Why Should We Buy Into DVC - Need Insights

[Merry Mousketeer]

My wife and I have been considering getting into DVC, but we are trying to determine why this would financially be good purchase for us and would appreciate any helpful advice from DVC members.

Here are some facts about us:

1. Our children are adult-aged. One is still in college, one just got married and just joined the military, which means he would qualify for Shades of Green at WDW.

2. We live in Northern California and visit Disneyland every couple of years. Our military son and his wife just moved to the Southern California region, which probably means we will make more frequent trips to Disneyland, which does not have any DVC properties. We stay at an off-site hotel at Disneyland due to the limited hotels on property and their high rates.

3. We don't have any grandchildren, yet, for us to take to Disney parks.

4. We like to go to different vacation spots every year, not just Disney properties. Although we just signed up for our first Disney Cruise.

5. When we visit WDW, we tend to stay at different resorts. So far, we've stayed at The Swan, Carribean Beach Resort, and Coronado Springs Resort. Having a kitchen in our room isn't a huge draw for us since we tend to spend all our time in the parks; although this habit may change as we grow older and begin to slow down or have grandchildren (God willing) who will need to return to the room for a nap.

6. WDW frequently has discounts that help make trips more economical. However, Disneyland rarely has any significant discounts.

So, maybe we are not the target demographic for DVC. If there is anyone out there who can tell us the financial advantages of DVD, we would really be grateful. We did speak with someone from the Timeshare Store, who was very helpful, but it really came down to the renting vs owning type of decision. We love everything Disney, but need more practical reasons (saving money) to join DVC. Thank you!

Merry Mousketeer

 

[vandy]

DVC gives you the opportunity to choose when to go, what type of room and to a degree which resort to stay in. From your post this sounds like something you already do. With DVC, you could travel with your children & future grandchildren and stay in the same 2 BR villa, or you can travel alone and stay in a studio or 1 BR. A kitchen may not be important, but maybe the washer/dryer in the 1BR will be (less clothes to pack). HOWEVER, don't look at DVC as strictly financial or saving you money. You need to travel at least once every other year to make it worthwhile so you will have more park tickets, food, travel and so forth to pay for so maybe you can save a little on lodging but spending more overall.

Financially you need to consider how you like to travel and then decide if DVC is what you want or more than you want. Some easy math: Let's say you buy 175pts at SSR at $101/pt ($91/pt is being offered right now, not sure when expires). Your purchase is $17,675 divided by 47 years (term left) comes to about $376 /yr. SSR annual dues for this year are $4.12 times 175 pts or $721. Total for this year is $1097. If you bank or borrow another year's points, 175 pts can get you a 2BR villa for at least 8 or 9 nights at SSR in Magic Season (and more in the lesser seasons). So using two years of points means you spent $2194 on lodging for how ever many trips you take in those two years. Compare that to what you spend now for what you like. Keep in mind that annual dues will go up but probably not as much as room rates will.

As far as other destinations, your DVC points get you more at DVC and not at the other destinations, but can be used. There are also rumors of DVC at Disneyland as well so that may increase your interest as well. Good Luck!

 

[Merry Mousketeer]

Thank you so much for your quick response with some great info for us to consider. We are also wondering what are the intangible benefits of DVC vs the benefits of being a non-DVC member staying at a Disney hotel resort. Are there any perks available to us as DVC members that are not available to us if we simply stay as regular folks in a Disney hotel resort? Are there any perks available to regular resort guests that are not available to DVC members?

For example, I've seen that the dining plan is not available to DVC members. On some message boards, I've read a few posts by DVC members complaining the level of service they received is not as good as the service given to regular hotel resort guests and that the DVC resorts are not kept up as well as the hotel resorts. However, I do realize that no matter how hard one tries you can't make everyone happy, so I read those complaints with a grain of salt.

Thanks, again, for sharing your insights!

Merry Mousketeer

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

The dining plan is available for purchase by DVC members as long as they are staying at a DVC resort. Plus, no ticket purchase is required to be eligible for the plan.

With the information you have given, I don't think DVC would be a good choice for you right now. Maybe that will change if they build a resort at Disneyland or your future includes bringing grandchildren to WDW on a regular basis.

 

[allflgirl]

Based on the information that you provided, I would say just rent instead of buying. My husband and I just bought into DVC last year but didn't know about the rental boards here on this website. Because renting is so cheap, most of the time you can get points for $10 - $11 per point, it doesn't make much since to buy in unless you just LOVE Disney and see yourself going year after year. Sure the rental points will go up, but so will your dues and I don't see ownership ever putting you ahead of renting, mainly because you forked out the upfront costs.

I'm not regretting my purchase, just wish I had all the information that I have now before I wrote the check. We've visited WDW 6 times now in 5 months, because we had banked points from last year when we bought our resale and really had no money left due to the large check we wrote in August for owning (we live 1 hr from Orlando, so it's rather inexpensive for us to vacation at WDW), and now we're getting very bored with it all (we do not have children and just go as a couple). I've been to Epcot 26 times in the last 6 months and that's the only park that I would visit more than once in a year. I'm glad that DVC has Hilton Head and Vero so that we've got some place to visit in the next couple years that's NOT Orlando. I'm also looking forward to using my points to go skiing next year. That is one plus trading out, however, you have to be very careful about trading out or it will cost you plenty (points wise). 150 points don't go very far outside of the 7 DVC resorts (soon to be 8 with Animal Kingdom).

Bottom line, it's what you feel is best for your family but I would rent first and make sure it's right for you. Clear example, I rented to a friend that's visited 76 TIMES in the past 10 years, in fact the CM's at central reservations mention that everytime he calls for yet another cash reservation. He stayed at Villas at Wilderness Lodge the first week of December (which is a prime time for VWL due to the Christmas decorations) and ABSOLUTELY HATED IT! He said he would NEVER buy into DVC and would rather keep staying at the Yacht Club or Caribbean Beach Resort, his 2 favorite resorts. So, it's better to know if the fit is right before you write that big check.

Good luck to you.

 

[vandy]

Thank you so much for your quick response with some great info for us to consider. We are also wondering what are the intangible benefits of DVC vs the benefits of being a non-DVC member staying at a Disney hotel resort. Are there any perks available to us as DVC members that are not available to us if we simply stay as regular folks in a Disney hotel resort? Are there any perks available to regular resort guests that are not available to DVC members?

For example, I've seen that the dining plan is not available to DVC members. On some message boards, I've read a few posts by DVC members complaining the level of service they received is not as good as the service given to regular hotel resort guests and that the DVC resorts are not kept up as well as the hotel resorts. However, I do realize that no matter how hard one tries you can't make everyone happy, so I read those complaints with a grain of salt.

Thanks, again, for sharing your insights!

Merry Mousketeer

As far as intangibles, to us it really is all about the room. We prefer a villa with the kitchen and washer/dryer and more room to relax in, plus at least at SSR and OKW one is farther away from the hustling crowds. Compared to a Disney deluxe resort where we would need 2 rooms, we actually spend less for lodging with a 2BR villa. Another big TANGIBLE is our money is being spent for future vacations and not just spending money for renting that we will never see again. Our ownership and the ability to pass it on to our children was important as well.

Off the top of my head I would say the biggest perk is $100 off an AP. With DVC, the option of traveling more within a year makes this attractive. There are also 10-20% dining discounts at selected places including DTD, discounts on golf and mini-golf, free DVD rental at your resort, pool hopping and 15% off the various theme park tours.

I think you are correct in your assessment on the level of service comments. I think for every negative comment, I have seen at least 2 positive. People in general take great service for granted and only speak out when they don't get it. Instead of a grain of salt, I usually lick the whole block!

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC benefits change all the time and I think pool hopping is the only one that has been in effect for the entire 15 years (but it has been changed slightly because of BCV and SAB). Don't buy DVC because of the benefits.

Don't buy DVC as an investment or as a way to save money. We spend more money now that we own DVC because we go at least twice a year.

Should DVC open a villa at DL, you might want to reconsider, but only if you decide to go to DL (it's a fabulous place to visit). It would be a lot more cost effective just by saving travel dollars.

 

[Mtnman44]

I'm a new purchaser, just going through the process myself, so take my coments for what they are worth...

Based on your description of your traveling habits and plans, I don't think you have a whole lot to gain from a DVC purchase, unless it just makes you happy and that's enough of a reason right there. But you asked about financially so.......

-DVC is a large up front cost and significant annual expenses so it makes sense to analyze what you are getting or saving for this cost.

-I discovered that for DVC to make sense, I need to know that I will travel to WDW AT LEAST every other year.

-You need around 8 to 12 years of WDW vacations to save enough in hotel expenses (cost of WDW Deluxe rooms) that you have made up your initial purchase and the maint fees. After that, you start "making" money on your vacations (savings gained exceed annual maint fee costs). So another consideration is how many years of vacations are you committed to?

-Trading out for exchanges or other non disney resorts is a great perk and may come in handy from time to time when something comes up or you can't make it to WDW on year. HOWEVER, if you are planning this use for DVC points on a regular basis, then you should consider a non disney timeshare for those purposes. For example, a very nice Marriott ownership is cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, and most make excellent traders.*None of this should discourage you. If you can make it work in your situation, great. If you love visiting disney, like the DVC program and the resorts, then who cares if trading out once in a while is not the most economical use of your points? If it makes you happy then you should consider it. However, do not buy DVC soley or even mostly for trading. It just doesn't make sense.

-It does sound like you would benefit from a DVC over in California. Many people are expecting an announment soon about DVC locations in the Disneyland Resort.

 

[jdvm]

IF you plan to come to Orlando at least once every other year for the foreseeable future and IF you stay in a DVC room and have decided that that's where you REALLY want to stay and you'd pay cash for it, THEN and ONLY then, in my view should you consider DVC. It makes fantastic sense in that scenario.
J

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our children are adult aged as well. We actually bought DVC before grandchildren, and now that we do have them, we've talked about a yearly WDW trip with this branch of the family, and our offer has been accepted. This year, it will be for Halloween week, and next year, we'll be celebrating our 40th anniversary in VB and afterwards at a WDW resort.

We do not live near either offspring. Each visit to family requires the purchase of airline tickets, or a night or two in motels along the way during a road trip. We very much enjoy meeting our extended family at WDW and we do invite them as our guests. We enjoy our visits and everyone has a vacation.

We've added on points as we expanded our vacation wish list, and are very pleased with the trips we've had and those we are planning...the up front costs have been paid, and we enjoy the relaxing times we spend with our family. Our other DS would like us to use points outside of Disney, and we do have enough points to consider doing that, but that will be a few years in the future.

Bobbi

 

[Merry Mousketeer]

Thank you for all the great feedback. I am probably a bit more convinced than my wife at the moment.

I have another question. I've noticed from their posting signatures that several DVC members have points with multiple WDW resorts. What is the reason for that? Does that mean you have two home resorts and can make reservations 11 months in advance at both or is one resort considered your primary home resort?

If you have points with two resorts and you decide to stay at one but don't have enought points for your desired length of stay, can you borrow/transfer the points from your other resort to make up the difference?

The reason I am asking is because we live in Northern California, and there have been rumors on the net for months that DVC may build a wing on the Grand Californian resort at Disneyland. I've noticed at WDW current DVC members seem to get first dibs on buying points for a new DVC resort. I'm assuming Disney may do that if a Grand Californian DVC resort is built.

So, if we buy lets say 100 or 150 points at a WDW DVC resort and we later purchase 150 points through Disney if/when a Disneyland DVC resort is available, would we then have two home resorts - one at WDW and one at DL? Then, if we wanted to stay at the DL DVC resort, would it be possible to transfer points from our WDW resort to cover our DL DVC stay and vice versa?

Whew, that's a lot of questions for one posting. I hope this all makes sense. Thank you, again, for being so willing to share your thoughts and facts about DVC!

Merry Mousketeer

 

[Chuck S]

Thank you for all the great feedback. I am probably a bit more convinced than my wife at the moment.

I have another question. I've noticed from their posting signatures that several DVC members have points with multiple WDW resorts. What is the reason for that? Does that mean you have two home resorts and can make reservations 11 months in advance at both or is one resort considered your primary home resort?

If you have points with two resorts and you decide to stay at one but don't have enought points for your desired length of stay, can you borrow/transfer the points from your other resort to make up the difference?

The reason I am asking is because we live in Northern California, and there have been rumors on the net for months that DVC may build a wing on the Grand Californian resort at Disneyland. I've noticed at WDW current DVC members seem to get first dibs on buying points for a new DVC resort. I'm assuming Disney may do that if a Grand Californian DVC resort is built.

So, if we buy lets say 100 or 150 points at a WDW DVC resort and we later purchase 150 points through Disney if/when a Disneyland DVC resort is available, would we then have two home resorts - one at WDW and one at DL? Then, if we wanted to stay at the DL DVC resort, would it be possible to transfer points from our WDW resort to cover our DL DVC stay and vice versa?

Whew, that's a lot of questions for one posting. I hope this all makes sense. Thank you, again, for being so willing to share your thoughts and facts about DVC!

Merry Mousketeer

The points owned at a resort can be used to book a reservation at that particular resort 11 month in advance. They can be combined with points you may own at another resort to reserve a room at 7 months in advance. Most of the people that own at more than one resort do so for the 11 month booking window.

 

[Deb & Bill]

With our two smaller contracts (100 points each), we bank, borrow and use to get up to 300 points to make a special reservation every three years.

 

[Merry Mousketeer]

Thanks, again, for responding. If we purchase points at a WDW DVC Resort, which becomes our home resort, and we later purchase points at a Disneyland DVC resort, can we then designate our home resort to be the Disneyland DVC resort rather than the WDW DVC resort?

Merry Mousketeer

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

They would both be your home resort and you would have the 11-month booking window at each of them.

 

[CarolMN]

Thanks, again, for responding. If we purchase points at a WDW DVC Resort, which becomes our home resort, and we later purchase points at a Disneyland DVC resort, can we then designate our home resort to be the Disneyland DVC resort rather than the WDW DVC resort?

Merry Mousketeer

No. The home resort is tied to the purchase. The only way to change a home resort is to sell those points and purchase "new" points at the deisred resort.

The points purchased at the WDW DVC resort will have the 11 month booking priviledge for the WDW DVC resort purchased.

The points purchased at the Disneyland Resort would have the 11 month booking advantage there.

You can combine the points at 7 months.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If they decide to sell points at a DL DVC (if and when), you could have 8 home resorts if you liked. Just buy points at all of them. We have three home resorts. We can use those points (at each resort) for the 11 month advantage. We can combine the points at 7 months.

 

[fishermouse]

As much as I love DVC and WDW, IMO you would be better off waiting for a DL resort or even checking out an II or Mariot contract. Again IMO if WDW is not going to be your primary destination DVC is not the best choice.
Can't belive I said DVC is not the best choice, Sorry Walt!

 

[Merry Mousketeer]

I see your point, Fishermouse. One of the reasons we would buy at WDW is due to the differences in our travel pattern for WDW and DL. At DL, we make more frequent trips of shorter duration. The DL Resort is significantly smaller than WDW and can easily be experienced in 3 days, which is usually the duration of our trips there.

Our trips to WDW are less frequent, but for longer duration - usually 7 to 10 days. One of the reasons for us buying into a WDW DVC Resort is because it would be nice to have a higher quality room that we would actually spend time in. As much as we have enjoyed the various WDW resorts, we tend not to spend a lot of time in the room since it just has beds and doesn't have a large sitting area, balcony, etc.

Anyway, my wife and I are still going back and forth over it. Emotionally, I think we want to make the purchase because we really love the whole Disney experience. Financially, we're still trying to determine if it's a good deal.

Everyone on the boards has really been terrific about taking the time to explain things so clearly. I really am grateful for your time and consideration.

BTW, we ordered the DVC DVD several weeks ago and have been waiting for it. I read in another post that someone has had to order it twice and still hasn't received it. Has anyone else had this problem? We are waiting to make our decision after seeing the DVD. Could this be like the alleged Disneyland Resort Vacation Planning DVD they advertised for years on their website, but it turned out they never had one and neglected to remove it from their site?

Merry Mousketeer

 

[jvincent16]

hey merry mouse keeper. my wife and i are also looking into buying DVCM.
i also have a post in this section (need info/advice on purchasing). just wanted to reply in regards to the dvd you are waiting for. DONT BOTHER WAITING FOR IT. it is very lame and uninformative. it was like watching an infomertial. it had members testimonials and very, very basic information on point use. we watched it last night and it was basically a waste of time. we learned absolutely nothing from it. it was almost a joke! good luck, we are trying to make a decision on our purchase before wednesday. that is when the promotion from disney will expire for us.