Disney Vacation Club Members???

[BRER STITCH]

Just wondering if anyone on the Boards is a Vacation Club Member??

I just got another mailing about them and, while I LOVE Disney, the Vacation Club seems very expensive for what you get.

Current "buy-in", according to the mailing, is $12,600!!!

Can anybody spare me the 2 hour time-share pitch and provide any info the have on this?

What does it consist of?
Is it worth it?
What are they advantages over regular vacation planning?

Thanks in advance for the info!

:wave:

 

[Yellow Shoes]

"Is it worth it?" only you can answer.

You are buying a lease that expires in 2042.

Can you see yourself vacationing at WDW at least every other year for the next 39 years? Think in terms of how old you will be, how old your children will be, the possibility of relocating further away from Florida, a change in your financial situation, etc. That is a long time to see into the future.

The initial buy-in cost is not the end of your outlay of cash to DVC. There are yearly maintenance fees, approximately $7 per point--it varies by resort. These can go up periodically.

There are other sites that explain the point system in more detail, so I will give you some links

Here is
general information (scroll down a little bit to find it)

information about DVC points by resale

Go to google.com and do a search for Disney vacation club, DVC points, DVC resale. That should answer a lot of questions.

The resorts themselves are beautiful, and if you prefer deluxe hotels, you will be very happy. If, on the other hand, you are content with a Moderate or Value (and spending the $ on something else), it takes a lot longer for you investment to "pay off".

This may not be a deal-breaker, but at DVC properties, you get maid service every 4 days. (I think you get it every day if you are paying with cash--only people using points get reduced maid service). Some people would rather not have maids in their room every day from a privacy/security standpoint. Others love that feeling of walking into a clean room after a day at the parks.

If you think DVC is the way to go, you need to decide which resort you want for "home". You can get better deals on the resale market, and if you want a sold-out resort, t his is the only way.


Good luck making a decision.

 

[MinnieFan]

We have been DVC members for a year now and our home resort is the Beach Club Villas. We joined last March and our first trip "home" was in December. We loved it so much that we just added on an extra 100 points 2 weeks ago.

I realize that DVC is not for everyone but for us it is perfect. Prior to DVC we could afford to vacation to WDW once a year. Now we go 2-3 time a year.

If you normally stay at a Deluxe, and plan on heading to Disney at least once every other year, it would be worth looking into.

:sohappy: We love DVC :sohappy:

 

[Dayma]

Unless you go every other year or more I just cant see what the vaule would be for you. I looked into it and it just seemed like a "money pit" for people going less than every year.

You can still get into any resort you want without being a member you just have to make sure you book ahead through a travel agent. We had NO problems getting into old key west when we wanted to..

 

[wdwguru]

We have been DVC members for nearly two years now. We originally looked into it during our second "family" trip in January 1998. We listened to the pitch, bought in and then cancelled the contract within the allowed 30 days. At the time we felt it was not worth it for us for the following reasons: 1) we could spend less money staying at moderates and SOG (DH is military), 2) we may not always want to go to Disney, 3) it's a lease, and 4) the money. Boy have we been sorry. Years that we could have been using it and saved, yes saved, money.

We have since been to many timeshare presentations, mainly for the free gifts. We learned a lot about timeshare and the one thing that kept coming up was "what is the #1 destination in the world, after WDW?" then they would suit the pitch to their needs. Well who wants #2? and these other places were all charging more money (unless you buy resale)!

As my DDs have gotten older (now 6 & 9), we have found they need the extra room as much as we do. It wasn't bad sharing a room when they were very little, but now to like each other more we all need more space.

Bottom line: we bought 150 points minimum. We have used it to stay in deluxe resorts we would have NEVER spent the money on, and the Cruise (fantastic!) as well as DVC property for the first time this past January. I can't say enough for it. At some point, we may increase our points, but for right now it's enough. There is a lot of flexibility, easy to use, we usually get exactly what we want, and we are taking better vacations. Also, DVC ensures the value will never go down buy having a first right to buy back: if you resell and have a buyer, DVC has the right to buy it back themselves so you can bnever sell to the public too cheaply. This protects my investment!

It's not for everyone. I wish it wasn't a lease, but I'll be in my 70s when this thing ends and I'm not going to project that far. Carpe Diem! If you LOVE Disney, especially if you ever travel with kids, this is great!
:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

If you want more details, I'll be happy to share! I should be a rep for DVC I love it sooo much!

 

[mcbates23]

I just wanted to add that you also don't have to stay at Disney. We bought our point 150 and saved them and the following year we had 300 and went to hawaii for out honey moon on Disney.

There are hundereds of places to go once you join. If you are at all interested give them a call and then will send you free all the info you need to decided including all the other places you can go.

Hope this helps.

MCBates

 

[scottsalisbury]

DVC Members & EE

A friend of mine told me that DVC members get Early Entry into every park every day. That can't be right can it? I thought Disney had to staff the early entry park with additional personnel to accomodate the resort guests.

Scott

 

[inorski]

We have been DVC members for 4 years and can't say enough good things about it! We have used our points for stays at Disney World, Hilton Head and the Disney Cruise and all have been fabulous accommodations. We do plan on going to Disney ever year so I'm sure we will always use our points at a Disney location, but there is the option of using them to travel to all different places around the world. It is an investment, but I look at it as a way to save for vacation every year. All other aspects of the vacation costs can fluctuate every year - usually going up in price - but lodging is now a cost we don't have to worry about, and the accommodations are always great. The amount you pay in dues each year isn't much compared with what you get when you stay at a DVC property. We leave for Disney in 10 days and we plan on buying more points while we are there! :sohappy:

 

[MJL]

hmmmmmmm

With all due respect to DVC members, I dont see how you could possibly make the case for DVC for an "every other year" vacation. A minimum investment (150 points) will require atleast $600 per year in maint fees, so thats $1200 before you even step foot on Disney property (plus your $12k investment). This alone (the maint fees) will buy you 5 nights at the Polynesian if you are smart and use the discounts available or a week or more at AKL or WL.

Not to say that DVC is necessarily a rip-off, because I am still considering it because I love Disney so much. But you had better be sure that your committment to Disney is frequent (atleast once per year) and long term

 

[Kellylynn322]

If you think that the inital $$$ through Dinsye itself is too much look into a resale. My husband and I just bought into a resale. You can buy as few as 50 points to see if you like it. The 50 point ones are somewhere in the 3000-4000 range depending on the location. You can always add from there if you like it. Its a start and can work for a budget (like us!). Good luck!

 

[inorski]

You are right, the DVC program doesn't work for everyone, it really does depend on your vacation plans. Even without a yearly trip to Disney, though, it can still be economical, as you can bank/borrow points which allows you to stay longer or in a larger villa, or even take a cruise if you want. For us it is a great deal, but maybe not for someone else.

 

[MJL]

Really?

Kelly,

You can buy say 50 or 100 points and still be a DVC member, or are you talking about "renting" points? It was my understanding that you needed a minimum of 150 points to join. If you can become a member with only 100 points, I might consider this much more because this would buy us a week during value season (our favorite time to go to Florida), and pay much less in maintenance fees for points we probably wouldnt use.

Thanks alot
M

 

[pax_65]

Look At What You Get...

A few people in this thread are making comparisons between DVC accomodations and Disney deluxe hotels. Deluxe hotel rooms are very nice... but they are just hotel rooms. There's really no comparison.

In any DVC 1-, 2-, or 3-bedroom villa, you get a full living room and full kitchen. The studios are smaller but also nice, with a small kitchenette.

While I still enjoy trying different hotels for a night or two here and there, I would rather stay in a DVC villa than anywhere else. Sleeping in a hotel room with my 2 young kids is not my idea of a relaxing vacation! The DVC resorts give us plenty of room to spread out and relax. (They call them "home away from home" resorts and that's really true!!!)

You shouldn't buy into DVC unless you're going to go to Disney once every other year or so. But if you do, seriously compare a DVC villa to any hotel room and tell me where you'd rather stay!

Do check the resale market, though... The Timeshare Store and A Timeshare Broker are good places to start. You can take the Disney tour to see the rooms, etc... they are very nice and don't pressure you to buy. They might even buy you lunch. Then you can go online and do some shopping around!

Jon
DVC member since 1999

 

[MinnieFan]

okay, I hope I am doing this right...

to try to compare DVC and a resort stay for value season with no discount, I will use the Beach Club Villas and The Beach Club.

Beach Club:
7 nights, standard view room at todays rate with tax $2,255.68
multiply by 40 years = $90,227.20

Beach Club Villas:
For 150 points you could stay min. 9 nights in a studio
150 points will cost 12,600 at todays rate. Add $600 in yearly maint. fees multiply by 40 years = $24,000.
buy in 12,600
fees 24,000 = $36,000 total for 40 years.

I know we can get really good discounts now, but I doubt that will be true say in 5 or 10 years. The economy will get better. We all know that room rates have gone up every year. I can only imagine what they will be in 10 years from now.

Yes, maint. fees can go up.

So you can see the value in DVC.

 

[goofyman]

We also did the time share tour every year at other places for the free gift. We were never interested, mainly because most other time shares lock you into a spacific time of the year and are usally dificult to trade. What sold us on DVC was it is SO FLEXABLE. You go when you want and as long as you want depending on how many points you buy. Yes it is not for everyone, but, if you vacation each year ( And you really can not compare it it a moderate Disney hotel) thnk of it as your room is paid for for 40 years. The maint. is not bad compared to others. And we also traded last year for Hawaii. The room rate at the hotel we stayed at was $450 a night.! Disney is the HIGHEST tradalbe time share of any out there. So don't look at it as going to disney every year. You can and we do. but, we loved it so much we added points and use those to go to other places around the world. Prices go up each year for everything. If things change in your life your vaction at least is set...:sohappy:

 

[Shannon_Yensid]

My family have been members for 10 years, our home is at OKW (we became members when OKW was called the Disney Vacation Club! and there was no "south point" bus stop!) anyway, we usually go now twice a year or so but this year, in feb., my parents, my little sister, my three best friends and i and my grandparents all went down to as a graduation party for me. my friends and i got a two bedroom, my parents and my sister got a one bedroom and my grandparents got a studio. we were there for 9 days and it wouldn't have been possible for us to have that if we weren't members. there's no way we could have payed for all of that if we weren't members.

that, of course is not the only perk to being a memeber but i just thought i'd share that little story.

:sohappy: DVC MEMBERS!!! :sohappy:

 

[Kellylynn322]

Re: Really?

Originally posted by MJL
Kelly,

You can buy say 50 or 100 points and still be a DVC member, or are you talking about "renting" points? It was my understanding that you needed a minimum of 150 points to join. If you can become a member with only 100 points, I might consider this much more because this would buy us a week during value season (our favorite time to go to Florida), and pay much less in maintenance fees for points we probably wouldnt use.

Thanks alot
M

no, you can actually buy 50 or 100 points, just NOT through Disney. Disney requires you to buy 150. Through the resales you can buy who ever much or little you want. Its usally cheaper too. My husband and I just bought our 1st 100 points through a resale at OKW. Resales also allow you to buy (if available) at sold out properties like OKW where the maintenance fees are cheaper.

 

[MJL]

Kelly, one more q ...

Do you need to find someone selling exactly 100 points or will people generally be willing to sell a fraction of their points for sale?

Thanks in advance.
M

 

[Dwarful]

This is so odd, my sister just called me and asked if my husband would put drywall up in her basement, she said she would pay our deposit on the BCV at DVC hecoming co-owners w/her. she really wants to do this but we both know that we will probably only go every other year. Although we will most likely go together frequently, at least while our kids are little. So that is also an option you might consider, the DVC people said that both families names will be on the deed so its a legal document not just a word of mouth risk.
still its taking alot of numbers crunching for me to decide. We really like the all-stars, we use the rooms for sleeping, dressing, showering, nothing else, I like the housekeeping daily things like that so its alot to consider.

 

[Dwarful]

OK, now after talking to my sister again, while watching a dismal hockey game (unless your a Canucks fan)...anyway...we got to talking and we wondered..do you get the Mickey soaps when you arrive? I know housekeeping does not come daily unless you pay extra which we probably would because I am a bit houseproud so to speak, I know its a little thing, but its one of those things that means alot to our DD...so much so that we "save" them everyday and use our own soap so the kids can have a bit of the disney magic at home. thanks for any answers to this trivial question!