Anyone here a DVC owner?

karenj2 · Post by **karenj2** » Jul Wed 09, 2008 9:42 pm

I *so* want to buy in - but we don't have the money for it at the moment... So, I'd like to live vicariously through you folks.

If you're a DVC owner, where's "home", and what made you choose it?

kcarts · Post by **kcarts** » Jul Wed 09, 2008 10:00 pm

Does co-ownership count? I went in with my parents. Made more sense than them and myself going in separately. We picked Boardwalk for a couple of reasons. Plenty to do there in the evening (little quieter than PI) and it's closeness to EPCOT. Once we went a couple of times we realized that being that close to the Yacht and Beach clubs and the Swan and the Dolphin offered even more in the way of restaurants.

stev02 · Post by **stev02** » Jul Thu 10, 2008 12:15 am

My parents bought into it the year it came out (I was just becoming a teenager!) and we've been enjoying it ever since. Our home is Old Key West (which was the only option at the time). Some good advice is to look for a "home" that has the cheapest maintenance fees.

JWG · Post by **JWG** » Jul Thu 10, 2008 7:55 am

I also wish...
My parents bought in back in 1998. We've benefited from it a few times - Honeymoon cruise in 2000, Familiy trip in 2001, one night free stay after a 2005 cruise and familiy vacation in 2007. So, not like we haven't seen the upside without the fees.

agingerbugg · Post by **agingerbugg** » Jul Thu 10, 2008 8:02 am

My parents also bought in when it was first offered and we call OKW home. It's not as good as it used to be. There were a lot more amenities offered to members when it began that have just dissapeared. I think we should be grandfathered in since we are original owners.

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Jul Thu 10, 2008 9:14 am

Well I own at DAKV. My wife also owns at OKW.

We chose DAKV because we LOVE the Lodge. We love Boma/Jiko. We love the savanna. People complain it's "So far from everything." But we don't find it to be that much of a trip, if you have a car it's even easier since you get valet parking.

My wife who also owns at OKW, she picked that one because, when her dad bought into it, it was The Disney Vacation Club, it was the only option. We like staying there, but for now the points are really her dad's.

johno

earningmyfins · Post by **earningmyfins** » Jul Sat 12, 2008 5:26 pm

Aw, I love Disney so much. A few years back my dad looked into this but turned it down. It's not that we didn't have the money it was the fact that he found a flaw in their system. You seriously need to read the fine print.

Anyway, if I were to chose a home it'd be Animal Kingdom, Beach Club, or Boardwalk. They're so amazing!!!!

agingerbugg · Post by **agingerbugg** » Jul Sat 12, 2008 9:16 pm

earningmyfins wrote: It's not that we didn't have the money it was the fact that he found a flaw in their system. You seriously need to read the fine print.

Just out of curiosity, what is the flaw your father found in their system?

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Jul Sat 12, 2008 10:37 pm

yea since I've read every part of the contract, there isn't really any "fine print" but there is a lot of text. So I wonder what this "flaw" is.

In general DVC is a good deal if you want a deluxe resort at least once every 3 years for the next 50 years. All the sales talk of switching out though II is just noise, it's never worth it.

johno

HakuOni · Post by **HakuOni** » Jul Sat 12, 2008 10:46 pm

this sounds very interesting, i was wondering what a DVC is but i think i understand. if i was ever on the disney vacation club i would call fort wilderness my home away from home.

i sure do miss the goof ol days of old.

jcodirewolf · Post by **jcodirewolf** » Jul Sat 12, 2008 11:04 pm

Well Fort Wilderness isn't a DVD/DVC place. However, they have villas at Wilderness Lodge is.

DVC is basically a timeshare. But instead of getting the 3rd week in February every year, you get "points" each year that you can use to book rooms. Officially it's call a limited partial ownership (or something like that) because a time share is just what I said, you own it for a some number of week/s a year.

But you get a deed for some percentage of a unit where you buy. So we bought at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas (DAKV) so that is our "Home". Which means we can book 11 months from check-in (+9 days now) at our Home or 7 months at any DVC resort.

DVD is Disney Vacation Development (the management company for Disney Vacation Club.)

johno

meticulus9 · Post by **meticulus9** » Jul Sun 13, 2008 4:47 am

earningmyfins wrote:Aw, I love Disney so much. A few years back my dad looked into this but turned it down. It's not that we didn't have the money it was the fact that he found a flaw in their system. You seriously need to read the fine print.

Anyway, if I were to chose a home it'd be Animal Kingdom, Beach Club, or Boardwalk. They're so amazing!!!!

you should tell people what this flaw is.

bfdlt4626 · Post by **bfdlt4626** » Jul Sun 13, 2008 8:44 am

We own OKW, but love staying at BCV.

Best thing we ever did. We live in Illinois and will be doing WDW 3 times in a year.

mwehttam · Post by **mwehttam** » Jul Sun 13, 2008 8:50 am

DW and I own at SSR and love it. We bought in because we love going to WDW and want to bring our DS (21 mo old), and any future kids, over and over. Our trip in Aug will be at VWL.

-Matt

99Soulz · Post by **99Soulz** » Jul Sun 13, 2008 12:47 pm

The DVC is probably the BEST thing my family bought into for many reasons. It is similar to a timeshare but don't get stuck with the same week as someone mentioned and use your points as you choose, there are point seasons that make your points last longer if choosing a less-crowded season or points go quicker if you choose to go during say a holiday week.

I think points are going for $104 right now each and 150 points may be the "target" if you have a family of 4 and want to go each year for a week in off-peak, or bank points and go every-other during a holiday or peak period. If you priced it out and did a comparison vs. pay as you go I think the break-even point is 7-9 years. So, in 9 years you will spend the same amount of money but if choose the DVC route you will have 40+ years left. There are annual dues though with mainly consist of the property taxes for the resort you buy into that will need to be paid each year.

The biggest reason to buy though is that you are guaranteeing future trips at current day prices. Points charts never change so your points will always be used the same each year, while hotel prices do go up. If you are not a DVC member and pay as you go, hotel prices will undoubtly go up over the years.

My family takes trips all the time together and the WDW trips are our favorite. Staying together in a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom grand villa so that the kids can all be together for the week is priceless. Also lets you eat meals in due to full kitchen.

Also, resorts do run out of points so just AK and SS are available I think, maybe just AK. OKW, BW, BC, WL are all sold out. Disney does try to time building properties to when the last resort sells out but as market went down so did purchasing into DVC.

If you plan to travel to WDW 10 times in your (or kids) lifetime, definitely buy into it. You can always use your points somewhere else too. My parents just went to Hawaii for 2 weeks with their DVC points!