Not trying to offend anyone... but this vacation club thing sounds like a scam to me.

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

We have been very happy renting a vacation home from orlandovacation.com. The past two years we stayed in a 4BR, 3BA house with private pool and jacuzzi for around $130 / night with tax and cleaning fee added in. The homes are not right next to property, but are within 5 miles of the main entrance. DVC looked nice, but we love having all the space of a full house with its own washer, dryer, kitchen, etc...

[Disney05]

We've looked into it. It's just not right for us. We've stayed at a DVC resort a few times. I have someone who I rent points from. I get a huge discount going through him instead of going through Disney. I can see how Disney makes it attractive saying you own a piece of Disney. Makes you feel like you're part of WDW in a way.

[doconeill]

It is definitely cheaper to rent points from a member than pay the CRO price for a villa, or even a studio most of the time. The only problem with that is it is a private transaction between you and the DVC owner and if there are problems you don't have any recourse through Disney.

There are some brokers springing up that can make that process smoother.

[Disney05]

It is definitely cheaper to rent points from a member than pay the CRO price for a villa, or even a studio most of the time. The only problem with that is it is a private transaction between you and the DVC owner and if there are problems you don't have any recourse through Disney.

Yes you are very right. Looking back I guess we did take a chance with that seeing how we have never met this person face to face. But after a few transactions with him it has worked out great. We lucked out. He's a super guy.

[DVC Mike]

Membership in the Disney Vacation Club is not for everyone. DVC can make sense financially -- assuming you would always stay in a higher-end resort and visit Disney on a regular basis. If you always stay in a value resort, then it definitely won't -- but that's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The DVC resorts offer deluxe amenities and room size.

DVC is not the cheapest way to visit Disney -- staying offsite is the cheapest.

There has been much financial analysis of the value of DVC. They show that buying a DVC membership is a rational, financially viable option for some people: namely people with the cost of the initial purchase already sitting in the bank, who plan to stay in the higher-end accommodations at Walt Disney World and/or Disneyland on a regular basis.

With DVC, you are essentially pre-paying for years of vacations at a discounted costs. Think of how room rates have gone up over the last couple decades. Paying out of pocket for 50 years of regular Disney vacations will cost much more than DVC - DVC does save money. Folks who must finance their DVC purchase won't save as much, but they'll still save.

Here are a couple of links:

DVCNews.com - The essential Vacation Club resource! - DVCNews.com - The essential Vacation Club resource!

MouseSavers.com - Disney Vacation Club

A Financial Analysis of DVC Membership

[DVC Mike]

when I took a look at it it seemed as though the cost of paying annual maintenance and fees, plus the fee you pay when you use your points, you ended up paying as much cash per year as you'd spend if you simply stayed for the same length of time in a plain old hotel room.

That's simply not true. Compare the cost of booking a room with cash at Bay Lake Tower over the next 50 years (factoring in inflation) and you'll get a huge dollar figure that will be more than the initial price of DVC and 50 years of annual dues.

[Goofysgal]

Membership in the Disney Vacation Club is not for everyone. DVC can make sense financially -- assuming you would always stay in a higher-end resort and visit Disney on a regular basis. If you always stay in a value resort, then it definitely won't -- but that's not an apples-to-apples comparison. The DVC resorts offer deluxe amenities and room size.

DVC is not the cheapest way to visit Disney -- staying offsite is the cheapest.

There has been much financial analysis of the value of DVC. They show that buying a DVC membership is a rational, financially viable option for some people: namely people with the cost of the initial purchase already sitting in the bank, who plan to stay in the higher-end accommodations at Walt Disney World and/or Disneyland on a regular basis.

With DVC, you are essentially pre-paying for years of vacations at a discounted costs. Think of how room rates have gone up over the last couple decades. Paying out of pocket for 50 years of regular Disney vacations will cost much more than DVC - DVC does save money. Folks who must finance their DVC purchase won't save as much, but they'll still save.

Here are a couple of links:

DVCNews.com - The essential Vacation Club resource! - DVCNews.com - The essential Vacation Club resource!

MouseSavers.com - Disney Vacation Club

A Financial Analysis of DVC Membership

Amen!

We became DVC members in 2003 after paying rack rate for a 1 bedroom villa at VWL for a week. It was our first family trip to WDW and afterwards, we couldn't imagine staying off property ever again. We loved the accommodations; we loved the perks and "24/7 magic" of staying on-site. We knew that our young family would enjoy visiting WDW for many years to come. But we also liked having the flexibility of being able to choose to visit places all over the world when we're ready for something different.

We were extremely fortunate to be able to pay in full, without any financing, the cost of our initial 175 points at BCV. We didn't hesitate to add on to our membership with additional points at SSR and AKV, again paying without any financing. Had we not been able to pay for our DVC points up front, we would not have purchased even one point. We just don't believe in living in debt, especially for a luxury item and that is what we consider our Disney vacations.

We know that there is no way our family would have visited WDW so many times in the past 7 years had we not purchased our DVC points. Did it save us money? Well, no, b/c we took 10 vacations that we would not have taken otherwise LOL Factor in airfare, park tix, dining, and other expenses. That's why I've always said that the DVC is NOT a financial investment. It's just not. My husband is very analytical and has hotel mgmt background as well as fractional time ownership experience. He created all kinds of spreadsheets before we made that initial purchase. He compared our DVC cost over time to the cost of future trips based on our first visit's accommodations and length of stay, taking into account inflation when calculating future room rates as well as the DVC annual fees. I'm not the numbers person so I won't pretend that I can explain the figures here but he was able to determine when we would break-even. It seemed feasible to us so we took the plunge. Of course, a few years later, we added on more points (and then again) so that break-even date is now way off LOL

But this was a real expense for us - we had not planned on taking these trips to WDW; we only considered them once we looked into DVC. So it was very important for us to be able to afford this purchase without putting any financial strain on us. I would never advise someone to purchase DVC if it would create a financial hardship. However, when I read about people who visit WDW frequently (annually or trips more than once per year) and stay in the deluxe and moderate resorts, I wonder why they don't consider DVC. To me, they are prime candidates unless they're paying incredible rates or getting deals of a lifetime Or perhaps, if they're unable to pay for their DVC outright, they are being practical and don't want to live with the debt of a 50 year contract.

So we've paid for a lot of points and continue to pay our annual fees. We buy our airfare, our (discounted) Annual Passes and TIW membership to receive a decent discount on dining. And yes, we buy our souven-ears It's all costing us money that we could have saved had we NOT purchased our DVC points. But right now we're enjoying something we never dreamed would be possible. We've shared our points with friends and family that also would not have considered WDW trips at the time (or at least not on-site accommodations, never mind villas). My kids think of WDW like another home away from home, seriously. It's a familiar place that enchants and delights them (and us) and we look forward to every trip with anticipation and hold dear to our hearts all of our Disney moments as a family.

Financial investment, nope. Family investment, you bet

[cmlopat]

You just can't put a price on cast members saying "Welcome Home" every time they see you

[elvistelth]

You just can't put a price on cast members saying "Welcome Home" every time they see you

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just curious: That really means something to you? I always thought it sounded strange when they said that to me. As much as I enjoy WDW, it's not my home. I guess my level of "liking it" isn't as high as that of others.

[Disney05]

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just curious: That really means something to you? I always thought it sounded strange when they said that to me. As much as I enjoy WDW, it's not my home. I guess my level of "liking it" isn't as high as that of others.

I've heard it said on the monorail too. It's just a way for Disney to make it a more personalized experience for you. They want you to feel like you're part of the Disney family. It's all psychological. I don't mind that they say it.

[elvistelth]

I don't mind they say it either, but it doesn't really choke me up or anything.

[cmlopat]

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just curious: That really means something to you? I always thought it sounded strange when they said that to me. As much as I enjoy WDW, it's not my home. I guess my level of "liking it" isn't as high as that of others.

Yeah, it actually means a lot, Its all part of the disney magic.
The whole idea of the disney vacation club is that disney is your "home away from home". Its the little thing like this that sets disney apart from the rest, if you don't just love things like this then your probably don't really love disney and definitely should not invest in DVC.

[elvistelth]

I looked into DVC but it didn't make financial sense for my family.

[Disney05]

I looked into DVC but it didn't make financial sense for my family.

Me either, but that's for a whole different thread.

[Carolla]

Two words...

Buy resale.

Honestly at what Disney now gets per point it is hard to make this seem at all feasible.

However, I bought my points on resale at least 10 to 12 years ago. At this point even with the dues my cost per night is in the $20 range??? However, at $100 plus a point... I am not sure I would buy now.

There are a couple of things that some members seem not to realize..

1. it's a timeshare. The words timeshare and "investment" should NEVER be combined. If you can't afford to LOSE the cash don't buy. Assume that even Disney will at some point go to some stupidly low price. (I can find non-Disney timeshares for the cost of dues for example0

2. it's NOT a democracy. Disney holds all the cards and can and will change things.

Would I do it again? Sure for what I paid then. At this point there is NO WAY I am paying Disney hotel rates for thier hotels. So without the DVC I wouldn't be staying on site. (Sorry but $300 for 3 star hotel with so so service, or $110 for a "value" with fewer features then the Fairfield Inn... NO!)