Is DVC worth buying into when you live close to Disney World?

[OKW Lover]

"Worth it" is a very difficult question to answer. We've been members since 1995 and moved right next door to the MK about 4 years ago. We still keep our DVC points but now use them for Aulani. The extra benefits at WDW are just a plus for us.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I am moving to Orlando next month and still plan on buying into DVC. I want to have points to use for runDisney races and special events like the Food and Wine festival. I lived in Orlando back in 2012 and still had three onsite stays that year - just because I love it.

 

[BillPA]

That 30 minutes will be over an hour if not more at park closing, and near 2 hours on major holidays.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think it all comes down to how you expect to use it. I would never buy retail points to get a night here and there on short notice. If I knew I'd be planning around specific times - like marathon - and could commit to booking at 11 months for most of my point use, I might strongly look at resale points, or maybe retail points if I really wanted special event access. (With knowledge the events could go away, and that I would be paying for them via the retail purchase, and not deluding myself that they're free.)

I've seen multiple people musing about using points last minute. Anything within 60 days is "breakage" to Disney, and they will allow it to be booked cash. They publish a list of availability of breakage, without calling it that, every Monday. The next 60 days is headed into DVC high season, so it's very true there are times of year the 60-90 day outlook is better than this, but in general it's not going to be leaps and bounds better than this. Inside 90, you're still likely looking at 1BRs, possibly at the three largest resorts (OKW, SSR, AKV), and buying retail points to use for that purpose is best done by people who have a LOT of money.

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/vacation-planning/resort-availability-stays/

 

[southerngirl528]

Hello Everyone! My husband and I have been looking at buying into DVC for the past couple years. We are finally moving to Orlando this year though! My question is.... is it worth being part of DVC when you live so close to Disney World? When I say close, I mean within 30 minutes. We are getting Florida resident annual passes, so we'll most likely be there almost every weekend! I know DVC has added perks, and you can go other places with your points, but for the most part, we planned on using our points for WDW resorts. I guess we're worried about the resorts losing their magic when we live so close and go so often. Opinions?

Well, you have lots of opinions here.... since I live very close to WDW, guess I'll throw my opinion in there too.

Long, long ago, over 25 years ago in fact, I joined DVC when my kids were small. I lived in another state in the southwest. Moved here to FL a couple of decades ago. Worked for the mouse for a good while after moving here. Do I still have my DVC membership? You bet! I even added on a couple of times after moving here as we love to "get away" to Vero.

Is it possible to "burn out" on Disney? Sure, I suppose. I have friends who go to the parks ALL the time. Seriously, they go at LEAST once a week! Dh and I do not go that often. Not nearly so often. We do not enjoy the parks when it is BOTH very crowded AND very hot. So we will go over to dine at a favorite restaurant fairly often. And we do book little "stay-cations" on my points. Stayed at BLT recently for just 1 night. It was nice. Ate at a favorite restaurant near the resort, went to TOWL to watch fireworks.

I booked a night for a MM event night to increase my chances of getting tickets for next month. Both this rez for MM and the one at BLT were only booked maybe 2 to 3 months in advance at most. I often will check last minute to see if something is available. Sometimes it is. Sometimes not. But I have even booked at VGF for Memorial Day weekend in a 1 bedroom Lake view just about 3, maybe 4 months out. We use a lot of points going to Aulani every couple of years or so. Love booking larger accommodations when the kids are around.

I think it entirely depends on YOU. Having a DVC membership and living by the mouse is something a BUNCH of folks do. I think people would be very surprised how many. Do keep in mind that there are often discounts for AP holders on hotel rooms. And there are various FL resident discounts on things from time to time. Including Disney cruises! Welcome to Orlando in advance! And I say take your time, look at all your options, and if you decide DVC is still right for you, GO for it!!!

 

[Rozzie]

Yes there are lots of us locals! I meet local DVCers all the time. We also bought the majority of our points when we lived in another state. Never dreaming that DH would get transferred to the Orlando area.

We love our DVC, still! Been members since 2005. We use our points for long weekends about every 90 days. We both have incredibly high pressure jobs with long hours and rarely see each other. Booking these long "getaways" places a purposeful moment in our life where we reconnect and decompress. I am not sure we would take the effort to get away if it was something we would have to do a lot of planning. (Hotels, logistics etc) We save the majority of our vacation days for "big" travel as there are incredible flight deals from MCO to Europe here recently. We do book the majority of our long weekends 8-10 months in advance.

As for the parks, we quickly realized once we moved to Orlando we do not like going for "just the day". We missed the escapism aspect of being in a protective bubble from the world. Fighting traffic for an hour each way is hardly relaxing to us. Also we missed the afternoon breaks and most of all the DVC resorts. We will still meet up for dinner or lunches with out of town friends visiting WDW but mostly we reserve our park days for our DVC staycations. This is just where we are in our life---and most importantly you have to figure out how you want your future to look like.

Welcome to Orlando! We love it here, there is a great personality to the city that does not involve any theme parks. We have had a great time exploring.

 

[jlovesee]

I'm probably not going to be very helpful, but I own DVC and live about 20 mins away, in Davenport. I bought when I lived in Missouri, but kept it when we moved about three years ago. We still use ALL of our points and are pretty much almost into borrow mode. Yes, WDW is nice to drop in for a few hours on the weekend, but there is still something about staying there, and having a vacation, the best part... no plane flights to book! Honestly, sometimes even if I forget something, I live without it as I don't like entering back into the real world while I am there if that makes sense. We usually use it for Marathon Weekend, but have a three night stay at BLT coming up in a few weeks too. What's even better, and well rather dangerous, is that it becomes easier to use your points... oh look a three night reservation is available at BLT in two months! Sounds fun lets book it! *shakes head*

Last thing, it's great if you want to bring friends and family together at WDW for vacation. For example, Last January for Marathon weekend we booked a 2 bedroom for 6 nights, if we had travelled to Disney from Missouri we would have needed the points for a longer stay in a smaller room, however because we no longer needed 9-10 nights, we could easily book a larger room and have everyone come. We are looking at doing the same in January 2020 too.

The only thing... I am not entirely sure I would buy in at current price per point, almost every point we bought was under $100 a point.

Jennifer

 

[rg35]

I wouldn't buy if I lived that close. I would book cash rooms for last minute or shorter stays. I doubt I would take "long" vacations at WDW if I lived nearby and could visit whenever I wanted to. As much as I enjoy WDW I'd probably get burned out with too much exposure.

 

[JimC]

It is very much a personal decision, but I will offer our experience. We first toured DVC very early in the program. Bought a decade later in 2002. We lived in PA then. In 2006 we moved to Orlando (about 30 minutes from WDW) and wondered if we should keep or sell. We gave it a year to decide and ended up buying more points here at WDW over the intervening years. We enjoy being on property for several days at a time and even with the program changes still enjoy the DVC offerings.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I've been doing it for 19 years and it's one of the best things I did, but I bought in at $61 a point. My son was 2 when I bought, we used it going stricly long week-ends and during school breaks. A long time lover of Disney, I came the 1st year it opened with my parents, my son became one as well. He's 21 now, usage has changed, I go with friends to Food and Wine and Flower and Garden. We (family & close friends) always come for 5 days just before they all head back to different colleges & universities. And, I always book him a 3 day birthday week-end for him and whomever he chooses to bring. I go to Disney 5 or 6 times a year, different length stays, I buy Florida resident AP's and the TIW card. We've never tired of Disney, but we do vacation elsewhere as well. For me it's been worth it and continues to be so!

God willing, in the distant future I'll get to bring my grand kids!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We used to live 14 hours away from WDW. Most of our trips were seven to ten nights long to make the trip worth it. Short trips never happened. We now live about three hours away and go for three, four or five night trips multiple times a year. We have two dogs and two cats and used to spend a fortune boarding them with our vet. Now we only have to board the dogs and we drop them off the day we leave home for WDW, and pick them up the day we depart from WDW.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

The thing about DVC is that you have to plan ahead - usually 6+ months. I am guessing when you are in Orlando you would be traveling to the parks just as a last minute decision.

I don't think that's necessarily true, I live 2 1/2 hours away, and speaking for myself only, planning, like a lot of other DVC'rs is based on when the kids are in and out of school. That school calendar would come out, and I would book, here we don't need to worry about snow make up days, flights etc., so it was/is easy peasy, that's the way I planned for the last 19 years. Now, I book OKW for Food and Wine at the 11 month window, I don't care to stay at BWV/BCV, so no changes needed and I book my summer travel at 7 months (when I find out what our college kids want to do, still following that school calendar).

Better yet, now I have a friend who lives 45 minutes away from DW, so rather than a 2 night stay for Food & Wine, I drive up Friday night and stay with her and then we head out early Saturday, stay on property and leave Sunday. Saves points for bigger get togethers in August.

 

[OKW Lover]

The thing about DVC is that you have to plan ahead - usually 6+ months. I am guessing when you are in Orlando you would be traveling to the parks just as a last minute decision.

For those of us who live close by, we actually have a lot of flexibility in deciding to stay on property. If its available at the last minute (and you'd be surprised at just how much is available) we go ahead and book it. If it isn't available, we just stay at our home.

 

[jmassey1samchi]

We live in st Pete, which is about 1.5 hours away. For us, staying at the resorts is as much a part of the vacation as going to the parks, so we love having dvc. Even if we lived closer, we would still want to stay on property. We take several short trips per year.

 

[klcts]

I live 30 minutes from Disney....I own DVC....Best decision I ever made.
1. I don't have to pay for travel
2. We have had plenty of Birthday weekend parties at the Resorts.
3. We don't have to actually go to parks if we don't want too.
4. Did I say we don't have to pay for travel...lol....
So in summary.....Its awesome to be soooo close...

 

[Jerry@dvcstore]

I live 1 exit away from Disney (on I-4 /total of 5 minutes away) and I've been a DVC Member since 2004. My family (Wife & 3 year old) love going to the different properties and look forward to each stay. We typically stay 4 to 5 times a year and only on the weekends. We have annual passes, but when we stay we don't go to the parks...we just kick back and enjoy the resort and all the amenities. I have ZERO regrets buying into DVC living so close....it has been a wonderful way to catch a break and relax once in a while. LOVE IT : )