Is a Membership In DVC worth all the money?

Is DVC timeshare worth all the money you spend on it (up front and yearly)??


  • Total voters
    123

phlydude

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Is a purchase of a timeshare in the DVC worth all the up-front costs and yearly maintenance fees?

Pros and Cons?

Do you have a DVC and want to tell about your experience?

I personally thought it was a good idea but have found myself recently playing devil's advocate. It would be great to vacation at a Disney resort each and every year. But after I put out 18k, I will still have to spend $800 +/- a year or so in maintenance fees. Can't I go for a week in off-season to a moderate resort on a AP discount for the same or less? But what about 40 years from now, how will inflation be? Will these buildings still be there in 40 years? Will Disney World still have the charm it does now in 40 years? Will I be around in 40 years??

These are things I mull around when thinking about it and I wanted to get your feedback on the DVC to help me make my decision.
Thanks!!
 

yodathefrog

Member
Actually my family and I just purchased a DVC membership. We paid around 14K for I believe it was 150 points per year. That allows us two weeks vacation at any of the vacation club resorts at WDW. Our maintanence fee is around 500ish for the year. The way we decided was the amount of money we spent in our last 4 trips to Disney just in rooms would have just about paid for the vacation club already. We go just about every year, and now we can for around 500 dollars, and possibly get to stay even twice. The other thing is we were told that it would last for 50 years. I don't know if this helps you, but if you have any more questions just ask, as we just went through the process.
 

webmomom

New Member
There is only one word. YES YES YES

We purchase in 2000 and I could kick myself that we did not purchase when I first heard about this years and years ago. But like the previous poster stated we looked at how many times we have been to Disney in a couple of years and the money we had spent on hotels rooms was almost equal to what we were going to spend for the DVC. It till gave the opportunity to come back year after year and if not there, you can go other places as well for the 500 maintence fee only.I use to spend that in one or two nights for a room there. WE also have made money from when we first purchased as the value has gone up. We felt if something happened and we really could not afford an expensive vacation, with the timeshare we could still come, enjoy Disney, cook if we wanted to and have a great vacation in the best and most magical place in the world. :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:
 

phlydude

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
yodathefrog said:
Actually my family and I just purchased a DVC membership. We paid around 14K for I believe it was 150 points per year. That allows us two weeks vacation at any of the vacation club resorts at WDW. Our maintanence fee is around 500ish for the year. The way we decided was the amount of money we spent in our last 4 trips to Disney just in rooms would have just about paid for the vacation club already. We go just about every year, and now we can for around 500 dollars, and possibly get to stay even twice. The other thing is we were told that it would last for 50 years. I don't know if this helps you, but if you have any more questions just ask, as we just went through the process.

Wow, you spent about 14k on your last 4 trips? Where did you stay, the Poly or Grand Floridian?

I was looking at the points and it looked as though to get a room bigger than something that is a normal resort room, it would take more than 150 points for a week.

Where is your home resort? Sarotoga Springs?

I'm not sure that the Saratoga concept will go over well between my wife and I. Wilderness Lodge of Boardwalk would be more our thing
 

DisneyJill

Well-Known Member
My family looked into it a while ago and I remember thinking that it seemed like a lot of money up front, but it pays for itself in 5 years or so. So, keep that in mind when they tell you about that giant down payment. :)
 

Yellow Shoes

Well-Known Member
:fork: Hey--I'll be the devil with you.

I know that 20 people are going to come along and disagree with me, but the world is full of time-share owners who don't use their properties.

And I hear you now--but this is WDW, not a common time share, resale values are great, and who doesn't want to go to WDW as often as possible?

Situations change in ways we cannot predict.

You may go often when your kids are small. When they get older, there will be fewer opportunities to get away (school sports, jobs, other activities). And although I never do it, taking them out of school is nearly impossible by high school.

Couples may get divorced and a trip to WDW may conjure up bad memories.

If WDW is a plane ride away (i.e., you cannot make the drive in one day) your financial situation may change so that you no longer can make the trip.

Maybe, just maybe, you would decide that you'd like to see the Grand Canyon this year instead of another trip to Orlando.

And lots of the arguments gloss over the yearly fees, which aren't small. It's not like you pay $18,000 up front then everything is free. And those fees WILL go up during the course of your lease. (And I don't know if DVC does this, but my Dad's timeshares will often send him a notice of a special assessment for some major repair--new a/c, roof, paving the parking lots, etc.)

If you're still trying to decide, I would go to the DVC resale sites and contact people who are selling. Ask them why they are getting rid of their points. I would suspect that they are all fairly happy with their DVC experience, but their lives have changed such that going to WDW is off their radar.

Good luck with your decision.
 

PhilharMagician

Well-Known Member
We just bought in last year. I was impressed in the whole package. I know I spent about $3700.00 last year on passes and rooms, and that was with 4 free nights in a moderate. The basic room in all of the resorts are very nice motel rooms, but even the studio is by far superior to any standard room even in the deluxe resorts. I ended up buying 200 points which will allow us to go 2 weeks per year in a studio or 1 week with a single bedroom. My maintenence is about $600.00 for this year. If I figure I am going to go two weeks in a moderate @ $89.00 with ap rate x 14 nights that is $1250.00 for a smaller room with no fridge or micro. You can get a fridge for $10.00 per night at most resorts which adds another $140.00. So when I started doing the math it looked good for me. Now I just buy AP's for the family and we can go a couple times a year for less than we spent on our last non DVC trip.

If you buy into SSR you will have 50 years ownership. Also keep in mind there are always people looking to rent points. If you find yourself not able to go you can usually cover your yearly expenses.

SO the answer to your question is YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES :wave: :king:
 

disneyfreak7036

New Member
Let me start by saying that unless you are able to go atleast two times a year, it is probable not worth the investment. With that being said, my parents bought 150 pts. at the Beach Club Villas around three years ago. They have gone enough times during this period to pay for the buy in cost. The key to this is not using your points on Friday and Saturday stays. These nights have much higher point requirements. To give you an example, we stayed in a Grand Villa(3 bedroom)at OKW from Sun-Fri just last month. I believe the point total for this stay was just over 200 pts.This compared to disneyworld.com quote of 6000.00 plus tax seems to be a bargain.If we would have stayed two more days, the total would have been around 350 to 375. Again, when, where, and how often needs to be considered when puchasing a DVC.
 

BeachClubVillas

Well-Known Member
Yellow Shoes Maybe said:
So then you use your points to stay at a resort near the Grand Canyon. You can use your points at hundreds of resorts all over the world. you can even use them to bike through Italy or take a two week African safari! You don't always have to go to WDW and stay at your home resort. My family spent a weekend at the Plaza hotel in NYC with our points. It cost us absolutely nothing out of our pockets to stay there.
 

webmomom

New Member
i will agree timeshare is not for everybody, but if you are interested in timeshare DVC is the one. We have looked at other timeshares and there is nothing iOHP that can measure up to it.

Other ones you have to pick your week, if you don't go that week you get to pay extra money to travel. One we looked at they only had one size room a two bedroom. I don't need a two bedroom everytime, so why do I have to pay for one. There little costs for this and little costs for that, plus the high pressure to buy. The one with the two bedroom started off at 19,000.00 and by the time we left 3 to 4 hrs later they had it down to 5000.00.

Disney no high pressure. they work with you, yes they want the sale, but I was not continually getting phone calls, they waited till I called.

If you use your points wisely you can get several trips out of one set of points pre year. I am luckly as I live in south Florida and can travel to WDW easily and most of the time we can make 4 to 5 trips per year on 150 points. You just have to watch what type of room and season and view.
 

figmentfan

New Member
I am against the Disney Vacation Club.

I like doing Disney the old fashion way. Making a reservation with a discount code, and staying at any Disney hotel I want.

I hate the Disney Wilderness Lodge Villas. It ruined the whole atmosphere of the Wilderness Lodge. (I still like the Lodge, but I can't stand looking at the Villas.)

We had a room at the Lodge which was looking over the construction site of the Villas. It ruined are vacation.

Why pay $5000+ a year money when I can go to Disney 6 times a year and only spend about $2000 to stay at any hotel (Dexlue or Moderate)? It also helps that I am an Florida Annual Passholder and I live about 3 hours away.
 

phlydude

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
TAC said:
I'll also be the devil with you.

What happens after 50 years? What have you actually gotten for your money? Ok, you've saved probably thousands of dollars, IF you went at least 50 times.

[Here we go with the "stay on property / stay off property" debate]

If you can live with staying off property, AND you think you will go at least 30 times in the next 30 years, BUY A HOUSE. Why ?

That 10K - 15K expendure for the DVC would make a nice down payment. Ok, so you have to balance being able to rent it out to pay the mortgage, pool guy, lawn guy, electric, cable, etc. Say it balances out. Then you have to your "yearly" expenses which you could say are approximately equal to the maintainance fees for the DVC. Don't forget the tax deductions.

A house close to WDW WILL appreciate in value. So in 30 years, you could be retired, and get down there, only to find that your house is smack in the middle of the tourist area. If you don't like that, move. Sell it for a HUGE profit, and move somewhere else. OR buy a condo (with the money you made selling your house in PA, or NJ, or KS, or VA), and continue to rent out the house throughout the year.

No, I don't own a house near WDW. Yes, I am exploring it.

My dad has told me a number of times that it's best to invest in real estate, not the stock market.

That was something else that I thought about. If you purchase a house, you could rent it out other weeks of the year to pay the mortgage and utilities. The only thing I worry about that is the security deposit rarely covers the cost of damages someone could leave behind and I would worry that the neighborhood would become "less than desirable". I agree that the house is probably the better option but living 850 miles away from a vacation home worries me about my investment.
 

Brewski

New Member
We bought 300 points in 1999 for i think 20K, those same points are worth 24300 today. So if your going to invest in the DVC do it quick. But the DVC is very much worth the money, we've gone atleast twice a year since we bought the points. And we live about 1800 miles away. Im for it but alot of people are against it, i have nothing but good expiriences with the DVC
 

webmomom

New Member
figmentfan said:
I am against the Disney Vacation Club.



Why pay $5000+ a year money when I can go to Disney 6 times a year and only spend about $2000 to stay at any hotel (Dexlue or Moderate)? It also helps that I am an Florida Annual Passholder and I live about 3 hours away.


I do think you misunderstood. It is not $5000+ a year money. The money you pay covers all of the years. When we bought back in 2000 we paid $9500.00 and divided by 42 years that works out to around $230.00 a year. So for about 700.00 that includes my maintence fee I can go as often I like and stay in some of the nicest hotel in the parks. Iam also AP holder and a South Florida resident, so that makes it twice as nice as I probably can go more than other people who live farther away, :sohappy: :sohappy:
 

JBSLJames

New Member
Really depends on your situation in life. I am sure that if Dairy Queen offered a kind of pre-purchase plan where you buy up front and get all the Blizzards you want each year, my kids would love it. You see, they are not paying for it. They just reep the benefits.

Until later in life, if I am that lucky, I do not see partaking in this Club. Too much money up front that is needed to pay the bills and take care of my family.

I guess I could always dream, but it would be a toss-up between WDW and a place in Charleston SC. In the long run, WDW would cost you more since you would still spend a large amount of money at the parks.
 

PhilharMagician

Well-Known Member
figmentfan said:
I am against the Disney Vacation Club.

I like doing Disney the old fashion way. Making a reservation with a discount code, and staying at any Disney hotel I want.

I hate the Disney Wilderness Lodge Villas. It ruined the whole atmosphere of the Wilderness Lodge. (I still like the Lodge, but I can't stand looking at the Villas.)

We had a room at the Lodge which was looking over the construction site of the Villas. It ruined are vacation.

Why pay $5000+ a year money when I can go to Disney 6 times a year and only spend about $2000 to stay at any hotel (Dexlue or Moderate)? It also helps that I am an Florida Annual Passholder and I live about 3 hours away.

I pay about $600.00 per year! Who is paying $5000.00+ per year?

Also the DVC rooms are much nicer than even a deluxe resort room. If you like staying in deluxe resorts DVC is definately the way to go. For those who are happy with the value resorts than it may not be for you.
 

drknow77

New Member
I'm so glad someone posted this. I have been wondering the same thing for about two years. The whole concept seems a bit confusing to me. Perhaps you all can help me understand a few things!

1) What are the "maintenance" fees? Some have said they spend about $500 per year / trip in maintenance fees, what does this include?

2) Are your park tickets included in being a DVC member, or do you have to pay for park tickets each time you visit?

3) If I were to get into DVC today, I assume I would have to go with Saratago Springs. If Saratago Springs is my "home resort", does that mean I have to stay there? What if I want to just stay in a normal room at the Polynesian or Coronado Springs, for example. Can I do this?

I'm sure I'll have some more questions, hope someone can shed some light for me!

Thanks!
 

patelaine1953

New Member
My family just purchased our DVC points last summer. We banked the points to use with this year's points. We will be staying in a 2 bedroom at the Boardwalk Villas for a week this September (my favorite time of year to visit WDW - fewer crowds and not too hot.) There will be 7 people in our group and Boardwalk will put us within walking distance (or a short boat ride) of two parks. We have only been to Disney 4 times since it opened but hope this will allow us to make more trips. Our kids are grown but we still visit as often as possible. (I haven't taken the kids yet and they're in their 20's.) I wish I had done this when the prices were cheaper years ago. We have friends who purchased 3 or 4 years ago and only gone to Disney once on their points. They chose to go to The Sagamore, Lake George, NY last year and this year they went to Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. They have been picking places that are within driving distance rather than paying the airfare for a family of 5. They love the choices the DVC gives them for locations. I don't see any drawbacks to the DVC. And I am thinking of selling our home here in Taxachusetts in the future and possibly buying one in Florida. Then we can use our points to travel to other parts of the country.
 

patelaine1953

New Member
Just because your home resort is Saratoga Springs doesn't mean that's where you have to stay. You can book your home resort 11 months in advance of your trip; all other resorts can be booked 7 months ahead. Park passes are not included. You can purchase these at the Disney stores or get a discount on the length of stay pass at a discount for DVC members.
 

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