You are the experts so tell me why I should *not* join DVC?

[RJSimmons]

Hi, just returned from a grand trip to Walt Disney World (Wilderness Lodge) and took the DVC tour. While it was extremely informative and very low key pressure wise I still am feeling a bit hesistant about the cost and the decision. I'm guessing that the majority of you must be happy with your decisions to have bought and I'm asking probably a tough question and that is to tell me why my family should NOT buy into this. Or on the other hand maybe help convince me I would make the right decision for my family.

A little background, we are a family of 4 and no more, me, wife and two boys 9 and 5. I've never been a fan of timeshares so I think that might be causing the hesitation. I've done the numbers and it just seems that 1 week per year in a 1 bedroom is pretty steep to shell out $20k for plus dues each year. The 40 some year thing is fine although that's 40 weeks right? And I realize that's $500 per week, but when you figure in the dues and them rising each year that brings that price to an easy $1k per week per year. I can somewhat see the savings if we plan on deluxing it every trip, but maybe we wouldn't.

Decisions, decisions. Wife wants to go ahead and is mad at me for being a bit cautious. She loves the Wilderness Lodge - I'm thinking of waiting for the Beach Club myself. I'm trying to explain to her that I'm the one that has to pay this off, and also the only breadwinner right now in an economy that isn't very great (not to mention the disney cutbacks they've been doing as well). I shouldn't say I don't fear for the loss of my job, but I am in an executive position that I do not see being terminated anytime soon (unless my company goes under and I know the numbers and I know we are fine).

Any feedback welcome.

 

[Disney Doll]

Well, we decided that we would be going to WDW at least once a year, and for that reason it made sense for us. We liked the idea of having access to a nicer level of accomodation for what essentially turns out to be equivalent price-wise to what we'd spend in a moderate. But, if you're not planning on going at least once a year, or at the outside once every other year, then the DVC is probably not the right choice for you.

I am not a fan of timeshares, but I don't think of DVC as a traditional timeshare. The point system is great, insofar as you are not locked in to the same week, or whatever time frame every year. I like the flexibility aspect.

I like the fact that once it is paid off, we will not have to come up with that big chunk of change each time we go to pay for our accomodations...even if the yearly dues go up, having the ability to pay it month by month, or just once per year and having the ability to travel to WDW more than once per year, seems to be a great benefit to us.

I remember when we were taking the tour and considering buying, our sales rep did not do any hard sell at all. His statemet at the time was "Disney wants people to be happy. If you don't think this will make you happy, we won't try and hard sell it to you." Truthfully, he never did. He answered our questions, sent us the additional information we requested in a timely manner, and handled our application process quickly and efficiently. Never once did we hear"Well, if you don't buy soon you may be out of luck" or anything of that nature.

These are some of the reasons I like the DVC, which I know wasn't your question, but it's the best answer I can give.

 

[chris1gill]

We have been owners at BW for 3 years now & looked at it for 4 years before we bought... We just didn't do it & boy did we pay extra.

Anyways, I don't think I agree with your numbers. From my calculations, for a week in a 1 bedroom it would require 190 points. At 75.00/pt, that comes to 14,250. You could take advantage of the Magical Beginnings program offering $10.00 off each point for your current points, which is equal to 1900.00... Bringing the cost of 190 points to 12,350... It's still a lot of money, but far less than if you were to stay at any deluxe on property...

If you think that you won't be going to Disney too often, DON'T BUY... If you are going at least every other year it is a very good deal money wise....

I love being part of DVC & the flexibility & quality it has provided our family. We should have joined when we first started looking into the program!

 

[jel0511]

First off, Chris1gill, I have to disagree with your numbers. If you price out 270 points, which would be a week during the summer, you get $20k, which might be the season RJSimmons is planning on traveling in. We own 225 points, enough for us to have 10 nights in a 2 bedroom every other year, when we plan to travel in the summer. We feel it's enough for us, and we want out children in the future to have privacy and their own beds. They are currently 3 and 8 months, and a girl and boy, and I'm sure as they get older don't want to be sharing a bed!!!! We've been to Disney many times before, but as our daughter is getting older and in love with all things Disney, we feel we'll be going more often. We LOVE the WL and loved the fact we'd have a home away from home while staying there. We've been many places and one of our favorite vacations we've ever taken was when we rented a villa in St. John. It was the BEST!!! We had our own home there and it made it a much more relaxing vacation, the same way we now feel about WDW. We are spoiled now at Disney and if you think you'll go at least once every year and stay at least moderate, it will definately work out for you. Both me and my husband are CPA's, (well I'm "retired" now) and he's an executive at a large Brokerage firm, and we feel it is a great investment. If you look at the resale history, and current market, you'll see that DVC is relatively easy to "unload" if necessary without a large loss in your investment. I will tell you, buy where you want to stay most!!! If you feel that BCV is where your family will want to stay the most, definately wait for BCV or buy a resale at BWV, if it's VWL then buy now, since it is predicted to sell out relatively soon and the resales on VWL are few and far between right now. Now, if you don't want to part with such a large amount of cash right now, I can understand that, we're debating on finishing our basement and spending $$$$ right now is definately something we feel a little wary about now. We didn't finance and paid for our points with cash since we didn't want to pay the high interest rates offered by DVC. In conclusion to this long note, do what you feel comfortable with and what you feel is right for your family, we did and don't regret it!!!!!

 

[WebmasterDoc]

In addition to the great responses so far, you can consider not using both weekend nights for your "week". Fri and Sat nites are more than double a weekday nite- so you can also conserve some points with a Sat check-in and Fri check out- or even more with a Sun-Thurs stay.

Keep in mind that the BCV point costs won't be any less than VWL (and could be more) plus the purchase price could also rise.

We own 2 other "traditional" timeshares and really enjoy the flexibility which DVC affords by comparison.

Also consider that- you mentioned you might not always stay in a deluxe resort- you can also use a studio unit- same occupancy, but far fewer points. The studios are comparable to a regular room at the deluxe resorts (with a mini-kitchen besides).

Tough decisions and the final answer certainly must come from within.

Enjoy!

 

[vernon]

I don't know your circumstances but as a general rule of thumb

.DO NOT BUY IF

1) You can't afford it

2) You wouldn't vacation at least once every three years using a DVC resort

3) You think off site is the same as on site ( there are much better deals, financially, available for off site products)

4) quality of accomodation is NOT a primary concern to you.

5) You prefer to "wing" vacations i.e. making up your mind at the last minute


As I said only you will know how many of those statements are valid to your family

As has already been said your initial outlay would not be as much as you were allowing for, IF you were not planning to vacation every year you would not need that many points either. With careful use of points ( avoiding weekends) and banking and borrowing you will find the number of points you need would be less again.

Also when running the numbers it is important to remember that there are a lot of discounts/cheap rooms available at the moment. This throws out of line a lot of inflation figures and year on year increases. To plot a more accurate level of the financial viability you need to go back over 15 years to work out the % increase in room charges and the rate of which they are likely to increase in the future compared to your one off cost of DVC and the inflation on a much smaller amount ( your dues). With such low returns on investment cash at the moment I would be certain that, financially, if you meet the above criteria then DVC makes sense. It is only MHO but I think the current situation in the travel industry is only an anomaly and shouldn't be used within the context of plotting a 40+ year Time/value graph .


Ultimately , no one other than you can decide if the choice is a good one or not for your family. I know it was a good one for me and mine

 

[dianeschlicht]

We were also "non-timeshare" people when we purchased DVC. We took 4 years to decide, and have kicked ourselves for being so slow!!! When we first looked at it, points were $55 each. When we purchased, they were $62.50. We checked out other timeshares after we went on the DVC tour, and quickly realized that DVC was QUITE different from anything else we had looked at. It was just a hard choice to make when we would be spending so much at one time.

We finally sat down and figured out what we spent for each deluxe resort trip to WDW. At that time we were only staying 4-5 days and were spending 3-5,000 per trip. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out we would be money ahead with DVC as long as we planned to keep going to WDW. We also considered the great flexibility of the program as well as possiblity of exchange in the future.

Our decision was FINALLY to purchase. In 1997 we bought some of the last OKW points (220) and after our first trip, we were hooked! We later added on another 150 points when they added the new buildings where the sales center used to be. We have usued our points each year, and can't seem to get enough! I know we will continue to vacation at WDW, because it is like "going home" to a familiar place. Last year we spent 29 days in "the world", and next year we will have not only a 10 day WDW trip, but also a Hawaii exchange. Love this DVC!

 

[kozmo]

I need to know,and i am really dumb about the entire dvc thing because we always stay at the gf or the polynesian,if i bought into that ,DVC,can i still stay at gf and poly?

 

[RAD]

Yes, you can stay at both of those. In fact you can stay at any other Disney resort except, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club (Yatch Club is OK), Boardwalk Inn and value resosts (aka All Stars). Basically if there's a DVC resort at the same 'regular' resort you can't use your points to stay there. You can also use your points at DisneyLand and Disney Paris. However, if you use your points at a non-DVC resort you really aren't getting the same value for your money. Example, it takes less points to stay at a studio unit at OKW then a standard room at the moderate resorts. Bottom line is you should always try to stay at a DVC resort for your best value, but if you want to try another resort every now and then that's OK.

 

[DVCajun]

We have 300 points, and we almost get more vacation than we can use with that. For example, last year we took a four day trip to Hilton Head for New Years Eve; we went to Old Key West for almost a week in the spring; used our points to stay at the Jefferson in DC for 4th of July, and spent 12 days at the Boardwalk in the fall. And we had some points left over! It's VERY worth the $22,000 we paid for it, and I know I will be enjoying similar vacations for the rest of my life.

But if that sort of thing doesn't appeal to you, pass on DVC.

 

[Granny]

RJSimmons...you are taking the right approach. Ask a ton of questions and make sure DVC makes sense for you.

vernon provided a great list of why not to buy. He is absolutely correct. If WDW is pretty much just a great theme park that you enjoy visiting, but are happy staying off-site, then DVC is not for you.

DVC owners really enjoy being on-site and surrounded by the Disney magic the entire stay. They enjoy the usually outstanding service and attitude of the Disney employees (CMs). They enjoy (well, some do) the Disney transportation system.

Your children are at great ages to be going to WDW for several years. I wish we had joined when my DDs were those ages.

And my wife is exactly like yours in that she (okay, we all) fell in love with WL. Once that happened, I knew we could never visit WDW without staying there. So we only planned to go every other year. With DVC, we can go every year and know that we have flexibility to go other places once we are "empty nested".

Good luck with your decision.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

You may also want to check out the timeshare users group at
www.tug2.net to help you consider other options.

We owners tend to be a bit bias here. Like myself, I'm very glad we made the decision to purchase. We didn't see ourselves going to Disney every year, so opted for a Vero Beach purchase for relaxing beach vacations in addition to occasional WDW activities, and have subsequently added-on at a WDW resort to have better availability during peak times.

 

[caverill]

I think posting the "why shouldn't I question" was great.

I agree with all of the above posts, the main one being "If you don't plan on visiting WDW every two years, this might not be for you".

We debated about DVC for two years. My wife, the major Disney fan in the family, wasn't for it at first. It was the flexablity of the plan that really sold us however.

I wouldn't recommend making the purchase if you don't need to stay on-site or in a Deluxe room.

One thing I would recommend, if you need to be convinced, would be to reserve a 1 bedroom for a couple days during your next trip. This will really hilight the difference between the other hotels and the "Home away from Home" hotel.

Good Luck!

 

[wdwnut]

hi: we are still kicking ourselves for not buying in in 93. it just wasn't right for us at that time. you will have to see if it works for you financially. if it will be too tough, then you might prefer to wait. you and your wife will have to decide between vwl and bcv though. the main mantra of this board is to buy where you plan to stay. think it through and make sure you'll be happy with your decisions. good luck!

 

[stlrod]

Here's a reason why not to buy no one has mentioned (and with which many might disagree): Do not buy unless you have looked into the advantages and disdvantages of at least one other high-quality timeshare in the Orlando area (i.e., Marriott, Hilton, perhaps Sheraton). It's a major expense for almost anyone and you owe it to yourself to check out the competition. I disagee with Vernon's suggestion that buying another property in Orlando means you don't care about quality of accomodations (at least as a general rule.) Although DVC wins hands down in location for WDW, I believe the newer Marriott properties are every bit as nice as DVC (after all, Marriott Grande Vista is the only resort in Orlando to be awarded 5 stars from Mobil--not even the GF qualifies.) I also think Marriott's exchange opportunities are much better. Our major concern was when we bought out Marriott property was whether DVC was committed to expanding offsite. Since we bought, Marriott timeshare have doubled (including the one just completed in California on former DVC property.) Nothing in this message is intended to suggest you should buy one or the other. DVC is a great program with high-quality resorts. My reasons for purchasing Marriott in Orlando and merely my reasons and may not be the top priority for many (if not most others.) I should also add I am a new DVC member with a home resort at Hilton Head where Marriott's dominance exists (so that should tell you how highly I think of DVC.) I just think that unless you know you will be spending most of your vacation dollars at WDW on a regular basis as many do, you should check out another program (and not just any program.)

P.S. I'm the one who had to convince my wife to buy DVC and not another Marriott at HH. (She's glad we did.)

 

[CaptainMidnight]

I just think that unless you know you will be spending most of your vacation dollars at WDW on a regular basis as many do, you should check out another program (and not just any program.)

The timeshare users group is a good place to start. We were thinking of going the other way and getting a Marriott timeshare on Hilton Head. The Grande Ocean has an indoor pool for the cooler months, and rain, a nice option for vacationing.

 

[stlrod]

Sorry for going off-topic but just wanted to suggest to Captain Midnight that he try the indoor pool in the winter first. My one winter in HH at Grande Ocean, it was COLD! I much prefer the chill you get when you step out of the DVC resort's much warmer pool. The Marriott Barony Beach also has an indoor pool (only tried in the summer during rain--it was fine.)

 

[Caskbill]

Not mentioned yet is the fact that there are some other 'perks' with DVC when you stay on points.

1. Free parking at the theme parks. (This is true for any WDW resort guest). If you went to each theme park once a year (4-parks), and had to drive (i.e. you were staying off property), at $6 each time, it's be almost $1000 in today's dollars after 40 years.

2. There are certain discounts available with DVC. These are on some pass media (But not on Annual Passes at this time ). Also discounts at regular Disney Stores and some Downtown Disney stores.

3. Pool hopping privledges when staying at DVC on points.

Finally, points can be used besides DVC resorts, including Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland Paris (which also includes passes into the park during your stay), other Disney hotels, the Concierge collection, the Adventurer collection, or trading into other timeshare resorts through Interval International. Now, all that said, remember most agree that using DVC points for other than staying at a DVC resort is not always the best use of points. For example for 39 points/night you can get a mid-season weekday standard garden view room at the GF, or for 28 points you could get a 1-B/R preferred view villa at the Boardwalk.

Then on the other hand, a family of four could get a room in the Sequoia Lodge, Disneyland Paris, and also get 4 length of stay passes into the park, all for only 26 points/night. (I personally think this is the best deal going!)

Finally, remember perks are just that. They are not guaranteed to stay in the program year after year.

You may have already done this, but when we try to make decisions, we take a piece of paper and list pros on one side and cons on the other. In our case a pro would be that we could always stay Sun-Thu, avoiding the high weekend point costs. (we have relatives in the area).

Your lists will vary. Have fun. We all know you'll make the decision that is <b> right for you. </b> And that's the only really important thing.

 

[JDH]

I have a question. Quite possibly a stupid one. I know that the maintenance fees usually increase each year but has the number of points required for a nights stay also increased? If so by how much say in comparison to the nightly rack rates.

 

[PKS44]

JDH wrote: "I know that the maintenance fees usually increase each year but has the number of points required for a nights stay also increased? If so by how much say in comparison to the nightly rack rates."

First of all the maintenance fees have not only not increased each year but have gone down some years at some properties. Still I think over time they will average about the rate of inflation...

Second- the number of points needed for a night are essentially fixed for the life of the resort. This is complex but not really...The total number of points for a resort are fixed. They can move them around but the total must remain the same. If it took 15,000 points to stay the entire year in a room, that total will always be 15,000. Now it could be 41 points a night every night or it can be higher or lower depending on weekend/weeknight and time of year as it is now. November weeknights are very low point charges, Xmas and Easter weekends are very high. For the most part there has been little change in the points needed for a time of year, but they can adjust the point charges to even out the demand.....

Paul