Is it worth it?

[PurpleDragon]

I've had a few discussions with my sister on the subject of a DVC membership. I'd love to do it but right now I can't afford it, but my sister is seriously considering it. So I have to ask, those of you here who have a DVC membership, is it worth the cost? How exactly does it work out as far as getting your moneys worth each year. My father is completely anti time-share, ever since they got sucked into a time-share with a less than desirable company a few years ago, hes had a sore spot when it comes to time-shares so he thinks DVC is a rip off, but I don't think so. So lets hear from some of the members here, please share any info/experiences/etc.. that you'd like. Thanks!! :wave:

 

[DisneyJoe]

- How often do you plan on visiting WDW or a Disney property (Hilton Head, etc)?

- do you normally like to stay in deluxe accommodations? Or are value/moderate resorts more to your liking because the room is just some place to shower and sleep?

 

[Master Yoda]

The basic formula I have heard is that if you travel to WDW at least once every 2 years with a week or longer stay in Deluxe accommodations then you can save money over the long term with DVC. Take a step down in either length of stay, frequency of trips or resort level and it becomes a bit harder to make it work. The best thing to do is go on one of the DVC tours. They are about as close to zero pressure as it gets. I have been on the tour twice and both times the sales agent told us that DVC would not be a good value for my family based on our travel habits.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

^ What Yoda said, with us it will be break even this year, approx. Though annual dues are the in the midst.

I always look on it that it was an emotional purchase rather than a financial one. Thats why it wasnt my decision.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I might do one of the tours while I'm down there this week, that may answer some of my questions. Thanks guys.

 

[stitchsMom]

I agree with those that say it depends on how often you travel. We go to Disney every year, and I wish I had gotten into DVC earlier, as just our last 5 trips alone would have paid off our buy-in cost. Because I don't have a car payment, it was an easy bill to pick up. If you can fit the bill into your budget -- and you will actually travel every year it is worth it.

Just in this year alone we got our money's worth. We used points to provide rooms for our guests that attended our wedding at Disney World last week. There were 3 rooms of various size at Animal Kingdom, and 3 rooms of various size at Boardwalk. Had we paid cash for the rooms it would have totalled over $17,000 -- that is what our buy-in was to DVC.

And keep in mind DVC is not just for Disney properties! If you use a time share (any timeshare) you will get your money's worth out of it. If you don't travel, you will be wasting your money.

 

[fredtom]

What counts is the money you'll save over the long term and the convenience you'll have when booking your vacation... As well as not having to budget hundreds or thousands of dollars for hotel accommodations each time you visit. If you need to, you could consolidate your trips into one longer one each year, or every other year.

Your DVC membership will pay for itself after a few trips, depending on how many points you purchase and how many nights you stay. We've been members since '03, and only wish we had joined sooner. As already mentioned, your membership is not confined to just DVC properties. It's interchangeable with RCI at resorts all over the world.

Good luck and we hope you'll be joining us in the neighborhood.


"An Adventurer's life is best!" :lol:

 

[DVC Mike]

DVC is not for everyone, but it works great for me!

 

[dizzney]

We realized our cost back for buying into BWV within five years of purchase based on the number of trips we made and the fact that we always stayed in deluxe accomodations, we've added on three times, realized the first two back and are workingon the 100 we added at BLT.

This year, we ended up with extra points despite two trips and just rented them out (only 100) and almost covered our annual dues for all of our points. There are many ways to get the benefit of your points, and we just wish we had bought in earlier.

 

[fyn]

We realized our cost back for buying into BWV within five years of purchase based on the number of trips we made and the fact that we always stayed in deluxe accomodations, we've added on three times, realized the first two back and are workingon the 100 we added at BLT.

This year, we ended up with extra points despite two trips and just rented them out (only 100) and almost covered our annual dues for all of our points. There are many ways to get the benefit of your points, and we just wish we had bought in earlier.

Just out of curiosity - you realized your DVC investment cost back within 5 years, including maintenance fees over that 5 years? Did you also include what you would have conservatively earned in interest if you had instead invested the money?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Just out of curiosity - you realized your DVC investment cost back within 5 years, including maintenance fees over that 5 years? Did you also include what you would have conservatively earned in interest if you had instead invested the money?

Given the last two years would that invested money still exist?

 

[toolsnspools]

That's how they figure the broke even.

I track how much our stays would have cost if we payed rack rate, and our room at AKL-KV this year alone would have been $6400 without DVC. That doesn't mean I would have ever paid that to stay there. That's just the highest going price. Given those numbers, I can see breaking even, on paper, in about 4-5 years.

Looking at it purely from an investment perspective, I still own the interest, and it could be sold today for more that what I paid. So as long as that remains true, all I have to cover to break even is the annual dues.

 

[The Mom]

Given the last two years would that invested money still exist?

Interesting observation. I agree that it might be a better choice for some people.

People who KNOW they want to spend a week at WDW every year for the next 20 years.

People who have flexibility in travel times.

People who already spend an amount equal or close to what their yearly DVC expenses would be. Of course, this should be paid with disposable income, after other financial needs (basic living expenses, emergency savings, retirement savings, etc) have been paid.

If I were someone who wanted to spend a week there, it would be ideal. I wouldn't look at it as an investment, but rather as my yearly vacation fund.
Although it might be a pricey vacation today, it will probably be a very reasonable one in a few years. And, as others have stated, you can exchange it for a week at a different location, or sell points.

Timeshare ownership certainly isn't for everyone, but for those who are willing/able to be flexible and take the time to work the system, it can be an economical way to travel.

 

[slappy magoo]

Just out of curiosity - you realized your DVC investment cost back within 5 years, including maintenance fees over that 5 years? Did you also include what you would have conservatively earned in interest if you had instead invested the money?

Just out of curiosity, how many essential purchases do YOU make with money that could've given you a return had you invested? Even if you use ROI to pay for a trip to WDW, you could roll it over to make more money instead. Right?

I mean, if you're going to trot out that old dumb argument against buying DVC, may as well take it to the logical extreme: ALL monies you don't have to use to survive is better off saved or safely invested. You'll be surviving, you just won't be "living."

 

[dizzney]

Just out of curiosity - you realized your DVC investment cost back within 5 years, including maintenance fees over that 5 years? Did you also include what you would have conservatively earned in interest if you had instead invested the money?

We also paid in full without financing, if we had invested that money, we may have lost some or made minimal if deposited in savings (they dont pay these days) Adding up the costs, we definitely realized our cost back and continue to enjoy the purchase we made while visiting WDW

 

[DisneyDadof5]

Heading to Disney in August, and was wondering if anyone had any newer comparison worksheets that I can study before hand to weigh in on whether or not it is worth it for my large family. I found some sheets, but they appeared outdated by several years.

We have a party of 6, so I'm thinking the points buy in for that kind of stay for 1 resort (2 weeks) might just make it not a wise choice, and am trying to determine my break even point as my wife and I like numbers.

Thanks in advance. :wave:

 

[fyn]

Given the last two years would that invested money still exist?

Conservatively invested? Absolutely.

 

[fyn]

Just out of curiosity, how many essential purchases do YOU make with money that could've given you a return had you invested? Even if you use ROI to pay for a trip to WDW, you could roll it over to make more money instead. Right?

I mean, if you're going to trot out that old dumb argument against buying DVC, may as well take it to the logical extreme: ALL monies you don't have to use to survive is better off saved or safely invested. You'll be surviving, you just won't be "living."

Did you mean non-essential? If so, then the answer is all of my non-essential purchases are made with money that could have otherwise been invested. That's obvious. But thanks for misunderstanding my point, and then calling it dumb.

My question was specifically around recouping the initial cost of the DVC purchase via the savings they get through the program, and how folks were figuring that out. In my calculations, I created a vacationing profile - 1 week/year, summer season, moderate lodging - and projected out the cost over the next 20 years (based on historical rack rate % increases over the past 10 years). Then I found a DVC resale that I'd consider (and would give me the minimum points needed to meet the vacationing profile above), and calculated what the maintenance cost would be over the next 20 years (again, based on historical maintenance fee increases). Calculating the total amount of money spent over time on both DVC and non DVC, the vacationing profile I posited (and, is realistic for me) wouldn't ever recoup costs. Eventually, around year 18, DVC would be cheaper annually, but the principal was never recouped. I was skeptical about another poster's claims of recouping their principal, so I asked some clarifying questions to see if I was measuring it in the same way.

I played with my calculations some more, and if I bump the "today" cost of my normal nightly lodging to $300, the situation changes drastically. The money looks like it's fully recouped (even against conservative interest earned otherwise) by year 7. Further, by year 20, the money saved in this new situation is more than the original principal plus interest over that 20 years.

If it's not clear, I have no stance on DVC one way or the other, other than wanting to buy in from an emotional standpoint. Personally, it has to make financial sense, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. Also, I don't buy your stance that because something (financial analysis of future vacation spending) doesn't make sense in extreme, it doesn't make sense in moderation. That's ridiculous. Most things in life make sense in moderation, but not extremes.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I created a vacationing profile - 1 week/year, summer season, moderate lodging...............if I bump the "today" cost of my normal nightly lodging to $300, the situation changes drastically

This is why most say you need to be used to staying at deluxe accommodations for DVC to make sense.

The money looks like it's fully recouped (even against conservative interest earned otherwise) by year 7.

I've seen many other models where 7 years is the magic number.

 

[slappy magoo]

Did you mean non-essential? If so, then the answer is all of my non-essential purchases are made with money that could have otherwise been invested. That's obvious. But thanks for misunderstanding my point, and then calling it dumb.

My question was specifically around recouping the initial cost of the DVC purchase via the savings they get through the program, and how folks were figuring that out. In my calculations, I created a vacationing profile - 1 week/year, summer season, moderate lodging - and projected out the cost over the next 20 years (based on historical rack rate % increases over the past 10 years). Then I found a DVC resale that I'd consider (and would give me the minimum points needed to meet the vacationing profile above), and calculated what the maintenance cost would be over the next 20 years (again, based on historical maintenance fee increases). Calculating the total amount of money spent over time on both DVC and non DVC, the vacationing profile I posited (and, is realistic for me) wouldn't ever recoup costs. Eventually, around year 18, DVC would be cheaper annually, but the principal was never recouped. I was skeptical about another poster's claims of recouping their principal, so I asked some clarifying questions to see if I was measuring it in the same way.

I played with my calculations some more, and if I bump the "today" cost of my normal nightly lodging to $300, the situation changes drastically. The money looks like it's fully recouped (even against conservative interest earned otherwise) by year 7. Further, by year 20, the money saved in this new situation is more than the original principal plus interest over that 20 years.

If it's not clear, I have no stance on DVC one way or the other, other than wanting to buy in from an emotional standpoint. Personally, it has to make financial sense, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. Also, I don't buy your stance that because something (financial analysis of future vacation spending) doesn't make sense in extreme, it doesn't make sense in moderation. That's ridiculous. Most things in life make sense in moderation, but not extremes.

Not sure I misunderstood your point, seems more like you didn't really explain your point and assumed people knew what you were thinking.

First of all, even if your predictions are on the nose, you're projecting 20 years ahead, but even the shortest DVC memberships expire in 2042. Depending on when your use year starts...let's see...need to take my shoes off for counting purposes...that's up to 12 years more than your projections. And even if projecting that far off still doesn't compute as a value for you, bear in mind, many people bought into DVC when it was brand new, and the cost for "new" points was significantly less than what you would pay for "new" points and perhaps even less than what you're paying for resale. Factor in any bonuses Disney added in for signing (for example, I believe the people who initially bought into DVC when it was just Old Key West got something like 5 years worth of annual passes), and yes, people may indeed feel like they got their money's worth early on...

second of all, as has been pointed out, you're technically comparing apples and oranges if you're comparing the rack rate of a DVC room with the rack rate of a moderate resort. Whether or not YOU or anyone else feels the DVC rooms are worth that much more than a moderate doesn't change the fact that WDW charges that much more. If a moderate suits you, then yeah, DVC might not be for you, which means we'll be one more member short in our quest for world domination. Hate when that happens.

Typos aside, I stand by my original assessment of your prior question. It's silly for anyone to talk about what people COULD'VE done with the money they used to buy into DVC - how it could've been better invested or saved - unless that person never spends a dime on an extravagance. As far as I'm concerned, if you've ever eaten at a restaurant, ever paid for an option for a new car (hell, if you bought a car but happen to live in an area where public transportation could suit your needs), if you've ever bought name brand cookies when you could've saved a dime buying the generic brand carried in your particular store, ever bought an outfit you didn't need because you liked it, ever went on vacation, then asking that question makes you look foolish. Maybe your motive for asking the question was purer than you intended, next time, you should be more descriptive.