[woohoo]

Ok so I have figured out that IF I were to do this we would need a min of 300pts. So if I were to buy them resale I could do well but Im also facing 1200 in fees each year. Now part of my thinkin is that if we were to do the cruise that we wanted to next summer we would have to fork out $8000 and that is the cruise alone. Add two rooms for a night at DL and that is just nuts! Our trip this past time was $9,000 total. I had a year to pay for it and it took a whole year and a tax return to do it. So if I were to do the timeshare thing I would have had it paid off (not including hte fees) in three trips. One of our issues is that we have a bunch of other places we want to visit too- a lot of them are covered by the plan but when I looked on the list and saw that a local campground is on it and how many points it costs to stay at an "ok" campground I was concerned about the quality of the places elsewhere.

I really need honest reviews- DH and I love Disney and we love sharing it with the kids but without the discount packages and dining plans and so on it really is just a place to stay - I need some input!!!

[Dana]

If you have many places you want to visit, maybe you should wait on this investment. I hate to see you cut yourself short. Perhaps this just isn't the right time. Ijust don't have any input on the other places that the time share is available at...sorry wish I could help you more.

[iluvwdw]

If you're still into taking cruises every year or so, then I'd wait, too. It's not a great value AT ALL to use DVC points for cruises from what I hear.

If you plan to go to WDW every single year, then it might be a good investment for you!

It's a lot to think about...GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DECISION!

[woohoo]

that is what I had read- I also read that some rent out their points to pay cash for the cruise-do you think it would work that way?

[iluvwdw]

Well, I know you can get $10 a point to rent them. Sometimes up to $12 if someone's in a crunch and you can get them the ressie they want! But if you have 300 points, do you think you would be able to rent them ALL to get $3000 that year? It's totally your call.

I am DEFINITELY an advocate for timesharing! I don't own Disney, but wish I did. However, I am VERY happy with my timeshare purchases...I wouldn't trade them for DVC, although I would LOVE to add DVC to our portfolio. With the value of the vacations I have taken since I bought, it has paid for itself and then some.

[snow'sfriend]

I agree with what Dana and iluvwdw said. Timing is everything, right? Maybe now is not the best time to buy into DVC. It's a big investment. I looked into using DVC points for a cruise and decided the points would get better use out of a trip to WDW. It pretty much comes down to what kind of vacations you and your family want to take - Cruises or WDW/DLR. I don't know much about the other location that you can visit using the points.

[A Goofy Family]

We're DVC owners & have had no regrets (except why didn't we buy sooner and we should have purchased more points 1st time 'round). We've stayed at SSR & OKW, visited WLV and look forward to trying new WDW resorts...however we're headed to Hilton Head in just a few days, which is DVC Property and I've heard no complaints about that property. We exchanged our points thru DVC and visited Keystone CO last June and found it to be fabulous!! I really think that most of the resorts that are on their list are upper end...we're going to try out as many as we can!!!

Oh, my in-laws just stayed in Branson at the Big Cedar Lodge on DVC points and LOVED it too!!!

[woohoo]

Originally Posted by iluvwdw

Well, I know you can get $10 a point to rent them. Sometimes up to $12 if someone's in a crunch and you can get them the ressie they want! But if you have 300 points, do you think you would be able to rent them ALL to get $3000 that year? It's totally your call.

I am DEFINITELY an advocate for timesharing! I don't own Disney, but wish I did. However, I am VERY happy with my timeshare purchases...I wouldn't trade them for DVC, although I would LOVE to add DVC to our portfolio. With the value of the vacations I have taken since I bought, it has paid for itself and then some.

that right there is part of my issue- I dont know if I could rent them all and I would need more than $3000 for the cruise- and if I were to rent all of them Im still forking out $1200 in fees that year anyhow.

We have a friend that has one in fla that they are just starting to use for other destinations. Ill ask them too


Also we just found out yesterday that my inlaws buried themselves financially so I might have to fork out $60000 to buy half their house....there would go my future vacations!

[skwak]

Originally Posted by woohoo

that right there is part of my issue- I dont know if I could rent them all and I would need more than $3000 for the cruise- and if I were to rent all of them Im still forking out $1200 in fees that year anyhow.

We have a friend that has one in fla that they are just starting to use for other destinations. Ill ask them too


Also we just found out yesterday that my inlaws buried themselves financially so I might have to fork out $60000 to buy half their house....there would go my future vacations!

Woohoo, just so you know - you can rent them all easily. Trust me, I have done it several times. It takes a little work but you will not get stuck with points that you can't use.

It sounds like you have a great deal going on financially. You may want to wait a few years.

[rlcarmichael]

Most of the time I've found that it is actually still considerably cheaper to use points to stay at a non DVC resort than pay for it. Sure I could have stayed in a studio for less points at DVC but I wanted to stay at Poly. (I figure my cost is $6 per point counting purchase price over time and annual fee. No I'm not considering the cost of funds for the purist out there!)