DVC Pro and Cons?

[correcaminos]

We are looking at buying DVC points on the resale market. The blue card doesn't mean that much to us - I don't think that we would break even on 10% off of merchandise compared to what we would save on the resale market, plus if we really want a discount we can get the Disney credit card. We're just waiting and trying to save the money first so that we can pay for the points in full instead of financing.

Smart! We always paid in full with ours when purchasing. Makes it a more financially wise thing to do IMO.

The only discount that's been worth it to us is the AP discount. Being able to purchase the Gold AP is a big deal to us now, but otherwise the 10% dining and 20% merchandise isn't much to us. TIW can be good for some too but not sure it's worth a blue card. If I were to buy first time now I'd definitely go with a resale (unless under 100 points and then I'd start running numbers).

 

[jaklgreen]

We are looking at buying DVC points on the resale market. The blue card doesn't mean that much to us - I don't think that we would break even on 10% off of merchandise compared to what we would save on the resale market, plus if we really want a discount we can get the Disney credit card. We're just waiting and trying to save the money first so that we can pay for the points in full instead of financing.

From what I understand, you won't be able to go to events like moonlight magic either if you buy resale. If those extra events are something you are interested then I would buy direct.

 

[correcaminos]

From what I understand, you won't be able to go to events like moonlight magic either if you buy resale. If those extra events are something you are interested then I would buy direct.

This is correct. No lounge at Epcot either if purchased resale after 2016.

 

[drwadadli]

Like @DisneyDayDreamer, we have been thinking about buying into DVC for several years. Each year, we come up with a reason not to. Last year, my wife surprised me by asking if we should look again into DVC since the house will be paid off in (now) 3 months time.

I have read the comments in this thread there are A LOT of really good comments/advise. I am curious still though as our family consists of only my wife and I (no kids) and we are 47 and 42 years young. We usually go to WDW once a year to once every other year for a big 8 night trips and love to stay at the monorail deluxe resorts. We now live closer than we did a couple of years ago (8 hr drive or 1.25 hour non-stop flight) so we have talked about going to WDW twice a year or so for long weekends. A friends of ours got us a weekend at Disney's Beach Club Villas and it was a great stay.

I have thought about buying a small amount of points through Disney as a resort we love to stay at so we can get the bonuses of direct buying and then adding more points at the same resort by buying resale to help save on the purchasing costs.

I still wonder if DVC would be right for us based on the facts that if is just the two of us, if it may take 20 years to recoup, and traveling 2 - 3 times a years for long weekends (Thursday - Monday).

Anyone have any thoughts or advise for us???

 

[Phonedave]

Like @DisneyDayDreamer, we have been thinking about buying into DVC for several years. Each year, we come up with a reason not to. Last year, my wife surprised me by asking if we should look again into DVC since the house will be paid off in (now) 3 months time.

I have read the comments in this thread there are A LOT of really good comments/advise. I am curious still though as our family consists of only my wife and I (no kids) and we are 47 and 42 years young. We usually go to WDW once a year to once every other year for a big 8 night trips and love to stay at the monorail deluxe resorts. We now live closer than we did a couple of years ago (8 hr drive or 1.25 hour non-stop flight) so we have talked about going to WDW twice a year or so for long weekends. A friends of ours got us a weekend at Disney's Beach Club Villas and it was a great stay.

I have thought about buying a small amount of points through Disney as a resort we love to stay at so we can get the bonuses of direct buying and then adding more points at the same resort by buying resale to help save on the purchasing costs.

I still wonder if DVC would be right for us based on the facts that if is just the two of us, if it may take 20 years to recoup, and traveling 2 - 3 times a years for long weekends (Thursday - Monday).

Anyone have any thoughts or advise for us???

I'm 47 and my wife will be 42 in a week, so we are right at the same age range. Granted, we have kids, but we just added onto our contact because we use it so much. We go by ourselves as much as we go with our kids.

About the only thing that prevents us from going is the fact that my wife is a teacher, so all vacations have to be planned around her schedule. It makes food a wine a 4 day weekend (Jersey Week) instead of a week long affair.

Only you know if that blue card is worth it to you. I bought my first 160 points direct many years ago, mainly because I didn't know any better, and we added on 50 via re-sale. I do like having the perks of the blue card, but I don't know if I would go that route again.

-dave

 

[drwadadli]

I'm 47 and my wife will be 42 in a week, so we are right at the same age range. Granted, we have kids, but we just added onto our contact because we use it so much. We go by ourselves as much as we go with our kids.

About the only thing that prevents us from going is the fact that my wife is a teacher, so all vacations have to be planned around her schedule. It makes food a wine a 4 day weekend (Jersey Week) instead of a week long affair.

Only you know if that blue card is worth it to you. I bought my first 160 points direct many years ago, mainly because I didn't know any better, and we added on 50 via re-sale. I do like having the perks of the blue card, but I don't know if I would go that route again.

-dave

Thanks for the input!!

 

[drwadadli]

With my work schedule, sometimes I don't know if I will have a weekend free or not.

With DVC, is it possible to reserve a unit within a months notice? Or, is it by that time all the units are rented out?

I am still trying to figure out if DVC is right for my family or not. My wife brought up the question so I told her I would ask it here.

 

[correcaminos]

With my work schedule, sometimes I don't know if I will have a weekend free or not.

With DVC, is it possible to reserve a unit within a months notice? Or, is it by that time all the units are rented out?

I am still trying to figure out if DVC is right for my family or not. My wife brought up the question so I told her I would ask it here.

Maybe? Maybe not. Studios likely no. 1 bedrooms maybe. Saratoga Springs and Old Key West usually are the most available. During fall and winter (F&WF and cheap points) I would say not easy, but other times you might be okay if you don't limit yourself to a studio.

Looking at the 60 day or less options and there are more than I expected. No studios at all though.

 

[seascape]

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

Going into debt to buy a timeshare is crazy. It is much better to buy for cash and if you can't afford to buy DVC for cash buy off property on EBAY. You can buy many for just a very small fee. Wyndham points for use at Bonnett Creek can be a great buy. The best advice anyone can give or get is to never go into debt for something as frivolous as a vacation. Your money is better used to buy a home and college for your children. Disney vacations are great but only if you can actually afford it. If you can't afford Disney the odds are you can't afford Universal either and you should vacation elsewhere.

 

[WWWD]

Going into debt to buy a timeshare is crazy. It is much better to buy for cash and if you can't afford to buy DVC for cash buy off property on EBAY. You can buy many for just a very small fee. Wyndham points for use at Bonnett Creek can be a great buy. The best advice anyone can give or get is to never go into debt for something as frivolous as a vacation. Your money is better used to buy a home and college for your children. Disney vacations are great but only if you can actually afford it. If you can't afford Disney the odds are you can't afford Universal either and you should vacation elsewhere.

I would also add, watch buying timeshares on EBay. Most of these properties do not have end dates like DVC so you are on the hook for maintenance fees forever - which can be thousands of dollars a year. There is a reason people are trying to unload these timeshares for pennies on the dollar. DVC is an anomaly in the timeshare market, I could actually sell my points right now for a nice profit and there is an end date. If we financed our points, interest payments would have greatly effected any vacation savings and potential resale profits.

 

[Lyman]

Not that I would recommend buying direct, but you can buy direct at any resort you want as well. Your DVC rep will try and steer you to a new resort, and will tell you they dont have points at any other, but if you stick to your guns, and say "I want points at XXX resort, and if I cant get them there,then I am going to walk out" they will get you points at an other resort. They simply exercise their ROFR on a contract that is up for resale at that resort, and then sell it for full price to you. They would much rather sell off the stock of new points that they already own, but if push comes to shove, they will "flip" a contract and make a profit, rather than loose a sale entirely.

As for upkeep and housekeeping being cons. Here is the thing. You yearly dues aer not some number pulled out of the air. They are directly the operating costs of the resort. In fact, by law, they can ONLY be the operating cost. DVC cannot make a proft off of dues. They add up all of the costs of running the resort - housekeeping, refurbishments, money paide to WDW for bus service, life guards, the free family stuff at the pool, free movies, replacing sports equipment, the soap and shampoo, landscaping, etc - everythign. Add all of that up, and then divide it by the numebr of points out there, and that is the yearly dues per point.

So you DVC resort could have twice a day housekeeping, a new paint job every year, and brans new carpeting a furniture in all the rooms - but then your dues are going to go through the roof. I happen to think DVC strikes a very good balance between offering service and refurbishments, while at the same time keeping dues under control.

It's also why people get all up in arms when other people break things, steal things, and generally dont treat the DVC resorts as something that they (and multiple other people) are paying to keep up.

Negotiation 101 !!!

 

[correcaminos]

Negotiation 101 !!!

You can get them do a bit more when buying direct in general. Point reallocation are extremely common and helping to reserve a room can sometimes be done too. I had a great reallocation of points (borrowed even) when purchasing and that really did help me in the long run to use points well. They knew I wasn't going to buy then if I would just lose the points.

 

[drwadadli]

I would also add, watch buying timeshares on EBay. Most of these properties do not have end dates like DVC so you are on the hook for maintenance fees forever - which can be thousands of dollars a year. There is a reason people are trying to unload these timeshares for pennies on the dollar. DVC is an anomaly in the timeshare market, I could actually sell my points right now for a nice profit and there is an end date. If we financed our points, interest payments would have greatly effected any vacation savings and potential resale profits.

I agree and disagree. I owe multiple timeshare units (2 weeks in New Orleans, 2 weeks at a golf/ski resort in Virginia, 2 weeks at Nags Head and 1 week in Hawaii). Our highest maintenance fee is $650.00 a year for one of the units in New Orleans. We also rent out our Nags Head and sometimes our Virginia units for profit or loss depending if it rents or not (depending on our travel plans for that year or the next year). Yes, with regular timeshare there is no end date because it is deeded for life no different then a house you buy. Our timeshare can be passed on for generations upon generations (not with DVC) or can be donated to charitable organizations as a tax write-off. Part of the property tax from the resort it also a tax deduction no different than your personal property tax on your house (not with DVC). DVC is not the "anomaly" you talk about. We bought 2 weeks in Williamsburg, Virginia and sold them for a profit.

I do agree DVC can be a great value which is why we are looking into it!!!

 

[Phonedave]

I agree and disagree. I owe multiple timeshare units (2 weeks in New Orleans, 2 weeks at a golf/ski resort in Virginia, 2 weeks at Nags Head and 1 week in Hawaii). Our highest maintenance fee is $650.00 a year for one of the units in New Orleans. We also rent out our Nags Head and sometimes our Virginia units for profit or loss depending if it rents or not (depending on our travel plans for that year or the next year). Yes, with regular timeshare there is no end date because it is deeded for life no different then a house you buy. Our timeshare can be passed on for generations upon generations (not with DVC) or can be donated to charitable organizations as a tax write-off. Part of the property tax from the resort it also a tax deduction no different than your personal property tax on your house (not with DVC). DVC is not the "anomaly" you talk about. We bought 2 weeks in Williamsburg, Virginia and sold them for a profit.

I do agree DVC can be a great value which is why we are looking into it!!!

While there are timeshares out there that do hold their value, there are also plenty of them that do not. So while I would not call DVC an anomaly, it is a timeshare that actively manages it's resale value.

Not all time shares can be donated - or, more accurately, not all time shared are wanted by charities. I know of some that people cannot give away.

I also deduct my DVC property taxes - it really amounts to next to nothing, but still.


-dave

 

[nickys]

While there are timeshares out there that do hold their value, there are also plenty of them that do not. So while I would not call DVC an anomaly, it is a timeshare that actively manages it's resale value.

Not all time shares can be donated - or, more accurately, not all time shared are wanted by charities. I know of some that people cannot give away.

I also deduct my DVC property taxes - it really amounts to next to nothing, but still.


-dave

I'm amazed any charity would accept a timeshare. They would be committing to paying the annual dues in perpetuity.

Here in the U.K., people try selling their timeshares on eBay for a pound. And then you have the scammers who take money off people promising to sell their timeshare.

 

[drwadadli]

I'm amazed any charity would accept a timeshare. They would be committing to paying the annual dues in perpetuity.

Here in the U.K., people try selling their timeshares on eBay for a pound. And then you have the scammers who take money off people promising to sell their timeshare.

A charity would take a timeshare because it gives them a chance to do outings or functions around the country/world and depending how the charity is set-up, the annual fees can be used as a tax deduction.

 

[richg35]

Lots of pros and cons have already been tossed about, but I'll just add some of my thoughts as an owner.

Background:
My grandparents bought OKW during the early years (when they still gave complimentary park passes for your stays as an incentive to buy in) and I stayed there several times in my teens.
I am a DVC resale buyer in 2012 and own 250 points at AKV. Me, my wife and 3 kids have been to Disney every year since buying.

You will save money on comparable cash lodging at Disney Deluxe resorts, but you will likely spend more money over time on Disney vacations. See above. We have been to WDW every year since 2012. We happen to love it, but it might not be for everyone. The flip side of that is that DVC does retain value, so you can sell your contracts on the resale market should you decide it is not for you.

You can still vacation elsewhere even if you're a DVC owner. Yes, this is a function of a family's financial means, but we do not only vacation at Disney. Three years ago went on a cruise. Two years ago we went to Aruba in addition to our WDW trip. Last year we did 2 weeks in Florida but we spent a few days at Legoland first because our kids are about to outgrow it. This year we are taking a break from Disney altogether and doing a cruise. I banked my points so next year we will take a longer trip at Disney (and perhaps a few days at Universal to kick it off). But any way you slice it, you will ultimately spend more money on WDW vacations - park tickets, dining, etc. And yearly dues need to be paid whether you go or not. Some owners rent points when they know they won't be able to use them which is another way to offset dues.

Do not buy for the perks. Any perk can go away at any time, even for direct buyers. They are not guaranteed. This is a timeshare program and should be purchased purely for the lodging - that is the only guaranteed thing you get by buying. The only perk we do not have is being able to use our points on cruises or other disney vacations, but this isn't a good value for points and I wouldn't have used them that way anyway. Even with the further reduction in member benefits (no access to the lounge, etc.) for people who aren't grandfathered in, I would still buy resale if I were choosing to buy today. The only perk that's generally considered worthwhile is the AP discount, but if you'll never buy an AP, then it's irrelevant.

If you buy, buy where you want to stay. As DVC adds more resorts and more members into the total pool, booking at non home resorts at 7 months is getting harder and harder.

It's not recommended to buy DVC if you need to finance it.

Overall, I'm really happy with our purchase. The market was somewhat depressed in 2012 because the recession recovery was still in progress, and we got a great deal on our contracts. My wife and I love Disney, our kids love Disney and we've had some really great vacation memories. But again, it's not for everyone and it's a significant expenditure that should be given careful consideration before pulling the trigger.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Like @DisneyDayDreamer, we have been thinking about buying into DVC for several years. Each year, we come up with a reason not to. Last year, my wife surprised me by asking if we should look again into DVC since the house will be paid off in (now) 3 months time.

I have read the comments in this thread there are A LOT of really good comments/advise. I am curious still though as our family consists of only my wife and I (no kids) and we are 47 and 42 years young. We usually go to WDW once a year to once every other year for a big 8 night trips and love to stay at the monorail deluxe resorts. We now live closer than we did a couple of years ago (8 hr drive or 1.25 hour non-stop flight) so we have talked about going to WDW twice a year or so for long weekends. A friends of ours got us a weekend at Disney's Beach Club Villas and it was a great stay.

I have thought about buying a small amount of points through Disney as a resort we love to stay at so we can get the bonuses of direct buying and then adding more points at the same resort by buying resale to help save on the purchasing costs.

I still wonder if DVC would be right for us based on the facts that if is just the two of us, if it may take 20 years to recoup, and traveling 2 - 3 times a years for long weekends (Thursday - Monday).

Anyone have any thoughts or advise for us???

So first, don't purchase if you are worried about "recoupment" . I tell people all the time, dvc is basically a pre paid vacation not an investments.

so here are the check points I usually tell folks.
1) Do you think you'll want to go to disney for the next say 10 years, at least once every 18-24 months?
2) do you want to stay deluxe? If you are the type that is just as happy staying in a value, dvc is not for you.
3) are you ok with not having housekeeping services? this may sound silly but I do have friends that want their room cleaned daily when they go on vacation.


Now I'm single (widowed) with adult kids and I use my dvc all the time. I love the flexibility of being able to go for 3 days to 16 days depending on the situation. I've gone solo, with kids, with girlfriends, with family. My next trip is in August and I'm taking my kids and 2 nephews and neices as a graduation gift. no way could I afford this without my dvc membership.

so for me even as a single I love it and it's been useful.

 

[drwadadli]

So first, don't purchase if you are worried about "recoupment" . I tell people all the time, dvc is basically a pre paid vacation not an investments.

so here are the check points I usually tell folks.
1) Do you think you'll want to go to disney for the next say 10 years, at least once every 18-24 months?
2) do you want to stay deluxe? If you are the type that is just as happy staying in a value, dvc is not for you.
3) are you ok with not having housekeeping services? this may sound silly but I do have friends that want their room cleaned daily when they go on vacation.


Now I'm single (widowed) with adult kids and I use my dvc all the time. I love the flexibility of being able to go for 3 days to 16 days depending on the situation. I've gone solo, with kids, with girlfriends, with family. My next trip is in August and I'm taking my kids and 2 nephews and neices as a graduation gift. no way could I afford this without my dvc membership.

so for me even as a single I love it and it's been useful.

Thank you for the reply and you brought up a couple of questions we need to think about answers to.