Be honest... are you happy you bought DVC?

[mdsd8700]

We have 270 points split between a few contracts at BLT. This is working fine for us now, but definately will add on some day. Just need to figure out where. As our kids get older and start taking vacations without us they will need points and DH and I will need points so what we currently have won't be enough. I think around 400 would be good for us.

 

[rutgers1]

The Upside:

We are very happy. I am still not sure how much of a slam dunk it was financially, as we probably wouldn't be going to Disney as often and probably would only be staying in moderates, but it has definitely added something to our family life that everyone will cherish forever.

Many people have vacation homes. We can't afford a vacation home. To us, DVC is our vacation home. When the kids look back at their childhood, I think they will 100% feel that family trips to Disney were a big part of their identity. For that, I am very thankful to DVC.

I am also looking forward to going with my kids and their families someday. We have enough points so that we can split and give each child 6 days each year, or we can rotate them (one each year) and then keep 6 days for ourselves. And if they don't want them, then that's 12 days for us!

The Downside:

1) Although I haven't seen a downgrade in upkeep yet (as others have said), I do think that Disney is trying to pull every last dollar from every last visitor nowadays. A Disney trip was always more expensive than going to other places, but it seems to be out of hand now.

2) Along the same lines, the current pricing for points is absolutely nuts. I wouldn't consider buying through Disney. I find it crazy that, in a down economy, the price of points have risen so much in recent years.

3) I sometimes wonder how motivated I will be to go to Disney when my kids are a bit older and our summers (preferred vacation time) are busier with sports and other things that they need/want to do. I figure that we'll go through a time when we rent our points more frequently.

4) I wish the use of points was more flexible. We haven't tried to trade out yet, but the word is that it isn't very easy. We really want to see more of the world. Lately, we have begun taking cruises. Yet we'd LOVE to be able to trade out of DVC and see other places, too. If that was a simple process, DVC would be a much better deal for me.

 

[CruznLexi]

We bought in Jan at KV we bought 100 points there are just 2 of us and we live in Florida. I was leary of DVC I thought it would cost a lot and how much would I use it? After paying $ 3000 for a week at Pop with our 2 nephews in Jan with tickets for them and dinning plan I knew we would never do that again! So while at WDW we did The DVC presentation. We have stayed quite in the 3 years we have been members even with our small contract. We have stayed at KV 3 times, VB 2 times, HH once GCV 2 times. We have HH and KV this year. We love it! We do cruise and go on the ships and we pay cash.

 

[katiemely]

we are happy . . in one year we went to disney twice on military discount and spend 2500. we decided that we wanted to continue to go twice a year and stay at the deluxe and the affordable way to do it is dvc.

 

[edk35]

We are 5 year members and LOVE DVC. We just added on again this past fall, but did resale this time. That is how we will add on from now on. Our ONLY regret....is that we didn't buy in back in 1993. We were very close to it but decided not to since we were moving to Japan for 3 years. Overall....LOVE DVC.

 

[robinbutterfly]

We are 5 year members and LOVE DVC. We just added on again this past fall, but did resale this time. That is how we will add on from now on. Our ONLY regret....is that we didn't buy in back in 1993. We were very close to it but decided not to since we were moving to Japan for 3 years. Overall....LOVE DVC.

How does it work when you buy on. For instance if you have 150 on one contract and you buy another 100.... so do you have 250 points or is it more complicated then that?

 

[cadale]

We bought into BLT in 2009 and have loved being part of DVC. We have been able to enjoy more disney vacations than we would have otherwise. We have added onto our original purchase twice and would add on again if it was in the budget. Definetly would only do resale as the direct prices are getting a little too high.

Our kids can't wait to go down as a family (usually every two years because they have been in college) and my DH and I go at least twice a year on our own. We have made unbelievable memories and the kids are already talking about when they can use the points to go on their own.

So yes, we are 100% happy with our purchase.

 

[gray52]

Our family is 100% satisfied with our DVC purchase. Had we purchased direct when we did the tour, i might not feel the same way. "They" almost had us but we chose not to sign up during the tour... after finding the resale market, we were thrilled. Still waited a couple years until we had all the cash up front, while reading these boards, to make our purchase. Currently waiting to close on our second contract. Plan to use it for a few years and then make a decision what to do with them (when the kids are older).

We own another timeshare on the Outer Banks of NC... we'd buy that one again in a heartbeat as well. Our OBX timeshare is, in our opinion, a slightly more favorable because it's 100% owned and managed by the owners, not the development company. It has a much more "ownership" feel to it than DVC. But i will say that DVC is much more flexible with all the choices of resorts, on and off-site.

 

[disneyfreaks1@sbcglo]

I love my DVC. We bought ours in 2003. We always get a one bedroom so that we can actually have some space on our vacation! I really wish we could afford more points I would buy them in a second!

 

[gray52]

How does it work when you buy on. For instance if you have 150 on one contract and you buy another 100.... so do you have 250 points or is it more complicated then that?

If you purchase the same use year at the same resort and the person(s) on the two deeds are the same, you can combine the two contracts as one for 250 points. Otherwise, you have two separate contracts and must stay within the limits of each... but there are ways to use them as one contract (like we do)... by banking/borrowing one contract this year, using the other contract for your trip. Then you switch it next year.
For example... we will use only our OKW contract this year (using 2012 points and some 2013 points) and bank all of our 2012 BWV points. Next year we'll use only our BWV points and bank what's ever left of our 2013 OKW points.

Or at the 7-month window, you could transfer points from one to the other and combine them to make a reservation (i've never actually done this, so i THINK i have that correct).

 

[christianweecare]

We love our DVC! Wish we had done it sooner.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

If you purchase the same use year at the same resort and the person(s) on the two deeds are the same, you can combine the two contracts as one for 250 points. Otherwise, you have two separate contracts and must stay within the limits of each... but there are ways to use them as one contract (like we do)... by banking/borrowing one contract this year, using the other contract for your trip. Then you switch it next year.
For example... we will use only our OKW contract this year (using 2012 points and some 2013 points) and bank all of our 2012 BWV points. Next year we'll use only our BWV points and bank what's ever left of our 2013 OKW points.

Or at the 7-month window, you could transfer points from one to the other and combine them to make a reservation (i've never actually done this, so i THINK i have that correct).

This thread probably isn't the forum for this but just a point of clarification for the person that originally asked.

In your scenario, one owner, same resort, same UY, those two contracts essentially function idenitcally as one. In other words, the only thing that changes is when they are sold or distributed in an estate, when they must be treated as seperate entities.

In your scenario, there's nothing to borrow, loan, transfer or anything of the sort. They are essentially "one in the same" and one set of points.

At 7 months, points are points.

 

[carlbarry]

After several years of "lurking," I purchased resale in late 2009, and a year later added points. Both times loaded contracts, which effectively reduced my cost. Here's why I'm happy:
1. Immediately upon receiving my points, I realized that I could visit my elderly (middle 80's) aunt and uncle in Culver City if I stayed at Grand Californian. Lo and behold, 3 days later I received an email from JetBlue of a fare sale. I called DVC and booked Grand Californian!
2. December of that year (2010) I stayed in AKL, in a room that couldn't be a better location. I checked off another "Bucket List" item.
3. December of 2011 my wait list didn't come through, and I was "stuck" at my home resort, OKW. Again, great location, and I couldn't have been happier.
4. Seven months out I booked Aulani for January of this year. My cost was around $130 per night (MF + amortization of my purchase price). Compare that to rack rate + $35 per night parking! I feel that I got quite a bargain.
Bottom line: I can take vacations that for others are "once in a lifetime," but for me are "anytime I want."

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

After several years of "lurking," I purchased resale in late 2009, and a year later added points. Both times loaded contracts, which effectively reduced my cost. Here's why I'm happy:
1. Immediately upon receiving my points, I realized that I could visit my elderly (middle 80's) aunt and uncle in Culver City if I stayed at Grand Californian. Lo and behold, 3 days later I received an email from JetBlue of a fare sale. I called DVC and booked Grand Californian!
2. December of that year (2010) I stayed in AKL, in a room that couldn't be a better location. I checked off another "Bucket List" item.
3. December of 2011 my wait list didn't come through, and I was "stuck" at my home resort, OKW. Again, great location, and I couldn't have been happier.
4. Seven months out I booked Aulani for January of this year. My cost was around $130 per night (MF + amortization of my purchase price). Compare that to rack rate + $35 per night parking! I feel that I got quite a bargain.
Bottom line: I can take vacations that for others are "once in a lifetime," but for me are "anytime I want."

I know nobody else ever says this, but...

before we joined DVC we always seemed to get the worst views Disney had to offer. We thought all resorts had views of parking lots, roofs, fallen trees, etc.

Ever since we joined DVC...we seem to always get a great room...if we stay DVC or not. We even get corner rooms when we stay at Port Orleans.

 

[carlbarry]

I know nobody else ever says this, but...

before we joined DVC we always seemed to get the worst views Disney had to offer. We thought all resorts had views of parking lots, roofs, fallen trees, etc.

Ever since we joined DVC...we seem to always get a great room...if we stay DVC or not. We even get corner rooms when we stay at Port Orleans.

I've stayed 4 times on DVC properties. My only complaint is that my Aulani room was listed as "Island Garden View" but was actually of the Marriott's parking garage. The other 3 stays I had excellent views.

 

[dclfun]

We love our DVC even though I just sold two contracts with a total of 300 points. We are keeping our original 150. The reason for selling was my health and needing to be sure that my kids even wanted to keep our membership after I'm gone. They didn't want all 450 points and we aren't using them all now so we only kept what's necessary as all agreed that we want to remain DVC members. DVC gives us a sense of freedom. We don't worry about costs and can stay in nice accommodations whenever we want. I'm happier with the lower amount of points we have for now as they meet our needs. That's the good thing about DVC- you can always buy more points if your needs change or sell them. My only issue is the higher weekend points. The kids can get away on weekends but we use more points that way and sometimes I feel I'm being wasteful even though they are our points to use as we please.

 

[mjlass11]

I'm quite happy that we bought DVC. We initially bought 160 SSR points through DVC when they had a special for $5 or $10 off a point plus 160 bonus points....or some offer like this. The next year we bought 200 points through TTS with the same use year at BWV. There's just myself and my partner in our family, so when we go on vacation, we usually go with friends and/or family to Disney. This way we stay in Grand Villas so we all have our own room, but are together. Love staying on Disney property. I wish there was a discount on MIY passes, but now that TIW is available, this makes up for it. It only takes a couple meals for 5-8 adults to make up for the $100 TIW card.