UK Resident - Purchasing DVC Questions - Help Needed

[SteeleyDisney]

We always fly with BA from Gatwick… mainly because we collect Avios points so do reward flights with them. I have never had a bad experience though.

I own at BCV, CCV, SSR, BLT and Poly. All fantastic… I do also love AKL but use my SSR points to book that.

If you work out the cost per point over the life of the contract, these resorts (with the exception of BCV) come out at the lower end despite the slightly higher buy in cost.

Wow! Would love the day we owned at multiple resorts

We do plan on utilising the virgin flying club credit card and rack up points on there. Will check out the Avios points too!

 

[SteeleyDisney]

If you plan for a 1BR you can pretty much get whatever you want at 7 months during the summer. You might even be lucky with a 1BR standard at BLT or BWV, not impossible (1BR AKV value or Club is more difficult).
This way you can buy SSR which is cheaper, both buy in and dues, so you can buy 200.

Really? Didn't expect 1BR's to be available at all at 7 months. Is there any reason for that in the summer as would expect that to be most popular months?

 

[CarolynFH]

Really? Didn't expect 1BR's to be available at all at 7 months. Is there any reason for that in the summer as would expect that to be most popular months?

Many DVC members stay away in summer if they can, due to heat and humidity. It also was originally one of the more expensive seasons, and DVC members are notoriously frugal with their points. That’s why studios are more popular than 1BR, since the sleeping capacity of studios is the same or even more than 1BR. So studios tend to go first, then 2BR for parties who don’t fit in studios, and 1BR are left for those of us who want space, kitchen and laundry and are willing to commit the extra points to them.

 

[CVG]

Wow! Would love the day we owned at multiple resorts

We do plan on utilising the virgin flying club credit card and rack up points on there. Will check out the Avios points too!

I'm in Virgin and BA reward programs. The fees that Virgin charge (their own - not the taxes) for reward flights are disgusting. It's almost not worth the value of the programme. I barely paid more for buying non-reward flights.

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

I'm in Virgin and BA reward programs. The fees that Virgin charge (their own - not the taxes) for reward flights are disgusting. It's almost not worth the value of the programme. I barely paid more for buying non-reward flights.

It's acauly cheaper to buy Virgin points when they have an extra feee deal on and pay the fees than it is to book a cash booking.

There fees are high but no way near as high as a cash booking.

 

[zavandor]

Really? Didn't expect 1BR's to be available at all at 7 months. Is there any reason for that in the summer as would expect that to be most popular months?

What Carolyn said. DVC most demand seasons do not match with cash bookings and they're usually driven by special events and low point costs more than anything else.
High demand season for DVC is from the last week of September to Marathon weekend in January. Plus some events like RunDisney and individual nights when a Moonlight Magic is scheduled. Easter is not that bad (since it costs a lot of points), but the 4th of July is hard.
Outside those times, its' mostly slow times. I think the slowest time of the year now is the last two weeks of August. Even if they've lowered the points it's still miserably hot and higher than September. Last year September was more difficult than in past years, now with the lowest cost, DVC managed to increase interest a bit.
Nightmare at 7 months is for the first 2 weeks of December, all the Fall is bad.

 

[CVG]

It's acauly cheaper to buy Virgin points when they have an extra feee deal on and pay the fees than it is to book a cash booking.

There fees are high but no way near as high as a cash booking.

I didn't quite follow all of that, but here's a real example.

Flying from London to MCO Direct , Return, Economy, 1st Jan - 15th Jan
BA - Cash Purchase - £387.38
Virgin - Reward Flight - 35000 points + £281.49 (incl £90 Virgin fees)

Only costs £100 more

 

[ChipTheRescueRanger]

I didn't quite follow all of that, but here's a real example.

Flying from London to MCO Direct , Return, Economy, 1st Jan - 15th Jan
BA - Cash Purchase - £387.38
Virgin - Reward Flight - 35000 points + £281.49 (incl £90 Virgin fees)

Only costs £100 more

Need to compare Virgin to Virgin. Also the best use of points bookings are high seasons.

But I do agree the Virgin £90 fee is a piss take. Plus you dont even get select a seat any more

 

[ellataylor]

We have recently bought 200 direct points at VGF to use 2-3 yearly from the UK. We worked out it would take approximately 20 years to break even but that still left 20 years on the contract.

At the end of the day it was much more about the happiness at the thought of making many more years of wonderful memories with our daughters and grandchildren than a profit making adventure for us.

Good luck with your decisions and I am happy to help if you have any further questions!

 

[walt34]

We have recently bought 200 direct points at VGF to use 2-3 yearly from the UK. We worked out it would take approximately 20 years to break even but that still left 20 years on the contract.

What are you comparing to? 20 years until break even seems to be an awfully long time.

 

[ellataylor]

What are you comparing to? 20 years until break even seems to be an awfully long time.

It was based on a saving of approximately £3000 each time we visited very 2 years and spending £30000 on DVC. I think we compared to to a slightly cheaper deluxe such as WL which is where we have traditionally stayed in the past.

 

[DanCali]

We have recently bought 200 direct points at VGF to use 2-3 yearly from the UK. We worked out it would take approximately 20 years to break even but that still left 20 years on the contract.

What are you comparing to? 20 years until break even seems to be an awfully long time.

These "break even" calculations tend to be highly conservative because they assume the upfront purchase has zero residual value.

In this example, using approximate numbers, you pay £30000 for 200 VGF points (~$38,000 for 200 points or $190/pt) and save about £1500/yr ($1900/year, or close to $10/pt). But if you save $19,000K over 10 years and then sell VGF at $150/pt ($30,000) on the resale market, it doesn't look like a terrible investment even after 10 years.

That type of math on a direct purchase does potentially look different when the resort is one like VGF, where the prevailing resale values were relatively close to direct prices, and some other resorts where resale restrictions may depress resale values and push the breakeven point on a direct purchase further out.

 

[Disdreaming479]

One be reason to buy the few extra points is to have the flexibility to add a day or two onto your reservation to save money on a less expensive flight. This happens for us sometimes.

 

[walt34]

In this example, using approximate numbers, you pay £30000 for 200 VGF points (~$38,000 for 200 points or $190/pt) and save about £1500/yr ($1900/year, or close to $10/pt).

How did you calculate the savings of $1900 per year? If this is a comparison with the cash rate (minus dues) this seems low.

 

[DanCali]

How did you calculate the savings of $1900 per year? If this is a comparison with the cash rate (minus dues) this seems low.

This is what was quoted in savings in the example brought up
(see below - £3000 every 2 years is roughly $3800 every 2 years, or $1900 per year)

It was based on a saving of approximately £3000 each time we visited very 2 years and spending £30000 on DVC. I think we compared to to a slightly cheaper deluxe such as WL which is where we have traditionally stayed in the past.

 

[DVCanadian]

My thoughts also. It's the additional cost jumping from 150 to 200 at contract price plus the additional dues, plus flights, tickets etc.

Although I agree it's the way to do it. I don't think I'd take the plunge if it was just for deluxe studio rooms. Very similar (if not) not as good as cash rooms imo.

The additional dues aren’t a lot, the price of tickets food etc would all be the same except with a 1 bedroom you have in room laundry and a full kitchen to at a minimum eat breakfast in the room each day. 2 weeks in a studio doesn’t sound like a vacation to me

As the kids get older that room feels smaller. 1 bedroom allows for kids to go to sleep and parents to retreat to the master. It is a significantly different experience and vacation.

1 bedrooms are fairly easy to book at 7 months in the summer, if you owned BLT I think you could get a 1 bedroom at AKL regularly if you wanted. Studios are where a lot of the competition is and what most people refer to when they talk about availability.

Warning we started which enough points for a 1 bedroom for a week but then we stayed in a two bedroom and now cant go back to 1 bedrooms ( when the kids are with us).

You are also a good candidate for a split stay, week in a 1 bedroom at AKL then a week at BLT. Have fun!

 

[Tatebeck]

I would buy in at AKV or BLT (or wherever you want to stay). Top 5 value buys at WDW to me are SSR, AKV, BLT, OKW, and CCV. If you are primarily looking at savings definitely pick one of those, they all are fairly comparable when accounting for everything.

I would avoid SSR and OKW unless you are simply looking for the lowest up front cost. They aren't the best locations and most people use those points to book elsewhere at 7 months. (AKV is also far away from a lot location-wise but makes up for it with the theming and animals) Since you are from the UK and are relying on banking/borrowing it makes it more likely that you will be staying at SSR or OKW at some point instead of trading out at 7 months. You may like knowing your exact accommodations at 11 months anyway since you are from across the pond. Also, as more people buy those "cheap" points to use at other resorts, it will get harder and harder to book the other resorts at 7 months. I would recommend SSR or OKW as an add-on contract for people who have a different home resort already and want some cheap extra flexible points, not for someone's main bulk contract for those reasons.

If you love AKV I'd say go for it! Or if you buy into BLT or CCV, you can have a good location and still be able to trade into AKV at 7 months occasionally (if availability stays consistent) with less risk since you will have a better resort locked up at 11 months. I would also just go ahead and get the 200 pts now if you plan on needing them. It will be cheaper than adding on a 50 point contract later.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Lionezz]

We're based in the Sweden and me and my family (2 Adults 3 Kids) go to Disney World on average every 2 years.
I also started with and liked (loved) Port Orleans but after I tried beach club I couldn't go back (we found heaven!).
We started with 160 points at beach club which gave us studios for 200$ per night until the contract end. I think we bought it for 100$ per point 10 years ago. dues is a bit higher now but I still don't pay more than 200$ per night (I can still sell it and get my money back if I want).
We have used our points to live in studios, 1 bedroom and 2 bedrooms at beach club, AKV Kidani, AKV Jambo, VGF (including the new resort studio), Polynesian and boardwalk. I took my parents and mother in law with me 2 times. Next year I will do it again (2 bedroom). also promised my mother to get a studio for my sisters family who never been at Disney World. because after all. its the the most magical place on earth Christmas 2025 here we come!

I recommend that you buy 200 points at animal kingdom. You can get a loaded resale contract for around 90-95$ now. I estimate my average resale cost to be around 10$ ppp with equals 150$ for a standard studio, 200$ for a savannah studio. AKV renovation very soon also You can probably sell the contract and get your money back anytime you want.
It's a financial investment if you rent out points. It's an investment in your family if you use the points yourself.
If you try 1 bedroom it's hard to get back to studios. So my plan to live for 200$ a night in studios is a long gone dream now. Maybe in 20 years when I retire.


We own 160 points at beach club, 200 points at VGF and 160 points at animal kingdom. My family favorite deluxe hotel is animal kingdom but all are amazing (I think every member in my family has different top 3 lists but all of us have AKV in top three!). I also recommend a 160 (easier to sell) or 200 point contract at BLT, VGF, poly or CCV like I did (I bought 200 at VGF as SAP mainly to use at AKV since I didn't want to continue using my beach club points at AKV). I finally bought AKV to make sure I get the days we want during Christmas and new year. My favorite at AKV is Kidani because of the tranquility, Sanaa, pool and the community hall but my teenagers like Jambo more so I still have to alternate between them when I book .

I don't think you can go wrong whatever you choose as long as you choose .

 

[samsp99]

Hi Everyone,

Looking for some help from current DVC Members to answer some questions if possible.

We're based in the UK and me and my family (2 Adults 2 Kids) go to Disney World on average every 2 years. We always used to stay in Villas offsite but the last few trips we've stayed in the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Port Orleans Riverside and love now staying on Disney property. We've been coming to Disney World since we were kids ourselves so we're confident our trip frequency or passion to travel to Disney will never leave us.

Since our last trip I've started to look at DVC with some serious interest and think I'm now fully up to speed in terms of understanding the do's/don't etc plus pros/cons of buying resale instead of direct (also understand the restrictions that go with that). I've spent the last 6 months going back and forth with going ahead or not.

So, here's the plan I've got in my head:

I've got two options, either 150 points resale at AKL or 200 points resale at AKL (we love the resort). The reason for the two options is that whilst the kids are young, we only need a deluxe studio for the foreseeable and 150 points allows us to do 2 weeks every two years quite comfortably with some points spare. All of this assumes we would travel either end of May (UK School Half Term) or during summer holidays end of July through to end of August. By purchasing 150 points, when the kids older and we want to maybe move to 1 bedroom villas, we could then go every third year staying in a one bedroom villa to allow for more space. Alternatively, we could purchase another 50 points to top us off to 200 if we're happy that DVC was the right decision.

If we were to purchase 200 points outright from the start, we could stay in a one bedroom villa every 2 years straight away.

My only concern really is dues. What is the average % increase across the resorts? Is 5% a sensible assumption per year?

Also, currently when we travel to Disney it costs us around £10,000 (Port Orleans Riverside) or £12,000 (Animal Kingdom Lodge) for the four of us to stay on Disney property flying with Virgin, park tickets, car rental as a package holiday. Once we pay off the initial resale contract price, which at the moment is around £13,500.00 for 150 points at AKL and £16,300.00 for 200 points, we then worked out a holiday using our points would be around:

£4,000 plane tickets (could probably get cheaper when booking separate and not part of a package)
£2,200 Disney Tickets for four of us
£900 car rental (two weeks)
So approx £7,000 (without spending money). As we travel every two years, I then add annual dues for the two years which equate to £2,200 for 150 points.
So overall it would cost around £9,200 even with DVC.

Have I missed something with the above? The savings are maybe £1,000.00 to £3,000.00 per trip.

I would definitely go down the resale route and feel a smaller contract 150 to start with would be the way to go. I also feel I could get the plane tickets cheaper too if I searched around more.

I love the thought and idea of DVC, we love Disney and plan to travel frequently, preferably more frequent than every two years. I just feel if I'm spending £10-12k on a trip anyway, DVC must be worth looking at. Also not 100% set on AKL, it's just a resort we've been to a few times and sort of feel if we're buying in, it's better to buy into what we know.

One last thing, we're going Disney World in a couple of months time, so I plan to check out the other resorts whilst we are there too.

Any thoughts on the above or any personal experience would be great to hear. Especially if you're from the UK too and can explain the financial sense to your decision.

Thanks everyone! Have a good weekend.

Has your family tried beach club? if you are there for 2 weeks, then I think you are going to be more interested in pool time and not just hitting the resorts each day. As kids get older, the access to Epcot and HS is fantastic, and people can just walk back to the room as needed.

I would ditch the rental car, and rely on Uber/Lyft for airport and use disney transportation most of the time.

A split stay could work well for you. BCV / BWV for a week, then AKV, CCV / BRV or BLT. A 1br is probably the better choice for that length of stay, it just gives everyone some more space, the ability to cook meals / snacks, and a door between the rooms you can close if someone needs a timeout, nap, or some space.

For your summer trips, I would be wanting to go back to the room/pool/water park during the hot part of the day. A 1br would mean you have a kitchen to make sandwiches or a meal for lunches back at the hotel.

Check out the points charts for when you want to go, the price per pt and dues.