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Abstract

those hotels. They sell interest in the hotels to thousands of people that lasts for decades.</p><p id="0618">People buy lengthy contracts, then contribute money every year to the hotel’s upkeep. If they can sell enough contracts for the program, Disney can guarantee each hotel rooms profitibilty for years in advance before the hotel has even finished construction. The program is a big win for Disney.</p><p id="8ef7">Another way DVC is different to a regular timeshare scheme is because unlike a conventional timeshare, guests aren’t given a standard week at their chosen hotel every year.</p><p id="b6c7">Instead, they’re given points they can spend wherever they choose. Each guest buys a certain number of points when they join the program. If they’re buying through Disney, they can buy anywhere between 160 and 2000 points.</p><p id="cc05">After you’ve chosen your point quantity, you sign a contract. The end date for your contract depends on the hotel you chose as your <i>“home” </i>resort.</p><p id="0b89">Contracts for most hotels end in 2042; however, newer hotels have dates than span decades later than that. Between your signing date and the contract expiring, your points renew every year and can be spent in a large variety of ways. The most efficient way to spend them is by booking hotel rooms at a Disney resort, which is, of course, the whole point.</p><p id="1893">If you book with your “home resort” you can book up to 11 months in advance. Other hotels can also be booked with your points, but you’ll only have the opportunity to book them up to 7 months in advance of the date you’d like to stay. Because of the popularity of the program, a lot of members say that booking only 2 or 3 months ahead is basically impossible.</p><p id="c326">Beside hotel rooms, you can also use your points to take a Disney cruise or stay at hotels owned by competing brands, but according to members, using your points this way is extremely inefficient.</p><p id="3037">The dollar value of each point ranges depending on where you spend them and at what time of the year. If you decide to go to Disney during an important event such as the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, hotel rooms will charge more points per night. However, if you decide to go in late January, you’ll find much more reasonable rates.</p><figure id="d752"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*N9OcTC5GoQF6gyUKSUxgaA.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@drscythe?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Dominik Scythe</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/disney?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><h2 id="bdf6">What You’re Going to Pay</h2><p id="2535">Getting started costs a one time fee for each point you’d like to receive every year. The minimum number is 160, so let’s say for example that you choose to buy 200. This will mean that every year your account of 200 points is refreshed and ready to spend. According to <a href="https://allears.net/walt-disney-world/wdw-accommodation/disney-vacation-club-a-primer/">All Ears</a>, depending on the hotel, you can expect to pay between $140 and$ 165 per point. So at the lowest cost, buying those 200 points will cost you $28,000. Once you’ve paid that, you’ve officially joined the program.</p><p id="fdd5">After joining you’re also obligated to pay “maintenance fees” for your home resort every single year. Depending on which home resort you have, these fee’s will cost between$ 4.50 and $7.41 per point. So those 200 points you bought <i>(at the lowest fee’s available)</i> will cost you$ 900 each year until your contract runs out.</p><p id="3b83">You cannot stop paying those maintenance fees no matter what unless you decide to sell your contract. Disney has the right of first refusal on all contract sales, so a representative from Disney must see your contract and know how much you’re looking to sell it for before it hits the open market.</p><p id="17f3">If you’re selling it off cheap, Disney will buy it back from you. If you’re selling it for a reasonable price, someone will buy it on the open market. However, this person will not have all the perks you had.</p><p id="10c7">People who buy on re-sale lose out on a lot of benefits, including discounts on annual passes to the parks, discounts on merchandise, and the ability to spend points on Disney Cruise Line or competing resort chains. They also can’t visit the DVC members-only lounge at Epcot; they’re basically the lepers of the DVC community.</p><figure id="2c2e"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*E3GNMUxy2WjmBsBfiQ_c7Q.jpeg"><figc

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aption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@king_lip?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">King Lip</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/disney?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><h2 id="0599">So Is It Worth It?</h2><p id="6197">Disney Vacation Club is a popular program that has an enormous amount of members, which is why Disney is rapidly building more resorts to cater to them all.</p><p id="70d2">Because of its popularity, the program is getting more expensive every year, so the figures I quoted may not be accurate in even a year.</p><p id="204a">Some people love the program because they say that as expensive as it is, the program is a way to save money if you go to Disney often; because staying in a hotel the conventional way has also become really expensive in recent years. Entry into the parks has also become unaffordable to many, so discounts on annual passes can add up if you’re buying them for the whole family.</p><p id="ff02">Personally, though, I don’t believe people are doing it to save money. People who go to Disney every year don’t have much interest in saving money, because going to Disney is extremely expensive any way you do it.</p><p id="a892">If you actually want to save money, it’s far cheaper to stay at a low-rated discount hotel near the property than it is to stay in one of Disney’s branded hotels. Even among Disney’s hotels, there are discount ones that are a lot cheaper than Disney Vacation Club villas.</p><p id="9cc5">People in the program say that they’re trying to save money, and they say it because that’s the reasonable way to quantify enormous spending. But in reality, these people are wealthy, and they just want to stay in villas when they go on vacation, and that’s totally fine.</p><p id="2b6a">Maybe they do want to save money in the way that they understand that term. Paying $2,400 for a villa that they may have otherwise paid$ 3,000 is saving money, and it must feel good. But at the end of the day, these people are in the program because it’s nice to be part of a community of like-minded people. These are Disney fans, and the only thing Disney fans love more than Disney is other Disney fans.</p><p id="f8e4">People do it for the community and for the love of Disney, but I’m sorry it is absolutely not an investment… for you. It’s a great investment for Disney.</p><p id="473b">It’s an expensive plan that ensures brand loyalty and keeps higher end guests happy and ensures they’re well looked after when they visit Disney properties.</p><h2 id="da71">The Princess and the Pauper</h2><p id="5d08">Let’s be honest, DVC members are rich, elite Disney fans that get their own lounge at Epcot; a lounge that re-sale swine don’t get to see inside. Disney needs these fans because it’s expensive to fund such enormous parks, and regular everyday Americans just aren’t cutting it.</p><p id="b16c">Disney needs the kind of customer that makes a smug face as they turn left on airplanes on their walk into first class.</p><p id="74a2">If you’re someone that loves Disney and you also make that face on airplanes, then the program may be right for you. If I were wealthy, lived in America, and had kids; I’d probably join up too.</p><p id="956f">Everyone else should just keep staying off-property, or start tricking your kids into thinking that Busch Gardens is Disney World. <i>It works if you start tricking them at a really early age.</i></p><div id="0ea8" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-grow-and-leverage-a-captive-audience-819e1842774a"> <div> <div> <h2>How to Grow and Leverage a Captive Audience</h2> <div><h3>I ask advice from the man who pulled it off</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*uvmy7EB7S_v7T5ukhtbzeg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="7376" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/i-just-made-the-riskiest-trade-of-my-life-93949357fdd0"> <div> <div> <h2>I Just Made the Riskiest Trade Of My Life</h2> <div><h3>No going back now…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*O-tPDIIP8kYRL-Z-O986vA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Does Disney Vacation Club Save You Money?

The controversial program that Disney sells as an “investment”

There is no fan in the world quite like a Disney fan.

I got to know Disney fans really well during the years I spent working at Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line. I don’t consider myself a ‘Disney fan’ because as you’ll know if you’ve read some of my previous stories, I’m often quite critical of Disney.

But I do love talking about the company and take almost any opportunity to do so, so perhaps I’m a Disney enthusiast. But I digress, despite my years spent at Disney, I never really understood the Disney Vacation Club.

I knew they had booths on the Disney Cruise ship I worked on (Disney Wonder), and I knew that each year they had dedicated cruises just for members. I knew that they were a club, and I knew it was probably a timeshare scheme, but I always wanted to know more.

I decided to look into it after Disney revealed details about the Star Wars: Intergalactic Starcruiser hotel at D23 conference last year.

This new hotel will be a three day, two night Star Wars experience for hotel guests. The idea is that guests will all arrive at the same time, choose a side in the Star Wars battle, then take part in an unfolding storyline that will last three days each time.

Disney’s description of the experience has been compared by some to a murder mystery party. Frankly, it sounds awesome.

Naturally, Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members are clambering to learn more about how they can spend their points at this new hotel, so what exactly is the Disney Vacation Club? And how do people become members?

Buying Tomorrows Vacation Today

Disney Vacation Club is a timeshare plan created and owned by Disney.

Just like with any other timeshare program, guests are sold an “ownership position” in one of many resorts that were purpose-built for the program.

Some of Disney’s hotels are entirely set aside for DVC use, whereas others have both villas for DVC and rooms that serve as regular hotel rooms.

The apparent reason for guests to buy into this program is that they’re going to save money if they go to Disney every year. If you take your family annually or bi-annually on a Disney vacation, you may save money by being a part of DVC (if you traditionally stay in villas or high-end rooms).

Saving money is the reason a lot of people give, but the real reason is that DVC villas are really luxurious, and DVC members tend to love luxury.

It can be an enormous pain point for people to spend a lot of money on a nicer hotel room than the regular room they could otherwise be staying in.

However, if you’re only spending points, and all the rooms are villas anyway, what’s the harm? DVC is the chance for people to stay in better hotels and feel better about it. It’s also a way of being part of a like-minded community of people who love Disney and love luxury.

Mitigating Risk… For Disney, Not For You

Disney’s advantage in running the program is reducing their risk when building all those hotels. They sell interest in the hotels to thousands of people that lasts for decades.

People buy lengthy contracts, then contribute money every year to the hotel’s upkeep. If they can sell enough contracts for the program, Disney can guarantee each hotel rooms profitibilty for years in advance before the hotel has even finished construction. The program is a big win for Disney.

Another way DVC is different to a regular timeshare scheme is because unlike a conventional timeshare, guests aren’t given a standard week at their chosen hotel every year.

Instead, they’re given points they can spend wherever they choose. Each guest buys a certain number of points when they join the program. If they’re buying through Disney, they can buy anywhere between 160 and 2000 points.

After you’ve chosen your point quantity, you sign a contract. The end date for your contract depends on the hotel you chose as your “home” resort.

Contracts for most hotels end in 2042; however, newer hotels have dates than span decades later than that. Between your signing date and the contract expiring, your points renew every year and can be spent in a large variety of ways. The most efficient way to spend them is by booking hotel rooms at a Disney resort, which is, of course, the whole point.

If you book with your “home resort” you can book up to 11 months in advance. Other hotels can also be booked with your points, but you’ll only have the opportunity to book them up to 7 months in advance of the date you’d like to stay. Because of the popularity of the program, a lot of members say that booking only 2 or 3 months ahead is basically impossible.

Beside hotel rooms, you can also use your points to take a Disney cruise or stay at hotels owned by competing brands, but according to members, using your points this way is extremely inefficient.

The dollar value of each point ranges depending on where you spend them and at what time of the year. If you decide to go to Disney during an important event such as the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, hotel rooms will charge more points per night. However, if you decide to go in late January, you’ll find much more reasonable rates.

What You’re Going to Pay

Getting started costs a one time fee for each point you’d like to receive every year. The minimum number is 160, so let’s say for example that you choose to buy 200. This will mean that every year your account of 200 points is refreshed and ready to spend. According to All Ears, depending on the hotel, you can expect to pay between $140 and $165 per point. So at the lowest cost, buying those 200 points will cost you $28,000. Once you’ve paid that, you’ve officially joined the program.

After joining you’re also obligated to pay “maintenance fees” for your home resort every single year. Depending on which home resort you have, these fee’s will cost between $4.50 and $7.41 per point. So those 200 points you bought (at the lowest fee’s available) will cost you $900 each year until your contract runs out.

You cannot stop paying those maintenance fees no matter what unless you decide to sell your contract. Disney has the right of first refusal on all contract sales, so a representative from Disney must see your contract and know how much you’re looking to sell it for before it hits the open market.

If you’re selling it off cheap, Disney will buy it back from you. If you’re selling it for a reasonable price, someone will buy it on the open market. However, this person will not have all the perks you had.

People who buy on re-sale lose out on a lot of benefits, including discounts on annual passes to the parks, discounts on merchandise, and the ability to spend points on Disney Cruise Line or competing resort chains. They also can’t visit the DVC members-only lounge at Epcot; they’re basically the lepers of the DVC community.

So Is It Worth It?

Disney Vacation Club is a popular program that has an enormous amount of members, which is why Disney is rapidly building more resorts to cater to them all.

Because of its popularity, the program is getting more expensive every year, so the figures I quoted may not be accurate in even a year.

Some people love the program because they say that as expensive as it is, the program is a way to save money if you go to Disney often; because staying in a hotel the conventional way has also become really expensive in recent years. Entry into the parks has also become unaffordable to many, so discounts on annual passes can add up if you’re buying them for the whole family.

Personally, though, I don’t believe people are doing it to save money. People who go to Disney every year don’t have much interest in saving money, because going to Disney is extremely expensive any way you do it.

If you actually want to save money, it’s far cheaper to stay at a low-rated discount hotel near the property than it is to stay in one of Disney’s branded hotels. Even among Disney’s hotels, there are discount ones that are a lot cheaper than Disney Vacation Club villas.

People in the program say that they’re trying to save money, and they say it because that’s the reasonable way to quantify enormous spending. But in reality, these people are wealthy, and they just want to stay in villas when they go on vacation, and that’s totally fine.

Maybe they do want to save money in the way that they understand that term. Paying $2,400 for a villa that they may have otherwise paid $3,000 is saving money, and it must feel good. But at the end of the day, these people are in the program because it’s nice to be part of a community of like-minded people. These are Disney fans, and the only thing Disney fans love more than Disney is other Disney fans.

People do it for the community and for the love of Disney, but I’m sorry it is absolutely not an investment… for you. It’s a great investment for Disney.

It’s an expensive plan that ensures brand loyalty and keeps higher end guests happy and ensures they’re well looked after when they visit Disney properties.

The Princess and the Pauper

Let’s be honest, DVC members are rich, elite Disney fans that get their own lounge at Epcot; a lounge that re-sale swine don’t get to see inside. Disney needs these fans because it’s expensive to fund such enormous parks, and regular everyday Americans just aren’t cutting it.

Disney needs the kind of customer that makes a smug face as they turn left on airplanes on their walk into first class.

If you’re someone that loves Disney and you also make that face on airplanes, then the program may be right for you. If I were wealthy, lived in America, and had kids; I’d probably join up too.

Everyone else should just keep staying off-property, or start tricking your kids into thinking that Busch Gardens is Disney World. It works if you start tricking them at a really early age.