DVC Reality Check: Harsh Truths About The Value Of Disney Vacation Club From An ACTUAL DVC Member

Maintenance fees in 2022 for Boardwalk were $8.08 per point 250 points cost $2,020 a years and it go's up every year...This is why you can pay less than $19 a point to purchase an older contract or rent them for $16 or less. People want to unload the contracts at a loss to get out of the cost of the fees. Their is a reason the resale marketers make a living and Disney repurchases discounted contracts to jack-up the prices. If you can not afford the high prices and visit every year or two, don't pay full price. WCDB

Best part of Vacation Clubs and Time shares for me and my family has been to stay in Villas really cheap and purchase nothing. Renting points or just paying someone's yearly fees and using the Villas like an owner. Over the years, seven weeks worth of stays for pennies on the dollar over 32 years. So I think the value in purchasing was never for me. We like flexibility and using the value locations when they are on sale. When traveling with seven or more in our group we just rent a house or a condo in the area for 7 to 10 days. Last couple of visits we just paid to stay at the Boardwalk (discounted 50% for a convention) and the Art of Animation (to try out the Gondola rides)(Also on sale 30% off because it was half empty?) When we got really cheap rates at a value resort (under $110 a night) we used the buses and had a good time as well. (Note; The parks are the same if you ride in a bus, a boat, a monorail, and or a gondola...if you really want to ride any of these you can jump on anytime all day even if you drive in and park your rental in a lot, or take the bus and or an Uber and skip the rental and parking fees. Saving my cash to spend in the parks for food and or a light saber has worked for me. $10,000 invested with 6% annual interest at the end of 32 years, is $64,534, which is more than I have spent, and I paid zero annual maintenance fees.

DVC member since 2008 (AKL). What she said! All of it. After our 4th vacation the contract paid for itself, and in regards to the yearly maintenance fees (AKA condo fees), still less than one day at a two bedroom villa. And since a DVC member (blue card) does not have to pay resort fees or parking fees, it’s an even better value. Great video!!! Thank you.

I think the biggest issue with the way DVC points work now (compounded by availability) is the fact that you pretty much have to plan your vacation 11 months out and hope you get booked before everyone else does. Few of us have the flexibility to take a vacation whenever there is space available at the hotel (resort) you want to go to. We tend to schedule time off from work/school, and then plan our vacations around that, and then expect to be able to get accommodations during that time. We've been fortunate in being able to get reservations at the times we want to come down, but we had to more than double our contract to be able to afford 1 bedrooms instead of studios to ensure we get a room. Studios are also used for rack rate so they go very quickly.

Having said that, in addition to our DVC ownership, we also have an off-property timeshare near Disney. Our timeshare is really nice, and has great amenities and nice rooms, but the difference between staying on property and off property is absolutely night and day. It's almost not like even the same vacation. We use our off property timeshare for capacity, when we want to bring friends along, or stay for longer than we have points, but we use our DVC points as often as we can and I can absolutely say that there is no comparison to being at Copper Creek (or Boardwalk or Kidani) and staying at an off-property hotel/timeshare.

Our family loves Disney and has for decades. We're now on the grandkids growing up with the Mouse.
I'm very grateful for your video and the time and research you have contributed to provide this to us!
Yes, DVC was a strong consideration, however, 30+ years ago, it wasn't an economical option for a young and growing family.
But, as luck would have it, I'm now eligible to stay at Shades of Green. Online, at least, it looks nice.
But DVC still seems to be an attractive option.
You've presented a very understandable approach, with economic comparables, such that, I might not have to be subject to a prolonged drubbing err sales presentation.
Thanks again!

I understand there can be value to be had in some situations, but because all Disney hotel rooms are priced at a premium (even the value resorts), it seems Disney does this to make DVC options seem like a better deal. If the rooms costs were even slightly more in line with other top destinations then DVC wouldn't be worth it.

If DVC is their cash cow, I can see them keeping all normal rooms at a premium rate to boost DVC usage and the 'value proposition'. Of course a DVC trip can 'save' thousands, but Disney's the one who overpriced it in the first place. The price is not always equal to actual worth. And now they're stripping decor for cheap Wayfair plywood furniture designed by souless Vegas firms.

I'm sure older members can get some decent deals, especially if they'd book regardless of price, but new contracts today aren't designed to save money. It's to guarantee profits and justify their high hotel rates.

I admire your honesty.

I think it was worth it to buy when you and I bought! I bought in 2002 (Beach Club), and still don't regret it! I also have multiple contracts. I love my Disney Grand California one, due to the fact that its a perfect location :)

This is a great video. For a family of 5 or more, it makes more sense. We crunched the numbers for our family and found that since our kids were involved in sports and other activities that DVC was not a great fit for our lifestyle. But we enjoy our trips to Disney. We chose to buy another property (condo) and do our disney/universal trips every 3 to 4 years. I appreciate your honest assessment. Thank you for your time. Enjoy the mouse!

Thank you for the information 😀

any timeshare is bad news maintenance fees thru the roof and then you have to will it to your kids!! No!

Great video.
As I listen to this and other vlogs I hear the push/pull of Legacy DVC Owners with what Disney is doing. But, how much can Disney make keeping focus on legacy owners. Seems they have enough new buyers they're targeting with the new properties. Personally, I think Riviera is a great resort, and located next to Disney Springs (my evening spot, resturants..). There is something for everyone. As long as Disney continue to provide the environment to be entertained, relax and dine for the holiday season, am all in.

The best use of my DVC points have been using them for a Disney Cruise. We absolutely love it!

Bought in 1995 as a resale and used to get free park tickets with each reservation. Once that ended in 2000, it was pretty much downhill. Home resort was OKW and Disney let those places deteriorate for a long time before rehabbing them. Dues have more than doubled to the point I would tell people to rent points for the price of the annual dues unless they are satisfied with a studio at the Sunday through Friday rate.the rooms at OKW are the largest on the property and having stayed in all the DVC resorts, it was clear that rooms shrunk after they built OKW. Riviera was my last stay and other than the pools, it was a disappointing stay with the top restaurant looking like a cafeteria. Realized that exchanging points for RCI exchange was not a good value nor was getting a non DVC room on property. Best stay was at Bay Lake because of proximity and Grand Floridian for class.

45K views, you're on a roll. I read about half the comments, seems like people are taking it in well and generally relating. Showing up in people's feed or in prospective buyer searches is exciting to hear. Hopefully it remains near the top for an honest perspective. DVC, like any other form of travel, your mileage will vary, I'm not surprised to see people fall more optimistic or pessimistic on the topic.

Your explanation is spot on.. we have had DVC points since 2011 and people often ask me if it’s worth it. I always say IT DEPENDS. For us, it’s absolutely worth it. We always stay in 1 bedroom suites which we would otherwise never be able to afford. No, it’s not cheap but I’m still getting a significant discount. The numbers can be a little hard to crunch because of the variation of so many factors but as per my calculations and the way we use it, our discount is anywhere from 40 - 50% (not from rack rates - from a comparable room elsewhere). In addition the perks are great too: included parking, merch discounts, AND moonlight magic events! These after hours events are running $160 pp - we will be attending one in Epcot this week which had I purchased 5 tickets would have cost me $850. Yup, no regrets here! Now, at current prices, and if you need to finance, not sure if its worth it any longer.

All my contacts are West Coast (GC, DL, AUL) and its a game changer that I wish we did sooner. Two out of my three contracts are resale and it doesn't bother me at all but I don't have a blue card. With my two DL resort contacts just in the last 12 rolling months, I will have gone to DL three times with trips of 3-4 days each. Look at the rack rate of any of the three DL hotels and its worth it. Also, early access to the park. Purchased items sent back to the room etc. Very worth it. Aulani paid for itself in two trips.

It is factually incorrect to claim that booking Beach Club at the 11 month window will become "more competitive as more people become DVC members". Beach Club is sold out. No one but the owners can book there between 11 months and 7 months out. That number is capped. It will never change.

Thank you, I enjoyed this discussion. I didn’t find it rambling at all, like some disgruntled viewer commented. Isn’t it funny how some people are SO sensitive about DVC?!? I bought in from the UK and will only be using it every 2-3 years and banking/borrowing. But the reality is that I’d just never spend the money on Disney hotels if it wasn’t for this option. I want to stay on property and we need two rooms - so, having a two bedroom is ideal and so much better than any moderate or deluxe regular room. Plus there is the fact that you can SELL your DVC contract down the line, which many don’t really seem to take into account. I think I may keep this for the next 15 years and then sell up. We bought resale and the savings were considerable - we also bought at the Poly and so, that’s awesome that the new hotel is going to be in the original association and we can stay there. Btw the poly is not hard to book at 11 months in my experience - i think that will only improve with the tower. But we will see!! 😊

It's your hard earned money and you can spend it anyway that makes you happy

You are correct, the rooms are not worth the price. However the location adds the value. At my age I like and need to go back to the room during park visit. No problem. I like to be close to the magic.

Fantastic video

Timeshares are not financially savvy decisions for anyone in any situation ever. The reason the good properties are being turned into timeshare abominations is because nobody likes Disney anymore since they decided to become politically active and spiritually vapid. The only people going to the parks anymore are DVC members because of the sunk cost fallacy. Rest in peace Disney, I loved growing up there, working there in college and having learned many elements of my moral foundation and inspiration through you. Sad to watch the corpse of a legend slowly begin to rot like this.

It's very similar to having a time shares in🎉my opinion a rip off

@2foolishmortals We bought 200 points at the Polynesian Resale in 2022. We have ZERO regrets. We felt the 40% discount well out weighed perks that are not guaranteed. At the programs inception, as I understand it, annual passes were included. That's changed. I would have to buy a lot of food and merchandise at discount to recoup that added 40%, which is not guaranteed. I appreciate your math here, and how you focus on rentals-this is spot on, however there are other factors to consider if you purchase. First of all this is the single greatest inflation fighting measure you can take. My annual dues go up, but not as much as rooms will over time. Discounting my buy in, which is my protection against inflation and over 50 years I WILL COME OUT AHEAD (including if I use it for 20 years and sell it recoupling all or more of my original cost because value increases if you buy resale from the start), The reality is I pay monthly and in a year it adds up to the cost of staying at the All-Star for the same amount of time. For me, this is a no brainer. I'm paying roughly the same amount to stay at the Polynesian, second most expensive resort points wise- walking distance to Magic Kingdom, I NEVER have to take busses to two of the four parks, I have water launch access, I have fireworks viewing every night, even holiday party nights (and the music is piped in), Killer food, an amazing pool and I want to stay at my resort unlike the all-star--this is no brainer. My dues are $1608, I can stay June 1-11 at the All Star (preferred room) for $1,919. I can use 199 of my 200 points for a standard view studio at the Polynesian for $300 cheaper for the exact same days and length of time. That is a HUGE win. I should clarify: it is my wife and I only (no kids) and we exclusively stay at the Polynesian and in standard view studios. These studios cost more than anywhere else because of their size (they are larger than any other studio on property and have two bathrooms). We did our research and tried staying a few other places and we hate pretty much every other studio, so for us our home resort is all we are interested in. We do pay substantially more to stay here and our points could go further at say Animal Kingdom Lodge and be cheaper to buy as well, however even paying the higher prices and point costs (thanks to really unfavorable point charts) its still a slam dunk mathematically. We do go 1-2 a year and for us this is a huge cost savings then that spreads our hotel costs out monthly. If you do your search, crunch your numbers and realize in 20, 30 and 40 years you're going to fight inflation amazingly, this is a no brainer if you have the money and don't have to finance at 10%. My advice do your research, choose your home resort carefully and think long-term. Disney is still making money off me on park tickets, merchandise, food and they are not losing anything, but I am still coming out ahead because if I would spend all that anyway to come every year, I at least save on my hotel and get the finest accommodations there are on property in terms of amenities and locations. Currently and nothing is forever, we also get automatic access to free extended evening hours. We miss out on member events due to our resale status, but these are twice a week and way more convenient anyway.

We have also been members since 2001 my feeling on the poly tower is it’s going to be mostly studios because the points are so high now people are buying 100 point contracts and they want 2 weeks worth of stays. It’s a shame that they are devaluing the product. We were 5 people needing 2 rooms that’s why we did it and it has more than paid for itself over the years with 540 points our average cost is about $90.00. We only use it as home base now days and rarely go to a park since 2 adult tickets for a retired couple are just about $500.00 so these trips are mostly relaxing trips and we let the kids use the points when they want to go. At today’s prices I am not sure if the value is really there.

as an adult i introduced hubby to this Magical Bubble and curious enough we r taking steps to visit more and more and with grandkids now - i can say this might be the way to go - we live in AZ.😊

You also forgot to mention or talk about resale values. Some resorts are worth more on secondary properties such as the locations in California. However, the new resorts if they are sold on the resale market, the buyer may only use their points at that specific resort, they may not use them at the other DVC resorts. The older resorts on the market the resale buyer may use them at the other properties (just not the new ones). This lowers the resale value of those new resort contracts.

I can see that Ordinary Adventures new DVC video as the next video after this....

Yeah I remember why I used to be a an annual passholder at Walt Disney World and I asked somebody out one of those DVC places is this a timeshare

I would never BH Disney timeshare member

I am a resale member aka White Card. I have two contracts at SSR. You mentioned Poly new building, it has been confirmed at the association meeting that the Poly will be on the old Association and not a “new” association. So that building won’t be the full 50 years. Still longer than your 2042 resorts. For me the math worked on resale contracts. Yes, I know I lose out on some benefits.

Call it a Disney timeshare

7 min in...until some rambling answer comes. Fill that 10 min minimum. Time share has no actual value. Even at 10% of the actual cost...would still be too much. It is a scam...period. DVC is the absolute best at it. Disney performs a cashectomy better than anyone else. I know...I go on Disney Cruises.

We have been members of DVC for more than 25 years. We have contracts at Old Key West, Boardwalk, Animal
Kingdom Kidani Village, and Lakeview Towers. We come every year and stay in at least a two bedroom room at each of our resorts, and stay for about three weeks total. It works for us and we really enjoy it. It’s not cheap, but we feel the accommodations at all our resorts are worth it.

You sound like you don’t think OKW is deluxe because it isn’t in close proximity to the parks and you “gave it a pass” because it’s the 1st DVC. That is precisely WHY it is great! You can relax and enjoy yourself away from the hustle and bustle. It has lots of room and actually is a resort, not just a big hotel with long hallways of doors. I know I’m biased as we’ve owned there since 1994. You have your opinion as to what classifies as deluxe, I have mine!

My biggest problem with DVC (I've been an owner since 2005) is these "point-exchange" websites where people book 4 or 5 (sometimes more) trips at a time with the sole purpose of selling them which is in clear violation of DVC member bylaws. DVC knows about it and does NOTHING to stop it, meanwhile I can't get a room to go on a trip because so many rooms are booked to be sold on the point exchanges. These point exchanges then sponsor all of the other bloggers and vloggers who for obvious reasons don't talk about the obvious elephant in the room. Meanwhile the perks and benefits keep magically disappearing while the price of everything keeps going up,

Something else I thought about, based on a lot of the comments here is a good amount of members struggle to book the rooms they want and sometimes it's even at their home resort. DVC is becoming more and more involved where you can't just log on at 8AM 11 months out during certain times of the year (looking at you early December) and book exactly what you want. If you are not willing to put in the leg work and aren't willing to put in the effort to learn this complex product, it's not for you. Personally, I love doing all of this stuff, I love looking at my dashboard filled with my upcoming trips and checking availability is something I like to do in my free time while I have the TV on. DVC really favors members like myself who obsessively stalk the website because I've been able to grab Beach Club, Boardwalk studios (standard and BW view) without owning there. If you just want a simple book and forget it, DVC may not be the best option for you.

Just finished your video. Very well done and enjoyed it. I agree with you from start to finish. Glad to have found your channel and look forward to your content. - Kenny

DVC member. Own multiple locations. was originally just a resale owner but then bought a direct Riviera contract before Covid. I understand what she is saying in this video. There are some things about Rivera that are lacking. Biggest thing for us is actually an odd one that isn't mentioned. Dining. Previously we owned a contact at bay lake tower. there you have a large number of options... California grill, steakhouse71, chef mickey, the top of the world lounge. Topolinos is good, but it is small and doesn't accommodate many people so it is a difficult reservation, and the menu is ... limited. The other options at Rivera are the pool par and quick service. One thing I GREATLY miss from bay lake tower is the jofferys in the lobby. I basically survive on iced tea and the cough cough "tea" they serve in the cafeteria is disgraceful. I can say that while the riviera may be in a "moderate" physical location the addition of the skyliner as well as the busing at the Rivera has been very good at our stays. nothing like when you stay at Old key west or Saratoga.... those buses can be a nightmare. (oh yeah my wife and I go 3-4 times a year. so we have a mouse problem. We have 3 cats now but the mouse problem didn't go away......)

I'm with you on the DVC at Fort Wilderness I will never stay there, Disney is making a big mistake turning it into a DVC resort. I'm saddened from this.

Thanks for being honest about one of the most controversial topics in WDW. I too purchased in 2001, owned for a decade and sold my beach club contract. Got tired of the increasing taxes and dues, difficulty in getting rooms I wanted, and the decreased value for your investment. Most DVC owners feel that fake Rolex feeling but never admit it. If you purchased your contract and financed it, all you did was put your vacations on installment payments. What I call Disney Vacation Credit. Bottom line as you point out, it can be beneficial for certain families and certain vacation plans, but it doesn't make sense more times than it does, especially current contracts. Of course you can't express that opinion because the brain washed DVC masses will attack. 😂

What will the point/pricing be once DVC Poly opens sales???Our timing might be just right. If we decide to jump in later this year. Then I can buy resale later when our family grows. Much to ponder.

DVC, owner here too. Really great info, very accurate, very fair. It seems there are haters or lovers and never the two shall meet in really. So thanks!! I’m a lover, but I understand the truth and reality.

We've been going to Disney now for 50 years, grandparents lived in Cocoa Beach. We always use to stay on property but have, in the last 8 years or so, been renting houses off property. Yes, we somewhat miss the transportation etc. and with Disney dropping the "extras" of staying on property, it's just not worth it anymore. IKR, it's sad. But having a private house with a private pool, which can accommodate much larger groups, as we have upwards of 15 people per trip, is a much better experience for us. Even the cost. We just booked our next trip for April 2024, Moms 80th birthday and she goes to Disney at least 5 times per year still. Total cost for the week was $1988 for a 5 bedroom house just off property, private pool, themed rooms for the younger kids. Always have booked thru VRBO. There are many options for house rentals, many. You'd be surprised with the prices. Last year we booked a house with 12 bedrooms under $4k for the week, very nice amenities, so great deals are out there. All within 5-10 minutes of Disney off HWY 192.

We’ve been DVC members since 2015 and bought into a Polynesian Resort contract in for the same reasons you bought in. Our typical visits were every other year, and we could drive there in 10-12 hours. Having the extra space and at-home type amenities like a full kitchen have spoiled us so much that we’ve yet to stay at the Polynesian which doesn’t have those accommodations, if we could even book a room there. But there are so many other fantastic resorts we’ve stayed at and really enjoyed. The new Polynesian DVC addition might change that 🤞🏽
I agree with your comment about Disney devaluing the DVC brand with their handling of the Riviera. We held our noses and bought our second contract for that resort despite the restrictions on it that don’t exist with our first contract. I think our first contract should negate many of those restrictions as far as booking stays, but we may find out otherwise if we sell or transfer it which will be many decades off, it will likely affect the new user (one of our kids) more than us. We love and use our membership almost yearly now, but as Disney is restructuring DVC contracts now, I don’t think I could 100% recommend it to friends or family.

Refreshing to have an honest review.