Hi everyone--some advice please. I LOVE Disney, and primarily go to Disneyland since I live so close. (and because I hate to fly--but WDW may actually get me on a plane for the first time in years). I am planning a birthday trip in April to DLR for four nights, and the cost for the GCH will be over $1,600 (and that is with a senior discount I am getting because my Mom will be with me). So, my question is this: is it just stupid to shell out that kind of money when I can put it towards a DVC membership? I figure it would easily be more than 10% of the cost of the membership in DVC -- especially if I buy points from a re-seller.

I am single and don't have kids (and don't anticipate that I will--my boyfriend has a four-year old but we don't get to see her often), but also anticipate that I can see myself doing a "Disney" vacation every year in the future with no problem. In fact, if I end up doing a solo vacation then a Disney vacation would be perfect since I would feel safe at any of their resorts (or I might do a Disney cruise).

How hard is it to use DVC membership points towards resort hotels (either at DLR or WDW?) If I were to become a DVC member in the next couple of months could I switch my reservation from cash paying to DVC points? And would it be silly to buy a "home" resort you have never seen? (Although I read somewhere that Disneyland has a mock-up of a Saratoga Springs unit to see.)

I would really appreciate some guidance on this. Thanks everyone!

Of course, if can make sense for a single person to buy into the DVC. You need to evaluate it in the context of your entire financial picture, and ask yourself how this long-term financial commitment fits into your budget and long-term financial goals. You would, likely, be financing at least part of the points purchase, and you have maintenance fees to pay. How would this fit into your budget? Do you own your own home or are you saving up to buy a home in the near future? It may not be a good choice to, basically, invest in a second, vacation home, when you are renting your primary residence, and hope to buy a home. If you are a homeowner, can you afford monthly payments for your DVC payments, along with your other commitments? Can you afford the financing on the points and the maintenance fees, on your income alone? These are the bigger questions you need to research. You may or may not get a significant discount on the points by purchasing through a reseller, because Disney has the right of first refusal on the offer. If you do purchase from Disney, there is a minimum purchase, which may or may not be excessive for your needs (probably not, if you are looking at a one-bedroom for a week, at most times of year, but maybe if you only need a studio). Personally, I would hold off on the decision until you have had the chance to take the tour, and run the numbers, and then see if it makes sense for you, whether you are married or single. I would not make the decision in a rush. Also, DVC members can make a reservation at their home resort 11 months ahead, and at other resorts 7 months ahead. It would take time to arrange all the financing, and, by that time, who knows what the availability would be, at the last minute. I would not depend on DVC points, if you have not even made the decision, and are set on certain vacation dates. With regard to using points on non-Disney resorts, you can, but it is a lot of points, probably more than you would want to buy, to, say, do a cruise. You get, by far, the most "bang for your buck," to use your points for Disney DVC resorts.

I joined DVC in 1997, as a single mother. I just had the 1 son, so the room size I needed was the same whether he was with me or not. Now he's 21 years old, so in effect I'm single without kids (although it seems I end up booking a separate studio for him & his girlfriend). My trips are either solo or with my boyfriend - about 50/50.

I bought without financing a single penny of it. I simply waited until I had the cash to buy my membership. I've since added on over a dozen times - went from 190 points (what I could afford then) up to 1140 points (as i had more money saved up). In my opinion - a dvc membership and vacations are a luxury - not a necessity. As such, I'd NEVER go into debt for something so frivolous. Don't get me wrong - dvc is wonderful, and it's saved me a ton of money, but it is NOT worth going into debt over.

So, if you can do it without overextending yourself and you're comfortable you'll get good use out of it - then it makes sense!

Do you own your own home or are you saving up to buy a home in the near future? It may not be a good choice to, basically, invest in a second, vacation home, when you are renting your primary residence, and hope to buy a home. If you are a homeowner, can you afford monthly payments for your DVC payments, along with your other commitments? Can you afford the financing on the points and the maintenance fees, on your income alone? These are the bigger questions you need to research. Personally, I would hold off on the decision until you have had the chance to take the tour, and run the numbers, and then see if it makes sense for you, whether you are married or single. I would not make the decision in a rush.

I've owned my own homes for about thirty years, so would not be postponing home ownership to get a DVC membership. Paying the financing/maintenance fees will not be an issue. The bigger issue is whether to make a move without a tour first. My only "rush" is that $1600 is a lot to spend just for four nights in a hotel and my thought was if I could put it towards a longer-term investment then it wouldn't sting quite so badly. the DVD I got also provided for a financial incentive which would result in another $1300 or so discount. So, I would have approximately $3,000 towards the overall cost from the get-go. Has anyone toured the model unit at Disneyland resort who is also familiar with the actual "on-site" WDW units and is it a good arbiter of what they are like?

I bought without financing a single penny of it. I simply waited until I had the cash to buy my membership. I've since added on over a dozen times - went from 190 points (what I could afford then) up to 1140 points (as i had more money saved up). In my opinion - a dvc membership and vacations are a luxury - not a necessity. As such, I'd NEVER go into debt for something so frivolous. Don't get me wrong - dvc is wonderful, and it's saved me a ton of money, but it is NOT worth going into debt over. So, if you can do it without overextending yourself and you're comfortable you'll get good use out of it - then it makes sense!

Thanks! I think the point about not going into debt is a good one. I may end up canceling my vacation in April (or severely scaling back) and make my goal this year to save enough to buy the DVC at the end of the year rather than financing it. (Unless I decide to go hog-wild and just go for it!) Just curious--how many weeks are you able to do Disney with 1140 points (although I assume sometimes you have more than one room now)? I was thinking of purchasing around 200 points to start out with. Have you added on through DVC or through private parties (or both)?

thanks for everyone's input!

You say that you are mainly a DLR guest. If you see that still being the case in the future, then buying now into the DVC might not be the best use of your resources until they start selling (and open up) the DVC resort out there. I say that because while you can use DVC points at almost all the resort hotels around the world, you get the best value for your points at the DVC Resorts themselves.

An example: It would actually cost MORE points to stay at Port Orleans Riverside than a DVC resort (such as the BCV's or VWL) during most of the year.

Buying 200 points is a good amount to start out with. We bought with 160 and we might consider adding on soon as well. However, if we do, we will do so when we can pay cash for the additional points.

From what I have seen at WDW, many of the room mock ups are rather accurate as to the size and features of the actual rooms. Im rather sure that is the case at DLR as well as the DVC store in the Chicago area as well.

1140 points gets me a lot of time - I've never calculated it. I almost always stay in studios, since it's usually just me or me plus 1 other person. I've gotten a 2nd studio for my son & his girlfriend 3-4 times over the past year - usually for 3-4 nights. With dvc it's much cheaper for Sun-Thur nights, as the # of points required for F/Sa are more than double. In my case, I do alot of weekend stays, since I have limited vacation time. So, it's not the most practical use from a financial sense, but I have enough to be "wasteful".

In a typical year I'll take trips in Jan, Apr, May, Jul, Sep, couple in Oct, and 1-2 in Nov. Most will be 4-5 nights, as a long weekend. At least 2 will be 9 nights or so. I avoid the extremely busy holiday periods (Christmas-New Years, Easter). I also seem to use some of the points each year (300 maybe) to book rooms for friends since I wouldn't otherwise be using the points right now. 1140 is really too much for me right now - but someday when I'm retired it'll be nice to have them all!

I imagine for someone coming from CA starting out with 200-400 would be plenty, depending on how long you'll stay, what size villa, which season, etc. Most of my adding on was done through Disney directly, since I could call up and order the specific # of points I wanted & just give them my credit card number (then paid the bill in full when it arrived that month). I added on from a reseller once, and had to take what was being sold & pay them with a bank check or something (no credit card). My original purchase was resale as well - once the deed is recorded a resale buyer is no different from someone who bought from Disney.

Has anyone toured the model unit at Disneyland resort who is also familiar with the actual "on-site" WDW units and is it a good arbiter of what they are like?


I went to the mock up at Disneyland and it was pretty much dead on with the 2 bedroom I stayed in at Saratoga Springs.

Sue-If you have 1140 points a year with DVC and usually stay in a studio, you're almost living in Disney World. A studio averages 8-12 points a night if you avoid weekends and peak season. That means you have an average of 100 nights a year you can stay with your DVC points. I own 360 points and typically stay in a studio which translates into about 36 nights a year vacation. I visit every other month and typically stay Sunday through Thursday(5 nights) and can barely use all my points. I'm jealous! How do you spend that many points a year staying in a studio? You're also probably spending a pretty penny on maintenance dues. Let me say it again, I'm jealous!!!!