Will I really need more than 160?

[op2k]

Greetings all, my wife and I are heavily researching becoming DVC club members. One of my friends is a member, and has been a great "salesman" in convincing us to buy. We live in South Florida and being that we are so close to Disney, we typically go up twice a year. When we do go, we usually stay Sun-Thur, as we like to avoid the weekend crowds.

We are thinking of AKL or SSR, and given our weekday stays, does anyone think that I would need more than 160 for twice a year trips? I can't see needing anymore than that right now, as we only have one child and she won't start school for a few more years, so we don't have to worry about high demand summertime stays......we usually prefer April and October. I would welcome your suggestions.

 

[JimmyJam838]

If you don't mind staying in a studio, 160 would be fine. However, if you want a 1 bedroom, 200-250 would do it for you depending on view at AKV.

 

[chalee94]

if you don't need 160 pts, then buy resale. you can start with 100 or 120 pts if that suits you. you can get some excellent deals around $70 per point if you are looking for SSR.

 

[5forDiz]

You can buy a resale contract for less than 160 pts and still be a full DVC member - - it is a good way to get started without having to buy-in with 160 pts at the get go which is what Disney will require you to purchase if you buy directly through them. If you're considering SSR definitely shop resale market - - SSR contracts in particular can be had for significant savings over Disney's price.

Here's link to Point Charts ( or click on link at upper right on this page ) - -

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

It really pays to take the time to calculate how many points you'd

need based on resort(s) you'd like to stay at/# of days & Season(s) most

likely to travel during.

Also you may be happy staying in a studio villa now while

your daughter is young but in time may prefer a 1 bedroom villa for living room

and private master bedroom or even 2 bedroom villa or GV which will require more

points. But you can always start off with less points and then do add-on

contract(s) if in the future you find you need more points ( 25 pt min with

cash or 50 pt min financed buying add-ons direct through Disney or you

can purchase add-on contracts on resale market too )

Friday & Saturday nights require more points so Sun - Thurs

night stays will be more economical use of points - just be aware that DVC

did a point reallocation effective 2010 whereby they made Fri. & Sat. some-

what less points and increased Sun - Thurs points ( iirc this is only 2nd

time they've reallocated points since DVC began )

Best wishes

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I think 160 is a good starting amount. We bought 150 a year ago and it is perfect for us. It got us 11 nights in a studio this year. You can add on a lot easier than selling off if you have too many.

 

[rkwier]

This is how we decided when we purchased last year. First, we knew that we wanted to stay in a 1-BR once each year for one week, so we used that assumption when looking at our calculations. I took the point charts for the resorts that we would most likely wish to stay in and put them into one spreadsheet for ease in comparison. I started with the 160 base and marked all of the places & dates that we could stay in a 1-BR for a week. Then I went up in ~20 point increments and did the same thing to see what the options were. We ended up with 225 points because we felt that gave us the most flexibility.

 

[stampinshauna]

I'd say go ahead and start with the 160. Then in the future you can easily add on if you decide you want more points. It is easier to add on than to subtract. We started with 150 in 2005 and just barely added on to that total.

 

[rentayenta]

We started with 170 which seems perfect for us for now. I see us adding on eventually. I would buy a 100-160 contract and see how that works out for you.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Using the 2010 SSR point chart and est. 2 stays of Sun-Thu for April & Oct in a Studio would require 140 points. At minimum it's what you need. You can always add on later. I purchased 210 points through resale, it was the only way I could afford it and it worked out really well. If you plan a vacation that requires a few more point for larger accomodation you can always go to the rent/trade boards and do a one time purchase of additional points. Like you, living in Florida w/ a school age son we also go 2 or 3 times a year, usually Sun-Thu, but we go in early Jun, Aug & Oct.

Love DVC, it works for us very well and I hope it will for you too! Good Luck to You!

 

[toniosmom]

Since you live in Florida, you will be driving, so airfare is not a consideration for you. It is for me, living in NJ, so I can only make one trip a year (two if I get very lucky.)

I originally bought 160 points, thinking we would do a studio, but after staying in the 1BR, I realized that I could never do a studio. I need that full kitchen -- it really made our vacation so much better.

Since my original purchase, I have added on an additional 100 points because I am going to need a 2BR now and then to take family with us. We are doing that next March.

 

[mousygirl]

We started off with 105 pts with a resale contract. It works great for us and we don't feel completely tied down to Disney. We love going to Disney,but like traveling to other places as well. It provides us with a good balance.
Did I see something on these boards about buying a 100 pt. contract for new sales from Disney? (I think it was AKL or SSR) Might be worth a quick call

 

[Sandisw]

We started off with 105 pts with a resale contract. It works great for us and we don't feel completely tied down to Disney. We love going to Disney,but like traveling to other places as well. It provides us with a good balance.
Did I see something on these boards about buying a 100 pt. contract for new sales from Disney? (I think it was AKL or SSR) Might be worth a quick call

Yes, they have been allowing new members to get in to AKL or SSR with only 100 points.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

You'll NEED 5000 before it's all said and done but 160 is a nice start and ya gotta start somewhere.

We've all been there but that was when we all had money. Now we just have points... Lots and LOTS of points.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Greetings all, my wife and I are heavily researching becoming DVC club members. One of my friends is a member, and has been a great "salesman" in convincing us to buy. We live in South Florida and being that we are so close to Disney, we typically go up twice a year. When we do go, we usually stay Sun-Thur, as we like to avoid the weekend crowds.

We are thinking of AKL or SSR, and given our weekday stays, does anyone think that I would need more than 160 for twice a year trips? I can't see needing anymore than that right now, as we only have one child and she won't start school for a few more years, so we don't have to worry about high demand summertime stays......we usually prefer April and October. I would welcome your suggestions.

You really need to look at the point charts and do the math. That's really the only way to answer your question.

If you are figuring staying in a studio, don't ever even look at a 1br. You will be hooked, and thus need to buy more points.

MG

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Yea. We were gonna stay in studios forever. Then we walked right into the trap. Used our incentive points at SSR to stay in a 1 BR for our first DVC trip. Tssk, tssk, tssk. My bad. Ruined forever. Then the real spending started...

 

[Quilter007]

Yeah.....so, I'm @ SSR now on my developer points. That means that this in our FIRST EVER use of any DVC resort. I did ALL the spreadsheets folks have posted, took the tour in Florida AND California. Oh and I've got an MBA and I'm a financial analyst so I made up my own spreadsheets (yes, that is plural) from scratch and read ALL the documents [oh, yeah my guide loves me - "wow, I've never had that question before either" is the most common thing I hear from him] and the point charts and figured out how may points we need when the kids are under 10, Jr High, High School, College, Single, etc.......because of all that extensive research, we confidently bought 220 points @ VGC -- satisfied that we would be good until we kick the bucket from too many rides! We are now thinking we may need that many points @ BLT........ Where did DH hide those crazy pills?

 

[5forDiz]

You'll NEED 5000 before it's all said and done but 160 is a nice start and ya gotta start somewhere.

We've all been there but that was when we all had money. Now we just have points... Lots and LOTS of points.

omg your post is so true & so darn FUNNY !!!!

Hopefully op hasn't been scared off by us members talking about that
insatiable appetite for MORE POINTS

 

[Jaaron2]

when we bought in we thought 200 would be enough......then 300.... then 400............now at 500........you get the picture

 

[op2k]

Lol, you all have been very helpful. We are going up in October and I think we'll take the tour to get a feel for the rooms, benefits, etc. I do get the daily e-mails from The Timeshare Store, as I am leaning heavily toward that route and I get a feel for what price we'll be paying.

 

[Inkmahm]

You'll NEED 5000 before it's all said and done but 160 is a nice start and ya gotta start somewhere.

We've all been there but that was when we all had money. Now we just have points... Lots and LOTS of points.

That's just what I was thinking! I figured we "needed" 150 points at BWV to start with. That lasted only a few months before we bought 180 points at VWL as an add on. Then they announced AKV and we bought 200 more. I thought we had too many points, until we decided to add on this year at AKV (100) and BWV (25) to make it easier to bring family with us.

We do 3 trips per year now to Disney and have 635 points, enought for all of them to be in one bedrooms. Yes, I think we have "enough" points. At least until the next time addonitis bites...