Why is DVC NOT for you?

[disney54us]

I hated feeling locked into the BWV for every Disney trip. I wanted to stay at the other Deluxe hotels-POLY, YC, BC, GF. I felt "trapped" almost by DVC. I know some people may find this odd. We ate Dinner at the POLY during our last DVC trip (Oct 06) and I was depressed. My son and daughter were asking if we could stay here next trip (they don't understand the whole DVC point thing). I told them that "no, it's not a DVC resort and not the best/smartest use of our points." I felt really upset by this. I WANT to be able to stay at the POLY for our next trip, or anywhere else for that matter. The GF is not my top 3 resorts, but I may want to stay there SOMEDAY. With DVC I never would, ever.



We are DVC owners but our 2 trips prior to purchasing we stayed at the Poly Concierge building. We love it there, and have stayed there since being DVC members using our pts., I am not sure how many points you had, but that was one thing that appealed to us when we purchased that we could still stay at the deluxe resorts if we wanted.
PS I feel the same way as you do about GF, I have no great desire to stay there, prefer the poly and looking across at the GF!

 

[tomandrobin]

Just FYI, we love DVC and feel its a perfect fit for us. I don't think its the right choice for every one. You can run numbers all you want, but no one really knows how it all will work out. We only know what has happen in the past with room rates, maintenance fees, resale prices, DVC perks, growth, etc.

 

[Boardwalk Gal]

I have 6 contracts total to 800 points and just sold 4 of them and selling one other currently...I am just keeping the one with 200 points (BWV) since i owned it outright. I was tired of paying monthly payments to pay for timeshare plus Maint Fees at end of year causing some fiancial hardship. I will ALWAYS love Disney but i am realizing there are other places to visit other than Disney. I am keeping the one so i can have the flexibility to go back here and there. I also rented out points which is lot of hard work although, i never had ANY problems with rentals and were excellent tenants (many of them are from here!! thank you!! ) but because Maint fees are rising, (as well as park costs too!!) thus renting points will have to be higher also.
I stayed at the Pop Century last year, and really, it not a big deal and it is really nice!! and although it is smaller and Yes, i like the idea of the "deluxe" accomodations with kitchen, wash/dryers, etc..but i can live without it also and suit fine at a value resort (since we are in parks most of day anyway). Esp now that my kids are growing fast and will be leaving the nest in next couple of years, i dotn' have the need to have all those points. I have very very FOND memories of every Disney trip i took which too high to count and stayed at all DVC resorts in WDW and loved it!! But i realized i can live without DVC, but for my kids sake, i am keeping the one contract, so they can enjoy someday with their families and i have it for them to stay at. Don't get me wrong and i thought i be the last person on earth who would say this since i am a Disney Freak throughout all my life, and don't want to discourage anyone who interested in buying DVC, (Hey, go for it)..This is just the time of my life to pursue with other things in life. But that don't mean that the end for Disney, i am not going to go as much as i used to and i will def. go back again...

 

[drag n' fly]

I have no idea why DVC is not for me.
We are a family of five from Canada and we bought AKV last week at Disneyland. It isn't for everyone. We are going to enjoy not packing everyone out for breakfast each morning. No ADR's no problem go back to the villa and eat. Dh and I get our bedroom back. We can spread out and actually enjoy our holiday. Also the consistency of "going home" is very appealing for us. We have a wonderful place to take our children and when they are gone from home and we retire we have a wonderful place to go (F&W here we come) to and eventually take our grandchildren. It is not a financial investment but a family investment for us

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Can we get a good deal with our DVC points out in Disneyland?

Also, we like our two queens in the deluxes. Does DVC offer something comparable? Can I still stay in the CRTower rooms using my DVC points? Or is that "wasting" my points?...)

As soon as the Grand Californian Villas open at DL, any member will be able to book those using points. But there will only be 50 two bedroom equivalents. So completion could be bad for them.

The OKW studio has two queen beds, but none of the other studios do. They all have one queen bed and one double sleeper sofa. If you "trade out" to stay in a Disney Non-DVC resort, you'll have to pay the transfer fee of $95 plus use lots of points. That's a killer. The points needed for a non-DVC Disney stay are negotiated every year, so they can go up every year.

 

[jbrowna]

If all you look at is the financial aspect of it, trying to justify a DVC purchase is just that -- trying to justify it. People play with figures and make them justify or not justify, as they want. But if the only consideration is the financial aspect of it, then the cheapest thing of all is to just stay home!

For DW and I, we just set aside the $$$ aspect. We could always find something cheaper (like staying home, staying at the local Super 8, eating at Burger King, or mooching off of local relatives). But what was it we really want out of a WDW vacation? DVC gives us what we want. When it no longer does, we'll sell.

But, I must say, I'm encouraged by the rumored expansion(s) for DVC. Even though we are Disneyphiles, DW and I like to travel. So I'm all for DVC building in Hawaii -- I just wish they'd head for Europe and Asia as well!

 

[tjkraz]

I have to admit that I'm mildly surprised whenever I hear from people who own anything approaching 1000 points. We only have 150 and will probably add another 100 or so sooner rather than later. But even now we can easily get by on the 150. That will get us 5 nights in a 1B during the times when we visit, with a little left over for the occasional short stay.

With the destinations DVC has to offer now, I can't see us regularly using more than 250-275 points per year. As much as I enjoy WDW, I don't want to reach the point where we are making 3-4 trips to Florida per year. Knowing myself (and the rest of the family), that would only lead to burnout. Too much of a good thing, and all that.

I, too, am happy to hear about the other destinations in the works. We've already considered purchasing a non-DVC timeshare so that we have easy access to other destinations in the US.

 

[drag n' fly]

I have to admit that I'm mildly surprised whenever I hear from people who own anything approaching 1000 points. We only have 150 and will probably add another 100 or so sooner rather than later. But even now we can easily get by on the 150. That will get us 5 nights in a 1B during the times when we visit, with a little left over for the occasional short stay.

With the destinations DVC has to offer now, I can't see us regularly using more than 250-275 points per year. As much as I enjoy WDW, I don't want to reach the point where we are making 3-4 trips to Florida per year. Knowing myself (and the rest of the family), that would only lead to burnout. Too much of a good thing, and all that.

I, too, am happy to hear about the other destinations in the works. We've already considered purchasing a non-DVC timeshare so that we have easy access to other destinations in the US.

That is an interesting perspective Tim. We own 225 points for our family of five. Would we go more if we were closer I don't know? We plan on adding on at GCV when available due to the close proximity and 11 month booking window. We may even add on at Hawaii. It would be intersting to hear from members who hold a lot of points about potential burnout for sure.

 

[eliza61]

If all you look at is the financial aspect of it, trying to justify a DVC purchase is just that -- trying to justify it. People play with figures and make them justify or not justify, as they want. But if the only consideration is the financial aspect of it, then the cheapest thing of all is to just stay home!

For DW and I, we just set aside the $$$ aspect. We could always find something cheaper (like staying home, staying at the local Super 8, eating at Burger King, or mooching off of local relatives). But what was it we really want out of a WDW vacation? DVC gives us what we want. When it no longer does, we'll sell.

But, I must say, I'm encouraged by the rumored expansion(s) for DVC. Even though we are Disneyphiles, DW and I like to travel. So I'm all for DVC building in Hawaii -- I just wish they'd head for Europe and Asia as well!

Well said J
When people ask me I always tell them imo timeshares as a whole are luxury purchases, not great financial finds. The value for me is what I get out of them when vacationing. to paraphrase a commercial "priceless"
My dh just brought a boat. Talk about money being sucked into a black hole, but he loves it. So it's worth all the slip fees, insurance fees and all the other cost way beyond the initial purchase price.
If you are the type that likes a bargin or waits for codes on vacation. DVC is definitely not the way to go.

 

[tomandrobin]

My dh just brought a boat. Talk about money being sucked into a black hole, but he loves it. So it's worth all the slip fees, insurance fees and all the other cost way beyond the initial purchase price.

A lot of my friends think its such a huge waste of my money, buying into the Disney Vacation club. Yet none of them would ever say that thier golf club or hunting club membership is a waste.

I too have that friend with a big boat payment, slip fees, maintenance fees, storage fees and insurance. Last year he took the boat out 4 or 5 times, and that was just to go fo ra ride and drink! His boat cost $90,000 five years ago, and he just shakes his head when I talk Disney. But he loves that boat!

 

[starbox]

We are DVC owners, so our opinion is tainted to the buy side. But DVC is not for families that are comfortable with a studio room.

I disagree - we are comfortable in a studio and it means we make out like BANDITS in terms of how much vacation we get for the $$ we spent. In terms of flat out bang-for-your-buck value - the studios give you many, many, many more vacation nights in a deluxe resort than you could ever come close to w/rack rate.

Last year, my 275 points got me 27 nights in studios. Rack rate would have been close to $6,500 - just for that one year It was lovely, lovely, lovely to be able to be in a deluxe resort for almost a month out of the year! I have 22 nights already booked for this year.

 

[tomandrobin]

I disagree - we are comfortable in a studio and it means we make out like BANDITS in terms of how much vacation we get for the $$ we spent. In terms of flat out bang-for-your-buck value - the studios give you many, many, many more vacation nights in a deluxe resort than you could ever come close to w/rack rate.

Last year, my 275 points got me 27 nights in studios. Rack rate would have been close to $6,500 - just for that one year It was lovely, lovely, lovely to be able to be in a deluxe resort for almost a month out of the year! I have 22 nights already booked for this year.

Ah, I meant a studio hotel room. Even a studio DVC room is better then the Studio hotel room. But I only stay in a Studio when its me and the misses. When we have the kids, its two bedrooms all the way.

 

[Donna]

I hated feeling locked into the BWV for every Disney trip. I wanted to stay at the other Deluxe hotels-POLY, YC, BC, GF. I felt "trapped" almost by DVC. I know some people may find this odd. We ate Dinner at the POLY during our last DVC trip (Oct 06) and I was depressed. My son and daughter were asking if we could stay here next trip (they don't understand the whole DVC point thing). I told them that "no, it's not a DVC resort and not the best/smartest use of our points." I felt really upset by this. I WANT to be able to stay at the POLY for our next trip, or anywhere else for that matter. The GF is not my top 3 resorts, but I may want to stay there SOMEDAY. With DVC I never would, ever.



We are DVC owners but our 2 trips prior to purchasing we stayed at the Poly Concierge building. We love it there, and have stayed there since being DVC members using our pts., I am not sure how many points you had, but that was one thing that appealed to us when we purchased that we could still stay at the deluxe resorts if we wanted.
PS I feel the same way as you do about GF, I have no great desire to stay there, prefer the poly and looking across at the GF!

\

Yeh except now, starting in 2008, it will cost $95 to do that! This is one of the downgrades of DVC membership. They are taking away flexibility. It wasn't enough they over-charge the points for the non dvc resorts so now they hit up the members for more money on TOP of those high points.

 

[shellbelle1971]

DVC is not for people who:

- don't want to make a long-term committment to a Disney lifestyle and taking regular vacations at Disney parks
- are perfectly happy staying onsite at Value resorts or offsite
- the cost of membership and dues would present a financial hardship
- don't plan their vacations in advance but take more "spur-of-the-moment" trips

If any of the above apply, then by all means do not consider DVC.

In addition to Mike's points, I think DVC is usually not a good value for people who mostly like to take long-weekend trips.

 

[nunzia]

Well said J
When people ask me I always tell them imo timeshares as a whole are luxury purchases, not great financial finds. The value for me is what I get out of them when vacationing. to paraphrase a commercial "priceless"
My dh just brought a boat. Talk about money being sucked into a black hole, but he loves it. So it's worth all the slip fees, insurance fees and all the other cost way beyond the initial purchase price.
If you are the type that likes a bargin or waits for codes on vacation. DVC is definitely not the way to go.

I find in my daily life I am a cheapskate, but vacation is luxury time. I guess I'd rather live frugal most of the time and have great splurges, then live average all the time.

 

[shellbelle1971]

I have to admit that I'm mildly surprised whenever I hear from people who own anything approaching 1000 points. (snip)

I, too, am happy to hear about the other destinations in the works. We've already considered purchasing a non-DVC timeshare so that we have easy access to other destinations in the US.

Don't be surprised! We could easily use 1000+ points per year. We need (bare minimum) a 2-bedroom for our family, but fit much better into a grand villa. Because we're a long flight away, we like to stay for a week, minimum, or 10 nights (optimum) each time we fly out. We go twice a year with the kids, while they're on school breaks, and another couple times a year with just DH and me. That adds up to a lot of points in a hurry! (DH and I always laugh about how having a big family is a really expensive hobby )

So while we only have about 500 points, we're constantly stretching them by squeezing into a 2-br (rather than a g.v.), borrowing from the next use year, using cash for weekends, and transferring in from other members.

I'm thrilled about the GCVs and Hawaii, and hope that by the time we're done with our add-ons there we'll be over 1000 points.

 

[Coach81]

DVC was not for us a year ago, financially we could not afford it. We liked it, but could not see spending the up front price. As of late (paid off some bills, both of us got raises), we have the financial means, and as of last spring we are now excited to be DVC owners
I crunched the numbers and I have figured that after our 8th trip "home" we will start to see a significant return on our investment. 8 trips will not take us long as we have 2 trips already planned for next year

The fact that after we finish paying it off in a few years we will be able to stay in Orlando for just maintainance fees... for the next 40+ years...

SOLD!!!!

Yee haaa...

We are thrilled with our decision, and can't wait to make all the fantastic Disney Family Memories for many years to come.

Coach

 

[Esmerelda]

WOW Starbox...what great use of your points! My hubby and I went this past June and stayed in a studio. It was fine for us. We love having the fridge...the microwave and the coffee pot. You can't beat the value of your point use with one.

We have always been very very happy with use of our points. We did splurge two years back and stayed at the Poly Concierge (not the best use of our points) but we enjoyed it. The odd thing is, the teens actually said they missed the space in the villas at SSR. (we did as well) We truly love staying at SSR. We have stayed at all DVC resorts and SSR is totally our fav hands down.

This year, as a gift, I gave points to a friend of mine who is a single mom with a teen daughter so they too can go. They are so excited, as they have never been able to afford to stay on property. I'm so excited for the two of them!

I guess if you find fault with the DVC resorts, or if you are happy in just a room, then you are right...DVC ownership is not for you. We have truly had no quirks. We only own enough to go for about 6 days per year and if we skip that, we just go longer the next time. We usually do RCC cruises in between. We have also rented out points with no problem so we really weren't out any money.

Its a lot to think about. Only you know your family, your vacation needs, and your financial situation. We both work really hard, and I really enjoy my vacations...whether they are at Disney or in the middle of the Carribean.
A bad day at Disney or on the ocean is still better than a good day in the emergency room.

E..

 

[NMW]

I hated feeling locked into the BWV for every Disney trip. I wanted to stay at the other Deluxe hotels-POLY, YC, BC, GF. I felt "trapped" almost by DVC. I know some people may find this odd. We ate Dinner at the POLY during our last DVC trip (Oct 06) and I was depressed. My son and daughter were asking if we could stay here next trip (they don't understand the whole DVC point thing). I told them that "no, it's not a DVC resort and not the best/smartest use of our points." I felt really upset by this. I WANT to be able to stay at the POLY for our next trip, or anywhere else for that matter. The GF is not my top 3 resorts, but I may want to stay there SOMEDAY. With DVC I never would, ever.



We are DVC owners but our 2 trips prior to purchasing we stayed at the Poly Concierge building. We love it there, and have stayed there since being DVC members using our pts., I am not sure how many points you had, but that was one thing that appealed to us when we purchased that we could still stay at the deluxe resorts if we wanted.
PS I feel the same way as you do about GF, I have no great desire to stay there, prefer the poly and looking across at the GF!

Yes, I know that you can use points for the Disney Deluxe resorts. However, it doesn't seem to be the best use of points. Maybe for a night or two, but not for a whole week. We had 230 points and that got us a week at the BWV in early Dec, but it certainly wouldn't have gotten us a week at the POLY. Plus, those points (Disney Hotels) can go up every year just like the crusies. Doesn't it also cost $95 to use your points at the Disney hotels, or is that just trades with II? I didn't buy DVC with the intention of using it for the Deluxe Hotels, I thought I would be happy always staying at BWV. Another thing I didn't mention was that having to call day by day at 11 months for my own resort got really old. Why did I have to do this? Because the MS people told me that I better call day by day for early Dec. When I booked my trip for Oct they told me the same thing (because of Food and Wine) and I was only competeing against other BWV owners! When I called at 7 months for BCV and there was no availablity for Dec, I was bummed and it was a turning point for me. I know some of you guys would have just bought points for BCV, but I didn't want to do that. I want to just call WDW and book the BC and have Disney do everything for me-tickets, meal plan, limo-all in one phone call. So, we sold DVC. I'm happy with our decision. Our friends, huge OKW lovers, think we are crazy. Of course, I think they are crazy for ONLY ever wanting to vacation at OKW.

 

[mdoc]

We're still thinking about it, because we do go to WDW at least once a year and when we stay in a hotel we choose a deluxe. However, our favorite place to stay is in the campground at Fort Wilderness, and the kids are all in school, so we have to travel during busy seasons and I'm concerned about being able to stay where we want if we only book 7 months out (I wouldn't want to always be tied to my home resort). On top of that, we're a family of 5 so based on the written rules, we'd need a 2 bedroom which is a lot of points during peak seasons.