i had written off DVC as out of my price range. But now that I’m looking at renewing my AP this coming year (and probably through 2021), I’m thinking harder about it.
I’ve gone to WDW twice in the last year (staying once at a deluxe) and have one more trip this year. I’ll be for sure going once next year, and likely at least once a year for the next few years.
How did you decide it made sense for you? What calculations should I do?
I’m also a little nervous about being able to book the room type I want with points. And whether I should do resale or direct on my first purchase.
The kids had gotten older and could no longer share beds. When the first of our 3 kids turned 18, we were not only facing the need for larger space, we were also going to begin paying the "extra adult" fees when we did travel together. That prompted us to take another look at DVC and the numbers on resale in 2009 just made sense. At that time, people were walking away from their homes because they were under water on the loans. Luxuries like a Disney timeshare could be liquidated to help keep things afloat. The prices were coming down on loaded contracts in order to make a quick sale. We pulled the trigger on our first contract and it was quickly followed by a second and third contract.
We had the cash to pay for it, so no loan or mortgages. We did not factor in the time value of the money because that money was earmarked for vacations regardless of where we spent it. We looked at the cost per point on an annual basis (number of points X number of years left on the contract + annual dues based on a maximum annual increase of 15%). I compared that to the what we would spend on a deluxe resort hotel room, which was how we preferred to stay at Disney. I estimated a 10% increase in hotel room rates annually. Up to that time, we were going every 1.5 - 2 years and our first contract was sufficient for a 5-night stay every 2 years in a studio for the two of us. It was our way of dipping our toe in the DVC waters. It helped us learn the ropes of DVC without putting a lot of money into it. We also knew that if it turned out to be a bad fit, that small contract would be snapped up quickly on the resale market.
Two things quickly became apparent:
We like 1- bedroom villas for ourselves or 2-bedroom villas when we are traveling with someone else.
We wanted to be able to go every year or gift a stay for our kids.
Hence, the addon-itis. More contracts for more points and more home resort advantage. Each purchased resale and only when we had the cash to do it. We're up to 670 points at 3 resorts and while having a 4th home resort is tempting, that's enough points for me. It's enough for grand villas during F&W two out of 3 years and with enough points left over to rent out, book a trip for a family member or to take a brief couples trip.
We're happy with our purchases. It enables us to vacation at Disney in a manner that fits our style. I don't think we will ever go back to staying in hotel rooms there unless we are there for a conference (those rates are too good to ignore and they can be deducted from our business taxes).