Is it worth it for me to consider DVC

Hello Everyone,

We are new to Timeshare, we just bought a timeshare in Vegas (as per my husband's desire for Vegas) from the developer. It was a 42,500 RCI point contract for EOY and a lot of interest. I wouldn't EVER do that again! Not enough points and BIG money for a timeshare that we are stuck with and with a family of 5, our room would only sleep 4. Stupid - but guy said we could get last minute deals, etc and get a room for reduced points, yada yada

I did get a Grandview 98,000 RCI points for every year for a little over $1000, and much less in maintenance fees.

But I LOVE Disney, my husband -not so much. I have a soon to be 18 year old, soon to be 16 and a 10 year old. The kids all like Disney, but not every year.

My question is this, How hard is it to get into Disney with RCI points? I would be looking at going to Disney every 2-3 years or so. My dad loves Disney, my mom isn't in love with it, but likes to go. I do have siblings with kids who would go with me so if a new group goes each time I would need beds for at least 8-12 people.

Would I be okay with just the RCI points or do I need to look closely at DVC? I need to plan ahead for time off of work and I prefer December, January, February to go. (I live in MinneSNOWta and suffer from Seasonal Affect - basically winter depression from lack of sun and yes it is a real thing)

thank you for your thoughts,

Laura

Orlando sun

There is no way to get into DVC on the cheap so is the need to get to Orlando every other year or so or is the need to stay at a Disney resort every time you visit the magic kingdom?

I have a DVC resort booked next month that i traded tru RCI using my Hilton grand vacation club so yes you can exchange into Dvc but would i always want a dvc is another question.

Best question to ask is what do you want to owen for the next 10 years and will this have resorts that will make you happy.

To many resorts in orlando and yes the DVC may be the best but also cost the most so you have to always use within the DVC family (cost of purchase and maintence fees is to high to use to trade) while other timeshares do exchange into DVC for a better price point.

I own Disney and other timeshares. If I were you, I would put an on going search in RCI for DVC. Don't be choosey about locations, put many options, there is not a bad one in the bunch. I am not sorry I bought my DVC timeshare, but I see others getting exchanges into DVC quite a bit. I have even used my friends timeshare to swap in for my family through RCI, less expensively. When I bought mine, my kids were young and we went every year, now they are teens and we go about every other year. I would try to swap in first and see how that goes. This year I was not going so I sold my points to David's DVC Rentals, which was has been a good experience so far. I have been given half the points and will be reimbursed the other half in February when the renters check in.

If I were you, I would try the swapping in and then make a decision from there. Disney is a timeshare you buy to go to Disney, not to trade, in my opinion. I would never trade my Disney points because I don't think I can recover the cost/value.

I've had a bunch of ongoing searches for DVC and it's not that hard to trade into UNLESS you want Villas at Grand California. Even Aulani is a fairly easy trade.

So for me, I bought DVC to get into VGC, but if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have spent the money. It is really expensive to buy into, even via resale so.. since you have RCI, try setting up an ongoing search--DVC deposits around 7 months out but most searches should be set up at least a year out...

If you are looking to book RCI points into DVC to sleep 8 to 12, you may end up with part of your group on-site and part off-site as I think it will be tough to match multiple units for specific dates consistently with that large of a group. One bedroom DVC units are more common in RCI from my experience. Three bedroom DVC units are not likely to come up for exchange (very, very rare).

You should have access to cash deals with your RCI membership, so maybe you could pick up a cheap Last Call or Extra Vacation deal for other siblings in your family. We do this all the time with our family. I've got a 1 bedroom booked at DVC Saratoga for May and we booked another unit with Marriott Vacation Club for my grown kids on a cash Getaway with my Interval International exchange membership. (My grown kids prefer Marriott over DVC!). We don't mind staying at different resorts - it's actually nice to not all be together all the time for privacy.

Just some things to think about if you want to go to Disney via RCI:

$209 exchange fee
(Likely) $109 combine deposits fee
$95 Disney fee for RCI

So 1 DVC visit via RCI will cost you $413 before you factor any MF into the equation.

A 1br SSR during Magic Season will cost you 241 points @ $5.18/pt or $1248. So you'd need your MF at your resort to be around $800 for all the TPU required to be even.

I never thought we'd buy DVC but I decided we'd go often enough that it was worth it for us rather than rely on trades we might not get. I actually bought a great trader to use for trading into RCI but decided the cost-benefit didn't outwegh the ease of using DVC directly.

Of course, the big kicker is the buy in. DVC Points can be expensive. I decided our kids were young enough that it was worth it.

Is DVC worth it.. depends on your needs

We have owned DVC since 2005 (OKW) and it was the best purchase we have made. BUT, we go to Disney World every year. We have used our contract to stay at many different DVC resorts, including those at Disney World, but also Disney Grand Californian and Aulani. But we have not done RCI.

We bought a re-sale contract and figured that even with buy-in, mf's, we broke even after our 5th trip. We have banked points to make multiple trips in one year. Just recently we bought an additional contract and sold our old contract which had less points. We got back 90% of our original cost to buy it, since resale costs were pretty stable.

We are now "empty-nesters" but Love Disney. We would not have been able to afford to go as many times as we have, without DVC. and we insist on staying on-site.

Figure out your wants and needs. We personally would not have bought directly through Disney, as the point cost is too high. There are so many people that have opinions. What is right for one, may not be for you. But lots of info out there.
Good luck with whatever you decide

To all thanks for sharing all these tidbits.

Just as an add-on - I love DVC for its flexibility. I find it fairly easy to book at MOST properties. Everyone wants the points so they're easy to rent. You can rent 1,2,3,4... Nights. For example, we decided to stop at HHI on our way home from Captiva. 12 points ($72) for a GREAT studio unit where the kids could use the pool, have some fun and stretch their legs, etc. so for the cost of a Motel 6 we had a much better experience and fun.

The other thing I like about DVC is that the brand value of Disney is most likely to keep the value of your points afloat over the years. For example, Polynesian is about to launch at $160/pt. assuming you buy resale, it's likely that you won't take a large bath down the road. I think the fact that here are multiple lenders willing to loan money (I AM NOT ADVISING THIS) on DVC contracts shows that there is at least a perception of LT value.

Finally, I like the bank and borrow possibilities. Gives you 3 years to use your points.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I am spending my time processing right now. Thanks again! Laura

If you are ok with staying at ANY DVC property (SSR, OKW, AKV) and you are flexible with your timing and put your OGS early enough, your chances of getting one is pretty good.

However, certain resorts and room types are difficult to get. So if you're set at say BLT Theme park view, or GF, or Beach Club on peak DVC times, owning is better.

I own DVC (I purchased enough for a 1 BR every other year when we were still a family of 5). But we are now family of 6 and have been going at least every year (last year three times damn PAP discount!), so I supplement it with RCI trades and/or Bonnet Creek.

We have owned DVC for several years and have loved it...never regretted the purchase...and add ons.

I put in a search for 9 people for all listed DVC and for dates from 11/29-12/19. Is that broad enough?

I did add Bonnet Creek to the resort preferences

We seriously considered a Disney purchase. iMO, you cannot justify the price. You buy Disney because you want to be assured of and want the experience of staying at a Disney resort. If you buy resale, they maintain value well and are relatively easy to sell.

Okay ... I own under 100 DVC points for several years now. Never have used them myself as I do the David's DVC route and then exchange back into DVC using whatever means I find a unit & time I am interested in.

But even me, a (lowly low point) DVC member gets member discounts and a BIG Welcome Home.

lizap said:

We seriously considered a Disney purchase. iMO, you cannot justify the price. You buy Disney because you want to be assured of and want the experience of staying at a Disney resort. If you buy resale, they maintain value well and are relatively easy to sell.

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Not sure I agree with this. And then it conflicts with the statement after it (maintaining value, and easy to sell).
Maybe, if it's developer purchase. But that could be said of ANY TS.

From resale, I don't think DVC is that bad. It holds its value really well and fits a style of vacationing that's just not available from other TSs (1 day, 2 days reservations for example, bank/borrow).

Renting it is super easy to get at least the MF or even make a profit on years you're not using it.

The trick is to buy only enough points that you need.

The perks sometimes are nice too, like the $399 PAP for example. But obviously, one doesn't buy a TS for perks that could go away anytime.

There are many things that create value, maintaining value and relative ease of sale are certainly two factors. The problem I have with Disney TSs is purchase price. Relative to the nicest hotels and TSs in the area and the ease with which you can rent points, it is very difficult to justify the price, without taking into account the intangibles, IMO.. However, if I went to Disney every year (or multiple times a year), want to stay on Disney grounds, and have $ to burn (and this is key), then I would probably buy.

Myxdvz said:

Not sure I agree with this. And then it conflicts with the statement after it (maintaining value, and easy to sell).
Maybe, if it's developer purchase. But that could be said of ANY TS.

From resale, I don't think DVC is that bad. It holds its value really well and fits a style of vacationing that's just not available from other TSs (1 day, 2 days reservations for example, bank/borrow).

Renting it is super easy to get at least the MF or even make a profit on years you're not using it.

The trick is to buy only enough points that you need.

The perks sometimes are nice too, like the $399 PAP for example. But obviously, one doesn't buy a TS for perks that could go away anytime.

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Is DVC worth it?

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. You have all given me a lot to think about. Some of you talk about perks and benefits for being DVC. Please tell me Pros and Cons for being DVC vs trading in through RCI.

Being at Disney before, I am aware of transportation and the basic amenities when we stayed at POR. What about trading in off property? Transportation/shuttles vs car rental?

Obviously staying on resort is more convenient. But I am also talking about a larger group of people. My own household consists of 5. There would be at least 8 and a possibility of up to 15.

Thoughts from those who do it.....

Thanks,

This is the famous timeshare question. You have to ask yourself about YOU first.
How often do you want to go?
Are you a planner?
Do you like the lifestyle of a timeshare? Kitchens, rooms cleaned once during your stay?
What is the size of the family and how many hotel rooms do you normally get? Do you want some privacy from the kids (two TVs)

Money, we bought BW in 1999/ 300 pts for 18,000. I understand that is now around 50K. We have 4 kids and it made a lot of sense for us and it "forced us" to go on vacation. Loved every minute of it.

My youngest is now 23, my DW and I still go 2 years on, one off during food and wine, buy and AP and schedule the trip so we get 2 trips in a year. We just booked 1 week in the Grand Floridian (a first for us) and 10 days at the boardwalk. Yes we are spoiled but the point is to give you a sense of what is possible.

We own other timeshares and have found WE personally find renting out or trading is not our thing (may change). You can always rent and that works, but you have to spend the time to find the location, dates, and price you want.

Do not look at this as an investment, just my opinion. Last thought, don't forget the maintenance fees.In 2002 they were 1168, this year 1813, they have ALWAYS gone up.

Sorry to ramble but those are the thoughts of the day

Thank you. With maintenance fees that high, I am probably better off trying to trade in somewhere. So in this case, transportation will be the issue as in shuttles or car. I have a sister in law with chronic fatigue. So shuttles may be the better option so that she can go lay down when she needs to do that. Do any of the off property resorts offer shuttles?

Remember, the MF were for 300pts, so do the math accordingly, plus there is some variation by resort.

Yes offsite hotels and resorts do offer transportation. Call first since schedules vary as do drop off locations. Disney transportation is great.

We will have food delivered to the room by an independent grocer and not rent a car on our next visit, trying to reduce $$ spend. We also bring lunch into the park.

Lborneke said:

I put in a search for 9 people for all listed DVC and for dates from 11/29-12/19. Is that broad enough?

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You are not going to get this. There only two resorts even in the directory that sleep 9 in a 2BR. 3BRs were almost never deposited even in the good days, and these are not the good days. Finally, the first two weeks of December are (surprisingly) among the highest-demand periods for internal bookings.

OKW, BLT, and most AKV will sleep 9 persons with an extra sleeper chair. You can add a 9th persons to the reservation via Disney member services. They will give you magic bands, etc. for the 9th persons. So, set your search for OKW, BLT and AKV with 8 persons. If you get a match, then call and add the 9th person. Your likely match is OKW. If you search for 9 persons in RCI, you will be unlikely to match via RCI, as stated above.

Lborneke said:

I did add Bonnet Creek to the resort preferences

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You realize this is NOT DVC right? Just making sure as your do not receive Disney Transport from Bonnet Creek.