can someone give me the real life costs

[stitchaholic]

Hi , I am reserching into DVC , I see to have a weeks vacation , wether we be a family of 4 or just the 2 adults , we would need approx 300 points for a weeks stay in a 1 bedroom , most resales go for 16-17,000 .

what would the extra yearly fee's be approx on 300 points ?
Is it easy to trade points with other vacation clubs ?
can I use points for DCL ?

if you could do it all over again , would you take the plunge ? i find myself unable to tear myself away from Disney vacations , after every vacation i say , ok , next time it will be somewhere else , a different experience , yet every year i find myself longing for the house of mouse ..... what a predicament , trying to do the math

[DizBub]

Originally Posted by stitchaholic

Hi , I am reserching into DVC , I see to have a weeks vacation , wether we be a family of 4 or just the 2 adults , we would need approx 300 points for a weeks stay in a 1 bedroom , most resales go for 16-17,000 .

what would the extra yearly fee's be approx on 300 points ?
Is it easy to trade points with other vacation clubs ?
can I use points for DCL ?

if you could do it all over again , would you take the plunge ? i find myself unable to tear myself away from Disney vacations , after every vacation i say , ok , next time it will be somewhere else , a different experience , yet every year i find myself longing for the house of mouse ..... what a predicament , trying to do the math

We have 310 points at BLT and the dues for the coming year are $1395. Up over 6% from last year. Keep in mind that BLT currently has the lowest dues and they go up every year (hopefully not 6%). For your needs SSR would be a great choice. Fees are a little higher ($4.81) but resale price is so much lower.

Don't know about the ease of trading points for other timeshares but no, you cannot use resale points for DCL.

Yes, if we had it to do over we would take the plunge. We love it.

[stitchaholic]

but is there really value to it if your annual dues are that high , i mean you can probably rent points for the same price as your annual dues , so what makes it a value ?
Please do not take that in a bad way , I am just trying to understand all the fine details so we can make a very informed decision

[k3chantal]

Originally Posted by stitchaholic

Hi , I am reserching into DVC , I see to have a weeks vacation , wether we be a family of 4 or just the 2 adults , we would need approx 300 points for a weeks stay in a 1 bedroom , most resales go for 16-17,000 .

what would the extra yearly fee's be approx on 300 points ?
Is it easy to trade points with other vacation clubs ?
can I use points for DCL ?

if you could do it all over again , would you take the plunge ? i find myself unable to tear myself away from Disney vacations , after every vacation i say , ok , next time it will be somewhere else , a different experience , yet every year i find myself longing for the house of mouse ..... what a predicament , trying to do the math

We have 280 AKL points so our dues are somewhere around 1500.00 dollars a year for our family of 5. (We were 4 when we bought our points )

Yes, I would do it again. No regrets. I would love more points so we could go more often.

We have used our points to trade with RCI. It was easy that specific time because we had an open mind on where we would go. We went to Princevalle,Kauai, Hawaii, stayed in a beautiful one bedroom condo that had a huge loft (so really a two bedroom) and had an ocean view for 7 nights; only 160 points.

Please note, I should put in a disclaimer that it can be difficult to get what you want when you trade.

We have also used our points for a 7 night cruise to Mexico on the Disney Wonder. Our points are direct. Again, a wonderful experience. And there will be many future posts in this thread that will advise you not to use your points for anything other than Disney World because of the value of your points. For us, living in California, we always need to factor in the cost of airfare (for 5) so these other options make sense to us.

Obviously, we have gone several times to Disney World and Disneyland on our points. I am always 'planning' for our next trip.

I would advise that if you are serious about doing this, only do it if you can purchase your points outright and you can see into the foreseeable future and say confidently that the yearly dues are not going to be an 'ouch' when they are due. There was just a thread recently where the OP was asking what she should do because between the cost of the loan and the yearly dues; it was too much. So don't put yourself in a position where you may have to sell or rent your points. In my opinion, it kinda ruins the 'magic'.

Good luck!

[Missyrose]

Originally Posted by stitchaholic

but is there really value to it if your annual dues are that high , i mean you can probably rent points for the same price as your annual dues , so what makes it a value ?
Please do not take that in a bad way , I am just trying to understand all the fine details so we can make a very informed decision

You have to do the math yourself to compare where the break-even point would be for your DVC purchase. Divide out the upfront costs of the points over the number of years left on the contract and add in the ever-increasing cost of maintenance fees. Then compare those numbers to how much you typically pay for lodging at Disney (and even compare how much lodging would be by renting points at $13 per point) and you'll begin to start to figure out if DVC would be financially worth it for your family.

As to the difference between renting and owning? It comes down to one thing: control. When you rent, the person you rent from has control of the reservation until the moment you check in. They have to add DME/Dining plan/room requests for you. If you own DVC you retain control of your reservation.

[crisi]

Originally Posted by stitchaholic

but is there really value to it if your annual dues are that high , i mean you can probably rent points for the same price as your annual dues , so what makes it a value ?
Please do not take that in a bad way , I am just trying to understand all the fine details so we can make a very informed decision

You probably can't rent points for the cost of your annual dues. Dues are about half what point rentals go for - unless you find distressed points - in which case you won't have much choice in resorts or timing - which is why they are distressed.

However, that doesn't mean its a good deal for everyone.

DVC works best for those that want to go to Disney every year, or every other year. They NEED to stay on site, they want multi room units, or they like the DVC studios. They can commit to dues every year and increases in dues every year - as well as the other costs involved in going to Disney (tickets, airfare, food - whatever you need to make you Disney trip complete).

It is not a good timeshare for trading - its expensive, the options are limited, and you have to work through Member Services.

It is not a good deal for cruising - you have to buy direct - which adds thousands to your costs, cruising on points is expensive pointwise, and is not always available.

It is not a good timeshare for "saving money" - its possible, but because of the commitment and costs involved and the emotions, its likely you'll end up spending more than you would if you didn't own (you go more often, slip in extra trips, take friends, without a hotel bill you splurge more, you take trips to "use points" you might have skipped under the same circumstances, and the "cheap trip where we'll stay offsite - or take advantage of a great deal at a value" becomes problematic)

This doesn't mean that for certain people it isn't a good value - but it its a good value the same way an expensive car can be a good value. A cheaper car will get you to work, but a BMW may add enjoyment to your commute.

[stitchaholic]

I have rented points in the past , anywhere from 9.00 to 11.00 pp so I can see how people can pay annual dues with that the years they don't use their points .
I have been every year since 2006 , we started out at a value , we were super impressed , love was born , next trip started at a value , but I got upset with the comforts and bumped up to a mod CSR , loved it , ever since , we rented DVC , last march I needed my Disney fix and tried to justify it by doing a value , using Disney transport and no DDP. It was my worst trip ever , ended up buckling and renting a car , but realized that delux is the only way I want to go from now on , the resorts are a big part of it for me

[peemagg]

Isn't there also some restrictions between buying straight from Disney and buying a resale? I thought I remembered them changing this recently, but can't remember the facts about it.

[DizBub]

Originally Posted by stitchaholic

but is there really value to it if your annual dues are that high , i mean you can probably rent points for the same price as your annual dues , so what makes it a value ?
Please do not take that in a bad way , I am just trying to understand all the fine details so we can make a very informed decision

I quickly checked. To rent points at BLT for 7 nights in the cheapest season for a 2br at $10pp would be $2730 for a standard view. $2960 for a lake view and $3680 for a MK view. Summer prices (July) for BLT would go up to $3540, $3860, and $4720 respectively. Since my dues are $1395 for next year and I will get at least 3 to 4 trips in the year I consider this a great value. Full disclosure...we also have 160 BCV points so my total dues for 2013 are $2299.

We don't always get a 2br and stay at SSR and OKW quite a bit. We always drive so don't have big travel expenses. There's only 2 of us.

In Jan we will spend 9 nights in studios between OKW, BLT and SSR.

In May, 3 nights in a 2br standard view at AKV (will add 4 nights in a studio to this).

In Sept will be at BLT for 4 more nights in a studio and move to BCV for 7 nights in a 2br.

We will have enough points to get another week in Dec. Another disclosure...we had some banked points.

What's so great about this is the flexibility. And there is the control you have over your reservations.

[CaptDadSparrow]

Originally Posted by crisi

its a good value the same way an expensive car can be a good value. A cheaper car will get you to work, but a BMW may add enjoyment to your commute.

Best explanation ever.


Vacation buys are not about roi but getting the most enjoyment with in your means.

[DizBub]

Originally Posted by CaptDadSparrow

Vacation buys are not about roi but getting the most enjoyment with in your means.

Could not agree more with this statement.

[grafxgirl]

What resorts are you looking at staying, and what time of year? We have 250 points total.

We own at the Beach Club Villas and at Old Key West. If we want to stay a week in a one bedroom Villa at BCV during Adventure Season it only cost us 197 pts for an entire week, Choice Season is 211, Dream Season is 255, Magic Season is 269, and Premier Season is 362.

For us to stay in a one bedroom villa for a week at Old Key West it is 157 for Adventure Season, 174 for Choice Season, 199 for Dream Season, 222 for Magic Season, and 300 for Premier Season.

Don't forget you can bank points and roll them over to the following year, or borrow point from the following year to use during your current season.

The thing is we don't always go for a full week (usually arrive Sun morning and depart sometime Fri), and we don't always stay in a one bedroom or two bedroom villa, and we don't go during the busy seasons like spring break and summer so we are able to squeeze 2-3 trips a year out of our points.

[Deb & Bill]

At this point in time, I can't with a good conscience recommend buying directly from Disney. We paid $50 a point direct from Disney in 1997 and then about $72 a point for our last resort (bought it pre-occupancy). We have already sold off two contracts, both for more than we bought them for, but that will never happen again. When DVC points went above $100 a point I thought that was outrageous. Now when they start selling the villas at Grand Floridian, they are going to be through the ceiling.

We will never buy another point from DVC. We have 325 and will probably sell them in a few years, sooner rather than later. The price of tickets is really expensive. Whereever we go for a trip, we'll still have to pay for lodging, dining and transportation. But tickets wouldn't be needed if we go to the beach. Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island are not our idea of a good vacation. We did VB once and it was just okay. We prefer the gulf side.

If DVC was good for trading, it might be something to hang on to. We still like going to WDW, but like I already said, park admission is really expensive. We got the bargain $399 PAPs in October, we have the marathon in January, and might try to get in one more trip late Sept or early Oct 2013 before the PAPs expire.

As for dues, I think our's started out in the $2.50-$3.00 a point range. Now they are over $5.00 a point. That's another reason to look carefully at buying DVC. If you pay your dues by the month with direct debit from a bank account, you don't notice it so much. But like insurance, it comes due in one lump and you think YIKES!! And the bill comes right around Christmas time, so it's a double YIKES!!

[bumbershoot]

can I use points for DCL ?

Not with resale points, I believe.

[DizBub]

Originally Posted by Deb & Bill

We still like going to WDW, but like I already said, park admission is really expensive. We got the bargain $399 PAPs in October, we have the marathon in January, and might try to get in one more trip late Sept or early Oct 2013 before the PAPs expire.

As for dues, I think our's started out in the $2.50-$3.00 a point range. Now they are over $5.00 a point. That's another reason to look carefully at buying DVC. If you pay your dues by the month with direct debit from a bank account, you don't notice it so much. But like insurance, it comes due in one lump and you think YIKES!! And the bill comes right around Christmas time, so it's a double YIKES!!

I know!! That dues payment is a chunk to be hit with right after Christmas!! We do pay monthly, but not on the full amount......I try to keep the monthly payment around $100. Just bought 2 PAPs last week too. Triple Yikes!!!

Travel and tickets are expensive. We treated our daughter and grandkids to a 1br at SSR for 8 nights in Oct. Tickets for all of them were nearly $2000 (6 day PHs with waterparks) then there was the airfare and food costs. She also paid cash for 2 nights at AoA. She laughs that their "free" vacation cost her a fortune!!