Why should I join DVC?

[Conservative Hippie]

DH and I have no kids yet, but probably will soon. We like going to WDW probably once every other year, and always staying onsite. I know you can take other vacations too, but I don't see us doing that right now. Seems to me like we wouldn't save money by joining the DVC. What are your experiences with this?

 

[Didney Daddy]

DVC is a fit it you fit the following items:

1) Love all things Disney
2) Go every year or two and stay at premium resorts
3) Can plan in advance - better 7-11 months out
4) View this as a prepayment of expenses - not as an investment

Does DVC save you money? Probably, if you stay every year at DVC resorts and would have even without DVC. But, the primary benefit is knowledge you can get in if you plan in advance, that is what DVC does for you.

 

[rinkwide]

...Seems to me like we wouldn't save money by joining the DVC. What are your experiences with this?

You're probably right unless all of the following apply to you:

• You will, for sure, be going to WDW at least every other year
• You'd normally stay in deluxe, on-property accomodations
• You can stay almost entirely on weekday nights
• You won't waste points on exchanges or cruises
• You don't have to finance your purchase

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree with the previous posts, but I wanted to add that you need to think of this as pre-paying a vacation for the next 47 years. That means you pre-pay at today's rates against the certain increase of future rates.

 

[sleepydog25]

Disney is not a money-saving venture to begin with. Thus, spending more money buying into DVC might seem more counter productive. HOWEVER, as the others have said, if you visit often enough and prefer deluxe accomodations, then in the long run, you could wind up not spending as MUCH money as you might have without DVC. One last thing to consider: do you think your future kids will want to visit Disney? Would you like him/her/them to have a separate room? Just a thought. . .

 

[chris1gill]

DH and I have no kids yet, but probably will soon. We like going to WDW probably once every other year, and always staying onsite. I know you can take other vacations too, but I don't see us doing that right now. Seems to me like we wouldn't save money by joining the DVC. What are your experiences with this?

I'd pretty much agree with your conclusion based on what you've said...

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

By our calculations and past vacations to WDW, we figured out it would take 7 years of going to pay for itself, then it became basically FREE from there forward. The reason was we were RENTING a two bedroom DVC room when we went down at $500 per night so it was a no-brainer for us.

7 nights x $500 = $3500. $3500 x 7 = $24,000. We purchased 250 points for $22,500 which equals one week every year in a two bedroom in October (when we go). Keep in mind we didn't figure in INFLATION which would eventually off-set and even pass the annual dues.

If you go every other year you are a perfect candidate as far as I'm concerned. You can bank points every other year and then really live it up on a nice long vacation when you do go.

 

[Dean]

I'm usually the one steering people away with this type of post. But unless you are planning heavy on the weekends, I think DVC likely is a good choice for every other year or so at WDW. Assuming the other recommendations apply including not financing and not using for exchanging consistently. Just buy the number of points you need, right now that sounds like around 75-100 for a week or so depending on the length of your trips, though you'll likely need more later as your family grows. And DVC might not save you money, I doubt it does very many people now days, but it will provide you more luxury and a quality experience for less money than you could have gotten for cash through CRO assuming you use it correctly.

 

[browniemtb]

7 nights x $500 = $3500. $3500 x 7 = $24,000. We purchased 250 points for $22,500 which equals one week every year in a two bedroom in October (when we go). Keep in mind we didn't figure in INFLATION which would eventually off-set and even pass the annual dues.

This is the way we looked at it as well. Does it save you money, most definitely. I don't know why some say it really doesn't. But remember the savings comes into play only if you stay onsite at WDW deluxe resorts. We have young kids and we also know that we will be visiting WDW a lot. Took us almost 7 years before we bought in. The post from Montana is very basic math but its a starting point and even if you finance for a few years it will still save you in the long run. Just make sure your able to make the financial commitment......the 7 years that we waited went into the new kids and home.
Good Luck......DVC is a great avenue for vacations......and a great investment in your family and mental health......

Brownie

 

[abner1776]

You sound like the perfect candidate for DVC....visit every other year...always stay on property. The only other item missing is whether or not you stay at value, moderate or deluxe resorts.

If the answer is deluxe, then the don't bother with the calculations...DVC will save you money over the long term. If you are planning on having kids, then DVC is something to pass on to them...sort of like an added bennie !!!

Will I still want to go to WDW in 15 years ?? ..heck, I haven't got a clue, but would any of us have an answer to that question.

I just booked a 6 night stay at VWL for a friend of mine in late November. He is bringing his family and in-laws so he wanted a 2-bedroom. When I told him how much it would cost he could not believe it. He had stayed at BC last fall around the same time and paid twice as much...for a studio !!!

Don't bother with the "is it a good investment" calculations, cause no purchase of a timeshare, vacation condo or other similiar purchase can be compared with putting your money into mutual funds. It's comparing apples and oranges. If you have the cash or can afford the payments and it seems to fit for YOU, then do it. If you have to stretch your budget or take out a loan at high rates, then I would never advocate buying into DVC or any other timeshare for that matter.

 

[CarolMN]

I've decided that the real power of DVC is the "monthly withdrawal." For some reason, many people do not regularly put aside vacation funds on a monthly basis. DVC will insist on monthly payments if you finance and does not charge more to pay dues monthly rather than in an annual lump sum. So for many members, DVC is the first time they have saved on a regular basis for vacations. DVC is a "forced savings account" dedicated to vacation lodging. It's a lot less painless to pay monthly than all at once.

I only bring this up because it appears that for many, regular monthly payments are a relatively painless way to pay for DVC. They "forget" the true cost of a WDW vacation and end up spending more than they used to spend on vacations pre-DVC. Why else would they end up going more often and/or treating friends and family? For many of us, that would not have happened without/before DVC.

Keep in mind that DVC only covers lodging - you'll still have to pay for tickets, food, transportation and souvenirs.

Unless you already have a lot of discretionary income, my advice is to wait on DVC - especially since you plan to have children someday. Discretionary income seems to disappear very quickly when children are added to the mix, LOL!

Best wishes -

 

[Doug Wolfe]

I love DVC and it has nothing to do with economics. It has more to do with my lifestyle.

I would go many years without ever taking a vacation. I would just work and all of the sudden the kids were back in school and we had gone no where. My employers over the years never once said, "thanks for not taking any time off."

Since I bought DVC I always take time off. I plan, change plans and plan again. I find it relaxing.

In addition to the week we spend at Disney resorts, we now take a lot of additional time off to plan non DVC trips that have nothing to do with our timeshare. We usually go to Las Vegas and Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

We now live & work for great vacations.

 

[elijahpep]

There is also the perks that come with membership. Your DVC card offers many discounts for dining out thru out the parks. With you DVC card you can get discounts currently for $100 off annual passes. With AP's you can get a disount on the Disney Dining Experience(DDE)http://allearsnet.com/pl/discounts.htm which offers an even boarder range of discounts on dining. The AP's also offer disounts on shopping thu out the parks and resorts. http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/apass.htm#2006

So with your purchase of DVC you have many opportunites to save on your vacation dining and shopping that you wouldn't have otherwise at many of the same places you may or may not frequent currently. This may not add up to much of a sales point now, but as your family grows and someday your lil princess wants her hair done at Bippity Boppity Boutique or your lil prince wants to enjoy miniature golf these discounts may play into a bigger light
on your decision now. Wish we had done this years ago! No regrets here!
AS many have said it changes your life style, in a great way!

GOOD LUCK with your decision. As many will tell you here, It's not a decision based on finances sometimes, but a decision of the heart!

~DW

 

[Lisa P.]

If you're only visiting WDW every other year for perhaps a week or less, the DVC does not really offer any useful discount for park passes. Certainly, it's important to consider whether you can afford such a purchase without going into debt to do so. It's an expensive luxury purchase of nice accommodations only - you'd still have the cost of airfare, park passes, etc.

DH and I have no kids yet, but probably will soon. We like going to WDW probably once every other year, and always staying onsite.

You stay onsite every other year... but where? This is key. Do you stay in the value hotels, the moderates, the deluxes or the homes-away-from-home?

--- If you usually stay in the value rooms and you enjoy those stays, then you would probably spend MORE money by purchasing DVC at today's prices, IMHO.
--- If you usually stay in the moderates, it's a toss-up.
--- If you usually stay in onsite deluxes or hafh condos, and you anticipate continuing this, then you could potentially save money over the long run, with DVC. HTH.

 

[OneMoreTry]

If it will strain your budget to join then it will strain your life and it's not worth it.

Food for thought:

If you have a financially tight year you can always NOT GO to WDW if you don't own DVC. If you have DVC you always have to make payments. Some people recoup those by renting. But as more members join the rental price may go down.

As said above DVC costs more than value resorts even if you consider 40 years of vacations (that is if you INVEST the money not spent on DVC rather than spend it in a plasma TV).

If you can afford to buy and plan to go to WDW for years to come and don't want to stay on the monorail every time then it's worth it. I calculated it takes 5 years to recapture the cost but that was at $62 per point without borrowing.

As hard as it may be to believe, WDW may flop in 20 or 30 years or be blown up by someone. I doubt it though and you should have recouped your cost by then anyway.

 

[Granny]

And DVC might not save you money, I doubt it does very many people now days, but it will provide you more luxury and a quality experience for less money than you could have gotten for cash through CRO assuming you use it correctly.

I think this puts DVC in its proper perspective. For us, it was an upgrade in accommodations and vacation experience for a comparable amount of money that we would have spent on WDW Resorts.

Do we save money? Nope, because we go to WDW much more often than we ever would have without DVC. And we would never have paid cash rates for 1BR and 2BR villas that we currently enjoy on our trips.

Good luck in your decision. For us, it's more about the quality of the vacation experience than saving money.

 

[dmoore22]

We purchased a DVC resale at a cost much less than through Disney. It included banked points which was an added bonus. In addition we purchased an add on. Prior to this we went as a family to the value resorts. We have kids, 6 of them, which means we would have to rent two rooms no matter what resort we went to that would accomodate a family of eight. For us it has been a savings, even over the value resorts. Since this was a resale it turned into a savings for accomodations. Since we originally purchased our points the value has gone up considerably for resales which we rationalize as an appreciation on our investment. The member perks, including AP discounts, has been a plus. We schedule our vacations so we get multiple trips out of our passes in addition to the AP and DVC member discounts. We stay in a villa which actually cuts costs since we use the kitchen which cuts the cost of meals. We don't have to eat out all the time now. We do have maintenance fees which, when we receive our yearly statement, breaks down the expenses including property taxes. Since this is considered a real estate interest we have a small deduction on our income taxes. The short answer is this has been a positive for us. We spent a lot of time pondering this and waiting for the right resale to come along. Good Luck!

 

[Boas]

reasons for us
* young kids
* want a place for our kids to enjoy for many years (WDW or the surrounding area activities)
* got a great deal via resale (thus can sell easily if it doesn't work out)
* plan to go at least every other year (currently planning two trips in 8 months)
* due to work, if i don't plan a vacation in advance i don't go...
* enjoy a nicer resort environment (but wouldn't normally spend due to short lead vacation planning...)

most importantly ensures that i plan a quality vacation w/ my family... after all quality family time is the most important thing.

 

[Dean]

Don't bother with the "is it a good investment" calculations, cause no purchase of a timeshare, vacation condo or other similiar purchase can be compared with putting your money into mutual funds. It's comparing apples and oranges. If you have the cash or can afford the payments and it seems to fit for YOU, then do it. If you have to stretch your budget or take out a loan at high rates, then I would never advocate buying into DVC or any other timeshare for that matter.

While for most situations this is true, it is not a broad statement of fact. There are a number of timeshare purchases where one could expect to make considerably more than in any mutual fund. I've bought and sold a number over the years and in every case but one I made at least 50% profit and many times 400-800% profit. The one exception was a break even Marriott week and I knew that going in. And of all the ones I own except 1, I can sell today at a profit guaranteed and I own 100 weeks/contraacts. In most cases, I have standing offers in excess of my purchase costs though not necessarily to the full value of the individual timeshare. IMO there are a number of factors to determine the value of a purchase. One has to have something in high demand at a great price to expect to make a profit, a situation that will likely never apply to DVC again from a financial standpoint but has in the past.

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

One thing I've notice now that i do own. Though i have always enjoyed going to disney in the past, i am by nature a terrible procrastinator. Therefore i would usually (left to my own devices) wait until it was to late and more times than not end up taking a vacation that was shall we say less than enjoyable for everyone. since buying, knowing I have this available and its all paid for my yankee (let's call it thriftiness) will not allow me to see good money wasted. Therefore i find myself planning the next trip almost as soon as i get home from the last. This results in The entire family much happier and satisfied with the family vacation. I must say it also removed a lot of the vacation planning pressure and made life much simpler for me as well. BEST MONEY I EVER SPENT! PERIOD!