Is a DVC purchase worth it - or is it better to rent?

[littlestar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close littlestar]

I think DVC could make membership more attractive by offering more park pass discounts.

DVC members do get $100 off an Annual Pass, but the biggest question I get from people asking about joining is would we get discounts on regular admission passes and my answer is, no. Most people that I talk to are just amazed that joining Disney Vacation Club doesn't give you a discount.

One thing that kind of concerns me with DVC is their hard refurbishment schedules for the units. We had noticed when we owned BWV points that the units were looking pretty tired. I've heard that they are planning a major refurbishment at BWV. I sometimes feel the regular cash Disney resorts are taken care of better. So that was another concern of mine on better to rent or own.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Simply no reason to own. Just rent ONLY what you need

I think DVC could make membership more attractive by offering more park pass discounts.

DVC members do get $100 off an Annual Pass, but the biggest question I get from people asking about joining is would we get discounts on regular admission passes and my answer is, no. Most people that I talk to are just amazed that joining Disney Vacation Club doesn't give you a discount.

One thing that kind of concerns me with DVC is their hard refurbishment schedules for the units. We had noticed when we owned BWV points that the units were looking pretty tired. I've heard that they are planning a major refurbishment at BWV. I sometimes feel the regular cash Disney resorts are taken care of better. So that was another concern of mine on better to rent or own.

The end of the free passes back in the late 90's for DVC owners (an original perk that was NOT guaranteed to be extended and was not) along with the $95 penalty fee. the change from RCI to II (back then - recently reversed thank heavens), the lack of any type of buyer control over the system, the smaller units with less features than most timeshares (after the first resort they "shrunk"), the ever increasing demand for annual fees, the eventual return to Disney for free (while buyers pay full fees right up to and including the final year so they get back resorts in theoretically perfect shape on our dollar) and the so-so cleaning/maintenance they display all led us to sell our DVC time. We don't miss it and would never buy back into such a totally one sided (everything for Disney - you live with it as a buyer). Renting if you must stay there is a far better choice and certainly cheaper in the long (and usually short) run.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

I think DVC could make membership more attractive by offering more park pass discounts.

It's not clear that they need to make it more attractive. Sales have slipped a little this quarter (for the first time ever, apparently), but that's to be expected. In general, DVC is doing gangbuster business.

But, even if they did want to make it more attractive, further admission discounts are unlikely. The parks are the driver for the entire business, so it's about the last thing they would be willing to cut deals for. And, that's true beyond DVC---when business slips, they cut room rates, they even give away food, but they rarely give more than token discounts on admission to anyone.

[littlestar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close littlestar]

True, Brian, about the admissions. But I just wonder after DVC members have been members for a number of years if Disney starts to lose some of that park revenue money.

We're thinking about buying the kids Universal and Seaworld passes for Christmas this year as there are some nice deals compared to what Disney charges for their passes. One of our daughters is a big Harry Potter fan, so that's another reason for thinking about Universal passes.

With our ability to read various travel boards and keep track of recent refurbishments at the various Orlando timeshare resorts, our family has started staying at whatever resort has had a recent refurbishment or has new and fresh units. I'm starting to wonder if that is going to be the best way for our family to vacation in Orlando. Keep a small stash of DVC points for an occasional onsite stay and mix it up with RCI and II exchanges/Getaways/Last Calls at various nice Orlando properties.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

I just wonder after DVC members have been members for a number of years if Disney starts to lose some of that park revenue money.

Maybe. But, they do get one of the very best deals on admission as it stands if they come more than once each year. Plus, if you read the financial statements, Disney's problem in the current economic conditions is not attendance so much as it is the per-cap spending. People are still coming, but they are spending less once they get in the door. Discounting the gate reduces admission fraction of per-caps, and as I understand it from those who measure these things at Disney and elsewhere: the people who "got a deal" on admission generally don't spend more once they get in the park, because they are in a "bargain" mindset. You just get less revenue out of them, period.

If I had to guess, I'd guess that most DVCers mix in a day or two of "other" theme parks here and there when they stay at DVC, and the price structure of MYW means that that doesn't impact Disney revenue. Even in your case, not visiting the WDW parks is pretty closely tied to not staying in DVC---but that means selling points or keeping your stake low.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

As for buy vs rent - you never really "buy" you just commit to a long term lease rather than a short term rental. Why be tied to ever increasing fees and zero control when you can rent for the cost of annual fees (or less) and not have to lay out the up front money? As time goes on the time left on the lease agreements will get shorter thus the value drops - at some point to zero. Unless you absolutely won't be happy unless you "Lease the Magic" don't buy just rent. It leaves you with far more options as well as money in your pocket and thats usually a good thing.

Aren't we all just leasing anyway? I don't think anyone has figured out how to take it with you to the afterlife and I'm not sure I want to pass along to my heirs a timeshare that for sure will be in need of assessments to maintain it or will need to be completely torn down and rebuilt. Who knows what 50 years from now holds for my posterity. Maybe there will be a new "Walt" and a new themed park and Disney will look like coney island does to my generation, a dinosaur.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

In general, DVC is doing gangbuster business.

But, even if they did want to make it more attractive, further admission discounts are unlikely. The parks are the driver for the entire business, so it's about the last thing they would be willing to cut deals for. And, that's true beyond DVC---when business slips, they cut room rates, they even give away food, but they rarely give more than token discounts on admission to anyone.

I think Disney is giving everyone a deal this year with their free on your birthday promotion. Obviously most people won't go by themselves so they will be making money on the accompanying guests but I certainly think this is Disney's way of giving either a 25 to 75% discount based on the size of your party on the admission price. Granted it is a cleverly disguised discount and of course one they would never admit to because they certainly don't want to be seen as having to offer discounts to attract people but I think that the free food promotions are also their way of discounting prices. They are just masters at marketing the Mouse. I have to tip my hat to them for their creative genius.

[pollypolly Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pollypolly]

$100 savings on annual passport

Just joined DVC - Grand Califorian, for those of you that may be be aware, the villas are opening on 9.23.09, we vacation at Disneyland and believe we made a good investment but we like to stay on site. How do we save $100 per year on an annual passport ?

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Just joined DVC - Grand Califorian, for those of you that may be be aware, the villas are opening on 9.23.09, we vacation at Disneyland and believe we made a good investment but we like to stay on site. How do we save $100 per year on an annual passport ?

Congrats and let me be the first to welcome you to DVC. You should get the discount when you buy your tickets at the Guest Relations area when you go to the World. You just need to show your DVC card and ask for the discount. For more info on all things Disney and DVC, I suggest you visit mouseowners. You can get all your DVC answers there.

[littlestar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close littlestar]

Just joined DVC - Grand Califorian, for those of you that may be be aware, the villas are opening on 9.23.09, we vacation at Disneyland and believe we made a good investment but we like to stay on site. How do we save $100 per year on an annual passport ?

Another good site for general Disney and DVC information is allearsnet - that's Deb Will's site and she has charts with all the ticket prices. You might like mousesavers.com, too - another site with a lot of info.

Congrats on your purchase - Grand Californian is not going to have very many units so I think if you want to get into that resort regularly, it's a good idea to have some points deeded there.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

Thank you everyone for all your advise on DVC ownership. We just came back from a great vacation - 6 nights at All Star Music (we had a family suite) and 8 nights at Polynesian Isles in Kissimmee. Although we really like Disney, we were quite tired after our stay and decided we don't like it enough to go back every year. If there was a way to bank points for several years and go about every 3 to 5 years, I would definitely consider a DVC purchase. Perhaps the next time we go I will try to rent points from a DVCer and see if we have a different experience.
BTW - A question for all you hard-core WDW fans - We stayed at Disney from July 5 to 12. The parks were overrun by VERY large groups of teens from Brazil. While most of the kids were well-behaved, there were a few who were very rude and constantly pushed ahead of line for attractions, paying for purchases at gift shops and even the restrooms. We even ran into several groups at SeaWorld the next week. Has anyone else experienced this? The few rude students put quite a damper on some of the days.

[littlestar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close littlestar]

Thank you everyone for all your advise on DVC ownership. We just came back from a great vacation - 6 nights at All Star Music (we had a family suite) and 8 nights at Polynesian Isles in Kissimmee. Although we really like Disney, we were quite tired after our stay and decided we don't like it enough to go back every year. If there was a way to bank points for several years and go about every 3 to 5 years, I would definitely consider a DVC purchase. Perhaps the next time we go I will try to rent points from a DVCer and see if we have a different experience.
BTW - A question for all you hard-core WDW fans - We stayed at Disney from July 5 to 12. The parks were overrun by VERY large groups of teens from Brazil. While most of the kids were well-behaved, there were a few who were very rude and constantly pushed ahead of line for attractions, paying for purchases at gift shops and even the restrooms. We even ran into several groups at SeaWorld the next week. Has anyone else experienced this? The few rude students put quite a damper on some of the days.

Yes, my daughter experienced problems with the tour groups on her honeymoon a few years ago on a cash stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Sad that a few bad groups of students give the good ones a bad name.

It's completely different staying at a DVC resort compared to a value. If you give DVC a try and find you like it, you could buy 50 points resale and with banking and borrowing take a trip every 3 years - that would give you 150 points every third year. But, you could also just rent every 3 years, too.

In this economy and with so much of the country's future up in the air anymore, keeping your cash free is not a bad idea.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

There are routinely youth groups from Brazil who come to Orlando each summer. For the most part, they are very well behaved and supervised- but they are kids!

I was in the Wal-Mart by the Westgate Lakes just a few days ago- and six full size tour buses with the Brazilian summer groups pulled up trying to shop.. The place was a madhouse!

I was also at Animal Kingdom a few weeks ago with the kids, and we went to the Festival of the Lion King show. More than 3/4 of the audience were the teens from Brazil! It actually turned out to be the most fun we've ever had at the show.. They were singing, dancing, and very uninhibited about having a good time and both my daughters joined right in!

I agree with littlestar that a small point package seems like the best fit for you, or renting directly from an owner.

Thanks for coming to Orlando!

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

We just got back from a "water parks only" trip to Orlando, and there were at least two different BTGs (Brazillian Tour Groups) every day. I've mostly found them to be well-behaved if a little more exuberant than your usual set of visitors. In truth, I'd rather be in a park with a couple of BTGs than with most US youth groups (cheer, dance, pop warner, etc. etc. etc.), as the domestic lot seem to me to be less well-mannered overall.

[Pit Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pit]

We stayed at Kidani Village the week of July 11-18. We too noted many Brazilian tour groups at the parks, but no real problems. The only "issue" we saw, was one member of a group getting FPs for the whole group. He had a stack of maybe 100 tickets, putting them in one at time, while the people in line behind him grew quite annoyed. Fortunately, we were in a different line.

I think RCI points is the most economical way into DVC, if you have some flexibility in travel dates. I have no idea how many DVC points I would need for the week we used, but I'm quite sure that renting them would cost much more than our exchange. One could lease their RCI points ownership for three years and use the points for this purpose.