Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It? A DVC Review & Guide

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If you have read some of our resort reviews before, you may have figured out that we are Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members. We have been blue card holders since 2013 and have used our membership in various ways. We find that we get a lot of questions about DVC, with the most frequent being “Is DVC worth it?” It can be a bit confusing at first to figure out how the membership exactly works so we wanted to break it down for our readers. With this article we will be covering:

• An overview of DVC (including how points work)

• Our journey to purchasing (including what DVC costs)

• Benefits of being members

• and finally: Is DVC worth it?

A Welcome Home sign at Bay Lake Tower.

We love always hearing “Welcome Home!” at DVC resorts.

About the Disney Vacation Club

What is DVC?

The Disney Vacation Club is a vacation timeshare program owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. Members join by buying a real estate interest in a DVC resort. While some timeshare programs sell a duration of time (such as a week per year), DVC operates on a points system which allows a lot of variables for flexibility. Members use points instead of cash to pay for vacation accommodations and one of the selling points of the program is that there are big savings compared to paying rack rates at hotels.

Where can you stay with DVC points?

There are currently 16 different DVC resorts. The majority of the resorts are located in Florida, with some other locations across the United States:

• Walt Disney World Resort in Florida:

  • Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort (Resort review coming soon!)

  • Boulder Ridge Villas and Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Wilderness Lodge

  • Animal Kingdom Villas (Read our Kidani Resort Review here)

  • Beach Club Villas

  • Boardwalk Villas

  • Old Key West Resort

  • Polynesian Villas & Bungalows (Resort review coming soon!)

  • Riviera Resort

  • Saratoga Springs Resort

  • The Villas at Grand Floridian Resort (Resort review coming soon!)

• Beach Resorts:

  • Vero Beach Resort in Florida (Read our resort review here)

  • Hilton Head Island Resort in South Carolina (Resort review coming soon!)

• Disneyland Resort in California: The Villas at Grand Californian Hotel

• Aulani Resort in Hawaii (Read our resort review here)

You can also use DVC points at additional locations as well:

• Disney Hotels around the world

• Disney Cruise Line

• Adventures by Disney

• Concierge Collection hotels

• World Collection - RCI timeshares

How do DVC Points Work?

When you purchase a DVC contract you receive the same amount of points to use each year. Some people will purchase a contract for 100 points, while others purchase hundreds of points at a time. Those points are then used to book vacation accommodations instead of cash. Things such as budget, party size, and vacation habits will help determine the right amount for you (a DVC guide can help determine what makes the most sense.) There are a lot of different factors that determine how many points a vacation reservation will cost such as:

• Time of year/Season

• Day of the Week

• Location of Resort

• Room View

• Size of Room/Unit

So for instance, a couple booking a studio size room during a less popular time of year will use way less points than a family in a multi-bedroom unit during peak holiday season. It is also good to note that with the DVC system you can also bank (save for later) or borrow (use early) points too. So while some members may take multiple small trips in a year, other members may save up three year’s worth of points for one big trip. As you can see there are a lot of different ways for members to utilize points. To get an idea of how many points a night at a particular resort would cost you can reference a current point chart here.

We have been able to travel to Disneyland in California a couple of times and stay at the Grand Californian.

Staying at our favorite property Grand Floridian wouldn’t have happened as much without DVC.

We have even explored non park locations such as Disney’s Vero Beach Resort.

One of our “Wow, are we really here?” moments was traveling to Aulani in Hawaii.

Making the Decision to Purchase DVC

Being big Disney fans who traveled often we had always been curious about if DVC would be right for us. While we were on a planning trip for our Disney Fairy Tale Wedding we decided to also squeeze in an official DVC tour. When we met with a representative to tour the preview center at Saratoga Springs Resort we really fell in love with the idea. While initially we played with the idea of using DVC points for wedding and honeymoon accommodations we realized adding another big financial commitment on top of a wedding wasn’t the smartest decision. So we added it to our list of goals for the future.

How Much Does DVC Cost?

There are a couple of different costs associated with DVC ownership:

1. Purchase Price
   This is the largest, up front cost. (Think of it like a mini mortgage or car loan.) If buying new points direct from Disney, points are currently selling at close to $200 per point. So if you were to buy 100 points the purchase price would be about $20,000. Most people take out a small loan for a purchase this big, but you should also consider the interest rates as well and try to pay it off as quickly as possible. You can also find much lower contract costs (even as low as $100/point) if you purchase resale from an older resort.

2. Closing Costs
   Since this is a real estate transaction there are some additional fees involved. Disney states that these start at $587, but they vary based on your potential contract.

3. Annual Dues
   Members are also responsible for annual dues to cover things like resort operating costs, maintenance, real estate taxes, etc. Dues tend to go up a little each year. We currently pay $7.67/point or roughly $100/month for our dues.

Complimentary member buttons in the DVC lounge.

Many DVC members love purchasing exclusive merchandise too.

Officially Becoming Members

We spent a few years receiving and reviewing all the DVC brochures that came in the mail and stopped by to speak to the DVC folks every time we happened to be in the parks. But it wasn't until a Disney Cruise aboard the Fantasy to celebrate our 5th anniversary that we decided to make the leap and purchase. We were in a much better place to make a financially responsible decision and some of the deals being featured while onboard made the purchase even more enticing. We had to laugh when our guide Rob said we already had given so much money to Disney in the past several years that we might as well start saving as members. We settled on a contract for 160 points per year at the Animal Kingdom Villas, Kidani Village. We were so excited to finally be members and while we wished we could have done it sooner, we knew it was smart to wait until the time was right.

Choosing a Home Resort

One part of the process that we really got hung up on was which resort to call home. The DVC guides will usually be featuring the latest and greatest (and most expensive option). But a lot of the time there may be older inventory available as well. We ended up choosing Animal Kingdom Lodge to call home. But since points can be used at any resort we don’t always stay there. So what makes a home resort matter? A couple reasons:

• At the time of purchase it can come down to price. We were able to swing the price for a slightly older Animal Kingdom, compared to the fancy new Grand Floridian. We loved the Grand Floridian and would have loved to call it home, but we also have been able to stay there multiple times with our Animal Kingdom points.

• The contract on a brand new property lasts 50 years meaning if you purchase a used contract, it is only good for the remainder of that 50 year period. We purchased our share into Animal Kingdom Lodge 6 years after it opened so our contract is good for 44 years.

• There is also something called the home resort advantage. You can book at your own resort starting at 11 months out from the date of check-in. All other resorts can be booked at 7 months out. For us we are happy to stay anywhere so this didn’t matter. But let’s say you really care about staying near Epcot during Food & Wine Festival every Fall. Having a home resort advantage somewhere near Epcot may be important to you.

Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge is our home away from home.

We still are in awe at the animals we can see right from our balcony!

We love enjoying some downtime at the resort pool areas too.

Benefits of Being DVC Members

While we have invested a lot of money into being members we also feel like we have gotten a lot savings and perks over the years. DVC offers far more than just a place to sleep. Here are some of the benefits we have enjoyed…

Accommodations

We feel the biggest benefit of being members is being able to have visited Disney destinations often and experience so many great accommodations. We find DVC rooms are a good value as they tend to feel more deluxe, but end up costing a smaller fraction. We have also been able to save on trips by making some meals in the room instead of depending on eating out. Also because our initial payment is done and dues are a budgeted monthly cost, vacation budgeting can be easier. It is nice to not have to come up with hundreds (or thousands) of dollars when booking a room reservation for a big trip.

Discounts

Just like with an Annual Pass or the Disney Visa Card, DVC members get lots of discounts at Disney. Over the course of our membership, we have saved tons of money already. We always flash our blue card and have saved on things such as:

• Merchandise at Disney Shops

• Meals at Restaurants

• Tours & Activities on property

• Tickets for Annual Passes and events such as holiday parties

Swag & Freebies

From little things such as a DVC button at the park or the member magazine sent in the mail, Disney does a great job at making Members feel special. Over the years we have received lots of fun DVC swag for various reasons. Here are some examples:

• Hats, Magnets, lanyards and more on Disney Cruises

• Member breakfast (with prizes) at Aulani

• Christmas Ornament at DVC party

• DVC pins from different events

Exclusive Experiences

As DVC members we have been able to access some members only events/activites as well. Here are some examples of what we have personally experienced over the years:

• DVC only resort tours/activities

• Access to the Top of the World Lounge on the roof of Bay Lake Tower. This is a small bar/lounge with amazing views of the Magic Kingdom including all fireworks shows.

• DVC also opened a members only lounge in Epcot in the Imagination Pavilion above Figment in 2016. While it was supposed to be temporary, it is still open. The lounge includes fountain drinks, snacks, video games, and a place to just hang out.

• Another perk we have been able to take advantage of is Moonlight Magic, which are free after hour parties at the various parks. These are exclusive to DVC Members so the parks are much quieter and admission includes a quick-service meal, refreshments throughout the evening, and a dance party. We were lucky enough to attend one at Typhoon Lagoon last year and have plans to attend one at Magic Kingdom later this spring.

Enjoying Moonlight Magic at Typhoon Lagoon.

Enjoying a drink at Top of the World Lounge.

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Inside the DVC Member’s Lounge at Epcot.

A free member breakfast at Aulani.

Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It?

As much as DVC offers a lot of fun, at the end of the day you want to make sure that it is a wise use of money. When staring at the numbers initially, sticker shock is not uncommon. But the thing to remember is that you are essentially prepaying for decades of future vacations. We knew we loved Disney and were spending our money at various Disney locations anyway so DVC simply made sense. We also saw the value in the Disney brand and knew if we were to ever get to a point where we didn’t want to go anymore we could easily find someone who could rent the points from us instead. We figured DVC would be a good value for us but we have to say we were shocked when we ended up “breaking even” on our purchase price sooner than expected.

Throughout our 7 years as owners, we have stayed at:

• Animal Kingdom Lodge (20 Nights)

• Grand Californian in Disneyland (9 Nights)

• Aulani in Hawaii (6 Nights)

• Vero Beach Resort in Florida (4 Nights)

• Bay Lake Tower (4 Nights)

• Hilton Head Island Resort (4 Nights)

• Grand Floridian (3 Nights)

For a majority of these stays, we used extra points for upgraded views including Savannah View at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Ocean View at Aulani. 50 nights may not be a lot over seven years but that is because we have also rented out points for cash to use on non Disney vacations. Even though you can use points for a Disney Cruise, the exchange isn’t the best value so we rent out our points to help pay for cruises too.

Andrew ran some numbers comparing what we spent on the initial investment and the yearly dues against what the rack rate for our rooms would have been. Basically, it took us 6 years to break even. If you take into account our contract expires in 2057, we will more than get our money's worth out of this investment for years to come. Admittedly, there are some nuances to those numbers in that we wouldn't be staying at Deluxe Resorts every time we stayed on property if we were paying cash. However, the point of presenting our break even information is to show what we are getting for our initial investment and yearly dues.

We have also been asked if we still believe it is worth it now that we are Orlando residents. The answer is absolutely yes. We have used our points to stay a few nights on property since we moved (including Christmas Eve and Christmas night). However, we look forward to using them again at the two East Coast Resorts (Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island) along with Disneyland’s Grand Californian and Hawaii’s Aulani. We also have family and friends with younger kids that will be experiencing the parks in the coming years so we will get plenty of use out of our points.

In short, we have been very happy with the Disney Vacation Club. Most member's only regrets about joining is they wish they would have done it sooner. While we would have liked to have joined earlier, financially, we feel we did this at the exact right time. It has allowed us to vacation in places that we never could afford otherwise like Aulani. It has allowed us to stay in nicer resorts. We are also able to vacation more often now because we have, in essence, forward funded our accommodations for all future vacations. We like it so much that we have our eyes on purchasing additional points in the future if the right resort and opportunity presents itself. 

Have more questions about DVC? Please leave a comment below or contact us and we would be happy to answer them!

Interested in saving $500 on Disney Vacation Club? Click the button below for our referral link!

We can’t wait to keep exploring more DVC resorts on the list.

One of our favorite views is from Top of the World lounge at Bay Lake Tower.

We have loved creating memories like this one in Hilton Head Island.