Is the DVC worthwhile any longer? This was the thread that caught my eye while on the DISBoards recently. Given the deep discounts Disney is offering lately and the reshuffling of points, the original poster questioned whether a DVC membership offered the same value he felt he used to receive.

My family decided to become DVC members a few years ago for the convenience and flexibility. We also believed the DVC would enable us to vacation at Walt Disney World more frequently and in “upgraded” accommodations (ie, kitchen, washer/dryer, additional space). So, saving money wasn’t necessarily a goal but getting more value for our money was.

My gut reaction to the thread was, “Of course it’s worthwhile,” but is it really? So as a master list-maker, I decided to put pen to paper, or in this case my fingers to the keyboard and created a list of Pros/Cons to analyze whether the DVC was worthwhile for my family. In Part One, I’ll look at the financial factor while Part Two will analyze the intangibles.

Financial Benefits of the DVC

Ceiling on Annual Dues. Annual dues increases are limited to 15% a year and are restricted to maintaining reserves and operating expenses. Annual dues increases seem to be pretty much in line with resort rate increases but I like knowing that any increases are for ensuring my DVC home resort is well-maintained and not to pad Disney’s bottom line.

Savings on Lodging. To analyze whether I really save on lodging, I am using our planned vacation scenario for at least the next five years. Beyond that, who knows?

Planned Vacations. Assume we take two vacations a year. One is a family vacation in the fall. We will use a two-bedroom vacation home since my mom will travel with us and will purchase six-day Park Hoppers for the trip. My husband and I will take an adults-only trip in the spring and will book a Deluxe Villa; we’ll need four-day Park Hoppers.

For consistency, I’ll use the Boardwalk Inn and Villas to compare DVC versus non-DVC accommodations.

Projected Costs Paying Resort Rates

The closest thing I could find to the DVC two-bedroom vacation home is a two-bedroom suite at the Boardwalk Inn. If I book it, it will cost a whopping $10,325 for a one-week vacation.

Now, there’s no way on God’s green earth, I could pay close to $1,500 a night so let’s forego the suite and instead get two standard rooms at the Boardwalk Inn. Of course, in the interest of realism, I’ll apply a 15% AAA discount.

That’s better but $4,700.50 for lodging alone is a budget-buster. Let’s try to do better by purchasing an Annual Pass and using the Annual Passholder discount of 42% off Deluxe Resorts instead of the 15% AAA discount.

Using the Annual Passholder discount on lodging for our family vacation will save us about $1500. Now it’s time to look at our adult-only vacation in the spring. Unfortunately, an Annual Passholder discount has not been announced for this time so I’ll have to be satisfied with a 15% AAA discount.

Add ‘em up and the lodging costs for our two vacations using applicable discounts is $4886.15.

Projected Costs Using DVC Points

It’s time to crunch the numbers if I were to use my DVC points** for my two vacations.

Using our DVC points for our stays will run me $2,290.61.

Savings. Using DVC, our lodging costs are about half of what they would be if I stayed at the Boardwalk Inn. Besides the financial savings, my family will also be staying in upgraded accommodations (with kitchen, separate living space, washer/dryer) for our family vacation.

Discounts. By far, the DVC discount we take advantage of the most is the discount for Annual Passes. With a savings of about $100 per person, it makes a big difference. Let’s do the math.

Tickets, Please

You’ll notice that in my ticket calculations I will need tickets for two family vacations. That is because my family will take our two family vacations in one calendar year to maximize savings using our Annual Passes. For example, we will take one vacation in say the first week of October 2010 and the second family vacation will be 51 weeks later (the last week in September).

Family Vacations

Adult-Only Vacations

Tickets for two family vacations in one calendar year and one adults-only trip are $2,354.

Annual Passes for Planned Vacations

Savings
Ticket Savings using DVC discount for Annual Passes: $670.43

So is it all Pixie Dust and Magic?

No, depending on your viewpoint, there are some drawbacks to purchasing a DVC membership.

Show Me the Money
The most obvious drawback is the large, upfront outlay of cash. Basically, you’re pre-paying for a majority of your Walt Disney World vacations for the NEXT 30 YEARS or so.

If you’re considering a DVC purchase, I think it is important to run the numbers and see if financing the DVC membership will save you money in the long run after factoring interest into the equation. For some, the extra interest may be a deal-breaker. For others, there may be other reasons, like additional space, that make a DVC purchase the right decision for their family.

There is also the risk of purchasing lodging for the next few decades when your vacationing interests may change. What if ten years down the line you decide you do not want to spend a week at Walt Disney World every year? For us, I don’t think that is likely but if it does happen I am reassured by the robust DVC resale market that we could sell our membership if it is no longer worthwhile to us.

What About Us?
DVC members may purchase a dining plan but are ineligible for the free dining promotions and other deep lodging discounts Disney has been offering lately. Well, to be accurate, DVC members may still take advantage of these promotions but not as part of a DVC stay.

It may feel as if Disney is ignoring their DVC members but remember that we already have a built-in discount on Deluxe accommodations as a result of our membership.

The economy will not be in trouble forever. Once it rebounds, Disney is likely to cut back dramatically on its discounts and DVC members will once again feel they got the better bargain.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is we could not afford to take the trips outlined in the scenario above without our DVC membership. And, we get deluxe accomodations to boot. So, yes, the DVC is worthwhile for my family.

* Calculations have been simplified wherever possible. For example, calculations assume current dollars and current pricing; I do not take into account loss of investment interest on my DVC purchase. Also, there are an endless number of scenarios I could have used which may have different outcomes. I used the scenario that is most likely for my family.

**I calculated the cost per point by adding the current annual dues to how much I paid per point per year of use.

Lisa M. Battista is the author of Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers When she’s not chasing after her little ones, you can most likely find her at the beach or in the kitchen trying her hand at a new recipe. You call follow her on Twitter @DisneyExplorer and Facebook.

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