Scarlett81
Mommy to my princess and lil pirate
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2011
Very good points!!Also make sure that you rent and try DVC. There are some significant differences between a DVC stay and a Deluxe resort stay. Some of them some people see as positives while others see as negatives (i.e. a lot of members like no daily housekeeping - but if you go over onto the resort board and bring it up, its a big negative to them on owning DVC).
One thing I like to say is that if you NEED it to work out financially, it probably isn't a good deal - whether it does work out financially in the end or not. This is because I'm very risk adverse and often see the worst case. And the worst case with DVC is that you buy points and make the "investment" then the economy crashes and your life changes drastically and you have to sell DVC at a loss - if you are in a position to afford that loss, its not a huge deal. If you aren't, it can be a really bad thing. A similarly bad thing is what Charles was talking about, if you aren't disciplined, and you need it to work, you can find yourself going over budget by tens of thousands of dollars over the course of ownership (and more if you catch the dreaded addonitis) because you make emotional decisions that DVC ownership encourages (more trips, guests, additional spending because your room is "paid for," etc.). Not a big deal if there is room in your budget.
Also remember that three young children will very quickly become three Disney adults - and that inflation at Disney outpaces inflation in the real world. Tickets for three tweens/teens - feeding a 16 year old boy at Disney - these things get really expensive - and will happen faster than you think. Its easy to change direction when you pay cash - and decide to start vacationing at somewhere cheaper (with a 16 year old boy, all inclusives ROCK - and he likes the beach better than Disney) - owning DVC can make those changes in direction both logistically and emotionally more difficult.
I guess my feelings with cost/savings are that if going the DVC route in the end would mean (vs. regular 2x yearly deluxe resort bookings), that I end up saving something I may as well do it. ?? If not, then sticking with the regular booking may be the better choice.