Am I a good DVC Candidate?

[tigergrad]

I'm not going to get into the money aspect of purchasing DVC. I will tell you why we decided to purchase and are currently waiting to pass ROFR. I am 48 and my husband is 52. We have 3 children ages 28,22, and 16. We also have a 2 year old grandson. We have taken many trips to Disney over the past 30 years. We've done everything from staying in a motel on International Drive to paying to stay at Beach Club for a short free dining stay. We've rented condos outside the World and stayed in value, mod, and deluxe WDW resorts. Our kids have grown up with Disney vacations. We never really thought about DVC when they were younger, we thought they'd outgrow the desire. They have not. We still take a family vacation every year or every other year together. The 2 oldest are married and still want to go to Disney when asked where they want to go.We will be able to go as a family or divide up points for separate stays. It just made sense to us. We are waiting on our contract to pass ROFR. Hopefully just a few more days. It's 255 points at SSR. This April we will have 420 points to use until April 2014. Hopefully we will be able to take everyone down this summer.. I'm a teacher, to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We bought resale because of the much cheaper price and did not want to use points for anything but DVC properties. Best of luck deciding.

[momtofour]

My children are 24,20,18 and 15. We take an annual trip with our points and we all look forward to it more than ever. Their lives are busy, 2 in college, one graduated and working out of state. It is something that connects us and brings us together. We've owned since 2002 and I really wish we would have done it much sooner. You will probably find that your lives will really change over time but there will still be a place for the vacation points. Next week I am meeting my out of state daughter at WDW for 4 nights and cannot wait. It really has given us many wonderful memories. Best of luck with your decision.

[k3chantal]

Originally Posted by ::danielle::

I have been researching and reading about DVC purchases for a long time. I've payed particular attention to the threads where people rationalize their decision to purchase DVC. I'm always impressed at the insightful answers given by DVC owners. I would love to get some insight about if we would be good candidates and if there are other things that we are not taking into consideration.

Here's some background;

Family: Myself, DH, DS8, DD4

Vacation history:

We travel every year, taking approx. (2) 1-week long trips at different times of the year. We usually rent a condo with a kitchen and 2 bedrooms. We only stay in hotel rooms when absolutely necessary (DH is a night owl, I'm an early bird. It's better for our marriage if one of us can sleep in peace while the other one can enjoy their prime time).

Disney history:

2009 to DL (here's where we learned that a hotel room is too small for us!)

2012 to WDW split stay - POP (1 night - torture!), WBC (2 bedroom condo, 6 nights - heavenly), POR (1 night - doable but not enjoyable)

DVC thoughts/plan:

Although we take 2 trips a year, it is unlikely that DH will make WDW an annual vacation. In order to see/experience the parks at different times of the year, I would like to go every 18-24 months. I estimate that we would need about 150 or so points (used biyearly to equal 300). Some years we would need more, others we would need less (depending on the season/unit size). I haven't decided an ideal UY but I'm leaning towards February-June. I am also heavily leaning towards BLT (for the location) Right now, our kids are little so we focus on MK. Our second favorite park is Epcot. We hated the 20 minutes it took to ride the buses to and from the parks (we came home mid-day to all take naps). Not sure how this will change in the future.



Money:

We would pay in full for a DVC resale contract. I did a calculation to see how purchasing DVC would compare to renting points ($13/point). My simplistic calculation is that the cost of purchasing BLT (including annual MFs) would reach the break even point in 10-12 years (or 5-6 vacations). This puts my kids at college age.

Longevity:

I can sort of predict our lives for the next 10-12 years while the kids are still in school. I don't know how part-time jobs and waning interest will affect their ability/desire to vacation at Disney. I imagine that after college, with new careers and limited vacation time they may not want to go at all.

My Internal Struggle:

As a general commitment-phobe, it seems that I should just rent DVC points for the next 10-12 years. My struggle with this is one of control. I hate that I have to relinquish control of my reservation to a complete stranger. I can tip the bowl in the favor of a purchase by justifying that I may be able to sell the points at the end of it's useful life for our family (I realize that it's not a guarantee). Of course, I may just be trying to find a logical reason to justify my emotions.

I would love to hear insightful advice about my situation (no flaming, please). In particular if you're 10 years into your contract and now have college age kids, I would love to hear how you feel about DVC now.

TIA!


**Note: purchasing a non-Disney timeshare is not an option. While we loved staying at WBC, we missed the Disney feel. It's DVC or nothing!

You sound like a perfect candidate. You understand your travel needs, have a good fundamental understanding of how DVC works, and anytime you are about to spend THAT much money, whether it is resale or direct, I would hope, one would think twice about it thus your reluctance.

I have a 13, 9, and 3 year old. Already the 13 year old is saying he needs to stay home when we make reservations during school (wants to keep his straight A's). So the 'problem' of having the kids not being 'interested' can happen earlier.

This has not dimmed my own interest in using our points. In fact, there is a part of me that is looking forward to when its just the husband and me and we can use our points for just a studio and stay longer.

My 'biggest' concern for you is your location. You will have to fly anytime you use your points whether that's DL or WDW. There have been some years when we say "let's save on airfare and go to DL". So if you decide to go ahead, you will need to factor in the costs of travel since it will be more consistently higher. Perhaps people who live in other locations that are similar can chime in and let you know whether it is a real problem.

In any case, good luck! I don't regret my purchase just would like more points so we can go more often!

[::danielle::]

Again, thank you to all for your insightful thoughts!

I think I will follow the advice of many and hold off on a purchase until I have stayed at and explored some of the resorts. We were planning to stay at BLT for our next vacation in December 2013. While we're at WDW I will make it a point to explore some of the resorts that sound initially appealing (VWL, BWV, AKL) as well as a couple that don't jump out at me but may be the perfect fit for our family (SSR, OKW).

From what I can tell, for some families (kids) Disney enjoyment wanes early, some not at all. I cannot possibly predict how it will end up for us. However, I should prepare myself for the fact that Disney may not be the "happy place" for my kids as it is for me.

You have all been so wonderful and kind. I cannot thank you enough!

[Brian Noble]

The ultimate question is: given the choice, would you rent a 2BR at Bonnet Creek from a Wyndham VIP owner, or would you rent a 2BR DVC unit from a DVC owner---recognizing that the DVC unit costs about 3x as much?

If your answer is anything other than "Rent the DVC unit, each and every time" you should not buy DVC.