Worth it?

[Mbrwr]

Hello!!! We're a family of four and are thinking about joining thevacatipn club (we're at Disney right now) but I'm worried about being the right decision... Can anyone give us some input on it?? Is it really worth it? Any catchs?
Thank you so much!!!
Marina

 

[chalee94]

it's worth it for some people and there are no "catches" if you've done your homework.

it's a waste of money for some people and doesn't work very well if you expect to be able to book the first week of december 2 months in advance, or expect daily mousekeeping, or you prefer to stay at wdw over long weekends.

stealing heavily from DVCMike:

Membership in the Disney Vacation Club is not for everyone. DVC can make sense financially -- assuming you would always stay in a deluxe resort. If you always stay in a value resort, then it won't -- but that's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The DVC resorts offer deluxe amenities and room size.

DVC membership might make sense if you meet most or all of these criteria:

• The cost of membership and dues does not appear to present a financial hardship.
• You vacation at Walt Disney World frequently: ideally at least once every two years.
• You plan to continue vacationing at Disney World far enough into the future to make the membership at least break even.
• You prefer to stay in Deluxe or DVC accommodations and/or you stay a long time (10 days or more per year). If you always stay at a Value resort, or always stay off-site, or you really spend the entire day at the parks away from your hotel, and you don't spend time at the resort itself (other than crashing at the end of the day), then DVC may not be for you.
• You are able to plan your vacations well in advance -- ideally 7 to 11 months out. If you aren't a planner, don't even look at becoming a DVC member. If you can't plan and book your vacations 11 months in advance, and staying at a particular DVC resort is important, then don't join DVC. If you really don't care which DVC resort you end up with, then it's not as much of an issue.
• You stay more on weekdays and can limit Friday and Saturday night stays.
• You can do without daily mousekeeping and room service (of course, you can pay extra and get mousekeeping as a DVC member).
• You desire more space than a typical resort room (such as a 2 bedroom villa, with full kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and jacuzzi suite, and even a washer/dryer).
• You’re not looking at DVC as an investment or a way to make money (it’s not). It is a decision to prepay, at today's rates, the next several decades of Disney trips.

If the only consideration is whether it makes financial sense, then maybe you should be staying offsite and only eating offsite as well, since that beats staying onsite. Beyond just the financial considerations, DVC membership is emotionally satisfying (you “own a piece of the magic”), and it gives you a reason to take a vacation at WDW.

Buying a DVC membership is a rational, financially viable option for some people: namely people who plan to stay in the higher-end accommodations at Walt Disney World on a regular basis.

 

[Happydinks]

Hello!!! We're a family of four and are thinking about joining thevacatipn club (we're at Disney right now) but I'm worried about being the right decision... Can anyone give us some input on it?? Is it really worth it? Any catchs?
Thank you so much!!!
Marina

The quote from DVC Mike is a good one -- and should be the baseline for making your decision. However, DVC does allow you to stay other places all over the world -- some of which you may never try except for the fact that you have the points. They can also be used on the Disney cruises. We became members in 2001 - it's just two of us - and have never for a minute regretted our decision. We have actually added on 3 times since then - all point at the Wilderness Lodge. The points have allowed us to have family gatherings at Disney - which we never could have done. Take the tour, listen to what the Guides have to say, take the information home (away from the emotion of being there) and sit down and discuss it in your home surroundings. We can't say enough about the program, but it fits our lifestyle, how and where we like to vacation.

Good luck!

 

[ldo]

1st, when would you vacation? Think about school calendar, even if your kids are in school yet, or you can still take them out of school--that will change. Look at points chart--find the # of points you would need. Christmas and EAster are very high points--so if that is your main time to go, DVC will be $$$$. Figure about $8 per point ($5 annual fee and your amortized purchase price)--so if it "costs" you 200 points for your stay, you are effectively paying $1600 for those accommodations vs. studio in the summer for 5 days could be 60 points---or just $480, etc.
We love DVC and I esp. love the Community Halls (CH)--drop by one and see what they are all about if you have kids in the 4-14 age group---OKW, SSR, AKV, BWV all have them. This is what really sold us on DVC (we have stayed at many other timeshares in Orlando, DVC has the best CH, IMHO). They have organized activities, plus you can go and just hang out, color, play video games, etc.
Also, you CAN buy ANY DVC (not just BLT and AKV) that you want from Disney--if you persist. Plus on this BB (Above) there is a link to resales---decide what is best for you--right now you can save a lot of $$ buying SSR or OKW resale.
Also, DVC just ran a really good free cruise promo--if the promo now is not VERY good, I would try to get the free cruise, or maybe wait until they annoucne the next promo.
Lastly, buy the least amount of points you think you need (you can always add on late) and try to break your contract up into 100 points or less (I think they will let you buy 160 points at 100 + 60 point contracts)---smaller contracts are easier to sell, if you ever need. Good luck--we love DVC. Elaine

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

I wondered about this myself before we purchased just 75 points at BWV resale. We specifically bought the points to do the F & W Festival every year

We got a 3 year loan which we plan on paying off early. The way I figure it, (we are a more "mature" couple), we will have a guaranteed pre-paid vacation every year after we retire. We figure we will have a limited budget, so this way, even if we don't "do" the parks, we'll always have somewhere special to go (dosen't get any more special than Disney!)

 

[Crystal_27]

If you are having second thoughts about doing it while on vacation, just remember that you can always buy-in when you have some non-vacation time to research everything about DVC. No matter how wonderful and fabulous the DVC Guides make it sound, DVC isn't for everyone, and you would be doing yourself a disservice if you don't really dig into the pros and cons before signing on the dotted line (although, I guess in theory you do have 10 days to rescind your contract if you did sign it...). Good luck, and enjoy the rest of your vacation!

 

[disneynutz]

Hello!!! We're a family of four and are thinking about joining thevacatipn club (we're at Disney right now) but I'm worried about being the right decision... Can anyone give us some input on it?? Is it really worth it? Any catchs?
Thank you so much!!!
Marina

Only you can make that decision. Take some time to read all you can from the DIS but remember that most who post here are owners and few will admit that they made a poor choice in becoming a member.

The resales and rentals have exploded this year so that means one of two things. Members don't have the money to vacation but still have the burden of payments and dues and/or they have become dissatisfied with the DVC.

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

Is it worth it? Yes.

Next question please.


:-D

Obviously, only you can decide if it makes sense for your family. Typically, if you go every year or every other year, and always stay in moderate hotels at disney world, or better, then you will save money with DVC.

See this post I made that does many financial breakdowns of whether DVC is "worth it": http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2137102

 

[whitfamily]

Hello!!! We're a family of four and are thinking about joining thevacatipn club (we're at Disney right now) but I'm worried about being the right decision... Can anyone give us some input on it?? Is it really worth it? Any catchs?
Thank you so much!!!
Marina

I will offer this though... If you can financially afford to do it and want to do it then do it now. We first pondered on our honeymoon in 2006 and didnt jump. We then toured in Jan of this year and the cost was a few thousand dollars more than 2006.

Contrary to the rule though, when the economy took a dive, point prices bottomed out and we got a better deal than 2006 when we bought in Apr of this year. But, I dont think global economic mealtdown is going to come all that often! Our Apr 2006 vs Jan 09 is the normal experience of where pricing goes.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

1. Love Disney Resorts and the resort areas, not just the parks.
2. Saved to purchase, not finance.
3. Bought great deal through resales, couldn't afford thru Disney.
4. Bought correct amount of points for how we vacation!

I had realistic expectations going into DVC and so far it's met my every expectation and those of my family!

Worth it? For me, absolutely.... For you

I used a friends DVC 4 times and each time it became clearer and clearer that this would work for me. Now some of my family and other friends can't understand 1st, the concept of owning a timeshare and 2nd, owning one that actually expires! I don't make any attempt to convince them of why it works for me and not for them.

Good luck to you!

 

[ssawka]

As you can see from PPs, this is not an easy question to answer, even from a pure dollars and cents perspective. Acouple things to ask yourself:

1. Can I make reservations far enough in advance? If not you may struggle to get the "right" reservation for you.
2. Are we planning to go to WDW at least every 3 years, whether or not we join? I think the second half of this is an important question. There are some DISers that say "you should not finance a luxury item", but I see it as a "buy vs. rent" issue. If you are planning on going to WDW anyway (i.e. your kids are young, etc.) then financing may be viable if you do not have the cash now (or do not want to eat up your cash reserve). At least you would have something of value at the end. I do however agree that if you finance, you should make extra principal payments and get the loans paid ASAP.
3. Can we afford it (whether cash or monthly payments) along with MFs, flights, food, and park tickets? DVC only covers accommodations.
4. Would you prefer to pay now and not have to worry about paying as much later? For us, I did not see it as a pure dollars and sense perspective. Most people save money using DVC, but even if you don't save in pure dollars and cents, there are quite a few other factors to consider; like do I have expendable income now that I may not have in the future? Would I prefer to pay 20K now and then only have to pay a couple thousand every year versus spending a much larger amount every year?

 

[Mbrwr]

I'm really interested in having the FCC for cruises... What's the input on that? Does it require a lot of points?

 

[Mtnman44]

It costs several thousand dollars a year (depending on the size of your ownership) to be a DVC member, not including the purchase price of the membership. Why so much? Well, cause you need to USE the points you own. For most people, that means airfare, tickets, and food plus all the little incidentals. Then there are the annual dues for your membership (pays for the operation and upkeep of the resort). We have an average sized contract and we easily spend $4,000 a year on our Disney Fix and DVC ownership.

So, if you are currently spending thousands on Disney trips every year or every other year, then yes DVC might be worth looking into, subject to the other tips already mentioned.

 

[DVC Mike]

Is it really worth it?

For me, in a word, YES.

 

[Crystal_27]

I'm really interested in having the FCC for cruises... What's the input on that? Does it require a lot of points?

Well, let me put it this way. A 5 night Wonder cruise in June, 2010 in a Cat. 6 stateroom (verandah) for just DH and I (AND we would have still had to pay out of pocket for DD in the amount of $1,200), used more points than a 1 bedroom at BLT for 2 weeks at Christmas (December 18-January 1) in 2010.

In all fairness, the cash price of the cruise costs about $5,600, but I was floored that cruising costs so much in relation to staying in DVC resorts (the cash price for the stay at BLT would have been $11,000). However, they are your points, so you use them however you want...if you want to save a couple years and go on a cruise, DO IT!! That's the beauty of DVC!

 

[shonnons]

I have just recently decided to purchase a DVC. What really helped me was going to http://www.mousesavers.com/DVCvsCash2008.xls I have not seen a better or more balanced prospective spreadsheet. Chang the numbers to fit the cost and points you are looking at. The spreadsheet is from mousesavers. They are not necessarily pro DVC but I think it is the correct decision for me. Even if I don’t vacation using DVC one year I can always rent my points but I have a young child and I see myself going to WDW often.

 

[K&TLoveDisney]

Yes, DH and I feel it is worth it. We bought in in 2001 and have been every year except for one (the year DH changed jobs). I do agree, do your homework. We bought in knowing we would have many years of pre-paid vacations and would be able to stay at the nicer places. If I had to pay cash, I probably would be staying at Value or Moderate resorts. Having DVC makes me feel special that I can stay in the "nicer" places.

We leave for WLV in 8 days and this year's vacation will be a chill out vacation (limited parks, lots of pool time and relaxing time). And what a place to go and chill. As for cruises, we've done two on points. Yes, they are expensive (points or cash), but you have to remember that they include food and entertainment (and transportation to some great places).

Most people claim you break even in about 8 to 10 years. If that is the case, then the occasional use of points for DCL or ABD isn't such a bad use of points. Bottom line, they will be your points -- use them for your enjoyment, not someone else's.

 

[starwarsdisney]

I have just recently decided to purchase a DVC. What really helped me was going to http://www.mousesavers.com/DVCvsCash2008.xls I have not seen a better or more balanced prospective spreadsheet. Chang the numbers to fit the cost and points you are looking at. The spreadsheet is from mousesavers. They are not necessarily pro DVC but I think it is the correct decision for me. Even if I don’t vacation using DVC one year I can always rent my points but I have a young child and I see myself going to WDW often.

Nice spreadsheet. The break even point can very, but if you look at it on that spreadsheet you will break even usually somewhere between 7 and 10 years.

My wife and I have stayed at moderate resorts with the idea of moving to deluxe. With DVC we can do that now. We also like the idea of being able to take family and friends with us. It's a big decison and we are a little scared, but the math makes sense.

 

[Coach81]

All the previous posters have done a great job.. here are my two bits..

1. You have to LOVE DISNEY, and want to go there for many years to come.
2. You have to be willing to plan out your vacations many months in advance.
3. You have to be able to afford the payments.

If you qualify with the first three.. then DVC may be for you.

Good luck with your decision!