Considering buying into DVC-- need advice

[dizneyfan]

We are considering buying into DVC. Of course at this point we have heard all the wonderful things about DVC (from Disney) can anyone tell me the negative (if any)? We have a friend who owns another vacation club. You need to book at vacation at least two years in advance to get anything decent. Help please-- thank you

 

[Gail Hayden]

I cannot think of any negatives that would prevent me from buying again.

 

[goofyman]

We are considering buying into DVC. Of course at this point we have heard all the wonderful things about DVC (from Disney) can anyone tell me the negative (if any)? We have a friend who owns another vacation club. You need to book at vacation at least two years in advance to get anything decent. Help please-- thank you

First let me say DVC is wonderful and we love it. What you must figure out is it right for you. What makes DVC different from others is it is VERY flexable and much easier to trade then other timeshare because of the popularity of Disney. If you plan on using it mostly for WDW then planning is never a prob. if you plan to trade it often then you have a few choices. DVC has the option of the concierge collection, which is wonderful and has top rated places all over the word and is easier to trade for, (Daily stays are avail as oppsed to a whole week and DVC has deal with these places) or they have the passport collection which links you to what other timeshares trade to as well. This one can tack so planning in advance!

 

[DisneyPhD]

This is a hot topic on Magic and you will get more of the pros and CONS not just the good here. Most of the con's you will get are form non DVC members who decided it wasn't for them. Often they are misinformed though, it can be a complex system, but once you understand it not hard at all.

However I only have good to say. We love DVC. I am so glad we joined. We have been able to go more often, stay at better places and even enjoy our trips more because we joined DVC. Heck we just got back 2 weeks ago, and we are going again in 5 weeks. We are doing Vero Beach this trip. We love that place and that is one of the hidden Gems of DVC. (we are also doing WDW for a few days too since we have AP, got to love the $100 off each AP for members too.)

Only regrets is we didn't buy at BCV (where we like the most) but even that isn't too big of a regret, we haven't had any problems getting in there.

 

[jesserin]

I'll pipe in as someone who didn't go with the DVC plan - although you won't find anything negative coming out of my mouth about the plan - We weighed all the options and found that for our small family (just the two of us with one on the way) we don't need all the amentities of the DVC resorts - so our money is better spent on Moderate and Value resorts over the Deluxe... that's it! Other than that - I thought it was an incredible plan and a wonderful way to join in the magic... but I'm a travel agent, so I get excellant discounts and the value of that outweighed all the positive's of the DVC program... however, if I ever stop being a TA and stop getting my discount - we will very likely go ahead and make the big "purchase" I just figured it might help to see someone who didn't go with the plan - but does understand what a great plan it is!

 

[patricia27]

The Vacation Club is the BEST!! As has been said it is so flexible.
You don`t have to have the same weeks every year like some Timeshares.
You can "Bank " your points for use the next year as well as "borrow" points from the next year. You can go for a small suite or the luxurious villa.
The choice is yours.
We have stayed at Old Key West Resort and The Boardwalk,
Ilike the look of Saratoga Springs-- the gym is amazing.

 

[Laura]

I do not have DVC and we probably spend about $6,000 per year on Disney vacations (2 adults, 1 child, other child is free for another 14 months), and probably spend a total of about 15 days per year in Disney for that price. If I had DVC, would I be able to spend 15 days in Disney for $6,000 per year or less (including meals, annual passes, DVC expenses, etc.)?? How would you calculate such a thing? How many points would you need for 14 nights per year?

We have been spending so much time at Disney lately I'm wondering if just going to DVC route would save us anything. Also, if you don't want to stay in a DVC resort can you use your points to stay at somewhere like the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom lodge?

 

[DisneyPhD]

I do not have DVC and we probably spend about $6,000 per year on Disney vacations (2 adults, 1 child, other child is free for another 14 months), and probably spend a total of about 15 days per year in Disney for that price. If I had DVC, would I be able to spend 15 days in Disney for $6,000 per year or less (including meals, annual passes, DVC expenses, etc.)?? How would you calculate such a thing? How many points would you need for 14 nights per year?

We have been spending so much time at Disney lately I'm wondering if just going to DVC route would save us anything. Also, if you don't want to stay in a DVC resort can you use your points to stay at somewhere like the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom lodge?

Let's see if I can help. The values I'm using here are approximations and depend on what resort you would stay at and the time of year.
You would need about 210 (OKW) to 260 (BCV or VWL) points to stay in a studio for 14 nights during peak seasons. Current cost to buy in from Disney (at Saratoga Springs) is around $90 per point so that's around $20,000.00. The points expire in 2054. (It's at this point that some people say that if you invested that 20K, you could take WDW vacations for the rest of your life off of the interest.) The way I look at is this, take the 20K and divide it by 49 years, that comes to about $400 per year for those 200+ points. Now there are annual dues that do increase a small amount each year that are about $4 per point. So that's another $800 to $1000 per year for dues. So your total per year for 200+ points is around $1400. This is only for your room. Tickets and meals are not included in this. You can use your points to stay at any WDW hotel (but DVC hotels "cost" the fewest points). You can also use your points on Disney Cruises and other non-disney hotels around the world although again, DVC hotels offer the best value. There's more, but I'm starting to sound too much like a DVC rep.
The nutshell response is, if you only go to WDW ever few years and stay at the value resorts then DVC isn't going to work for you.

 

[dixiegirl]

SEE went down to disney on our honeymoon in 96 i believe thats around the time the dvc was either starting or on the way .. well the money scared me away , well we've been to disney evry year since 96 with the exception of 2000 when we did'nt go cause i was in labor...but anyway the money that we could have saved makes me a bit sick...now there are four of us with the little one still free for at least one more year...so i think this may be the year we do it...we had talked to a rep last year who was so very nice and well when he callculated our total over the past years what we spent....lets just say it convinced both my husband and i to join the dvc....and this year we are going twice...needless to say it seems very worth it if you go every year ,if not more often.,

 

[Laura]

(It's at this point that some people say that if you invested that 20K, you could take WDW vacations for the rest of your life off of the interest.)

Hmmm - I didn't look at it that way before. Interesting observation. DVC is still something to consider though!

 

[bracho]

We love our DVC but I will offer one piece of advice... before you purchase, go around and look at each DVC property, get the facts about each place and then may your purchase where you'd want to say the most!!

I did that and we picked Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. The VWL has and offers everything I want and need during my vacations. I like the location, the themeing and it's out of the way of things...

The best of luck!!

 

[Debbie]

Just some questions because I find this an interesting topic:
If something came up and you were not able to travel for two years; do your points then expire? I take it that if this were to happen; then the best thing to do would be to rent out your points for that year? Are your points applicable for stays at say the Polynesian? What would be the fair market price for someone who's been a member for 10 years but can't afford the annual fees; thus they decided to sell.

The last question is something that I would worry about. I looked at buying when DVC first came out. I believe one could purchase for $12,500 at the time. It seemed good for me at the time, the only thing was coming up with the fees. Good thing that I didn't buy in because we have had some really lean years where there would have been no way we could swing even the fees. This was the first year our family vacationed in five years....hopefully those times are behind us.

 

[crazycalf]

I believe all that is left direct from disney is saratoga springs right now. We just bought in there.
If you invest the 20K in something else and try to go on vacation off of the intrest there is no guarentee you will have that intrest. Some investments can even end up being worth less than the 20K you start with.

When buying the DVC, we figured we are never going to stay at a value or moderate resort again, we always stay at deluxe now, and even figuring in discounts and assuming the same price of a hotel each year for 50 years, we would be saving money with the DVC.

The biggest negative for us is that we can't stay at AKL anymore, at least on points. If you want to stay at any moderate of deluxe resort I think its more points there a night than a 2 bedroom at the DVC (don't have my chart on me now so i'm not sure of the exact room)

 

[PhilharMagician]

I have no negatives at all about DVC. We have been members since December 2003. We have 200 points and have stayed our first time in SSR in a 1 bedroom in December 2004. For 2005 we will be staying a total of 28 nights in a studio @ SSR and OKW. We will be borrowing some points, but will be back in shape for 2006 holiday season. Another way we have found to save money with DVC is going to WDW for as many days possible in a calander year with AP's (which have a $100.00 - $150.00 each discount as DVC member) and then taking about a year off and start all over again. This way we have to buy our AP's every other year.
The question of value in your point came up. For info in this go look on www.wdwinfo.com . They have info on DVC resales and the current prices. For example, OKW points go from $65.00 - $70.00 on the average. I am not sure what the cost of the points were when they were originally purchased. Maybe someone here can help with that. I can tell you that I paid $75 per point and now they are $95.00 per point for SSR. The demand is going up along with the value.
The best way to find out if DVC is for you is to look at
1. How often do you travel.
2. How many points to cover your travels.
3. How much did it cost before.

Now figure the difference and you should know. Just remeber when you are done with DVC (If you ever are) you will still have an asset you can sell that you do not have when pay for your vacations.


Good luck with your decision. :wave:

 

[DisneyPhD]

I believe all that is left direct from disney is saratoga springs right now. We just bought in there.
If you invest the 20K in something else and try to go on vacation off of the intrest there is no guarentee you will have that intrest. Some investments can even end up being worth less than the 20K you start with.

When buying the DVC, we figured we are never going to stay at a value or moderate resort again, we always stay at deluxe now, and even figuring in discounts and assuming the same price of a hotel each year for 50 years, we would be saving money with the DVC.

The biggest negative for us is that we can't stay at AKL anymore, at least on points. If you want to stay at any moderate of deluxe resort I think its more points there a night than a 2 bedroom at the DVC (don't have my chart on me now so i'm not sure of the exact room)

I would have to agree with you, but then again we are DVC members so I guess we didn't buy the whole invest and go off interest theary anyway. :lookaroun I must agree some of our "investments" haven't paid off that is for sure. Infact DVC is the only "sure thing" we have out of our "investments."

As far as never staying at value or mod again, we are staying at PORS in a few weeks. We are out of points (so we should of got more, like 220 to 250 instead of 170) so we got a code deal on PORS for 88 a night so we are doing that for 4 nights, and then Vero Beach (on points, 3 nights in a ocean view inn room for only 30 points total. The "cost to us at $5 a point is $50 a night!) We use our DVC alot so we find ways to make the points strech. One can be staying at a vaule, mod or Deluxe like AKL on Fri and Sat night (when the points are double.) The other is using a studio room, even though the one and two bedrooms are really nice.

Debbie, you were mentioning the "lean" years and it is a little work, but you can sell your points and always get the cost of dues plus some out of it, so you could of actually had a little extra money out of DVC during those years. Also the price will start going down at some point, but hasn't so far so people who bought 10 or 5 years ago can sell it and actually make $ off it. (not to count the years of vacations already used.)

PhilharMagician, that is all very good advice. :wave:

 

[crazycalf]

My wife and I personally won't stay at a value or mod again. We like the deluxe resorts. If we ran out of points we would probably book a deluxe room.

I have no problem with DVC members booking a value or mod. But since we do not stay at a value or mod, it just made buying the DVC more worth the money.
I know a lot of people say why stay at a deluxe when you can stay at all star for less. That's just not where I would want to stay.
Plus for less money a year than a value, we can go for more days

 

[Gail Hayden]

Also the price will start going down at some point, but hasn't so far so people who bought 10 or 5 years ago can sell it and actually make $ off it. (not to count the years of vacations already used.)

That certainly is true. I paid 11730.00 back in 92 for 230 points. While I have no intent in selling, it is nice to know I could make some money (right now) if I decided to sell.

 

[Laura]

Here's another question. I noticed that you can stay Su-Th at Old Key West in a Studio for only 8 points a night during adventure season, so to stay for 6 days/5 nights at Old Key West could be as little as 40 points, correct? And people are reselling points for around $80 per point ($3,200 total for 40 points). You could pay off $3,200 with one tax refund, and then you'd only have annual dues ($3.49 per point = $139.60 per year).

So basically here's what I'm asking - if I bought a "resell" from someone selling 40 Old Key West points (paying for it all up front so there'd be no payments), does this mean I could essentially take a 6 day vacation in an Old Key West Studio (during adventure season) for only $139.60 each year for the next 50 years? I mean that's only $27.92 per night! Plus all the perks of being DVC members like discounted annual passes.

Am I understanding this wrong? This seems like too good to be true.

Edited to add this example - someone selling 50 points for $3,750: http://www.dvc-resales.com/detail.cfm?ID=OKW50-09-0314 Would buying something like this give me the perks I listed above? 5 nights per year at Old Key West for $174.50?

 

[DisneyPhD]

Here's another question. I noticed that you can stay Su-Th at Old Key West in a Studio for only 8 points a night during adventure season, so to stay for 6 days/5 nights at Old Key West could be as little as 40 points, correct? And people are reselling points for around $80 per point ($3,200 total for 40 points). You could pay off $3,200 with one tax refund, and then you'd only have annual dues ($3.49 per point = $139.60 per year).

So basically here's what I'm asking - if I bought a "resell" from someone selling 40 Old Key West points (paying for it all up front so there'd be no payments), does this mean I could essentially take a 6 day vacation in an Old Key West Studio (during adventure season) for only $139.60 each year for the next 50 years? I mean that's only $27.92 per night! Plus all the perks of being DVC members like discounted annual passes.

Am I understanding this wrong? This seems like too good to be true.

Edited to add this example - someone selling 50 points for $3,750: http://www.dvc-resales.com/detail.cfm?ID=OKW50-09-0314 Would buying something like this give me the perks I listed above? 5 nights per year at Old Key West for $174.50?

It sounds right to me. The only problem with it is DVC is adictive and you would most likely want more. But yes you could do it. I know there is some closing costs with buying resale, but that should be it. Also your points could be used at any DVC resort. You can stay Sun - Friday at an Inn Room at Vero Beach for 8 points a night (10 for ocean room) in May. We love that. We were considering getting 50 extra points just for that.

If you were going to do your plan I would recomend a few more points then 50, just because you will want them. This is one example of how very flexible DVC really is.

 

[Laura]

Well here's what I'm thinking. I could save up the $4 grand or however much to buy 50 points at Old Key West from a reseller. Then since I would be a DVC member I'd use that membership to get discounted annual passes. (And with the annual pass get the dining experience as well). Then I'd use my annual pass to book a discounted one week stay at one of the more expensive resorts. Then I'd go back a few months later and stay 5 nights at the Old Key West studio using the DVC points (which would only cost $175 per year). So it would almost be like having 2 deluxe Disney vacations per year for the price of 1, just for that initial $4 grand investment. It would be thousands in savings each year, so it would pay for itself after about 2 years. I think I like this idea!