How many of you are DVC? I don’t know much about it, been looking at the site and costs. Is it cost effective if you want to go to WDW, 2-3x a year, because you’re only have so many points a year?
It is a loaded question. I am DVC and have been since 2004, and I love it. We have 275 points in two resorts (Saratoga and Bay Lake)and this has allowed us to travel every summer and stay in either a studio for about 11-12 days or a 1 bedroom for 6-7 days (depending on resort). That being said, the buy in cost now is more than double what I paid in 2004. I do not think I would be purchasing now if that was the cost. I believe I paid about $80 per point. At this point we only have the maintenance fees, which do go up every year. Our fees are about $1500, so that is our cost for what ever accommodations we get. We basically get a discount on our rooms. I know that if we did not purchase back in 2004 we would not have been to WDW every year since (with most years a second trip in there).
Agreed with John. I've been DVC since 1996, purchased 440 points at Boardwalk when it opened as a new DVC resort. The cost for points back then was so much less than now...I don't think I'd have purchased, or at least I wouldn't have purchased as many points, at today's cost. The maintenance fees are the hidden charge - which works out fine for me at the fairly cheap point price I paid - I still can figure what I save vs staying at hotels, especially if I try to pick hotels that have similar amenities or space, and DVC works out much cheaper even with maintenance fees included. My closest equivalent before DVC was that my family would rent cabins/trailers in Fort Wilderness every year in summer - so I use that as a cost comparison today to a 1-bedroom villa DVC. I also go quite often, since I live closer - that makes it easier to spread out the costs - I am up there probably 20-25 days a year...sometimes I'll just get a studio and go solo, other times I've got a 2-bedroom villa with family and friends. I purchased enough points to be able to stay at a 2-bedroom villa for 2 weeks in adventure season...but staying in 1-bedroom villas and studios at different times of year, and also booking in cheaper DVC resorts like Saratoga and Old Key West, I can stretch those points out to cover all the days I come up here and still roll some points over.
I concur... I have 310 points total (Kidani & Bay Lake) of which I paid around $96 for Kidani and $112 for Bay Lake. I agree that I’m not sure I’d buy in at the current rate. But am considering buying on the resale market (or trading) only because my original points were bought directly and meet all the requirements for the perks. That being said, I think as long as you crunch the numbers and it can be a savings to buy into DVC, then go for it. But again, crunch those numbers multiple times to be sure. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Thank you everyone. I was looking at the DVC site and resale site, which I believe is not Disney? From what I’m looking at and maybe understanding, the cheapest purchase price is around $18,300; then there’s closing costs and maintenance fees? But on the resale site there were some that were $11K. Are you given so many points a year or do you have to buy those? I saw Jamba at AK was $9 a night or points for a studio, which I am fine with a studio? Am I on the right with my understanding? As far as crunching the numbers, I’m guessing how much we’re paying for resort fees only? Thank you
Be careful with the resale market. A couple years ago, Di$ney screwed the retail market by taking away many of the membership perks from folks who purchased from the resale market. I don't remember the full list, but annual pass discounts and admission to special events are things that you won't qualify for if you don't buy at least your first batch of points directly from Disney.
i agree with everything said, own at boardwalk and beach club, bought beach club 2003 directly from disney, boardwalk in 2006 on the resale market, but because it was then, i get all the dvc perks for both. for me it is worth it, i have the annual maintenance costs to pay, i do that monthly via electronic payment so i never have to worry about it, for me it is well with it, i always get a 1 bedroom, every few years i bank a years worth and then get a 2 bedroom and we take some family down for a week. i like it because it allows me to stay at a deluxe resort, both ideally located to my main park interests of epcot and studios. and i am using the resort amenities more and more as i get older, such as the pools, spa etc. i am no longer a park commando and find myself really enjoying the resorts more now. if i did not have dvc then i would have to drive my camper down and stay in fort wilderness simply as a matter of economics, and while fort wilderness is without a doubt the finest campground i have ever stayed at, i do not enjoy I-95 at all, not one mile of it
So you buy X number of points as your buy-in. You have that number of points to use each year (unless you borrow or bank points). For me, at the price I bought in at plus yearly fees, I figure I’m paying around $7 a point for my stays. So if a night at Kidani is 11 points, then I’m paying around $77 for that night. That’s a better price than the value resorts. Plus if you figure the rack rate for that studio is around $300 then that means I’m saving around 70% a night on my stay. After adding in my buy-in price and adding the yearly dues for 47 years (how many years were left in the deed when I bought in)... with inflation and a small percentage increase in dues each year... then divide out the typical cost of the same vacation if paying cash... you get your break even point. (Yes, it’s a lot of numbers and my explanation is very basic). For myself, my break even point was 8 years. Meaning that I figured I was paying full price for my DVC stays for the first 8 years of my contract (double or triple that if you think that you’d stay at a moderate or value instead if you hadn’t bought in). After that first 8 years, the price of my vacations drop to the cost of the yearly dues. So at this point I’m staying 3-4 weeks at Disney for only $2000... or again, on average $70-$95 a night. And that’s better than Holiday Inn pricing... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
