I've been on the tours. Its really a no "real" pressure sale. However, they do try to persuade you to purchase. We personally had a not so pleasant experience and my DH refused to purchase because of that one salesperson :annoyed: but overall anyone I have spoken to loved owning with DVC. However, those people are also Disney Addicts like me...
Somethings I found that also deterred DH from purchasing is;
- Limited resorts at different (non - Disney) locations
- Difficulty with controlling your deposit with II
- Expensive cost of points
- Extra hidden cost for booking within Disney and outside
Somethings I liked about DVC:
- Onsite Disney resorts with Disney Quality and Care
- Of most TS DVC holds its resale and rental value pretty darn well
- You can use it for Cruises/Adventures by Disney and trading
This is definately a purchase that you would HAVE to USE at least 80% of the time and NOT TRADE with II to often to get the most value out of it and be most happy with your purchase.
A couple items here; One advantage is that you don't have to deposit with II first to do a search and then book. You can have them search, contact you to firm up that you want the reservation, and then deposit your DVC points to book. There is no cost to do bookings within DVC. Yes, if you go outside the system there is a cost. Also unlike some points systems such as RCI Points, you don't have housekeeping charges for less than 7 days stay. For my 2 day stays, I don't get the $55 housekeeping charge (resorts sets the fees) that I do for RCI Points stays. In general, DVC may be more expensive than other timeshares but not necessarily as it depends on what it is being compared to.
Cost per point at DVC compared to cost per point at other systems may be higher but it is an unfair comparison. The true cost is the cost of a comparable stay. If one system requires 200 points for a 7 day stay at $1000 (maintenance fee per point times the number of point) plus $0.00 booking fee whereas a comparable resort requires 100,000 points for a 7 day stay at $950 (maintenance fee per point times the number of points) plus $99 booking fee or $1049, DVC would be less expensive even thought the cost per point (purchase price and maintenance fee) is higher. Cost per point is not a good indicator in itself as to whether it is more or less expensive than other alternatives. Comparing costs between points systems can be difficult.
The value of DVC is staying at DVC resorts but that is what people who bought DVC for. I saw a statistic a few years back that less than 3% of DVC owners exchange outside DVC each year. I don't know how true that is but it is an interesting statistic.
I would say that DVC is good if you feel that you must be on Disney property and if you fly in and don't rent a car.