Joining the neighborhood...

[Orky15]

My fiancee and I just vacationed at the Yacht Club and fell in love with Disney all over again. Now, as I look at the prices for membership, it will clearly be a large savings to join DVC. However, we are extremely adventurous and probably would not be content to go to Disney every year, as fun as that might be.

Do any of you use the member getaway resorts (non-Disney hotels) more than the WDW hotels? Would that still be cost-effective, or do you lose point value by not staying in Disney.

Also, we tend to be pretty spontaneous. Is it nearly impossible to book a room two months in advance? I see a lot of people who are trying at the 11 month window.

Any advice? How many points do you think we should buy (we'll probably want to take 8-14 nights vacation a year, and how much does that usually cost? I know 150 points are 11250 right now, but I'm not sure how many nights that would cover.

To buy a resale or directly from Disney... is it less expensive usually to do a resale? Do you loose perks or ease if you do it that way?

Finally, which propery would you recommend? I really liked the Wilderness Lodge when we were there, but I've heard OKW is Gorgeous! Does your choice of Home Resort really make a difference if you don't book far in advance?

Thanks all for your help... we're looking forward to being your neighbors!

 

[dianeschlicht]

In answer to the last statement, OKW is usually easier to get into on short notice than BWV. The general tome here is "buy where you want to stay". We are OKW owners, and have never really desired staying anywhere else. Sure, the BWV and BCV would be nice with their proximity to Epcot and MGM, but OKW is so relaxing, uses less points per stay, and has the lowest dues. Just being on site is the perk for us, so taking a bus to MGM or Epcot doesn't bother us at all when we are there for 10 nights at a time.

Most feel exchanging DVC is not using your points to best advantage. We are doing our first exchange next year with a 1 week exchange to Hawaii. We will still also get to take a 10 night trip to WDW with 5 nights in a 2 bedroom and 5 nights in a 1 bedroom at the end of January.

The time of year you travel and how long you want to stay should dictate how many points you purchase. Fewer points are usually needed for off season stays. High demand seasons cost more points per stay. Your home resort will also dictate number of points as stays cost more points at BWV and VWL than at OKW. A stay in a 1 bedroom at OKW for a week in Adventure season (off peak) is 160 points.

We started out with 230 points and found those to be adequate, but we wanted to go more often and have some exchange ability, so we added 150 points when they were available at OKW.

As to resale or direct from DisneY... Where you buy has nothing to do with the level of service or membership. All owners are created equal no matter where they purchased from.

Sorry this got so lengthy. We are VERY happy with our DVC membership. We really enjoy bringing friends and relatives along with us and giving them a great place to stay on site.

 

[LauraS]

Well, I'll try and answer a few of your questions...

First of all, DVC is really not all that cost effective if you plan to use the member's getaway resorts fairly often. You get the best value for your DVC points staying at DVC resorts (currently....BWV, OKW, HH, VB, VWL).

For folks who visit WDW at least every other year and enjoy staying in Deluxe Resorts, like the Yacht, DVC is a tremendous deal.

Being spontaneous is another concern when joining the DVC. Now there are plenty of folks who will tell you that they indeed got what they wanted at the 2 month mark, but I'd have to say that at that point in time you'd have to be *extrememly* flexible with what DVC resort/accomodation you are willing to take. And remember, the lowest crowd attendance at WDW is when points are lowest at DVC. These months are very busy at DVC resorts as members like to stretch their points. So basically, you'll get the best results the closer you book to that 11 month mark.

As far as how many points you'll need, well it depends on where you'd like to stay, when you're going and what kind of accomodation you'd like. We have 250 BWV points which works really well for us. That amount gives us a little over a week in a one bedroom or over two weeks in a Studio during May and November......our favorite times to go to WDW.

Yes, it is generally less expensive to do a resale than to go through Disney. If we had it do all over again we'd buy a resale. You lose absolutely nothing by going the resale route and will be treated exactly the same once the deal is closed.

And yes, it makes a huge difference which resort is your home resort. The best advice around here is to "Buy where you want to stay". I'm thinking that VWL probably isn't available in the resale market yet, and so if you want VWL, you'll probably have to go through Disney.

It is a fairly large decision, and based on how you like to vacation, I'd think this one over for awhile before I took the plunge. If you're buying DVC primarily for the member's getaway program and/or like to take spontaneous trips, well it may not be the best financial decision. Hope this helps.

Laura

 

[Orky15]

Thank you both for taking so much time to answer my questions. My fiancee and I are of course trying to make the best well informed decision we can.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

One thing I might suggest is that you buy enough points for a nice stay every OTHER year. That way you can still fly off wherever the other years. We started that way with enough for a week at BWV every other year--now we have enough for 5 days at VWL on the odd years. You may want to do a cruise too.
You have to consider that perhaps it won't just be the two of you until 2042! When/if you have kids, you may want to go down more often--and as for me, it is almost impossible to take spontaneous trips w/ kids (I have 3). We are up in Ohio too, and since the kids are still pretty little we fly, so our WDW trips are still a major operation (trip #3 is next year).
Good luck with your decision! Make sure you call DVC and order the informational video if you haven't already.
Robin M.
Poly 6/2000
BWV 6/2001
BWV/VWL 7/2002

 

[Orky15]

Haven't been on in quite a while...

We haven't yet signed up for the DVC, but I recieved a notice in the mail a few days ago warning me that VWL is projected to sell out by the end of the year. I think we will probably do a resale.

Also, the idea of buying enough for a vacation every other year is a great one! That hadn't occured to me! Thank you!



So excited about Disney... We could all really use the magic now!

 

[Disney On The Bayou]

I'm a new member of DVC and this site. (Signed on Sept.10th). I believe DVC is a good idea for anyone who enjoys Disney. I also like to be spontaneous, so far I've been able to book all the dates I've wanted. I just know that when I schedule a quick vacation with DVC that I need to be flexable. Instead of saying that I want a particular resort, I ask to stay at any resort that has a room the size I'm interested in. So far that has worked. I do plan to use my points for other vacation locations and I agree this may not be the most efficient. However, it depends on the way you look at it, if I owned a stretch limo an wanted to drive cross country with a guest, it would not be the most fuel efficient, but since I already own the limo, why go and purchase another vehicle to get me thier with just a little fuel savings. It may be a bad example, but the point is I purchased to have a great time now and on future vacations and I knew Disney would be a significant part of my life. If you feel the same way then DVC will probably be a good choice. As far as being spontaneous, the DVC bugs seems to bite the SH_ T out of you and you will and up planning your vacation years in advance anyway!

 

[Orky15]

I love the analogy!!! And hey, if I had a stretch limo, I'd take it everywhere ;7 I appreciate your comments, they were encouraging. I think that I will be joining DVC in December or January... I am just hoping that points at WLV will be available in January... I know they keep saying it is about to sell out... if it isn't I will have to hunt around for a resale of WLV, as that is the resort I've got my heart set on!