I became a member of the Disney Vacation Club in December of 2015, but not before I crunched the numbers. If you read my article, The Trip That Convinced Me to Buy Into DVC , you’d know that I was already in Disney World at the Boardwalk on vacation with my future wife. Sure, I was on property at a deluxe resort where I had never been before. I hadn’t been in a while either, but the memories came back to me from my childhood and let’s face it, can you ever really have a bad time at Disney World?
So as I sat through the spiel from the Vacation Adviser, it sounded both expensive and too good to be true at the same time. I went home to crunch the numbers with my financial adviser, also known as my mother, who manages a financial institution. I was considering a 100 point contract at the Polynesian which went for $150 a point, meaning that the total cost would be $15,000. At first glance, that seemed like a lot of money and at second glance, it really is a lot to pay to stay at seemingly one destination. I say one destination because I have yet to book outside of the Disney World Resort in Florida. I have considered the other DVC properties outside of Florida, including Aulani in Hawaii and Hilton Head in South Carolina.
I looked at the total price of what I paid for in December 2015. Five nights at a deluxe resort, The Boardwalk, was about $375 a night which totaled $1,875 not including tax or any other fees. What that meant to me is that with the hotel booking alone, I could break even in about eight trips. Being that the contract was new and expired in 50 years, we could keep going with any future children and even grandchildren until we were 80!
I also considered that locking in at $150 per point was worth it. The Same trip I took from December 16th to the 22nd at $375 a night would now cost $629 a night if I booked it today for a total of $3,145. So the math makes sense to me. I’m pre-paying my Disney World vacation addiction for the next 50 years. My annual dues on the 100 points are $429 per year.
When I bought in in December of 2015, they allotted me 100 points from the August of 2015 use year as a bonus for signing up before January 1st, 2016. Having the extra 100 points to bank or borrow has been helpful. Since becoming a member, we have stayed at the following resorts: The Polynesian, The Boardwalk, Bay Lake Tower, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West and the Copper Creek Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. We are set to stay at Kidani Village in July of 2019.
Now, to be clear, we haven’t stayed a full week at all of these resorts. We do have family in Florida and often opt to stay for three or four days at a time. It’s a nice way to visit our favorite place to vacation every year while exploring other areas of Florida during the same trip. We can use the Magical Express one way or the other to the airport, or use a rental car which is nice because the resort parking and theme park parking fees are waived for DVC members.
Lastly, while it isn’t the primary reason to purchase DVC, the additional perks such as Top of the World Lounge, Moonlight Magic Events, free parking and a 10% discount on merchandise and dining (not alcohol) certainly add up. So if you plan on visiting Disney World frequently with your family, DVC is worth every penny for your future family vacation and memories.