Need DVC Advice!

[Kaity'sDad]

With my busy schedule I'm not able to post often, but I read often, and respect the knowledge and opinions of all of you. My wife and I think we are ready to make the plunge and buy into DVC, but before I take the leap I wanted to ask each of you for some advice.

First, if you've joined the DVC, are you happy with your decision? If you've thought about it and decided not to, what made you change your mind?

Of the current availability, AKL and SSR, which would you choose, and what do you see as the pros and cons of each?

For those of you who have bought in, how many points did you purchase initially, and have any of you added points?

My wife and I have taken our 7 year old many times, and have made one trip with our one year old. We love WDW, and we're sure there will be countless trips in the future. Now, we're considering having another child soon, and the amenities and space will become even more important if that happens.

Currently, if our DVC agent offers us some inticing incentives we are planning of buying 200 points at SSR. The style and amenities of the resort is appealing to us, so our initial stay would be there. However, our plan would be to stay at different DVC resorts with each trip, so our home resort choice will be influenced more by the deal we are able to get and the incentives that are offered. Our plan is to buy in with an initial purchase of 200 points. I'm an attorney, and my wife is an accountant (but currently a stay at home mom) and we are very blessed that through hard work and opportunity we are in a position where a $20,000 investment won't place a hardship on our family.

Any imput or advice from the posters would be greatly appreciated. Again, I've learned a lot from each of you, and I'm grateful for, and look forward to your imput.

 

[WDWFigment]

While I'm not a member in DVC (being a student just doesn't pay too well these days!) but I have information from The Timeshare Store (http://www.dvc-resales.com/) and found their deals to be the best by far. I believe they sponsor a board on this site, so you might want to look into that.

As to recommended resort, I'd go with where I could get the best deal (or the location that expires latest) if you plan on using several different resorts. Although I'm sure The Timeshare Store could provide you valuable information on that, as well.

 

[coltow]

We had thought about it but didn't. The main reason was the money. If most of your trips are at deluxe resorts than it would be beneficial, however not all of our trips are so we can go for cheaper by not purchasing DVC. When we first looked into it around Thanksgiving our decision was "not now," but we plan to rethink it in a couple years when my youngest is able to experience/remember more.

 

[slappy magoo]

AKL expires later, but the monthly maintenance fees would PROBABLY always be more than SSR. Something to consider, I suppose. Other than that, perhaps the biggest consideration is how often do you plane to stay at your home resort? Or do you intend to always try to jump around and check out all of the resorts? If always staying at your home resort is a big deal, go with the resort you think you'd enjoy staying at more (I'm assuming AKV). If you intend to keep jumping around, then make the choice based on those few extra year versus the maintenance fees.

 

[Kaity'sDad]

bump

 

[dizzney]

DVC Lover

We love our DVC purchase as should have purchased it earlier, We bought BWV in '99 for 220 and added 30 in '02 and another 25 in '04 and just purchased thru an offsite broker '25 in Wilderness so we are at 300. As our kids grew older, we needed more points to go in peak times due to school conflicts.

My kids are now 15, 8 and 8 and have made numerous trips to both Bradwalk, Beach Club, Sarasota Springs (during Hurricane Charlie), Old Key West and Vero Beach.

We have always enjoyed our welcome home experience and have found it to be the best way to visit Disney. The discounts also assist in making it to be a good financial decision especially the annual passholder discount as we plan at least two trips within the calendar year,

The flexibility of the points with accomodations and timing is key, we have gotten anything from a studio to a two bedroom, taken additional family or gone alone.

Its a well worthwhile investment! Good luck!

 

[bbrerrabbit]

I bought into Saratoga around four years ago. We purchases the minimum amount of 150 points and added another 50 points last year. I am very happy with DVC - it will pay for itself within the next few years.

As long as you can afford it, I would definately purchase. Good Luck!

 

[SnowFire]

We bought the minimum at BWV back in 2000. We are completely happy with our purchase and are seriously considering adding on. The only thing we whis is that we would have purchased years earlier.

As has already been said, one of the keys is the type of resort you prefer. We happen to prefer deluxe and really like having the option of a full kitchen.

 

[g00fy14]

I am a DVC member since 2003. We own our first 150 points At Beach and 220 at Saratoga. If you have decided that you want to purchase a timeshare, this is one of the most flexible timeshare options available.
As mentioned earlier, take a look at what type of accomodations you are looking for. We got our foot in the door with the 150 and decided we wanted to stay in nothing less then a one bedroom for at least 2 weeks, so we bought more points.
You'll here everyone state that they wish they bought earlier and it's true. You also have to remember that it's a skewed opinion since we have already spent a lot of $$, so obviously we think it's a good idea for us.
With regards to DVC by resale, I would focus on Saratoga points. I could be wrong but I believe that if you purchase Beach Club points from someone who owned them since 2002, they expire 2042 compared to Saratoga purchased in 2006, they expire 2056. It may not seem to be a big deal, but I look forward to bringing my grand children to WDW. My Oldest daughter will be 58 when our Saratoga points expire.

 

[scorp111]

We bought in April of this year. We own 250 points at AKLV. We picked AKLV because it appealed to us more than SSR did, and the later expiry was nice as well. Plus, with AKLV as your home resort, SSR is a pretty easy resort to get into with 7 month window due to its size. The opposite likely won't be the case, at least until the 2nd part of AKLV opens in 2009.

We have two children, ages 3 and 1. The 3 year old has been to WDW 8 times, so WDW is our vacation destination of choice.

 

[disbest]

We own at SSR. It is not one of my favorite DVC's. It is too quiet and remotely located. There is nothing special about this resort with the exception of the new rooms.

I would recommend that you evaluate all DVCs and buy the one you plan on staying the most. It is not easy to get a reservation at the more popular DVC's such as the BCV or BW. Each time we attempted to stay at either of these DVC resorts within the 7 month window we were placed on a waiting list. Also the more popular DVCs have higher resale values.

You do not need to buy direct from DVC. There are plenty of resales on the market.

Take your time and good luck with youre decision.

 

[Willful]

First, if you've joined the DVC, are you happy with your decision? If you've thought about it and decided not to, what made you change your mind?

We purchased in the summer of 2005. We never seriously considered DVC. I just didn't bother to get info. But when we finally did...and we considered it from every angle...we decided it was worthwhile! We're ready to purchase more points because in having DVC, we're now going more often. I love the extra magic at the DVC resorts!

Of the current availability, AKL and SSR, which would you choose, and what do you see as the pros and cons of each?

Since you have kids, I might lean towards AKL. I believe the DVC rooms will also have savannas. But I'd get what has the longer expiration date, as someone else mentioned. I love SSR! It's a 10 minute walk from Downtown Disney. The resort is beautiful! They have horse drawn carriage rides. It's near a golf course (if you like golf). It is the furthest from MK, so it's about a 17 minute bus ride...but that's eh for us...maybe for those that have kids it's a concern. They do have some fun resort activities...now AKL has animal watching activities.

The restaurants at each have pros and cons.
AKL has Jiko which is very upscale and Boma which is a buffet
SSR has Artist's Palette which is very family friendly and is an upscale QS (not the usual burger and fries type) and doubles as the place to get milk, bread etc. SSR also has the Turf Club, which is a nice TS, but not as upscale as Jiko so it's less expensive and more family friendly.

For those of you who have bought in, how many points did you purchase initially, and have any of you added points?

We purchased 200. And it's not enough. But we're crazy Disney Fanatics!!! :ROFLOL:Seriously, get as much as your family can afford. The best is to look at your past trip lengths. Now look at how many points you'd need for the same type of trip at SSR and AKL. I'm guessing you'd get a 1-bedroom? If you had a 3rd child...and took all 3, you'd probably need the 2 bedroom? It all depends on how much space ya'll need. Anyways, after looking at this, ask yourself, is this enough points? Will I be going more now that I'm in DVC? Or your WDW vacation habits won't change because what you've been doing up 'til now is all you can afford (i.e. monetarily, with your available vacation time and such)? This line of thinking probably won't give you the perfect answer. Because I can almost guarantee that you'll buy more points before your ownership expires. And you can always borrow points into the next usage year. Remember that.

Currently, if our DVC agent offers us some inticing incentives we are planning of buying 200 points at SSR. The style and amenities of the resort is appealing to us, so our initial stay would be there. However, our plan would be to stay at different DVC resorts with each trip, so our home resort choice will be influenced more by the deal we are able to get and the incentives that are offered. Our plan is to buy in with an initial purchase of 200 points. I'm an attorney, and my wife is an accountant (but currently a stay at home mom) and we are very blessed that through hard work and opportunity we are in a position where a $20,000 investment won't place a hardship on our family.

Well that's the important thing. That the investment won't place a hardship on the family. I would also suggest not financing through Disney. Their rates were waaaay too high. Unless you're able to pay it off all at once. We weren't, so we got a cheaper interest rate elsewhere.

I'm assuming your DVC agent already explained the deal about home resorts? You can book up to 11 months at your home resort...and up to 7 months (I think) at other resorts. Even though our home resort is at SSR, we've been able to stay at the Boardwalk Villas and in August we'll be at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. Now these stays are only for a few days. Since we go for long stays, we can't get our full block of time at other DVC resorts. Plus staying at SSR costs less points. And we don't mind moving mid-vacation. Anyways, what I'm trying to get at is that if you like the amenities at SSR and the deal is good, then purchase into SSR. You can always use your points to stay at other resorts. Just make sure to book right at the 7 month mark - especially if it's during a busy time!

I know my response was rather lengthy. But hopefully it helped...somewhat :lol:

 

[Disneybabyboomr]

Buying into DVC

OH my gosh, DON'T HESITATE!!! You will NOT regret purchasing DVC membership--and in the future you can deed it to your child.

We originally bought 230 point and are now up to 430. We also have an RCI timeshare, but NOTHING compares to DISNEY:sohappy:

There are DVC member parties and free items given to members only. We have stayed in most of the resorts, but nothing compares to a suite--you will get spoiled! You can bank your points and go on a DISNEY Cruise--That is a lot of fun! Member services are so extremely nice even when you ask the dumbest questions (like I do).

You are not "stuck" on using your points for just Disney vacations--we have used them in other parts of the world and US too!