. This post has pointed out that it's not just where the dollar falls. It's what you as a family will get out of it. The family memories we will have will be priceless. Our kids are 4 and 1 and I know I can't get this time back with them so I need to make the most of it now.

Back to your original question - what made us buy DVC? (Aside from crunching the numbers 10 different ways). I grew up going to Disney about every 3 years. It was the only true vacation we had and about the only fun quality time we had with my Dad. He owns his own business so we spent a lot of time doing local things with Mom while Dad had to work. I'm very close to both parents - Dad has always been my hero and Mom my best friend. To see my Dad get away from everything and be a kid again was always special to us - and still is (we still convince them to go with us from time to time). And it wasn't just the time with him. The time with my Mom and my sister and brother were great too. My only regret is that we didn't go more often as kids. I want my kids to have those memories with us and with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins on at least an annual basis. The DVC will allow us to do that. My parents were there for both of my boys first trips and I'm already starting to think about taking them back for the next baby's 1st trip using our points.

Another couple of reason's we decided to buy - my 1 year old absolutely lights up when he sees anything Mickey and will not stay off of my computer because he wants to sit and look at disney pictures (about the only time he will sit still!). He has had a true passion for Mickey since he was about 3 months old. And my oldest son finding hidden Mickey's anywhere and everywhere (even making them in his Cheerios) and asking about different things he remembers about Disney from time to time. Last night he asked me if we could ride the Dinosaur ride next time but told me I had to leave my cell phone with his Dad because I lost it on that ride last year!

The memories and "quality of life" as others have put it are well worth the money. DVC will ensure that we can create those memories at least once a year.

 

[ILuvMulan]

Principal and interest is going to be $25,000 for 160 points - that's a 10.5% interest.

Spread that out over 37 years and that is $650 a year. Tack on maintenance fees and that's where we got our numbers.

Divided by only 10 years (the life of the loan), then we are paying $2500 per year PLUS maintenance dues. Even after the 10 years, we'll have dues (and those DO rise with the cost of inflation!)

Blah. I really wanted to do it, but my head can't justify what my heart really wants to do. Using the chart someone posted on the DIS earlier, it will take us 40+ years to reach the breakeven point by continuing to vacation the way we do now...which is 9 or 10 days at a Moderate staying in the value season with a discount.

We, like you "crunched numbers" every which way. We just purchased AKV.
With the incentives and AKV being for 48 years we felt it to be a better deal. However, my DH looked at it this way... "it is cheaper than a car payment and a lot more FUN... also, our car isn't going to last 48 years." One other thing though... we did find a better interest rate at our local bank so that our interest will be less in the long run- we also plan to pay it off early if possible.

 

[rutgers1]

We bought on a whim. It all sounded good when we had the presentation, but then again, I can't say that we came in with much skepticism. We were an easy sell. In the end, we bought it because we are the type of family who would love to have a vacation "home," but the traditional vacation home location (the beach) didn't appeal to us. For us, Disney is the place where we want to spend as much time as possible, not only now with little kids but also upon retirement. So, for us, buying into DVC just felt right. We get the connection to Disney as more than just "visitors," yet we don't have to pay the full price of owning a home.

Since buying I've tried to crunch the numbers a few times and I am pretty split on whether it is a slam dunk financially, but to tell you the truth, I really don't care. When I look back on this 30 years from now, I know that I will be happy with the decision.