Very basic DVC questions

[brianfuchs]

I am a newbie to DVC. How new? I never knew it existed an hour ago... Since then, I've been scouring websites learning what I could.

I've learned alot in an hour - really - but have a couple of basics:

1) I've seen the "Disney Collection" referred to several times. It seems to be the option to use points staying at a Disneyland hotel, as well as other Disney resorts. The problem is that I see conflicting things. Jim Hill stated in March that Disneyland has no official DVC resort. Disney itself talks about the "Disney Collection", but the only reference to a point chart was found at MousePlanet. They show a point cost for the Disneyland Hotel in 2000, but nothing since. So, my question is:
Does the "Disney Collection" still exist, and if so, is there a published 2005 rate table for it? Is the Disney Collection some sort of 'upsell' option, or is it available to all DVC members?

2) I see that points can be 'rented' for about $10-$12 each. Can Banked points be rented? I know that borrowed points can't be put back if you cancel a trip, but can borrowed points be rented?

3) Where can I see a recent point chart for Disney Cruise lines?

4) I have seen point costs go up in recent years to new member purchases. Have point rental rates likewise increased?

5) If I am getting the mathematics of this whole thing straight:
I can purchase, say, 200 points at a home resort for $85 each ($17000).
The yearly membership is about $3.50 a point ($700).
I could rent those 200 points for about $11 ($2200) - making $1500 per year.
Assuming rent increased in successive years with fair market values, the original $17K could be recouped in around 8-10 years. Obviously, this is not necessarily the best investment tool around (I'm sure I'd use it for family vacations). But, is this the general gist?

6) Disney advertises that buyers can 'lock in' good rates for years to come by buying now. That implies that the cost of points has (and will continue to) increase over the years - which has been the case. However, the 'locked in' rate notion only holds true if Disney does NOT increase the point cost of resorts over time. Looking at the charts at MousePlanet that I spoke of, I can see that the resort point-charts have remained unchanged between 2000 and 2005. My question is: Has Disney in fact kept the point charts unchanged over the years, or does MousePlanet have erroneous data?

7) If you rent an entire vacation worth of points to someone, and they trash the room, do you have any liability? Does the answer change if the points aren't transferred, but rather you make the reservation in their name? In other words, what sorts of 'point rental' horror stories are out there (other than the renter stiffing the rentee)?

As you can probably infer from my questions, I am considering jumping into this. My only hesitation is that I live in Los Angeles, and don't relish the idea of buying 4 plane tickets to Florida every year or two. That's where the Cruise line and Disneyland resort questions come from...

 

[Gail Hayden]

The Disney Collection refers to hotels/resorts that are not DVC resorts. IE: you can use your points to rent at the Poly. Jim Hill is correct, there is no DVC resort at Disneyland.

Banked points can be rented in the year they are to expire. IE: Bank points from this use year (2005) and you can rent them for the use year 2006.
You an rent borrowed points.

I don't know where you can find a point chart for the DCL. I have access to them on the members only site.

The point rate cannot increase unless they decrease somewhere else. IE: studio in one season is 80 points for the week. In another season it is 100 points for the week. If they want to increase the 80 points to 90 they have to decrease the 100 points week to 90. This is just a rough idea.
The dues/member fees, taxes etc. can increase yearly.

Yes, that is the general gist. I will tell you that the point rental has really not changed much over the years. It has been 10-11.00 (average) for years.

As to point costs at the resorts, I think I have already answered that one.
They cannot increase them without decreasing somewhere else. The basic allowance for points per resort are already set and cannot be changed.

If you make the reservation for someone they are, in effect, your guests and you are responsible for any actions of your guests. I have yet to read any stories of Disney holding an owner responsible for trashing a unit.

Here are a couple links for you:
http://allearsnet.com/acc/dvc.htm

http://allearsnet.com/acc/dvc.htm

http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/index?bhcp=1

I am a newbie to DVC. How new? I never knew it existed an hour ago... Since then, I've been scouring websites learning what I could.

I've learned alot in an hour - really - but have a couple of basics:

1) I've seen the "Disney Collection" referred to several times. It seems to be the option to use points staying at a Disneyland hotel, as well as other Disney resorts. The problem is that I see conflicting things. Jim Hill stated in March that Disneyland has no official DVC resort. Disney itself talks about the "Disney Collection", but the only reference to a point chart was found at MousePlanet. They show a point cost for the Disneyland Hotel in 2000, but nothing since. So, my question is:
Does the "Disney Collection" still exist, and if so, is there a published 2005 rate table for it? Is the Disney Collection some sort of 'upsell' option, or is it available to all DVC members?

2) I see that points can be 'rented' for about $10-$12 each. Can Banked points be rented? I know that borrowed points can't be put back if you cancel a trip, but can borrowed points be rented?

3) Where can I see a recent point chart for Disney Cruise lines?

4) I have seen point costs go up in recent years to new member purchases. Have point rental rates likewise increased?

5) If I am getting the mathematics of this whole thing straight:
I can purchase, say, 200 points at a home resort for $85 each ($17000).
The yearly membership is about $3.50 a point ($700).
I could rent those 200 points for about $11 ($2200) - making $1500 per year.
Assuming rent increased in successive years with fair market values, the original $17K could be recouped in around 8-10 years. Obviously, this is not necessarily the best investment tool around (I'm sure I'd use it for family vacations). But, is this the general gist?

6) Disney advertises that buyers can 'lock in' good rates for years to come by buying now. That implies that the cost of points has (and will continue to) increase over the years - which has been the case. However, the 'locked in' rate notion only holds true if Disney does NOT increase the point cost of resorts over time. Looking at the charts at MousePlanet that I spoke of, I can see that the resort point-charts have remained unchanged between 2000 and 2005. My question is: Has Disney in fact kept the point charts unchanged over the years, or does MousePlanet have erroneous data?

7) If you rent an entire vacation worth of points to someone, and they trash the room, do you have any liability? Does the answer change if the points aren't transferred, but rather you make the reservation in their name? In other words, what sorts of 'point rental' horror stories are out there (other than the renter stiffing the rentee)?

As you can probably infer from my questions, I am considering jumping into this. My only hesitation is that I live in Los Angeles, and don't relish the idea of buying 4 plane tickets to Florida every year or two. That's where the Cruise line and Disneyland resort questions come from...

 

[Aurora_25]

I am a newbie to DVC. How new? I never knew it existed an hour ago... Since then, I've been scouring websites learning what I could.

I've learned alot in an hour - really - but have a couple of basics:

1) I've seen the "Disney Collection" referred to several times. It seems to be the option to use points staying at a Disneyland hotel, as well as other Disney resorts. The problem is that I see conflicting things. Jim Hill stated in March that Disneyland has no official DVC resort. Disney itself talks about the "Disney Collection", but the only reference to a point chart was found at MousePlanet. They show a point cost for the Disneyland Hotel in 2000, but nothing since. So, my question is:
Does the "Disney Collection" still exist, and if so, is there a published 2005 rate table for it? Is the Disney Collection some sort of 'upsell' option, or is it available to all DVC members?

2) I see that points can be 'rented' for about $10-$12 each. Can Banked points be rented? I know that borrowed points can't be put back if you cancel a trip, but can borrowed points be rented?

3) Where can I see a recent point chart for Disney Cruise lines?

4) I have seen point costs go up in recent years to new member purchases. Have point rental rates likewise increased?

5) If I am getting the mathematics of this whole thing straight:
I can purchase, say, 200 points at a home resort for $85 each ($17000).
The yearly membership is about $3.50 a point ($700).
I could rent those 200 points for about $11 ($2200) - making $1500 per year.
Assuming rent increased in successive years with fair market values, the original $17K could be recouped in around 8-10 years. Obviously, this is not necessarily the best investment tool around (I'm sure I'd use it for family vacations). But, is this the general gist?

6) Disney advertises that buyers can 'lock in' good rates for years to come by buying now. That implies that the cost of points has (and will continue to) increase over the years - which has been the case. However, the 'locked in' rate notion only holds true if Disney does NOT increase the point cost of resorts over time. Looking at the charts at MousePlanet that I spoke of, I can see that the resort point-charts have remained unchanged between 2000 and 2005. My question is: Has Disney in fact kept the point charts unchanged over the years, or does MousePlanet have erroneous data?

7) If you rent an entire vacation worth of points to someone, and they trash the room, do you have any liability? Does the answer change if the points aren't transferred, but rather you make the reservation in their name? In other words, what sorts of 'point rental' horror stories are out there (other than the renter stiffing the rentee)?

As you can probably infer from my questions, I am considering jumping into this. My only hesitation is that I live in Los Angeles, and don't relish the idea of buying 4 plane tickets to Florida every year or two. That's where the Cruise line and Disneyland resort questions come from...

Gail was really good at answering your questions, but I wanted to add my 2 cents also....

1. Disney Collection is still around- but the points are a little higher if you go anywhere other than the WDW DVC resorts (that is the same as using your points for the Concierge Collection or the other collections that they have...)

2. As far as I know- Banked points can be rented (as Gail has already stated)
3. For the DCL chart- the best way to get more information is to call DVC directly and ask them for more information on that....
4. Point cost has gone up- but the rental doesn't change much...
5. Not sure what the $85 cost is per point- we got ours for $89 a point, but other than that- the general part of it is correct...

Another thing to think about is how often you go to WDW and what accomodations do you normally stay at- it has been said that if you are happy with the Value resorts and that is normally where you stay then DVC is probably not a great choice for you. Also- the points for doing anything outside of the WDW DVC resorts will be higher- I honestly am not sure how much higher as I don't have that information with me, but it is higher.

Hope this helps (Gail did a good job letting you know more than I did, but hey, I had to say something )

 

[Gail Hayden]

Good points Aurora, and thank you for the compliment.

Gail was really good at answering your questions, but I wanted to add my 2 cents also....

1. Disney Collection is still around- but the points are a little higher if you go anywhere other than the WDW DVC resorts (that is the same as using your points for the Concierge Collection or the other collections that they have...)

2. As far as I know- Banked points can be rented (as Gail has already stated)
3. For the DCL chart- the best way to get more information is to call DVC directly and ask them for more information on that....
4. Point cost has gone up- but the rental doesn't change much...
5. Not sure what the $85 cost is per point- we got ours for $89 a point, but other than that- the general part of it is correct...

Another thing to think about is how often you go to WDW and what accomodations do you normally stay at- it has been said that if you are happy with the Value resorts and that is normally where you stay then DVC is probably not a great choice for you. Also- the points for doing anything outside of the WDW DVC resorts will be higher- I honestly am not sure how much higher as I don't have that information with me, but it is higher.

Hope this helps (Gail did a good job letting you know more than I did, but hey, I had to say something )

 

[slappy magoo]

5. Not sure what the $85 cost is per point- we got ours for $89 a point, but other than that- the general part of it is correct...

Aurora, I'm guessing that brian is talking about buying points from someone who is reselling theirs. And for anyone else reading that might not know, I think point rates increased if you're going to buy direct from the DVC. Either that, or they're almost about to. They've gone (or will go) from 95 a point to 98.

But when I was investigating whether or not to buy from DVC or a reseller, I was told from a few reselling companies that buying from a reseller necessitates paying a year of maintenance upfront. And of course, there ARE closing costs if you buy from a reseller. Plus, there is a risk, though perhaps a small one, that if you need to borrow money to buy from a reseller, the loaning company might not set it up like a time-share mortgage but a straight-up loan. Which means you wouldn't be able to deduct the interest on your taxes. Basically, buying from a resller, you pay less in the long run, but a lot more upfront.

Buying from the DVC, there are NO closing costs, a more lenient loaning company (though their rates ARE high), and they often offer SOME kinf of incentive. For instance, when my GF & I bought, I think Disney provided a rebate of 6 or 7 dollars a point to be applied towards the down payment. Plus, we're not paying ANY maintenance fees until 1/06. They've also occasionally offered a "free Disney vacation," ie 100 or so "bonus" one-time-usage only points that can be applied towards a DVC resort.


Oh, and Brian, you can use your DVC points at a number of different Disney-owned, NON-DVC resorts, You can use your points at Disneyland hotels, deluxe and moderate WDW hotels, even EuroDisney (and EuroDisney includes admission to the park). But since they're all full-service hotels, it costs more points per night to stay at those resorts than it would to stay at a DVC resort. For instance, I'm staying at a Saratoga Springs studio for 8 nights starting Saturday 8/20. 138 points. Those same 8 nights at...

WDW
Polynesian Resort, Garden View= 364 points!
Port Orleans Riverside, Pool or Water View= 178 points

Anaheim
Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, Standard View= 245 points, 28 points more for a standard view at the Disneyland Hotel, & 70 points on top of THAT for a standard view at the Grand Californian

And Forget Paris (no, not the horrible Billy Crystal/Debra Winger romantic "comedy"). Disney's Sequoia Lodge, their most affordable hotel would cost you a whopping 440 points for that 8 night period. (Though again, admission to the parks IS included in Paris)


Disney Cruise Line? You really want to know? A THREE-NIGHT cruise to the Bahamas at that time of year, with an Inside Stateroom with no view, costs you 111 points. Per person. Based on double occupancy. So if you bought 222 points, even after they're paid off and you're just paying for dues, that's $777 a year for a three night cruise for two people! And since you mentioned paying for four plane tickets, I'm assuming you have two kids (my dad was a detective, and it shows. :lol: ). Depending on their ages, you'll be paying somewhere 18, 63, 65 or 73 points for EACH of them.

The Passport Collection, to me, represents a decent value, being able to travel throughout the world and get a one bedroom condo-style room for 120-160 points a week. But other than that, I'd only use my points to stay at a DVC resort. Those are the only ways, IMHO, the membership represents a value. Save seperately for anything else, and if you want to stay at a different WDW resort, I think being a DVC member will get you a discounted rate on rooms. And getting an annual pass will get you an even better discount.

 

[Aurora_25]

Aurora, I'm guessing that brian is talking about buying points from someone who is reselling theirs. And for anyone else reading that might not know, I think point rates increased if you're going to buy direct from the DVC. Either that, or they're almost about to. They've gone (or will go) from 95 a point to 98.

We just bought in about 2 months ago and got a deal that was get an extra 100 points for one year or pay $87 that's why I said that....They have now gone up (as of June 1st I believe) to $98 a point. Thanks for pointing out that he might be buying resale- that makes more sense

If that is the case- like you said, closing costs are involved and you don't get the cool backpack or picture of your "home" resort (oops- should I mention those )

 

[slappy magoo]

You forgot about that free scoop of ice cream at the end of the Saratoga Springs tour. We're livin' like royalty! Royalty, I tells ya!

 

[Aurora_25]

I didn't get the ice cream yet- we never took a tour of SSR- Bought into it sight unseen- I know, we are crazy Hopefully I can convince them to give us a tour when we are there in December so that I can get that coveted ice cream scoop :lol:

 

[brianfuchs]

Thank you, everybody for all the help.

Yes, I was contemplating buying a resale instead of direct. I had not really considered closing costs, but did assume there was some sort of broker fee.

While the free scoop of ice cream IS tempting (waffle cone?), I think I've cooled my jets for now. Because the WDW locations are the only decent values at this point, the thought of using points at Disneyland or on the cuise line seems pointless.

Although is still 40 whole years away, it will be very interesting to see how resale values will be affected as the contract expiration date nears.

Oh, that reminds me of one final question:
If your home DVC resort becomes, say, relocated in the Atlantic due to a hurricane, or otherwise needs 'normal wear and tear' repairs, who pays for it? These are really co-ops, so ownership is spread out among a huge number of people (even though it reverts back to Disney in 204x). As such, can the 'owners' ever be expected to pay a 'special assessment'? For that matter, does Disney recommend, offer, or require any sort of insurance to be purchased by the 'owner'?

 

[Gail Hayden]

Thank you, everybody for all the help.

Yes, I was contemplating buying a resale instead of direct. I had not really considered closing costs, but did assume there was some sort of broker fee.

While the free scoop of ice cream IS tempting (waffle cone?), I think I've cooled my jets for now. Because the WDW locations are the only decent values at this point, the thought of using points at Disneyland or on the cuise line seems pointless.

Although is still 40 whole years away, it will be very interesting to see how resale values will be affected as the contract expiration date nears.

Oh, that reminds me of one final question:
If your home DVC resort becomes, say, relocated in the Atlantic due to a hurricane, or otherwise needs 'normal wear and tear' repairs, who pays for it? These are really co-ops, so ownership is spread out among a huge number of people (even though it reverts back to Disney in 204x). As such, can the 'owners' ever be expected to pay a 'special assessment'? For that matter, does Disney recommend, offer, or require any sort of insurance to be purchased by the 'owner'?

No, the insurance is taken care of via your membership fees. And, it is not a co op it is a timeshare, there is a difference in some places. I don't believe the owners at Vero had any special assessment for the damage done during last year's hurricanes.

 

[WDWCP]

Point Ownership Expering?

I had once heard that point ownership expired for good after 20 years of ownership. Is this true? On a WDW trip about 7 years ago I talked with a DVC CM rep and he touted this as a benifit to DVC owership.

The way he stated it, in many time-share ownerships, you become a partial owner of a specific building and then over time when that building needs repairs and maintenance, you may be liable for chipping in extra money to do those repairs.

In DVC, apparently, you purchase your points and then you have a legal "ownership" of those points for 20 years. After that 20 years is up, all your legal "ownership" rights dissapear as well and you're back where you started. Really seems much more like a lease... The benifit would be that as the building(s) get older and need more maintenance and such, you have an out and won't be on the hook for any such repairs.

Personally, I took it to mean more like Disney could then take your points and would be able to resell them to someone else after your 20 years were up (assuming they were still doing the DVC program) and that they would get the profits all over agin. Meanwhile, your "ownership" points would not have any long term value and would become worth less and less over time if you wanted to sell the rights or give them to anyone in a will situation.

Combine that with the $700 annual membership and it didn't really seem like a good investment to me at all. Of course, I love staying at the All Star's and Pop Century everytime I go to WDW. Seems to me that if I owned a set of DVC points, and assuming that I paid for all the points in cash, I would still be paying $700+ for a vacation. If I saved my points and went every other year, it would be like going down there at a nicer hotel/resort and paying $1400+ for the hotel.

I always try to visit off peak season, so I never come close to spending $700+ on hotel at the value resorts. My last trip this past March only cost me about $450.

So, if you want the luxury of the nicer hotels/resorts and don't mind paying a large annual fee for something whether or not you use it, DVC could be a good deal. However, I am certainly not the target market for DVC according to my vacation habits and hotel/resort preferences.

Does any of this make sense? I'm not sure if what I've heard is correct or not. I just can't imagine paying so many thousands of dollars for something that the value will dwindle down to nothing in 20 years...

 

[Aurora_25]

Our Ownership is for 48 years or something like that so I don't know where the 20 years is coming from?? I could be misunderstanding your question though...


As for the fees- My DH and I normally go to WDW at least every other year, stay for 2 weeks and end up spending over $1,500 for a room so that is already way more than our maintenace fees would be....So for us, it made sense to do DVC- again, it's not for everyone, but the people I know that have joined, wouldn't trade it for the world and I have to agree with that and we haven't even been to our "home resort" yet...

 

[Maleficentesq]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/index.html
This web site has an excellent discussion board to answer vacation club questions.

Happy Hunting.

 

[WDWCP]

Well, my information was about 7 years old. Perhaps policies have changed and it is possible that I happened to speak with a DVC CM that didn't know what he was talking about. Sometimes that happens.

Either way, I'll take your word for it. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't done much research into DVC. Even at 48 years, I still don't like the concept of my investment evaporating into nothing tangible for me and my children in the long-run. (I don't even have children yet!!)

I love WDW and would like to do something like the DVC, but just have that one big hangup...

Our Ownership is for 48 years or something like that so I don't know where the 20 years is coming from?? I could be misunderstanding your question though...


As for the fees- My DH and I normally go to WDW at least every other year, stay for 2 weeks and end up spending over $1,500 for a room so that is already way more than our maintenace fees would be....So for us, it made sense to do DVC- again, it's not for everyone, but the people I know that have joined, wouldn't trade it for the world and I have to agree with that and we haven't even been to our "home resort" yet...

 

[Aurora_25]

Well, my information was about 7 years old. Perhaps policies have changed and it is possible that I happened to speak with a DVC CM that didn't know what he was talking about. Sometimes that happens.

Either way, I'll take your word for it. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't done much research into DVC. Even at 48 years, I still don't like the concept of my investment evaporating into nothing tangible for me and my children in the long-run. (I don't even have children yet!!)

I love WDW and would like to do something like the DVC, but just have that one big hangup...

Trust me, my DH and I did alot of research and "number crunching" before deciding to do DVC- we called the main DVC number, talked to people who owned DVC and just figured how much it will cost us in the long run both ways (plus you have to add in the fact that hotel rates will keep going up and it will be more expensive to go to WDW later in life) In the end- after all the research and everything, we felt that it was the best choice for us. Now, the DVC is not for everyone, but to me it makes sense if you go to WDW once a year or so and stay in the nicer hotels (like a moderate) then the DVC is even more worth it. My DH and I normally stay at the All Stars- but watching the rates keep getting higher, we figured that in 5 years or so, their price would be about the same as the moderates- now we could be wrong on that, but with DVC, you don't have to worry about the price of your stay increase- you have already "pre-purchased" your stays for the next 48 or so years. To us that was totally worth it. To me, it's an investment on my memories and my kids memories more than something tangible. Your right- it's not a good investment if you want something tangible in the end- if that is the case, maybe buying a house in the Orlando area is a better idea?? But to my DH and myself- we felt that it was a HUGE investment in our family vacation time and that it would enable us to go on vacations more rather than taking 2 years to save up for the hotel and everything else- now we have AP's so tickets are already taken care of and we have a resort- so all we need to really worry about is gas getting to WDW (we drive from TX) and food and gifts once we are there. To us that is a huge burden that we don't have to worry about now. Just my feelings though...Others may have a whole different oppinion than I do.

 

[dvcnut39]

Gail was really good at answering your questions...

(Gail did a good job letting you know more than I did, but hey, I had to say something )

Ditto about Gail. She, DisneyPhD, and a few others are great answering DVC questions. Always positive, informative, and correct. Aurora_25, you didn't do too bad yourself!

 

[Aurora_25]

Ditto about Gail. She, DisneyPhD, and a few others are great answering DVC questions. Always positive, informative, and correct. Aurora_25, you didn't do too bad yourself!

Aww well thank you- Yep Gail is pretty great about answering those questions. The only reason I know anything about it is because I did tons of research when my DH brought up the thought of us buying into it- I wanted to know more....

 

[WDWCP]

Thanks Aurora,

I think you've really hit one particular thing right on the head. DVC is designed for a certain type of consumer. As in any market, there is a target group and those that fall outside of the target group. Because of the nature of your family's vacation habits/desires, you fall into that target group and it sounds like DVC is a perfect match for you. While I may not be in that target group, I can see how it would be great for other people in other situations.

I sure appreciate all the info! I would love to do something like the DVC, but it just isn't quite for me. ...yet. Maybe a few years down the road when I have kids, etc... Right now, my wife and I are just two big kids loving all things WDW!!

Trust me, my DH and I did alot of research and "number crunching" before deciding to do DVC- we called the main DVC number, talked to people who owned DVC and just figured how much it will cost us in the long run both ways (plus you have to add in the fact that hotel rates will keep going up and it will be more expensive to go to WDW later in life) In the end- after all the research and everything, we felt that it was the best choice for us. Now, the DVC is not for everyone, but to me it makes sense if you go to WDW once a year or so and stay in the nicer hotels (like a moderate) then the DVC is even more worth it. My DH and I normally stay at the All Stars- but watching the rates keep getting higher, we figured that in 5 years or so, their price would be about the same as the moderates- now we could be wrong on that, but with DVC, you don't have to worry about the price of your stay increase- you have already "pre-purchased" your stays for the next 48 or so years. To us that was totally worth it. To me, it's an investment on my memories and my kids memories more than something tangible. Your right- it's not a good investment if you want something tangible in the end- if that is the case, maybe buying a house in the Orlando area is a better idea?? But to my DH and myself- we felt that it was a HUGE investment in our family vacation time and that it would enable us to go on vacations more rather than taking 2 years to save up for the hotel and everything else- now we have AP's so tickets are already taken care of and we have a resort- so all we need to really worry about is gas getting to WDW (we drive from TX) and food and gifts once we are there. To us that is a huge burden that we don't have to worry about now. Just my feelings though...Others may have a whole different oppinion than I do.

 

[Aurora_25]

Thanks Aurora,

I think you've really hit one particular thing right on the head. DVC is designed for a certain type of consumer. As in any market, there is a target group and those that fall outside of the target group. Because of the nature of your family's vacation habits/desires, you fall into that target group and it sounds like DVC is a perfect match for you. While I may not be in that target group, I can see how it would be great for other people in other situations.

I sure appreciate all the info! I would love to do something like the DVC, but it just isn't quite for me. ...yet. Maybe a few years down the road when I have kids, etc... Right now, my wife and I are just two big kids loving all things WDW!!

I am glad I could help We have 2 kids my 6 year old loves Disney and keeps asking when we are going back- My DH is about the same Ha, ha
I have been to Disney for most of my family vacations since I can remember so to us, it did make sense. At one time I was of the mindset that DVC wasn't for us, then we did more research and waited and thought alot about it and we decided to go for it. Now, we are planning on sometimes using those points for things other than Disney, but the majority of our points will be used at WDW

 

[cjb-nc]

Looking at my DVC contract (220 pts at Boardwalk purchased Oct 2000), our contract expires in 2042. Much closer to 40 years than 20. And I believe that SSR sales have a longer contract length, that's one of its selling points.

Cost of points definately goes up. We paid $67/point in Oct 2000. As was mentioned, new points are going for $95-$98. BWV resales are going around $80/pt from what I've seen, so it would be an almost 20% return on the resale in the last 5 years. (Not that we're going to sell!)

Your annual dues calculation seems off to me. We're paying around $4.40/pt/year this year. The amount depends on your home resort, of course.

General concensus on the DIS DVC board is that cruises are not worth the points. Folks usually suggest renting the points out and paying cash for the cruise (and probably having enough left over for some air tickets to boot.) We did a cruise on points once, and ended up paying less points than advertised. It was an off-season (Sept) cruise, so as they gave price incentives to the cash customers, they gave us points back on our res.