Why haven't you joined DVC???

[captainkidd]

That is a totaly valid, but DIFFERENT argument.

DVC is cheaper in the long run. Part of that reason is because you are making a committment to the long run. If you are not comfortable doing that, then the DVC is not for you. That is a perfectly logical and sound reason for not buying into the DVC. But it does not mean the DVC is MORE EXPENSIVE, it means it requires a committment that you do not feel comfortable making.

-dave

I agree.

But I don't believe it's as simple as that. There are SO many factors to consider. I mean, if you know you're going to Disney every year for so many nights and want to stay at a Deluxe, then DVC probably makes sense. But there are factors that don't make it that simple:

- The amount of points you'd need dictates how much your dues are.
- We may want to stay at a Value one year, Deluxe the next.
- We can't afford the purchase outright, so we'd have to consider finance charges.
- Whether Deluxe or Value, we always seem to get either AP, Bounceback or AAA discounts.

I'm not trying to say one way or the other DVC is going to be more expensive or less expensive. I think in SOME cases, you can certainly figure that out. However, that's not the case for everybody. We fall into that category.

 

[slappy magoo]

We lke to vacation for 2 weeks, and we'd need a lot of points (374 at least). We have to vacation at a specific time in the summer. I know if we were to continue the way we are going, DVC would probably pay for itself in about 10-12 years. However, I just don't know what our exact plans as they relate to Disney may be. When our oldest stops going, we may choose to go back to the Values. We may not go for a few years. There's just too much I'm not sure about right now. So yes, after reading this thread, I confess, my numbers were flawed.

For the record, jealous? Um, no. If I wanted to be a member of DVC, I would be. It's as simple as that.

I don't know if this sweetnes the pot or just stirs it If you're concerned about shelling out that much for the points, and IF you're not sure how much you'll be going to WDW, a possible option is to buy fewer points, and then bank/or borrow points to have the trips you want.

Say you only buy 260 points (it gives you a little wiggle room in case point values are shuffled around). That first year, you use Year 1 points and borrow half of the next year's points to get your two weeks vacation. You could also buy annual passes at the DVC discount. The next year, you use what's left of Year 2 points and borrow all of Year 3 points for another 2-week vacation. And if you arrange to go a few weeks earlier than you did the year before, your passes will still be valid. Also, but having annual passes, if the mood strikes you and your budget allows, you can take another, shorter trip during the year and get a Passholder discount on the room.

The one thing that sucks is that third year, that "Detox year" You could borrow Year 4 points, but it still wouldn't be as long a trip as the previous two. If you wait until next year, you can follow the same pattern, 2 years on, one year off for either a staycation or a different vacation you pay for out of pocket.

Just saying, it doesn't need to be as expensive as you think, especially if you think you're not going to want to go every year. Of course, if you're wrong, you can always add-on.

 

[brifraz]

Say you only buy 260 points (it gives you a little wiggle room in case point values are shuffled around). That first year, you use Year 1 points and borrow half of the next year's points to get your two weeks vacation. You could also buy annual passes at the DVC discount. The next year, you use what's left of Year 2 points and borrow all of Year 3 points for another 2-week vacation. And if you arrange to go a few weeks earlier than you did the year before, your passes will still be valid. Also, but having annual passes, if the mood strikes you and your budget allows, you can take another, shorter trip during the year and get a Passholder discount on the room.

Hey! Have you been looking at our plans!

This is our general operating procedure. Buy annual passes for a big 7 night trip. 11 months later, second 7 night trip. Somewhere in the middle 3-4 night trip. 17-18 nights on the same DVC discounted APs. We bought 270 points resale 4 years ago at OKW. Got a home equity loan to pay for it. At the time we were expecting an influx of cash and the ability to pay off the loan within a year. Cash didn't come as planned and so now we are paying the 4% interest. Still, when we do the math, we pay (on average) $80 per night for our room. Can't beat it.

 

[DVCOwner]

We're choosing to stay at the Poly for $7,000.

That could buy a lot of DVC points on the resell market for Bay Lake Tower.

 

[captainkidd]

That could buy a lot of DVC points on the resell market for Bay Lake Tower.

And how many nights would that get me in a 1 bedroom each year in July?

 

[flavious27]

Right now we can not afford to pay for it. My wife has already said that after her car and student loans are paid off, we will join in. Our plan is for our daughter's first trip will be in our second year, all that banking and borrowing. The only question will be where we will stay at, I want to stay at the villas because we love WL.

 

[DisneyFamilyDad]

We have a lot of questions and I hate asking salespeople questions. I feel like any time I talk to one it's the "it was only driven on Sundays by a little old lady" line. I would like to know what I'm asking about. I have read forum after forum to try and get the full grasp of what our and Disney's obligations are, how much freedom we have, how often would we have to settle for something other than our home resort. I have many other questions.
We save for our WDW vacation every year. I would love to put that toward a DVC instead. We have 3 kids (9, 5, 3 yrs). We prefer to stay at the MK/monorail resorts and that's not just because of the kids. They think it's fun to ride a bus. If we put our vacation money for March '11 (6K) and a little more toward a DVC when can we stay using our DVC membership if we went through a reseller or Disney?
So my answer to the question of this thread is "I don't know".

 

[Pioneer Hall]

We have a lot of questions and I hate asking salespeople questions. I feel like any time I talk to one it's the "it was only driven on Sundays by a little old lady" line. I would like to know what I'm asking about. I have read forum after forum to try and get the full grasp of what our and Disney's obligations are, how much freedom we have, how often would we have to settle for something other than our home resort. I have many other questions.
We save for our WDW vacation every year. I would love to put that toward a DVC instead. We have 3 kids (9, 5, 3 yrs). We prefer to stay at the MK/monorail resorts and that's not just because of the kids. They think it's fun to ride a bus. If we put our vacation money for March '11 (6K) and a little more toward a DVC when can we stay using our DVC membership if we went through a reseller or Disney?
So my answer to the question of this thread is "I don't know".

I'm a little confused here, but are you looking for more information on the program? It seems like you are based on what you have in the post, but I can't tell if these are just questions you have posed in the past and had answered. But if you are asking about home resort, you would get priority to book at 11 months. Unless you look to purchase a resale at Wilderness Lodge or Beach Club and travel at Christmas, you would probably be pretty likely to get your home resort if you plan early. The longer you would wait to book then the less likely you would get your home unless you went with Old Key West or Saratoga Springs.

 

[flavious27]

We have a lot of questions and I hate asking salespeople questions. I feel like any time I talk to one it's the "it was only driven on Sundays by a little old lady" line. I would like to know what I'm asking about. I have read forum after forum to try and get the full grasp of what our and Disney's obligations are, how much freedom we have, how often would we have to settle for something other than our home resort. I have many other questions.
We save for our WDW vacation every year. I would love to put that toward a DVC instead. We have 3 kids (9, 5, 3 yrs). We prefer to stay at the MK/monorail resorts and that's not just because of the kids. They think it's fun to ride a bus. If we put our vacation money for March '11 (6K) and a little more toward a DVC when can we stay using our DVC membership if we went through a reseller or Disney?
So my answer to the question of this thread is "I don't know".

Are you wondering about when you can use the points after you get a membership and what you can do with those points?

 

[ABigBrassBand]

Becaus we go once a year for either a week or under, and it's a hell of a lot money to be justified.

 

[flavious27]

Becaus we go once a year for either a week or under, and it's a hell of a lot money to be justified.

If you go every year, and your kids want to go when they move out, it makes sense. A lease at Bay Lake Tower is good for 50 years, divide that by the cost of say 20k and it is 400 per year. Annual dues will be like 700 or 800 over the course of the whole lease. So lodging is like 1200 for a week to a week and half.

 

[slappy magoo]

We have a lot of questions and I hate asking salespeople questions. I feel like any time I talk to one it's the "it was only driven on Sundays by a little old lady" line. I would like to know what I'm asking about. I have read forum after forum to try and get the full grasp of what our and Disney's obligations are, how much freedom we have, how often would we have to settle for something other than our home resort. I have many other questions.
We save for our WDW vacation every year. I would love to put that toward a DVC instead. We have 3 kids (9, 5, 3 yrs). We prefer to stay at the MK/monorail resorts and that's not just because of the kids. They think it's fun to ride a bus. If we put our vacation money for March '11 (6K) and a little more toward a DVC when can we stay using our DVC membership if we went through a reseller or Disney?
So my answer to the question of this thread is "I don't know".

If you prefer MK/monorail resorts, you can choose to buy points at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge, or Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort. If you bought at either one of those resorts, you'd always be able to book them up to 11 months in advance. Any resort that's not your "home resort," you can book up to 7 months in advance.

Booking outside your home resort is always going to be a bit of a crap shoot, and I'm going to guess that the more DVC builds resorts outside of Disney World, the harder it'll get. So it makes the most sense to buy points at the resort you'd like to have your "home resort."

Because the Villas at Wilderness Lodge is older than Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary Resort, it would probably make more sense to buy those points from a resale agent. DVC would most likely still have points to buy direct, but resellers would have them for much less.

On the other hand, Bay Lake Towers will also be available through resellers, but the difference in price won't be as drastic, and DVC will probably offer other incentives to you, so if you choose to buy points from Bay Lake Tower, you'll probably be better off buying direct from DVC.

 

[captainkidd]

Becaus we go once a year for either a week or under, and it's a hell of a lot money to be justified.

Actually, you're a perfect candidate for DVC. It's people that go for more than 1 week or more than once a year that DVC isn't good for.

 

[Lynne M]

It's people that go for more than 1 week or more than once a year that DVC isn't good for.

You've just described the vast majority of DVC members. :lol:

 

[captainkidd]

You've just described the vast majority of DVC members. :lol:

Yes - Ones that go in off season for 5 days, then decide to go for a long weekend.

I have a very hard time believing the "vast majority" of DVC members spend more than 2 full weeks on Disney property during the summer. As has been discussed, the amount of points needed (for a 1 or 2 bedroom) would be astronomical. If they have that kind of money, they're lucky. Most of us don't.

 

[DVCOwner]

Actually, you're a perfect candidate for DVC. It's people that go for more than 1 week or more than once a year that DVC isn't good for.

If it is cost effective for one week a year, why is it not for more than that. I am lost on that math. I think the more you go the better off you are and if buying on the resell market, you can really get a good deal when purchasing large amount of points.

 

[captainkidd]

If it is cost effective for one week a year, why is it not for more than that. I am lost on that math. I think the more you go the better off you are and if buying on the resell market, you can really get a good deal when purchasing large amount of points.

We could go over this time and time again, and we won't agree.

I see DVC as a good buy if you can purchase say 160-210 points, can pay it off up front, and be happy with the amount of days you can get out of it. For me, 210 points wouldn't suit my needs. I have 5 people in my family. We'd need a 2 bedroom villa. We go for 2 weeks in July or August. For the dates we're going next year, I'd need 810 points. True, I'm spending a lot of money by staying at the Polynesian, but this year, I can afford it. Next year, if I can't, I'll get 2 rooms at a Value Resort. 810 points, even on the resale market would run about $55,000 (at least).

I know I'm going to ________ some DVCers off here, but I think the one thing some of you simply refuse to understand is not all of us vacation the same way at the same time. I'm not saying DVC isn't flexible, but when you need at least a 2 bedroom ALL THE TIME, and you have to vacation during peak seasons, and you like to spend 2 weeks there, DVC isn't a "no-brainer".

 

[DVCOwner]

I never said DVC was for everyone and I know people do vacation differently. I made my first purchase of DVC points many years ago. For me DVC has grown with me and my family. At first we could only afford to visit once every 2 to 3 years. We purchased just enough so that by banking and borrowing points to make it work. At that time we only had the two kids. The family got bigger by adding a son-in-law and we start going every 2 years so we added some additional points. Now we have two kids, two in-laws, and two grand kids. We go once a year. We how have added additional points to cover that. If we start going more than once a year we will add on more. By doing it this way we have paid cash for the points and we fell always save money.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

We could go over this time and time again, and we won't agree.

I see DVC as a good buy if you can purchase say 160-210 points, can pay it off up front, and be happy with the amount of days you can get out of it. For me, 210 points wouldn't suit my needs. I have 5 people in my family. We'd need a 2 bedroom villa. We go for 2 weeks in July or August. For the dates we're going next year, I'd need 810 points. True, I'm spending a lot of money by staying at the Polynesian, but this year, I can afford it. Next year, if I can't, I'll get 2 rooms at a Value Resort. 810 points, even on the resale market would run about $55,000 (at least).

I know I'm going to ________ some DVCers off here, but I think the one thing some of you simply refuse to understand is not all of us vacation the same way at the same time. I'm not saying DVC isn't flexible, but when you need at least a 2 bedroom ALL THE TIME, and you have to vacation during peak seasons, and you like to spend 2 weeks there, DVC isn't a "no-brainer".

While this has gone back and forth before...you can stay in a 1br with 5 people. All of them technically allow it, but don't advertise it. One Bedroom units at AKV (besides the value units), BLT, and OKW have sleeping space for 5. I am also pretty confident that as resorts go through their rehabs now they will add the chairs so all can accomodate 5.

While I am not using this to influence you in any way, I just want to make sure that people who might read this know exactly what is and isn't allowed.

 

[captainkidd]

While this has gone back and forth before...you can stay in a 1br with 5 people. All of them technically allow it, but don't advertise it. One Bedroom units at AKV (besides the value units), BLT, and OKW have sleeping space for 5. I am also pretty confident that as resorts go through their rehabs now they will add the chairs so all can accomodate 5.

While I am not using this to influence you in any way, I just want to make sure that people who might read this know exactly what is and isn't allowed.

But they don't have sleeping setups for the 5th person. If I'm gonna spend that kind of money, I don't want someone sleeping on the floor.

See, this is where DVC for me in particular doesn't work. Maybe I wouldn't mind staying at AKV, but I've stayed at OKW and hated it, and have no desire to stay at BLT.