Help Pete with the not-so-obvious reasons to buy DVC for an episode of The DVC Show

[Mickey of the Villages]

We bought in because we didn't have to sit on the end of the beds after a long day in the parks. There is a living room and kitchen with a real full sized table to enjoy a meal.

"sit on the end of the beds after a long day in the park" . . . This made me smile. As I've gotten older I do my best to stay away from hotels without a comfortable chair(s).

 

[LisaDKG]

To avoid the anxiety and deep depression (a little bit of an exaggeration, a little bit spot on) of not knowing if you'll get to go on another Disney vacation in the foreseeable future. I swear that my husband decided we should buy after realizing that I was not going to get 'over' feeling sad that the vacation I had spent so long planning and anticipating was over, just because we had just enjoyed a wonderful vacation. I am a little bit spoiled that way...

 

[DVCsince2002]

One of our favorite things to do is plan the next Disney trip on our way home from the one that just concluded.

 

[Jennifer Bowers]

One of our favorite things to do is plan the next Disney trip on our way home from the one that just concluded.

Or, if your crazy like me, plan your next trip before you've even gone on the first.... and have the next 3 years of vacations planned.... and have your desktop full of calendars made on Microsoft Word outlining the point costs of several different resorts for all of those vacations

 

[Donna M]

Or, if your crazy like me, plan your next trip before you've even gone on the first.... and have the next 3 years of vacations planned.... and have your desktop full of calendars made on Microsoft Word outlining the point costs of several different resorts for all of those vacations

I have only done that with 2 vacations once, and it was so confusing since I was just using paper.

 

[Pooh12863]

I use Excel and I only have the next 7 vacations planned out.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

Lots of intangibles...
1) Forces us to go to Disney, which we desperately want to do anyway
2) Sense of commitment. I am committed to Disney, in a way many other people aren't.
3) More casual trips. I hear people trying to enjoy their visit with maybe 1-2 days there, and I can't even fathom.
4) Part of why I enjoy Disney is the planning...I love planning. I don't mind "needing" to book at 11 months...that just means I lock in my vacation early, and I get ALL that time to anticipate it. My coworkers love teasing me about how early we schedule trips, and I get to use DVC as my excuse.

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

Lots of intangibles...
1) Forces us to go to Disney, which we desperately want to do anyway
2) Sense of commitment. I am committed to Disney, in a way many other people aren't.
3) More casual trips. I hear people trying to enjoy their visit with maybe 1-2 days there, and I can't even fathom.
4) Part of why I enjoy Disney is the planning...I love planning. I don't mind "needing" to book at 11 months...that just means I lock in my vacation early, and I get ALL that time to anticipate it. My coworkers love teasing me about how early we schedule trips, and I get to use DVC as my excuse.

I like all of these intangibles but your comment about commitment is correct. You've described something that I think many DVC folks feel but may not understand. I think buying DVC manifests one's commitment to Disney (and I mean this in the best possible non-cultish way

 

[Bruin_mouse]

One not so obvious reason that has surprised me in the year I've been a member is the flip side of what is usually cited as a "disadvantage": having to plan your vacations 7-11 months out. Once I got over the initial "oh my God, it's so far away" reaction, I found I really enjoy the psychological boost from having a vacation to look forward to. It's kind of cheesy, but today I can tell people I'm going to Disneyland in November and Aulani in February and that makes me happy (I even get sort of giddy just typing it).

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

Or, if your crazy like me, plan your next trip before you've even gone on the first.... and have the next 3 years of vacations planned.... and have your desktop full of calendars made on Microsoft Word outlining the point costs of several different resorts for all of those vacations

I have our next three trips planned as well. Have to keep all the ADR and FP dates straight.

 

[stewart715]

I love the early planning aspect of DVC. Planning/looking forward to the trip with the family is such a big part of our experience. With DVC, it basically never ends; it's awesome

 

[marshmallow]

If you are going to purchase a vacation ownership DVC is a very good choice:
1. The construction quality is high compared to most timeshare resorts
2. If you don't like Disney it has good trading power in RCI
3. The resell value is maintained. Ask most long term owners and it is higher than what they paid. That is not true for the industry in general.
4. With the banking and borrowing of points with a small contract you can have a bigger vacation every 3 years.
5. My yearly maintenance dues are around the cost of one night to rent the same unit.
6. Disney has made it easy. You don't need to rent a car. Just arrive at the airport and they do the rest.
7. The restaurants and bars on property are not a normal feature of timeshare resorts. There are some that have it but most do not.
8. Having a living room area, washing machine and kitchen are a huge vacation value.

 

[limace]

We have a family of five, and my oldest is an adult and has a boyfriend with a child. I am super fortunate that she still wants to go on family vacations. DL is our favorite park-being able to take all of us, and my teen’s best friend, to a GCV two bedroom was priceless. And we love having a kitchen. Even if we don’t cook more than frozen pizzas, it saves so much money and it’s so nice not to have to eat out every meal.

 

[Tiggerette]

We first contemplated owning when Disney bought Marvel. After seeing how DisneyParks weathered the Great Recession of 2008/9 and how the Marvel franchise was being handled, we debated whether to use the funds to purchase stock or DVC. Once Disney bought Star Wars we realized that we were going to be spending more than 1x per 5-7ish years in the parks. We knew more Star Wars movies and a park were going to happen in the future. That moved us away from stock and toward DVC. (I'm not arguing against those that say stock would be a better financial decision for investment.) I spent about 2 years in research mode, and took a trip to WDW solely to visit the DVC locations. I also walked through VGC when visiting DL for one of the Star Wars Celebration conventions.

I was set on purchasing at VGF because of its smaller size and usefulness of the 11 mos window, its proximity to the park, and likelihood to retain its flagship presence. If VGF were not available, I would have bought VGC, and if neither were available, I would have bought stock. I had no interest in owning DVC at other resorts solely to "prepay" lodging costs. The stock would have helped a portion of the "prepaid" costs without increasing annual dues. As it turned out, VGF was still being sold, so I purchased knowing it was at best a "break even" arrangement knowing the costs to eat, to purchase passes, to purchase transportation, to pay annual fees. So I don't regret the decision, but it wasn't bourne out of starry eyed magic, but a practical realization that my favorite fandoms were purchased by one entity that provides excellent in-person experiences. To be there to have the experience, I need a place to stay, so it was a practical choice that I could have left at the negotiation table if the terms weren't viable for me.

To this day, I love DL much more than WDW, but I also know that I'll be on the west coast far less frequently. So most of my trips are on the east coast at WDW. I enjoy having the potential to win the waitlist lottery for VGC, and I know I could trade/rent if needed in the future. So all in all I'm content with my choice based on Disney acquiring Marvel and Star Wars. Now that they have FOX as well, who knows what could be next. (Ernest goes to Fort Wilderness meet and greet?)

 

[Buzzw0rthy]

A few reasons we bought...

1.) We have young children and are entering our "prime" Disney years.
2.) With children having larger accommodations was appealing to us!
3.) DVC forces us to take vacations, prior to last year we hadn't gone on vacation for 7 years, and that was not fun.

 

[kboo]

We first contemplated owning when Disney bought Marvel. After seeing how DisneyParks weathered the Great Recession of 2008/9 and how the Marvel franchise was being handled, we debated whether to use the funds to purchase stock or DVC.

Or buy both, thus really, really, REALLY manifesting a "commitment" to Disney.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

There is a lot to love about DVC but the hedge is the biggest reason that made us buy. The points for a 2Br at OKW won't go up (not really because the points are fixed at the resort).

Keep in mind that annual dues increase regularly, and your not earning interest (or investment gains) on your purchase price. So while you are not paying for the annual increase on room prices that regular guests do, you are paying for it in lost investment gains and inflationary increases on maintenance fees.

If you don't discount your future cash flows, the value of DVC is extremely overstated. Don't get me wrong, it can still be a good deal. Just not that good of a deal.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

Keep in mind that annual dues increase regularly, and your not earning interest (or investment gains) on your purchase price. So while you are not paying for the annual increase on room prices that regular guests do, you are paying for it in lost investment gains and inflationary increases on maintenance fees.

If you don't discount your future cash flows, the value of DVC is extremely overstated. Don't get me wrong, it can still be a good deal. Just not that good of a deal.

To each his own, to me the purchase of DVC has been worth every penny spent. I would not have been able to afford to go to WDW as often and with my family and friends the way I have over the years without DVC. There are somethings that are worth more then the amount of interest one may have gained if the funds used to purchase DVC where instead put into an investment vehicle.

We purchased DVC because ever since I was a small girl I have loved Disney. As a child I only got to go to Disneyland one time, living on the east coast I was lucky to have gotten to go at all. I thank my Dad and Mon for that. As an adult I get to go every year at least one time, sometimes more depending on other travel plans. We originally bought in 2000, since our first purchase we have added on three times and paid as little as $46 per point to $117 per point (with majority of points costing well under $100 per point).

Yes there are expenses such as annual dues but even with those my annual cost is much less than I would pay for the same accommodations at rack rate. I think one of the largest expenses at WDW is the cost to dine out. Over the last few years the prices at WDW seem to have skyrocketed...also the cost for park tickets is high but luckily I'm able to afford the cost at this time and I hope that in the future that will still be the case.

One of the great advantages to owning DVC is the knowledge that I will be back. As others have said "if I don't see it this time I will be back", there is no pressure to see everything and do it all this trip. I have never regretted my decision to purchase DVC and at this time if I decided to sell I would make a nice profit. I know that won't always be the case but at this time it is.

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

Keep in mind that annual dues increase regularly, and your not earning interest (or investment gains) on your purchase price. So while you are not paying for the annual increase on room prices that regular guests do, you are paying for it in lost investment gains and inflationary increases on maintenance fees.

If you don't discount your future cash flows, the value of DVC is extremely overstated. Don't get me wrong, it can still be a good deal. Just not that good of a deal.

You clearly have a mind for finance and understand the engineering that affects the value of DVC membership. Here is something that I feel many overlook . . . If I use my points for a 2BR villa at CCV it would be the equivalent of a $1,500 to $2,000 a night hotel room - because it is 3 rooms. If I spend 28,000 for 150 points at CCV and then stay in a 2Br villa for 7 days every other year that is $21,000 of hotel rooms in 3 years (14 days in a 2BR at $1,500/nt). I feel that the goal of DVC is to afford better vacations for less not to look for the break even vs. a regular hotel room. But maybe I am missing something, I do that a lot.

 

[TCRAIG]

Honestly - my reason is a bit more esoteric. I grew up watching The Wonderful World of Disney on TV. Living in Connecticut, I just knew there was no way I’d ever get to see Disneyland- as flying was only for ‘rich’ people...fast forward to 1973 and Disney World had just opened and 4 of us teenage girls plunked down $200. Each for a round trip air tickets and 4 nights at The Contemporary along with 5 books of tickets...I was hopelessly hooked after that trip! I bought into DVC for a chance to ‘own’ a piece the Magic - even if it was just a teeny tiny piece!