Why We Bought DVC (a math adventure)

[Red Helicopter]

Hello. I joined DVC to save money.

Why are you laughing at me?

Seriously... I did the math. I had a huge, ugly spreadsheet. In the end, the numbers screamed one word: BUY.

Here's an example summary of my research:

BASED ON:
-Purchasing direct from Disney
-Paying cash (not financing)
-160 point contract at Bay Lake Tower
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

cost per annual point: $114
total point cost (160 points x $114): $18,240
total points in contract (160 points x 49 years): 7840
actual cost per single point ($18,240 / 7840): $2.33

2010 annual dues per point: $3.78

2010 cost per point ($2.33 + $3.78): $6.11

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1 weeknight in October, deluxe studio, Bay Lake Tower, lake view:
Point cost: 15 points
Total cost (15 points x $6.11): $91.65

Yeah. $91.65 for a studio in Bay Lake Tower.

That’s less than Disney is quoting for a standard room at a value resort for the same night.

For the record, if you wanted to stay there on cash, it would be $523 (non-discounted rate... but... you’d have to find a >80% discount to match that DVC cost.)

SOME ARGUMENTS I HAD WITH MYSELF:
- - -
“Yeah, but who can afford to pay cash for DVC? If we bought, we would have to finance.”

That is true. Not many people have $18,000 laying around. But even if you finance through Disney... even if you double your ‘actual cost per single point’ to $4.66, that would bring the room cost up from $91.65 to $126.60, still an amazing deal. And, there’s no pre-payment penalty, so you can make extra payments when possible.
- - -
“Yeah, but those annual dues are going to go up every year.”

I know. It’s sad. But so will the cash cost of a room. Even if Disney raised the annual dues by 10% next year, the cost of the room would only go up from $91.65 to $97.32. (The yearly increase is much lower... averaging 3.41%)
- - -
“Yeah, but that’s just one example.”

I did tons of comparisons when deciding if we should do DVC. In every case, the savings were amazing. Typically, the larger the accommodations, the better the savings. I encourage you to do the research & math for yourself. The numbers won’t lie.

OH, BY THE WAY:
You think these numbers look good? Just think about what they would look like when purchasing through resale.

So, there you go...
a bunch of numbers. Now it's time for an opinion: "DVC isn't for everyone." We've all heard that. And it's true. DVC isn't for everyone. But it IS for people who want to pay Value Resort prices for Deluxe Resort stays for the next half century.

[lorilovestigger]

When did you buy??? Did you put me as a reference??

CAn I come stay at BLT with you?

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

I ran a spreadsheet once, but compared the DVC points to off-site rental homes, which we love. For us, the vacation homes made better financial sense.

[Disney05]

Very interesting. If only I could pay it in full like you did.

[disneycrazy1956]

Hey Red H,
Want to rent me some points?
Dave

[Red Helicopter]

When did you buy??? Did you put me as a reference??

CAn I come stay at BLT with you?

We've been DVC for a couple years now, first bought at Kidani. Had another person as a reference. And... no. But you can come across the hall and check out our virtual porthole in February! Deck 7 for the win.

Very interesting. If only I could pay it in full like you did.

We had to finance. Since there is no pre-payment penalty, we are thinking about taking a home equity loan to do some home improvement and pay off DVC. Would have a lower APR.

Hey Red H,
Want to rent me some points?
Dave

If only I had extra points laying around to rent out...

[lorilovestigger]

Woo hoo!! Deck 7!!

[JNota0005DakMC]

see i would look into resales... they offer the same perks and everything... at 3/4 the cost if your lucky...