Are you sick of DVC Yet??

[Computer Magic]

Sorry, not true. This DVC owner's dues run just under $400 per year. I just went on Disney's webiste and they quote rates for the value resorts starting at $79 per night. A six night stay (your one week) amounts to $474 - which is more than I pay in dues for a year.

I am tired of seeing the advertising everywhere and hope they come up with a new slogan for the AKL sales.

let's not forget the average $300 per year it cost for the initial buy in. That would be $15000 / 50 years=$300. Now add that to your yearly $400 + 3% yearly markup and that makes $700 a year.

That's still a decent price as long as you plan to go to WDW for 50 years.

That's not to say I won't be jumping onto the bandwagon and join DVC some day.

 

[dismedic]

OK someone please make this a little clearer, Today I received in the mail that DVC SSR is going up from 101 to104 and points will increase from 150 to 160

So what is with the increase and is DVC a good or bad investment or is land in the central Florida region a better investment?

With DVC is it just the initial investment or is it like my home in our development a yearly maintenance after purchase?

Have seen pros and cons but still confused.
Help!

 

[Magic Maker]

HI Dismedic.

You are taking one step to learn more, but you need to take another step as well.

Talk to a Disney Vacation Club Guide. Why? They go through two months of training to ensure that they are able to answer any question you throw at them. They are not pushy salespeople, yes they are salespeople, but they are Disney and NOT pushy.

Talking to members on here is great. And they can help you. However, I am am a member and a DVC Cast Member and I know I still cannot explain and good as a DVC Guide. Call one of them and after tlaking to one of them you should have a clearer understanding.

Yes the price is going up and so us the minimum amount of points to join.

We are doing this for a couple of reasons.

1) One of the benefits of DVC is that the price of accomodations goes up every single year, for non members. For members the amount of points is takes to stay in any of the DVC Resorts is LOCKED IN for the entire life of your membership.

- Yes, your annual dues can change, last year they were $598, this year that are $615. When you look at the room rates they change $15 - $20 per night from one year to the next. Whereas the annual dues change about $15 - $30 per year (based on the minimum membership) per year. Big difference.

2) Another benefit is that as years go on we tend to add new resorts for our members to stay in. Once you are a member you do not pay anything more for your membership in order to use those new resorts. However, you can look at our price increase as a way to reward our existing members for becoming a member early on.

3) Usually once a year the price per point increases, it is really to keep up with the market.

4) 150 minimum becoming 160 minimum: This is really to benefit our new members because it takes 160 points to stay in a one bedroom anywhere in the World Passport Collection any time of the year. It is just easier and more simple for everyone to make it the minimum anount of points to join.

Again, call the 800 number, I don't know it by heart because my role is to schedule an Open House, so usually the 800 number is my enemy . If you talk to a Guide you can spend 5, 10, 30 minutes whatever you want to talk with them and get your questions answered.

And also, in order to not upset the sponsors of this forum, don't forget the resale market... don't just look at nothing but resale and don't just talk to a vacation club guide, do your homework.

 

[GrowingUpDisney]

Unfortunately Dismedic, you will get opinions from both extremes on this forum. Usually I don't chime in, but I can tell you this.

Whether it is a good investment for you or not is completely up to you. Up until I got married I visted Disney at least once a year. We never stayed on Disney property. The year I got married, my new DH and I went at Christmas for a quick trip. We needed a break so WE APPROCHED THE DVC BOOTH (they did not approach us) and took the tour. I fell in love with it. As someone else posted - I didn't care how much it cost. The fact is that we will spend our money somewhere and if buying DVC meant that we could go to Disney and stay on property at least once a year then I was sold.

The most interesting this was that our sales rep. absolutely DID NOT pressure us to purchase. She was definately not IN YOUR FACE. In fact, she actually suggested that we take the info home and think about it before making a commitment. I am not sure if you can get any less aggressive than that.

We are now able to go multiple time each year (not always for a week at a time) and not worry about saving money for our room. I know that we are paying for it by purchasing DVC, but we would have spent it there anyway.

You have to decide what is best for you and your family. GOOD LUCK!

 

[capellt]

So with a DVC do you still use the same buses? Is everything still the same other than the room/suite?

 

[Aurora_25]

So with a DVC do you still use the same buses? Is everything still the same other than the room/suite?

You get the same Disney transportation and service (other than room cleaning) that everyone else does. It's just on a points basis for the room

 

[Dagger]

EEK! Darth Vader!

Agree with everything you said.

Now, I've done the math, so I know Value Resorts can still be cheaper if we're only talking about one year, BUT I also know the long term savings that are possible with DVC. If you're planning on being at WDW every single year, and nothing (god forbid) happens to interrupt that (life can be very unpredictable), you'll eventually save over $80,000 by the year 2040 with inflation, AP discounts, etc. That estimate is for a person who normally would stay in a Tower room at the Contemporary. For a person who would otherwise stay at a value, the savings drop all the way down to around $5000 TOTAL for the next 35 years.

If this is true, I'll take my chances holding off on the DVC for a few more years. I am still trying to figure out how it works. Would there be any point for a Florida resident APH to be a DVC member?

 

[Dagger]

That's still a decent price as long as you plan to go to WDW for 50 years.

:lookaroun

 

[socalkdg]

If this is true, I'll take my chances holding off on the DVC for a few more years. I am still trying to figure out how it works. Would there be any point for a Florida resident APH to be a DVC member?

For comparisons I'm an AP holder for the DLR and go about twice a month. I like to take mini-vacations there where I stay a couple nights and will be doing so at the Grand Californian in June using my DVC points at 24 per night. I'd love it if they put DVC there and a studio only cost me 13 points per night. So for me, yes it does make sense.

Remember that you can buy smaller contracts through resale, as low as 25-50 points at $2250 - $4500 for that contract.

 

[socalkdg]

So with a DVC do you still use the same buses? Is everything still the same other than the room/suite?

If you stay at BWV or BCV you can walk or take a boat to Epcot and Disney Studios. VWL has boat access to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[socalkdg]

So what is with the increase and is DVC a good or bad investment or is land in the central Florida region a better investment?

With DVC is it just the initial investment or is it like my home in our development a yearly maintenance after purchase?

Have seen pros and cons but still confused.
Help!

Do you want to stay onsite or offsite? Thats a big question you have to ask yourself. I've done both and felt onsite made for a more enjoyable vacation and eventually joined DVC since my wife likes 1 bedrooms more than hotel rooms.

 

[beachclubbasics]

This post makes a good point...

OK someone please make this a little clearer, Today I received in the mail that DVC SSR is going up from 101 to104 and points will increase from 150 to 160

So what is with the increase and is DVC a good or bad investment or is land in the central Florida region a better investment?

With DVC is it just the initial investment or is it like my home in our development a yearly maintenance after purchase?

Have seen pros and cons but still confused.
Help!

I looked into the DVC, but bought land about 30 minutes from Disney instead, because the amount of points I would need to purchase for my stays seemed a little high (400) and I have decided that I want to retire to Florida and work at WDW part-time, so my 1.5 acre (that's 1 and a half acres, not 1/5) lot (cost me $6100..and yes it is buildable) seemed to be a better deal. I also took some of the money that I would have spent on DVC and bought a lot of Disney stock. So, in a way, I still own a small part (probably one stone in Cinderella's Castle wall...lol) of Disney.

This post made a good point. The initial point purchase and cost is increasing, so if you bought early on you lucked out. But, what if Disney decides to change the amount of points that you need for a specific stay (say from 12 points on a weeknight to 20), which they will probably do sometime in the future. Also, the "dues" (what you are really doing is paying the property taxes for Disney on their property) may also go up...and can go up a LOT of Disney feels that they are beginning to lose money on DVC properties. If the point values per night go up, then you'll have to buy more points..and at the new higher rate. You know that Disney will do something to NOT lose money on this venture. Gas and electric are shooting up at more than 10% per year. Preperty taxes are increasing a are the land values that those taxes are based upon. Maintenance costs are risng as the cost of labor and materials skyrocket. Who is going to pay for that on DVC properties? The members of course, just like the rest of us spend on yearly increases in hotel rooms. I think that membership in DVC would probably only prove to be slightly cheaper in the long run..


It is true that DVC membership is a personal issue. For me it doesn't make much sense because I am widowed and my kids are all in their late teens/early 20s and while we currently enjoy going to WDW every year, there will most likely come a time in the near future where we don't have the desire to go yearly and then the point of having a DVC membership becomes worthless to us as the Disney Adventure vacations don't really interest us ( when they have trips to Japan and China then we'll see). We also prefer to stay in hotel rooms vs villas and to not have to cook or do any other domestic type stuff while we're on vacation.

I have noticed something on this thread..and please chime in and let me know your opinions..why do some DVC owners seem to become extremely offended when someone mentions that they aren't a fan of DVC? Or Disney for that matter.

 

[ConstanceIrene]

I have noticed something on this thread..and please chime in and let me know your opinions..why do some DVC owners seem to become extremely offended when someone mentions that they aren't a fan of DVC? Or Disney for that matter.

Speaking for myself, the feeling of being offended comes when non-members do all kinds of figuring and analysis just so they can point out what a mistake it is to join the club. There is often a tone of superiority for their not having spent the money. As you stated, it's a personal issue. You pointed out very nicely that it's not for you without coming across as smug. You've made another type of purchase that suits your needs.
Unfortunately, many who decide against DVC like to try to convince members that they are squandering their money or being taken for a ride.

We joined in 1999 and it has afforded us yearly vacations since then. Without DVC, things like braces, school tuition, property taxes, etc..., would have prevented us from enjoying a family vacation each summer. Because of DVC, we know we'll have, at least, one special time together each year until my girls leave the nest.

 

[Main Street USA]

I looked into the DVC, but bought land about 30 minutes from Disney instead, because the amount of points I would need to purchase for my stays seemed a little high (400) and I have decided that I want to retire to Florida and work at WDW part-time, so my 1.5 acre (that's 1 and a half acres, not 1/5) lot (cost me $6100..and yes it is buildable) seemed to be a better deal. I also took some of the money that I would have spent on DVC and bought a lot of Disney stock. So, in a way, I still own a small part (probably one stone in Cinderella's Castle wall...lol) of Disney.

This post made a good point. The initial point purchase and cost is increasing, so if you bought early on you lucked out. But, what if Disney decides to change the amount of points that you need for a specific stay (say from 12 points on a weeknight to 20), which they will probably do sometime in the future. Also, the "dues" (what you are really doing is paying the property taxes for Disney on their property) may also go up...and can go up a LOT of Disney feels that they are beginning to lose money on DVC properties. If the point values per night go up, then you'll have to buy more points..and at the new higher rate. You know that Disney will do something to NOT lose money on this venture. Gas and electric are shooting up at more than 10% per year. Preperty taxes are increasing a are the land values that those taxes are based upon. Maintenance costs are risng as the cost of labor and materials skyrocket. Who is going to pay for that on DVC properties? The members of course, just like the rest of us spend on yearly increases in hotel rooms. I think that membership in DVC would probably only prove to be slightly cheaper in the long run..


It is true that DVC membership is a personal issue. For me it doesn't make much sense because I am widowed and my kids are all in their late teens/early 20s and while we currently enjoy going to WDW every year, there will most likely come a time in the near future where we don't have the desire to go yearly and then the point of having a DVC membership becomes worthless to us as the Disney Adventure vacations don't really interest us ( when they have trips to Japan and China then we'll see). We also prefer to stay in hotel rooms vs villas and to not have to cook or do any other domestic type stuff while we're on vacation.

I have noticed something on this thread..and please chime in and let me know your opinions..why do some DVC owners seem to become extremely offended when someone mentions that they aren't a fan of DVC? Or Disney for that matter.

Don't take the owner's comments personally. As has also been said by many of them, it's different for everyone. As for your decision to buy land, I'd like to buy into DVC AND get the land! lol I'll take the lot next to you if it only costs $6100! That's insanely low if it's buildable and anywhere near Disney.

I would've certainly went for the land now, and then considered DVC later, because I still like to escape completely to the World (stay on property) when I vacation there.

 

[DisneyPhD]

But, what if Disney decides to change the amount of points that you need for a specific stay (say from 12 points on a weeknight to 20), which they will probably do sometime in the future. Also, the "dues" (what you are really doing is paying the property taxes for Disney on their property) may also go up...and can go up a LOT of Disney feels that they are beginning to lose money on DVC properties. If the point values per night go up, then you'll have to buy more points..and at the new higher rate. You know that Disney will do something to NOT lose money on this venture. Gas and electric are shooting up at more than 10% per year. Preperty taxes are increasing a are the land values that those taxes are based upon. Maintenance costs are risng as the cost of labor and materials skyrocket. Who is going to pay for that on DVC properties? The members of course, just like the rest of us spend on yearly increases in hotel rooms. I think that membership in DVC would probably only prove to be slightly cheaper in the long run..

Just a couple of comments (I'm not offended). DVC cannot arbitrarily change the number of points required per night. What they can do is move points around. In other words, if they increase the cost per night in one season or time of week, then the must decrease the cost per night at some other time.
Property taxes make up only about 15-20% of the dues that I pay. The rest of it goes for housekeeping, front desk, transportation etc. Also the point of sale for DVC states that dues can increase no more than 15% in one year and to date have averaged about a 3 or 4% annual increase. Yes, all of the costs you mentioned will be paid by DVC members, but all the other WDW hotels are going to experience the same cost increases and will be passed along to the guests staying at those hotels as well. The following is a post from someone else on another message board about comparing DVC dues to WDW hotel room rack rates.



If you get a Studio for 10 points a night, and dues are $4.00/point the room costs you the equivalent of $40. If next year dues go up 5% to $4.20/point, that same room now costs you $42 for the night.

OTOH, if a WDW resort room costs you $150 today for a night ($167.25 with tax), and it goes up by 5%, then next year the room is $157.50 ($175.61 with tax)

Overall your DVC room increased by $2.00 and the WDW hotel room increased by $8.36/night.

Do that for 10 years in a row, and using a 5% increase each year, then in 2016 your DVC dues would be $6.51/point, and the 10 point room equates to $61.50/night.

Meanwhile the $150/night room increases to $244/night ($272 with tax).

DVC went up $21.50 per night over the 10 years, and the WDW hotel went up $105 per night (including tax).

 

[Main Street USA]

Just a couple of comments (I'm not offended). DVC cannot arbitrarily change the number of points required per night. What they can do is move points around. In other words, if they increase the cost per night in one season or time of week, then the must decrease the cost per night at some other time.
Property taxes make up only about 15-20% of the dues that I pay. The rest of it goes for housekeeping, front desk, transportation etc. Also the point of sale for DVC states that dues can increase no more than 15% in one year and to date have averaged about a 3 or 4% annual increase. Yes, all of the costs you mentioned will be paid by DVC members, but all the other WDW hotels are going to experience the same cost increases and will be passed along to the guests staying at those hotels as well. The following is a post from someone else on another message board about comparing DVC dues to WDW hotel room rack rates.



If you get a Studio for 10 points a night, and dues are $4.00/point the room costs you the equivalent of $40. If next year dues go up 5% to $4.20/point, that same room now costs you $42 for the night.

OTOH, if a WDW resort room costs you $150 today for a night ($167.25 with tax), and it goes up by 5%, then next year the room is $157.50 ($175.61 with tax)

Overall your DVC room increased by $2.00 and the WDW hotel room increased by $8.36/night.

Do that for 10 years in a row, and using a 5% increase each year, then in 2016 your DVC dues would be $6.51/point, and the 10 point room equates to $61.50/night.

Meanwhile the $150/night room increases to $244/night ($272 with tax).

DVC went up $21.50 per night over the 10 years, and the WDW hotel went up $105 per night (including tax).

That's a pretty good way to explain the increases. I've done some math on that in the past, and if you go every year for the remainder of years that DVC is good, DVC saves over $90,000 if you'd normally pay for a deluxe hotel without DVC If you'd stay in a value, and are fine with that, it saves around $5000 with the same increases. Savings are savings, large or small. I'll be waiting for the Contemporary to come about, then I'll be a DVC member.

 

[George]

Well, the DVC thread I was posting in went POOOOF! The wife and I decided to take the plunge. We're getting some resale points. I just sent her an e-mail (I want to make 100% sure with her) because even though I convinced her that resale was a better value, she did seem disappointed we weren't getting Animal Kingdom Lodge as our home resort. Thus, I want to make sure its OK with her. If this works out, the Wilderness Lodge will be our home away from home. Wish us luck!

 

[ConstanceIrene]

Well, the DVC thread I was posting in went POOOOF! The wife and I decided to take the plunge. We're getting some resale points. I just sent her an e-mail (I want to make 100% sure with her) because even though I convinced her that resale was a better value, she did seem disappointed we weren't getting Animal Kingdom Lodge as our home resort. Thus, I want to make sure its OK with her. If this works out, the Wilderness Lodge will be our home away from home. Wish us luck!

I don't have the desire to go back over all the posts in this thread so I don't know if this point has been mentioned.

VWL ownership will expire in 2042, right? Won't you have 12 more years of ownership if you buy into AKL? You're young enough to think about that detail of the purchase.

Good luck and Welcome Home!

 

[George]

I don't have the desire to go back over all the posts in this thread so I don't know if this point has been mentioned.

VWL ownership will expire in 2042, right? Won't you have 12 more years of ownership if you buy into AKL? You're young enough to think about that detail of the purchase.

Good luck and Welcome Home!

Thanks for the advice. I am aware of that detail and thanks for calling me "young enough." The advantage of the VWL is that for the money we're willing to spend now, we can essentially get 40 more points and that gives us a lot of extra flexibility. You made me think of something - once a DVC member we could buy some AKL points in the future.

 

[Blonde Princess]

We are active DVC members. We travel from New Jersey to Disney World approximately once every five weeks. Our home resort is Beach Club. I'm definitely not tired of DVC and welcome new resorts. However, I believe that people are tired of Saratoga Springs. Too much development. Too big. Too far away from most of the Disney parks and activities. Too long on the busses to do anything. I think that is why they started AKL DVC long before Saratoga sold out. I hope Disney has learned something about over development of DVC.