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DVC vs Wyndham and Hilton for Floridians

cbyrne1174

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I own Wyndham and can stay at a 1-bedroom at Bonnet Creek for usually less than half the price of a DVC 1-bedroom any time of the year with no buy in cost (resale contracts are essentially free). Bonnet Creek is a 4 star resort that is part of the "Wyndham Grand" luxury collection. It has 2 lazy rivers, 12 hot tubs, 5 pools, 2 slides, a spa, mini golf, a bunch of bars and restaurants and a view of both magic kingdom and Epcot fireworks. To be exact, it costs $996 to stay in a 1-bedroom CHRISTMAS WEEK when you own. Saratoga Springs is $1781 for the same week with a $25,000 buy in cost.

Wyndham has 4 other Orlando properties, one of which is part of Reunion, which has a water park and 4 championship golf courses, among other 4.5 star amenities. Wyndham owners can also trade into Saratoga and Old Key West pretty easily once DVC deposits the leftovers into RCI, as well as 4 other beautiful Hilton resorts for less than what DVC and Hilton owners pay with their maintenance fees.

For those of you who drive to WDW for your vacations, would you still have bought into DVC if you knew you get a free contract and do all those fore mentioned exchanges for much cheaper?

I'm asking because I'm considering DVC for its theming for my kids, but that price tag is insane when you compare it to Wyndham!

Also, Wyndham has over 100 resorts all over the country as well. DVC has only a handful.
 

rhonda

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elaine

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responding to the Wyndham aspect vs DVC. If you are happy with W, then stick with that! We own DVC and like it for the theming, counter service restaurants, and buses around WDW. We have teens and then are old enough to come and go on the bus as they want. IF you drive to them parks (many use a car at DVC), then I see NO reason to buy DVC. IF we need a 2 BR, we will trade into W for about $1000 relative cost to us vs. the much higher maintenance fee at DVC. You don't get ME or 60 days FP+, but if that is not important to you, W is a great option.
For Hilton--we stayed is a great 3 BR a year ago--DH felt like a taxi service taking 2 teens with friends back and forth at different times or forcing them all to ride at the same time. We won't do that again. At W, they have multiple shuttles (for a fee), so it's a really good option, esp. if you need a 2 BR.
 

Dean

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DVC only works for on property . You have to feel that staying online is worth the extra. DVC only works for DVC resorts, esp if you have other options outside DVC.
 
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Firepath

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The first two weeks of December are very high demand for DVC. It might not be that easy to get the dates you're looking for unless you book them exactly at 11 mos. for your home resort.
 

bnoble

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About a dozen years ago, when I first got started in timeshare, I debated exactly this for myself. I ended up not buying DVC for a few reasons:

1: The cost difference. We could afford DVC, but weren't sure it was the best use of our money.

2: We were not sure we would want to continue going to WDW more or less every year. At the time, the kids were early grade school, and I was concerned that they would "outgrow" WDW. In hindsight, this wasn't that much of a concern, as we continued going on Disney vacations more or less annually until this year, when the youngest started college.

3: We were not sure we cared that much about staying onsite vs. a well-located offsite timeshare: Bonnet, Vistana, etc. Again in hindsight, we ended up enjoying "the bubble" more than I thought we would, but not as much as some do.

4: We knew we wanted to have non-Disney vacations, and DVC could not help with those. We have taken many non-Disney vacations over the years, and enjoyed them just as much if not more than our WDW/DLR/DLRP visits.

As it happens, we were able to have our cake and eat it too. Over the years we were able to get several high-demand DVC exchanges through II and later RCI. That's not currently possible, so the calculus is a bit different. However, all things considered I would make the same decision.
 

cbyrne1174

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I'm also factoring in that there are just SO many AWESOME resorts in Orlando that aren't part of a vacation club that I would end up losing out on by staying only at timeshare resorts.
 

noreenkate

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DVC only works for on property . You have to feel that staying online is worth the extra. DVC only works for DVC resorts, esp if you have other options outside DVC.

I kinda disagree with that part a bit...dvc also has a partnership with RCI- so we take advantage of last call and extra vacation cash specials ...agreed it’s not like owning at those resorts but it’s options for places like bush gardens va.

I'm also factoring in that there are just SO many AWESOME resorts in Orlando that aren't part of a vacation club that I would end up losing out on by staying only at timeshare resorts.

DVC is expensive compared to the surrounding resorts. Take your time and choose the best thing for your family in the long run.

To be honest we are loving DVC so much i would like to investigate other properties in other places that’s why I joined these boards...timeshares have IMO so wacky rules. I am here to learn. As I would love to eventually find something in Pidgeon Forge area but don’t understand the ins and outs.
DVC is pretty cut and dry with usage. You get these points on this date to use for 1 year.
 

Panina

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I just recently contemplated getting a DVC timeshare. As adults, we feel, nothing compares to staying on site if you are going to Disney. I also mostly own where I like to go. Being in our late 50’s I just could not justify spending what they cost. We could buy multiple timeshares in other high demand locations. So decided my hgvc resorts will do and if I get lucky and get a trade into Disney (Saratoga would be fine, I like it there) I will take it. Also love Marriott’s Sabal Palms and trade there too with II. Now the question is if I was younger with children would I buy......don’t think so at the price it is now.
 

Dean

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I kinda disagree with that part a bit...dvc also has a partnership with RCI- so we take advantage of last call and extra vacation cash specials ...agreed it’s not like owning at those resorts but it’s options for places like bush gardens va.
While it may have some usefulness, buying DVC for these options would be unreasonable. Gravy but not worth buying DVC esp if DVC doesn't make sense otherwise. It's much easier and cheaper to get the same options a different way, esp for places that are easy to exchange into like Orlando, LV, Williamsburg and Branson.
 

mj2vacation

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We own DVC (700 points) and also live 10 minutes away. Also own with Marriott.

There is nothing like staying on property.....

This year we rented out about 800 points through David’s rentals and used the cash for flights and activities in Hawaii, while using Marriott to go to the Maui Ocean Club and DVC for Aulani.

We had booked a week at Aulani on cash, with a really good special. We bought some more points and cancelled the cash stay, using the $6000 toward the purchase.
 

noreenkate

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While it may have some usefulness, buying DVC for these options would be unreasonable. Gravy but not worth buying DVC esp if DVC doesn't make sense otherwise. It's much easier and cheaper to get the same options a different way, esp for places that are easy to exchange into like Orlando, LV, Williamsburg and Branson.

Not what I said- I bought DVC to stay at DVC I use the extra vacation cash options for just that- seeing other places we may be interested in.
 

cbyrne1174

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I kinda disagree with that part a bit...dvc also has a partnership with RCI- so we take advantage of last call and extra vacation cash specials ...agreed it’s not like owning at those resorts but it’s options for places like bush gardens va.



DVC is expensive compared to the surrounding resorts. Take your time and choose the best thing for your family in the long run.

To be honest we are loving DVC so much i would like to investigate other properties in other places that’s why I joined these boards...timeshares have IMO so wacky rules. I am here to learn. As I would love to eventually find something in Pidgeon Forge area but don’t understand the ins and outs.
DVC is pretty cut and dry with usage. You get these points on this date to use for 1 year.

Buy Wyndham. The Seveirville properties have maintenance fees in the bottom third of all the properties because there isn't much property damage from weather in the mountains. If you find a smoky lodge contract, there's 3 water parks on property. If I had to chose between own wyndham vs DVC, I'd own wyndham by a long shot because they have at least 1 good resort in every major vacation destination in the country as well as the lowest maintenance fees of all the RCI vacation clubs. That being said, you can trade into Hilton for less than the price of owning hilton and properties have decent rci availability because hilton is concentrated in only FL, Myrtle beach, Las Vegas, DC, NYC and Hawaii.

If you're going to use ebay to buy wyndham, Sumday Vacations and Sean Singletary are the best sellers to buy from, with over 1500 positive reviews. When I bought from sean, a recorded deed was sent to wyndham within 3 weeks of auction ending.
 

Dean

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Not what I said- I bought DVC to stay at DVC I use the extra vacation cash options for just that- seeing other places we may be interested in.
So we're saying the same thing, buy DVC only for DVC.
 

noreenkate

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So we're saying the same thing, buy DVC only for DVC.

Again not exactly-dvc gives access to rci extras and last call. So owners aren’t stuck with only DVC resorts.

DVC only works for on property . You have to feel that staying online is worth the extra. DVC only works for DVC resorts, esp if you have other options outside DVC.

Only works on property is not 100 % accurate- points can be exchanged for RCI and there is the RCI cash option.

I do agree with you that staying on property has to be worth the extra-
 

TravelTime

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I own at DVC and I am planning to sell all my points in the next year or so, mainly because DVC points are only good at DVC resorts, for all intensive purposes. I bought them for the family but the family dynamics have changed. You can trade DVC through RCI but the cost per point in maintenance fees is the same or more expensive than renting these same resorts, not to mention the high buy in cost. Also, there are very few resorts, if any, that are 4-5 star quality in RCI. Even most of The Registry resorts are mainly 4 star-ish. I have other less expensive timeshares that I can use to get Getaways or cheaper exchanges into any of the few RCI/Registry resorts I like. So far, the only time I have used RCI was for a wonderful Tradewinds Getaway but that is only allowed once every 4 years with RCI and the all inclusive fees and tips plus getaway fee was pretty expensive - about $3000 for a week. It is was still $1000 less than buying online as a last minute cash getaway direct from Tradewinds so still a good deal but I would not exchange DVC points for this. It would have been a bad trade since DVC points do not cover all inclusive fees. If anyone knows of some good, financially viable RCI trades with DVC points, please let us know.
 
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Lisa P

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I own at DVC and I am planning to sell all my points in the next year or so, mainly because DVC points are only good at DVC resorts.... If anyone knows of some good, financially viable RCI trades with DVC points, please let us know.
As you realize, this is the caveat to DVC value... DVC points offer value only when they are used to stay at DVC resorts. It's what Dean has tried to say in above posts. While there are other options available to points system owners (DVC and others, like Hilton or Wyndham), they are generally NOT a good value, worth spending your points.

It's been many years since I can recall TUG posts about a truly valuable alternative way to use DVC points. Between the exchange fee, DVC's high maintenance fees, and the added fees imposed on incoming exchangers by an increasing number of in-demand resorts (ex., DVC, NYC resorts, Gold Crown ski-in/ski-out), it's harder than ever to find good value in trading out of DVC, or even in using DVC points for other travel purchases.

Not sure most people here would know what resorts are a part of The Registry or otherwise that could be a fair value. Aren't those exchanges available to other timeshare owners (who pay less) as well? Still comparatively expensive for DVC owners.
 

Dean

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Again not exactly-dvc gives access to rci extras and last call. So owners aren’t stuck with only DVC resorts.



Only works on property is not 100 % accurate- points can be exchanged for RCI and there is the RCI cash option.

I do agree with you that staying on property has to be worth the extra-
Then let me restate to be clear. NONE of the other options other than DVC resort stays are reasonable to consider as part of the purchase decision other than in very limited circumstances the pass discounts for retail when there is a ton of volume and one will come out in just a few years using that discount alone. That includes RCI, concierge and Disney collections as well as other perk options.
 

Jan M.

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For 10 years we went to the Outer Banks sharing a house with other families. The three families all have a child the same age. I knew everything would change/end when they all turned 16, were driving, had jobs, on sports teams, etc. We were fortunate as splitting the cost of the house meant we were able to take other vacations as well. After the first two years of those 10 years we were staying 2-3 weeks in June/July. There was no way I was spending that much to rent a house by ourselves so I told my husband we were buying our timeshare when I knew that last year was coming. The next summer when our son was 16 we started going to Myrtle Beach with the timeshare instead. That was the start of so many new experiences for us.

For us the Outer Banks was our Disney World vacations. In addition to the summer weeks we spent there we also went either at Christmas/New Years or Easter too. We did go to Orlando/Disney World twice during those years and other places too but a beach vacation every year was our must. When we lived up North my husband had coworkers and people he came into contract with as part of his job whose big vacation every year was a Disney World trip while we were taking 3-4 vacations and sometimes a shorter stay in DC too. While we were walking around one of the Parks on our recent visit to Disney my husband said he didn't get it why people would want to do nothing else but Disney year after year. Disney vacations aren't cheap and there is a whole big world out their to experience. Yes Disney is impressive but it's noisy, crowded and not a very relaxing vacation. We both remember how exhausted we were at the end of the day back when we took our son. However I do see the attraction some people have for Disney because they stay on property, get the meal plan and use Disney buses so it is almost an all inclusive vacation for them. I reminded him of our 10 years of going to the Outer Banks and he reminded me that in addition to loving the beach we had another very good reason for doing the same thing over and over. Our son is an only child and because we shared a house it meant he had other kids his own age around 24/7. It was wonderful for him and he even got to share a bedroom. Yeah, only an only child would think that was a vacation treat!

Now I have to admit that we live in Florida, have the cheap Florida resident weekday select annual passes so can go to Disney World on a whim and we do. This year so far we spent a week at Saratoga Springs by ourselves. A week at Reunion and another time 10 nights at Bonnet Creek both with friends. Just recently we spent 5 nights at Bonnet Creek with one of our granddaughters. At the end of October we are going back to Bonnet Creek for 5 nights with both of our granddaughters and by ourselves or with friends will be at Silver Lake resort the week after Thanksgiving. We can bum around the Parks for a few hours and use our fast pass picks without feeling like we have to get our moneys worth out of the expensive Disney World tickets. But this year we've also stayed at the newly opened resort Wyndham Austin, Grandview Las Vegas, Wyndham Flagstaff,, Wyndham Glacier Canyon in the Wisconsin Dells and at Caloosa Cove in Islamorada in the Keys too. We have to get the paperwork finished to get our passports so we can try a cruise as we've never done one yet.

I've stayed at Disney's Vero Beach resort and expected to be wowed. I wasn't. There's nothing wrong with it, I just wasn't wowed. But that could be because we've stayed at so many great beach resorts since we moved to Florida. We really enjoyed our stays at Animal Kingdom Kidani Village in the savanna view units. But other than that I'll take Wyndham Bonnet Creek or Reunion over the other Disney resorts. Soon our other granddaughter who is now 2 will be talking well enough to start taking her vacations with us and most of the time unless her older sister is here we will be staying at Star Island or Vacation Village at Parkway with her until she is 4-4.5. At both of them we ask for a unit close to the pool and playground. We really like the ease and convenience of having everything so close when you have a little one and both have a nice playground and pools. I've stayed on Hilton Head although not at the Disney resort but at another very, very nice resort. I much prefer Sanibel, Captiva or Naples over Hilton Head. From what OP have posted the big thing about Aulani is that it is in Hawaii. From what most of them said they preferred other resorts, of which Hawaii has plenty.

The positives are that DVC does retain some resale value if you get Disneyed out and want to move on. And it rents very well if you aren't ready to get rid of it.
 
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chalee94

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Again not exactly-dvc gives access to rci extras and last call. So owners aren’t stuck with only DVC resorts.

Only works on property is not 100 % accurate- points can be exchanged for RCI and there is the RCI cash option.

I do agree with you that staying on property has to be worth the extra-

I was an owner with DVC for over a decade and DVC did NOT allow these options. DVC was the corporate owner of the RCI account and RCI would not speak to me - I would have had to call DVC to see if I could trade through RCI and last call was not an option. I bought in right after DVC left II, so for a while, you could trade DVC for Marriotts or Westins - but if I had bought DVC for that purpose, I would be out of luck.

Things changed so that DVC owners can book last call with RCI and that is nice, but what Dean is trying to say is that that change is not part of your DVC deed. Like any other perk, it can come and go.

I have a small DVC contract for onsite stays at WDW - I like it and the AP discount has been great (but that is also not guaranteed). I also have a non-DVC timeshare for stays off property at WDW and elsewhere. I am happy with my mix of timeshares and would suggest to the OP that if you are not committed to paying extra for onsite stays at WDW and want to use the timeshare often for non-Orlando trips (and only want 1 timeshare), then Wyndham sounds like it would be the choice for you. DVC is great for what it does, but it is a very expensive niche timeshare, and not a Swiss army knife.
 

littlestar

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With you being a Florida resident you are already eligible for annual pass discounts and Disney resort discounts. Plus you have the option to drive to Disney for last minute deals. You could buy a small DVC contract, but I would not buy a big contract in your shoes.

I like Interval International resorts way better than Wyndham/RCI. Most of RCI last calls are not anywhere I would want to even stay at. And their one exception, Hilton, for Extra Vacations, now has extra daily resort fees tacked on. You can occasionally trade into Disney Saratoga 1 bedrooms through RCI.

The Wyndham hassle factor is a major turnoff for us and I plan on giving our Wyndham points back through Ovation. The DVC points I am keeping to treat our kids and grandchildren.
 

heathpack

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We are west coast people so I can’t really speak to the Orlando dynamic.

But: we own Marriott, Disney, Hyatt and Vistana timeshares.

We like the Hyatt the best but it has declined in value so when we are done with it, we will be out most of our purchase price and all our maintenance fees. Still a good value in our opinion but a loss nonetheless.

Our Marriott TSs were purchased inexpensively and we will likely be able to sell them for about what we paid for them. With Marriott, when we’re done with the ownership, all we’ll be out is the MF.

Our Vistana Unit was free but when the day comes that we are done with it, we may have to offer a wee incentive to pass it on. Thus, we’ll be out whatever incentive we offer to new owner PLUS the MF we put into it.

Our Disney points though are worth more than we paid for them. Way more at Grand California and a little more in Hilton Head. If we sold today, we’d make enough money to recoup ALL of our purchase price and ALL of the MFs we’ve paid over the years and still have money left over.

So: Our “expensive” DVC will likely turn out to be by far the least expensive in the long run. This is an aspect of DVC that is frequently ignored.

Also, the ability to buy however many points you want to meet your travel habits and to easily bank/borrow across three years means that there is zero need to own DVC or nothing else. But 1/3 the points you need to stay for a week and stay at a DVC every third year. Then stay at nonDVC timeshares the other two years, or don’t go to Disney at all.

DVC is definitely IMO the best timeshare product I own in terms of value. I’m just not enough of a Disney fan for it to meet all my needs.
 

Dean

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We are west coast people so I can’t really speak to the Orlando dynamic.

But: we own Marriott, Disney, Hyatt and Vistana timeshares.

We like the Hyatt the best but it has declined in value so when we are done with it, we will be out most of our purchase price and all our maintenance fees. Still a good value in our opinion but a loss nonetheless.

Our Marriott TSs were purchased inexpensively and we will likely be able to sell them for about what we paid for them. With Marriott, when we’re done with the ownership, all we’ll be out is the MF.

Our Vistana Unit was free but when the day comes that we are done with it, we may have to offer a wee incentive to pass it on. Thus, we’ll be out whatever incentive we offer to new owner PLUS the MF we put into it.

Our Disney points though are worth more than we paid for them. Way more at Grand California and a little more in Hilton Head. If we sold today, we’d make enough money to recoup ALL of our purchase price and ALL of the MFs we’ve paid over the years and still have money left over.

So: Our “expensive” DVC will likely turn out to be by far the least expensive in the long run. This is an aspect of DVC that is frequently ignored.

Also, the ability to buy however many points you want to meet your travel habits and to easily bank/borrow across three years means that there is zero need to own DVC or nothing else. But 1/3 the points you need to stay for a week and stay at a DVC every third year. Then stay at nonDVC timeshares the other two years, or don’t go to Disney at all.

DVC is definitely IMO the best timeshare product I own in terms of value. I’m just not enough of a Disney fan for it to meet all my needs.
Our Bluegreen is our cheapest and our best dollar value. Marriott is our best enjoyment value. DVC is our most expensive by far. Most don't take into account the dues which are roughly 30% more for many situations apples to apples (as best you can compare). DVC's draw is location and theming, IMO, Marriott does a better job in many areas and many of their resorts are better than the DVC resorts looked at objectively other than theming. And DVC's theming has taken a hit the last few years.
 

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Buy Wyndham. The Seveirville properties have maintenance fees in the bottom third of all the properties because there isn't much property damage from weather in the mountains. If you find a smoky lodge contract, there's 3 water parks on property. If I had to chose between own wyndham vs DVC, I'd own wyndham by a long shot because they have at least 1 good resort in every major vacation destination in the country as well as the lowest maintenance fees of all the RCI vacation clubs. That being said, you can trade into Hilton for less than the price of owning hilton and properties have decent rci availability because hilton is concentrated in only FL, Myrtle beach, Las Vegas, DC, NYC and Hawaii.

If you're going to use ebay to buy wyndham, Sumday Vacations and Sean Singletary are the best sellers to buy from, with over 1500 positive reviews. When I bought from sean, a recorded deed was sent to wyndham within 3 weeks of auction ending.

I don't think it's a choice to pick between Wyndham and DVC. Wyndam points are under 1k resale. Anybody can buy them.

The question is, is the DVC premium worth it?

To me, my time is precious. While I'm walking to my DVC room as the park closes, I'm thinking about the the folks spending 15-20 mins waiting for a shuttle, fighting for spots on the tram or walking to the end of a parking lot, stuck in traffic for another 10-15 minutes, or going thru a separate security gate in the am wasting another 10 minutes. Meanwhile in 5 - 8 minutes I'm at Boardwalk or Beach Club or Bay Lake Tower in my room.

I've taken my shower, put my feet up while they are still trying to crank up the AC in a car. I've easily saved an hour a day by staying within walking distance at a park. Not to mention, if I stay on the monorail, I have a choice of over 15 different dining locations at the resort without having to drive (same with Epcot resorts).

I'll gladly pay the premium to save 90 minutes everyday in transit.

Also, DVC owners that rent points know that they can rent points at 2.5x maint fees. Only a select few resorts anywhere can achieve this. If you really want to recoup your buy in fees, just sell back points.

Personally, I bought both into 5 different programs including Wyndham. If I'm in Orlando and don't plan on going to the parks much Wyndam is fine. My actual favorite offsite near Disney is Sabal Palms. Can't beat the slides and large pool at the world center.
 

djohn06

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Resorts Owned
Disney Hilton Head, Bay Lake Tower, Boardwalk and AKV
Vistana SBP and SVV
Harborside
WKV & WKORN
Bluegreen Harbor Lights
Wyndam Waikiki Beachwalk
Wyndam Great Smokey Mountains
Quarterhouse New Orleans
Laguna Surf
Marriott Monarch
Our Bluegreen is our cheapest and our best dollar value. Marriott is our best enjoyment value. DVC is our most expensive by far. Most don't take into account the dues which are roughly 30% more for many situations apples to apples (as best you can compare). DVC's draw is location and theming, IMO, Marriott does a better job in many areas and many of their resorts are better than the DVC resorts looked at objectively other than theming. And DVC's theming has taken a hit the last few years.

This is spot on except for the expenses. However, I think you may be missing hidden fees or perk savings as well with DVC.

DVC isn't a nickel and dime program, which I love. Some programs charge guest certicate fees, booking fees and cleaning fees. DVC doesn't. Plus, you have to factor in transportation costs to and from the airport at offsite resorts that DVC fees cover with Magic express included. With DVC no car is required unlike many offsite locations. Some off site resorts even charge fees to take their shuttle to the parks. That has to be added into the equation too. There are parking fees at some resorts that DVC doesn't charge owners. I value Disney's transportation network as a $300 savings for a week for my family of four.

Lastly, I save 20 percent yearly off DVC maint fees by paying with gift cards purchased at my grocery store using my Blue Amex preferred card. The card gets me 6 percent off. I wait until I get 4X points to get a $1 off gas at Kroger's up to 35 gallons of gas. I'm saving $200 per $1,000 spent.

Not to mention other DVC discounts on tickets and food at the parks.

So my standard two bedroom Bay Lake tower maint fee of 1,687 for one week during adventure season, is reduced to $1,350 with my credit card/ gas savings. Plus no car needed. No addition transportation costs from airport/ parking fees drops this down to $1,050. This is well below what Marriott or Vistana charges for a two bedroom. It's pretty much in Wyndham territory.
 
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