DVC for UK Residents??

[pjulie75]

Hi Everyone:wave:,

I am off to Disney in a few weeks and wondered about DVC. Can anyone give me some info about this, roughly how much does it costs, for how long etc? We have never had a timeshare before so don't really know how it works.

Is it worth it or do you think we can visit Disney cheaper from UK with package deals? We are a family with 2 kids aged 6 and sometimes visit Disney with my parents. We are thinking of looking into it but thought I would ask the WDWMagic Experts first.:animwink:

Thanks

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Its not so much the initial investment its the annual maintenance fees. We were lucky and bought in a few years ago when the £ was at $1.90 + but thanks to a DVC ________ up the paper work was delayed and the £ dropped over 10c adding a few ££ to the cost.

Its easy enough and if you are interested the sales team arent pushy, well nothing like the normal Euro touts. It only really makes sense if you holiday at WDW every year or two and stay in at least moderate resorts. Its a 40 odd year comitment more if you are buying the new sites.

A purchase from the heart not the head.

 

[slappy magoo]

Is it worth it or do you think we can visit Disney cheaper from UK with package deals? We are a family with 2 kids aged 6 and sometimes visit Disney with my parents. We are thinking of looking into it but thought I would ask the WDWMagic Experts first.:animwink:

Thanks

With DVC, you're thinking in the long term. Were you to buy into it this year, there are going to be a few years where you'll see some amazing offers to the general public, and you'll think "damn, that's a great deal, if I didn't have DVC I'd be all over it..."

But as the years go by, and inflation continues to rise, even an incredible deal will seem like highway robbery compared to the prices of today, just like the prices of today seem crazy compared to prices of the past.

First time I went to WDW as an adult, paying my own way, was May of 2006. I stayed at Dixie Landings (now called Port Orleans Riverside) Rack rates at the time was I believe $100 a night for the period I was going in May. Those rooms now go for $170 a night. Granted, these are rack rates, not promotional rates. Back then, the cheapest rack rates for Value resorts was $49 a night. Now it's $82. In 2004 I stayed in a standard room in Animal Kingdom Lodge, with a Passholder discount, for 105. Discount now is 154. Notice a trend?

You buy now, you're locking in rates now. Yes there will always be maintenance fees, like any timeshare, but if you go or plan to go often enough, you'll still come to a point where what you've paid to be in DVC more than makes up for what you would've paid for comparable lodging each time you've gone.

 

[pjulie75]

Can you give me an rough idea of monthly cost and how does the choice of weeks work?

Thanks

 

[Phonedave]

Can you give me an rough idea of monthly cost and how does the choice of weeks work?

Thanks

A minimum buy in is 160 points (but you can buy more if you want). For a rough guideline think $100 a point.

Thats your buy in amount.

So its $16,000 to buy in.

Maintenace costs vary depending on what resort you own at. They are currently between about $4.25 up to about $6.00 a point. Using $5, a 160 point contract would cost you $800 a year.

Maintenance fees go up (or down ) every year. They reflect the actual cost to maintain the resort you own at. On average they go up between 2% to 4% each year.

So, every point you buy costs you $100 up front and another $5 a year.

Rooms have a point "cost" that varies depending on the size of the room (Studio, 1BR, 2BR, grand villa), the day of the week (weekday or weekend), and the season of the year. When you take the DVC tour they will provide you with the point charts

160 points will roughly get you a least a full week in a stuido. Of course that depends on the time of year and the resort.

For Saratoga Springs in 2009 a stuido will "cost" you between 95 to 163 points depending on the time of year. In the "cheapest" season (Jan, Sep, and the first half of December) a weeknight is 11 points and a weekend is 20

Booking a room is just like booking a room at a hotel using cash. You don't own a particular week. You are allowed to make reservations at the resort you own at 11 months out. You can make reservations at the other DVC resorts 9 months out. So you call up, ask if they have rooms, and if they do, and you have the points left in your bank, then you book the room. Your points get "reloaded" each year. You can also bank or borrow points from one year or the other (there are rules around this)

-dave

 

[slappy magoo]

Uh...what phonedave said.

I'd also add that this subforum is sponsored by The Timeshare Store. You should see their little link up top. From there, you can see how many points it'll take to stay at each of the Disney-owned resorts at different times of the year for each type of accommodation (studio, 1 or 2 BR, and 3BR Grand Villas). While the point value of each room at each night at each type of season might shift, it's a give-and-take thing. In other words, if they add points for certain rooms at certain times of the year, they have to deduct point values for the same room at other days or times of the year. A good example is, in 2010, the point values will add a few more points on weekdays for all rooms most times of the year, but it'll balance out by the points for rooms on the weekend being less.

Also, when you're a member of DVC, eventually, your rights to your points will revert back to Disney (unless Disney offers you a chance to extend your contract, as they recently did with the owners of their original DVC resort, Old Key West). People who have Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom Villas or Bay Lake Tower points will have a few more years to enjoy their membership (currently) then people whose home resorts are Beach Club, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, Old Key West (minus those who bought the extension), Vero Beach FL and Hilton Head SC.

Finally, some DVC members opt to sell their interest/membership. That link to the Timeshare Store will also show you what people are currently asking to sell their interest. It's essentially a real estate transaction, with The Timeshare Store acting as the real estate broker. Buying direct from DVC might get you some interesting promotional offers (like one free vacation, or a Disney Cruise), but you may save some serious coin buying resale. You should have all the same rights and perks as members, and whenever the first membership's deed was set to expire, that'll be your expiration date, too.

 

[heliumalias]

Vacation points can also be used to pay for other vacation locations around the world (although the non-Disney ones are generally less cost efficient). DVC has properties at Disneyland, Hilton Head (South Carolina) and Vero Beach (FL) and soon in Hawaii as well. It is still important to consider whether the kids will enjoy Disney in the long term or whether it is a temporary thing.
You also really need to buy enough points to cover your usual length of stay (account for the number of people as well). There's no point buying a few points if it doesn't cover your whole trip.