Disney Vacation Club

[Singuy]

If DVC resells for 50%, that's worlds better than any other timeshare.

In fact, if you are looking to buy DVC, I'd definitely look at the resale market first.

There was a time in which you could come on top reselling DVC points because Disney would increase point purchase price year after year. After they crippled aftermarket DVC points, it's definitely much harder to resell for a profit or even break even.



So lets do some calculations.

One bedroom villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge with Savannah View $6566/week
It cost 209 points/week.

209 points X 176/point = 36784 plus closing cost so 37k.

Maintenance cost is $6.58/point so 1375.22/year.

So if you book 1 week with DVC, you are saving 6566-1375.22 = $5190.78

36784/5190= 7 years to break even. After which you pay about 20% of retail for the hotel room.

If you spend say between 650-1300/week like the rest of us minions living off campus...then you'll never break even.

So in conclusion..if you want the fancy best of the best rooms everywhere you go and would of coughed up 6k/week for a hotel room..DVC is actually a good investment.

I hear you never want to use DVC points on passes or cruises. You only want to use them on expense hotel rooms that's out of your typical reach(like who in their right mind spend 1.5k/night for a 3 bedroom at Disney.....)

[FLA]

if your kids are older, the Disney excitement may start to wear off. My kids love Disney and would still go at 17 and 19. But most of their friends want to go to Universal

[Like2Plan]

Anyone here have any thoughts about buying into the Disney vacation club? I've always been against timeshares but the value seems to be pretty good if you travel there fairly often. My worry is that as my kids get older they will no longer want to go to Disney.

MooseBucks,

I have owned DVC since 2002. I sold off a couple of the contracts a few years ago because we had too many points--I figured I broke even on those contracts.

Currently, I could make a pretty nice profit on my Grand Californian points and my Boardwalk points. I believe I would break even on the sale of the Bay Lake Tower points. But, I made my DVC purchases years ago when the prices were considerably lower.

Disney has added additional restrictions on resale points, but it hasn't really hurt the resale market. Even so, if you are considering a purchase, you should check out the resale market. Resale points are considerably less than direct purchases from Disney.

Things do change over time. I think I read somewhere that 7 years is the average time for timeshare owners to own their timeshare. I still enjoy the convenience of staying on property and staying within walking distance of one (or two) of the parks.

[MooseBucks]

MooseBucks,

I have owned DVC since 2002. I sold off a couple of the contracts a few years ago because we had too many points--I figured I broke even on those contracts.

Currently, I could make a pretty nice profit on my Grand Californian points and my Boardwalk points. I believe I would break even on the sale of the Bay Lake Tower points. But, I made my DVC purchases years ago when the prices were considerably lower.

Disney has added additional restrictions on resale points, but it hasn't really hurt the resale market. Even so, if you are considering a purchase, you should check out the resale market. Resale points are considerably less than direct purchases from Disney.

Things do change over time. I think I read somewhere that 7 years is the average time for timeshare owners to own their timeshare. I still enjoy the convenience of staying on property and staying within walking distance of one (or two) of the parks.

Thanks for the advise. We went resale and are waiting for Right of First Refusal right now. Hopefully we hear back in the next few days.

[james.hendrickson]

Hi Guys,

I am going to venture an alternate viewpoint here.

Imagine having a timeshare that you get tired of. Imagine the hassle of listing it, put it out on timeshare websites and making calls to try to get rid of it.

What would it be like for you to feel that frustration and wasted money?

Don't get involved in timeshares. Don't do it. Even if the timeshare is with a reputable organization like Disney.

[Like2Plan]

Thanks for the advise. We went resale and are waiting for Right of First Refusal right now. Hopefully we hear back in the next few days.

Good luck with the ROFR. Which resort are you purchasing?

[MooseBucks]

Good luck with the ROFR. Which resort are you purchasing?

Saratoga Springs. Assuming I did my calculations correctly it was the best value taking into consideration the years left and current annual dues. I'm flexible when we travel so hopefully can still get resorts close to a park but still would be ok with Saratoga Springs.

[Like2Plan]

It sounds like you have done your homework. Saratoga springs is probably the most cost efficient for the reasons you stated. Saratoga is a nice resort and they have finally started building up the Downtown Disney (or I guess they now call it Disney Springs) area again.

I think if you make your reservation right at the 7 month point (online at 8am) and you are flexible, chances are pretty good for staying at a non-home resort. Are you familiar with the DIS board? There are a couple of forums over there devoted to DVC. There is also a thread that shows the history of available rooms.by resort. Dis Board predicted booking patterns It's pretty eye opening. (Some resort/room types are very hard to book even at the 11 month point.). Then, there is always the waitlist. There are also threads on various DVC resorts with information on resort amenities and room views.