Hello all,
So this is going to be very generic. I am currently trying to talk my parents into purchasing DVC as they vacation quite often. I am not entirely familiar with DVC and reading the info I just seem to not find the answers I am looking for. I am hoping you can help me. For a family who doesn't really travel to Disney, but more international, is DVC worth it?
How much does DVC cost and is it economically efficient for us to purchase it?
Also please enlighten me on all the DVC info you can!
Thank you!
100% a terrible idea. DVC ONLY makes sense for DVC stays not even just for other Disney options, there are a ton of other options that are better and cheaper than DVC for many options. There really are none that work better than cash for many areas though. Several timeshares have decent international coverage including Wyndham/Worldmark, Marriott and Diamond. And for areas not covered with the timeshares, there are zero timeshare options that offer a cost effective method to get things cheaper than cash on a routine basis. For example, buying DVC to use for
DCL cruises is significant more expensive than just using cash 100% of the time. It may be there are good timeshare options for them but there may not be. The other issue is whether they are likely to continue this plan long term. For this situation often it's better to spend the effort, education and a few $$$ getting access to things that help them on the cash side. Scott's Cheap Flights, a really high octane
travel agent, loyalty programs, being willing to travel on short notice and the like.
For timeshares I'd look at where they want to go and see who has timeshares that fit those needs. Once. you see where and who, you can then investigate those systems and see how well they fit in. Even if there's a timeshare that fits pretty well, it's unlikely to cover all of their wants/needs. For example, Marriott has a number of international timeshares but for Europe there are only 4, 3 in Spain and one in France near Disney Land there with the rest being in places like Thailand, Bali, Australia and the like.
Timeshares take a certain amount of knowledge and effort to do well, even more than cash. That you're the one investigating suggests they might not be will/able to put the time and effort into using a timeshare appropriately and that you might have to be the one to do so. The sayings "the early bird gets the worm" and "no good deed goes unpunished" are often applicable. "You get what you pay for" often doesn't apply in timeshares including DVC.
The Timeshares Users Group would be a good resource to look at other timeshares. If you want to give as more specifics for things like general locations, length of travel, travel size and travel style; I'm sure we could add some additional thoughts to point you in the right direction. A number of us are also knowledgeable with other timeshares and travel in general.
