Worth what You're Paying???

[tinkslite]

I am a died in the wool Disneyaholic, and we vacation there rather frequently (at least once and often twice per year).
BUT we customize our vacations to match whats financially feasable at that moment. Meaning sometimes we have gone to disneyland and stayed in a cheap motel off property and other times we have stayed in a concierge room in the Disneyland hotel.
I am wondering just how flexible DVC really is. How much can I stretch and bend it to match my needs???
Thanks for answering.

 

[ChelleinNC]

I would say yes you can flex & bend the points to match your needs. That's the advantage of a points system over a week system.

Let's say you buy the 160pt min buy in from Disney. You could use those points all at once on a long trip or several small trips, you could get a 2BR in value season or a studio in peak season. Banking and borrowing extend those options, so that you could have 08,09 & 2010 points all at once (160 x3= 480pts)

Take a look at the Point charts (top of the page) and you'll see how many points you need for different scenarios.

 

[ldo]

WE are going for 5 days this summer in a studio at OKW. That costs us 55 points and gets us 2 beds (or bed and sofa bed) in a nice room with micro/fridge/coffee/toaster. Annual fees for that were about $250. NExt year, we are planning to stay sun-thur in a 1 BR savannah view at AKV which will be 150 points (30x5). That's a pretty wide range. You can look at the points chart and do the math for all different configurations. Plus, on a tight year that you want really cheap, you could bank your points and stay off-site and have double the points the next year--works great for us. Elaine

 

[Juliet25]

It's pretty flexible. We have a 150 point contract. Our Dec 07 studio at SSR cost us 76 for 6 nights. I just made a March 09 ressie for a 6 night stay in a one bedroom at BWV. That cost me 171.

Same amount of nights, just different dates and room sizes.

 

[Caskbill]

The main advantage is you know the annual costs and can pay them at a flat rate (monthly), or pay a larger chunk when you might have more money available. There is no penalty for pre-payment of any mortgage or annual dues.

You then plan your vacations based on what you are able to spend for incidentals such as tickets, restaurants, etc. For longer stays you might just stay in a Studio to stretch the points. For shorter stays, maybe a 1-b/r, or even use weekend or high season points. Can't afford to go one year, just bank those points and use them the following year.

The best thing about owning DVC is the flexibility, and second is that it's a hedge against inflation.

Don't forget, you can buy resale and purchase fewer points than the DVC minimums when you buy direct.

Feel free to download my DVC-Chart program so you can easily see how many points are required, by resort, by villa type, by day of the week, and by DVC seasons. You can also look at DVC-Planner for more detailed information. Both are available via the link below...

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Flexibility and predictable costs are great, but you have to be able to plan ahead.

Sounds like some of your trips are quick decision type of trips. Not that you can't do it short notice, but you'll get frustrated if you come to expect it.

 

[rsinj]

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[Grandbuddy]

Please explain more about how you would expect to be able to "flex and bend" DVC to match your needs? You are buying it - paying ahead of time or on installment - those are upfront/fixed payments and you cannot change that to match your financial situation at the time. Likewise for the annual dues - those are going to be set and go up in the future regardless of your financial situation.

You have a wide variety of room types you can stay in just as if you were paying - as far as your purchased points will go.

Again, please explain more about your perception of what being able to "flex and bend" DVC to match your needs means.

I'd buy DVC on one of the years I had the money to stay in a concierge room, and use it all the other years, for just the cost of the maintenance fees. Your would incur your other costs for travel and tickets whether or not you own DVC. If I were you, I would try not to finance such a purchase as that does tend to put you in danger of spending more than you would like to on one of the years you might have stayed in a local Motel 6.

 

[DeeCee735]

Yes, you are paying for it. The value is most realized, of course, when it's paid in full up front, and there is no mortgage. The dues, of course are a recurring cost that must be figured in. The flexibility lies in the way you can customize room size and time of year you want to travel to your vacation preferences year after year.

The way we figure it is this.....we purchased without financing with our intial buy in, and our first two add ons. We financed our last add on (didn't close yet), and will pay it in full within the first three months, so we really don't have any finance charges to figure in. Our maintenance fees are paid annually.

When we first bought in May of 2000 with an October UY, we were given 1999 points to bank, plus our Oct 2000 points, plus we borrowed some from our 2001 year. This enabled us to do the 4 night cruise and 3 nights in a BW view. This vacation alone had a value of $7000, then taking into account the maintenance fees on these points, we figure that was about $1800 (they were of course alittle less per point then), since the 1999 points were pro-rated so we didn't pay a full year, and we didn't borrow all of the 2001 points - making the vacation cash value about $5200.

We visited at least once a year for a couple of years after that - week long trips, and then at least 2x a year. This 12 month period (April 08 - April 09) we'll have visited 4 times. We usually stay in a one bedroom, with a two bedroom every now and then, and an occasional studio for the shorter stays. The studio rack rates are $400, $300 with our member discount, plus tax. For a 6 night stay that's $1800 + tax, and as I said we usually go with a one bedroom, which is obviously a higher rack rate. Our dues are less than $1500 a year, and we are averaging 12 nights a year, we figure that's at least a savings of $2500 (depending on room type). We figure our DVC purchase price was paid quite a few vacations ago, and we've got 33 years worth of vacations left

This is at least the way we figure it, so for us it was well worth it. Then there's the other value we must take into account......forced vacations for my DH, workaholic, awesome vacations at that, life long vacations for us in the bag, guaranteed vacation opportunities for our children and hopefully one day grandchildren.....can't compare this to dolloars!

So flexibility and value are obvious to us, and we have no regrets, it was a great decision for us.

 

[jarestel]

If you are considering worth from a strictly financial point of view, I think you can always get a better deal than DVC, especially if staying off property is a viable option for your crew. DVC works best, financially speaking, for those who want to stay on-property in Disney moderate or deluxe rooms and are willing to pay the extra $$$ (vs off-site properties) to do so.

There are many non-financial reasons why DVC makes sense, but the bottom line expense is probably not one of them unless you fall into the conditions I stated above.

Good luck!

 

[FLYNZ4]

I consider off-site stays to be "free". By that I mean... I can stay at nice condos near WDW for so little money... it is not worth measuring.

However... if we go to WDW... we want to stay on property. We also enjoy "condo style" accomodations... so we are no longer happy to be in a hotel room (or a studio). Hence DVC is worth it for us... as we do not like either alternative (staying in a WDW hotel, or off-site condo).

/Jim

 

[tinkslite]

Please explain more about how you would expect to be able to "flex and bend" DVC to match your needs? You are buying it - paying ahead of time or on installment - those are upfront/fixed payments and you cannot change that to match your financial situation at the time. Likewise for the annual dues - those are going to be set and go up in the future regardless of your financial situation.

You have a wide variety of room types you can stay in just as if you were paying - as far as your purchased points will go.

Again, please explain more about your perception of what being able to "flex and bend" DVC to match your needs means.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be vague. I was wondering if we could, for instance, in a leaner year stay for a couple days in a smaller room or even not in the villas but at a value resort (for points still). Then other times stay in a larger villa/or concierge room at one of the deluxe resorts.
I thank those who have tried to explain the points system.
I am glad you can bank and borrow points.
We usually waaaaaay plan ahead for these trips (several months in advance even). But once or twice have done a spur of the moment (well a couple weeks notice anyway) trip.