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The Disney Vacation Club has become immensely popular over the last few years, and is a huge money-spinner for the company. No wonder Disney is investing so heavily in new DVC properties at present.

Members of the club must buy a real estate interest in a Disney Vacation Club Resort, and thereafter pay annual dues. This will earn them DVC "points", which can be spent on vacations at any of the DVC resorts.

You can discover the basics of DVC by reading this article. In this follow-up, we'll look at the advantages of membership, and in a future column we'll explore the downsides.

1. Staying at Disney for "free"

The evening view at Beach Club Villas

The obvious advantage and honestly the only one Disney needs is the ability to stay at the company’s finest resorts for “free.” There are obviously (big) expenses incurred at the outset of a DVC purchase, as well as on an annual basis for maintenance fees. The latter expense is a paltry sum relative to what a member gains with their ownership.

The “worst” DVC properties cost $350 a night while the best rooms available can be double or triple that amount. A week’s stay at a DVC location provides a guest with a hotel room valued at $2,500 or more. If you visit for four trips of similar length over a ten-year period, you will have taken $10,000 worth of vacation. Given the cost of $130-$165 per point via Disney, this amount may be less than you spend on your actual membership since 50 points every other year would be enough for five weekly visits at Old Key West at an actual cost of $6,500 - $8,250. In other words, breaking even on your investment is reasonably easy to do.

Return on investment

The Grand Floridian is now a DVC property

This view of return on investment brings us to sunny point number two. Most timeshares are financial sinkholes. Everyone realizes it, but people like the idea of “owning” a vacation home, so they sometimes buy a timeshare anyway. DVC behaves differently than other timeshares. You do not “own” the property forever. Instead, your deed has an expiration date that could be as “early” as 2047 or as late as 2064. As a reminder, 2064 is half a century away. Unless you are 10-years-old when you read this – and if you are, go do your homework – DVC ownership extends until you are well past your amusement park glory days.

The beauty of the ownership is that it trends against the nature of standard timeshare purchases. People who have purchased points in the past oftentimes discover that they can sell them for either the same amount originally paid or possibly even a profit. A lot depends on exactly when the purchase occurred and whether it was made via Disney or resale. Yes, resale is an option for DVC membership. While you lose some of the benefits, the purchase price is often significantly lower, especially for DVC properties that have been for sale for longer. We will explore resale versus direct purchase in detail in a future column.

For now, let’s focus on a simple example. My brother purchased a DVC membership at Beach Club Villas several years ago. At the time, the price was in the upper-$70s. The same membership costs $130 per point for direct purchase now. Were he to sell his membership on via resale, he would probably get around $100 per point. Part of this is because he chose wisely with his Beach Club Villas purchase. As one of the smallest properties as well as the location with the best standalone pool, it is in high demand.

Since the time of purchase, my brother and his family have taken over 10 trips to Disney World, meaning that he has received at least 75 nights of free residence, thereby paying for his membership cost many times over. So, he has not only maximized his points but also positioned himself to MAKE money if he ever sells his DVC timeshare. And I say all of this in the wake of the greatest real estate bubble collapse in the history of the United States. DVC membership has maintained popularity during a dramatic economic downturn, a novelty in an industry that has been otherwise decimated by financial distress. DVC may require a significant financial investment, but the results over the past 20 years have indicated that the buyer will get their money’s worth and then some.

2. The family angle

Innoventions

Image: Disney

Best of all, Disney is all about family, and DVC membership is no exception. Ownership may be deeded or willed to other members of the family. Even if you are too old to enjoy DVC, your kids can still enjoy it with their kids in 2050, presumably by using their rocket packs or flying cars to get there.

3. Other discounts

Wonders of Life

Image: Disney

DVC membership also includes a few advantages beyond exchanging points for hotel stays. The best of them is also one that is technically not guaranteed. Disney occasionally rewards the loyalty of DVC members by providing steep discounts on annual passes. The most recent offer occurred last January. DVC owners were provided a 33% or $245 in savings off of the regular $729 cost. A family of four would have saved roughly a thousand dollars on annual passes. Disney wants to incentivize their most loyal customers to embrace the brand as much as possible, and this is the methodology.

In addition, DVC savings are sprinkled across the Disney realm. A lot of park merchandise is discounted 10%, which is how I justified to myself spending a hundred dollars on Christmas ornaments…in May. Similarly, some restaurants provide a 10% discount as well, which is admittedly not a huge amount given the pricey nature of most of their table services. There are also discounts on luxury services such as spas, golf and tennis. Plus, DVC members can get Disney cruise discounts as well.

4. Versatility

Even Disney's golf courses are breathtaking

The next big asset for DVC membership is versatility. There are currently 12 participating properties, with a 13th being readied for 2015. Once that location, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, has its new DVC rooms completed, there will be 10 different choices onsite at Disney World and Disneyland. In other words, a person could receive the same world class Disney experience in 10 different ways while visiting the same two theme parks.

Personally, I am a creature of habit, so I prefer the comfort of knowing that I can stay at the same hotel each visit. The beauty of the design of DVC is that your points have a location designated. That property is your home resort, and you can book there as soon as 11 months prior to your vacation.

When you are seven months away from your visit, your options expand. At this point, you can select any DVC property to make reservations, assuming that they have availability, which is usually the case in my experience. So, a DVC member can pick their favorite property and know that they can always get reservations there as long as they plan ahead.

Owners also have the option to pick one of the many other resorts on those occasions when they want to try something new. I know someone who stayed at four different resorts during a recent nine-day stay. I wouldn’t recommend that for most people, but it’s a viable option. As long as you are still staying at a Disney property, they will pick up your bags and ship them to the next location for free.

 
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Comments

It isn't free and it isn't half price. I am a DVC owner and you pay for the allotment of points up front and you get that many every year until your expiration date; typically about 50 years. It is "like it is free" because you have already paid for everything except the maintenance fees yearly. If you were to pay cash for the room as a non DVC member then it is much, much more expensive. It is a great deal.

OKAY, lets not get on the author about the word "free" and take it to the literal. I prefer "prepaid" I have own since 1996 and at that time Old Key West was about $10,500. We had just spent $2,500 for a package at Wilderness Lodge and for us it was a no brainer. We now own 300 points total 250 at OKW and 50 at AK. My monthly dues are $135. (AK has one of the higher dues because of the animals) IF I only stayed 7 days a year it comes out to $230 per night (taking out the initial investment) that affords me to stay at any of the DVC's for that price and my choice of a studio all the way up to a grand villa. I have been on 3 Cruises with our points, now back that off your investment price and it really starts to pay, especially if your love Disney. If you're not planning on going at least every other year it may not be for you. This year was good year and spent 16 days on property and that really gets you payback. I have always looked at it as I have a monthly payment plan for my vacations which makes it easy on the budget. As mentioned in the article when they do the annual passes at $400 you only need to use them about 7 days for it to equal buying them at the gate. EXCEPT you can hop with them. And the tip here is when you do use them plan on going back 51 weeks later so at a min it's like buying a 14 day park hopper for $400.
For me having used it at least every year since I purchased and most years twice, the time staying at the Grand Californian and the 3 cruises I feel it was a great investment in my vacation future.

It’s so funny how FREE stands out. HELLO, IT IS NOT FREE. You pay an amount that is the size of the cost for a new car for vacations that you will take in the future. Do you really go to Disney every year-? What about the food and other expenses-? They did not mention how there is a monthly dues fee that you pay every year and it could increase over time. Come on- It is Disney. They are using your money to make them even more money. Sure buy time and keep returning to spend more of your money on our 3X over priced food and tickets. NOTHING IS FREE PEOPLE.

You buy the points you stay for free.I go twice a year don't pay anything for my room.

Your first rational as to why you should join the club is false. I just received an invitation from Disney to join and it said it would cost $16,000 to join and then you could stay at any property for 1/2 price....not free.....but 1/2 price. Definitely love Disneyland and Disney World but this is not worth the price of joining.....I won't be alive long enough to make it worth my while.

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