Just bought in, but...

[paragon]

We just purchased, 300 points while on the Dream, Aulani. They had a pretty decent savings offer. But now the DW is second guessing the entire purchase and since there is a ten day window to pull out, I'm afraid she's going to try to pull out. I need a few more convincing arguments to stay in, or I'm going to lose....

[dlpmikki]

Would you want to be staying at Aulani or elsewhere? If elsewhere may be better buying elsewhere. If at WDW don't think telling your wife about the price increases for tickets and parking and Tables in Wonderland will help much. Perhaps you could tell us what arguments in favour you have so far so we could try and add to them?

[paragon]

We will be going to Aulani at some point in the future, as she really wants to go to Hawaii, and I will go knowing that we would be staying on Disney property. I think her hesitation is simply the cost right now, but it's certainly something we can afford, my son is 23 and just finishing at cooking school, he Wil graduate this year, we have no other debt other than. Normal every day living. She just gets nervous over LARGE purchases.l, and of course hearing that there is the ten day out clause gives her more ammunition to over think this. We generally travel with another family and I am sure the villa would.be perfect for us, plus we do plan future trips, plus cruises. I'm just looking to see what other advantages to ownership there are.
How are the discounts for dining?
We were recently very close to purchasing a small local beach house, but chose not to go forward due to future maintenance etc. This is much more affordable, and far more.choices to vacation.

[dlpmikki]

OK, dining discounts vary year by year but there are usually some 10-20% off. You also get discounts on APs which with the way the price increases is good. You are right about the flexibility of the villas as there are different sizes and layouts as well as a good choice of resorts including California, Hilton Head and Vero Beach.

It may be worth a quick look at resale - if you go that route you have some restrictions (including not being able to book cruises with points but as it is an expensive use of points that may not be an issue) Try Intercot sponsors http://www.dvc-resales.com/ to get some ideas. It may be a lot cheaper than buying direct but still get you what you want.

[lindique]

Unless you're going to spend most of your vacation time in Hawaii, you are better off owning at your favorite Orlando DVC Resort. The reason is that you get a head start at your home resort in making reservations (at 11 months prior). Otherwise, you can only reserve at 7 months before check-in, which leaves you at a disadvantage of reserving the most popular resorts.

I agree with DLPMikki - you should look into resale, which will save you substantial money. And buy where you would like to spend most of your vacation time!

[paragon]

Thank you for all the info. I did briefly look at re sale. are there restrictions when buying resale?, Do you get the same perks?
I would agree it would be better to have a home resort that we would use more.
How smooth was the transaction and closing? Does the closing have to be done in person or can it be done via fax/pdf, internet?

One other part of this, the savings was around $1800. Plus they added in "last year's" 300 points, so we actually have 600.

[dlpmikki]

Lots of people on here have used the Timeshare store (see link on left under Intercot sponsors) and found it very easy. I certainly did it at a distance as I live in the UK.

You get the perks of the time. What you can't do is book the Concierge collection (not very many offerings in that anyway but for high end hotels), you can't book Adventurers collection (Adventures by Disney) with points, and the Disney collection (Disney hotels and Disney cruises) with points. All of these options are not economic uses of points so most people don't see it as a problem. If you were thinking of using points for cruises you might. Oh and you can't do Disney finance to buy the points of course.

Look at annual dues. Longer term Hawaii may be pricy. That's why places like Vero are cheap to buy but they are expensive each year.

Some resales may come with extra points. Some may come with less this year but that should be reflected in the cost per point. There are some bargains to be had out there. Look and see if there are any deals at resorts you like to stay at.

[paragon]

Again, thank you all for your input. It looks like we are going to use the ten day out clause, as it now appears that some things are changing at home. My parents, now in their 80's may be moving back north from Florida and we need to look into providing living quarters either by building an in law or buying a new home with one in it. I think I have to put this DVC on hold for at least one more year. When I do buy, I will probably use the resale instead.

[lindique]

Check back in with us when you're ready to buy and we will help you out with advice.

Yes, the entire transaction for resale is done over email and phone calls. It's quite easy - just time consuming. The process takes 2-3 months. But you can save about 40% over direct pricing.

As Mikki said, you can't use resale points to stay in Disney Hotels and take cruises. That said, most members consider that to be a poor use of points, as the point-pricing is very high. Some people rent out their points and use the money to pay for the Cruise or trip. Otherwise, the perks for resale or direct are the same.

[DizneyRox]

Again, thank you all for your input. It looks like we are going to use the ten day out clause, as it now appears that some things are changing at home. My parents, now in their 80's may be moving back north from Florida and we need to look into providing living quarters either by building an in law or buying a new home with one in it. I think I have to put this DVC on hold for at least one more year. When I do buy, I will probably use the resale instead.
Yeah...

I'm pretty close to the point of thinking about selling myself. Haven't been in a park for a few years, we just use it for a few days before and after our cruise. The little one is getting to the point where travelling to new and exciting places is actually new and exciting to him. The changes are WDW are getting a little too much as well.

Buying resale is nice, it takes the load off someone else who needs to sell, you get a much cheaper contract than buying direct. The restrictions on resale contracts are not worth the premium. You can rent out the point and use the money to pay for the things they don't let you do. Those things are a very bad value for the points...