[Paul S]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered many times on these forums, but I'm new- and very seriously considering it.

How does it work? In other words, do you really get your money's worth? I've heard from at least two others that they've more or less jerked the rug out from under them a few times- namely DVC members used to get tickets and other goodies included, and those benefits have dried up.

If I'm going to spend $1,000's- I really want to know what I'm getting- and I want to know that if the membership is for 40 years, that by year 40 I'm not going to have something of substanially lower value than what I have today.

Paul

[MommyMoses]

What is DVC?

I have so much to learn!

[mickaholic4077]

DVC is Disney Vacation Club-Disney's version of time-sharing. It is not for me,but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't work for other people.

[Amneris]

A quick response from someone who *briefly* looked into it this year and decided against it -- It is a GREAT deal if you will be making more than one or a long trip to WDW *EVERY* year. You get deluxe resort style treatment for moderate or all-star prices. BUT, and this is why I wasn't won over, you are "forced" to spend every vacation at WDW. I didn't like that inflexibility as, heck, I wanna see the rest of the non-Disney world too! ;) You get a certain number of "points" per year. Different resorts cost a different number of points per night. You can spend your points however you want - between different "price" resorts and differen lenghts of stay, but can't carry them to the next year. Thus there's a "business" in selling vacation points that has sprung up where people are aren't going to be able to use them are trying to get some of their money back. Although you buy in based on a particular DVC resort property -- e.g. Saratoga Springs -- you can use your points to stay anywhere. I *think* they have a swap system with time shars in non-Disney places, but if they did they didn't have any place that interested me so I don't remember! :)

[iluvwdw]

Originally posted by Amneris
BUT, and this is why I wasn't won over, you are "forced" to spend every vacation at WDW. I *think* they have a swap system with time shars in non-Disney places, but if they did they didn't have any place that interested me so I don't remember! :)

I think they have a network of places you can use to swap your week to go other places...in addition, I think they are also members of Interval International, which has LOTS of great resorts in that network! I have a book with resorts that is an inch thick...my timeshare is in the same network. (in addition to their own "private" network of other resorts to trade to!)

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure not every place in the Interval International book is worth going to...but there are some great places. Heck, DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORTS are in there...if you're lucky enough to get them! I know LLAMA has had lots of luck trading in with II and getting a DVC resort...I have never tried! I actually traded one of my timeshare weeks with Interval and got my cousin her honeymoon in Aruba at a beautiful resort and she absolutely LOVED it!!! :love:

[MickeyMamma]

We just joined DVC. First, I would suggest that a great place to gather up information and opinion on DVC stuff is on disboards.com They have a forum dedicated to this stuff and it is VERY active. Just be aware that there are some very opinionated people that post there. There is also some good information in the DVC Forum section here.

Second, you can easily use your points for other destinations around the country and around the world.

Third, we joined because we go to Disney fairly frequently and don't forsee any major change to our travel pattern.

I will PM the information for my DVC rep. She was extremely easy to work with and very good at helping us size up what was good for our style of travelling.

We have our first DVC stay coming up in June and I am very excited about it.

[MickeyMamma]

Forgot to answer your initial questions. :o

For us it is worth it because we go to Disney fairly frequently. Our points can be used at other hotels around the world if we want.

Do you get your moneys worth? Well, the part about the free tickets etc. was a perk given to DVC members for the first few years only, I think. It was not a part of their contract that they signed (I don't think) so it was a perk and not part of the membership agreement.

To me, if you are going to Disney every year or 2, it is probably worth it.

Also, the new contracts that are being sold are all for the new Saratoga Springs Resort. Those contracts go until 2054 so they are for 50 years - longer than those now available at the other DVC resorts.

There is no guarantee in terms of the "value" of the membership, but they do guarantee that the number of points for a certain level of room will not change from year to year. They can shuffle around date a little bit, but the total number of points for the year must remain the same. In this way, it will not cost you more points to stay as the years go by.

If there is anything else, you are welcome to PM me.

[fjs08]

Hi,
Are there annual maintenance fees involved with DVC "ownership." We used to own a time share on Sea Pines in Hilton Head in the 80's, but sold it after annual fees rose from the $ 200's to the $ 900's/yr over a 7 yr period.

When you are making a long term commitment to Disney and they are telling you what it will cost you, yikes, that can get expensive.

Frank

[mattomouseman]

Originally posted by Amneris
A quick response from someone who *briefly* looked into it this year and decided against it -- It is a GREAT deal if you will be making more than one or a long trip to WDW *EVERY* year. You get deluxe resort style treatment for moderate or all-star prices. BUT, and this is why I wasn't won over, you are "forced" to spend every vacation at WDW. I didn't like that inflexibility as, heck, I wanna see the rest of the non-Disney world too! ;) You get a certain number of "points" per year. Different resorts cost a different number of points per night. You can spend your points however you want - between different "price" resorts and differen lenghts of stay, but can't carry them to the next year. Thus there's a "business" in selling vacation points that has sprung up where people are aren't going to be able to use them are trying to get some of their money back. Although you buy in based on a particular DVC resort property -- e.g. Saratoga Springs -- you can use your points to stay anywhere. I *think* they have a swap system with time shars in non-Disney places, but if they did they didn't have any place that interested me so I don't remember! :)

I don't know who you spoke with or how you looked into the DVC but you have some major misinformation here!

First of all there is a network of resorts all over the country from NY to Hawaii to Alaska that you can use your DVC points for. There are also resorts out of the country in South America, Europe, The UK, Austrailia and Africa even! There are HUNDREDS of places in the USA alone! Also you CAN bannk your points into the next and even borrow from the year ahead of you. So, say you have 150 points. You can bank your 150 for 2004 into 2005 and then once 2005 comes you can borrow from 2006 to icrease your points for the year 2005 to 450 points! The only additiona cost for a NON DISNEY vacation is a non refundable $95.00 trasnaction fee. I beleive the only time you incur a fee (Other then your monthly payments) is when you book a Disney Cruise, that fee is $75.00. The Saratoga Springs DVC puchase is good until 2050 and it is transferable to family memers. So you can hand it off to your children if you so desire.

[MickeyMamma]

According to their past pattern, there has been very little increse from year to year in terms of annual dues. There are slight differences in the different resorts for maintenance, over the past 10 years it has been about a 2.5% increas per year

I believe that maintenance runs like $3.60-$4 depending on which is your home resort.

[llama]

Originally posted by MickeyMamma
According to their past pattern, there has been very little increse from year to year in terms of annual dues. There are slight differences in the different resorts for maintenance, over the past 10 years it has been about a 2.5% increas per year

I believe that maintenance runs like $3.60-$4 depending on which is your home resort.

I decided to take a little break from DC after our last trip, but when I saw this thread the urge to reply was too strong. As Matto said, you are in NO WAY locked into a WDW vacation. Last year we spent some time at the IntraWest Resort in Whistler, B.C. Let's just say it was the ski resort of the RICH AND FAMOUS. My sister regularly vacations at Cabos San Lucas - likewise. Both these are exchanges within the DVC. (To say nothing of The Plaza, in New York). We also took advantage of the Disney cruise, using our points and a small additional fee. As for annual dues, the only resort where there is some fluxuation is our home resort - Vero Beach. Because of commitments to the environment and issues of beach erosion, the annual fees there run slightly higher than at the other properties:(

[eeeee]

We have decided to join DVC. We just have to complete the paperwork. For me this is a dream come true. For all the reasons already stated above this is good for my family.

"There are HUNDREDS of places in the USA alone!" mattomouseman

"Our points can be used at other hotels around the world if we want." MickeyMamma

In my 3 trips in the past 4 months I have spent at the AllStars almost 900. This is more than any maintience fee. And I got every discount I could find. The discounts will be going away as the economy bounces back and I wouldn't be suprised to see them disapear entirely. So for the price of a discount Allstar room, you would be staying in a room equal to the Grand Floridian! Not to mention the new resort will be available for 50 years and across from DTD! This is the only way to guarantee a low price for a Disney on site vacation. But as someone has already said, if you do not plan to go to Disney in the next 5-7 years it might not be for you.

But for me. . . I am hooked on the Magic! It is the fault of my parents for taking me to DL when I was 3, then WDW every year there after.
:whistle:

[polyman65]

Keep your $$ in the bank,we have looked at this twice and never found it to be a deal at all and we go to WDW twice a year for 10 days each.Also if you decide to go ahead with it and join ask them what will happen if Disney is sold to another company.Remember if Disney is sold off WDW may not be a place you will want to vacation at the next 40 years.

[Rookie]

It all depends on your age and vacation habits. If you are young and plan to take at least a couple of vacations each year on which you'll spend a few thousand dollars, then DVC may be a great bargain. We looked into it and decided that it didn't work out for us. We love WDW but due to work schedules and such, we can only get there once every 18 months or so. For example, we are not in our 20's and we have to use vacation time for trips back to our respective hometowns to visit aging family members. (let me tell 'ya...teen kids are "real" pleased with those kind of trips). Thus, we get only one vacation a year to go someplace more exciting. When we looked into DVC, we averaged the initial cost plus the annual maintenance fees over a period of 25 years (we thought 40 years was being a bit optimistic!) to come up with our annual cost for DVC for that period of time. The math made it seem as though it just wasn't cost effective. We figured that we could go to WDW (or elsewhere) once per year, staying at a moderate, for less money than the DVC would cost per year. Of course, if we could take more frequent, more expensive, and longer vacations, it would be a different story. I really wish we could take advantage of DVC but couldn't. You have to do the math for your own situation.

[skwak]

The Engineer in me loves math. I think the math of DVC is reasonable but certainly not a steal.

However, as one of the really smart people here had posted before (sorry, can't remember who), DVC is not only about the math. They pointed out (and I agree) that it is an investment in your family. We have a nice family structure without any major problems. However, when we are at WDW together we are really, really one big happy family. Anything (including the DVC) that enhances and prolongs that feeling is a worthwhile investment to me.

OK - I'm off my sappy soap box now!