posted 08-26-2001 07:00            

We currently own a TS in the Poconos (use it quite often for that area; tho I have just traded 2001 week for a 2002 week in Orange Lake) and am in the process of buying Sand Pebbles and SA week (for trading purposes). I know that most owners of DVC on the DIS boards are "rabid fans" of DVC and cannot fathom why anyone would not buy into it. I need some honest opinions from people who own "other TS" or perhaps own both DVC and another TS. Is DVC worth the extra purchase price and high maintenance fees (almost 3x as much as my other TS fees)? We are a family of 5, but DH is not a "Disney person" and probably would not be traveling with us often when we plan to visit WDW. I don't mind the resort rooms, in fact, I loved the room/ambiance of the Poly and the ease in getting in/out of the parks. It seems to me that the DVC villas are not as "centrally located". I would appreciate any feedback you could give me. Thanks.

Just this past year I bought a cheap South African timeshare. I use my SA timeshare for tradeing. Two months ago (third week of June) we spent 5 nights in a 2 bedroom villa at Disney's Hilton Head Resort. We used our Boardwalk Villas points to book this at the 7 month window.

DVC is very flexable. You can stay just one night or several weeks in the same room. You can select a studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, or even a 3 bedroom Grand Villa. And if necessary you can cancel a reservation 31 days before arrival and your points are returned to your use year.

posted 08-27-2001 17:06            

quote:

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Originally posted by tonyg:
Of course, the worse thing would be having to listen to Dean espouse all the virtues of Disney at his usual great length.

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DVC is a special group of resorts but it is not for everyone. If you want to go to WDW almost yearly and enjoy the benefits of staying on property and are willing to pay more for it; DVC may well be for you. There are cheaper options that might (or might not) be better for you and your family. DVC is not a good trading option for example. The flexibility to stay exactly the number of days in the size unit you want is a big plus and makes the points go farther. This also decreases the true price in both upfront cost and yearly fees. If you want to go mostly weekends or want to stay for exactly a full week at a time, DVC may not be your best choice.

I own DVC, 2 Marriott resorts as well as a couple of other resorts and DVC along with Marriott's Grande Ocean are units I generally either use or rent. There are just so few resorts that would not be a trade down for either one so I am very selective if I consider trading. If being reluctant even usually unwilling to trade down makes me a snob, I'm guilty as charged. I like to think that I'm frugal using my lower resorts/weeks to trade for other options that are not quite up to the standards of DVC or the top Marriotts.

The ancillary points exchange options are junk (DCL, Concierge Collection, etc), just too expensive in terms of point costs to consider in almost every situation.

Feel free to ask any questions, I'll try to give you an honest answer.

posted 08-27-2001 18:13            

We own 5 other timeshares besides our DVC. Three of them are HGVC on Sanibel and Captiva which we never trade. The other 2 are in the Smokies which we use only for trade. Two of my HGVC dues are higher than DVC and the other is equal. I think with the great maintenance both inside and out they are well worth the high MF. On the other hand my Smokey Mtn. MF is $296.00 and way overprice for what I get. I firmly believe you do get what you pay for.

quote:

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Originally posted by Dean:
The ancillary points exchange options are junk (DCL, Concierge Collection, etc), just too expensive in terms of point costs to consider in almost every situation.

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I would agree most of the time with this assessment. The one exception I've seen is when some families are planning a cruise and they want DVC anyway. It may pay for them to use the two years of points (rather than Magical Beginnings) and/or pay some cash and points combination (cash for kids, points for adults or vice versa) as a way to "pay down" their cost of getting into DVC.

I also agree that DVC is perfect for those who place a very high premium on staying on grounds. If you don't care, don't even think about it. If you do care, evaluate whether you care that much (South Africa trades into Orange Lake or Vistana pretty inexpensively)...

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Greg in Morris, MN

posted 08-28-2001 06:40         

quote:

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Originally posted by sandcastles:
I own the minimum 150 points... Two of my HGVC dues are higher than DVC and the other is equal.

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150 DVC points will only get you a full week in a 1-BR at DVC in Dec-early Jan. at HHI only, coldest wintertime. At any other DVC resort or any other time on HHI, 150 DVC points will only grant a full week in a Studio. It's NOT enough to grant a full week in a Studio during premier season at VB, BWV (preferred view) or VWL.

Is an HGVC Studio's maintenance fees really higher than DVC or equal? I would have guessed lower. If comparing a 2-BR HGVC with DVC 150 points, that's a very uneven comparison, since it easily takes twice as many DVC points (~300) to get a good week in a DVC 2-BR.

posted 08-28-2001 17:57            

quote:

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Originally posted by tuguser:
For those not familiar with DVC resales, check out the two major brokers at thetimesharestore.com or atimeshare.com. The DVC forum can be found at wdwinfo.net. That will give you an idea of how much people are paying for the resales. I paid $59 per point with five years of free park passes. Most Old Key West memberships are going for close to or at $70 per points resale with a full year of points available. Each resale has a waiting list of people wanting to buy and the listings go fast. Disney remains an extremely popular timeshare opportunity. Let me know if you ever see a listing for the price I paid, okay...because I would love to buy it.

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posted 08-28-2001 19:19            

senorak, you must decide for yourself. DVC is not for everyone. You have the unique oportunity of planning how many points you actually need and looking at paying cash for the other possible exchange items. I'd say if you want to stay on property, consider S-F stays. The points savings are astronomical. OKW is essentially a moderate when compared to location and you will need a car. The truth is that you can afford a car for the points difference in most situations. IF you do decide to buy DVC, buy where you want to stay the most even if it is more expensive or you have to buy developer. If you're not sure, make your best guess. Doesn't sound like OKW is your cup of tea so you might want to consider BW or the new BC when it starts selling in about 9-12 months.

posted 08-28-2001 20:06            

I guess my post on MF may have been misleading. I own 150 Points at BWV which has MF 0f approximately $564.00. I much prefer adventure season that gets me 18 days in a studio or 110 points for a 2 BR at OKW and 120 points for BWV.

My MF per week at South Seas Plantation is $779.00 for a 2 BR in same season. Hurricane House is around $700.00 (I don;t remember exactly) for same season.

We go to Sanibel for at least a month in Nov./DEC and rent on Sanibel from Jan. 15 to Mar. 15. That gives us at least 3 and usually 4 visits to DVC coming and going.

We have stayed several times at Vistana and once at OLCC and they were both very nice, but since owning at DVC we wouldn;t consider staying off site. All in All, I think Disney purchase price and MF were very affordable.

posted 08-28-2001 20:53            

I think I remember you from the disboards, which is where I first heard about TUG. I spent a bit of time lurking on the DVC boards and had some DVC envy. I have a few thoughts on your quandry. You sound far from convinced about buying into DVC, so first I'd suggest the normal advice and wait until you are sure it is right for you.

We also stayed poly conc when we went for the first time as adults in May. After the incredible convenience I'm not sure how any DVC on site could be anything but a letdown. From everything you've said, you don't strike me as being satisfied with OKW. I certainly wouldn't buy without renting some points and trying it out first. I find the Beach Club appealing (having never seen it) with SAB and the proximity to a park, but we will be MK goers for the next several years so being next to Epcot doesn't do that much for me. We loved loved loved hopping on the monorail and being in the MK in minutes from the poly, or taking the quick boat across.

Before we went I was sure that I would find a way to get my husband to take the DVC presentation and work on getting him to join. We did find that 'Disney' was just too much for us for any length of time, I got tired of the same kid food everywhere, the high prices, the masses of humanity, etc. My compromise was to buy an SA unit (actually two so we could invite friends or relatives) knowing that we could easily trade off site. With the money we saved we can do a few nights at a monorail resort (conc with a good discount) for a few disney days if we want, then spread out in a condo for the rest of a vacation. When doing your number crunching I would suggest adding a 'cheap' option of fees for SA and start by figuring out your yearly savings, then calculate based on the difference in original investment cost (seems like the savings in MF alone would pay for a night or two at the Poly).

Good Luck figuring out what to do, I do remember some cost analysis on the dis DVC boards you might search for.

r

posted 08-29-2001 04:07            

quote:

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Originally posted by sandcastles:
I guess my post on MF may have been misleading. I own 150 Points at BWV which has MF 0f approximately $564.00. I much prefer adventure season that gets me 18 weekdays in a studio or 110 points for a 2 BR at OKW and 120 points for BWV.

My MF per week at South Seas Plantation is $779.00 for a 2 BR in same season. Hurricane House is around $700.00 (I don;t remember exactly) for same season.

All in All, I think Disney purchase price and MF were very affordable.

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Sorry, but I still don't think you're doing a fair comparison

The HGVC resorts you own at have higher mf than the average, and you're not using it the way you're using your DVC points. You're staying in a bigger unit and sometimes *higher* season at HGVC.

The fairest way might be to calculate how many nights in a studio at HGVC Seaworld you would get during the equivalent of Adventure season.

Adventure Season seems to be a combination of Silver & Gold season in HGVC. In my situation, it is no problem securing a 5000 HGVC point week (did it 6 months after other owners).

With 5000 HGVC points, I can reserve 31 week days in a studio at Seaworld during Gold season or 45 week days during Silver. My maintenance is ~$600.

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Marina Keeney
Mexico Reviews Editor
Moderator :
Marriott, Points & HGVC boards

posted 08-29-2001 06:51            

quote:

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Originally posted by Dean:
Tonyg, I paid around $50 pp for each of my two contracts and the reality is that $65-68 per point for an actual selling price is reasonable and an almost certianty. Of course there's the other fees associated with selling which would tack away some of the "profits". A 20% after commission profit is the current reality. Whether it will be that way in 3-5 years, who knows.

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Dean- Isn't DVC a right to use ownership and therefore would lose value every year as the number of years remaining declines. Wasn't Disney exercising right of first refusal on sales at the $ 46 level a while back ?

posted 08-29-2001 07:03            

I don't belong to HGVC any longer because I'm not interested in going to any other Hilton resorts other than the 3 weeks I own. I realize that my MF are higher than the average HGVC resort but I am willing to pay them because that's where I want to be.

Sanibel/Captiva and DVC are the only places in Florida that we go. We use our Gatlinburg weeks to trade in to other resorts on Sanibel.

I'm not comparing HGVC MF in general, just the ones I own.