Not in Any Way Affiliated with Marriott comments:

“You also have to give it back after 50 years. My family owns a couple of Marriott timeshares and those are deeded to you forever, which is a huge plus.”

Sure, but the huge negative is that you own at Marriott. That’s a true timeshare that has a stigma caused by the financial turmoil of 2007-2010. As late as 2014, a person could buy a full timeshare at Marriott for a dollar on eBay. You get what you pay for, and the market dictates that Marriott memberships are not worth anywhere near as much as DVC.

All about the Benjamins notes:

“I (cannot) imagine why anyone would pay that much - you could stay in a lot of nice hotels for those point and maintenance fees."

Yes, you can, as I noted above about Disney’s All-Star Resorts. The catch is that you cannot stay in THESE nice hotels for the cost of these points and maintenance fees. If I want to spend a week at Old Key West – and I pretty much always do – the out-of-pocket expense is about $2,350 each visit. For $7,500, I can purchase DVC membership with 100 points at Old Key West, which entitles me to a week’s stay during the season I’m most likely to visit. So, I’ve earned back my money after approximately four visits, five if we factor in maintenance fees. Every additional visit after that is effectively free. I fully respect the logic of anyone who looks at the data and decides otherwise, but I like the way the money works out for my family. Also, I KNOW I can stay in nice hotels as a member of DVC.

GC Lover has a great idea:

"Can you pay dues with Disney Gift Cards? With there being ways to get gift cards at a discount it would a big savings if you could."

You can and you should. I’m not talking about using dicey eBay sellers or anything of the ilk, but there is still a clever method to employ. Major retailers such as Target Wal-Mart occasionally offer discounts on gift cards as a loss leader for other merchandise. I’ve read of people who own Target Red Cards manipulating the system so much that they got 16 percent discounts on Disney Gift Cards. Yes, these are extreme couponers, but the premise is sound. We actually paid for a large portion of our DVC maintenance fees this year using gift cards we received during the holidays. To a larger point, this is a good way to stretch your budget at Disney. Buy gift cards in anticipation of your trip then use them to pay for your food and lodging once you’re on vacation.

Not a Vampire comes to grips with their own mortality by asking:

"If I pass away before the 50 years are up, can I will my DVC to my kids?"

First of all, I sincerely hope that cyborg technology advances to the point that you’re able to shoot missiles out of what once were your shoulders by 2064. Just in case you don’t become functionally immortal, however, I have great news. As long as you include your DVC interests in your trusts, you will automatically will them to your beneficiaries at the moment that your cyborg tech fails.

Finally, the Not-So-Silent Majority wonders:

“What type of idiot would think this sort of garbage is useful to anybody?”

Hi, mom!