Why did you purchase DVC over purchasing Hilton or Marriott timeshare ? It looks like every other timeshare is wayyyy cheaper than DVC by the 1000s$

That's when I started going down the rabbit hole reading everything I can here, and I'm pretty sure we'll end up buying DVC resale sometimes in the next few months. The resale value alone is the single biggest advantage I see vs. Marriott - I can at least recoup a good chunk of the initial investment if we decide it's not a good fit.
This is the biggest key factor and what really sets DVC apart (for me at least) it takes away the negative stigma of “timeshares”.
Now the restrictions and other things are changing that, so it may not always be the same product, but for now, it’s the only reason I even contemplated buying into a “timeshare”. :)
 
I'm not really concerned about resale value, to be honest. I mean it's nice knowing that if I ever need to sell my points I won't be forced to list it on eBay for a dollar just to get rid of it. But it's not the reason why I bought DVC.

I bought DVC because I enjoy vacationing at Disney properties, and I want to stay at their deluxe resorts.
 
2 things that attracted us to DVC:
1. Savings from staying in deluxe rooms. We knew that we were going to be staying in them on WDW trips while our daughter is young due to proximity to the parks and those things are ridiculously expensive.
2. Ease of exit when we were done with DVC.

We have looked at other timeshare companies and didn't find either of those things. I have no problem finding a sub $200 per night hotel option at almost every destination we travel to so the financial benefit was low and every other chain has very little value on the resale market.

Even with DVC we only bought a small contract (60 points) with the plan of going every other year so we're not all in on it.
 
I'm not really concerned about resale value, to be honest. I mean it's nice knowing that if I ever need to sell my points I won't be forced to list it on eBay for a dollar just to get rid of it. But it's not the reason why I bought DVC.

I bought DVC because I enjoy vacationing at Disney properties, and I want to stay at their deluxe resorts.
For sure, but you don’t have to be a DVC member to stay at deluxe resorts. You can pay cash or rent points. I’ve been going to Disney for 50 years, not having DVC wasn’t going to keep me away. lol

Or maybe you weren’t replying to me?
 


1. System complexity - in most other timeshare systems, points have different tiers and then you have to pay multiple fees to upgrade your points in order to book what you actually want, DVC doesn't have any of that. The worst thing that DVC has is resale vs. direct points but otherwise 1 point at Vero Beach is 1 point at Beach Club and etc.

2. The Disney brand - when something is branded as Disney, there's a certain level of quality that is expected. Many of these other timeshares we've seen after the first few years of opening have poor upkeep and maintenance and there's really nobody to go after these companies to upgrade/refurbish the rooms. If DVC let their rooms at Grand Floridian for example go downhill to any significant extent, we'd be hearing about it and you know as Disney fans we're extremely vocal when we want to complain about something.
As to these two points, for the first we own multiple systems and I am well versed in many but most point systems are a point is a point. Wyndham, Marriott, Vistana. They all work like that. It isn't that complex when booking with points. Just like DVC, different resorts have different point values per night.

As for 2. My experience overall is that the rooms at non disney resorts tend to be better than DVC. I have also found the upkeep overall to be better. DVC has historically let room renovations slide far too long. There were a lot of complaints about Boulder Ridge and Saratoga Springs before they came around to the latest set of renovations. I don't know if DVC has an actual schedule, but Marriott is usually a soft refurb every five years and a case goods renovation every 10. Vistana is the same. I believe Wyndham is 7 and 14 respectively. Independant timeshare properties. and some of the lower tier brands may be different and inconsistent. After hundreds of stays at other timeshare brands and many in DVC, overall we find the non DVC to be better equipped inside the unit and all of them have gas grills outside to use. Something I have only seen at one DVC, that being in the cabin area of Copper Creek. It is the theming of DVC resorts and their location (proximity to the parks) which sets them apart.
 
We have looked at other timeshare companies and didn't find either of those things. I have no problem finding a sub $200 per night hotel option at almost every destination we travel to so the financial benefit was low and every other chain has very little value on the resale market.
The difference is a sub $200 per night hotel room or a sub $100 per night two bedroom condo. More often for us it is a sub $100 condo. We've stayed in $35 a night two bedroom condos with timeshare ownership. The good thing is, you can do the same with DVC using Interval International getaways.
 
As to these two points, for the first we own multiple systems and I am well versed in many but most point systems are a point is a point. Wyndham, Marriott, Vistana. They all work like that. It isn't that complex when booking with points. Just like DVC, different resorts have different point values per night.

As for 2. My experience overall is that the rooms at non disney resorts tend to be better than DVC. I have also found the upkeep overall to be better. DVC has historically let room renovations slide far too long. There were a lot of complaints about Boulder Ridge and Saratoga Springs before they came around to the latest set of renovations. I don't know if DVC has an actual schedule, but Marriott is usually a soft refurb every five years and a case goods renovation every 10. Vistana is the same. I believe Wyndham is 7 and 14 respectively. Independant timeshare properties. and some of the lower tier brands may be different and inconsistent. After hundreds of stays at other timeshare brands and many in DVC, overall we find the non DVC to be better equipped inside the unit and all of them have gas grills outside to use. Something I have only seen at one DVC, that being in the cabin area of Copper Creek. It is the theming of DVC resorts and their location (proximity to the parks) which sets them apart.
For the first point, are there not any transfers or upgrades in points that need to occur in order to be able to use them sometimes? I'm sure certain ones don't, but I'm sure the ones that do don't advertise that they do.

Sure some non-Disney resorts are better than DVC, my concern is how realistic is it that upper management will make a change should there actually be an issue with the maintenance of a property. Like I said before, if there was an issue with a property I feel like I'd have an easier time getting the issue addressed through DVC member services who could at least point me in the right direction than a random timeshare. The large community on here helps with making sure those needs are addressed. I spoke to the location predominantly that sets them apart from the others in the third point.

Forgot to mention point 4 though in my original post, resale. Unfortunately regardless of whether or not a Wyndham, Marriott/Vistana/Whichamacallit timeshare is a good value and is a legitimate company, there remains a lot of skepticism about timeshares from the general public. Idk, personally I think the Disney name helps quell some of that general disdain towards timeshares and people are more likely to at least learn about it before writing it off as a scam which in turn leads to more interest in both direct and resale purchases.

I'm not saying that MVC or Wyndham or Hilton timeshares are bad things to own, far from it. For the people who do own it and know how to utilize it I'm sure it represents a great value. I'm just saying that for our personal comfort level this is why we won't own the other systems because we don't visit some of these other destinations with enough regularity to make it worth it for us compared to Disney.
 
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My experience overall is that the rooms at non disney resorts tend to be better than DVC. I have also found the upkeep overall to be better
I actually thought everyone understood this was true.

Disney’s hotels and timeshares are both a solid step or two down in most aspects from even like a Westin or a Grand Hyatt (and their associated timeshares).

Disney’s rooms are smaller, they are less well appointed, they have fewer and generally more obnoxious sleeping surfaces, they’re not as regularly maintained, particularly soft goods, and they have less common stuff (other than perhaps Aulani, haven’t been there yet) and, vs some other hotels/timeshares, fewer services (but on par with others).

We got our DVC despite all of those things, but they’re still true.
 
Disney has built a unique selling point for staying on property (Disney transportation and advance dining reservations).

Beach vacations are much more comparable across timeshare vendors.

Ski resorts can be better differentiated based on location and distance to chairlifts.

Florida timeshare law is also much friendlier than most of states.

My sale into DVC is I knew that I wanted 2 bedrooms on Disney property walkable to a resort and that will cost $1500/night from Disney. Renting could cost less at $1000/night ($25/point x 40 points). Owning ends up being cheaper with the flexibility to either sell or rent points out.

I've stayed at Hawaii and Las Vegas timeshares from Hyatt and Marriott respectively that were very nice. Using hotel points I could book 2 beds at a fairly attractive rate. I accumulate a lot of points from both work travel and credit cards and don't see a need to add on.

The timeshare model is trickier for skiing as you have a narrow window that works best for skiing and plenty of low season availability the rest of the year. Holidays book up and deeded weeks are critical. I am hoping that vail resorts creates a DVC like model for their ski resorts. I'd be tempted.
 
I can probably add a little bit to this. My parents have owned a deeded week of Marriott Vacation Club for years. They also own points. I have been very lucky over the years that for the most part, my parents did not use their MVC. My wife and I benefited from this many times over. We have stayed at MVC properties in Hawaii, Orlando, Las Vegas, and our favorite place in the whole world Aruba. We love MVC and we take our young children on a week family trip every year. Using MVC makes sense for us. The rooms at every MVC resort I have stayed at have met or exceeded our expectations. When our children were really small we loved staying at Harbour Lake when we visited Disney World. We stayed there a few times. We have also stayed at Royal Palms for our last visit which was the fall of 2022.

But we did just buy DVC 3 months ago. Why? Well we decided that we did not want to use MVC for disney world trips any longer. We wanted to use it for mostly Aruba. But we are also staying in St. Thomas this coming Thanksgiving. We know that in the future our MVC will probably be worthless and will have to give it away. But it still doesn't change the fact that we have had some amazing vacations. Just like everyone who owns DVC. So now we feel we have the best of both worlds. We have DVC for Disney World and we have MVC for trips away from Disney. And while my first DVC trip is going to be tomorrow at AKV so I do not have any experience staying DVC yet, I know that we will be very happy having both.
 
As to these two points, for the first we own multiple systems and I am well versed in many but most point systems are a point is a point. Wyndham, Marriott, Vistana. They all work like that. It isn't that complex when booking with points. Just like DVC, different resorts have different point values per night.

As for 2. My experience overall is that the rooms at non disney resorts tend to be better than DVC. I have also found the upkeep overall to be better. DVC has historically let room renovations slide far too long. There were a lot of complaints about Boulder Ridge and Saratoga Springs before they came around to the latest set of renovations. I don't know if DVC has an actual schedule, but Marriott is usually a soft refurb every five years and a case goods renovation every 10. Vistana is the same. I believe Wyndham is 7 and 14 respectively. Independant timeshare properties. and some of the lower tier brands may be different and inconsistent. After hundreds of stays at other timeshare brands and many in DVC, overall we find the non DVC to be better equipped inside the unit and all of them have gas grills outside to use. Something I have only seen at one DVC, that being in the cabin area of Copper Creek. It is the theming of DVC resorts and their location (proximity to the parks) which sets them apart.

I actually thought everyone understood this was true.

Disney’s hotels and timeshares are both a solid step or two down in most aspects from even like a Westin or a Grand Hyatt (and their associated timeshares).

Disney’s rooms are smaller, they are less well appointed, they have fewer and generally more obnoxious sleeping surfaces, they’re not as regularly maintained, particularly soft goods, and they have less common stuff (other than perhaps Aulani, haven’t been there yet) and, vs some other hotels/timeshares, fewer services (but on par with others).

We got our DVC despite all of those things, but they’re still true.
I actually am surprised to hear this. Timeshares have such notoriously bad reputations because most don’t know what kind of commitment they’re setting themselves up for and my understanding has always been that they’re also not maintained well because there are so many hotels to take care of in respective systems so there just isn't always the budget for the necessary maintenance. Not to mention that so many that exist by beaches which are naturally more destructive, equaling more necessary maintenance than can’t be kept up with.

The size of DVC villas being smaller than other timeshares, while maybe a bit unfortunate, makes sense. It’s a lot of one company’s timeshares in a very concentrated area, seems a bit wasteful of precious Disney land to have so many sprawling villas. But even if DVC isn’t much better than other systems at keeping up with maintenance, I never realized they were that bad. DVC has a 7yr/14yr refurbishment cycle and I just assumed the pandemic set them on a slightly delayed course for the past few years.

So you’re saying the only reason it holds value is because of its proximity to a couple of theme parks? I guess I could see that to be a true with a small margin, but then I just don’t understand why other timeshares are worth so little and practically need to be given away for free and DVC has even turned out to be a profitable investment for many. Are we all making a mistake turning to DVC when there are other cheaper and nicer timeshares in the Orlando area?
 
So you’re saying the only reason it holds value is because of its proximity to a couple of theme parks?
It's their location and ability to easily rent for considerable profit. Other timeshares from large brands (and even independant) that have good rental value seem to maintain their resale value better. Think about locations such as Phoenix or Scottsdale during MLB Spring Training. Hawaii or even prime season Caribbean timeshares. These all have a decent resale value. Probably not as good (percentage wise to developer price) as DVC, but much better than timeshares where there is no rental value.

An Orlando Marriott resort week may have sold for $20,000 direct from Marriott and now only have a $2,000 resale value. This is because they really can't be rented out most weeks of the year. Too many other resorts, hotels, homes and everything else to compete against. However, an oceanfront Hawaii week may still fetch $35,000. It mainly comes down to rental value and that is usually also determined by location. DVC fits both those.

If DVC ever divests itself of Hilton Head Island or Very Beach properties and they just become independent timeshare resorts, the resale value would basically be $0. They still maintain some resemblance of value because they are Disney and they also have access to resorts located near the theme parks.
 
I actually am surprised to hear this. Timeshares have such notoriously bad reputations because most don’t know what kind of commitment they’re setting themselves up for and my understanding has always been that they’re also not maintained well because there are so many hotels to take care of in respective systems so there just isn't always the budget for the necessary maintenance. Not to mention that so many that exist by beaches which are naturally more destructive, equaling more necessary maintenance than can’t be kept up with.

The size of DVC villas being smaller than other timeshares, while maybe a bit unfortunate, makes sense. It’s a lot of one company’s timeshares in a very concentrated area, seems a bit wasteful of precious Disney land to have so many sprawling villas. But even if DVC isn’t much better than other systems at keeping up with maintenance, I never realized they were that bad. DVC has a 7yr/14yr refurbishment cycle and I just assumed the pandemic set them on a slightly delayed course for the past few years.

So you’re saying the only reason it holds value is because of its proximity to a couple of theme parks? I guess I could see that to be a true with a small margin, but then I just don’t understand why other timeshares are worth so little and practically need to be given away for free and DVC has even turned out to be a profitable investment for many. Are we all making a mistake turning to DVC when there are other cheaper and nicer timeshares in the Orlando area?
If you ever make it out to Aulani, head to the beach and walk to the left once you get there and check out Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club. Or ya know, watch a youtube video I guess :p but it’s basically neighbors with Aulani.

IMO it’s a beautiful property and I’m sure the rooms are very nice.

But as was said above, the real power of DVC comes from it’s unmatched Disney park access (location) and the ability to use the points within the system which relates back to location. Hilton Head and Vero would 100% be worthless or close to it right now if it wasn’t on life support by the rest of the DVC network.

Sure you could’ve gotten a cheaper timeshare, there’s plenty throughout Orlando but also your resale value would be a lot lower and possibly some have extra associated fees with reselling some of these as was mentioned earlier in the thread and I’m sorry but timeshare exit companies wouldn’t exist if it was easy to sell like DVC is.
 
I actually am surprised to hear this. Timeshares have such notoriously bad reputations because most don’t know what kind of commitment they’re setting themselves up for and my understanding has always been that they’re also not maintained well because there are so many hotels to take care of in respective systems so there just isn't always the budget for the necessary maintenance. Not to mention that so many that exist by beaches which are naturally more destructive, equaling more necessary maintenance than can’t be kept up with.
So, yes, Disney has and deserves its reputation as being the least slimy timeshare sales company.

Maintenance is a different animal. Because technically, maintenance is the responsibility of the various timeshare owners and their condo association, not the original developer.

So You have to kind of break the various products into groups. Disney maintains full control over refurbishment because they control all the condo boards. Marriott, Hilton, Vistana, these companies keep a half a hand in their timeshare properties as well. This prevents properties in these networks from becoming dilapidated shells.

Then you have the Westgates and Wyndhams and other large operations whose properties generally are well maintained but there’s exceptions.

Then you have the just a mosh mash of smaller operations whose maintenance is admittedly all over the map, but I don’t think that’s what the original poster was intending to compare to. Nor were I think they intending to compare to the true horror stories, where owners either die off or can’t pay anymore, and suddenly 20%, 30%, 50% of dues are unpaid, and the remaining owners can’t support the maintenance of the building. BUT those horror stories make the fact that DVC expires after ~50 years add to its value, not subtract from it.

The size of DVC villas being smaller than other timeshares, while maybe a bit unfortunate, makes sense. It’s a lot of one company’s timeshares in a very concentrated area, seems a bit wasteful of precious Disney land to have so many sprawling villas. But even if DVC isn’t much better than other systems at keeping up with maintenance, I never realized they were that bad. DVC has a 7yr/14yr refurbishment cycle and I just assumed the pandemic set them on a slightly delayed course for the past few years.
DVC’s 7/14 is a fairly recent change. It’s a huge improvement vs “eh, whenever” which seemed to be their prior policy. In general I think 14 is fine but personally I would pay a little more so that the mattresses and couches could be intentionally replaced more often.


So you’re saying the only reason it holds value is because of its proximity to a couple of theme parks? I guess I could see that to be a true with a small margin, but then I just don’t understand why other timeshares are worth so little and practically need to be given away for free and DVC has even turned out to be a profitable investment for many. Are we all making a mistake turning to DVC when there are other cheaper and nicer timeshares in the Orlando area?
I don’t think that’s the only reason! Disney resorts have a lot of charm! There are very few timeshares as charming as Wilderness lodge or inside a zoo like Animal Kingdom Lodge or with treehouses like Saratoga Springs. The dining at Disney is very good (by hotel standards). The end dates add value. The characters visiting add value. The on site perks add value (and I’d argue a lot of value). And the fact that it has resale value adds value (including, ironically, adding resale value!)

But yeah, there’s some much nicer and roomier timeshares in the LBV area. They won’t come with EMH or free parking at the parks or reliable-ish transportation. We looked at it all and decided DVC was the best set of traders for our family. You might not!

I just don’t want people to think DVC is a perfect product. It’s not! But all of the others aren’t either.
 
When we first started looking at buying timeshare, we never even considered DVC. For us our first purchase was Marriott Vacation Club. Resale value wasn't a consideration because we bought resale. Not much invested meant not much could be lost. The value has gone down from when we first bought it as we can't resell it now for what we paid. That is certainly different than DVC. That said, if you intend to keep a DVC deed through expiration, its value in the end will certainly be $0. Someone has to end up with that expiring deed in their hands. So resale value isn't all that big of a factor for us given the long term use of the product.
 
So you’re saying the only reason it holds value is because of its proximity to a couple of theme parks? I guess I could see that to be a true with a small margin, but then I just don’t understand why other timeshares are worth so little and practically need to be given away for free and DVC has even turned out to be a profitable investment for many.

I would assume it's supply and demand. There is a limited number of on-site hotels at WDW, a very attractive vacation destination. There is a near unlimited supply of ocean-front properties. For other timeshares, there will often be a nicer, newer time share being built in an area that's at least equally attractive at all times. This erodes the value of the existing older timeshares.

If Disney started building many DVC properties rapidly, it would reduce the value of existing DVC properties fast. But they don't and there is a limited number of prime locations. BWV und BCV for example hold their value much better because of their location. If Riviera had been built on crescent lake, this would have been very different, I assume. This effect can probably be extrapolated to other properties.
 
We knew we wanted to return to Disney many times for a few years to come (never realized how much we would also enjoy it as empty nesters). We did vacation other non-Disney places also.

Wanted to be in the bubble/easy transportation with or without car.

As the kids got older, they could travel back to resort/park on their own.

The flexibility of - no fixed week, choose the size of unit and choose the time we want to go.

Vero, Hilton Head Resort and yes, the option of cruising DCL.

The brand and theming.

Now, I appreciate it even more since I am a widow and I can get picked up and dropped off - no need to drive around solo and worry about getting around. I have not done it yet. This is one place I can feel comfortable doing so (for me/I know many have done it and do it all the time).
 
For sure, but you don’t have to be a DVC member to stay at deluxe resorts. You can pay cash or rent points. I’ve been going to Disney for 50 years, not having DVC wasn’t going to keep me away. lol

Or maybe you weren’t replying to me?

Absolutely, paying cash is an option as is renting points from existing owners - I would say those options are better for folks who plan to only want Disney trips for a few years. For me, if I planned to go to Disney often for years and years, it makes sense to buy in.

Plenty of ways to make it work. Whatever works for your family!

For mine we decided that owning DVC was where we wanted to be. We have the flexibility as owners to cancel and change plans at will (which you don't get from renting points) plus the benefits of ownership like the Sorcerer pass and Interval International getaways bookings for non-Disney trips - while still staying in villa accommodations. In the long run there is some cost savings to ownership versus renting points and booking cash stays as well, but that is not entirely apples to apples.

I know plenty of folks who go to WDW yearly, or even more frequently, and are perfectly happy to stay offsite, All-Star Sports, or at Pop Century - DVC is obviously not for them. As I said, whatever works for your family!
 
So, yes, Disney has and deserves its reputation as being the least slimy timeshare sales company.

Maintenance is a different animal. Because technically, maintenance is the responsibility of the various timeshare owners and their condo association, not the original developer.

So You have to kind of break the various products into groups. Disney maintains full control over refurbishment because they control all the condo boards. Marriott, Hilton, Vistana, these companies keep a half a hand in their timeshare properties as well. This prevents properties in these networks from becoming dilapidated shells.

Then you have the Westgates and Wyndhams and other large operations whose properties generally are well maintained but there’s exceptions.

Then you have the just a mosh mash of smaller operations whose maintenance is admittedly all over the map, but I don’t think that’s what the original poster was intending to compare to. Nor were I think they intending to compare to the true horror stories, where owners either die off or can’t pay anymore, and suddenly 20%, 30%, 50% of dues are unpaid, and the remaining owners can’t support the maintenance of the building. BUT those horror stories make the fact that DVC expires after ~50 years add to its value, not subtract from it.


DVC’s 7/14 is a fairly recent change. It’s a huge improvement vs “eh, whenever” which seemed to be their prior policy. In general I think 14 is fine but personally I would pay a little more so that the mattresses and couches could be intentionally replaced more often.



I don’t think that’s the only reason! Disney resorts have a lot of charm! There are very few timeshares as charming as Wilderness lodge or inside a zoo like Animal Kingdom Lodge or with treehouses like Saratoga Springs. The dining at Disney is very good (by hotel standards). The end dates add value. The characters visiting add value. The on site perks add value (and I’d argue a lot of value). And the fact that it has resale value adds value (including, ironically, adding resale value!)

But yeah, there’s some much nicer and roomier timeshares in the LBV area. They won’t come with EMH or free parking at the parks or reliable-ish transportation. We looked at it all and decided DVC was the best set of traders for our family. You might not!

I just don’t want people to think DVC is a perfect product. It’s not! But all of the others aren’t either.
Thanks for the thorough explanation. I guess I’ve always equated the slimy timeshare sales with the quality of their resorts, which clearly isn’t the case.

Now I’m having the opposite thought that even with the lack of resale value, I’m surprised more DVC people don’t choose the flexibility of MVC or whoever else, since they can use their points nearby WDW and also around the world. We know the only place we’d visit again and again and again will be Disney and want to stay at the same places is DVC but when I visit other cities, even places I’ve already been, I usually like going to different hotels and experiences and I don’t normally travel reliably or predictably enough for other timeshares. But for so many other families, doesn’t it just have more usable value from that standpoint to go with a different timeshare system, specifically if you can use points and not fixed weeks?…But I guess that’s what this thread is for 😏
 
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