Why We Chose Bay Lake Tower

Since we have 3 small children, CJ and I have decided that a yearly family vacation is a must. It gives us as a family, something to look forward to every year. Of course, my first choice is definitely Walt Disney World and after spending on average, about $6,000 - $7,000 a year on a Disney vacation for 6 of us - the kids, CJ, me and CJ's mom, we decided to look into becoming DVC (Disney Vacation Club) members.

First we had to pick our 'home' resort. We chose Bay Lake Tower as it is the newest resort villa in Walt Disney World:

It is just steps away from the Magic Kingdom, literally - there is a beautiful path to walk to get to the Magic Kingdom - in about 5 minutes! The monorail is right there so transportation is easy. The best part? The view is spectacular! You can't beat watching the Wishes Fireworks show from the Top of the World Lounge or even from a room balcony!

Here is a short video of the Wishes Fireworks Show and the Electric Water Pageant as seen from the Top of the World - courtesy of Jack Spence from AllEars.Net

I get teary every time I watch Wishes - I just think about my kids and how innocent they are and how I have been able to give them such a wonderful childhood and how grateful I am for all we have. Okay, enough of the sappiness! So, how about that view? Isn't it just amazing?! I cannot wait to actually BE there to see the show! What a wonderful resort to call 'home' and we'll have this as our home until 2060!

We also chose Bay lake Tower because the maintenance fees are the cheapest right now:

• Operating $2.0339
• Reserves $0.8090
• Taxes $0.8280
• Total $3.6709

That is $3.6709 per point and we bought 320 points so that is a total of about $1,175 a year, about $98 a month. We decided to pay the full amount annually instead of paying $98 a month. Since we pay our credit cards when due, we decided to put the full amount on our Disney Visa - this way we reap the rewards of using the Disney Visa and get it paid and out of the way for the year.

Now, remember the sweet deal I mentioned in my last entry here? We were able to cash in on a super incentive - saving us $4,160! I will break down the costs:

TOTAL COST ON MY CREDIT CARD TO LOCK IN THE INCENTIVES:
$500 DEPOSIT
$331.95 CLOSING COSTS
$831.95 TOTAL


TOTAL COST OF THE MEMBERSHIP
The Price Per Point = $112 Per Point
$112/pt x 320 points = $35,840

DOWN PAYMENT = 10% OF PURCHASE PRICE, BEFORE INCENTIVES ARE FACTORED IN
Down Payment received 8/26/09 = $500
Down Payment balance = $3084 to be paid in 30 days

INCENTIVES
$5 baseline credit per point = $1600
$8 referral credit per point = $2560
TOTAL CREDIT = $4160
This goes towards the Principle and brings the loan amount down
-->> $35,840 purchase price - $3584 total down payment = $32256 loan balance - $4160 credits = $28096 TOTAL AMOUNT OF LOAN

SWEET! Man, did we score a huge deal! Now, I know, some people think $28,096 is a lot of money to spend on vacation - but hey we were spending a great deal of money every year on vacation. Granted, this is just the cost of accommodations - we will still have to pay to get to WDW every year, for park tickets and for food. However, we were spending an average of $3,000 -$4,000 a year in accommodations each visit over the last 2 years. This means that in just 7 visits this investment will pay for itself. remember, the contract doesn't end until 2060 - we bought in 2009 - that gives us 51 years! 7 years we're paying for it, so to speak and then 44 years of not having to worry about paying for accommodations!

So what about this 'loan' thing? I have found that there is quite a buzz around about people who buy a DVC and take the financing Disney offers. Seems most people feel since this is a luxury purchase one shouldn't buy unless they have the money. Well, could we save about $35,000 (just a ball park figure based on price of 320 points before incentives) - sure we could but WHY would I want to spend my entire savings in one shot? We financed the loan for 10 years. We plan on paying it off by or before the 3 year mark since there is no early payoff penalty. This way, we still have our savings in case we need them and we have a VERY affordable payment every month with the option to pay more on principle whenever we want. I don't know, people take car loans all the time, really, what's the difference?

I've gotten a bit too in depth with the money aspect of this and I want to dedicate a post to the financial side of owning so I'll stop here.

* Pros and cons to owning a DVC coming up!