[MissDisney]

Hi DVC afficionados. Please someone help me with these questions. When I was in the delivery room with our first, 12 years ago, I told my husband I wanted to join DVC. ULtimately, he said it wouldn't be a good idea. Now, 7 trips later, I have to think we could have saved ourselves a ton of money if we had joined!
So, what is DVC? Do you pay a sum up front and then pay additional fees each year? Do you decide on a point value to invest in, and then you save up points to use? If so, what is a good point number to buy? We like Boardwalk Villas... are you assigned a particular resort you have to use? ETC... You can see I am totally CLUELESS. But interested in this program!

[lawwin]

I understand you have many questions about DVC, as do a lot of people who want invest in it. My parents did before they decided to do it. My mom (sjpurple) decided to take the plunge and she knows a lot about the whole DVC system. She asked a ton of questions to her rep and got a copy of the contract to read before she decided to do it. We can now go with without having to pay for a resort every year (just maintenance fees which are a fraction of the cost). Al we pay for are the tickets and food which as DVC members, you get at a discount. You are not locked in at your home resort, you can stay at any DVC resort but you have booking preference for a year out at your home resort and 7 months out at other DVC resorts. You can bank and borrow points from year to year, and you can stay at other resorts outside disney all over the world. You do pay up front for ever how many points you want to purchase and the reps can help you decide what is a good point value. Would you use a studio every year or a one bedroom, two bedroom, or three - then you buy the points accordingly so you don't run out based on your length of stay - like one week or two. Saratoga and Hilton Head are the only two resorts being sold right now, but you can stay at any DVC resort once you purchase.
If there any more questions you need answered, PM me or my mom (sjpurple) and we'd be happy to give you all the info you want.

[mickey]

Disney has 7 DVC resorts, including the 5 at WDW, Vero Beach and Hilton Head. Right now, only Saratoga Springs is available through Disney, though any of the other resorts are available through resellers. You "own" at one resort, which would be your home resort. Ours is Old Key West. At the initial purchase, you pay an amount per point you purchase, so if you buy 200 points, and the cost is $89 per point, you pay $17,800 for the right to use 200 points per year until the contract exprires. Most resorts expire in 2042, though Saratoga Springs expires in 2052. So, if you purchase 200 points at SS today, you are in essence purchasing 9,600 points spread out over the next 48 years, or about $1.86 per point. On top of the original fee, you are required to pay a yearly maintenance fee for each point you have. That takes care of the update, reservation system, front desk help, etc. Our cost at OKW is just under $4 per point per year, while other resorts are about $4.50. I know there is a post here that outlines the maintenance fees at each resort. So, in the end, you end up paying the initial cost per point, plus the annual maintenence fees, or around $6 per point.

So, you get your 200 points each year. You basically have two years to use them, or they are gone. You can use your previous years points, and borrow from the next year to have as many as 600 points at one time, or you could go every other week for a night or two until your points are gone each year.

Each room type has a point value per night, and Friday and Saturday nights are more expensive. So, to decide how many points you need depends upon how much you can afford, and how many points a typical vacation will cost you. We need at least a 2 bedroom each time we go, so it gets expensive, though we travel during non-busy times. If you only need a studio, you can purchase fewer points. To give you an idea:

You want to stay at Beach Club Villas for a week in January. The one week costs:

Studio: 104
One bedroom: 200
Two bedroom: 270

or, if you just stay Sunday to Friday morning

Studio: 60
One bedroom: 110
Two bedroom: 150

So, you can get about 5 weekday nights for the cost of 2 weekend nights. If you plan your trips right, you can stay almost twice as long as those who plan poorly.

To make a reservation, you can call 11 months ahead for your home resort, and 7 months ahead at any of the other resorts. So choose your resort wisely, someplace you like to stay. We have never had a problem getting in anywhere 7 months ahead, but we don't travel during the summer or holiday seasons.

Let me know if that helped or not.

[hiner]

I just got an e-mail from Disney On-line, they are sending out DVC videos. I am guessing the video is all about the DVC.

When we go down in a few weeks, we are going to look into it again. We looked into it in 1999, but just did not have the money at the time. Sounded like a pretty good deal at the time.

[Thia327]

We recently joined the DVC - Here's my take on it

Before we joined we used to go to Disney once or twice a year and would spend between $3,000 and $5,000 depending how long we were staying. Of course that amount is for room, air fare, car rental, and passes.
Let's say half is for the room that's an average of $2,000 for the cost of the room. So in 40 years (no inflation factored in) we would spend $80,000 for a room in Disney. The DVC cost $18,000 for 40 years (I thing Saratoga is 50 ). That works out to $450 a year plus the annual dues ours were $800 for this year. That brings the room cost to $1250 / year.
And for our points last year we went 3 times -

If you finance your DVC membership you may not see the same type of savings but you don't put out that big chunk of cash everytime you go.

[llama]

First of all any request asked by a woman in labour should IMMEDIATELY be granted, no questions asked. Purchasing DVC is such a personal thing. Only you can know your family's needs, etc. Do request the DVC video. Do continue to ask questions. All the information given here is so helpful. One or two more things - you can use your points on Disney cruises. As well, as DVC is a member of Interval International, you are eligible to rent their properties literally all over the world. DVC works for us because, trying to get away from cold winters, I generally plan to stay in Florida for at least three weeks each winter. This year I'm pressing for a month. Too bad I'm not in labour.

[MissDisney]

Llama, you just said a mouthful! A woman in labor should not be denied... Thanks everyone for the information. It sounds like it is a good deal, that you save a good deal over the long haul. I am going to do some math and request the video. Mickey, do you know if there is a provision to "bail out" if you can't afford this in a few years? GEt any cash back or sell it to someone else? Just a thought... not planning on having to bail out, but was curious. It sounds as if we didn't really LOSE money by not buying DVC ownership many years ago. Looks like it is still a nice option. I have seen the Saratoga Springs property (though it is still under construction). It looks like it would pretty lively, a nice change from the old Disney Institute, which looked a little dull for kids!

[mickey]

There are several resellers, so if you decide you can't do it, you can contact them. Usually resales go for a couple of dollars less per point than from Disney, and you have to take into account fees and such, but yes, you can get a good chunk of your money back. I figure mine is actually worth more now thean when we purchased. No promises that will happen to you, but you never know.

[MissDisney]

Thank you everybody! See you by the pool...

[pbharris4]

I won't go into all the details as other have already done that. I just wanted to say that you should GO FOR IT!!! It is a nice chunk of $$$ up front, but in the long run it's worth it. It's also willable so if something were to happen to you..your children or whoever you chose can use it until the contract expires. This will be our 2nd trip (using DVC anyway) and it's already almost paid for itself. We'd like to do a 7day cruise next year, but it depend on how my 1 yr old travels this year. You can finance it as well. I am SOOOO not a time share person, but since it's Disney (which you can never get tired of)and you aren't locked into weeks...I was all for it. The resorts are very nice too. Our first trip (after a few years) we stayed at the Grosvenor Resort on Hotel Plaza Blvd. It was one of the wings of the main hotel. What a DUMP!! My house is way nicer than that. Ugh. So we were real happy with the Beach Club Villas and all the other Disney Resort..they are so clean as well! I say take the plunge. If you aren't pleased you can always resell it later.

[skwak]

I agree with pbharris4. We looked and looked and thought and thought. In the end it seemed like it only had upside potential. What is the downside? If we do not like it 10 years from now we will sell it and probably get every penny back.

[MissDisney]

Thanks, everybody! I think I am going to call them and have someone send paperwork, video, etc. (I have absolutely no doubt that they ahve a fine package of materials!) If nothing else, I will be happy just to know I own a bit of something!