BTDT, would you do DVC again?

I have rented DVC in the past. We end up going every year, and plan on doing so for the next 5 years. I figured if I’m able to sell it for close to what i purchased it for, then instead of costing me $2500 for a weeks stay, it will have cost my my annual dues- $1000. Seemed like a savings of 1500 each trip. And i’ll be renting out part of my points, so that can offset any loss when i’m selling in a few years. Seems like Disney is trying to drive up resale values to close the gap anyways.

Your plan is interesting. It could work, but Disney seems to be always changing the rules and I am afraid we don’t know how that will impact future sales.

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Yea thats definitely a problem, because if resale prices get too close to direct no one will buy it, I’d have to sell right before that happens, or before any other big change. I guess its worth the risk for me :woman_shrugging:

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Interesting thread…

For another perspective on this, I regret not buying into DVC 13 years ago (2006) after our first family trip to the World. I came home, did the math, and decided that unless we go at least once every two years it wouldn’t be worth the “investment” (or something like that… I forgot the actual cost/interest/savings numbers I used).

We’re now DD21, DS19, DD11, we’ve been two more times after that first trip (2010 and 2014), and have a trip planned for this fall.

Obviously 3 visits over 13 years is not cost effective use of DVC, but if we bought in then we would have visited more often, which I regret not doing. Before you know it your kids are in college :slightly_smiling_face:

Additionally, I didn’t really take into account the significant increase in resort costs over the years. We like staying in the deluxe resorts, but night rates seem to gone up much faster than inflation… while I haven’t actually done the math to see if this makes any sense at all… I’m kind of wishing I was “locked” in from 13 years ago.

And finally, looking toward the future, I like the idea of a DVC membership being handy for family reunions as the children start their own lives and families.

Does any of that make economic sense… no. But that’s not the only reason to do something.

Funny, my wife is a reluctant Disney fan. There should be a help group for Disney fans who’s spouses aren’t fans :slight_smile:

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I worry about this exact regret!

I’m sorry for your regret @Kickstart and the reasons you regret are the reasons I do not regret that I did it. You know, its not too late.

IMHO, I think 10 and 8 are great ages for Disney.

They can enjoy more of the rides and experiences, they’ll remember more of it, and you won’t have to spend as much time or money on character meets/greets.

Also, Disney has an interesting effect on teenagers… it’s one of the few places teenagers don’t mind hanging out with their family.

At least for us… we don’t go as often. I guess it might become less magical, so to speak, if it seems routine… IDK.

I would re-asses this assumption that they won’t be interested during their tweens. There’s a good chance they caught your Disney bug… it is pretty contagious after all :slight_smile:

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Haha!..

oh, I know. :slight_smile:

I starting reading threads on DVC to see if I should have a second look at it. It’s unfortunate about the rule/policy changes… but who knows, I might still consider it.

As the family gets larger, and we want to encourage extend family to join us… I think renting will be our most viable option going forward, or buying in if we want to “lock it in”.

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I agree.

Disney is the place where I really feel we are together as a family. It is an unexpected gift that Disney has given us.

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Funny, your post reminded me: from the start of my ownership I have started tracking points, points uses, rental cost (if I rented instead of owned), Disney cash price. I know there are discounts but a $600 rack rate daily price shocked me.

My son, between the years of 15-18 barely shared anything with me. We would land at MCO and I would get my son back. He talked to me! It was my own Disney magic.

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:heart:

It’s probably the best ages if you want to get them hooked :wink:

Will renting points also cover closing costs? The plan seems solid, but as @PrincipalTinker said, Disney is always changing the rules, so you might be “stuck” with those points in the future unless you take a serious financial hit. Do you think that’d something you would be alright with?

If yes, I see no real reason not to do it then. Because best case (and very likely) scenario: you end up going for longer than 5 years. And even if you pull it back to once every 3 years, that’ll allow you to bank points to really enjoy some upgraded rooms.

Caveat though: all of this is under the assumption that you’ll be paying in full immediately. If you finance, interest alone negates pretty much any savings you’d see for a lonnnng time.

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This is a very important point. In general, if you have to finance DVC you really shouldn’t be buying.

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Be careful of this line of thinking… you forget opportunity cost. You’d be tying up a large sum of money ($10,000+ possibly) in Disney vacations when you could be investing it or using it to improve your home, etc. You could lose money. And don’t forget you would owe closing costs when you buy and would most likely need to pay a broker when you sell.

We had a very similar experience. Youngest has some additional support needs, and his elder brother found it tough from about 10 to 15, dealing with his brother and his feeling of unfairness sometimes. :disappointed_relieved::disappointed_relieved: He got used to doing things with one or other of us, but not often both. And DH also suffered from depression during that time.

Anyway when we bought in and went for our first DVC vacation, the eldest was 16. Whilst we were there for 3 weeks, DH and DS spent quite a bit of time together. DH said “I hadn’t realised what a great sense of humour he has”. It makes me teary thinking back to it, but in a good way. It kind of started the whole healing process, bringing them much closer than they’d ever been.

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ohhh. I did not know buying any resale right now that you were restricted to original 14.

I have heard on a Podcast for 8 years of ownership or lower, buy HH or Vero. The fees are higher, but less than 8 years you come out ahead. You also have to be okay with booking at 7 months for WDW

The issue these days has been very limited availability at 7 months for some months. The October-December months have been tough.

I’ve heard rumors that Disney plans to petition the government to increase December from 31 days to 38 (added between Christmas and New Years), and shorten September by a week to offset the difference. By doing this, they can have fewer days in September and more in December so that they can make more money.

ETA: I should point out that, for the most part, the decision to do so is kind of split upon party lines. The Republicans are all in favor of it, but the Democrats are pushing back, pointing out what it would do to education when we have had generations raised to recite, “30 days hath September, April, June, and November…”

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