Advice on DVC

[Disneygrl36]

? for Goofyman

For going to Hawaii, did you have to save your points forever? I am tyring to get my husband to understand that this is a good idea for us since we love to travel so much & that not only would it work for our annual Disney trips but to help us be able to visit other places too.
Thanks.

 

[joviacdan]

Originally posted by DVC_Couple_PA
Just my 2 cents.....

When I joined DVC 4 years ago, I did the math forwards, backwards and sideways to justify it.

I figured I could justify buying DVC if, what I would be paying out annually with the loan + interest + dues would come out less than or equal to paying cash at a comparable hotel (i.e. deluxe resorts). We typically go for 10 nights in the spring and a week in the fall/winter.

The result was that my total annual cash outlay for DVC while paying off the loan, divided by 17 nights = ~$210 per night (including the 11.5% resort tax). Not bad for a deluxe resort.

Once the loan is paid off and I am only paying dues: ~$60 per night for a deluxe resort....a no-brainer.

If I used my points the most frugally, staying in the lowest point resort (at WDW) during the lowest season, I could stay there for a month.

The bottom line is: Could you stay at Disney cheaper? In the short run...sure. If you are happy staying in the value resorts, then by all means go that route.

However, in the long run....DVC financially wins by a mile.

See, I think that's my philosophy. I mean, sure, I'd like to stay at Boardwalk once and maybe AKL once, but on a whole, I love staying at the All Stars.

To me, they just seem to fit the Disney theme the best.

 

[SamatBCV]

We bought into DVC 2 years ago and I can tell you it's not a waste of money... for US. That doesn't mean its for everyone, but I agree with BeachClubVillas, it's funny that the people who are saying it is a waste aren't in it. That's ok, maybe that's the right decision for them. For instance, maybe those people like staying at the All-Stars. We stayed in the All-Star Music for one night, and that is enough for me. I prefer to have a nicer room when I go to Disney. I also prefer getting the Disney treatment rather than staying at the other hotels (like Grosvenor sp?). So do what you want, but we did the math and it works very well for us.

For instance, there was a deal at BC last year where you get 7 nights for the price of 4. Even at that rate, our 2 full weeks at BCV was cheaper than the deal price for 1 week. Some people are a bit optimistic on how long it takes to pay for itself usually cause they don't count the annual fees. They will tell you it will pay for itself in 4-5 years. Well, if you include those annual fees it is closer to 10 years, but for 40-50 years of vacations, I'll take that investment. The thing that really sold me is that you can use the points for vacations out of Disney

 

[joviacdan]

The thing that really sold me is that you can use the points for vacations out of Disney




That's why I don't think it would work for me in the long run. I'd only be interested in it for Disney vacations. That's where I like to take my vacations.

And as far as staying at the DELUXE resorts, eh, I could take them or leave them. I love visiting the Boardwalk, and would like to stay there once, but for me, I guess I'm more just more of a value person.

 

[pax_65]

This is Silly...

Is DVC for you? Obviously that depends!

* Do you go to Disneyworld more often than once every 2 years? If not, it's hard to justify DVC, even at the minimal 150 points purchase.

* Are you happy staying at Value Resorts? If so, financially it would be cheaper to continue to stay there.

But if you're like me, in that you go to Disney at least once a year and you want to stay in comfortable "home away from home" accomodations (staying in a small hotel room with my wife and I in one bed and my two young kids in the next bed is NOT my idea of a vacation!), then you should look into DVC.

It is a large amount of $$$ up-front, but I've never regretted it. We bought in 1999 - if I had invested that money in stocks half of it would probably be gone. But if I wanted to sell my DVC membership today, I could make a nice profit on it! (But I'm NOT selling!)

Since 1999 we've gone to Disney about twice a year, staying in DVC resorts. Think what that would have cost in a Deluxe Hotel... figure 2 8-night trips per year for 6 years at $300/night and you get $28,800. I paid less than HALF that to join DVC! And I still have 38 years left!

And IMHO it's STILL no comparison! I'd rather stay in an OKW 1-BR than a water-view room at the Grand Floridian anytime! The 1 BR gives you lots of room, a big family room with pull-out couch, 2 televisions, DVD player, a full kitchen, a beautiful master bedroom with jacuzzi tub... etc.

I still pay maintenance fees, yes, but I've found them to be reasonable and have not noticed any huge increase since we've been members.

We can debate for months, but there is no right answer. DVC DEFINTELY makes sense for many people. For others, it doesn't... it depends on how you vacation and how often you vacation.

Jon

 

[DVC_Couple_PA]

One of the points I tried to make, and one of the things that justified DVC to me was that the value resorts were only cheaper in the short run...meaning while I am paying off the loan.

When I am all done with that and I am only paying the maintence fees.....I am getting rooms for ~$60 a night. That's cheaper than the value rates now, and will be even cheaper compared to what the rates will be 10 years from now.

So basicly by buying into DVC now, what I will be paying to stay at Disney 10 years from now will be a heck of alot cheaper than even a value resort rate......at deluxe resort to boot.

 

[joviacdan]

OK, simple question for a DVC member.

Take the cheapest DVC resort, and say you want to stay there 14 nights a year, off season.

How much would this be all together over, say, 15 years?

 

[DisneyPhD]

Cash or points? (or how much cash == points.) the lowest points and cheapest would be a studio at OKW. Remember points are about double on weend (Fri and Sat. ) The lowest rate for this room is 8 points a night during the week (20 fri sat.) 2 weeks is a total of 160 points. (paying cash on weekends is a possibility to save points, Right now DVC does get a discount on cash ressies for DVC rooms.)

For us DVC points added up and divided with dues and buy in fee is around 5$ a point. 8 points a night is 40$ a night. (It cost more to buy in now and we didn't pay any interest in the buy in.)

I think a stuido normally goes for around 200 a night (maybe 250.) I have seen deals with AP for 169 a night.

 

[joviacdan]

OK, so let's say you buy 14 nights a year...

10 nights at 8 points and 4 nights at 16 points.

So, if my calulations are correct that wouild be a total of 144 points a year you would need to purchase.

So, that would come out to about $720 for a year, or $360 per trip.

Accomidations = $360
$250 x 2 = $500
$560 Premium Annual Pass x 2 = $1120....For a total of $1,980 for 2 people with DVC per trip. Actually, second trip would only be a total of $860 since the passes are paid for. So both trips for 2 people would total about $2,900 or $1,450 a trip.

You could obviously beat that price (at least I did) for 2 people going in January and September.

And this is figure is based on a studio at Old Key West. I can only assume a bigger room at the Boardwalk would be muc more than this, correct?

 

[DVC_Couple_PA]

Well here are some rough numbers.....

The "cheapest" resort points-wise is Old Key West...where 14 nights in a low season is 160 points per year.

Now....the cheapest option to get DVC is by resale..and looking at the resale listings OKW is going at an average of $70 per point.

So 160 X $70 = $11,200

I got a 2003 value for maintenence fees at OKW which was $3.49 per point per year. For the sake of arguement I upped that to $4 and I adjusted for a 2% increase every year for 15 years and come up with $10,902. Now thats conservative because the increase since I have been a member has not been that much and there have been times where it even went down.

So.....
$11,200 - Purchase Price
+$10,902 - 15 years of maintanence
---------------------
$22,102 - Total DVC cost for 15 years

$22,102 divided by 210 (14 nights X 15 years) = $105 per night.

 

[joviacdan]

And that's the cheapest?

A great deal I guess if yuo plan on staying at OKW all the time.

What about staying at other Disney Resorts, or is it limited to only the DVC resorts?

 

[DVC_Couple_PA]

Originally posted by joviacdan
And that's the cheapest?

A great deal I guess if yuo plan on staying at OKW all the time.

What about staying at other Disney Resorts, or is it limited to only the DVC resorts?

OKW is the cheapest points-wise. You can use points at the other DVC resorts, but they vary based on the resort.