Looking to purchase DVC

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Dusty1984

We go either easter holidays with i know can be busy, or two weeks in October with one of the weeks being half term. I have two children and its getting harder to take them out of school as they get older.

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Well you wouldn’t get any free dining deals anyway now ( at least if you stay in deluxe villas in October now, and nothing for Easter anyway), and would be paying top dollar cash. What type of rooms do you want, studios, 1 beds etc?

For me the beauty of DVC is stopping in the larger accommodations, which can be extraordinarily expensive if paying cash.

Where do you want to stay- 1 resort or move around?

Where do you normally stay?

Amy above makes some good points.

Make sure you seriously consider resale, you’ll save a lot. It can be well worth it, savings from buying resale get disproportionately higher the larger the contract you go.

[Dusty1984]

Yes my wife and i have been going since we were 18 now 35. We have been very lucky and started on the Disney resorts, starting with Pop century and over the last 8 year the big ones. Grand Floridian, Polynesian etc.

This is what made me look into DVC, the prices of a holiday to Grand Floridian Easter holidays was around 22k . Most people would say you're mad to spend that but work hard and enjoy life. This is what has made me think that DVC may be better . We have been on the cruise many times and like to mix things up ie one week cruise than onto a hotel for a week. We have always stayed in Disney.

It seems that it works for some and not for other, with some having a great experience and others not so. As per the Star Wars land yes things will get busy but that would be the same if you was booking with a travel agent. We could not get the Polynesian this year as Virgin had no more rooms. That was booked last year for Easter this year just under a year .

[Dusty1984]

We got Disney Dinning this year for staying in the deluxe resort for Easter but yes seems to be less hotels its applying to over the years. We have a family size of 5 so have been advised a suit or villa is the way to go.

We would like to move around as we do like staying in the different resorts. We normal stay in the deluxe resorts. I have looked into resale and need to do my homework as i will be honest am new to all this. However i have read that if you buy from resale and not Disney that you don't get all the perks from Disney ( not sure if that's true or not ? )

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Dusty1984

Yes my wife and i have been going since we were 18 now 35. We have been very lucky and started on the Disney resorts, starting with Pop century and over the last 8 year the big ones. Grand Floridian, Polynesian etc.

This is what made me look into DVC, the prices of a holiday to Grand Floridian Easter holidays was around 22k . Most people would say you're mad to spend that but work hard and enjoy life. This is what has made me think that DVC may be better . We have been on the cruise many times and like to mix things up ie one week cruise than onto a hotel for a week. We have always stayed in Disney.

It seems that it works for some and not for other, with some having a great experience and others not so. As per the Star Wars land yes things will get busy but that would be the same if you was booking with a travel agent. We could not get the Polynesian this year as Virgin had no more rooms. That was booked last year for Easter this year just under a year .

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You actually sound like about best case scenario to benefit from DVC. Currently you are spending a lot of money you could be buying DVC with, then you could be staying in studios for a ‘dues cost’ of about £100 a night or 1 beds of about £200. If you can park the capital in it, and accept you may lose some of it but can sell eventually and cash in the capital (and me and others have currently made decent profits if we sell), it could be a no brainer for you.

You are looking at going busy DVC times (albeit close to Easter itself so some of the school holidays around Easter will be quite quiet, and DVC is generally busiest October to end of first week in January because points are cheap).

You also stay in studios, which are much harder to book at 7 months than 1 beds.

Bear in mind though as the kids get older, you may wish to graduate into one beds: We would not like to all be in a studio with 2 teenagers that we have now. Also DVC changes your habits and we love the kitchen etc. Poly DVC has no 1 beds, so bear that in mind, as buying there locks you into studios at 11 months which does put some people off, albeit you could eventually try and get 2 connecting rooms if you need more space, but you’ll never have a kitchen, living room and laundry.

If you really love the Poly and want to get in there at these times, then I’d seriously look at buying Pol resale. I wouldn’t buy direct, as there’s good savings on it resale. Alternatively Grand Floridian, but it’s points intensive so I never book there, albeit it is a very nice DVC.

Read all the information on dvcinfo.com, a ton of resources on there about everything DVC.

Also I don’t like to point people toward the other board, but on DVC because many more Americans own it than Brits, there’s a huge DVC section with just about everything discussed in great detail, but in particular catch Skier Pete’s availibility charts (the latest ones) and if you are putting in a resale offer, the right of first refusal thread where they post what has got through. This gives you a very good idea on what to offer.

As to ‘perks’ I have direct and resale and there’s no way I’d spend all that money for the perks. They can be taken away at any time, and this management may do just that. They are designed to get people to buy direct, but ironically when you sign up direct you have to sign a disclaimer saying you agree you are not buying for perks.

Epcot members lounge may go in the revamp.

You may never be there for Moonlight Magic.

Even if you are going twice in a year, with the price increases it’s not worth as much now buying an annual pass over 2 U.K. tickets. In the past it was good to upgrade a U.K. ticket to a gold pass, if you could get 2 trips in, but that would now cost you nearly $100 a head more now given the price increase and it’s blocked out for Easter anyway.

The discount on merchandise and table service food is 10%, you'd never likely get anything like the savings back.

You don’t want to use points for cruises, very bad value usually. You really only want to use the points for staying at DVC.

Poly for example is about $60 per point cheaper resale than direct, a huge sum of money. It wasn’t that long ago you could buy DVC points resale for $60 ish each!

[Halowa]

If you like to move around buy small contracts, all resale or a mix.

Eg - enough point for -

4 night at riviera (direct)
3 nights at boardwalk (resale)
7 nights at poly (resale)

It might take a while to get them all but it’s an option. If you need the odd point here or there, rent via the dibb, David’s or direct.

[Dusty1984]

Thank you for the great information. Resale will be defently something i will look at and learn more. When i spoke to the agent from DVC he was talking more about the Riviera as this was new and said that the cost per point was good.

I'm not looking to rush in as this is something that looks like you need to do your home work in, but if so you can get a good deal. The plan that myself and my wife agree on is not to really resell but to hand it down to my children . Saying that it sound nice but who knows could change in the years lol

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Dusty1984

Thank you for the great information. Resale will be defently something i will look at and learn more. When i spoke to the agent from DVC he was talking more about the Riviera as this was new and said that the cost per point was good.

I'm not looking to rush in as this is something that looks like you need to do your home work in, but if so you can get a good deal. The plan that myself and my wife agree on is not to really resell but to hand it down to my children . Saying that it sound nice but who knows could change in the years lol

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'Hand down to children'- I hear this a lot Dusty- and I think you hit the nail on the head questioning it yourself- how do you know they will want it? Dues are increasing compound at a high rate at the moment, people underestimate compound growth, if they don't get them under control they will be very high in 20 years- who says that as adults they will want that financial commitment of a timeshare with big fees, and who says they will have any interest in going as adults? They may be more interested in getting on the property ladder and going to Ibiza!

Agents want to sell Riviera, I would strongly suggest you do all your own research, agents are commissioned salespeople. They appear to have a soft sell, which they do, but DVC utilises some of the most advanced sales techniques known to woman or man.

Riviera has a particular issue you may have heard about, where if it is resold, the buyer can only stay there. This may mean it takes a substantial hit on resale price, but no one will know until a few years after it has opened. But say you buy it at $175 a point, and can only get the equivalent now of say $100 a point if you come to sell down the line (and you may well do, no one really buys with the intention of selling, but many do). You have lost $75 a point. Whereas on a good resale contract you may actually make money if you ever come to offload. No one can be sure, but the resale restrictions on Riviera have put many current owners off. The direct prices per point are OK, but the points per night are pretty high, so consider whole cost, never just point cost as one can mask the other.

[KarenG]

Personally I wouldn’t rush to buy at Riviera.

We bought and sold points at SSR 16 / 13 years ago and bought back in again at BLT ten years ago.

I’m glad I bought but I wouldn’t buy again.

My girls were 4 & 7 when we first bought and had been happily staying in value rooms with them. We then happily stayed in studios for years and didn’t really agree with those who say you need bigger accommodation for teens - we were all happy in one room.

But our holidaying preferences changed a lot - WDW is nowhere near the top of my list nowadays - and I would not stay in a studio with my girls now for a long duration (now 20 & 23). Last time we went for a mix of one beds and a few nights at the Poly. (Which I LOVE but might not want a long stay there with adult children).

Had you asked me in 2003 would I say any of those things I would have said definitely not. I thought: We will still be happily holidaying every year (at least, some years we went three times) in a studio with our ‘kids’. But it’s not the case, and it may not be the case for you either.

Happy hunting

[KarenG]

Cross posted with YT.

I would just add, my kids would not thank me for ‘handing down’ DVC to them right now at this point in their life. Far from it.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by KarenG

Cross posted with YT.

I would just add, my kids would not thank me for ‘handing down’ DVC to them right now at this point in their life. Far from it.

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Karen. Very true words. Ours are 32 and 30 and neither would thank us for lumbering them with annual dues.

They would both like the Points but not to pay the dues!

Our game plan is very clear the only variable is timing. Sell and use the capital and quite substantial profit to do other things.

What I am very happy we did was to buy numerous smaller contracts. Far more saleable, especially the 50 point ones.