Is the DVC worth it?

[RayLaVeau]

i am seriously thinking about doing this, anyone care to talk me into or out of it?
I havent purchased yet but am really thinking of getting a few people together to do this with me...
Thank you in advance....

 

[DVC Mike]

Concord, CA? I lived there for about 6 years!

You mention doing this together. Please be aware that this is just like going in together on a purchase of a house. If one of the people you buy in with gets divorced or declares bancruptcy, you may be forced to sell.

Membership in the Disney Vacation Club is not for everyone. DVC can make sense financially -- assuming you would always stay in a deluxe resort. If you always stay in a value resort, then it won't -- but that's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The DVC resorts offer deluxe amenities and room size.

DVC membership might make sense if you meet most or all of these criteria:

• The cost of membership and dues does not appear to present a financial hardship.
• You vacation at Walt Disney World frequently: ideally at least once every two years.
• You plan to continue vacationing at Disney World far enough into the future to make the membership at least break even.
• You prefer to stay in Deluxe or DVC accommodations and/or you stay a long time (10 days or more per year). If you always stay at a Value resort, or always stay off-site, or you really spend the entire day at the parks away from your hotel, and you don't spend time at the resort itself (other than crashing at the end of the day), then DVC may not be for you.
• You are able to plan your vacations well in advance -- ideally 7 to 11 months out. If you aren't a planner, don't even look at becoming a DVC member. If you can't plan and book your vacations 11 months in advance, and staying at a particular DVC resort is important, then don't join DVC. If you really don't care which DVC resort you end up with, then it's not an issue.
• You can do without daily mousekeeping and room service (of course, you can pay extra and get mousekeeping as a DVC member).
• You desire more space than a typical resort room (such as a 2 bedroom villa, with full kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and jacuzzi suite, and even a washer/dryer).
• You’re not looking at DVC as an investment or a way to make money (it’s not). It is a decision to prepay, at today's rates, the next several decades of Disney trips.

If the only consideration is whether it makes financial sense, then maybe you should be staying offsite and only eating offsite as well, since that beats staying onsite. Beyond just the financial considerations, DVC membership is emotionally satisfying (you “own a piece of the magic”), and it gives you a reason to take a vacation at WDW.

Buying a DVC membership is a rational, financially viable option for some people: namely people who plan to stay in the higher-end accommodations at Walt Disney World on a regular basis.

Buying into DVC is almost a lifestyle choice. A DVC purchase is a way of committing to an annual Disney vacation with family and friends. For some people, that may outweigh any financial considerations. DVC will pay dividends beyond mere dollars and cents – your return on investment will be the joyous times, the family gatherings, and the experiences of a lifetime.

Only you can determine if DVC membership makes sense for your situation, based upon your lifestyle and financial capabilities.

 

[oldshovelhead]

Plus...

Concord, CA? I lived there for about 6 years!

You mention doing this together. Please be aware that this is just like going in together on a purchase of a house. If one of the people you buy in with gets divorced or declares bancruptcy, you may be forced to sell.

Membership in the Disney Vacation Club is not for everyone. DVC can make sense financially -- assuming you would always stay in a deluxe resort. If you always stay in a value resort, then it won't -- but that's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The DVC resorts offer deluxe amenities and room size.

DVC membership might make sense if you meet most or all of these criteria:

• The cost of membership and dues does not appear to present a financial hardship.
• You vacation at Walt Disney World frequently: ideally at least once every two years.
• You plan to continue vacationing at Disney World far enough into the future to make the membership at least break even.
• You prefer to stay in Deluxe or DVC accommodations and/or you stay a long time (10 days or more per year). If you always stay at a Value resort, or always stay off-site, or you really spend the entire day at the parks away from your hotel, and you don't spend time at the resort itself (other than crashing at the end of the day), then DVC may not be for you.
• You are able to plan your vacations well in advance -- ideally 7 to 11 months out. If you aren't a planner, don't even look at becoming a DVC member. If you can't plan and book your vacations 11 months in advance, and staying at a particular DVC resort is important, then don't join DVC. If you really don't care which DVC resort you end up with, then it's not an issue.
• You can do without daily mousekeeping and room service (of course, you can pay extra and get mousekeeping as a DVC member).
• You desire more space than a typical resort room (such as a 2 bedroom villa, with full kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and jacuzzi suite, and even a washer/dryer).
• You’re not looking at DVC as an investment or a way to make money (it’s not). It is a decision to prepay, at today's rates, the next several decades of Disney trips.

If the only consideration is whether it makes financial sense, then maybe you should be staying offsite and only eating offsite as well, since that beats staying onsite. Beyond just the financial considerations, DVC membership is emotionally satisfying (you “own a piece of the magic”), and it gives you a reason to take a vacation at WDW.

Buying a DVC membership is a rational, financially viable option for some people: namely people who plan to stay in the higher-end accommodations at Walt Disney World on a regular basis.

Buying into DVC is almost a lifestyle choice. A DVC purchase is a way of committing to an annual Disney vacation with family and friends. For some people, that may outweigh any financial considerations. DVC will pay dividends beyond mere dollars and cents – your return on investment will be the joyous times, the family gatherings, and the experiences of a lifetime.

Only you can determine if DVC membership makes sense for your situation, based upon your lifestyle and financial capabilities.

Plus...it's way cool when I tell people I'm a member:sohappy: .

 

[jim1051]

Plus remeber that you do have the other available vacations, cruises, trades with Interval international, concierge hotels. One thing is absolutely necessary in my opinion. You need to be able to plan your vacations pretty well in advance to take advantage of booking windows and banking and borrowing points. That said, I wish I had known about it sooner and had purchased in 1992 when it started. We boought in in 1999, Hilton Head, and have never regretted the decision. We love the flexibility. We've done 7 WDW trips 3 Hilton Head trips, 1 Vero beach, a week on Maui, an Alaskan cruise so far.

My ultimate opinion is, if you can afford it doit.

 

[Phonedave]

Plus remeber that you do have the other available vacations, cruises, trades with Interval international, concierge hotels. One thing is absolutely necessary in my opinion. You need to be able to plan your vacations pretty well in advance to take advantage of booking windows and banking and borrowing points. That said, I wish I had known about it sooner and had purchased in 1992 when it started. We boought in in 1999, Hilton Head, and have never regretted the decision. We love the flexibility. We've done 7 WDW trips 3 Hilton Head trips, 1 Vero beach, a week on Maui, an Alaskan cruise so far.

My ultimate opinion is, if you can afford it doit.

I look at it the same way. I bought in this June. I wish I had bought in years ago. However years ago I could not affort to

It's like a drug though, I am already thinking about more points.

-dave

 

[oldshovelhead]

Me Too...

Plus remeber that you do have the other available vacations, cruises, trades with Interval international, concierge hotels. One thing is absolutely necessary in my opinion. You need to be able to plan your vacations pretty well in advance to take advantage of booking windows and banking and borrowing points. That said, I wish I had known about it sooner and had purchased in 1992 when it started. We boought in in 1999, Hilton Head, and have never regretted the decision. We love the flexibility. We've done 7 WDW trips 3 Hilton Head trips, 1 Vero beach, a week on Maui, an Alaskan cruise so far.

My ultimate opinion is, if you can afford it doit.

My DW and I stayed in NYC for two nights for our aniversary this past May and went to Tarzan on Broadway (we even got discount tickets for the show through DVC)...We stayed at the Lowes Regency on Park Ave. on our points. You are right, there are many other things you can do with DVC...:king:

 

[CatherineL]

When I bought my first lot of points I bought in with my ex husband, which wasn't smart, as we got into a position where we couldn't afford it. And we also got divorced.

So I bought my second lot of points on my own. And I have to say - it is worth it, but obviously it's best if you can pay for most of the initial purchase outright. If you're only putting say 10 percent down and paying over 10 years, you won't really benefit until you've paid the lump sum.

Plus - if you need to sell, although the prices go up, you still need to pay 10% to a broker. I read a post somewhere recently about a sale that didn't go through because a couple had got themselves into financial difficulties and actually would have owed Disney more money than the sale would make. You don't want to put yourself in this position.

Some people say it takes around 7 years to make your initial lump some back and this sounds about right. I have made great use of my new contract. For example, my dues in January for 250 SSR points will be about £500 ($1000). I have some points left from this year, and I'm putting them towards next years trip. The trip would have cost me about £2000 ($4000) if I'd managed to get a great AP discount at the same resort - and almost double that with no discount.

The following year, I'm considering Aruba. I checked direct with the resort I want to trade to and it would cost me $3500 (£1750 plus tax) to book direct . But a two bedroom unit will cost me 207 points. Those points will cost me just over $800 (£400 in maintenance fees) so my stay will cost a fraction of what it would booking direct with Marriott.

As you can see, DVC works pretty well for me, although it didn't with my first contract. And it could work well for you, or it could go badly depending on your circumstances. So, it's best to do a lot of research before buying.