Why Dont you do DVC??

[samoyed]

I find it hard to believe a pull out is confortable. OKW is nice with the two beds but I like walking into a park... And I will pay to walk into a Park.. I usually like the Epcot/HS side now that DD is older. I love the atmosphere of AK but everything is either a car ride or bus away.

 

[poohj80]

No mousekeeping?!

Not no mousekeeping, just not daily mousekeeping. You can call mousekeeping at any time if you need something just like a non-DVC room.

 

[soulmates]

We actually WANT to, but the timing isn't right. For now, we RENT points. The best of both worlds. We get ALL the amenities as if we were the DVC Owners and we do NOT have to buy. This is our 2nd year renting points and BOTH times, we were able to rent at a DELUXE resort at MODERATE to VALUE prices....no joke. Last summer, we stayed at the WLV for LESS than a moderate! I've ruined my DP as now she will never stay on property unless it IS a deluxe!

 

[Dorisk3]

At 900 hotel tax though your hotel bill would be more like $9000 !

We are actually thinking about renting dvc points, so I'm actually glad to hear those sleeper sofas are comfortable, that was one thing that made me a little hesitant.

This got into a heated discussion once on wdwmagic, I think as previous posters stated, it really depends on everyone's individual decisions and what works in their lives. It's really only bad if you have to finance over a long period of time and don't really have the money to begin with- which I guess makes up part of that resale market.

 

[poohj80]

We actually WANT to, but the timing isn't right. For now, we RENT points. The best of both worlds. We get ALL the amenities as if we were the DVC Owners and we do NOT have to buy. This is our 2nd year renting points and BOTH times, we were able to rent at a DELUXE resort at MODERATE to VALUE prices....no joke. Last summer, we stayed at the WLV for LESS than a moderate! I've ruined my DP as now she will never stay on property unless it IS a deluxe!

Another good point! We didn't know about the rental market until after we joined but have recommended it to many friends who have become members after the experience.

Congrats on your upcoming nuptials!

 

[poohj80]

At 900 hotel tax though your hotel bill would be more like $9000 !

If hotel taxes were only 10%, but they are not.

 

[mistyt]

For everyone who keeps stating that the pull out beds are not for them, I totally agree, but with DVC you never actually have to stay at a DVC resort so you could still be a member, get all the perks of membership, and never have to stay at a resort with a pull out.

 

[nytimez]

DVC is definitely not for everyone. But anyone who wants to make the argument that it's cheaper to stay at deluxe resorts often without DVC is simply misinformed.

Even with pin codes and specials, I haven't many deals that come close to my total costs.

You can keep the "free" dining, I'd rather have my DVC!

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I am so happy to read some these comments. I thought I was the only one that thought DVC or any timeshare is a waste of money. For what you pay a year, I can stay just about anywhere. I just don't get it. I have had several people tell me that it is a good deal. I do not see the deal at all.

We vacation every year with family that would never go at all if not for our points. THey get free lodging, we get someone to help with the kids and they pick up the tab on many meals. Plus, there's the great memories from vacations that would never happen if not for DVC.

Plus, I would never stay in a value or moderate ever again. Not after a 2 bedroom villa.

We also didn't finance it.

 

[RMulieri]

Too expensive and not enough perks.

2nd this-The deals disney has been having are much better savings and perks than the DVC lately.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Just wondering, I know alot of people on here go Every year or even twice and stay at Deluxe Resorts. Why do you just continue to go without buying dvc?

dont get me wrong i am one of those people

I don't have an extra $15K laying around right now. Yep that's pretty much it, in our financial plans we are setting aside the money to buy into DVC but it will be 3 years from now before we can do so. Do to poor choices and bad debt management when I was younger we just do not have the means to buy in now. If I would have bought in on my first trip even financing I would be the 75% paid mark, makes me sick to think about it, but no sense crying over spilt pixie dust now.

 

[Shmily1]

if you are a value resort person then you are right DVC makes no sense for you

You can get resale pretty cheap right now depending upon the resort maybe around $70 a pt. most resorts the Maintain fees are $4 or so a point. so if you bought 100 pts you would owe around $400 yearly fees and the initial buy in on the above scenario is $7,000.
So, each year you pay the $400 you only pay the $7,000 once when you first buy the contract.

For that right now, I get discounted AP's and save $100 or so a year on those.
Personally, what my family saves on AP's covers our MFees

I get access to the dining plan whenever I want to stay, I dont have to buy tickets or jump any hoops to get it(stay a certain amount of time etc)
I get 10-20% discount in many stores they have.
There are several table service restaurants I can get 10% off, I dont have to do anything but show my DVC card

I also get the ability to hop to almost any pool I want no fear of being thrown out. I get deluxe accomdations which include a washer and dryer(or free use of one) so i save on washing clothes and dont have to bring so many when we go. I have access to at least a fridge and in our case a full kitchen and while we dont cook on vacation, it is nice to be able to put a gallon milk in the fridge, eat breakfast in the am. Unlike the value folks who pay extra for their fridge or do that "sign up here for the fridge" thing. I dont have to worry about it
If i can go for a couple years I can easily rent my points out.
I have bought and sold contracts and my vacations on the points I owned were essentially FREE by the time I got done.

DVC is not for everyone, but it certainly can make sense and be worth at least as much as a cheap vacation at a value resort

Oh and the 100pt scenario would give you the same size accomadation as a value for a whole week almost any week at AKV and you can do that every year for the next 50 years and just spend that original $7,000. that comes out to $140 a WEEK (over the 50 years) lets see you stay at a value for that!!

You can't really count that as $140/week when you're paying maintenance fees every year. That would need to be added in there somewhere.

Not that I'm anti-DVC, but I am anti-kitchen and laundry while I'm on vacation! We will probably do this eventually, but for right now, I'm quite happy going to WDW several times a year and paying to stay at a variety of resorts so that I can experience them all using the discounts Disney provides. I like the variety of options I have now and if I decide that I want to take a vacation for the next few days starting tomorrow, then I can call WDW and get a room without having to say I didn't get to go because I couldn't get a room on my points.

 

[ReneeA]

2nd this-The deals disney has been having are much better savings and perks than the DVC lately.

This is the reason we haven't bought yet. We have been 4 times since 2005 and paid very little for vacations since we go the end of August. We stay in the moderates and get the DDP...it's really difficult to justify the upfront costs with the way and time of year that we travel.

Things may shift for us in a few years, but for now DVC doesn't make alot of sense.

 

[FigNewton]

Buying direct at times can make sense..there are no closing costs when buying direct
there is no risk of ROFR (disney buying the resale contract you had your heart on)
Instant ability to plan a vacation
sometimes a small perk..maybe they give you an ice cream or some fast passes while you are there
ability to finance if you want

each person has things which are most important to them and what fits their needs so while resale can be cheaper, it isnt alwayd cheaper nor is it always better

If price is the big issue, there are very very few situations where it is more expensive even with closing costs. Yes you could get ROFRd, yea it can be a slower process because you have to find the right package for you and you have to go through the usual real estate junk. But when you are looking at saving thousands of dollars then there is almost nothing Disney could offer as a perk to make up for it. We saved $3000. At the time I think Disney was offering a 3 day cruise for two. No thanks on the cruise I'd much rather save my $3k.

 

[Bradsdadg]

2nd this-The deals disney has been having are much better savings and perks than the DVC lately.

I'm finding a little humor in this since your next trip is stated to be at the BCV!!

 

[LilGMom]

DVC isn't for everyone but for some of us it made, and continues to make, good sense. Even as a FL resident getting FL resident and SAP discounts we were starting to feel the pinch of staying at the resorts that we liked (WL, AKL, etc.). FL resident and AP discounts & perks aren't what they used to be nor are they as reliable as they used to be - doesn't really encourage me to continue to be an AP holder. With DVC we can stay in the resorts that we like, I don't have to budget for the resort or seek out discounts, we have never had a problem booking a last minute trip on points (did this in August for Last Tour of Endor with friends), we can provide free/severly discounted lodging to friends/family, we can get dining/shopping discounts without having to be AP holders (we haven't had APs in two years), and even though I don't use the kitchen it is nice having the extra space and being able to do laundry mid-trip or right before we head home.

If we were to stay a week in a one bedroom and pay OOP for it that would be for our maintenance fees for more than just one year.

 

[Pakey]

I have 3 DVC contracts, paid in cash, and pay a little over $2000 per year in dues. We bought our first contract over 15 years ago.

I regret my DVC purchase. Hard to say that on a Disney board because I've been told more than once I'm crazy when I have said this. But I think people considering it should think about it.

45-50 years is a long time to vacation at the same place. We have over 20 visits to WDW. Our children are now out of the house and quite honestly, all 3 of them prefer going to the beach over going to WDW. So we have enough points to go for 5 weeks a year and nobody wants to use them.

There was a time when I thought we'd never want to vacation anywhere except WDW. Now we do. The DVC points are not a good trade to use elsewhere and if you want to use them outside of the Disney umbrella, it can be very difficult/requires lots of flexibility and advance notice.

I realize that some people are satisfied going to WDW every year forever. I often wonder on here, though, how many of the vocal fans of DVC have owned 5 years or less? At that point in our contracts, I thought WDW was the only place to vacation too.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I do not want to pay so much upfront. I don't want to feel like I have to vacation at disney as that would ruin the magic. it is not a deal no matter how the salespeople run the numbers. I like maid service on vacation. I like the freedom of staying offsiite.

I have no desire to be locked into any timeshare.

 

[Bradsdadg]

I have 3 DVC contracts

I regret my DVC purchase.

You're not stuck with them, you can always sell em off.

 

[poohj80]

I have 3 DVC contracts, paid in cash, and pay a little over $2000 per year in dues. We bought our first contract over 15 years ago.

I regret my DVC purchase. Hard to say that on a Disney board because I've been told more than once I'm crazy when I have said this. But I think people considering it should think about it.

45-50 years is a long time to vacation at the same place. We have over 20 visits to WDW. Our children are now out of the house and quite honestly, all 3 of them prefer going to the beach over going to WDW. So we have enough points to go for 5 weeks a year and nobody wants to use them.

There was a time when I thought we'd never want to vacation anywhere except WDW. Now we do. The DVC points are not a good trade to use elsewhere and if you want to use them outside of the Disney umbrella, it can be very difficult/requires lots of flexibility and advance notice.

I realize that some people are satisfied going to WDW every year forever. I often wonder on here, though, how many of the vocal fans of DVC have owned 5 years or less? At that point in our contracts, I thought WDW was the only place to vacation too.

I appreciate your cander and sharing what you know may be an unpopular view. We actually wondered if this would happen to us as well. With $2000 in fees per year, you must own a LOT of points! We have owned for 9 years now and are still going strong. We know when we are held to DD's school schedule in the next few years, we will have to travel at busier times (= more points per night) plus may not be able to visit as often or for as long per trip. However, we also anticpate her wanting to brings a friend along which means we'll be needing more points for a 2 BR so we think we will continue to get a lot of use out of our points for now. When she gets older, I can see we may start seeing what you are experiencing but we'll deal with it then.