why should i still be a dvc owner

[TinkB278]

For me this is all more of a matter of do I want to go to Disney world every year with all the cuts? And the issue is, being a DVC owner I’m stuck, unlike cash guests.

 

[Henwen88]

My opinion is that I bought for the resort/location (not room specifically), and the perks that all on-site resorts typically entail (my biggie is watching the MK firework show from VGF - it is 100% the reason why I own there). I am hoping, hoping that these cuts are all a temporary hit due to pandemic, but my fear (based on management decisions for the last 8-10 years) is that the pandemic is just the excuse needed to start stripping away extras that were once included and will soon be 'plussed' aka we will magically have to pay for them now.

My other concern is DVC mgmt specifically with the point charts. I think they are trying to figure out the extent of which they can legally push the point charts/dues. I feel that I was a very informed buyer and understood that point numbers are fixed (except normal seasonal variations) and if some dates increased, others will decrease. This base year changing to 2035 and early easter with a 7 day season is slimy, and not the timeshare program I feel like I purchased.

So, we are also thinking of downsizing one of our larger contracts - not for one reason, but for the sum total.

 

[lovin'fl]

On the other side of the coin (from my negative post above)...is that after Covid, Disney will have to do things to bring the guests back. When we bought DVC in 2006, and for a few years around then, Disney wasn't thriving as much as recent years. So they had to offer deals or incentives. They will have to do that again. To surge the numbers back up. And I think they will.

 

[DebbieB]

My biggest thing since I bought in 1999 - no fighting for room discounts, no room bill at the end of a stay.

A CM friend and I booked a trip to DL for last September. VGC was full so she booked a 50% off GC hotel room. $400 a night with tax! Of course, it was cancelled. I don’t think longtime members realize what room rates are now.

 

[Travel60]

If you are asking, it may be time to sell. We didn't buy for the parks...or the perks....kids enjoyed parks and grandkids are getting to that age but I think our best family vacations have been HHI and DCL. We are on our way to VB for a few weeks right now....not usually a favorite but this year the isolation will be welcome.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I do not know. Maybe i should try renting pts out for a while and see what is to come. I just do not see the perks getting better. Look at the old dining plan you got an app. entree dessert drink and tips was included leccellar was 1 now its 2 then we lost an app or dessert tip was not included cost for plan increased. annual pass discount was ok / great for renewals now look at the cost if they keep them. price and avail. for a day park use, no fast passes at one time dvc had 4 day 4 park tickets $160.00 was not that long ago extra magic hrs moon light madness less or no fireworks { at the price we paid for nearly a lifetime commitment to go and give disney our money vacation time off and word of mouth advertising LOOK WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO US

Is that all one sentence? Seriously, though, the reason for buying into DVC is to have a timeshare in the middle of WDW. It saves money on stays over the life of the contract. IMO, I wouldn’t do it for any perks because those can come and go at any time.

 

[clm10308]

I am another that did not buy DVC for the perks. As far as I remember, the perks then we the the same as anyone staying onsite- noth8ng special just for DVC. DVC was a way to pay over time to stay on site. We would not have been able to take the vacations that we did take with our DVC points.
We didn’t buy enough points to go every year, and never planned on going every year or multiple times each year, so my feelings might be different if we had as many points as some of you.
I agree with the idea that “perks” will return in some form after the pandemic when Disney wants/needs to increase attendance, But based on the number of days where park reservations have been full, there is no need for Disney to offer any incentives to bring in more people right now.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

The 'perks were never a guarantee' response is always given anytime a member posts this sort of thread. That may be true but we all don't pay the high price tag for DVC Timeshare (remember it is a timeshare) and annual dues to basically be one and the same with regular cash booking Disney vacationers. We buy for some leg up.

DVC members aren’t “one and the same with regular cash booking Disney vacationers”. And we do have “some leg up”. Our “leg up” is saving a good amount of money on rooms at deluxe hotels on WDW property over the life of the contract. That’s the benefit of owning DVC. When me and my wife were seriously considering buying into DVC, the only calculations we took into consideration was what we would save on rooms over the life of the contract. We literally didn’t add one “perk” that isn’t in the contract into that calculation. And yet we still purchased because of how much we would save. Anyone who expected perks as part of their DVC ownership set themselves up for disappointment.

IMO, if you enjoy visiting WDW then it makes sense to keep DVC. If you don’t then you might want to consider selling. You obviously know your situation better than anyone else. Good luck!

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I would not equate the current conditions to those that will hopefully exist in another year or so. Sure perks and amenities come and go, as they always have.

This is a great point. I think some people are so negative right now because of all the COVID related conditions like reduced hours, AP, fireworks, parades, CM furloughs, etc, etc, etc. When COVID is behind us these things will be back to normal. WDW will, eventually, get back to normal.

 

[Castillo Mom]

I do not know. Maybe i should try renting pts out for a while and see what is to come. I just do not see the perks getting better. Look at the old dining plan you got an app. entree dessert drink and tips was included leccellar was 1 now its 2 then we lost an app or dessert tip was not included cost for plan increased. annual pass discount was ok / great for renewals now look at the cost if they keep them. price and avail. for a day park use, no fast passes at one time dvc had 4 day 4 park tickets $160.00 was not that long ago extra magic hrs moon light madness less or no fireworks { at the price we paid for nearly a lifetime commitment to go and give disney our money vacation time off and word of mouth advertising LOOK WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO US

As many others have said, you purchased a real estate interest, nothing more. If the primary reason you bought in was due to the perks, then it seems as if DVC really isn’t for you. Perks are going to come and go, so it appears as if you’re going to be in a perpetual state of disappointment and second-guessing your decision to become a member.

 

[ldo]

Imho, I’m very impressed that wdw has opened back up and is functioning fairly well in a modified environment. But, If dvc gold pass doesn’t come back, we’ll not make and extra trip in 2022. It’ll be a base ticket for 1 trip this summer and done for a while. We’ve owned since 2007. No regrets, but maybe moving on.

 

[DougEMG]

I bought DVC to be able to visit WDW. Without WDW there is no need or desire to own DVC; I have no interest in a resort only stay, mainly because of how far away I am. So as soon as WDW stops being a place I want to spend my vacations at, I will sell my DVC. Sadly, everything Disney is doing is not increasing my desire to visit WDW. My next trip isn't till Nov 2021 (fingers crossed) and at that point I will see how I feel about WDW. Right now I have to settle for watching youtubers visit the parks!

 

[AdamsMum]

I do not know. Maybe i should try renting pts out for a while and see what is to come. I just do not see the perks getting better. Look at the old dining plan you got an app. entree dessert drink and tips was included leccellar was 1 now its 2 then we lost an app or dessert tip was not included cost for plan increased. annual pass discount was ok / great for renewals now look at the cost if they keep them. price and avail. for a day park use, no fast passes at one time dvc had 4 day 4 park tickets $160.00 was not that long ago extra magic hrs moon light madness less or no fireworks { at the price we paid for nearly a lifetime commitment to go and give disney our money vacation time off and word of mouth advertising LOOK WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO US

You'll always get the response that you didn't buy perks, they weren't guaranteed. That said, they were emphasized when we bought, so we were all buying more than just the right to stay in the room as our number of points allowed.
Only you can answer your question. Are you tired of DVC, or the parks? Maybe you need some time off. Maybe you're just feeling down about the pandemic, shutdown, reduced experiences in the parks. It can all pile up at times like this. Maybe you're done with it all and it doesn't have the same value to you any more. Certainly the changes over the past 5 years or so have taken the shine off of what we originally thought we had. People sell their contracts all the time. We're fortunate that our timeshare is still worth something, and there are always new buyers who think it's wonderful and a new experience for them and their families.
For myself, I didn't buy until 2007, when the Canadian dollar was almost at par and prices were still reasonable. I'm also feeling down about the way things are right now, but I've had negative feelings about lots of changes that have happened. I'm not selling. I'm getting older and I no longer experience the parks the way I used to, but I still enjoy being there. Good luck with your decision.

 

[bookwormde]

For those who anticipate perks (both white card and blue card) returning to typical level as covid fades, I will through out one more change that as additional post original 14 resorts are built.

From what I can tell there is nothing preventing DVD from creating another class of membership cards and benefits for the post 14 resorts (direct purchases), lets call it a gold card membership. With this they could fade the Disney paid for blue card benefits in favor of putting those dollars toward the gold card" benefit program to incentivize purchase of post 14 resorts.

Just saying once the bean counters are in charge, many norms and expectations are at risk

 

[thptrek]

DVC member since 2013. Bought resale at BLT and I have a blue membership card. We got a great deal on our points and have loved going about every other year. Things change but not ready to sell just yet. Waiting on Tron coaster, Guardians of the Galaxy ride, Space restaurant. Our vacations have changed from when kids were in middle school to now being out of college. Our trips are so much more relaxed now, we don't worry if we don't hit every attraction. We will sit on the balcony of BLT and just relax.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Quick math that I used when I bought;
Comparing a 1br AoA suite, looking on GO.com right now. For the dates I just paid about $950 dues for, I will be staying in a 1br Boardwalk Std. view. The AoA suite for the same dates, $2,460. That's the discounted price, not the rack rate. Sure, I had to lay out money for the points, but the contract I bought resale has gained slightly in value since I bought it. Guessing your math is very similar, if not even better. Things like DDP, EMH and Fastpass are not tied to DVC. The deal is the same with those whether you are staying DVC or anywhere else on property. Same with ME, but you are paying for that through your dues, and the dues should reflect ME (and the removal thereof). If the reduction of these perks is enough to sway you against going to WDW anymore then sell, and bask is what a great purchase DVC has been all along. I really don't think you can read too much into decisions Disney is making right now - they are just doing what they need to do. When they need to put on a press to get the resorts full again, safe to say perks will be offered. With all of the Value resorts and Port Orleans still closed though things are far from normal.

 

[jamier2]

We're kind of in a middle of the road mindset. We bought resale at Poly for "just the room you don't deserve more stop criticizing Disney" use. We also bought direct at AKV and the primary reason we paid the uncharge to go direct was the AP discount. It's not like we just pulled that out of thin air, it was highly advertised and definitely played into our decision to add more points now. That and the minimum to get Blue card "benefits" (can you even call it that since there aren't any now???) switching to 125 points rather than 100.

We've thought about reselling the Poly points and holding out for better days by keeping the direct AKV points (as well as the basically useless blue card). I really do regret adding the AKV points last fall now.

 

[Evita_W]

For me this is all more of a matter of do I want to go to Disney world every year with all the cuts? And the issue is, being a DVC owner I’m stuck, unlike cash guests.

Not really, you have DVC, so you can always trade into RCI, which we have done a few times now and it has worked quite well.

 

[drjackal31]

I understand the frustration. We bought resale so not quite the chunk of change other people paid. We planned a big family trip this year which we now put off till next year. After that trip we plan on checking out other resorts, whether that is still within DVC or RCI I don't know, but we are going to take a two year break from WDW.

 

[keishashadow]

why should i still be a dvc owner
Oh, trust me, many of us did double takes at the changes over the years & vented here.

IMO If you have to ask here in order to be convinced to keep your membership, well; it sounds like more than you’re hitting a rough patch. it’s likely time to pull the plug

tongue in cheek, this made me think of the various ‘should I stay married quizzes‘ on FB and the web. Substitute DVC for spouse and see where you fall if you want ‘an expert’ assessment

Good luck