Why DVC does or doesn't make sense for me

[dlpmikki]

This thread is to replace the two seperate threads on Why Join DVC and Why not to join DVC.

Discussion is welcome but not repetetive back and forth argument. The topic that has seemed to be most common in causing repetitive and unproductive argument has been on DVC finances and cost. The other posts (which remain stickied) have pages of argument on that point. If I see too much repetition or "I'm right, you're wrong" argument I will be editing and deleting posts as necessary. Hopefully it won't be necessary.

DVC has never sold itself as a financial investment. DVC is not cheap. You can make very good arguments either way on the money front but at the end of the day it is a personal decision as to what is good value for you.

Please come in and give / discuss your views.

[DVC Mike]

Membership in the Disney Vacation Club is not for everyone. I consider it a luxury purchase. If you are not in a position, financially, to make a luxury purchase, then perhaps you should not be considering DVC.

DVC can make sense financially -- assuming you would always stay in a deluxe resort. If you always stay in a value resort, then it won't -- but that's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The DVC resorts offer deluxe amenities and room size.

DVC membership might make sense if you meet most or all of these criteria:

• The cost of membership and dues does not appear to present a financial hardship.
• You vacation at Walt Disney World frequently: ideally at least once every two years.
• You plan to continue vacationing at Disney World far enough into the future to make the membership at least break even.
• You prefer to stay in Deluxe or DVC accommodations and/or you stay a long time (10 days or more per year). If you always stay at a Value resort, or always stay off-site, or you really spend the entire day at the parks away from your hotel, and you don't spend time at the resort itself (other than crashing at the end of the day), then DVC may not be for you.
• You are able to plan your vacations well in advance -- ideally 7 to 11 months out. If you aren't a planner, don't even look at becoming a DVC member. If you can't plan and book your vacations 11 months in advance, and staying at a particular DVC resort is important, then don't join DVC. If you really don't care which DVC resort you end up with, then it's not an issue.
• You can do without daily mousekeeping and room service (of course, you can pay extra and get mousekeeping as a DVC member).
• You desire more space than a typical resort room (such as a 2 bedroom villa, with full kitchen, living room, 2 bathrooms and jacuzzi suite, and even a washer/dryer).
• You’re not looking at DVC as an investment or a way to make money (it’s not). It is a decision to prepay, at today's rates, the next several decades of Disney trips.

People say that timeshares, in general, are a bad use of your money. I would generally agree. However, DVC timeshares have something that most timeshares don't have -- a great location that is in extremely high demand. Also, resale values for DVC contracts have remained high.

If the only consideration is whether it makes financial sense, then maybe you should be staying offsite and only eating offsite as well, since that beats staying onsite. Beyond just the financial considerations, DVC membership is emotionally satisfying (you “own a piece of the magic”), and it gives you a reason to take a vacation at WDW.

Buying a DVC membership is a rational, financially viable option for some people: namely people who plan to stay in the higher-end accommodations at Walt Disney World on a regular basis.

Buying into DVC is almost a lifestyle choice. A DVC purchase is a way of committing to an annual Disney vacation with family and friends. For some people, that may outweigh any financial considerations.

Only you can determine if DVC membership makes sense for your situation, based upon your lifestyle and financial capabilities.

I happen to have the disposable income available, and I was excited to commit to regular visits to WDW. I am a happy DVC member, and would recommend the program to those who fit the above criteria.

[Horizon93]

I agree with everything that DVC Mike has said. DVC is not for everyone. 10years ago, it was not right for DW and me. It is right for us now as we visit WDW once or twice every year for about 12-14 nights. We look at it as prepaying our vacations. As Mike said, if we wanted to be completely financially based, we would only rarely ever go to WDW, would stay offsite and eat offsite. But that is not what we want. We love being DVC members and we are looking forward to decades of great vacations for us, our families, and friends.

[magicofdisney]

In the original thread that was closed, I posted that this last year my family stayed at Disney over 35 nights. Including tickets, we were able to do this for around $5300. Yes, we stayed at the value resorts in order to do this (and we're FL residents). My entire point is that I WANT to stay at Disney for more than 10-15 nights per year and I want to do it for the least amount of money as possible. We are a family of 6 and DVC will not allow us to affordable stay as long as we like. For whatever reason, this point was lost in the discussion.

Now, an interesting fact I learned from that discussion is that the point value system (i.e. 97 points a week during value season) will not change over the course of ownership. That is definitely food for thought.

[Here we go again...]

Now, an interesting fact I learned from that discussion is that the point value system (i.e. 97 points a week during value season) will not change over the course of ownership. That is definitely food for thought.

I think that is what sold us. We know seasons change, but points do not.

It is perfect for us because not only do we hope to continue to go to Disney for years to come, but we want our children and their families to be able go to. For them, room prices are out of the equasion. They only have to worry about food and park tickets.

Also, with DVC we will always vacation in deluxe accomodations. Now we can stay at our favorite resort whether we have 3 people in our party or 12. With regular resorts you have to stay at POR or a deluxe once you hit 5 people. Right now with my kids and grandkids we have a group of 7.... I expect that to grow.
Next November we are planning a week in a 2 bedroom villa. I have not decided where yet. We will book in our home resort then decide at 7 months out if we want to change. So, next use year instead of 2 weeks we are taking 1 week with our whole family.
I already have Stan booked to take our family photos while we are there. What more could you ask for???

[goofy for pluto]

The main reason DVC does not make sense to me is that amount of beds you get in the room.
Do I really want to pay so much money to stay for a week at WDW and have my son sleep on a sofa bed? If there were two beds in the bedroom that would make sense. But 1 bed does not. With myself, DH and 1 child {12} we still would not have two beds untill we get a two bedroom unit, and that uses a lot of points all at once. If my DS wanted to bring a friend we would have to bring some inflatable bed or a cot to have a place for them. {Not so easy on the plane.} I can't see him and a friend sharing the sofa bed at their age and especially as they get older.
I know that SSR has those nice new design sofa beds, but the point of being a member is to try the other resorts as well, and other trip reports I have read have said those sofa beds are not so great.
So how do you all get around this problem. I would love to be a DVC member but I just can't seem to justify the amount of money I would spend to stay in order to get a unit big enough to have a real bed for my DS to sleep in.

[Horizon93]

The OKW studios have 2 beds. SSR, AKV, and i think BWV all have the new sofa beds.

[dlpmikki]

So how do you all get around this problem. I would love to be a DVC member but I just can't seem to justify the amount of money I would spend to stay in order to get a unit big enough to have a real bed for my DS to sleep in.

Old Key West has two beds in a studio.

[Donald A]

I am a DVC member and am getting ready to take my first trip with my points. I am going to take my family including my parents, wife's parents, and my two brothers next month to stay at the Beach Club Villas. We are getting 2 two-bedroom villas for 5 nights during value season (Sunday-Thursday night).

We bought in for 150 points at Saratoga Springs. By the time I pay this off with finance charges (if I don't pay it off ahead of time) I guess you could say that those points cost me $20,000. You average annual dues (that are now about $650) and say they average out to $1000 a year for those points. You put that into the 48 year or so contract and that is a total cost of close to $70,000.

This next trip is something I always wanted to do for our family before we have kids and my brothers get married and move away. If I would by these two villas outright for the exact nights I book, the cost would be $7000 ($3500 for each villa). This is on two years of points. So, say I take this exact trip every other year at the same time for the same points for the life of my contract. The cost would be in today's dollars, $168,000!

For my $70,000 I more than doubled my money in 50 years. But the catch is the price of these rooms will go up and the points will not. So who knows what the actual value will be, $200,000 or even $300,000. Plus, currently being a DVC member gets one discounts that add up.

I know that a good finance man could invest my money and get me a good return. I am a doctor, not a finance guy so I don't know.

I'll tell you what I do know. I love Walt Disney World. I can leave knowing I get to go back. In fact, as we leave for this trip we are going to make reservations for another next Christmas.

I literally feel like I am part of the magic. I actually own a percentage of a building on Disney property. That is neat for me. I get a special magazine and publications from DVC. I am reminded quite often that I belong to this. Some people buy season tickets to sports and I enjoy that too, but this is something better.

Material goods can get stolen and new cars break down and are eventually replaced. Memories, however, last forever. These trips are something I can always remember and are often something much more valuable than the money it costs to make them.

[goofy for pluto]

24 trips to WDW divided by $70,000
would that not be $2,916.66 for each vacation.
and that is assuming that the fees do not go up more than you are expecting, and of course that is only for the room itself.
I think that WDW has figured out that they can charge a lot for rooms, have the members pay for the upkeep of the properties. Charge extra admission for evening events. (MVMCP, MNSSHP, P&PP) close down attractions and leave buildings empty. and they will not have to worry about attendance because they have so many people who have a signed contract to come down and stay in a room with no maid service,( a lot of rooms with only one bed.) and will pay a large sum of money to do so.
So tell me again why this is such a great deal for members?

[Donald A]

24 trips to WDW divided by $70,000
would that not be $2,916.66 for each vacation.

Yes, it would.

I do not think our fine moderator, Mikki, wants much back and forth discussion about numbers. However, I will say $3000 a trip in which I can take 8 people ending up with essentially 4 bedrooms and two living areas with kitchens (washers and dryers too) makes sense for me personally. To top it all off, all of this in a deluxe resort at Walt Disney World.

Not only does that make sense for me for the trip I will take in a few weeks, it makes sense for me in a trip I will take in 20 years (where $3000 will likely not be the same as it is today).

Like I said, I can't discuss returns for money with investments. I do not know much about that. All I do know is that I could not take this trip if I wasn't a member of the club. These two Villas for the time I am going next month would cost me $7000 just for the villas ($3500 each). Sure, I could get like 4 rooms at a value resort for 5 nights for like $500 a room for those nights ($2000). For my one big vacation a year I prefer deluxe resorts. 4 rooms at a deluxe would be like $300 a night for each room or $6000 total for the 5 nights.

It is just what I like and what makes sense to me. That being said, Disney is a business. I am perfectly aware that they are using my money to build resorts at no or little cost to them. They are using my money in annual dues to run this whole thing and keep the buildings nice with upkeep. I think, for me it is still worth it.

[Horizon93]

It is absolutely worth it. For those of us who value being DVC members and see the benefits to ourselves and our families, in financial, and more importanly quality of vacation terms, it makes perfect sense. I also clearly see that Disney ultimately benefits from my membership, but I bought the product called DVC. It is what i wanted, my wife and I personally see value in that product. As has been said, it is not for everyone.

Some of the points that are used to say that DVC is not a value could apply to any time share. For that matter, people who do not understand why so many of us here at Intercot are willing to pay for repeated vacations to WDW may think tha we are all wasting our $$. So, whether you are a DVC member, or a loyal WDW onsite guest in one of the great cash resorts on property, we are all quite similar.

[NJGIRL]

[QUOTE=DVC Mike;1473051][FONT=Trebuchet MS]People say that timeshares, in general, are a bad use of your money. I would generally agree. However, DVC timeshares have something that most timeshares don't have -- a great location that is in extremely high demand.

I own a timeshare and think it's great especially if you go on vacation every year and don't want to be crammed into a hotel room. But I can't understand what you are saying in your quote above. My timeshare I will own forever and have traveled all over the world with it including staying at some resorts in Florida that are 5 mins away from Disney and was alot cheaper than the Disney timeshares. How are timeshares a bad way to use your money but a Disney timeshare which you won't have forever and can only travel to one place a better way to use your money.

[Horizon93]

[QUOTE=NJGIRL;1498868]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]People say that timeshares, in general, are a bad use of your money. I would generally agree. However, DVC timeshares have something that most timeshares don't have -- a great location that is in extremely high demand.

I own a timeshare and think it's great especially if you go on vacation every year and don't want to be crammed into a hotel room. But I can't understand what you are saying in your quote above. My timeshare I will own forever and have traveled all over the world with it including staying at some resorts in Florida that are 5 mins away from Disney and was alot cheaper than the Disney timeshares. How are timeshares a bad way to use your money but a Disney timeshare which you won't have forever and can only travel to one place a better way to use your money.

I am not necessarily agreeing with Mike. I really don't have enough information on other timeshares to judge them. In terms of owning for the rest of my life, I will be 98, God willing, when my AKV contract expires. If I am still going to WDW, I will hope for a good extension deal. But what Mike says about larger Disney accommodations is a good point. For those of us who want to stay in a DVC resort, and have a priority booking advantage, it makes perfect sense. And we can use our points outside of DVC. That is not always easy from what I hear, but it is not always easy for other timeshare owners to book a DVC stay.

[NJGIRL]

Beleive me I'm not disputing that a Disney Timeshare is money well spent but I looked at them and also own a non disney timeshare that I can pass on to my son at not extra cost to him. My timeshare is for two weeks and it is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, full kitchen, living room and dining room at a beautiful resort with 6 pools. All that I am saying is a disney timeshare is no better than any other timeshare when it comes down to the financial end. In fact from what I was told when deciding weather to buy one or not is that the disney timeshare was less of a deal when compared to the non disney timeshare. After having a timeshare all of these years I hate when we stay at a hotel because we feel cramped so I understand why people like them but basically a timeshare is a timeshare Disney or not.

[DVC Mike]

People say that timeshares, in general, are a bad use of your money. I would generally agree. However, DVC timeshares have something that most timeshares don't have -- a great location that is in extremely high demand.

I own a timeshare and think it's great especially if you go on vacation every year and don't want to be crammed into a hotel room. But I can't understand what you are saying in your quote above. My timeshare I will own forever and have traveled all over the world with it including staying at some resorts in Florida that are 5 mins away from Disney and was alot cheaper than the Disney timeshares. How are timeshares a bad way to use your money but a Disney timeshare which you won't have forever and can only travel to one place a better way to use your money.

Timeshares are typically a bad investment. You are putting a bunch of money into a depreciating asset. Similar to buying a new car, the typical new timeshare looses up to 50% of it's value the minute you sign on the dotted line.

With DVC, this is not the case. DVC maintains it value due to two things: 1) they are in a high-demand location (WDW), and 2) Disney exercises their ROFR on resales. Both of these keep the resale value of DVC higher than your typical timeshare.

Depending on where your timeshare is located, it may be difficult to trade out. Again, this is not a problem with DVC, as there are loads of folks who want to trade in to DVC.

Non-DVC timeshares are best purchased on the resales market (much like buying a 1 or 2-yr old car).

And yes, non-DVC timeshares are "forever", but will you be around forever? Even if you pass it on, will your grandchildren enjoy staying in a 100-yr old condo?

[NJGIRL]

Timeshares are typically a bad investment. You are putting a bunch of money into a depreciating asset. Similar to buying a new car, the typical new timeshare looses up to 50% of it's value the minute you sign on the dotted line.

With DVC, this is not the case. DVC maintains it value due to two things: 1) they are in a high-demand location (WDW), and 2) Disney exercises their ROFR on resales. Both of these keep the resale value of DVC higher than your typical timeshare.



I'm not rying to get into an agrument here but this being a Disney site I think sometimes people don't realize Disney isn't the only place people vacation. Other locations are very high demand and the fact that Orlando has sooooo many hotels, timeshares,rentals etc. it is a fairly easy place to trade into any time of the year. Also any timeshare I have been in is kept very nice. That is what the maintenance fees that you pay every year is used for.



Depending on where your timeshare is located, it may be difficult to trade out. Again, this is not a problem with DVC, as there are loads of folks who want to trade in to DVC.


I have never had a problem trading out of my timeshare as long as I trade 6 months in advance. As long as you deposit in advance your trading power is pretty good.

Non-DVC timeshares are best purchased on the resales market (much like buying a 1 or 2-yr old car).

And yes, non-DVC timeshares are "forever", but will you be around forever? Even if you pass it on, will your grandchildren enjoy staying in a 100-yr old condo?

As far as I know Disney has never torn down a hotel so the Grand and Poly are older than any timeshares I have stayed in. Of course if things are not kept up they will go down hill but again that is what the maintenance fees are for.

Again I'm not saying that it doesn't make sense to buy a disney timeshare if that's what you what to do but it really is no different that spending your money on any other timeshare.

[dlpmikki]

I'm not convinced that there is anything new being added in the back and forth about whether Disney timeshares are any different to other timeshares value wise. (This from someone who owns both a Disney and a non-Disney timeshare). No timeshare is an investment in money but in your vacation. True that my Disney timeshare could still be sold for more than I paid for it but that may not continue. True that my other timeshare will leave me with an interest in the property long term but that may leave me with more bills to.

This isn't a productive discussion and unless you really have something new to add please drop it. I don't want to edit/delete unless I really have to. Thank you.

[bjlaac]

I've posted reasons in the previous threads about why DW and I didn't purchase a timeshare at Disney. However, in reading the reasons to join, many have stated they compare the timeshare to a deluxe resort.

I'm not looking for an arguement but just an honest answer. What does the Timeshare offer above Carribean Beach, Port Orleans or Coronado Springs that make it a deluxe in many of your minds? Transportation to the Parks, Restaurants? Maid Service? Pools? Food Court?

Thanks

[Horizon93]

I am not looking to argue either. I firmly believe that DVC is not for everyone, but it is for me.

The DVC resorts have many amenities that moderates do not. For that matter, many amenities that deluxe resorts do not. The kitchenettes in the studios, the full kitchens in the one bedroom villas and larger, the washer and dryer in the one bedroom and larger villas. The ability to stay in a grand villa. The perks of membership, such as the AP discount, and the overall different feel of a DVC stay.

Not to mention point charts that will essentially stay the same for the life of each resorts contract.