Disney Vacation Club....Good Deal or not?

We have been contacted by Disney today regarding DVC and they are sending info out in the mail to us to review. My question is do you guys think it is a good deal, or not. We don%26#39;t know much about it except that it costs around $16,000.00 to purchase, only because they told me that in the phone conversation. Do people that are members use it more often than if they didn%26#39;t have it? We try to go every other year, occasionally 2 years in a row. I went to the DVC site,but I wanted to hear from ';real'; vacationers not a presentation.

Thanks!!!

Disneymom

Disney Vacation Club....Good Deal or not?

Hi Disney Mom:

The thing about the DVC: Great if you are always going to use it every year, but you don%26#39;t really own the property and the cost of the yearly fee is much higher than other timeshares.

I found that I would like it better to just stay at a Deluxe of my choice when I wanted to go....

That is just my opinion, but the DVC might be right for you!

Have a great time no matter what you decide!

Lisa

Disney Vacation Club....Good Deal or not?

Lisa,

Thanks for answering so fast. I get caught up in the excitement when talking to the Disney folks and forget the most important part about it, WE WON%26#39;T EVEN OWN IT. We love Windsor Hills so it might be best if we just buy a unit there instead. About how much are the yearly fees anyway at DVC?

Its funny how I%26#39;ve seen Disney use the slogan ';Own a piece of the Magic'; in marketing for DVC when in fact you can%26#39;t own a piece of the magic; its only the right to use.

Then again, a lot of ';deeded'; ownership timeshare places give the developer the right to void a private timeshare sale if they like the price and buy it upon the agreed upon price, kicking the original buyer to the curb. Hardly what I would call ';ownership';.

Just to clarify, the last part of my post was referring to attempted timeshare resales.

DisneyMom, the yearly maint. fees there are right around $1200. That is by far the most of any Orlando area timeshare fees. Near double of what I pay. To timeshare or not? That is only a question you can answer for yourself. Timeshares can be a great way to vacation if you get them for the right price. Which means buying them on the resale market. But even the DVC resale market commands a stiff price, which is good in one way as they somewhat hold there value, where as most timeshares don';t. Our family loves the one we own, and have found it saves us alot of money by taking alot of meals in while we our on vacation, and also all the great entertainment that is free at the resort. We are really considoring buying a second week, as we usually go down about 4 days before we check into our timeshare and stay in a hotel. Quite frankly staying in hotels has lost all its luster for me as I have now grown accustomed to 1300 sq. ft. of space while on vacation without a bunch of misbehaving kids running through the hotels tearing the place apart while there parents sit at the bar. Again it is all a personnal choice on whether it is worth it or not.

bssd,

Sorry those were probably my children running thru the halls, hence the need for a timeshare. Since staying at Windsor Hills last year, we have also become used to the idea of more room. We couldn%26#39;t go back to a hotel even if we wanted to (we don%26#39;t) and cooking some of our own meals and not tripping over the afore mentioned children is a bonus. Where is yours located?

Disneymom

Orange Lake Resort and CC. Kissimmee.

A plus for the DVC is that it works on a point system,, ie you can go for the day or week or weeks. They also have the concierge collection which are hotels around the world that you can also book a day at a time, not a whole week. Also at any time of the year not a single week. We just visited NYC for 5 day, and Sonoma two years ago. If it weren%26#39;t for the dues we haven%26#39;t found a down side. Dues started for us in 93 at around $350 and this year were just under $1000 on a $13,000 investment. We%26#39;ve gone every year since 93 and in our case received length of stay tickets for 4 for free till 2000. Our original investment has more than paid for itself. We%26#39;ve had a lot of good memories, my daughters had wonderful times there, but now that they are 17 and 21 we%26#39;re using our points in other places. As stated in other posts be sure you factor in the dues+inflation.

Interestingly, I just received my newsletter from them and depending on whether you%26#39;re in northern or southern IN it may interest you. I%26#39;ll repeat part of what was said.

Late this summer, Disney Vacation Club is scheduled to open Disney%26#39;s Doorway to Dreams, a first-of-its-kind preview center in suburban Chicago%26#39;s popular Woodfield Mall.

The 6,300-square-foot space will feature an interactive family vacation discovery zone, a children%26#39;s play area and a full-scale, two-bedroom model Vacation Home representing accommodations at Disney%26#39;s Animal Kingdom Villas, the eighth and ';wildest'; Disney Vacation Club Resort.

Just some info.

bssd-

I have heard Orange Lake was very nice.-

Rono-

We live in Southern Indiana right across from Louisville KY. Thanks for the info. I had read that in the Orlando Sentinal. Sounds nice.

We will listen to the presentation and decide what is best for us at the time. It is a bonus that there are other places besides just Disney to visit though. Our kids our 12 and almost 5 so Disney pretty much rules right now. Other than the dues, it doesn%26#39;t sound too bad. I don%26#39;t know what we will do now. Thanks for all the good info you guys.

DM