Beach Club Villa's & DVC questions

[Mcduck]

Hi,

My wife and I returned from an exchange into the Villa's and had a few questions. We are owners with Hilton Vacations and are looking at purchasing at the Bay lake tower.

We are wondering about the value of the purchase. We are looking at cost and maintenance and find that over a 50 year period its a good deal but for 10 years its a wash, have the maintence fee's for the older resorts been stable without increases?

What are the real benefits, we were looking at it and it seems like a somewhat easy trade to get into, what made you purchase with Disney?

How many points would you suggest for a 2 bedroom during a summer week, we are looking at 350 or so, is that enough or too much?

We have been to disney multiple times and on the cruise line. How is it a good deal to exchange points for a cruise, or isn't it, that was soemthing we were confused on our tour about.

from what we have looked at it seems that you really only want to stay with disney on the points, exchanges are very expensive for what you get, is that correct?

I would like to thank you for any information you can provide. I am just curious and we go to Disney world every year plus our other vacations from this vacation but are looking for more options outside the 3 hilton resorts

 

[luvsvacation22]

Hi,

My wife and I returned from an exchange into the Villa's and had a few questions. We are owners with Hilton Vacations and are looking at purchasing at the Bay lake tower.
What Villa's did you exchange into? BLT is a very nice choice!

We are wondering about the value of the purchase. We are looking at cost and maintenance and find that over a 50 year period its a good deal but for 10 years its a wash, have the maintenance fee's for the older resorts been stable without increases?

Historically, maintenance fees have increased anywhere from 2.3 - 4.4% annually (that's $.09 - $.18 per point per year). According to legal documents, DVC may not raise maintenance fees by more than 15% in a given year without owner approval.

Check out this link for a table of MF over the years.
http://www.mouseowners.com/info/showentry.php?e=169


What are the real benefits, we were looking at it and it seems like a somewhat easy trade to get into, what made you purchase with Disney?
As far as an easy trade, it depends. Since BLT is new and in demand (every DVC owner wants to stay there) I do not think you will see many exchanges at least for a few years. Also since the partnership with RCI is new, there is no guarantee Disney will remain with RCI. Before RCI Disney was affiliated with II, when Disney left II it was rather abrupt and some exchangers who were planning on exchanging into Disney through II were left out in the cold-no Disney.

If you really want to stay at Disney consistently, I would look at buying Disney.

The rule of thumb is always "buy where you want to stay" or I recently read on this board (which was very good)"buy where you don't mind staying." If you must stay at BLT, then buy BLT. If it doesn't matter as long as it is Disney you may want to think about resale.

We purchased Disney because we wanted to stay on-site with relative ease. I did not want to wait for an exchange to come through, to see if I might get Disney. We also like be able to choose the resort we would like to stay in. We chose AKV for the concierge level availability on points, the theme of the resort and because staying at the resort was like a vacation within a vacation.

However, either way you look at it, after all the number crunching DVC is an emotional decision in the end.
How many points would you suggest for a 2 bedroom during a summer week, we are looking at 350 or so, is that enough or too much?
Two bedroom BLT 2010 May - June 10, Aug 16-31 (Dream Season) 423 points Magic Kingdom view for seven days. Lake view is 352 points for seven days. Standard view for seven days is 318 points. For five days Sun-Thur 220 points lake view, 265 for MK view. You can always bank and borrow points too. If you wanted to stay in Magic Season or Premier it would be more points. Magic Season is 386 points for LV and 466 for MK View. It depends what you can comfortably afford.

If you do buy 350 BLT have them break up the contract into smaller contracts 50 or 60 points each. This will be easier if in the future you decide to sell. The smaller contracts demand more money.

We have been to Disney multiple times and on the cruise line. How is it a good deal to exchange points for a cruise, or isn't it, that was something we were confused on our tour about.
You can use your points for a Disney cruise. Most people suggest against it because it is not a good trade value. Many rent out their points then purchase the cruise cash. Others do not like the hassle of renting and like the convenience of booking a cruise with ease on points.

from what we have looked at it seems that you really only want to stay with Disney on the points, exchanges are very expensive for what you get, is that correct? Yes, but it can be done. It would be better to exchange you points on your own, on this board for somewhere you would like to go if that is what you are interested in. Although the primary purpose of buying Disney is to stay at Disney in deluxe on-site accommodations.

There is also Adventures By Disney which are signature all inclusive trips to South Africa, California, Europe, Australia,China,Costa Rica, Ecuador, Alaska, Ireland, and many others places. I have never been on one, but I have spoken to people who really loved it, and read others who felt it was not a good value. But the choice does exists.

I would like to thank you for any information you can provide. I am just curious and we go to Disney world every year plus our other vacations from this vacation but are looking for more options outside the 3 Hilton resorts

Good luck!

Dorene

 

[janej]

Depend on when you want to go, an exchange can be hard to get.

I think the real benefit of DVC is the flexibility. You use your point no matter how many days you want to stay. There is no additional fee for shorter stays. You can also rent out points, bank or borrow points without any additional cost. I love the system.

Another benefit is the value of the points. Since Disney charges so much for their deluxe resort, there is built in value in the points. You can still rent out your points for almost twice as much as maintenance fee.

 

[chriskre]

I agree, DVC is an emotional purchase. I have been going to Disney for more than 30 years when I finally decided that it made sense to own there since I'm there 2-3 times a year anyway.

Money wise it makes sense to buy resale at OKW. Some on MO have gotten contracts recently for $52 a point. With those prices, I can't justify buying direct right now. When I purchased 4 years ago things were a little different but right now Disney is not ROFR everything like they used to and the prices are going down.

I own at SSR and have not had too much trouble getting other resorts but then again I don't usually go at prime time except for Vero in July and the World in December which is prime time for DVC but not necessarily high season for the rest of the world.

So if it's really important to stay at a particular resort then I'd say buy at that resort so you get the 11 month booking priority window, otherwise everything opens up to the rest of the club at 7 months. You'll have to wait a little for BLT resales but I've heard there are few out there already.

I don't regret my DVC as I feel it's been great value for the dollar even buying direct but with all the bargains out there why not take advantage of them and buy the same points for half the price.

I would even suggest that if you go more than once a year you might want to consider buying at a few resorts so you have priority booking at a few places so you can always get into your favorites. I've considered buying a few BLT points if I like it. Maybe a small contract so I can get in sometimes if it proves to be difficult to get.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

 

[tomandrobin]

One thing to note about exchanging into Disney. Last year Disney was with II and switched to RCI. There is no guarantee that Disney will stay with RCI, so don't count on always getting your exchange via RCI.

 

[bnoble]

Sure, but that's not a reason to buy DVC *today*. It's a reason to buy it *someday*.

My guess is that the RCI relationship is going to stay around a while. RCI is a much better outlet for the developer inventory that needs to be rented to cover Disney Collection, DCL, and ABD "exchanges", and by eyeball there seems to be more exchange activity as well. Even the sentiment on DISboards has changed from "worst decision ever" to "well, if you really must exchange once in a while, it can be okay."

We'll see what happens when the '09 audit comes out, but I'll be surprised if there isn't a higher fraction of completed Member exchanges compared to prior years.

 

[tomandrobin]

Oh, I wasn't using that as a buy now tactic. I just pointing out that things do change, including exchange companies. I know people who had bought timeshares just to trade into DVC, only to have Disney switch to RCI and leave them out in the cold.

As far as exchange satisfaction, I think it will be unchanged or down. The success rate may be higher, but the resort offerings and quality has dropped.

 

[littlestar]

The best thing about owning DVC points is that you can pick up the phone and call DVC and book what you want to book without waiting for a "maybe" on an exchange for when you want to go.

Don't get me wrong, I loved exchanging through II when they had DVC - getting an exchange into DVC can be a bargain compared to owning DVC points. But there's still something great about owning DVC points. Case in point:

Two years ago I snagged 3 days during Christmas week for my niece at the Beach Club - she was over the moon. I caught a DVC cancellation for a holiday week!

About a month ago my daughter and her husband's family were in town in Orlando for a wedding. Her husband's family had extra guests come into town for the wedding. I couldn't find anything in II or RCI at late notice. I called DVC and was able to book five nights at Disney's SSR with points for the kids.

We've got a Marriott 3 bedroom exchange for next March. I needed 3 more days of a 3 bedroom and I wanted it to be on property. I booked a Disney 3 bedroom treehouse villa starting mid week for the extra 3 days we needed.

Owning DVC points allows me to do things like I've mentioned above.

 

[littlestar]

Oh, another nice perk of owning DVC points is $100 off annual passes.

We used the Disney Chase Visa to pay most of our household bills last year and with the rewards we earned and with the DVC discount, one of our Annual passes was free.

 

[rickandcindy23]

This is the only temptation for Rick. We have been getting annual passes for 11 years. Think of the savings, I tell him! $200 X 11= $2,200 we could have saved. I am always thinking of ways to save money.

I am thinking of less than 100 points, and we need to do it soon.

Oh, another nice perk of owning DVC points is $100 off annual passes.

We used the Disney Chase Visa to pay most of our household bills last year and with the rewards we earned and with the DVC discount, one of our Annual passes was free.

 

[tomandrobin]

This is the only temptation for Rick. We have been getting annual passes for 11 years. Think of the savings, I tell him! $200 X 11= $2,200 we could have saved. I am always thinking of ways to save money.

I am thinking of less than 100 points, and we need to do it soon.

And once you have Annual Passes, then you can buy the Tables in Wonderland card....more savings.

 

[littlestar]

Cindy, as much as you adore the Disney resorts, I'm really surprised you don't own at least 100 points.

 

[luvsvacation22]

This is the only temptation for Rick. We have been getting annual passes for 11 years. Think of the savings, I tell him! $200 X 11= $2,200 we could have saved. I am always thinking of ways to save money.

I am thinking of less than 100 points, and we need to do it soon.

Don't forget you can also cook in your two bedroom villa with a full kitchen and save money!

That is the one I used...However, on our next visit we will be staying in conceirge and planing ADR and not planning to cook at all!
But I guess the point is...we could if we wanted to!

 

[GadgetRick]

This is the only temptation for Rick. We have been getting annual passes for 11 years. Think of the savings, I tell him! $200 X 11= $2,200 we could have saved. I am always thinking of ways to save money.

I am thinking of less than 100 points, and we need to do it soon.

Except they didn't start the discount on APs until about 3 years ago.

 

[icydog]

This is the only temptation for Rick. We have been getting annual passes for 11 years. Think of the savings, I tell him! $200 X 11= $2,200 we could have saved. I am always thinking of ways to save money.

I am thinking of less than 100 points, and we need to do it soon.

Poor Cindy.. You have been dreaming of DVC for a long time now. Can't you buy a small contract and use it every three years. Then you'd get the perks when you exchange in (not all,but I convinced that that members should get the free internet) you'd get the discount on passes and you'd be able to get the Tables in Wonderland Card since you are a passholder. Of course you could do that now if you are a passholder already.

 

[Mcduck]

Thank you for all your help everyone we are going to look at things closer. We especially are interested now with the wonders 2011 cruises on the west coast.

We are going to look and continue debating.

 

[Mcduck]

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[chriskre]

Thank you for all your help everyone we are going to look at things closer. We especially are interested now with the wonders 2011 cruises on the west coast.

We are going to look and continue debating.

The majority of DVC members on the different forums seem to feel that points for cruises or anything other than staying on site is just too expensive. Better to rent your points and pay cash for cruises unless you've got a ton of points to burn.