Jedi Dad
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2018
Hello! I wanted to post this for others, who are researching DVC, to show how we made some our decisions. Most of this is just what was the most important to our family, I’m sure I will leave out things that may be important to you that did not weigh heavily for us. This is by no means a definitive guide; I'm not reinventing the wheel on this one, just sharing my experience in my research.
Question 1: DVC - Yes or No?
- YES! For us, this was a no-brainer. If every year, for the foreseeable future, you are going to WDW and staying in moderate or deluxe resorts, it probably makes sense. As far as the math goes, I think of buying DVC as an upfront cost for long-term savings.
Question 2: Which Home Resort?
- We have gone back and forth with this one a couple dozen times, lol. Our current favorites are BWV, PVB, BLT and (the value of) SSR.
- We are still a little worried, if we buy SSR, that we will have a hard time booking other resorts at 7 months out. We generally go at slower times of the year, but it is definitely something to consider. It goes against the “buy where you want to stay” adage.
- We love BWV, but with only 24 years left on the contract it is not a great value compared to some of the other resorts. The other side of that coin is; if you get 24 great years out of it, who cares? It is still a better value than NO-DVC. These are the kinds of arguments I have with myself inside my brain.
- PVB and BLT have EXCELLENT long term value, having 40+ years left on the contract. LOVE that!
Question 3: How many points?
- We are going to start with 100. We like the idea of one year doing a trip one year for less than 100, in say a studio, than banking the rest for next year and doing something for more than 100 points, say 1 bedroom villa or banking/borrowing and getting a 2 bedroom and inviting family, etc.
Question 4: Direct vs Resale?
- 75-100 pts @ SSR is the only resort we were considering direct (for the “incidental benefits”, which everyone will point out, are subject to change). We would then add on resale, as needed. The biggest factor for us is that, we’re not really sure if SSR is for us, so that may wipe out direct all together, because all the other resorts we were only considering resale.
- Our best prediction is that most years we will only be going once, so the difference between a 7-Day Park Hopper and the buy-direct discount on Gold AP is a wash. (We can get a fraction of the dining/merch discounts with the Disney Visa.)
- We like the members only stuff, but not enough to justify the HUGE cost difference.
Question 5: Which Use Year?
- For the most part, we go to WDW in Fall/Winter. So an AUG use year is probably best for us. Our trips will inevitably change when our 3 month old daughter goes to school.
- Use Year is important to us to an extent, but we’re not gonna stress over it. Travel habits change over time and I can’t predict the future… yet…
Question 6: How do we pay for it?
- First, we first figured out the total amount we needed. Then we took a few thousand out of our savings and said “this is the beginning of our DVC fund”. We subtracted that from the total and now we knew how much we still needed to save. We decided on a date we wanted to be finished savings by and figured out how many pay periods were in between. Dividing what we still need to save by how many pay periods, gave us an idea of how much we would need to put away each pay period. For us the number was a little higher than we would like, but rather than extend the date out, we decided to make concessions elsewhere in our budget to make it work. SO! After a years’ worth of research, DVC spreadsheets (color-coded to the match each resorts colors, of course) and talks with my wife, we are going to be ready to buy DVC in December.
***Edit: I probably should have included what we actually decided on, lol. If all goes well, we will be buying around 100 points, re-sale, at either BLT or BWV, with an Aug use year.***
If you made it this far, here’s my last 2 cents. DVC, for us, is an investment in our happiness. While the numbers need to make sense, remember why you’re doing it in the first place.
Happy people live longer… I think… and if they don’t… please don’t tell me.
-Mike
Question 1: DVC - Yes or No?
- YES! For us, this was a no-brainer. If every year, for the foreseeable future, you are going to WDW and staying in moderate or deluxe resorts, it probably makes sense. As far as the math goes, I think of buying DVC as an upfront cost for long-term savings.
Question 2: Which Home Resort?
- We have gone back and forth with this one a couple dozen times, lol. Our current favorites are BWV, PVB, BLT and (the value of) SSR.
- We are still a little worried, if we buy SSR, that we will have a hard time booking other resorts at 7 months out. We generally go at slower times of the year, but it is definitely something to consider. It goes against the “buy where you want to stay” adage.
- We love BWV, but with only 24 years left on the contract it is not a great value compared to some of the other resorts. The other side of that coin is; if you get 24 great years out of it, who cares? It is still a better value than NO-DVC. These are the kinds of arguments I have with myself inside my brain.
- PVB and BLT have EXCELLENT long term value, having 40+ years left on the contract. LOVE that!
Question 3: How many points?
- We are going to start with 100. We like the idea of one year doing a trip one year for less than 100, in say a studio, than banking the rest for next year and doing something for more than 100 points, say 1 bedroom villa or banking/borrowing and getting a 2 bedroom and inviting family, etc.
Question 4: Direct vs Resale?
- 75-100 pts @ SSR is the only resort we were considering direct (for the “incidental benefits”, which everyone will point out, are subject to change). We would then add on resale, as needed. The biggest factor for us is that, we’re not really sure if SSR is for us, so that may wipe out direct all together, because all the other resorts we were only considering resale.
- Our best prediction is that most years we will only be going once, so the difference between a 7-Day Park Hopper and the buy-direct discount on Gold AP is a wash. (We can get a fraction of the dining/merch discounts with the Disney Visa.)
- We like the members only stuff, but not enough to justify the HUGE cost difference.
Question 5: Which Use Year?
- For the most part, we go to WDW in Fall/Winter. So an AUG use year is probably best for us. Our trips will inevitably change when our 3 month old daughter goes to school.
- Use Year is important to us to an extent, but we’re not gonna stress over it. Travel habits change over time and I can’t predict the future… yet…
Question 6: How do we pay for it?
- First, we first figured out the total amount we needed. Then we took a few thousand out of our savings and said “this is the beginning of our DVC fund”. We subtracted that from the total and now we knew how much we still needed to save. We decided on a date we wanted to be finished savings by and figured out how many pay periods were in between. Dividing what we still need to save by how many pay periods, gave us an idea of how much we would need to put away each pay period. For us the number was a little higher than we would like, but rather than extend the date out, we decided to make concessions elsewhere in our budget to make it work. SO! After a years’ worth of research, DVC spreadsheets (color-coded to the match each resorts colors, of course) and talks with my wife, we are going to be ready to buy DVC in December.
***Edit: I probably should have included what we actually decided on, lol. If all goes well, we will be buying around 100 points, re-sale, at either BLT or BWV, with an Aug use year.***
If you made it this far, here’s my last 2 cents. DVC, for us, is an investment in our happiness. While the numbers need to make sense, remember why you’re doing it in the first place.
Happy people live longer… I think… and if they don’t… please don’t tell me.
-Mike
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