DVC Is it worth it

[Redstev]

Hi everyone

Just got back from Port Orleans had a great time, during our stay we looked at DVC at Saratoga it was fantastic and seems like a good idea the salesman was great and not pushy at all.

He said if we signed up before we left for home we would get the points for 2006 but once we were home we would not get the same deal. I did not want to make a rush decision into buying points until i had done some research.
We are now back in the UK and never heard from the salesman again i thought he might come back to us with a better deal or will Disney contact us with offers or incentives.

I also wanted to know is the club good value for us Brits coz are flights are more costly.

I was thinking of getting 250 points and using them for a 2 week holiday at Saratoga every 2 years at xmas or in August.

If anyone can give me as much info as possible on DVC as poss it would be appreciated.

Cheers

[acapelad]

we joined 2 years ago and we love it. we have 350 points as with 5 kids we need a 2 BR.

we plan on a trip with the kids every spring for six days and with the left over points a few days by ourselves in a studio every fall. of course that is not practical coming from the UK.

we stay at the boardwalk (even though you are buying at saratoga you don't have to stay there). if you plan on going every year or other year it will be worth it in the end, considering a night at the boardwalk would cost $500/night on the street. i think it pays for itself within 10 years. staying on property in a great resort makes a huge difference and makes us look forward to a stress free enjoyable holiday every year.

we love that our vacation is all set every year. we knwo we have a safe, comfortable, familiar place to go yet with always new things to experience.

another thing to consider is you could do a week at WDW and then a week at the vero beach resort just laying on the beach.

i wish they would open a disney london, then both my passions would combined !

cheers

[Cathydisneynut]

We are here at Saratoga Springs right now, so far it has been very much worth it!

[mom2munchkins]

I just saw this and toyed w/ the idea of doing the club thing. I just don't understand how it works and how much you have to pay? Just wanted to get some info.

[OKWTink]

I'm not in the UK, but I love DVC. I joined in '96. My home resort is OKW (surprise!).

If you plan on a WDW vacation once every three years then the program is good for you. Depending upon where you stay, what sort of accomodation you have, and when you go, you can have DVC pay for itself in a fairly short time.

You purchase points. You use those points to reserve accomodation in a DVC resort at any time of the year (that there is a vacancy of course). Depending upon the size of the accomodation and where it is (which resort) and which time of year you are going, the number of points you will need will vary.

Studios take the least points. Grand Villas take the most. Value season uses the least points, and Christmas time (I forget the season name) uses the most.

OKW uses a few less points per accomodation than do the other WDW DVC resorts. OKW also has the largest sized accomodations for any given set up (studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, or grand villa).

The old adage is "buy where you want to stay." That's harder to do now that several of the resorts have sold out. Disney's Vero Beach is not so easy to book. I used to have no problem making reservations there during the summer, but now it's harder and harder to do.

I like all the DVCs. Some better than others, of course, but they all have their plusses (and minuses).

You'll pay dues on a yearly basis, in addition to the purchase price of the DVC membership. You can purchase (and finance) directly through Disney, or you can buy resale offsite.

The points you purchase are renewed every year, and can be banked into the following year if you don't use them in your current year, or borrowed from the following year if you need more for your current year.

DVC is meant to be a hedge against inflation. The cost of the WDW resort rooms goes up every year. Owning DVC keeps you from having to bear that increased cost.

You can use your points to stay in other WDW resorts (not the values, however) and on the DCL. You can also use them at MANY places throughout the world.

Hope that helps a bit.

[mom2munchkins]

It does thanx!

[Redstev]

Thanks alot Tink i cant decide how many points to get but thanks for the info.
PS are you a Liverpool Fan like me then

[Slowhand]

OKWTink has already given an excellent report on the DVC in general so there`s not a lot to add, apart from the fact that my DW and I have been DVC members since 1992 and it has definately been one of my better decisions I`ve made in my life so far.

Heck, back in 1992 we even had free park admission passes thrown in [50% of the occupancy rate of the accommodation] until 2000, so that in itself was a real bonus if you were to go to WDW at least every other year.

By now my original investment has more than paid for itself, based on the costs we would have spent on many of our vacations and cruises over the years.

[OKWTink]

Well, I could be considered a Liverpool fan! But mostly, I have that signature because I drew that team in a lottery. :bounce: Nice to get the lads, though eh?

Slowhand, I thought of you when I was writing my response. I know you and your wife still like to stay on WDW property without points, so that having the DVC has not interfered with your desire or ability to do that.

Yep, there were some great incentives way back when. Not too many now. There are some, certainly but there really isn't much of a need anymore. The DVC pretty much sells itself. Either you like it and it will work for you or not.

[The Blue Fairy]

We bought into it at the last trip and are yet to use it for our first 'home' vacation.
I liked the idea of having to take vacations at least once every 3 years for the next 40 odd years! :D

The resorts look great and I'm still finding out more about bookings etc. I've heard that sometimes it can be difficult to get your reservation for a resort other than your home one because of the 7 month window, but I haven't had first hand experience of that. I certainly hope it doesn't pose too much of a problem as I would really like to try out the AKV when they become available!

[plutomad]

does anyone know what the prices are - eg per point or 'blocks of points' and how many points do you need say to stay in asmov /por with a family of 5?

[OKWTink]

I'm not positive, but I think the points are now quite near $100 each.

Plutomad, you can't use the points to stay at the value resorts. Using the points to stay at WDW resorts (that are not DVC) is not the best use of them. The general concept is to use your points at a DVC accomodation. That allows you to stay the longest for the least points regardless of the timeframe of your visit.

Last I knew you had to purchase a minimum of 150 points but that wouldn't gain you the total benefits. I have over 300 points and I use them all each year. (And I live nearly on top of the place)! :blush:

I'm not really the best source of info for purchase as I've not kept up with that since I bought into the DVC.

But I hope some of what I've written helps.

[mom2munchkins]

I'm really curious about DVC. Is there a certain amount of point you have to have to stay at each of the DVC resorts? I really seem to like what I've seen on line. And it sounds like your saying you have to pay so much into it every year? Is that right? Is there an alotted amount every year?

[The Blue Fairy]

There are points charts for each resort. Points will vary depending on what time of year you stay (obviously more points needed if you stay during peak season).

There are annual dues for each property. Roughly how much this is I can't say as I'm yet to receive my first bill! I'm sure some other experienced DVCers will be able to fill you in more :thumbs:

[mom2munchkins]

Cool!!

[Slowhand]

There are annual dues for each property. Roughly how much this is I can't say as I'm yet to receive my first bill! I'm sure some other experienced DVCers will be able to fill you in more :thumbs:

This years annual dues work out at approx. $4.47 per point.

[tweenie123]

I'm going to look into this on our next trip - I'm sure it would be of benefit to us.

[Debbie99]

Points as of last week were $101 per point - but they were offering a discount down to $91 if we booked before we came home, think they might extend it if we decide in the next month or two though they did stress that there was no pressure to buy before we left and it was true they didn't pressure us at all. It was very tempting and we are thinking about it - probably 250 points would be best for us.

The only thing that put us off was that the draft contract said something about "during the last 12 years of the period, we would only be able to stay at Saratoga Springs (home resort) we liked the idea of travelling elsewhere as well - we will be much older then and might like to stay in UK - anyone else heard about this?

[The Blue Fairy]

No, gotta say I didn't see that to be honest. Will have to take a lookie again :blush:


Yes I'm like you. When we signed up, it was also the attraction of going to other places and not just WDW, especially when we get a bit older.

[OKWTink]

No, you don't buy into the points every year (just pay the dues). You purchase a number of points for one amount. Those points are renewed each year. So, essentially you are purchasing the use of your points for the next (ummm... how many years is it now) fifty years, I think? :unsure:

I didn't know about the last twelve years bit, either. That must be something relatively recent. Not too sure I'd like that either. :confused:

[The Blue Fairy]

Had another look at the contract and this is how I interpret it:
Because the lease is longer for SS (expires 2054) than the other DVC resorts (they expire 2042), SS will theoretically be the only DVC resort available during the last 12 years of the contract because the leases would have expired on the other resorts by then.

I don't understand this to mean that other destinations are restricted either (e.g. World Passport).

And who knows what will happen at the end of the lease. I can't imagine Disney not offering it for renewel back to previous owners....but you never know. I guess that's why the bit about SS being the only resort available in the last 12 years is put in.
I wonder what the lease will be on AKV?

[OKWTink]

Ah. That makes sense Blue Fairy. I would think that with the building of other new DVCs there will be plenty of places to stay. :D

[Slowhand]

Regarding the lease issue. When we signed up in 1992 we were told that because technically Disney lease their land from the State of Florida, this determined the length of time to which we could enjoy membership of DVC.

Having said that, there`s no way I can see Florida kicking Disney out at any time.

[OKWTink]

Really? I don't recall being told that... but it's been awhile. :D

[dcfromva]

Redstev,
We have been in DVC since 2002. Each and every year I take a look at it and re-evaluate as to whether it is still worth it to us. The maint. fees are an ongoing expense which does get my attention. :D

We just returned from a 1-week vacation at WDW last night. We stayed in a 2 BR villa at BCV. Our villa location is always the luck of the draw, but this one was on the 3rd floor and had a face on view above the trees of the EPCOT fireworks each night.
We arrived on NYE and got to enjoy the festivities associated with NYE. EPCOT is my favorite place to be for NYE.
We stayed through marathon weekend in which DS was able to run in the 1/2 marathon. I can not get over how convenient it was to stay at BCV and be so close to the 1/2 marathon start. While International Gateway was not open for the race start (it was busses or private transportation at 4am :afraid: ), IG open for us to walk back to our room after the race.

DVC has made it affordable for us to stay in really spacious accomodations right in the heart of the action at very desireable times of the year.
-DC

[OKWTink]

You make an excellent point DC. The continuous payment of the dues cannot be disregarded (especially since they inch up over time). To describe membership accurately, one pays for the points IN ADDITION to the YEARLY dues. So, you are paying for DVC over the course of the many years of membership. It still should come out less than one stay for a few days (three or four, depending upon season) in a luxury. Longer of course in a moderate.

It still works for me, but as you say the dues do get your attention. :yes:

[PaulaK]

With our exchange rate, our dues are actually down £40'ish on last years! :D

[hayleyneeyore]

I was just wondering - I'm in no place to buy into it now, but it might seem a good investment for me in a few years time, especially when we start thinking about having kids...

How many points do places generally take up each night?

[Cathydisneynut]

I was just wondering - I'm in no place to buy into it now, but it might seem a good investment for me in a few years time, especially when we start thinking about having kids...

How many points do places generally take up each night?

There are 5 of us, and we used over 500 points for a 2 week stay in 2 studios from 26 December till 10 January. This does include rental at the busiest time of the year. You will probably need more points as your projected family gets older, but when they are young and if your local school is not bad at letting you take them out of school for a holiday you should need a lot less! I still think it is worth it, as long as the pound doesn't freefall against the dollar!

[hayleyneeyore]

Thanks for answering :D I guess that's not bad for 5 at the busiest time of the year!

[lukesmom1009]

We bought into DVC last year. I bought over the phone (through Disney). I was given points for the previous year. Call DVC and speak with your rep. They may give you points for 2006 if you ask.