Why I Love My DVC Ownership?!

[The Sunrise Student]

We've been members since 2000 and own at BWV & AKV

Putting up with MS? DVC rules, policies and management? Sorry, but I don't get "putting up with". How much do we really have to deal with? The rules are the rules, as in any timeshare, any hotel, any resort property. MS is customer service, and yes I agree sometimes they are harder to reach than other times, but I also find the same sometimes across the board with any customer service we deal with in life in general.

The policies and management, , how often do we, as owners on vacation have issues with policies and management over how many great stays, gorgeous locations, easy of access to the World, and what's offered in the DVC resorts?

I see this as a very negative spin on things that just don't effect owners on a day to day, vacation to vacation basis. JMHO anyway.

How many times has customer service at the DVC resort or management stepped up to the plate and exceeded expectations? In our experiences, more often than not. I can really only remember complaining about something once or twice in 15 years.

Nothing is perfect, anywhere. DVC, in our experience, comes closer than just about any place we've ever stayed, be it another timeshare resort, hotel or resort property in any of our travels.

For the OP, our answer about why we love DVC is many reasons:

#1 reason - because it's a forced vacation for a very busy, changing and growing family in our very favorite place to be.

#2 DVC accommodations have allowed us to bring friends, cousins and other family members numerous times in comfortable and roomy style, with great locations (like BWV) We will continue this pattern (God willing) until we are well into our 80's and

#3 It will be here for our children and their children!

#4 It's come to feel like home, and can be as relaxing as the DVC resorts have to offer, and as active and busy as the rest of WDW can be.

#5 Convenience of travel from airport to resort and resort to parks, within the world. We never rent a car being on property

#6 Of the other timeshares out there, we think this is by far, the best fit for our family. It's something we always use, a place we haven't tired of with no sign of that in the future

There's a ton more reasons, but I think this conveys the jist of it for our family. If it's something you think will fit your vacation needs time and time and time again, and if it's a favorite place to be for you, then it's definitely worth looking into an ownership.....

Good luck with your decision and happy planning

Hello DeeCee,

Thank you for your candied answers.... both good and bad ones, rebuttals and experiences. Everyone has their opinions and their own experiences to be certain and it has been wonderful hearing from EVERYONE!

I know that in Fall 2016 we are planning a big family trip to WDW during Food and Wine, with a bunch of people... BUT I can totally see 80 to 90 percent of the time it just being us, but once and a while inviting a few different people in smaller groups to come with us to vacation too would be fabulous, and having the extra room and flexibility to go big or small depending on need would be awesome, and all under the same budget!

The thing I also like is normally big groups have to play to each others schedules if rely solely on rental cars, but as you said in the world people can used the system to go or stay as they choose and meet up. And that is one of the awesome things. When we do just a long weekend we haven't rented a car and used Disney transport to do what we needed, and that was wonderful too!

Thanks for everything, good stuff to glean from your post!

 

[The Sunrise Student]

We bought really because of the long-term savings for accommodations. We are in our 40s, and my wife and I are 100% convinced we will want to keep going to Disney World for as long as we are alived, whether we have grandkids or not.

Bill is right to say these trips aren't getting cheaper, but buying DVC gives you a long-term severe reduction in your room costs. If you are only looking to the near-term (<10 years) then it's not that great an idea, but if you think you (a) want to go every year and (b) will still want to go every year 10 years from now, and (c) normally stay at on-property at a moderate or above...then I think buying DVC resale is a no-brainer.

Hi skier pete,

I think we are in the same bought as you folks, we keep going back, and probably would even without marching for the mouse. It has become a fun addiction, not saying we would always go every year, but I can totally see bare minimum going every other year for the rest of our lives at well.

I like the way that once this is paid for and budgeted it's there, and not having to come up with the total cost every time get go. I like to pre purchase, pre buy and not load down a credit card with a full trip to only have to pay it off with interest later. It's one of the reasons I make reservations so far out and pay on it. A DVC would kinda be in the same line of thinking accept after the large initial buy is paid for all you have is the fees, which is far cheaper than any week long stay a Disney Property or any where else.

Someone already asked me, "If you don't mind telling me, how much are you paying for your 11 night stay?" Once I told them they said that was already a hefty payment on a DVC, yes of course my figure was with tickets too... but those are only a small portion of the cost. And if I just do that same kind of cost 3 to 4 times I have more than paid for a DVC I would have for life (40 to 50 years depending on the contract).

And I know I am going to go more than 3 or 4 more times in my entire life (heck we are going 3 to 4 more times in the next two years), kids or no kids, grand kids or not... just the two of us, for certain would go more than 3 or 4 times!

It was very good to hear from you, from people who don't have kids at home like us... I already had in the back of my mind I don't have kids, is this really worth is...

Take care,

 

[disneynutz]

We've been members since 2000 and own at BWV & AKV

Putting up with MS? DVC rules, policies and management? Sorry, but I don't get "putting up with". How much do we really have to deal with? The rules are the rules, as in any timeshare, any hotel, any resort property. MS is customer service, and yes I agree sometimes they are harder to reach than other times, but I also find the same sometimes across the board with any customer service we deal with in life in general.

The policies and management, , how often do we, as owners on vacation have issues with policies and management over how many great stays, gorgeous locations, easy of access to the World, and what's offered in the DVC resorts?

I see this as a very negative spin on things that just don't effect owners on a day to day, vacation to vacation basis. JMHO anyway.

How many times has customer service at the DVC resort or management stepped up to the plate and exceeded expectations? In our experiences, more often than not. I can really only remember complaining about something once or twice in 15 years.

Nothing is perfect, anywhere. DVC, in our experience, comes closer than just about any place we've ever stayed, be it another timeshare resort, hotel or resort property in any of our travels.

For the OP, our answer about why we love DVC is many reasons:

#1 reason - because it's a forced vacation for a very busy, changing and growing family in our very favorite place to be.

#2 DVC accommodations have allowed us to bring friends, cousins and other family members numerous times in comfortable and roomy style, with great locations (like BWV) We will continue this pattern (God willing) until we are well into our 80's and

#3 It will be here for our children and their children!

#4 It's come to feel like home, and can be as relaxing as the DVC resorts have to offer, and as active and busy as the rest of WDW can be.

#5 Convenience of travel from airport to resort and resort to parks, within the world. We never rent a car being on property

#6 Of the other timeshares out there, we think this is by far, the best fit for our family. It's something we always use, a place we haven't tired of with no sign of that in the future

There's a ton more reasons, but I think this conveys the jist of it for our family. If it's something you think will fit your vacation needs time and time and time again, and if it's a favorite place to be for you, then it's definitely worth looking into an ownership.....

Good luck with your decision and happy planning

I may have a different view of MS/DVC Management because we book several vacations per year. In my experience MS has too many problems that we just put up with. Website issues, password issues, long phone queue times, rules changes, deliberate delays for resale buyers, room category issues, point reallocations, management issues that caused 3 executives to get fired.

With all respect your reasons above are not DVC reasons. The CM's at the resorts are not DVC CM's, and that's my point. Owners post for all to read how much they love owning DVC when IMO they really love Disney/WDW. They may love staying in a DVC resort and/or room, but you don't have to own to do that.

Do I love DVC, our family uses DVC to stay at Disney properties which we love. We save money using our ownership to stay in DVC rooms.

Bill

 

[The Sunrise Student]

I may have a different view of MS/DVC Management because we book several vacations per year. In my experience MS has too many problems that we just put up with. Website issues, password issues, long phone queue times, rules changes, deliberate delays for resale buyers, room category issues, point reallocations, management issues that caused 3 executives to get fired.

With all respect your reasons above are not DVC reasons. The CM's at the resorts are not DVC CM's, and that's my point. Owners post for all to read how much they love owning DVC when IMO they really love Disney/WDW. They may love staying in a DVC resort and/or room, but you don't have to own to do that.

Do I love DVC, our family uses DVC to stay at Disney properties which we love. We save money using our ownership to stay in DVC rooms.

Bill

Pretty please elaborate on the delays for resale buyers (is this the same for renting or renting out points) and what about point reallocation or room category issues?

One of the many reasons I am considering DVC is if we find we aren't using it and we bought too many points we might sell them or vise versa we might add. In addition we might rent points first to check things out... hoping doing so doesn't have big issues... as well as if we decide to rent out our points one year because we aren't going to loose them and want to recup the fee costs....

I liked the idea of DVC because of the flexability, but if that isn't truly there then I wouldn't buy for the same reason I wouldn't by a time share at a fixed condo/home. I am interested because the flexibility is very appealing.

PS Long phone wait times, I am wondering if that is all over Disney these days. I know when there have been special events or dinning reservations that were hot I have waited on the phone for 2 plus hours to get in on those offering...

Thanks again for chiming in, good and bad, I really do want to hear it all.

I am glad to hear that despite the bad there is some good in your posts... Questions for you... have you ever sold points before or bought points outside disney? I see your comment about wait for resale and I wonder about that sort of thing.

 

[HisBeautyHerBeast]

For DBF and I, there are many pros of having a DVC membership!
Don't get me wrong, it is pricey but it pays off in the long run!

We plan to have it fully paid off in a few years, then after that we just pay our annual dues and nothing else! That's endless Disney trips

Also, the discounts are a great perk!
We saved on our dining plan this vacation which was AWESOME!
The discounts in stores and dining may be small, but we kept all of our receipts and they sure add up! We must've saved over $100!
We also just bought tickets to Frozen on Ice in NYC, 20% discount!
There are discounts on the spa too
We also get discounts on special event tickets, like MNSSHP, which we ended up going to twice in one week!
They are even doing a deal right now, $199 for a 4-day ticket! How awesome is that?!

The pool hopping option is cool too, and I must say, viewing Wishes from Top of the World Lounge in BLT is something I couldn't pass up for anything!

The rooms are much spacier, and there's nothing like hearing "Welcome Home!" every time a CM finds out your a member.
You can also get room changes and upgrades just by asking!
You definitely are getting what you pay for, but if you don't plan to go to Disney at least once a year or a few times every few years, I wouldn't say it's worth it!

All in all, DBF and I advocate for it constantly, we say it was one of the greatest decisions we have ever made!

 

[DizBub]

In my experience MS has too many problems that we just put up with. Website issues, password issues, long phone queue times, rules changes, deliberate delays for resale buyers, room category issues, point reallocations, management issues that caused 3 executives to get fired.

Bill

Pretty please elaborate on the delays for resale buyers (is this the same for renting or renting out points) and what about point reallocation or room category issues?

I liked the idea of DVC because of the flexability, but if that isn't truly there then I wouldn't buy for the same reason I wouldn't by a time share at a fixed condo/home. I am interested because the flexibility is very appealing.


I am glad to hear that despite the bad there is some good in your posts... Questions for you... have you ever sold points before or bought points outside disney? I see your comment about wait for resale and I wonder about that sort of thing.

Hope Bill will come back and elaborate his position but I would like to jump in with some thoughts.....the website issues I have encountered have been since they basically merged the DVC site with My Disney Experience (MDE). Password issues have been that instead of having 2 log-ins we now are required to have 1 password for both. When you are on MDE you cannot see anything to do with DVC account. It has been a bit of a cluster and things are still being sorted out. I don't blame DVC for this but Disney IT.

Deliberate waits for resale may have to do with when you purchase resale it's at least a 30 day process and could go longer, sometimes 2 months. First you have to find a contract and contact the broker with an offer. Sometimes the broker isn't too johnny-on-the-spot or the sellers can't be reached right away. Then there is the negotiation could take a day or two back and forth. Then the contract gets sent to Disney for ROFR...that takes roughly 30 days. If you pass then it's sent to the title company and is registered with the county and THEN it's sent to DVC Member Services. If you don't already have an existing account they have to take extra days to create and set up your account. Then they say it takes 2 weeks to physically get your member # in the mail. Whew!!

Point reallocations have not happened too much in the 5 years we have owned but it used to be that it was cheaper for DVC members to stay Sunday through Thursday and much more expensive to stay Friday and Saturday. So basically members would check in on Sundays, check out on Thursday, stay off-site for the weekend and check back in on Sunday. DVC resorts were relatively empty on the weekends. They readjusted the points charts and evened it out so now the resorts are pretty well filled at all times. Some long-timers are still unhappy about this.

Just to note that there is a set # of points for each resort that can never increase. If they raise points for a season or a room category they must lower another season/category.

Management issues and firings ensued when they opened BLT and Aulani and found that Aulani's MF were set inadequately low. BLT maybe also since dues there have gone up at least 6% every year since we've owned there.

There really is flexibility in DVC but it's really only as flexible as you are. DVC does have some pretty rigid rules like banking deadlines and banking and borrowing rules. Some don't like the 31 day cancellation policy. If you cancel 31 days before your points go back into your account. Cancel 30 days or less your points go into a holding account and cannot be used to book a vacation more than 60 days out and if you can't use them they cannot be banked and will expire at the end of your Use Year.

Bottom line is that to be happy with DVC you should buy where you want to stay (if that's important to you), plan and book early and roll with the punches when life happens and you have to cancel. It's been our experience that MS has worked with us when we've needed help a couple of times.

We have rented points from other members 3 separate times with absolutely no issues. We have never rented our points out, (we use all of ours and then some) so can't give insight on that.

Hope this helps.

 

[skier_pete]

It was very good to hear from you, from people who don't have kids at home like us... I already had in the back of my mind I don't have kids, is this really worth is...

Take care,

I guess I wasn't clear. We do have an 11-year old daughter. But someday she will be grown, and we will keep going without her!

 

[The Sunrise Student]

For DBF and I, there are many pros of having a DVC membership!
Don't get me wrong, it is pricey but it pays off in the long run!

We plan to have it fully paid off in a few years, then after that we just pay our annual dues and nothing else! That's endless Disney trips

Also, the discounts are a great perk!
We saved on our dining plan this vacation which was AWESOME!
The discounts in stores and dining may be small, but we kept all of our receipts and they sure add up! We must've saved over $100!
We also just bought tickets to Frozen on Ice in NYC, 20% discount!
There are discounts on the spa too
We also get discounts on special event tickets, like MNSSHP, which we ended up going to twice in one week!
They are even doing a deal right now, $199 for a 4-day ticket! How awesome is that?!

The pool hopping option is cool too, and I must say, viewing Wishes from Top of the World Lounge in BLT is something I couldn't pass up for anything!

The rooms are much spacier, and there's nothing like hearing "Welcome Home!" every time a CM finds out your a member.
You can also get room changes and upgrades just by asking!
You definitely are getting what you pay for, but if you don't plan to go to Disney at least once a year or a few times every few years, I wouldn't say it's worth it!

All in all, DBF and I advocate for it constantly, we say it was one of the greatest decisions we have ever made!

The bigger space is really something that is a selling point.

Discounts outside the parks, do tell... is it like my Disney Visa Card... do I present my membership number and get discounts or are there special offers news letters or both?


Get upgrades just by asking? Hmmmmm that sounds strange? It would cost you more points, right?!

Thank you for your input!!!

 

[The Sunrise Student]

Hope Bill will come back and elaborate his position but I would like to jump in with some thoughts.....the website issues I have encountered have been since they basically merged the DVC site with My Disney Experience (MDE). Password issues have been that instead of having 2 log-ins we now are required to have 1 password for both. When you are on MDE you cannot see anything to do with DVC account. It has been a bit of a cluster and things are still being sorted out. I don't blame DVC for this but Disney IT.

Deliberate waits for resale may have to do with when you purchase resale it's at least a 30 day process and could go longer, sometimes 2 months. First you have to find a contract and contact the broker with an offer. Sometimes the broker isn't too johnny-on-the-spot or the sellers can't be reached right away. Then there is the negotiation could take a day or two back and forth. Then the contract gets sent to Disney for ROFR...that takes roughly 30 days. If you pass then it's sent to the title company and is registered with the county and THEN it's sent to DVC Member Services. If you don't already have an existing account they have to take extra days to create and set up your account. Then they say it takes 2 weeks to physically get your member # in the mail. Whew!!

Point reallocations have not happened too much in the 5 years we have owned but it used to be that it was cheaper for DVC members to stay Sunday through Thursday and much more expensive to stay Friday and Saturday. So basically members would check in on Sundays, check out on Thursday, stay off-site for the weekend and check back in on Sunday. DVC resorts were relatively empty on the weekends. They readjusted the points charts and evened it out so now the resorts are pretty well filled at all times. Some long-timers are still unhappy about this.

Just to note that there is a set # of points for each resort that can never increase. If they raise points for a season or a room category they must lower another season/category.

Management issues and firings ensued when they opened BLT and Aulani and found that Aulani's MF were set inadequately low. BLT maybe also since dues there have gone up at least 6% every year since we've owned there.

There really is flexibility in DVC but it's really only as flexible as you are. DVC does have some pretty rigid rules like banking deadlines and banking and borrowing rules. Some don't like the 31 day cancellation policy. If you cancel 31 days before your points go back into your account. Cancel 30 days or less your points go into a holding account and cannot be used to book a vacation more than 60 days out and if you can't use them they cannot be banked and will expire at the end of your Use Year.

Bottom line is that to be happy with DVC you should buy where you want to stay (if that's important to you), plan and book early and roll with the punches when life happens and you have to cancel. It's been our experience that MS has worked with us when we've needed help a couple of times.

We have rented points from other members 3 separate times with absolutely no issues. We have never rented our points out, (we use all of ours and then some) so can't give insight on that.

Hope this helps.

They merged MDE and DVC websites that is an IT nightmare even for the best of the best with honors... YIKES! If this is the problems bill speaks of no wonder there are complaints. But truly management always plans one way, and soemtimes they do or do not listen to IT timelines. The IT always finds germlins and things go wrong, unpredictable germlins! (can't tell I am a Network Engineer, can you?) Someday it will get worked out but if they pushed the system to fast it's hard to fix, it's like building an airplane while it's flying....

I have heard a couple times about this point shifting per year throughout the seasons but still trying to grasp the idea that points per a night never go up they are only moved around... if they increase in one area they will decrease in another?

Rented other points out, have you added them to yours to extend your stay? Or get a bigger location or better view? IF SO, how does that work?

Thank you so much for your input, this is good stuff!!

 

[DizBub]

They merged MDE and DVC websites that is an IT nightmare even for the best of the best with honors... YIKES! If this is the problems bill speaks of no wonder there are complaints. But truly management always plans one way, and soemtimes they do or do not listen to IT timelines. The IT always finds germlins and things go wrong, unpredictable germlins! (can't tell I am a Network Engineer, can you?) Someday it will get worked out but if they pushed the system to fast it's hard to fix, it's like building an airplane while it's flying....

I have heard a couple times about this point shifting per year throughout the seasons but still trying to grasp the idea that points per a night never go up they are only moved around... if they increase in one area they will decrease in another?

Rented other points out, have you added them to yours to extend your stay? Or get a bigger location or better view? IF SO, how does that work?

Thank you so much for your input, this is good stuff!!

Actually the Official Disney site, MDE and DVC now share the same log-in and password, at least for me. I tried to keep it separate for as long as I could but issues came up with MBs, tickets and FP+. Had to do it.

As far as the points charts, if you aren't familiar with them you can find them at the top of this page. Or checkout David's site http://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp I use this site most often. Just put in your dates and it will give you the points required for that stay. Or his cash price for rentals.

Yes, if they raise or lower any point requirements something else will lower or raise. Count on it.

You can use your own points for booking part of a reservation and use rented points to complete your stay. MS can link your reservations into one if they are the same resort and room category. You could also do a split stay with your own and rented points. When you rent points the member you rent from has to call and make the reservation for you and they retain control of the reservation.

Another option is if you need extra points for a longer stay or larger accommodations you can have another member transfer points into your account. Some people are happy to have a small contract to keep their dues low and get the perks of DVC and use the transfer option with regularity. It's like renting points but when you transfer them they are yours to use as you wish, if they are the same UY as your own they can even be banked if you don't use them all. The beauty of this is that you control your reservation.

Yet another option is DVC can sell you up to 24 one-time-use points per year for $15pp if you need them to fill out a reservation. These are only available at the 7 month mark or after.

A couple of years ago we wanted to go and had the points but there was no availability anywhere since it was the 1st week of Dec. Found a confirmed reservation for 4 nights at SSR and since we had never stayed there we grabbed it. Turned out that we fell in love with SSR and didn't want to leave so called MS the day before we were supposed to check out and got 2 more nights with our own points. Thank goodness for last minute cancellations.

See how flexible this is?

 

[Minniesgal]

Hello JimMIA, See and I wonder about being just the two of us if it really is worth locking into a DVC, you said would wouldn't buy DVC for a studio... I assumed they would be bigger than a regular room, are they not? In addition, no kids, so we only need the one room, would like it to be a LARGE room so we can spread out but it sounds like the one bedrooms are more what we are looking for to stow gear and have room. I know we like to spread out and not live out a of a suitcase and that is very hard to do with all the gear we bring for Marching. Thank you very much, giving me things to think about!

My feeling on the subject if studios is if we were happy just staying in studios DVC would not have made sense as we would have also been happy in a hotel room in a moderate. DVC made sense because we wanted a minimum of a 1 bedroom. I don't see the pout in buying in for studios when you can get perfectly good hotel rooms frequently at a discount

 

[The Sunrise Student]

I guess I wasn't clear. We do have an 11-year old daughter. But someday she will be grown, and we will keep going without her!

 

[The Sunrise Student]

Actually the Official Disney site, MDE and DVC now share the same log-in and password, at least for me. I tried to keep it separate for as long as I could but issues came up with MBs, tickets and FP+. Had to do it.

As far as the points charts, if you aren't familiar with them you can find them at the top of this page. Or checkout David's site http://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp I use this site most often. Just put in your dates and it will give you the points required for that stay. Or his cash price for rentals.

Yes, if they raise or lower any point requirements something else will lower or raise. Count on it.

You can use your own points for booking part of a reservation and use rented points to complete your stay. MS can link your reservations into one if they are the same resort and room category. You could also do a split stay with your own and rented points. When you rent points the member you rent from has to call and make the reservation for you and they retain control of the reservation.

Another option is if you need extra points for a longer stay or larger accommodations you can have another member transfer points into your account. Some people are happy to have a small contract to keep their dues low and get the perks of DVC and use the transfer option with regularity. It's like renting points but when you transfer them they are yours to use as you wish, if they are the same UY as your own they can even be banked if you don't use them all. The beauty of this is that you control your reservation.

Yet another option is DVC can sell you up to 24 one-time-use points per year for $15pp if you need them to fill out a reservation. These are only available at the 7 month mark or after.

A couple of years ago we wanted to go and had the points but there was no availability anywhere since it was the 1st week of Dec. Found a confirmed reservation for 4 nights at SSR and since we had never stayed there we grabbed it. Turned out that we fell in love with SSR and didn't want to leave so called MS the day before we were supposed to check out and got 2 more nights with our own points. Thank goodness for last minute cancellations.

See how flexible this is?

Crazy flexible to almost the point of confusion

I submitted a web request for a DVC DVD a few day ago and Disney reps called me yesterday so I am getting a big packet sent to me as well as a few coloring books for the grandkids, I guess it's pitch time.

I am sure as we look through the information packets being sent I am going to have even more questions to make sure I know how it really works and see if those of you have done it in that manner....

DizBub it looks like you have played the game with alot of different avenues so I know I am going to want to pick your brain some more

Thank you for all this information... trying to soak it all in

 

[The Sunrise Student]

My feeling on the subject if studios is if we were happy just staying in studios DVC would not have made sense as we would have also been happy in a hotel room in a moderate. DVC made sense because we wanted a minimum of a 1 bedroom. I don't see the pout in buying in for studios when you can get perfectly good hotel rooms frequently at a discount

And Minniegal that is what we are wondering, when 95% of the time it is just two of us and we would probably just like a room studio size room is it worth it... can I get the same room size at a resort?!

We like the deluxe resorts on the 20 to 30 percent discount that Disney Travel tends to offer, and we seem to be able to get in on that often.

So if DVC accommodations are equivalent to a Moderate Hotel room at the WDW Resorts I am not sure if we will be happy with paying the same rate we get when we get discounted rates at a deluxe.

I am going to do some major number crunching... I will share my results with everyone. I don't mind sharing what we are paying for our stay currently... heck, someone could pretend to book a room and figure it out... I really want to get a good account and see the numbers.

I also wanna compare the floor plan footage and see if there is really more room in a DVC studio compared to a deluxe room.

Minniesgal, Thank you for your opinion

 

[crisi]

The bigger space is really something that is a selling point.

Discounts outside the parks, do tell... is it like my Disney Visa Card... do I present my membership number and get discounts or are there special offers news letters or both?


Get upgrades just by asking? Hmmmmm that sounds strange? It would cost you more points, right?!

Thank you for your input!!!

You don't get room upgrades just by asking. Upgrades at dvc are very rare - only when rooms are out of service - and people have been downgraded as well - showing up at BCV and ending up at SSR - when rooms are out of service. Once in a great while it happens to a members advantage - and some people have been lucky enough to have it happen more than once. For most of us, upgrades are a myth. And asking at checkin isn't likely to do much good anyway - DVC is set up to run at almost 100% occupancy - which is why you might get an upgrade or downgrade if a room goes out of service unexpectedly - there usually isn't anywhere to upgrade you to.

DVC studios are generally smaller than the Deluxe rooms - except VWL and AKL rooms which are sized more like moderates. You won't find DVC studios the size of the huge Poly rooms. Back before Disney resorts had fridges in the room, the studios were a way to get a fridge, microwave and coffee maker - I think the microwave is the only thing not in a Deluxe any longer. There are several sources for room sizes on the internet - they tend to vary in their estimates of room sizes, but spend some time reviewing them. DVC studios are bigger than values and slightly bigger than moderates in general. For members coming from a value resort, a DVC studio is huge.

You shouldn't by for perks - there has been for quite a while a good discount on Annual passes, but the perks for ordinary tickets have not existed or been limited. There are some perks on dining, but it tends to be unpopular restaurants over lunch. We love Cirque - and there have been discounts for Cirque - but never when we've traveled.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

You don't get room upgrades just by asking. Upgrades at dvc are very rare - only when rooms are out of service - and people have been downgraded as well - showing up at BCV and ending up at SSR - when rooms are out of service. Once in a great while it happens to a members advantage - and some people have been lucky enough to have it happen more than once. For most of us, upgrades are a myth. And asking at checkin isn't likely to do much good anyway - DVC is set up to run at almost 100% occupancy - which is why you might get an upgrade or downgrade if a room goes out of service unexpectedly - there usually isn't anywhere to upgrade you to.

DVC studios are generally smaller than the Deluxe rooms - except VWL and AKL rooms which are sized more like moderates. You won't find DVC studios the size of the huge Poly rooms. Back before Disney resorts had fridges in the room, the studios were a way to get a fridge, microwave and coffee maker - I think the microwave is the only thing not in a Deluxe any longer. There are several sources for room sizes on the internet - they tend to vary in their estimates of room sizes, but spend some time reviewing them. DVC studios are bigger than values and slightly bigger than moderates in general. For members coming from a value resort, a DVC studio is huge.

You shouldn't by for perks - there has been for quite a while a good discount on Annual passes, but the perks for ordinary tickets have not existed or been limited. There are some perks on dining, but it tends to be unpopular restaurants over lunch. We love Cirque - and there have been discounts for Cirque - but never when we've traveled.

Thank you crisi, this is what I thought when I heard people getting upgrades for free, even at the non DVC hotel/resort side... I have asked a few times and it only happened to me once, on a huge B-DAY celebration during Janurary, not like they are busy there so it was very easy to do, and all I was asking for was a better view, not a different room set up/layout!

 

[skier_pete]

So if DVC accommodations are equivalent to a Moderate Hotel room at the WDW Resorts I am not sure if we will be happy with paying the same rate we get when we get discounted rates at a deluxe.

No - the DVC studio rooms are generally slightly bigger than the regular deluxe rooms. Not universally, but most of the time. They are not comparable to a moderate room - so you shouldn't even go there.

You also (long-term) save a LOT of money over a deluxe studio rates, even discounted. Here's how I did it. (This is all based on a resale buy.)

Our buy-in for 160 pts at AKV was about $13000. Over the life of the contract (42 more years) that means I get 6720 points, so my initial investment cost me about $2 per point. (This is simplifying the calculations of course - paying up front means that it's $2 per point in 2014 dollars, even when staying in 2047, but we'll ignore that for now.) Let's assume you do something similar.

Then, the annual maintenance fees are currently just under $6 a point. So, overall in the first year, I'm paying $8 a point. (Again, simplified but fairly accurate.)

A typical studio room is going to cost you 15-20 points a night, assuming you are not going at the most popular times of year or the highest end rooms. Based on $8 a point, that means you are spending between $120 - $160 a night.

Last I checked, even with a 30% discount, you are not anywhere near $160 a night at a deluxe hotel. Maybe $300 a night, right? So we're comparing $120-$160 a night with DVC to $300 a night with discounts.

Then lets look at inflation. Let's be conservative a say current room rates are $400 a night at deluxes. Based on previous price increases, these will continue to go up at 5 % a year or more. That means in 10 years, they will be $600 a night. 30% off makes it $420 a night.

Meanwhile, if my maintenance fees go up by 5 % as well, I'm now paying $9 a point instead of $6 a point. Adding in the $2 per point initial cost, I'm up to $11 per point. Again assuming 15-20 points at that rate? $165 - $220 a night.
So now ten years from now, you are paying $165-$220 a night versus $420 a night. Do that again in 10 more years, it's $250 versus $600.

Again, all of this is done on a simplistic basis. It also assumes room rates and maintenance fees go up at the same rate...there's no way to know that's going to happen. However, the difference is so disparaging, it can't even be compared. Over 40 years, assuming the same vacations either way, you are talking TRIPLE the cost to stay deluxe even with a discount versus DVC. OR you can get more points (what many people do) and stay in a 1- or 2-bedroom for what would otherwise cost you to stay in a hotel room.

The great negative to DVC is coming up with that upfront cash. Some finance, but you have to watch out for how much MORE that actually costs you - it can easily double you buy-in a Disney's financing rates. Once you get past that though, it's all gravy.

 

[ziravan]

I may have a different view of MS/DVC Management because we book several vacations per year. In my experience MS has too many problems that we just put up with. Website issues, password issues, long phone queue times, rules changes, deliberate delays for resale buyers, room category issues, point reallocations, management issues that caused 3 executives to get fired.

With all respect your reasons above are not DVC reasons. The CM's at the resorts are not DVC CM's, and that's my point. Owners post for all to read how much they love owning DVC when IMO they really love Disney/WDW. They may love staying in a DVC resort and/or room, but you don't have to own to do that.

Do I love DVC, our family uses DVC to stay at Disney properties which we love. We save money using our ownership to stay in DVC rooms.

Bill

I just got back from my first DVC vacation (not my first Disney vacation) and it was awesome. And. We are going back in two months, bringing my MIL this time. No way we could do that otherwise. It would be insanity to even consider it. Going to Disney twice in a three month period........

I even bought an AP.

I disagree that DVC is just another way to access the World.

DVC is a different way to access Disney. It DOES change the way most of us interact with Disney, many times in profound and positive ways. That's why so many here are fans of DVC as well as Disney.

You routinely discount the WOW factor of DVC. It's just another timeshare, don't drink the Koolaid, etc. I understand that you have chosen to bring some grounding to those considering ownership. I respect that.

But. Your perspective is just that. It's a perspective, and not the only one.

Buying DVC may not have been the best thing I've ever done, but it's the best that I've done this year. I not only have no regrets, I'm excited every time I think about. That's not because I'm in some secret club, or know the secret handshake:

I'm excited because DVC is a different way to access Disney. And. It's so much different from CRO that to suggest that it's just another access point is not only misleading, it purposely misses the point of why many of us enjoy DVC ownership.

I did so many things different this last trip because I knew I was coming back that it completely and positively changed my vacation. Instead of commando at the park, some days we did two hours here, and two hours at another park later, and a few hours somewhere else in the evening. The pace of my trip changed, and it was a completely different experience.

Bill, as you say, you deal with booking, etc., several times a year. You're so removed from the "I don't know if I'll ever be back" mentality of a once in a lifetime trip to Disney that you can afford to be jaded about the routine of doing Disney.

The bridge where most people are considering ownership is located in just that place where you haven't been in a very long time. It's where people are making a conscious decision to make Disney a routine. That's a bridge you crossed long ago.

Disney is awesome. So is DVC, in its own right and not because it's just another access point to Disney, but because it's an amazing access point to Disney. DVC will change your Disney World experience.

 

[com_op_2000]

...So if DVC accommodations are equivalent to a Moderate Hotel room at the WDW Resorts...

NO, DVC studio rooms are larger than moderate rooms!
You will be doing yourself a dis-service by comparing WDW moderate hotels rooms to DVC studios.
Before DVC, we stayed in most every moderate resort at WDW and when we got into an OKW room we were greatly suprised by the size. Also, the moderate rooms at WDW do not include the kitchenette.
The kitchette can be a great savings vehicle if properly used over the course of your DVC stays by cooking meals within them or pre-cooking and bringing meals to be heated in the microwave. DW and I mostly stay in studios for our trips.

 

[DizBub]

Keep in mind that in a DVC studio there will be much more open floor space than a regular moderate or deluxe room due to the fact that there is 1 queen bed and a sleeper sofa. If there is only 2 of you there would be no reason to open the sofa. Even if you did have more people the sofa can be folded up during the day. One exception would be the studios at OKW, all of them have 2 queen beds but the rooms themselves are larger.

Balconies at DVC make a difference also over a moderate. More space to move around in.

The one big difference I have noticed between DVC and moderate/value is the way it's laid out. In moderate/value rooms you enter into the rooms and immediately run into a bed. You have to walk through the room to get to the closet area and the bathroom. In DVC units you enter into an entryway, go past the kitchenette with the large sink area for the bathroom opposite into the bedroom/sitting area with the balcony beyond. This makes the space seem much larger. We find that the entryway is the perfect location to store our bags.

Also with this arrangement you rarely hear any noise from the hallways. Moderate/value you are right up against the entryway door and hear people walking/talking outside.