Originally Posted By itsme Trippy, Save your math a plain basic room with 2 beds, a tv and a bathroom with a parking lot view will cost you at least 2000 and up depending n season for a week at any of the deluxe resorts, Forget the full kithchen, washer/dryer and all the other stuff. Plus i have used it for a few other places away from Disney and found that because i was a DVC member the other places treated me with the highest level of class, to me it shows how much other "time share" type places honor and value the DVC members.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <ElderP perhaps overuses the word scam. (Love you sweetie) After looking at the same promotional materials I think that DVC is a good value for someone looking for a resort vaction experiance. For a family on a tight budget (like us) it is possible to spend as much time at WDW and spend much less money, primarily by being in much less posh conditions. However, for the park we are familar with, DL, there is no way that the DVC is a good value< much like in my house the Mrs has the more level view of things ( mrs vbdad is a Libra and claims she is far more balanced than me and she is right) -- I agree that if my main visits were to DL - and I lived in the area --then DVC is not set up for that. As a traveler to WDW 1 - 2 times per year there are savings for us that are real, -- thanks for synopsizing and hitting the conclusion on the head.
Originally Posted By schnebs Whether or not DVC is a better deal than staying on property also depends on when you go and where you stay. My fiancee and I did the number-crunching for DVC a couple of years back; we tend to stay at POR or POFQ for about 2 weeks in January, get APs, and take advantage of the room discounts offered that time of year. For us, it was a better deal to do what we were doing rather than become DVC members, even if we chose to go every year and assuming a reasonable rate of inflation. If we stayed at a deluxe, though, the numbers would tilt more and more in Disney's favor depending on the category of room. Add to the fact that we're West Coasters and we spend more time at DL than at WDW - and considering the points required for a stay in a DLR hotel room - and the numbers become less favorable. Overall, we'd love to buy in, but our money's tight, too; most likely, we'll probably hold off until if and when a DVC resort is opened at the DLR (which, considering DVC is now being sold at the DLR, I figure is a good possiblilty within 5 - 10 years), and even then, we'd probably buy on the resale market to get the most bang for our buck.
Originally Posted By itsme You can use it to stay at a bunch of the modrates, you dont have to stay at the deluxes. I have a few times sent people to stay at POr as a gift and it worked out good.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 It is a more comparable room / situation to a deluxe than a moderate - look at room sizes alone, which is why the numbers add up better. The one difference in the number crunching is determining the 'reasonable rate of inflation". While it may work out to be true- it is like betting on an ARM vs a fixed rate mortgage. I don;t think anyone say 18% + mortgage rates in the late 70's either -- but each person has to make their own decision. The one thing I absolutely agree with is if you use points to exchange for DL hotels, you are way better today and most likely overall paying the room rates regardless. When they build DL units, a recalc would be necessary.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<My fiancee and I did the number-crunching for DVC a couple of years back; we tend to stay at POR or POFQ for about 2 weeks in January, get APs, and take advantage of the room discounts offered that time of year. For us, it was a better deal to do what we were doing rather than become DVC members, even if we chose to go every year and assuming a reasonable rate of inflation. If we stayed at a deluxe, though, the numbers would tilt more and more in Disney's favor depending on the category of room.>> Yes... we have found that DVC allows us to stay in Deluxe accommodations for about what we previously paid for moderates. So I can't say that it has saved us a large amount over what we used to pay, because we never stayed at the Deluxes prior to DVC. But after being in DVC, the value of staying in a condo-style unit rather than a typical hotel room is an incredible luxury.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut ok I am completely lost...what is POR and POFQ? I have never been to WDW.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo POR = Port Orleans Riverside (once called Dixie Landings) is a wonderful moderate resort at WDW where the buildings are like minerature DL Haunted Mansions. And POFQ = Port Orleans French Quarter - very similar to NOS at DL.
Originally Posted By crazyformickey I have been a DVC member at the Beach Club since 2002 I paid $10,500 for 150 annual points. I pay around $690 a year in dues and taxes and already my membership has paid for itself. In 2002 my husband, son and myself stayed for 1 weeek at the All-Star Resort to a weekly bill of $800 this was when we bought our membership. That year we banked our first year (since we already went in '02) and in 2003 stayed at my home resort in a one bedroom which would have costed us around $3000. In 2004 I went again, staying in a one bedroom which would have been around another $3000. Finally in 2005 I stayed in a studio which whould have been around $2000. Now in just 3 years I would have spent around $8000 and I still have 30+ years to use my membership. Not to mention the discounts from the Disney store which has saved me at least a couple hundred, but the discounts while I am at WDW. I have been invited to special events, this past summer I went to the DVC summer bash where Pleasure Island was free to all members that night or when the DVC was in Chicago and I was invited to a party in honor of Disney sponsoring the Christmas lights in the city. I am now planning my 2006 trip and I will be staying at the villas at the wildreness lodge another $3000 I will be saving. In just 4 years it's paid for it self.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad vbdad you are so right. I could not agree with your comments more. DVC is right for me both financially and for this mysterious "fun factor" someone mentioned. It's not right for everyone, but then nothing is. My CPA, (and trust me, he's no slouch) said it the best I think. After reviewing my deal before I bought in he said, "If you are going to go to WDW every year and use all of your points every year, then this is A FAIR DEAL FOR BOTH YOU AND THE VACATION CLUB. Honestly, based on conservative estimates it's really a better deal for you over the life of the ownership. Buy it, but only if you are going to use the points." Well we use the points and we go three times a year. Sometimes we borrow from the future and take our whole extended family. Sometimes we just take ourselves, but either way, we use the points and I feel great about "the numbers." Like vbdad so eloquently put it, some make a habit of doing the nubmers. Even beyond this, I would take my family three times a year DVC or no DVC so for me, it really really pays. In fact I must admit I have discovered new ways that it pays outside of the nubmers, even after I already bought in. There are many things that we have discovered as a result of being members that I would have missed. The hospitality house at Boardwalk, the room service from so many restaurants available, the ability to wash clothes at night for my five kids so I don't run out of clothes or bring home 15 loads of dirty clothes from vacatoin, staying at OKW and squeezing a couple extra sleeping bags onto that huge living room floor so my son can bring a few of his friends along without much of an increase in cost, the ability to cook if my 4 year old wants Kraft Cheese and Macaroni at 9 PM, the many discounts for DVC members all around WDW, the fishing trip that leaves from Boardwalk and takes you onto the World Showcase Lake in Epcot long before the park opens to catch bass, the exclusivity of a home away from home resort, and many many other things that I cannot take the time nor space to post here. Bottom line, DVC is not for everyone, but its PERFECT for me.
Originally Posted By OldKeyWestie Let's see, DVC a good value...hmmm 3 family reunions 1 parents 50th Anniversary celebration at OKW 3 fantastic Christmas visits 1 trade-out for a 7-day Caribbean cruise on the Disney Magic, followed by a week on property for my daughter's HS graduation Eating in the rooms (no $7 hot dogs in there) AP discounts Shall I go on? DVC, like any other vacation "investment" from a purely numbers game is not always money wisely spent, especially if you're considering ROI strictly from a financial perspective. But if you count in intrinsics, its a wise choice, so I'm happy, my family is happy, and we're very glad we bought into DVC 10 years ago.
Originally Posted By DeadMansChest It seems to me its the people who can't afford it that hate it. ** ducks for fear of flying debris **
Originally Posted By RoadTrip You've noticed that too, huh? Or they have no need of it because they are Orlando residents.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Right in both cases........and then there are those who hate it because somehow they relate it to Eisner... a whole other group
Originally Posted By LadyandtheTramp We loved it, and it saved us money and paid for itself, but we are in the process of divesting ourselves of it. Saved money: we did the calculations a couple of years ago, equating rooms at OKW with the second tier resorts (WL, AKL) and doing all the math, figured out that the buy-in plus maintenance fees were outdone by what we saved in staying there over paying for hotel rooms - including savings at Disneyana conventions. Of course, it helped that: we bought early when prices were about half of what they are now; and, when we bought we got length-of-stay park admissions. That was a major perk. Divesting: we now live in Florida, about one hour from WDW, and there's no real need to own. We actually spent points to go on a Disney cruise last year because we weren't going to use all our points.
Originally Posted By itsme >>Divesting: we now live in Florida, about one hour from WDW, and there's no real need to own. We actually spent points to go on a Disney cruise last year because we weren't going to use all our points. ---- If you have paid for it already i would keep it and use it for the other places you can go around the country. You will always have a nice room generaly with a kitchen no matter where you go.
Originally Posted By LadyandtheTramp Difference of opinion - the last thing we want to have on a vacation trip is a kitchen (other than possibly a fridge). One of the nice things about traveling is the opportunity to eat at different restaurants with "local" food specialities.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Difference of opinion - the last thing we want to have on a vacation trip is a kitchen (other than possibly a fridge). One of the nice things about traveling is the opportunity to eat at different restaurants with "local" food specialities.>> We are the same way. My wife doesn't cook when she is on vacation. But we love having the kitchen for breakfast and late night snacks. It is very convenient and saves considerable money.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I couldn't see myself buying into the DVC, even if I had the money. As much as I like Disney, there are too many other places in the world that I want to explore.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip << As much as I like Disney, there are too many other places in the world that I want to explore.>> It isn't for everyone. If you are doing annual vacations to WDW anyway, it is a big savings. If not, it may not be that good for you. We always do one WDW DVC vacation a year and one non-WDW vacation to somewhere else (this year it was to Washington D.C.) That kind of gives us the best of both worlds.
