peabody58
I'm just a drummer in a R&R Band!!
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2010
The GOAT AP Year of all AP Years Financial Trip Report: Oct 2019 - March 2021
Just finish our 4th AP Year at WDW since the early 90’s, and the 3rd as DVC members.
DW and I (63 yo retirees) started this AP Year in Oct 2019 with plans for a huge family GTG at BLT in Oct 2020. Then Covid happened, and we cancelled our May and Oct reservations. We had a lot of DVC points to use or lose, so with a little luck and wait-listing, we replaced those cancelled trips with 4 new trips in Oct/Dec/Jan/March to best optimize the 5 month extension on our AP/TiW cards.
I kept very detailed financials during this period and the results were very eye-opening and reassuring that our 2010 DVC purchase (BLT 160 pts) was a good value for our vacationing patterns and preferences. YMMV but for us, we are very pleased 11 years later. Hope you number crunches enjoy.
Disclaimers/Notes:
1. 7 trips - mostly Mon-Fri 4 nights each in DVC Deluxe Studios - Standard (1 trip in a 1 BR) 29 DVC nights, 36 days total which include stops at my brother in Polk City, FL. 3 trips we were provided upgraded villas worth an extra 115 points (for renting/OOP costs) which were factored into the analysis.
2. Food Costs include outside the bubble dining (w/my brother/SIL), groceries, non-discounted snacks and meals on the road. Cost of TiW Card ($150) accounted for in Misc/Etc costs.
3. Best Case Cost Analysis: Our actual costs using our DVC, TiW, AP Voucher purchased in 2011 (WDW converted it to a Premium AP w/MM). Only used Maintenance Fees as bases for room cost. Original Buy-In costs/Opportunity Costs are not factored in since we anticipate selling for a profit in 10 years and the math is assumes too many variables.
4. Mid Range ‘What-if’ Cost Analysis: Renting DVC points, TiW, Disney AP at June 2019 price (PH and MM included). Assumed Standard Room Categories would not be available to rent, and all rental points (at generous $17 pt) would still be able to be used during Covid reservation cancellations/re-bookings. Having direct control of your DVC Points/Reservations is a real value over renting, but I am not placing any monetary value on this aspect.
5. Worst Case ‘What-If’ Cost Analysis: WDW Costs using Discounted Rack Rates for equivalent DVC villas, 7 sets of Individual Park Tickets w/PH and MM. Resort Parking costs ($25 day) added to Worst Case Discounted Rack Rates. No TiW or AP discounts available.
6. I’m sure these numbers can be tweaked/challenged/altered as needed to support various narratives, but I did try to keep them accurate, apples to apples application, and reflect all discount offers available. Again, YMMV.
Financial Summary for 2 adults / 29 nts / 36 days
Conclusion: We had a great time both pre- and post-Covid. We experienced every ride we wanted, often several times. We also got to enjoy many restaurants we wouldn’t normally try, as well as our favorites. DW finally got her Pandora bracelet and Disney charms she’s always wanted. The post-Covid trips were the perfect mental health prescriptions we needed.
So here’s the eye-opening wow. I’m a frugal person and thought we may have been over spending this extended year at WDW. The final tallies for our per day vacation cost for 2 people ($271) was amazing. To put this in proper perspective, our 2019 River Cruise in Amsterdam/Holland was $1,300 a day for 2 (munchies are expensive if you know what I mean), and our senior group western USA trip this Aug will be close to $1,000 a day for 2. In 1999, our family of 4 enjoyed 11 nights at Beach Club to the tune of $1,000 night all-in for 4.
So, did DVC save us money? Considering we only want to stay at WDW at Deluxe Resorts and stay in the bubble, then Yes Even though we spent almost $9,800 we still realized a 71% savings vs. Renting Points, and an over-all 92% savings due to our DVC AP Vouchers from 2011. It is obvious that food and park tickets are our biggest expenses - but dang, we do enjoy our TS dining experiences!. The great thing is that we still have NE+ tickets remaining and another set of AP vouchers remaining to use. Next WDW trip is in May 2022. Next AP Year will be in 2024. WDW will always be our go-to happy place, but as soon as Covid is in the rear-view mirror, we will be travelling overseas again.
Just finish our 4th AP Year at WDW since the early 90’s, and the 3rd as DVC members.
DW and I (63 yo retirees) started this AP Year in Oct 2019 with plans for a huge family GTG at BLT in Oct 2020. Then Covid happened, and we cancelled our May and Oct reservations. We had a lot of DVC points to use or lose, so with a little luck and wait-listing, we replaced those cancelled trips with 4 new trips in Oct/Dec/Jan/March to best optimize the 5 month extension on our AP/TiW cards.
I kept very detailed financials during this period and the results were very eye-opening and reassuring that our 2010 DVC purchase (BLT 160 pts) was a good value for our vacationing patterns and preferences. YMMV but for us, we are very pleased 11 years later. Hope you number crunches enjoy.
Disclaimers/Notes:
1. 7 trips - mostly Mon-Fri 4 nights each in DVC Deluxe Studios - Standard (1 trip in a 1 BR) 29 DVC nights, 36 days total which include stops at my brother in Polk City, FL. 3 trips we were provided upgraded villas worth an extra 115 points (for renting/OOP costs) which were factored into the analysis.
2. Food Costs include outside the bubble dining (w/my brother/SIL), groceries, non-discounted snacks and meals on the road. Cost of TiW Card ($150) accounted for in Misc/Etc costs.
3. Best Case Cost Analysis: Our actual costs using our DVC, TiW, AP Voucher purchased in 2011 (WDW converted it to a Premium AP w/MM). Only used Maintenance Fees as bases for room cost. Original Buy-In costs/Opportunity Costs are not factored in since we anticipate selling for a profit in 10 years and the math is assumes too many variables.
4. Mid Range ‘What-if’ Cost Analysis: Renting DVC points, TiW, Disney AP at June 2019 price (PH and MM included). Assumed Standard Room Categories would not be available to rent, and all rental points (at generous $17 pt) would still be able to be used during Covid reservation cancellations/re-bookings. Having direct control of your DVC Points/Reservations is a real value over renting, but I am not placing any monetary value on this aspect.
5. Worst Case ‘What-If’ Cost Analysis: WDW Costs using Discounted Rack Rates for equivalent DVC villas, 7 sets of Individual Park Tickets w/PH and MM. Resort Parking costs ($25 day) added to Worst Case Discounted Rack Rates. No TiW or AP discounts available.
6. I’m sure these numbers can be tweaked/challenged/altered as needed to support various narratives, but I did try to keep them accurate, apples to apples application, and reflect all discount offers available. Again, YMMV.
Financial Summary for 2 adults / 29 nts / 36 days
| DVC Villa Room | DVC MFs | Rent Pts | WDW Cost |
| Room Cost 29 nights | $2,610 | $8,942 | $19,843 |
| Avg Room Cost/Night | $90 | $308 | $684 |
| DVC Points Used | 411 | 526 (equiv) | 526 (equiv) |
| Avg Points Cost/Night | $6.35 | $17.00 | $38 (value) |
| DVC Room Savings (%) vs. | N/A | 71% | 660% |
| Park Tickets for 2 (30 visits) | DVC AP | WDW AP | w/o AP |
| Tickets (incl PH & MM) | $893 | $2,438 | $8,731 |
| Park Cost/Day for 2 | $29.76 | $81.27 | $291.03 |
| DVC Voucher Savings (%) vs. | N/A | 173% | 878% |
| Food for 36 days (18% tips) | w/TiW | w/TiW | w/o TiW |
| Total | $3,926 | $3,926 | $4,333 |
| Food/Day for 2 | $109 | $109 | $116 |
| Other Costs | |||
| Travel (Gas/Tolls/Pets) | $700 | $700 | $700 |
| Souvenirs / Tips / Etc. | $1,617 | $1,617 | $2,047 |
| Savings | DVC/AP | Rent/AP | OOP |
| TiW | $407 | $407 | $0 |
| AP / DVC | $457 | $457 | $0 |
| Totals for 2 / 36 vac days | DVC | Rent Pts | WDW OOP |
| All-in Cost | $9,743 | $18,672 | $35,528 |
| All-in Cost / Night | $271 | $519 | $987 |
| All-In DVC Savings (%) vs. | N/A | 92% | 265% |
Conclusion: We had a great time both pre- and post-Covid. We experienced every ride we wanted, often several times. We also got to enjoy many restaurants we wouldn’t normally try, as well as our favorites. DW finally got her Pandora bracelet and Disney charms she’s always wanted. The post-Covid trips were the perfect mental health prescriptions we needed.
So here’s the eye-opening wow. I’m a frugal person and thought we may have been over spending this extended year at WDW. The final tallies for our per day vacation cost for 2 people ($271) was amazing. To put this in proper perspective, our 2019 River Cruise in Amsterdam/Holland was $1,300 a day for 2 (munchies are expensive if you know what I mean), and our senior group western USA trip this Aug will be close to $1,000 a day for 2. In 1999, our family of 4 enjoyed 11 nights at Beach Club to the tune of $1,000 night all-in for 4.
So, did DVC save us money? Considering we only want to stay at WDW at Deluxe Resorts and stay in the bubble, then Yes Even though we spent almost $9,800 we still realized a 71% savings vs. Renting Points, and an over-all 92% savings due to our DVC AP Vouchers from 2011. It is obvious that food and park tickets are our biggest expenses - but dang, we do enjoy our TS dining experiences!. The great thing is that we still have NE+ tickets remaining and another set of AP vouchers remaining to use. Next WDW trip is in May 2022. Next AP Year will be in 2024. WDW will always be our go-to happy place, but as soon as Covid is in the rear-view mirror, we will be travelling overseas again.
. It illustrates completely why Disney doesn’t want to sell APs right now because we don’t make them enough money 
DVC stays were our COVID relief too, we didn’t visit the parks though it was just nice to be anywhere else than our house.
