Need help with DVC decision

[Rocketman1321]

Hello, new here so I hope I put this in the right place. I am in need of some outside input. I am currently considering purchasing into the DVC. I have a reservation at POR for March 12-19 and have dining package and everything. I have a cast member friend so she booked the whole thing for me for 50% including the dining package. It was a great deal! So I have been looking into the DVC recently and am very interested. They called me and I am very close to pulling the trigger. They are offering me 100 pts at SSR for $99/pt with 100 pts from last year as well. I have already been aproved and have a room for our duration on hold for SSR. Here is the thing, I can either go to disney on the great deal I got or I can buy into DVC. I cannot do both right now (Wish I could) because of the costs associated. It is simply because I had budgetted money for this vacation and it would cover the DVC or the current reservation. We (my wife and I) have stayed at SSR before due to an overbooking and we loved it. However, we are both really in love with AKV. The deal at AKV is something like 112 for the same amnt of points of 100/pt for 160+ pts. I would not be asking anyone questions if the deal was at AKV for sure but I just dont know what to do.

Part of me feels like why would I put 1200 towards this vacation and not put it towards my DVC and stay in incredible accomodations? I am trying to feel out for what the new promotions will be after the 7th of march because that is when this deal expires. I can only keep the SSR room on hold until Thursday night or Friday morning at the latest so time is of the essence.

What should I do? Please help me!

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I think part of the issue is that you are comparing two very different things. DVC is an investment, not just a one time purchase like a normal vacation. Before you pull the trigger on DVC you need to ask yourself if not only can you pay off the initial purchase, but also continue paying off the dues until that contract ends (2054 for those SSR points). If you can say yes to both of those questions, then I personally think that DVC is the way to go if you regularly vacation at Disney. In the long term, the program USUALLY works out financially for most people.

In terms of the resort choice, I don't see any problem with SSR even though you like AKL more. Thankfully, AKL is one of the bigger DVC resorts and can usually be booked 7 months out. You might not always get your first choice of a room but you should be able to stay there. The lower purchase price and lower dues of SSR are helpful as well.

 

[Rocketman1321]

I deff. agree with you, I have already crunched the numbers and given that we vacation there every year for the last 4 years or so I know for us it makes sense. It is just that I am wondering if the deal offered now is a good deal or if I just go with the current reservation for 8 days for $1200 is the better deal and I wait and see if there is a better deal coming after March 6 or 7 or whatever. Just dont know if I should jump on it now or wait for another deal to come by. Dont get me wrong, I think that SSR is an amazing place and we loved it there, just think that we love AKV a slight bit more for when we have kids. I know that as being just the two of us SSR works out better anyways because it was a little bit more grown up as far as we went to the hot tubs and pools at night and were able to relax without kids running around everywhere and with DTD right across the street.

Thank you for your input, I am just trying to rationalize everything and am so overwhelmed!

 

[Mammymouse]

Unless I'm missing something I'm thinking that maybe you can sort of do both. If you were to buy the DVC and once the deal is closed you will be getting your point allotment. So then use your points for your vacation as soon as you want. We always book last minute. All it will cost you for the vacation is your transportation, food and park tickets. Does this make sense?

 

[Rocketman1321]

So I know what you are saying but let me maybe clear this up. i think I have added too much and muddied the water. I can A. Go to POR with dining package and everything for 8 days for $1200 (have already booked this option). B. I can instead cancel this vacation and apply the money towards my DVC and still go to disney during the same time and stay at SSR without dining package. Basically, I have enough money that I have set aside to this point to do one or the other. I dont have the 1200 for the vacation and an additional $990 to put downpayment on SSR. Does this make sense? I am sorry if I am confusing but I just cant decide which to do. Basically, it boils down to I want to have home resort at AKV but the deal is at SSR. If I go with option A. and stay at POR, that is $1200 that will be gone forever and not be applied towards DVC. If I go with option B, I will be applying my money towards the DVC now and using points for this vacation but it will be at SSR not AKV. I dont think I mind this now but think that in the future I will want to have 11 mo advantage to book at AKV. I just basically need to figure out which one would be the best option. Because option A is at 50% off, I am getting an amazing deal but will have to wait a while till I save up again to put money toward DVC. I am not going to be in a financial bind or anything, its just that I had budgeted for this vacation by putting money asside for this vacation for a couple months and would need time to do this again. Basically, what would you do A or B?

 

[Pioneer Hall]

The way I look at it...

Deals come and go. Who knows what the discount situation might be in 2,5,10,or 20 years from now. By using the money for DVC you are going to be guaranteeing yourself savings on your accomodations until your contract expires. I understand your concern about AKL being your home resort, but as the 3rd largest DVC resort there it is one of the easier to book as well. I booked my last stay there 4 months in advance and got a standard view at Kidani. It wasn't my first choice of room, but I didn't have any issue getting in to the resort for the week that I wanted. Unless you plan on going during the busiest times of year or want to have concierge accomodations, then the 7 month window shouldn't be a problem.

 

[bgraham34]

Have you also looked into the resale side of things. Currently at Animal Kingdom Lodge you can get 100 Points with a June use year for 8200 plus closing cost which may be around 500 or so.

Downside to resale is that it takes 2-3 months to close on average. You need to pay the whole thing upfront and you will only be able to use the points in DVC resorts you can't use them for Adventures by Disney and such.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Have you also looked into the resale side of things. Currently at Animal Kingdom Lodge you can get 100 Points with a June use year for 8200 plus closing cost which may be around 500 or so.

Downside to resale is that it takes 2-3 months to close on average. You need to pay the whole thing upfront and you will only be able to use the points in DVC resorts you can't use them for Adventures by Disney and such.

There is still time to get in before the deadline on the DVC restrictions. As long as the contract has gone to ROFR before the 3/21 deadline it will have all the normal priviledges.

 

[bgraham34]

There is still time to get in before the deadline on the DVC restrictions. As long as the contract has gone to ROFR before the 3/21 deadline it will have all the normal priviledges.

True but contracts are flying out the window at the moment and tough finding what you are looking for.

 

[dizzney]

Honestly with your vacation so close, I would invest in DVC, you can use the points now, you can always try at seven months to get into AKV,

We've owned since '99 and have added three times, it was well worth the investment for us, we vacation there frequently and next trip we're bringing an additional 9 family members. Its so flexible we love it, good luck!

 

[disneyeater]

I would agree that you should look at resale. You may be able to do your trip and buy DVC because you will pay less per point. Even if you need to cancel your trip I would still recommend purchasing resale so that you can get more points for less money.

 

[Erin_Akey]

If you keep the current trip booked, make sure you upgrade your passes to annual passes while you can so that you do not lose out and then once you sign and join DVC, you only expenses for your next few trips will be food.

That is if you are like us and go several times a year. We signed up for DVC during a trip there and wished we had upgraded to Annuals before the trip ended.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

 

[Jarissa]

Rocketman, if I were your sister I would ask you the following nosy questions:

* Is this vacation you've got booked in your name, or in your cast-member-friend's name?

** If it's in your name, have you asked your cast-member-friend if it would screw up the deal for you to try to apply DVC points toward the cost of the room? Particularly, would it trash your discounted meal plan? Can your DVC points pay for the meal plan somehow? (I'm rather sure that last answer is "no".)
** If it's in your friend's name, would you be getting her into any sort of trouble if you back out now? Did she go to a huge amount of effort for your deal, or put her reputation on the line? Is she committed to making sure this money comes in the door, and will have to pay it herself if you cancel?
​

* You said you can afford the vacation package OR the DVC, but not both. Darling brother, do you plan to eat on this trip? You know how Ma worries that you're just skin and bones. And FedEx, not to mention Disney, is going to be a little vexed if they're delivering a lasagna pan to you every day from halfway across the country, because you spent all your money on having a roof over your head. So when you're looking at the DVC option, do you have a plan for the cost of food and park tickets and such?
* I know there are advantages to buying your points from Disney. But this is a timeshare, right? What if you hate it? What if you and that wonderful lady you married lose your minds, and decide to get rid of it right before I manage to get you both committed to a loony bin? I can't find a fast reference to how much the normal price is on Saratoga Springs, although I have to admit that having access to last year's points for this year is kind of nice. Can you get one of the other people who bought new points (instead of "previously owned") to tell you how much it normally costs?
​

Well, yes, I see you're talking to other owners online. No, I'm not saying you can't think these things out for yourself. I'm just saying-- look -- I know you're not six any more, but the Noodle Incident made a really BIG impression, okay?

Anyway. If you can find out how much Disney normally asks for these points, given that they were asking $98 per point back a decade or so ago; and if you're still going to be eating, don't forget the costs besides the roof; and if your friend isn't going to wind up eating the cost of the abandoned vacation ... I will be cheering you on.

But if there's anything that makes this not perfect for you right now, then seriously, take the vacation this year and then tell the DVC people that you want to look into what they've got with an eye to purchasing next year. Or maybe even the end of this year, I don't know. So long as Disney World is there, the DVC is going to be popping up with new deals, right?

****

Since, of course, I'm not your sister, you know that some of these questions are kind of off-topic and some of them are things you've already considered. When my family and I were making up our minds to join the DVC, we tried to do some research into buying direct, and it wound up not being the right thing for us for several reasons -- just a minor one of which was that resell points were selling for only two thirds of what Disney was asking from us. I wish I could tell you whether a hundred a point for SSR is currently a good deal, with OR without getting use of an extra year's worth of points; all I can say is, look at how many points you need for the minimum number of beds you need at the time of year you want. Will you get enough days to be happy with your trip, even without those extra 100 points? If yes, go for it!

And, of course, don't forget to eat!

 

[Rocketman1321]

Well we took the plung! We are officially going to be DVC members and will be staying at SSR in a studio the first 5 nights and a one bedroom at SSR the last 2 nights! We are uber excited and after many hours and days of crunching numbers and deciding if it was right for us, we decided it just makes sense! So I have come up with a great solution to my issue with AKV! We are going to keep only 100 pts at SSR and later on when our needs grow (ie family grows) we will purchase more points at AKV that way we can stay at SSR one year and AKV the next. This will also give us the ability to stay with double the points we own at each resort each time we stay! Also, this would allow us to stay in rooms we never thought we could without having to skip on our beloved disney vacation! Thank you all for the great input! It all helped a lot and was great advice. Also to note, I do love SSR expecially right now when it is just my wife and I! We love the more "grown up" atmosphere and the pools are not loaded with kids! Thanks again to all!!!!

 

[fredtom]

Welcome to the neighborhood new DVC member, Rocketman.
I don't think you'll regret your decision to join... only that you'll wish you had joined sooner.

Good luck to you and have a wonderful vacation.


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

 

[dizzney]

Rocketman

Welcome Home!

Make sure you take advantage of teh DVC discount for the AP's well worth it, and enjoy!!

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Welcome Home!

 

[Jarissa]

Welcome home, Rocketman, and congratulations!

 

[mousefan1972]

Congratulations and Welcome Home!

 

[Todd L]

Hello, new here so I hope I put this in the right place. I am in need of some outside input. I am currently considering purchasing into the DVC. I have a reservation at POR for March 12-19 and have dining package and everything. I have a cast member friend so she booked the whole thing for me for 50% including the dining package. It was a great deal! So I have been looking into the DVC recently and am very interested. They called me and I am very close to pulling the trigger. They are offering me 100 pts at SSR for $99/pt with 100 pts from last year as well. I have already been aproved and have a room for our duration on hold for SSR. Here is the thing, I can either go to disney on the great deal I got or I can buy into DVC. I cannot do both right now (Wish I could) because of the costs associated. It is simply because I had budgetted money for this vacation and it would cover the DVC or the current reservation. We (my wife and I) have stayed at SSR before due to an overbooking and we loved it. However, we are both really in love with AKV. The deal at AKV is something like 112 for the same amnt of points of 100/pt for 160+ pts. I would not be asking anyone questions if the deal was at AKV for sure but I just dont know what to do.

Part of me feels like why would I put 1200 towards this vacation and not put it towards my DVC and stay in incredible accomodations? I am trying to feel out for what the new promotions will be after the 7th of march because that is when this deal expires. I can only keep the SSR room on hold until Thursday night or Friday morning at the latest so time is of the essence.

What should I do? Please help me!

Man...I just went thru the same scenario...Me and my clan (wife, daughter, Son) go every year to Disney and a few weeks back decided to look into the Dvc...Same deal $99 per point, 100 points...ect,ect.

We came home and decided to investigate the possibility of buying resale points...

Found that we could buy pts. at Animal King. for as low as $76 a point and If we could get the paper work done by the 18th we would be grandfathered under the old rules with no limitations...

We found 100 points that we wanted (ak) made a few phone calls and within 48 hrs had the contract and deposit in the Mail to The Timeshare store...

We are now waiting for the First right of refusal from Disney and we should be in By mid-April...well worth the wait if you ask me.

Just a Thought..