Cost Comparison

[baldburke]

We're finally considering making the move to DVC. How do the costs compare for an average family of four if you go every other year? Are you really just prepaying for your vacations?

[CanadianWDWFan]

OK, here is a quick summary but by no means a comprehensive study, just how I feel about our purchase.

That's how we do DVC. For us we bought enough for one week per year for the four of us. But we go for two weeks every other year. We bought in 2008 and figure that if we had paid to stay at the BWV, we are breaking even right now, not counting our annual dues. Plus we have quite a few years to go before our DVC timeshare expires.

Also remember you are paying for a Deluxe resort, the cost in points to stay will not change much, they changed the points required for weekend stays recently, over the life of your contract. So as the price of the rooms goes up your points will basically get you the same room year after year.

This year we paid around $6/point/year and if you figure you can spend $200-300/night for a room, that's at least $1400/week. If you have 150 points you pay around $900 for your annual dues.

Also as a DVC member you get a really good discount on the annual passes. As well as 10% discount on certain purchases and food around the parks. So you save not only on your accommodations but on other things as well.

[Aurora]

There are a lot of good tips on the threads marked "sticky" in this forum. I highly encourage you to read through them. You will probably find all the pros/cons you need in order to make an informed decision. Some posts are older but the reasoning behind purchasing or not purchasing still applies.

In a nutshell, you'll want to compare how much you currently spend on Disney vacations, and what kind of accommodations you like (deluxe, moderate or value), to how much you will spend by buying into DVC. If you like to stay onsite and you're already reserving at deluxe resorts, DVC can make sense for you. If you're staying offsite or only reserving at Disney value or moderate resorts, it might not make financial sense to buy into DVC.

Don't forget that when you look at costs, you're not only considering the initial price of the membership, but also the yearly dues. The dues differ depending on which home resort you buy into. They also increase every year. So if you own 150 points, you could pay anywhere from around $700 to over $1,000 this year depending on your resort. That's a big difference for the same number of points.

There are two other things to know: One is that if you buy through Disney, your point cost is higher than buying resale, but you are able to reserve rooms at non-DVC Disney resorts as well as DVC. If you buy resale, your point cost will be lower, but you won't be able to reserve rooms at non-DVC Disney hotels.

The second thing is that the perks that are offered to DVC members can change at any time. The annual pass discounts that are currently offered are limited-time-only, and these discounts have not always been offered to DVC members. Other restaurant and merchandise discounts can also be ended at any time, and perks change often. So my advice is not to consider the perks and discounts as a guaranteed benefit to DVC ownership.

Good luck in your decision.

[Lindsey310]

There are a lot of good tips on the threads marked "sticky" in this forum. I highly encourage you to read through them. You will probably find all the pros/cons you need in order to make an informed decision. Some posts are older but the reasoning behind purchasing or not purchasing still applies.

In a nutshell, you'll want to compare how much you currently spend on Disney vacations, and what kind of accommodations you like (deluxe, moderate or value), to how much you will spend by buying into DVC. If you like to stay onsite and you're already reserving at deluxe resorts, DVC can make sense for you. If you're staying offsite or only reserving at Disney value or moderate resorts, it might not make financial sense to buy into DVC.

Don't forget that when you look at costs, you're not only considering the initial price of the membership, but also the yearly dues. The dues differ depending on which home resort you buy into. They also increase every year. So if you own 150 points, you could pay anywhere from around $700 to over $1,000 this year depending on your resort. That's a big difference for the same number of points.

There are two other things to know: One is that if you buy through Disney, your point cost is higher than buying resale, but you are able to reserve rooms at non-DVC Disney resorts as well as DVC. If you buy resale, your point cost will be lower, but you won't be able to reserve rooms at non-DVC Disney hotels.

The second thing is that the perks that are offered to DVC members can change at any time. The annual pass discounts that are currently offered are limited-time-only, and these discounts have not always been offered to DVC members. Other restaurant and merchandise discounts can also be ended at any time, and perks change often. So my advice is not to consider the perks and discounts as a guaranteed benefit to DVC ownership.

Good luck in your decision.

Good tips!! Aren't the annual dues $5-5.50 per point? Or am I mistaken? :blush:

[TheHD]

They vary for each resort. I'd say the average is around $6 per point and the least expensive is slightly under $5.

[dnickels]

Don't ignore the full cost of the dues over the life of the contract when doing your cost comparison and when comparing those costs remember that DVC only gets you a room. It doesn't get you tickets or pay for your flights down or your food or any of the other expenses. You're not prepaying for your vacations, you're only prepaying for the room portion of your vacation.

In the end you need to analyze it like a timeshare purchase because that's exactly what it is. Just because they use the words 'Disney Vacation Club' doesn't change the fact that you are buying a timeshare.