What is the math on DVC? Why does it work?

RiversideBunny

RiversideBunny

New Member
Original Poster
Disney Vacation Club is something of mystery to me although I know a lot of people are in DVC.

Here's my impression which I'm sure is incomplete and inaccurate:

You spend thousands of dollars buying into DVC so you can go to WDW each year and stay in your 'own' place, like at Old Key West.

Mathematically how does this ever work out to an advantage?
It would seem like, for what you pay to join DVC, you could go to WDW every year for many, many years and just stay in any Disney resort.

What are the benefits of DVC that make people decide it is right for them?
Thanks.

:king:
 
emmersandjack

emmersandjack

Member
Just for example....



I pay roughly 235 a month which includes my "mortgage" and maintenance fees. ( 171 for mortgage and 64 or so for maintenance). We became members in 2003 and bought 150 points which is the minimum. We got an additional 50 bonus points with a special purchase incentive program. We are members at Beach Club. Anyhoo, we do go every year and in October we are staying at Beach Club from Sun. to Sat. We got a 2BR villa and a studio, and still have 100 points for next year (we did however, have 50 points from last year). It worked out to 300 points for the week for 2 rooms.
Birnbaum's lists the rooms as $770 a night for a 2BR villa and $359 a night for the studio....Before tax the price would be $6774. About half of what it cost me to buy into the DVC. For one trip alone, for us, it made sense.


It's all in your lifestyle. Is it affordable to you? Do you go often? Do you like the option to go with extended family or friends? It works for us and I really do love it and would recommend to anyone who was thinking of buying in.

Sometimes it's just about the math though, trust me. When we first bought in, I was pregnant with our first child and working full time at a good job. Now, we have another baby and I took the buyout incentive and went back to school so now it's a bit tighter pocketbook wise for us:rolleyes:.


Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helped:wave:.
 
emmersandjack

emmersandjack

Member
Sorry to post again, but I did want to mention that the only downside I see is that you are only deeded to the property for 40 years. Seems like a long time, but we bought in when we were in our 20's (I was 25, hubby was 27). Other than that, I still LOVE it and would recommend it.:)
 
B

BeanSz

Member
It does NOT include park tickets or dining plan. I understand you can get these at discounted prices. My sister who owns one, actually buy non-expiration tickets since they don't go every year. There are many twist to how to buy tickets and dining plans. Maybe someone else can comment. You can also use the DVC points for other vacations. So if you are the type take a week long vacation, like staying in condos at the beach or skiing, it is probably a good deal. I will do the DVC at some point, just have not been able to justify into the monthly expenses yet. Also, I wish Disney would give some discounted points to use on the hotels -- I like to stay in the hotels rather than the Deluxe Villa properties but also feel the points to do so are too steep.
 
WDWFigment

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
I did the math once, and by purchasing a particular parcel through Timeshare, Inc. resale store (assuming you had all the money up front), and going at certain times (i.e. value season, not staying for weekends) in a studio, after factoring in yearly maintenance fees, you'd be paying about $81 per night.
 
jakeman

jakeman

Well-Known Member
RiversideBunny said:
So, does that mean that you pay your $235 per month for forty years in order to be in the DVC?
You are signing up for a montly payment of $235 for 40 years, come rain or shine?

Tks.
:)
Click to expand...
No, it's for how long you financed.

We paid roughly $20,000 for our points and financed them over 10 years. So after the 10 years is up we will still have 37 years of points with only the maintance fees.

When we did the math on the savings and the what not, one point is equqal to about $4.

So if a room (hypothetically) was 20 points per day the rate would be roughly $80. Thats how we compare if we were getting a good deal.

It is somewhat complicated and not for everyone. Not because it is complicated but because it doesn't fit everyone's style of vacation or frequency of trips to WDW (where you by far get the most value per point).
 
WDWFigment

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
RiversideBunny said:
So, does that mean that you pay your $235 per month for forty years in order to be in the DVC?
You are signing up for a montly payment of $235 for 40 years, come rain or shine?

Tks.
:)
Click to expand...

That would make the total cost over $100,000. Unless they had really bad credit, or really got a bad deal with interest rates, my guess is the price will go down dramatically once the principle loan (initial cost of points) is paid. Annual maintenance fees are around $4.14-$4.98 per point (annually). For 150 points, this would be about $50-75 annually.
 
emmersandjack

emmersandjack

Member
RiversideBunny said:
So, does that mean that you pay your $235 per month for forty years in order to be in the DVC?
You are signing up for a montly payment of $235 for 40 years, come rain or shine?

Tks.
:)
Click to expand...

No,no,no. The 235 or whatever is broken up-for my particular payment 171 is my 'mortgage'. That is the amount that financed for 10 years (there is also shorter payment periods which are then offered at lower interest rates as well). The additional portion of our payment is maintenance fees which are for as long as you are deeded to the property.
For instance, when we finally pay off the mortgage portion, all we will be responsible for is the maintenance fee part. That is what I like about it. I pay for 10 years, give or take, and then for 30 years I don't have to worry about it, except for the $800 or so for the maintenance. The other nice thing is, since you can allow anyone to use your DVC, say you aren't going but your friends would like to go. You can allow them to go and just say hey pay me $800 and you can use our timeshare. Then your maintenance fees are paid for the year.
There are other vacations you can take outside of Disney properties as well, as some people have mentioned. There is even a safari in Africa that you can take. There are special rules and restrictions, but it's nice to know that there are options.
Also, you do get AP discounts. I can't really comment on them, but we are going to be utilizing this perk on our upcoming trip and maybe then I could comment on it.
There are a lot of nice things that you get when you become a member too, like the Disney Magic Magazine that is published quarterly just for members.

Hope this helped:wave:!
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Another point to be made is that yeah, you're paying out a good piece of money each year that you could just as easily spend on a vacation package. The big thing to consider is that the loans for the "mortgages" are like 10 or 15 years (I can't remember which). The membership is for like 40 years. Once you pay off your membership you will only have the maintenance fees to pay. That's when you really start to cash in on your investment.

Yep, the annual passes are discounted and you can get great deals on dining packages. That's awesome in itself. But also consider, with the 1 bedroom villas you also get a full size washer and dryer. I usually spend at least $30 per trip washing in the laundry rooms plus the time I spend doing it. Imagine being able to pop a load in on your way out to a park and switch when you get back. Oh yeah! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! ((I'm a woman. Can you tell?)) Also, if you opt to just stay in a studio where you don't have the washer/dryer, the properties generally have a laundry facility that is FREE to use. There's a perk! No more quarters to hoard!

We are not yet DVC members but we fully intend to be here in the next year or so. I do NOT plan on buying my DVC membership direct from DVC, though. Sometimes peoples circumstances change (ie. deaths, divorces, lay-offs, illnesses, etc.) and need to sell their memberships. That's where the beauty of resales comes in. You can pick up points at properties that DVC have already sold out. Some of these have lower maintenance fees than what is currently being offered first hand. There are some great per point bargains to be had. Check it out: http://dvcbyresale.com/ .

Anywhoo, it's for you to decide for yourself. We did the "tour" on our last trip and it was very informative. Plus, we got 4 - $15 gift cards. That paid for a meal. :animwink:
 
emmersandjack

emmersandjack

Member
^great point about the washers and dryers! I totally forgot what a great benefit that is to the villas!

It is so a woman thing:ROFLOL::ROFLOL:!!!
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
We have some friends who are members and they just love it. It's one thing to do the tour but another to sit and really talk with other members. They point out a lot of stuff I wouldn't have thought of. :p
 
DABIGCHEEZ

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
The previous posts are correct. After you finish paying your DVC mortgage off.. you have accomedations for your vacations(not always Disney) for the next 40 years or so by just paying the maintnenace fees. Never have to worry about the Mouse raising the hotel prices. We were told 3 years ago when we bought... the point requirements shouldn't change from year to year and so far that is true. We personally have 3 more years to pay off ours and that is when the real savings comes into play. Members also get various discounts at certain shops, tours, activities and restaurants in WDW. One thing I would like to see however is the DVC members discount extended to the World of Disney store in DTD. I don't understand why I can get a discount at the some shops in the resorts and parks but not downtown.
 
MattyFresh

MattyFresh

Well-Known Member
I like the fact that you can use your points not just on Disney trips, but cruises and trips to other non-disney destinations. London, Colorado to ski, I think that is one of the big selling points to me.
 
DABIGCHEEZ

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
Also.... I am pretty sure if you buy new from Disney it is for 50 years not 40. Now you got me wondering, I gotta look later but I think I am right at 50 years.
 
WIX

WIX

Member
We bought into our DVC for the purpose of it pays for itself in three to five years.

For years now we always stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. This runs us about $3,000 to $5,000 per trip in a standard room. We like to spoil ourselves. This included park hoppers and no dining for two adults only.

By purchasing DVC we figured after our mortgage is paid, we chose a five year loan, it will be just our dues annually. Therefore, we will be paying around $1,000 per year for staying in a two-bedroom villa at Wilderness Lodge.

Did that help math-wise?:)

I will be 75 and the husband 74 when the whole thing ends. I figure Disney will not want to lose all those people guaranteed to spend money each and every year on their DVC vacations. They will figure something out when it is about five years from ending. We will probably purchase it again and will it to my niece and nephew. No plans to have children of our own.

Christy
 
E

elcheapo

Active Member
I am a Disney freak and any chance I get I love to stay on property but the biggest scam Disney has is the DVC club. To buy in for about $20K and another 1200/year for maint just doesn't make sense. When you can stay at the Poly for about 2500 for a week and evry year you can go someplace else, plus you can free up the $20k and keep it in bank. Or you can stay offsite and buy a timeshare for about $3k for a 3br/3ba in LBV with maint for 600/year and is deeded forever. You do the math not buying into the DVC is just common $ense
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom