Would anyone be willing to answer some questions for me?

[RysMomma]

Hi everyone,

We just got back from a wonderful 8 day vacation at "The World." I absolutely love it there and this was the first time I was able to bring a child of my own. He is 20 months old and even though he didn't "get" a lot, it was still great to see Disney through his eyes. Anyway, in my lifetime so far, I have gone 12 times; most times I have gone were with my parents, but now that I'm older and married and starting my own family, I would love to go even more.

Anyway, while we were away this week, we decided to go for a vacation club tour. And I have to say, I am totally in love with Bay Lake Towers. In all the years that I have gone to WDW, I have always wanted to stay close to the Magic Kingdom and have Monorail access. Once we sat down with the Vacation Club representative, we realized that this is something that we could most likely afford in the next few years. Not right away (hopefully planning for baby number 2 soon and with two in daycare for a few years, it could be tight) but probably within the next few years, we could probably swing it.

But as we've been thinking of it and discussing it between us, we've come across some questions that we'd like to ask people who know a lot about the vacation club. If you're able to help out and answer some of the questions, please do!

1) Do you feel the Vacation Club is worth it to you? I know that you would still have to buy tickets to the park, airfare, rental car (if you chose), and I'm wondering if you feel that the vacation club is worth it even though you still have those extra expenses?

2) Do you feel like the Vacation Club ties you down? We are in our early thirties, hopefully mid thirties when we do decide to buy in, and we aren't sure if this is something that we will feel "trapped" in. My hubby likes Disney (not as much as I do though) and does like the fact that we can go other places as well.

3) Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought? Good or bad?

4) Do you think we would still be able to buy in at BLT in a few years? Would this be possible?

5) Would we be better off getting our financing through someone else other than Disney?

Thanks for all of your help! I'm sure I'll come up with more questions.

 

[toniosmom]

See my answer at this thread.

I would add that once you figure how many points you want to buy, count on adding more in a very short period of time. I bought 160 AKV points in April 2008. Since then, I have added on THREE times!!! I've got addonitis bad!!!

I can sympathize with daycare. I have a 4 year old son and daycare costs are insane! I can't imagine having to pay that for more than one child!

I don't feel tied down by my DVC membership at all. I have discovered that you can have a great vacation without ever visiting a park (which also saves money). I enjoy cooking in the room (also saving time and money), which is why I won't book anything smaller than a 1BR at this point.

I wish I knew that trading out DVC points is not a very cost effective way to use the membership. There are many many threads on this forum that discuss how expensive it can be to exchange your points. I have learned that to get the most bang for your buck out of your DVC membership is to use it to stay on Disney DVC property (WDW, DL, HH, VB, and soon Hawaii). There are less expensive timeshares that can be used for exchanges outside of Disney.

I'm sure you will be able to buy at least a BLT resale in a few years. You can buy almost any resort directly from Disney, but for properties that have been open or sold out in the past, you will usually get more for your money by purchasing a resale. There are several reputable resale brokers, including Timeshare Store (sponsor of this forum - at the top). You may want to scan their available sales.

Buy where you wouldn't mind staying. If you know that you will NEVER want to say at AKV, then don't buy there. You only get the 11 month booking window at your home resort, so if you want to stay elsewhere, you have to wait until the 7 month mark. You may not have any other choices if it is a busy time, so you will be "stuck" at your home resort. So, make sure that your home resort is one that you wouldn't mind staying.

Disney financing is a little high (at least 10% for good credit), but it's easy to get. You can't use Disney financing if you are buying a resale. It's difficult to get financing if you buy a resale.

OK.....I think I've said enough now. I'm still a relative DVC newbie, but those are the things I have learned from my very limited experience and all of the great people on the DIS.

 

[whitfamily]

1) Do you feel the Vacation Club is worth it to you? I know that you would still have to buy tickets to the park, airfare, rental car (if you chose), and I'm wondering if you feel that the vacation club is worth it even though you still have those extra expenses?[/QUOTE/

It is for us. This year alone we will have paid about $2,400 worth of maintenance fees and the 10-year financing on our 200 points. The rooms for our two trips would have cost us over $3,000. So even in the worst year of financing (the first year) we're still saving $600. Imagine the savings once we've paid off the loan!

2) Do you feel like the Vacation Club ties you down? We are in our early thirties, hopefully mid thirties when we do decide to buy in, and we aren't sure if this is something that we will feel "trapped" in. My hubby likes Disney (not as much as I do though) and does like the fact that we can go other places as well.

No. With the options of banking/borrowing, trading into reciprocity, cruises, other Disney Adventures and even the option to rent out your points for cash, there are a significant amount of options available. Heck you can use something like 160 points to get a one-bedroom for a wwek in London, which would normally cost several thousand dollars!

3) Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought? Good or bad?

You can break up into multiple contracts, which makes re-sale easier and you can do multiple resorts. Wish we had known that up front. Also while they tell you that financing through anyone other than DVC is difficult we found later we could do a debt consolidation type loan through our bank for half the interest rate.

4) Do you think we would still be able to buy in at BLT in a few years? Would this be possible?

Always can buy via DVC Resale. IF you want to buy through Disney the slots are gone when theyre gone. However if you look online every resort has a robust resale market.

5) Would we be better off getting our financing through someone else other than Disney?

Refer to answer #3.

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All-in-all this is a good value, but only if you're going to spend the majority of points at a DVC resort. If you want significant flexibility outside of those few properties I suggest looking at Marriott, Wyndham and other vacation clubs.

 

[disneynutz]

I would ask your questions again in a few years when you get closer to buying. A lot can change between now and then. Who knows, Disney may have been bought by another company and we all end up hating the DVC.

 

[baylakebisi]

I hope you find the answers useful as you decide on your future.

1) Do you feel the Vacation Club is worth it to you? I know that you would still have to buy tickets to the park, airfare, rental car (if you chose), and I'm wondering if you feel that the vacation club is worth it even though you still have those extra expenses?

Yes I feel it is worth it. I have been looking at DVC since I was 22 and I am now 32 and only bought this year. It was a 10 year waiting game for me as I ran numbers for a long time and waited for the right opportunity. Having a family was that opportunity for me. Take airfare, tickets, etc out of the equation and what you are getting is a discount on your hotel stay for the next 50 years. You also get discounts on tickets like Annual Passes, which is good IMO if you are planning 2 trips within the Annual Pass usage time.

Buy where you want to stay, whether it is a direct buy thru Disney or a resale. We bought at Bay Lake because we wanted to be on the monorail and be in the best location currently available.

I was looking at the cash price for BLT and for the hotel alone would cost about 3K for a week. Next year for example, we are planning 2 1 week trips in a 2 BR Villa at BLT, which on cash would cost 12K. We dont pay anywhere near that on a yearly basis for our points. Without DVC I would still not be able to stay at BLT. I would still be staying in Caribbean Beach, which is a very nice hotel, but is not BLT.

2) Do you feel like the Vacation Club ties you down? We are in our early thirties, hopefully mid thirties when we do decide to buy in, and we aren't sure if this is something that we will feel "trapped" in. My hubby likes Disney (not as much as I do though) and does like the fact that we can go other places as well.

No I dont think it ties me down, it gives me options to plan other vacation both at Disney and elsewhere. We have plans for Hawaii, California, Domenican Republic along with Italy and France.

3) Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought? Good or bad?

I wish I knew that I would like to have more points when I originally bought, but luckily I was able to add on this past weekend.

4) Do you think we would still be able to buy in at BLT in a few years? Would this be possible?

If not direct thru Disney, you can always get a resale, so dont rush yourself financially if you cant swing it right now.

5) Would we be better off getting our financing through someone else other than Disney?

Its a 10 year payoff at 10.75% best financing avaiul right now thru disney. You can always go thru Disney for financing and then find something at a better rate, or even do a balance transfer at a low rate for a long duration of time. You can always do a Home Equity LOC.

Good Luck on your future. I was so skeptical for so many years and only recently did I realize the benefits it provided to my family.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC is one of the most expensive timeshares out there and it is best used for DVC and only DVC. Unless you only use it outside of DVC once in a while. Buy a cheaper timeshare to use for trading. DVC negotiates those contracts up to yearly, so the points that are required this year, could very well be higher next year. Or that location may no longer be accessible for points.

If you don't plan on going to WDW or DL at least annually for the life of your contract, buy fewer points and use banking and borrowing to your advantage. For example if you have 75 points and need 225 for the WDW trip you want, you could bank a year, borrow a year and use the current year to get 225 points for a nice trip every three years.

 

[saintstickets]

I am a bean-counter by profession and I have "run the numbers" every which way I know how. By my calculations, if you plan on visiting WDW at least every other year, the answer is a no-brainer...BUY DVC! There are numerous variables to consider that are specific to your own wants and desires but here is a scenario for me: I want to go each year at Thanksgiving (Tues-Sun) and stay in a 2 BR (sleeps 8) so I can take family members. I have other scenarios but we'll stick with this one. I like OKW and it would take 213 points to stay as previously stated. The cost for 215 points on the resale market would vary but $70/pt is not out of line at this time. The maintenance fees for OKW are $4.73/pt for 2009. Assuming the MF cost increases 3% each year, then the total paid for the room at the end of 6 years would be +/- $22,000 (depending on closing costs and the MF increases). The cost to stay at OKW this year for the same time period is $3,656. Assuming the same 3% increase in room rates for the next 6 years, you would have spent +/- $23,700. Based on this scenario, you break even at 6 years. From that point forward, you will save over $3,000 per year comparing MF cost vs cash room rates! There are so many variables you can plug into this but if you are going to go often, it pays to buy DVC. The more points you have and the more you go, the savings are even larger and the breakeven point occurs earlier. You still have to budget for costs to get there, dining, tickets and souvenirs but if you're going, you have these costs anyway! I am sitting on G waiting on O to make my first purchase. I am lurking at various resellers looking for the deal for me. Good luck on yours.
Bill B

 

[Sandisw]

We have been going to WDW for years with the kids and just bought in to DVC because of BLT. We are really happy about our decision and think it was a great move. Of course, DH and I love WDW and see ourselves vacationing here for many years to come.

While BLT may be officially "sold out" through Disney in a few years, there will be contracts to be had on the resale market. There will even be ways to get it directly through Disney. The best thing in waiting is that you may get in to BLT for less than the cost now--or, if we are lucky, for today's prices in a few years.

At this time, the rate for Disney financing is high (almost 11% with the preferred rate) so if you have other means to finance it lower, go that route. Disney's loan doesn't show up on your credit so for some, that is an important factor.

Even though you are not ready to buy, finding out all about DVC is important and taking the time to learn the ins/outs is a wise move. As others have said, the best value for DVC is to use the points at WDW. If you don't see yourself wanting to travel here every year (so you can go other places), take that in to consideration on how many points you get. Some people who know they only want to visit every 3 years, buy only 1/3 the number of points and then use banking/borrowing to get the stay. This will cost you less and free you up to travel elsewhere without stressing about whether using DVC points is a good idea.

Good luck!

 

[marynvince]

they didn't buy sooner. We love it. Disney's resort at Hilton Head is awesome too and it gives you variety. As others have said, don't buy to think you'll trade out to the 500 other places, i've heard mixed reviews on that. Good Luck.

 

[Lost in Neverland]

1) Do you feel the Vacation Club is worth it to you? I know that you would still have to buy tickets to the park, airfare, rental car (if you chose), and I'm wondering if you feel that the vacation club is worth it even though you still have those extra expenses?

We feel the cost of knowning we have a place to stay is definitely worth it.The price of rooms will only continue to increase and since we have gotten use to staying at deluxe resorts there is no way we can go back to moderate or value resorts.
2) Do you feel like the Vacation Club ties you down? We are in our early thirties, hopefully mid thirties when we do decide to buy in, and we aren't sure if this is something that we will feel "trapped" in. My hubby likes Disney (not as much as I do though) and does like the fact that we can go other places as well.

No due to the fact you can bank points so you do not have to go to the World every year. With borrowing added to it then you could have a really nice trip or cruise every other year and not have to just go to WDW.

3) Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought? Good or bad?

We did a lot of research before we bought so there were no surprises. Plus reading the DIS helped keep us aware of issues and suggestions other DVC members had.
4) Do you think we would still be able to buy in at BLT in a few years? Would this be possible?

Most definitely will be available on the resale market if not through DVC

5) Would we be better off getting our financing through someone else other than Disney?

Be careful by financing your points. The interest and payments may make the entire thing feel like a chore rather than a pleasure. According to the interest rates when you decide to finance is how I would make my decision. A home equity line will allow you to write off the interest on your taxes( or at least in NC it does).Just be sure you make your decision away from the "magic" of the world because you will tend to splurge on more points and make a hastey decision.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

I am one of those whose only regret is that we didn't buy it sooner. We just purchased last October. A couple of years ago we took both our DS and girlfriends and stayed in a 2-bedroom villa for a week and it cost us close to $10,000 for the trip. I sure wish we would have taken that money and used it to buy DVC then. My recommendation is buy!

 

[cogero]

we are another group who regret that we didn't buy sooner. We also just added on at BLT.

I actually never thought we would add on the amount we did in just over a year but DH and I have a soft spot for Disney we went on our honeymoon there.

We also have an 8 year old and an almost 2 year old so we know we will be going for quite sometime to come. We love the fact that we can share the magic with friends and family that might not get the opportunity to go there.

I think you really need to know what is important to you for us it is our trips as a family to Disney.

As to financing that is a personal decision.

 

[Coach81]

Hi everyone,

We just got back from a wonderful 8 day vacation at "The World." I absolutely love it there and this was the first time I was able to bring a child of my own. He is 20 months old and even though he didn't "get" a lot, it was still great to see Disney through his eyes. Anyway, in my lifetime so far, I have gone 12 times; most times I have gone were with my parents, but now that I'm older and married and starting my own family, I would love to go even more.

Anyway, while we were away this week, we decided to go for a vacation club tour. And I have to say, I am totally in love with Bay Lake Towers. In all the years that I have gone to WDW, I have always wanted to stay close to the Magic Kingdom and have Monorail access. Once we sat down with the Vacation Club representative, we realized that this is something that we could most likely afford in the next few years. Not right away (hopefully planning for baby number 2 soon and with two in daycare for a few years, it could be tight) but probably within the next few years, we could probably swing it.

But as we've been thinking of it and discussing it between us, we've come across some questions that we'd like to ask people who know a lot about the vacation club. If you're able to help out and answer some of the questions, please do!

1) Do you feel the Vacation Club is worth it to you? I know that you would still have to buy tickets to the park, airfare, rental car (if you chose), and I'm wondering if you feel that the vacation club is worth it even though you still have those extra expenses?

Absolutely! Because of DVC we've gone for visiting once every other year, to visiting at least once a year (3 times this year!!!). We get a nice AP discount, and various other perks for being members. We love it!

2) Do you feel like the Vacation Club ties you down? We are in our early thirties, hopefully mid thirties when we do decide to buy in, and we aren't sure if this is something that we will feel "trapped" in. My hubby likes Disney (not as much as I do though) and does like the fact that we can go other places as well. I loved being "Trapped" by the Mouse!!! I just turned 40, and I look forward to many, many, more magical memories at Disney!!!

3) Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought? Good or bad?
Besides Disney "shifting" points a while back, no.. I did tons of research before we decided to take the plunge. Just be aware that you should buy into DVC for the discounted accomidations at WDW, not for the perks or staying/traveling outside of WDW.

4) Do you think we would still be able to buy in at BLT in a few years? Would this be possible? Absolutely

5) Would we be better off getting our financing through someone else other than Disney?We did.. and it has worked out just fine for us!

Thanks for all of your help! I'm sure I'll come up with more questions.

Good luck with your decision!!!

 

[thelionqueen]

BLT will likely be "sold out" in a few years, but as others posted, will likely be available via resale or through Disney.

The only regret I have is not buying enough points at the very beginning. I started with 160, then 180, then decided..200, no more. Then at the last minute bought 220 which I though was a stretch but did it because I heard so many people regretting not buying more from the "get go."

Well we bought BLT Nov 2008, and already added on another 130 @ GCV

The additional costs of membership are DEFINITELY worth it if you love Disney and plan on visiting at least every other year. We go 2-3 times per year so you can see what a true "no brainer" DVC was for us.

I don't regret not buying sooner, because I bought the second BLT was announced and had been waiting for it for more than 3 years. But if BLT was not built I would DEFINITELY have regretted not buying on my very first DVC tour (would've saved nearly $7,000 on vacations between tour and joining DVC).

We financed through Disney because it was easy. We have already paid off one of our 3 contracts and are in line to pay off the other 2 within 2 years, so the high financing doesn't bother me at all. Even with the financing cost over the 10 year period, it would STILL save us a ton of money owning DVC.

DVC will always be here, so buy when you're absolutely ready. Best of luck!

 

[DenLo]

1) Do you feel the Vacation Club is worth it to you? I know that you would still have to buy tickets to the park, airfare, rental car (if you chose), and I'm wondering if you feel that the vacation club is worth it even though you still have those extra expenses?

Yes, my DH has run the numbers so many different ways that we know we will recover our money within 5 - 6 trips (we are not financing). The other expenses you mentioned--tickets to the park, airfare, rental car are items you always have to pay when going to a Disney park. The cost of those expenses would only come into play if you are comparing staying at a DVC resort versus taking a vacation somewhere else. I'm not sure that is one of your questions.

2) Do you feel like the Vacation Club ties you down? We are in our early thirties, hopefully mid thirties when we do decide to buy in, and we aren't sure if this is something that we will feel "trapped" in. My hubby likes Disney (not as much as I do though) and does like the fact that we can go other places as well.

We are still newbies, bought BLT this year. I still worry about that one as we have traveled and cruised a lot over the years. However, if I was a young mother, I would daydream about the great family vacations with Disney. And from now on since you have child, family vacations are what you can do until your youngest child is in college or on their own.

Keep in mind you can really travel to WDW only every three years buy banking, using and borrowing points. So if you have a 100 point contract, you bank this years points, and then make a reservation next year and borrow points from 2011 so you can reserve a room for 300 points. That's almost a week in a one bedroom in most resorts. So can start off with a smaller contract.

The bad news is that addonitis is a very real and addictive illness running rampant on these boards.

Our one regret, not buying into the DVC back in 1986 when we stayed for cash at the Beach Club and DVC was selling Boardwalk.

3) Is there anything you wish you knew before you bought? Good or bad?

That there really isn't much difference between buying resale and direct from Disney. Also that a member referral might get you a great discount when buying direct from Disney. (You can get referral right here on the DISboard.)

4) Do you think we would still be able to buy in at BLT in a few years? Would this be possible?

No problem at all. Most likely it will be resale and it is just possible it will be cheaper than anything new from DVC direct.

5) Would we be better off getting our financing through someone else other than Disney?

That would depend your credit history and finances. I would definitely check around before I bought, preapproval would save you money later. Personally if you really could swing it, I'd start a savings just for buying into the DVC now. $10 here and there could add up over the years.

Good luck.