Would love to join DVC. A few questions...

[DebIreland]

I'm seriously thinking about becoming a DVC member in the future. There's DH, myself and three children (13, 10 and 3). We rented points (from a wonderful DISer! ) last year and fell in love with The Boardwalk Villas. I know BWV is sold out and only available through resale. We would honestly be thrilled to stay in any DVC resort but BWV would be our first choice and I know that the extra 4 months for booking your home resort would help us secure our accommodations there.

Most likely, it would take us another year to 18 months for us to work this out financially but I want to plan ahead.

I have so many questions whizzing around my head! But for starters, if someone would be kind enough to answer one or all of the questions below I'd really appreciate it...

As I'm in Ireland, is there any technicality or legal issue that would prevent me becoming a member?
I honestly don't know if there is. But I'm thinking that because we're talking about, in essence, a real estate contract there might be some legal issues I don't know about?? I know that Disney's DVC info on the official site is all geared towards US & UK visitors so I'm not sure. We would not be looking for financing through Disney so the loan legalities are not an issue.

[obviously no need to read anymore if the answer to the above question is "you can't join". lol!!]

Do you think DVC is right for us?
Other than the fact that we all adore WDW and the place makes us deliriously happy, I'm wondering, with us being so far away, do you think it's right for us? Commitment to going to WDW is not a problem!! And planning ahead (at least when it comes to holidays ) is my forté!! But we would not be able to go to WDW every year (flight prices) so I'm thinking we would go every 2nd year or, sometimes 3 years in 4 but for a 2 week trip. So, for example, we might end up doing something like this:
July 2009
Easter 2011
Summer 2012
Easter 2014
Summer 2015
Easter 2017
Summer 2018
(So that's 7 trips in 10 years)

Between banking and borrowing, do you think we could make the above scenario work? I would have to think carefully about how many points we would need (i.e. more than enough for every 2nd year but not quite enough for every year!).

How important is the use year MONTH?
Depending on the time of year you want to stay in WDW, is the MONTH you get your points important? I'm thinking it would be, but I probably have it backwards?? Do I need to have all the necessary points my a/c when I make the reservation? For example, in our case, we would be tied to school holiday times for many years to come (see tentative dates above!). So, if we wanted to go in July 2009, wouldn't we need our points in our a/c in August 2008 to stand the best chance of securing BWV (if that is our home resort)? In other words, would it be wise for us to ensure that our use year is 11 months before the month we (mostly) want to visit WDW???

If buying resale what is the difference between buying resale through Disney or through a resale company?
Higher price per point? Larger closing costs? Takes longer?

Maintenance fees
Can we pay maintenance fees monthly through Visa direct debit or will they only accept one annual payment?

The extra 12 years
If I have it right, all memberships expire in 2042 except SSR and the new Animal Kingdom villas. I know there's no right or wrong answer to this but how important were those extra/fewer years to you when you joined? We'll (all going well! lol) be in our 70s in 2042 and hopefully still up for transatlantic travel but I guess there's a niggling feeling that it would be great to leave the kids enjoy this as long as possible. Our youngest would be 38 in 2042 so it's not like she can complain of Disney neglect but I'm just thinking (way) ahead to how nice it would be for them to take their families there when we, er, are unfit to travel!

So sorry this got so long!! Any help is much appreciated!!!

 

[Kurby]

As I'm in Ireland, is there any technicality or legal issue that would prevent me becoming a member?
I honestly don't know if there is. But I'm thinking that because we're talking about, in essence, a real estate contract there might be some legal issues I don't know about?? I know that Disney's DVC info on the official site is all geared towards US & UK visitors so I'm not sure. We would not be looking for financing through Disney so the loan legalities are not an issue.

[obviously no need to read anymore if the answer to the above question is "you can't join". lol!!]


Let me see if I can answer some of these for you


Yes you can purchase but I do believe you must purchase when you are there since I don't think Disney is licenced to sell in Irland (by the way I can't wait to visit there - my parents are from Scotland and say it's beautiful)



Do you think DVC is right for us?
Other than the fact that we all adore WDW and the place makes us deliriously happy, I'm wondering, with us being so far away, do you think it's right for us? Commitment to going to WDW is not a problem!! And planning ahead (at least when it comes to holidays ) is my forté!! But we would not be able to go to WDW every year (flight prices) so I'm thinking we would go every 2nd year or, sometimes 3 years in 4 but for a 2 week trip. So, for example, we might end up doing something like this:
July 2009
Easter 2011
Summer 2012
Easter 2014
Summer 2015
Easter 2017
Summer 2018
(So that's 7 trips in 10 years)

Between banking and borrowing, do you think we could make the above scenario work? I would have to think carefully about how many points we would need (i.e. more than enough for every 2nd year but not quite enough for every year!).



Above scenario - absoulty it can work - what you need to do is make up practice trips and figure out how many points you will need for each trip. ie if your trips take 250 trips and you know you will only make it out to WDW every other year then you have 3 options -

buy 160 - 200 points and save from one year to the next and bank the balance of 2 years after you "pay" for your resort.

buy 200 - 250 with a similar scenario as above but it would give you a bigger room ie a 2 bed instead of a 1 bed or longer nights 14 instead of 10.

buy 250 and the years you don't go to WDW go anywhere else in the world using the other sister hotels (forget the term they use for it)




How important is the use year MONTH?
Depending on the time of year you want to stay in WDW, is the MONTH you get your points important? I'm thinking it would be, but I probably have it backwards?? Do I need to have all the necessary points my a/c when I make the reservation? For example, in our case, we would be tied to school holiday times for many years to come (see tentative dates above!). So, if we wanted to go in July 2009, wouldn't we need our points in our a/c in August 2008 to stand the best chance of securing BWV (if that is our home resort)? In other words, would it be wise for us to ensure that our use year is 11 months before the month we (mostly) want to visit WDW???


UY come into play if you think you will cancel trips. other wise it isn't really that important - it's important for banking (saving) your current points for next years trip. If you have cancelled trips in the past due to work or whatever and think you may be up against the same thing then i would suggest a UY close to the timeframe you would most likely be travelling - ie if the kids are out of school for winter break in April and you think you will be taking the majority of your trips between April and the end of August i'd go for an April UY. if you think you'll be pulling the kids out of school in the autumn then go for a Sept UY



If buying resale what is the difference between buying resale through Disney or through a resale company?
Higher price per point? Larger closing costs? Takes longer?

Maintenance fees
Can we pay maintenance fees monthly through Visa direct debit or will they only accept one annual payment?

I am not 100% on this one - I think you can but i'll leave it for someone else to answer.



The extra 12 years
If I have it right, all memberships expire in 2042 except SSR and the new Animal Kingdom villas. I know there's no right or wrong answer to this but how important were those extra/fewer years to you when you joined? We'll (all going well! lol) be in our 70s in 2042 and hopefully still up for transatlantic travel but I guess there's a niggling feeling that it would be great to leave the kids enjoy this as long as possible. Our youngest would be 38 in 2042 so it's not like she can complain of Disney neglect but I'm just thinking (way) ahead to how nice it would be for them to take their families there when we, er, are unfit to travel!



AK finishes in 2057 (techonically 2056 since Dec 56 is the last time points will be given out and they all have to be used by Jan 31 2057) so you are actually getting 15 years more

for us it makes a big difference because we have a young child and trying for a second - when time is up we will be dead (ok very very old LOL) or unable to go but they will still be enjoying the resort on us.

you have to decide if the extra 12 years makes sense to you. for us if we bought into Boardwalk through a resale the difference was only $4 - 5000 - divide that buy the 12 extra years and it just wasn't enough of a savings to purchase resale. either way we were financing and paying over 10 years so we went for AK (because we love it there) and got 12 years

So sorry this got so long!! Any help is much appreciated!!! [/QUOTE]


you really have to work things out for your family needs and see - check out the other hotels around the world, are they places you could see yourself going to? do you want to stay in deluxe accomodations for value - mod resort prices? do you really think you would be travelling to WDW, Paris, DLT to make it worth the purchase?

if yes - do the math for your upon how many points you need, your interest rates (i don't think you'll be able to finance through Disney so you'll need a loan through your own bank).

in the end you'll know if it's right for you.

good luck.

 

[rie'smom]

We bought 2 150 pts contracts at BWV through Disney. Each point was 95.00.
I looked at resale sites but decided to call Disney. Bam,in a minute my agent,Julie,found me just what I wanted with the same use year(October).There aren't any closing costs with Disney. We were in the system immediately.
You can save money by going through resale but you may not find exactly what you need.With other resale,you have to wait to see if Disney will refuse or not.
The reason we have 2 contracts is one for each of our sons. We plan to add another 150 for our daughter this year.
Our dues is taken from our checking account every month.

 

[Teyedoubleguhrrrr]

So, for example, we might end up doing something like this:
July 2009
Easter 2011
Summer 2012
Easter 2014
Summer 2015
Easter 2017
Summer 2018
(So that's 7 trips in 10 years)

Between banking and borrowing, do you think we could make the above scenario work? I would have to think carefully about how many points we would need (i.e. more than enough for every 2nd year but not quite enough for every year!).

It will take some good points management - but I think that would be possible. Just make sure your contract has enough points. You sound so organized, though, I don't think this will be a problem!

How important is the use year MONTH?

That plays into your trip scenario above. It can get tricky sometimes to keep it all straight. I would look at what UY would give you the greatest booking advantage - especially for the Easter trips since that is the 2nd busiest time of the year at WDW.

[If buying resale what is the difference between buying resale through Disney or through a resale company?
Higher price per point? Larger closing costs? Takes longer?

Usually resale has a little less per point that through Disney since you can negotiate with the seller. The down side is that Disney has ROFR and can choose to exercise it if they feel it is too "good" of a deal. It can get emotional for you because you think you've found the "perfect" contract, and then it magically goes away (not fun). I can't speak as to closing costs as we are buying resale and not through Disney. It does take a bit longer though resale as well. You need to decide what is more important to you and how fast you want to move, etc. Call both Disney and a resale company. Find someone who you are comfortable with and who you feel will work for you. This is especially important for you since you are overseas. That's the way I have always done things, and I haven't gone wrong yet!

how important were those extra/fewer years to you when you joined?

For us, VERY. We actually ran a couple of spreadsheets, and the best "value" for our money came with the longer year contracts. Makes sense when you think that for a 100 point contract - you actually get 1200 more points at SSR or 1500 for AKV - that's a lot of trips! But the price per point right now is also higher, but the MF are lower. There are a lot of aspects to consider, which is why we put it all down on paper to figure it out!

Good luck in your decision making process. I know it can get overwhelming, but in the end it will be worth it as you are making the right decision for you and your family!

 

[Deb & Bill]

With 5 in your family, technically, you'd need mostly two bedrooms. Only the AKV will have one bedroom villas that really sleep five with the king sized bed, queen sleeper sofa and single sleeper chair. Member Services currently allows five in a one bedroom, but since all the literature officially only allows four in a one bedroom, they could go back to that when AKV opens. Just a thought. The other one bedroom don't have the single sleeper chair and you have to provide your own bedding at this time.

 

[Amy5000]

Hey Deb: I'm a newbie but I'm addicted to this board and I've read so much that I have some thoughts on your post.

I'm seriously thinking about becoming a DVC member in the future. There's DH, myself and three children (13, 10 and 3).

You should check out the hotly contested thread on occupancy. It's points out the pitfalls and loopholes of DVC for families of 5.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=901569

As I'm in Ireland, is there any technicality or legal issue that would prevent me becoming a member?

I doubt that there's a legal issue, but you may problems getting financing from Disney. I also believe there's a UK DVC Board on DISBoards...while I know Ireland isn't in the UK...being neighbors they might have some insights for you.

How important is the use year MONTH?

I think one of the response above gave the wrong impression. Your use month is important b/c that determines when you get your allotment, and, somewhat more importantly, whether you can bank your points. You can't bank any points the last 2 months of your use year, so if you plan to travel regularly in April, and have a June use year, if you need to cancel your trip at the last minute, you'll be unable to bank the points you were going to use for your trip and you'll have a minimal opportunity to try and use those points before the use year is up. I'm sure the experts here would have more advice on this, but you really need to see the banking schedule for pts (I think it's 100% for the first six mos of the use year and then it declines until no banking at the end of the use year).

The extra 12 years
If I have it right, all memberships expire in 2042 except SSR and the new Animal Kingdom villas. I know there's no right or wrong answer to this but how important were those extra/fewer years to you when you joined? We'll (all going well! lol) be in our 70s in 2042 and hopefully still up for transatlantic travel but I guess there's a niggling feeling that it would be great to leave the kids enjoy this as long as possible. Our youngest would be 38 in 2042 so it's not like she can complain of Disney neglect but I'm just thinking (way) ahead to how nice it would be for them to take their families there when we, er, are unfit to travel!

Which resort to buy at is such a loaded question on these Boards that I wouldn't even begin to give you advice, being a newbie myself.

I really like this thread from March 2005 that I read recently:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=778634&referrerid=&highlight=

There are many that will tell you that if you really want to stay at BWV, that's where you should buy. (Especially during Easter week, things will be tight.) I think that's sound advice, but doesn't really help people like me who, although, I like the BWV neighborhood, didn't really feel like I had to stay there every time. The above thread may give you some insight on considerations if you don't fall into the category of people who feel strongly about at which resort to stay.

Good luck.

 

[CarolMN]

In case you don't already know, the DIS has a board just for UK DVC members:

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=61

You are very, very welcome here, but you may find some of your questions better answered on that board - for example, the VISA debit question. IIRC, the rules on payment are different for domestic and international members.

Good luck with the research.

 

[DebIreland]

Thank you all so much for the very helpful responses. You're very kind.

Kurby,
Thanks for all the terrific info! I'll need to look into the purchasing while there thing. That would be a big bummer but it makes sense now that you say it. I hope you get to travel to Ireland some day!

rie'smom
Wow! It sounds like you got the resale contract organised very fast! Thanks for the info!

Teyedoubleguhrrrr
Good point about the possibility of ROFR getting emotional. Yes, I think no matter how prepared I think I am, if Disney exercised their ROFR on a contract I'd been waiting on for months, I'd be disappointed. I'll definitely be putting all the scenarios & sums down on paper as you did. Good advice.

Deb & Bill,
Thank you. Yes, the occupancy is naturally a big consideration. We did stay in a 1 bed villa at BWV last year but our youngest was just 2 then. The more I hear (though I haven't heard much yet) about Animal Kingdom Villas the more I like the sound of it. Is there anywhere I can see sketches of layout or details of room sizes etc? Having said that I'm sure that in the future we will have trips with my mother and possibly my nephew or one of my sons' friends so then we'd be talking about a 2 bed or 2 studios so occupancy will always be a consideration. Thank you for your insight.

Amy5000,
Thanks! What a wonderful thread. Thank you so much for the link. I spent hours going through it last night and I think I've learned a lot. Invaluble info. Oh, thanks for the explanation of the use year and in particular, the info about the last 2 months of the use year and banking points! I will certainly do my research about banking points in general. You know, I thought I had the points charts sussed but until you said it I hadn't realised just how high the points are for Easter. It's top 'price'. Ouch! I need to re-consider those dates!

CarolMN,
Good advice about the UK boards. I know some members there too so I will compile another list of quesions for them. Thanks Carol!!


In general, I'm having second thoughts about the home resort we'd like. I'm beginning to question whether the extra cost (compare to, let's say, OKW) is a good idea for us much as we did adore BWV.

I know this is not an easy question to answer but, our of curiousity, exactly how difficult is it to get a standard view in the Boardwalk for July at *11 months* out?

Thanks again folks.

 

[CarolMN]

.....(snip)....I know this is not an easy question to answer but, our of curiousity, exactly how difficult is it to get a standard view in the Boardwalk for July at *11 months* out?

Thanks again folks.

At 11 months, it's easy - doubt you'd ever have a problem. Besides having the 11 month advbantage, believe it or not, July is easier to book at the BWV than many other times.

 

[DebIreland]

Thanks Carol!!!

 

[Teyedoubleguhrrrr]

Deb -

If you would like my sheets (they are in Microsoft Excel) to use as a template for your own comparisons so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel - let me know. Just PM me and I can email them to you.

Remember, too, with ROFR - Disney only has 30 days - they can't come back months later and yank out the rug from underneath you. Doesn't mean it isn't disappointing, but it is a fairly fast process.

 

[TedraL00]

My DH and I just bought over the weekend and the banking schedule was explained to me as such:

Up to six months before your UY ends- 100%
7, 8 , and 9 months- 50%
10 month- 25%

The last 2 months you can bank nothing. I hope this helps.

 

[Trebor]

One aspect I didn't see addressed that might be of interest to someone in Europe is the ability to use your points at DisneyLand Paris. And the great thing about this is that (at this time) you get park admission with the room. So, for the as low as 43 points per night you get park admission for everyone staying in the room.

Just something to keep in mind when calculating how many points you might want.

 

[DebIreland]

TedraL00 and Trebor, thanks so much.

The banking schedule does help Tedra!

Trebor, the Paris thing is certainly something to consider. We were in DP once for a day and are considering taking a short visit this year - certainly being able to use our points there would be an option and good point about the park tickets too! Thank you.

A kind DVCer found out for me today that I definitely cannot buy into DVC from here. I need to be in WDW to join up. It's a bit disappointing as I was hoping that wasn't the case. But for legal reasons it's essential. I need to give it a lot more thought. At the moment I'm thinking of a short trip alone there to sign up as I would hate to pay for a trip for 5 people for 2 weeks until we can use our points.

 

[tomandrobin]

A kind DVCer found out for me today that I definitely cannot buy into DVC from here. I need to be in WDW to join up. It's a bit disappointing as I was hoping that wasn't the case. But for legal reasons it's essential. I need to give it a lot more thought. At the moment I'm thinking of a short trip alone there to sign up as I would hate to pay for a trip for 5 people for 2 weeks until we can use our points.

Is that for buying direct from Disney or resale? I would think it wouldn't matter on a resale contract, but I'm not an expert.

 

[DebIreland]

tomandrobin,

I'm not sure (waiting on email from the Timeshare Store) but I would think it would be the same case for resale. I'm looking forward to finding out though!

 

[tomandrobin]

tomandrobin,

I'm not sure (waiting on email from the Timeshare Store) but I would think it would be the same case for resale. I'm looking forward to finding out though!

Well I'm hoping the best for you!

 

[Kurby]

just courious but can't you buy DVC through DisneyLand Paris?

you might want to look into that - it would be easier and less costly if you can go to Paris for the weekend to buy in.