Wondering if we should do DVC or not any thoughts etc??

[digman6]

There are 6 of us 2 adults and 4 kids who are currently 11,9,5,and 2. We want to have the space for all of us. We like having the bedroom, the washer/dryer, and the kitchen.
We have not been on trips very much, only because lets face it its not cheap to go any place anymore. We would go yearly if not every other year, but to pay the money it can be hard to pull it off!

I do have the money to pay for timeshare without financing it, just paying it in full if it is right for us, so money part is not the issue at this point.

Dh is not to fond of the idea he said, He does not always want to go to Disney. I can totally understand that , we talked of taking a trip to New York, or Hawaii.

we went this past Dec. the 18th-26th and did the DDP at a moderate resort with base tickets it was 3400.00 with any discount we got, plus 1200.00 in airfare.
I think it would be nice to have a place to go and pay airfare and what ever else little things food, souvinors etc.

I am trying to figure out if this is right for us and if so which resort would be a good choice.
We have stayed at WL before and really enjoyed it!
Our kids LOVE swimming and the slides etc., kids loved Disney Studios, and the MK, as do we.

I am trying to figure out the points thing, if we want to stay for a week in late NOv. to early Dec. Or if we decide end of March to early May.
May its me but is seems really confusing.
If I buy during say a less expensive time and then decide one year I want to go during Xmas time .
If I understand correctly I need to wait to book that 7 months out rather then 11 months out?

Have any of you went someplace besides disney with your timeshare , so I can convince dh to do it?? He is usually easy to convince but seems this may be a tough one to pull.

Any one have any thoughts, ideas ,opinions that would be great.
the way I see it if we take 4 trips through out our life we could have it paid for.
I like the idea of going and only paying airfare and having a place to stay.
What are your typical dues etc??

 

[chalee94]

We would go yearly if not every other year, but to pay the money it can be hard to pull it off!

with DVC, you have the option to buy 1/2 the pts you need for one stay, which allows you to stay every other year (with banking and borrowing.)

this might be a good way to start.

I am trying to figure out the points thing, if we want to stay for a week in late NOv. to early Dec. Or if we decide end of March to early May.
May its me but is seems really confusing.
If I buy during say a less expensive time and then decide one year I want to go during Xmas time .
If I understand correctly I need to wait to book that 7 months out rather then 11 months out?

i don't understand this exactly.

you should look at the point charts for the resort you prefer (villas at the WL or AKV or whatever) in the top right-hand corner of the screen and figure how much a 2BR would be for a typical stay.

if you buy enough pts for may and then decide to go during the week of christmas, you would need to borrow pts from the next year's allocation. if you buy a contract for 200 pts per year but need 300 pts this year, you can borrow 100 pts from the next year (or, if you planned ahead, you could bank 100 pts from the previous year if you didn't need them.)

the 7 month window only depends on your choice of resort. if you love the wilderness lodge and buy pts at the VWL, you can book 11 months in advance at the VWL regardless of whether you are staying in may or december. if you decide to stay at SSR (or another DVC resort besides your home resort of VWL) for a change, then you cannot book there until 7 months out.

Have any of you went someplace besides disney with your timeshare , so I can convince dh to do it?? He is usually easy to convince but seems this may be a tough one to pull.

it's easier and cheaper to buy only the DVC pts you would use at disney, but if you would like to stay elsewhere, then yes, you can trade them out for NY and other locations.

I like the idea of going and only paying airfare and having a place to stay.
What are your typical dues etc??

annual dues per point are listed below:

Year OKW BWV VB VB(sub) HH VWL BCV SSR AKV
2008 4.56 5.04 6.04 4.71 5.16 4.87 4.80 4.21 4.71

for example, dues at VWL are $4.87 per pt. if you buy a contract for 200 pts at VWL, you will owe $4.87 x 200 = $974 for 2008. this will probably go up around 3% in 2009...

 

[digman6]

I am trying to figure out the points thing, if we want to stay for a week in late NOv. to early Dec. Or if we decide end of March to early May.
May its me but is seems really confusing.
If I buy during say a less expensive time and then decide one year I want to go during Xmas time .
If I understand correctly I need to wait to book that 7 months out rather then 11 months out?

i don't understand this exactly.

you should look at the point charts for the resort you prefer (villas at the WL or AKV or whatever) in the top right-hand corner of the screen and figure how much a 2BR would be for a typical stay.

if you buy enough pts for may and then decide to go during the week of christmas, you would need to borrow pts from the next year's allocation. if you buy a contract for 200 pts per year but need 300 pts this year, you can borrow 100 pts from the next year (or, if you planned ahead, you could bank 100 pts from the previous year if you didn't need them.)

the 7 month window only depends on your choice of resort. if you love the wilderness lodge and buy pts at the VWL, you can book 11 months in advance at the VWL regardless of whether you are staying in may or december. if you decide to stay at SSR (or another DVC resort besides your home resort of VWL) for a change, then you cannot book there until 7 months out.

I had a hard time wording it , especially when dd2 is jumping all over me and into every darn thing at the moment.

thanks for the reply!

I don't need the points this year to use, so I will be shopping with plans for next year when looking for Timeshare.

If anyone has anything else to offer greatly appreciated.
I need to convince dh of this now!

 

[ChelleinNC]

Just a few other comments:

There are currently 2 DVC resorts that are not at Disney, so if your DH would like to take a beach trip or golf/beach trip you could go to HHI (Hilton Head Island) or VB (Vero Beach). Disney has announced they are going to build a DVC resort in Hawaii, so that will be another "non-park" trip available.

We did 10 nights at SSR last June with the plan that this would be a "relaxing" vacation, half park time half not. It actually worked very well, we spent several days lounging/reading by the pool, playing golf & tennis, the kids loved hanging out at Community Hall..... The resorts are so nice, that you can just enjoy them

You mentioned DDP in your op, in case you weren't aware, DVC members are able to add the DDP to their reservation with out buying tickets. Speaking of tickets, DVC members get discounts on annual passes.

 

[digman6]

I knew about the AP but did not know about the DDP can be added to our stay.

I hope when I tell him they are adding non park DVc spots he will change his mind.

thanks for that tip!

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you plan to vacation at Disney at least every other year on a regular basis, then you should look at DVC as a pre-paid Disney vacation. While DVC likes to tout trading out to other destinations, in reality, it isn't as monetarily efficient as it could be. Disney is one of the more expensive timeshares, so it's always best to use it within the same system. That system does include resorts in Hilton Head, Vero Beach, and soon in Hawaii and California. There have been promises of future resorts in the Bahamas and other places as well, so DVC is definitely an expanding timeshare destintion.

One thing that often confuses people when they look at DVC is that it is somewhat different from standard timeshares. You do NOT buy a specific week or even a specific amount of time. Instead, you are buying points of a specific value (depending on the resort you choose as your home resort) that can be used for stays of anywhere from 1 night to several months.

Your home resort determins WHERE you can book at 11 months out, but you can book at any of the DVC resorts at 7 months out. That is a very flexible program that many timeshares don't have. All timeshares have exchange options, and so does DVC, but staying inside the system is always a better choice financially.

To determin how many points you would need, you need to choose your favorite resort and look at the point charts for that resort. Decide how long and what time of year you are likely to be most often traveling, and that will help you figure out how many points you would need. If you only want a Disney trip every other year, you can divide that number in half and use banking and borrowing to get the number needed for your preferred ressie.

 

[GranddadTom]

Steph -

You sound like I did a few years ago. Like your husband, I'm not a big timeshare fan. My wife talked me into it and it has been great for us. But, having said that, I don't think it's great for everyone. We did like you are proposing - we purchased our points outright. I agree with everything Diane said. If I were you, I'd only consider using your points for stays a DVC resorts - I couldn't see any real savings with the other options. I knew - from our past record dating back to when WDW opened - that we would visit the WDW at least every other year and maybe more often. Like you, we have 4 children. We also have 11 grandchildren. For the sake of planning, we decided that we would like to make 2 trips to WDW every 3 years. Spring Break then Christmas of the following year then back to Sprink Break 16 months later - etc. We then checked the points chart to see what it would take and bought the number of points that would work for us. You can actually take a trip every third year by borrowing and banking. What convinced me - and still does - is how nice it is to stay in an upscale resort for really the price of a moderate. Also the variety of room types that are available. Before we picked our home resort - and every one is available on the resale market - we visited each just to get a feel for the themeing and the overall feel of the resort. All of them are incredible and each has its pluses and its minuses. We settled on a hotel-style resort (you have to lug all of you stuff through the lobby and your car is a mile away) because we liked the closeness of everything once you got settled in. One last thing to consider is the overall cost of visiting WDW so often. As you mentioned, even though the housing is prepaid, there is still tickets, food, transportation, and misc. As I said, I was reluctant but I'm sold on it now.

 

[digman6]

Excellent points made!
I will have to talk to him more tonight about this when the kids go to bed.
I know they will want it because well they are kids, who want everything!

I am suppose to talk to some this after noon from dvc to get a feel of it all.
I more then likely will buy resale but at least I can have a good explanation of what will work best in points and that jazz.
I will pick there brain so to speak and go from there.

Seems like resale is more sensable and I have no plans of a trip at this point until next year.

 

[jodifla]

Excellent points made!
I will have to talk to him more tonight about this when the kids go to bed.
I know they will want it because well they are kids, who want everything!

I am suppose to talk to some this after noon from dvc to get a feel of it all.
I more then likely will buy resale but at least I can have a good explanation of what will work best in points and that jazz.
I will pick there brain so to speak and go from there.

Seems like resale is more sensable and I have no plans of a trip at this point until next year.

When you look at the points, see if it would work for you to do only one weekend night. This saves A LOT of points. We use the weekends after the trip to decompress before going back to school/work.

 

[JodyTG]

Excellent points made!
I will have to talk to him more tonight about this when the kids go to bed.
I know they will want it because well they are kids, who want everything!

I am suppose to talk to some this after noon from dvc to get a feel of it all.
I more then likely will buy resale but at least I can have a good explanation of what will work best in points and that jazz.
I will pick there brain so to speak and go from there.

Seems like resale is more sensable and I have no plans of a trip at this point until next year.

Of course, this year's points could be banked until next year...