DVC Pro and Cons?

[DisneyDayDreamer]

My family is looking into buying into DVC next year. We were wondering based on your own experience what are your pro's and con's of owning. Also, how often do you visit and where do you normally stay?

 

[dreamfinder]

Pros

• Relatively affordable deluxe level accommodations for several decades
• Extra amenities such as in room kitchen and laundry

Cons

• Vacation dollars tied up in Disney for several decades
• No real recourse if Disney lowers quality
• Not eligible for most discounts/promotions
• Still possible to get more space for way less off property
• Need to be able to book 11 months out during busy times, and usually 5-6 months out rest of year

No two ways around it, DVC is a timeshare plain and simple. You just get the benefit of being on property and busing into what has been a fairly stable time share program. (You can buy other timeshares in the Orlando area on eBay and the like for pennies on the dollar) I don't regret buying, but we bought before the prices went up, so we broke even 5-6 years in. I'd think twice about buying now just because it would take us much longer to hit that same break even.

 

[DisneyDayDreamer]

Pros

• Relatively affordable deluxe level accommodations for several decades
• Extra amenities such as in room kitchen and laundry

Cons

• Vacation dollars tied up in Disney for several decades
• No real recourse if Disney lowers quality
• Not eligible for most discounts/promotions
• Still possible to get more space for way less off property
• Need to be able to book 11 months out during busy times, and usually 5-6 months out rest of year

No two ways around it, DVC is a timeshare plain and simple. You just get the benefit of being on property and busing into what has been a fairly stable time share program. (You can buy other timeshares in the Orlando area on eBay and the like for pennies on the dollar) I don't regret buying, but we bought before the prices went up, so we broke even 5-6 years in. I'd think twice about buying now just because it would take us much longer to hit that same break even.

I agree I looked into it and honestly it seems like a TON of money. It is easy to drop 6k with staying at a deluxe resort for a week but unless you purchase a significant amount of points you won't be able to stay that long at one of the properties.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I agree I looked into it and honestly it seems like a TON of money. It is easy to drop 6k with staying at a deluxe resort for a week but unless you purchase a significant amount of points you won't be able to stay that long at one of the properties.

Search the internet, there are quite a few resources that help you calculate the long term math. You need to work it out over 10-20 or more years to see the benefit. If you can't commit to that then it isn't for you.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Search the internet, there are quite a few resources that help you calculate the long term math. You need to work it out over 10-20 or more years to see the benefit. If you can't commit to that then it isn't for you.

For buying direct you are correct, but you can halve the time when you get a good resale deal. Just one of the many things everyone has to consider before buying.

 

[WWWD]

Think long and hard about buying if you are considering financing DVC.

 

[dreamfinder]

I agree I looked into it and honestly it seems like a TON of money. It is easy to drop 6k with staying at a deluxe resort for a week but unless you purchase a significant amount of points you won't be able to stay that long at one of the properties.

It depends on what size room you need, and when you would travel. But after you hit your breakeven you can look at the cost for each successive night simply by multiplying the points for the room by the dues. So if a standard studio costs 88 points for a week in choice season at AKL, where your dues are 6.59, that week would run you $579.92. So even if you needed to buy 170ish points for two weeks, down the road it's going to be on par with the prices for a value. It's that initial upfront cost that is killer. Now a 1BR/2BR or other seasons shifts that cost a fair bit, but the same principal applies.
If you don't have a large chunk of the purchase price up front to avoid/minimize financing, and can't risk having that much tied up in what is basically a non-necessary luxury, then DVC probably isn't for you.

 

[correcaminos]

For buying direct you are correct, but you can halve the time when you get a good resale deal. Just one of the many things everyone has to consider before buying.

I agree with this. Of course run numbers always. The smaller contracts go for more and it's worth it to run the numbers. Adding to this, make sure you take into consideration the yearly MF. If you cannot afford the maintenance fees, it does you no good to buy a larger contract simply to get more points (unless you plan to rent out). It's all a numbers game. We've done resale and direct (for small contracts) and have good and bad to each. Only thing we never did was finance our purchase. Always paid it immediately.

 

[NelleBelle]

Any big cons to buying resale? I know Disney has cut perks to those who buy resale (but can't remember what).

 

[EOD K9]

Any big cons to buying resale? I know Disney has cut perks to those who buy resale (but can't remember what).

I jest when I say, "All of them". But they cut such things as a membership card, which entitles you to discounts. That also limits your trade ins on using points for DCL (which is not worth it but and option) and several other things. IIRC you also cannot get the AP discount. I may be wrong on that one, so someone else please clarify.
Separate note, I saw you eat vegetarian, I'm not, but I limit my various red meat and poultry intake. That being said, have you tried Gardein chicken strips. They're pretty good actually.

 

[nickys]

I jest when I say, "All of them". But they cut such things as a membership card, which entitles you to discounts. That also limits your trade ins on using points for DCL (which is not worth it but and option) and several other things. IIRC you also cannot get the AP discount. I may be wrong on that one, so someone else please clarify.
Separate note, I saw you eat vegetarian, I'm not, but I limit my various red meat and poultry intake. That being said, have you tried Gardein chicken strips. They're pretty good actually.

Correct on AP. Basically you can go to TOTWL, pool hop (but bear in mind this is very restricted, as in not to Poly, GF, BC/YC, AKL (Jambo and Kidani), WL, maybe others too. And you can rent dvds from the community halls. That's about it I think. Some people have managed to get a discount occasionally (when a CM doesn't check card and ID), and a few people apparently got a blue membership card in error in the months after the withdrawal of benefits. You also cannot use your points at any Disney Concierge hotel, so that means you can't use points to book POR (and any other value/moderates), even non-DVC rooms at any resort that has DVC, or a non-DVC Disney resort like Disneyland Paris.

Edited to add: also no access to special member events like Moonlight Magic, which I've seen asked a few times.

 

[dreamfinder]

Any big cons to buying resale? I know Disney has cut perks to those who buy resale (but can't remember what).

Depends on what you consider a con to be. As pointed out you don't get most of the member benefits. Basically you get your DVC points to either use at a DVC resort, or transfer via RCI. That's about all you get.
But the cost savings may more than outweight that. For instance, if you by resale for $50 less per point for 100 points, you save $5,000. Current AP savings on a Platinum Pass are $100 (yes, DVC can get Platinum Plus for $200 off right now, but that's a "limited time offer"). So a party of 4 would need to buy 4 APs a year for 12ish years to hit the point where you start to come out ahead. Your exact numbers would vary, but say you bought resale at $60-70 off list price for a 250-300 point deed. Suddenly saving $21,000 means you would need to buy APs every year for the life of the deed for a party of 4 to make buying direct worth while. Obviously the Gold AP messes with this a bit since it's not available to the general public to compare pricing, but the concept remains.
And most people find they can do better to rent their points through a broker like David's and then pay cash for a trip like a cruise or a DLR trip instead of using points. The value of points is only maximized when you use it through DVC, trading out or using them for any other accommodations greatly diminishes their value.

 

[G8rchamps]

We almost bought a small contract this year -Direct. My wife says we need more points to be able to use them effectively- I figured get some now and get in - maybe add later and/or add resale. For us the math really isn't there, we live close and go for short trips often. Moonlight Magic and DVC early access to Pandora are very attractive to me, but may not justify the cost.

In the end they get some of us on an emotional level more than a financial one - There is just a part of me that wants to be "in the club."

 

[Ralphlaw]

Excellent advice thus far, but a couple more things to consider:

1. Maintenance fees are often glossed over, but they are really annoying every year. For us, it's over $1,800 per year. In a bad year financially, that bites.

2. Prices are on the high end right now, but they still may continue going up. We originally bought at BayLake, but sold our points about 3 years in. Given all the money both in and out on the deal, we ended up staying for about 20 nights under that contract for less than $200. Yes, we ended up in deluxe accommodations for less than $10 a night because our points went up in value. This took into account everything, including the costs of sale, commissions, and maintenance for those 3 years.

3. I could sell my 300 Boardwalk points for about a $4,000 profit right now even after all fees and costs are figured in. Yes, if I were to sell today, I would have made more than $90 per night as a subsidy for having stayed at Disney in deluxe one bedroom villas. The contract ends far earlier than for BayLake, but we prefer the Boardwalk for various reasons that I won't get into here.

4. Always, buy where you want to stay. Sometimes there's nothing available at the 7 month window.

You also qualify for some discounts, and we feel that we are treated a little better once we pull out our DVC card. Continue reading the various threads here before plunging in. And also realize that DVC may not make as much sense for you once the kids are grown up and/or other circumstances in your life change. Yet they do sell very easily, which is completely unlike nearly all other timeshare schemes.

 

[NelleBelle]

*sigh* wish I could persuade DH to buy in. I'd be happy with a resale. But given I chose to "retire" before 40, he'll throw that argument up at me. Given the choice to go back to work for a DVC or stay home and volunteer at my kids school (before they're too old), retirement wins hands-down and I'll have to live with renting points for now

 

[Ralphlaw]

Another thing to consider is who you'll be bringing along on your trips. If you have 5 people, a 1 bedroom villa (and even some studios) can accommodate you. That may be much harder in a standard room, which would mean having to book two rooms. Also, the 2 and 3 bedroom villas are really nice for big groups/families. I have a four person family, but a few years back we brought our foreign exchange student with us. No problem fitting the 5 of us into a 1 bedroom villa at Boardwalk. I also had him pay 1/5th of the maintenance fees that year. Don't worry, his family was rich.

 

[Phonedave]

There are a lot of good pros and cons laid out above. It does boil down to, it is a time share.

What made the difference for me is the fact that it is a time share with an end date, and historically DVC has used its' ROFR to keep prices on the resale market high.

What does this mean? This means that when I am in my "golden years" and I am not going to do much traveling, and maybe none of my kids wants (or can afford to own) my DVC contract, I can just let it die. Or, if something unexpected happens and I fall upon financial hard times, I can sell my DVC contrtacts for a good chunk of change and get out of them,

Many other timeshares have almost no value on the resale market. Since they do not end, you are stuck with them, and then your heirs are stuck with them. I have friends who have contracts they would love to sell, but you cannot give them away. Seriously, you can find contracts for a number of resorts on the open market for a dollar. Really, a week at a nice resort in Grand Cayman, for a dollar. Not for one week, but to buy the contract. However, dont ask about the maintenance costs, or the special assesments every time a huricane whips through.

I looked at a number of time shares, and what stopped me most of the time was the inability to get out of the contract if I needed too. DVC does not have this problem.That was a big selling point for me.

 

[EOD K9]

It is a timeshare with flexibility.

 

[NelleBelle]

That's a big point I tried to tell my parents about when they bought their timeshare/condo in St. Maartin. Now that it has been devastated by name-that-hurrricane (??Jose), they no longer want it. They actually had a trip planned for the week the hurricane hit to go down and put it on the market. Why they went with such a ridiculous place (beautiful but such a pain to travel to from the Pacific Northwest--would've been better off with something in Hawaii). I tried and tried to get them to do DVC and use their point at other places besides Disney...

 

[IanDLBZF]

(Please correct me if I am wrong here) If you're staying at a DVC Resort as a DVC Member staying on points and/or member-discounted cash, you'll get housekeeping as follows:

Trash & Towel Service:

For stays of seven or less nights, Trash & Towel Service is provided on day four, regardless of whether you're using member-discounted cash, vacation points or a combination of both.

With Trash & Towel service, Housekeeping will:

Empty trash and replace liners in trash bins.
Provide fresh bathroom linens.
Replace shampoo, facial soap and bath soap.
Replenish facial tissues, paper towels and toilet paper.
Replenish coffee, sugar, cream and sweeteners.
Replenish dishwashing liquid, dishwashing detergent, sponges and laundry detergent as needed in one-, two- and three-bedroom Vacation Homes.
​

Full Cleaning Service:​

For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash & Towel Service is provided on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day 12, regardless of whether you're using Member-discounted cash, Vacation Points or a combination of both.

With Full Cleaning service, Housekeeping will provide everything included with the Trash & Towel Service, plus:

Change the bed linens.
Vacuum and dust the Vacation Home.
Clean the bathroom(s).
Clean the kitchen/kitchenette and wash the dishes.
​

Pay As You Play:​

All accommodations offer daily housekeeping service with a 24-hour notice and an additional fee.

With Pay As You Play service, you'll be provided with the following amenities free of charge at the start of your stay. After that, you may purchase more for the following fees:

Toiletries Package, $5.00 - 1 facial soap, 1 bath soap, 1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 shower gel

Coffee Package, $3.00 - 1 package of coffee, 8 sugars, 8 creamers, 8 artificial sweeteners

Towel Package, $6.00 - 4 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 4 washcloths, 1 bath mat

Laundry Detergent, $1.00 - 1 box
​

Additional Full Cleaning Rates:​

Studio - $30.00 per day requested
One-Bedroom - $45.00 per day requested
Two-Bedroom - $60.00 per day requested

​

Additional Trash & Towel Rates:​

Studio - $15.00 per day requested
One-Bedroom - $20.00 per day requested
Two-Bedroom - $25.00 per day requested

Note: Rates are subject to change.​

Those with cash reservations, even with an AP, AAA, Florida Resident, or some other discount, will receive housekeeping services daily.