[snowmanz]

I have been debating whether it is worth it to become an DVC member since my recent trip. After watching a short clip about the DVC at WDW, there is still alot of questions unanswered. Also, the price is quite steep - $11,200 plus annual fees. My question is, how does this member ship works? How do you accumulate points? What are the pros and cons to this membership? What's the difference between booking through Disney's Membership Club getting 10% discount vs. joining DVC?

[mickey]

I think you could find many of the answers to your questions in the posts in this forum, but I will quickly answer the basics for you.

When you join DVC, you actually purchase a portion of the resort. Just like other Timeshares, you now own part of the resort, and have a right to use your portion once per year. Unlike others, Disney doesn't asign you a week and a unit each year for your use, you are assigned points. Each type of room has a point value for each day of the year. For example, a studio in September is 8 points at Old Key West, while a studio at Christmas time is something like 20 points. So, you purchase a set amount of points, in my case, we puchased 270 points. You can purchase any amount of points, as long as it is more than 150. Each year, at a set time, you receive the amount of points you purchased (ie. 270 for us). You can also borrow from the upcoming year, or save the past year's points to use at one time.

So, when we decide we want to go on vacation, we figure out how many points we have available, and when we want to go. We then call and book our rooms, if available. There is no cost to book the room, and it is completely paid for when we arrive, they just deduct the points out of our account.

The rooms and resorts are similary in quality to the deluxe resorts at WDW. You can stay at any of the DVC villas, regardless of where you purchase. I figured that our points cost us about $5 per point, which is the original cost plus the annual fees. I would guess that point you purchase right now will be about $8 per point, but it depends upon which resort your buy at, some have higher annual fees. So, at $5 per point, Minnie and I can stay in a studio at Boardwalk for less than $50 per night. A comporable room at the Boardwalk Inn will run you almost $300. Not a bad savings.

If you think you will be a regular visitor to Disney, it is the only way to go. If you think you will only be going back every five years or so, it would be a waste of your money.

We purchased our points through a reseller, The Timeshare Store. We save probably $3,000 buy buying through them, and got an extra 300 points we could use right away. I would recommend looking at what they have to offer.

The Pros would be that it allows us to stay on property for considerably cheaper than even staying at the All Stars, the rooms are great, and you get additional discounts and perks not available to any other group. The only Con I can think of is that you have to visit WDW frequently, but then again, that really isn't a con.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

[brumcg]

Snowmanz,

As normal, Mickey nailed the response... The real question is "Do you want to go to WDW every year or two?"

Something Mickey didn't mention is that Disney has other properties in Hilton Head and Vero Beach, there is an option to use your points on cruises, and Disney is part of another Timeshare exchange program where you can attempt to use your points at non-Disney resorts (reservations are not guaranteed though).

I think at mouseplanet.com there is a very long financial study on DVC vs. other methods (such as investing the money in the stock market).

Good luck in your research! Oh...and if you have a contact at DVC, don't hesitate to ask a question. Yes, they are sales people, but we found them to be very upfront and honest.

Bruce

PS Join us... :bandit

[mickey]

Bruce, you are right, I didn't mention the other options. We have never considered trading points for cruises, or staying in the other disney resorts because cost wise, it isn't worth it. I can't remember the exact values but if a studio at Boardwalk is 9 points, a normal room at a the contemporary is something like 25 or more. We have stayed at Vero Beach though, and it was a wonderful break from WDW.

We own Marriott as well, I love the Disney way of doing the timeshare, and Marriott is just so so. Marriott belongs to the same exchange company as Disney. We trade our Marriott weeks every year, but I would never consider trading our Disney points. The resorts aren't as nice, they require a ton of points and they charge big fees. We have had extra points at times, and I have had no problem selling them for a decent rate. I am far ahead selling them compared to trading through Interval.

By the way, Marriott works well for us, since we live in the West, and they have a about ten of them within driving distance, and they work great for Spring Break or a summer vacation when we are not going to Disney. (By the way, we usually stay at the Marriott Newport Beach Villas, and it is only 25 minutes from Disneyland.)

Bruce, do you have a link to that study on Mouseplanet?

[brumcg]

Mickey & Co.,

For what it's worth, here it is:
http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/dvc/

To the left, you should see several articles on "The Great Debate." I've seen people dispute the economic theories used in these articles, so YMMV.

I agree Mickey, I don't really see us using our points outside of the Disney Resorts...but I could see us using them for a cruise. I really have to break out the tools to see how it breaks down.

We also own a Fairfield timeshare in Pompano Beach, FL that's in the RCI system; we've always exchanged it. What we found, though, is that we had a great time using it - to a point. We kept trying to exchange into Orlando so we could go to WDW...it just didn't make sense. We'd sell it, but with the economy like it is, it's a super-buyer's market; we're actually thinking about donating it for the tax write-off.

Bruce

[BDavis932]

We puchased a DVC membership at Old Key West in 12/00. We bought the smallest point value available (150 points) with that we can go to WDW and stay in a studio about 10 nights per year. Last year, we went to the Keystone Resort in Colorado. We rented a 2 bedroom condo for 4 adults and 2 kids June and used 147 points. DVC charges a $75.00 processing fee for resorts that are in their "conceiger collection", but all we did was call DVC and they called us back a day later with the confirmation! It was fabulous! There are about 30 hotels in the collection to choose from (NON-Disney) and 5 disney resorts and the cruise line. Points are going up June 1st (or 2nd??) & you can use your points through the year 2042! We found it to be a great vacation value and we will be using our points this year in 3 days!! OKW here we come!

[snowmanz]

Stupid question.. Im still trying to understand the whole concept. Now, the minimum point purchase is 150. Once I use up the 150, does it get replenish automatically every year or do i have to purchase more points?

I just visited the DVC website and they mentioned that its $75 per point. Say that it cost 109 points for old key west for a week = $ 8175. How is it a cost saver. I understand from previous threads that it cost $8 per point for other resorts. Is it from a resale or is it just cheaper for other resorts??

Thanks,
Frank

[mickey]

snowmanz, it's not a stupid question. When you purchase 150 points, you are assigned a month, say June, and each June 1, you receive 150 points. This continues until sometime around 2042. So, when you hear that points cost $8, that is what someone has figured out their total cost per point, the initial cost plus the annual maintenance fees. I have figured that right now, my points are costing us just over $5 per point. If you purchase resale at OKW right now, your cost is going to be about $7 per point. So, in your example, the 109 points for a week at OKW is going to cost me about $550. Not bad, less than $75 per night.

[snowmanz]

Hey Mickey, thanks for shedding some more light on my DVC question. It's starting to look more and more attractive. Maybe I can use it as an excuse to go back down again and visit the site.