Dvc??????

[dizneyfreek]

For all you DVC members out there, are you happy you bought in or not? Tell me about your experiences, good and bad. We are thinking of buying. We would plan a vacation every 2 years and sometimes go for 2 years in a row. Thanks for the help!!

[NewmanFamily6]

We just bought last year and have had nothing but a positive experience. Plus it just made economical sense for us as a family of 6. When we added what we had been spending on vacations-shall we say wo:eek: I look forward to planning vacations for a long time. THe down size of course is cost but in the long run a big payoff.

[Maleficent's Dad]

For all you DVC members out there, are you happy you bought in or not?
Happy? Extremely. Wish I'd been member #1 (in other words, I wish I'd bought sooner! ;) )

Tell me about your experiences, good and bad.
I'll give you some "pros & cons" as there really aren't any "bad" experiences for us.
Pros: Large accomodations, kitchens, free laundry, multiple resorts to choose from, vacations to look forward to year after year, flexibility, discounts in many Disney areas, vacations both in and out of Disney, West Coast visits & FL visits, something I'll share with my kids for most of their lives (if not all of mine!), deluxe resorts with great locations, saving loads of money in the long run.
Cons: Initial outlay of funds, annual maintanence fees, limited ownership (in terms of years) on a timeshare, tougher (nowadays) to get resorts outside of your "home," no theme park passes!

Good luck! :mickey:

[Zippy_D_DooDah]

I am a fairly new DVC member. We bought in last November (December use year), and we have already been twice. We even borrowed some points so we can go again in September. My wife and I love it! We get so excited when we start to plan our trips. We will e-mail back and forth while I'm at work everyday with details, suggestions, and other plans.

I have been going to WDW all of my life. My mom worked at the Howard Johnson's near what became DTD back in the 70's when I was a baby. She said she always wanted to be a character... uh oh, I'm starting to get off subject.

Over the last few years, we had been averaging one trip a year usually around March. Now that we are DVC members, we are going two to three times a year. When my in-laws buy in at the end of this year, we will go four to five times a year. If you are able to go to WDW mutliple times a year, it is well worth the money. There is a sticky on this site that goes over the pros and cons of DVC ownership. If you are not going to come "home" a lot, then you may not want to buy in.

We bought at SSR and have stayed there in a two bedroom and at OKW in a two bedroom. We will be staying in two studios at OKW when we go in September. I am waitlisted for BWV for the Sept trip, but I won't be devistated if we don't get in there. I really like OKW. I would like to give all the DVC resorts a try. I grew up in Savannah and Hilton Head, so we will be staying there soon as well.

So far I have found the booking process extremely pleasant. Member Services is great and I have never had to wait too long on the phone. At this time, we go in the off peak season since my 2 daughters are still very young. Maybe that is why it has been easy for me to get through on the phone.

I'm not sure if my ramblings have helped you in anyway, but we really do love DVC. You can't really look at it as an investment, but rather pre-paying for your Disney lodging for the next 50 years or so.

In conclusion (I feel like I'm writing a thesis), my wife and I give DVC a :thumbsup:

[dlpmikki]

We bought back in 92 and it has been the best investment in us (and currently moneywise) we ever made. It probably still would be now for pre paid vacations but I don't think the value is as good as it was (we only paid $51 a point).

There are a couple of sticky pots at the top of this forum for why to / not to buy that may make interesting reading for you.

[vizsla]

We bought into the DVC just a few years ago and have made 3 trips so far and have been very pleased. We feel it was a good investment for us since we like spending 2 weeks a year at WDW.

[DVC2004]

We bought in 2004 and have taken probably 6 trips with our points since. We are so happy we bought. We love the accommodations and the fact that it's so flexible. I literally planned a qick trip last December with 2 weeks notice and everything worked out. We love the fact that we have locked in today's prices for the future. And most of all we love the the time it provides to enjoy quality vacations with our family and make great memories. I've been able to take my sister and her family which I would not have been able to do paying cash. No complaints whatsoever.:thumbsup:

[dizneyfreek]

Thanks for all your replies! We have decided to join and it will give us many more vacations that we can look forward to. Our family loves Disney....especially our girls (4 and 2 years old). We decided to purchase 180 points at the new AKV!!!!!

[Ian]

We literally just bought in last week after pondering it for several years.

The big selling point for me was that it's a terrific inflation hedge in terms of vacation expenses.

We bought in only for the minimum 160 points, but our plan is to continue to build on that as the years go by. By retirement age, we'd like to have close to 1,000 points in total.

That basically means we can take 4 or 5 amazing trips per year for (essentially) free. While everyone else is ripping through their retirement savings to take those vacations of a lifetime, ours will already be paid for.

[artyboy]

We bought in 2004...and we couldn't be happier!

It took me 3 years to convince my partner, but now he's just as pleased that we bought as I am.

We're using some of our points in Paris this June...can't wait!

[sillyolbear]

Count us in as extremely pleased with the decision to buy for many of the same reason already noted.

[mook3y]

For us, we know that we will be spending many years in the future vacationing at WDW.

We also prefer to stay at nicer resorts. So for us, we figure DVC lets us stay in a deluxe resort for moderate pricing.

Plus like this year, we are able to bring some friends with us to share a great vacation and watch our children play together at WDW.:thumbsup:

[MarkC]

We finally bit the bullet and bought in this weekend. Yippee. It's a Beach Club resale. We've been to Disney about 15 times, and my wife and I realize that even though the kids are 17 and 15, we will be going with or without them. We always want to stay at the Beach Club, so that's we bought resale. We'll use Disney Visa points to pay for the maintenance fees, so we shouldn't pay another penny for the next 35 years. Our kids and grandkids will be able to use this even if we can't. If you can afford it and love Disney, it is truly the way to go.

[rbl291]

We both "grew up" going to WDW. Honeymooned at the polynesian and contemporary in' 80. Took the kids there many times since both grandparents lived within an hour of Orlando over the years. Bought DVC finally in 2005 (on 25th Anniversary!) and have been there on points 5 times since with 2 more planned this year. We usually find cheap flights (SWA dings) and then book 4-5 day trips using 1 weekend pt. and 3-4 weekday pts.
For us it was a no-brainer: DVC discounts, APs, DDP or DDE, all allow us a great experience at a place we love to "come home" to. We have other timeshares, but DVC allows us so much more flexibility for a studio up to the 3 bdm,so we just get what we need for that trip. We usually go in an off season time as it works best for us. We look forward to many more years of vacations with family and friends, and taking the grand kids to experience the Disney Magic. Wish we would have bought in sooner!

[Queen Stephanie]

Question is...are you a Disney nut? Do you spend a lot of time planning your next Disney vacation, even the week after returning from Disney? Then DVC is for you! :number1: You see, after you become a DVC owner, you are now one of the family, and believe me, you will feel like a Disney family member. We bought in 2000 and each year we come back, it is like returning home. The accomadations are wonderful, check-in a breeze and being told "welcome home" from a cast member makes you feel all warm and fuzzy all over. Because there is no place like home or Disney!
It is by far the best investment we will ever make. :mickey:

[Brer Mickey]

We have been DVCers since '00 and we love it. We have stayed at every WDW DVC resort, been on three 7 Day Magic cruises, visited DL and DLParis, lodged in London, Edinborough, and Paris, and currently have vacation plans for the next several years.

For our family, DVC is the best thing we have ever done. We have vacationed at WDW with our children and extended family and are looking to the future when our grandchildren will experience WDW with us as well.

[Roo Girl]

We first checked out DVC in Fed 2005 before we moved from FL back to NJ. We bought into DVC at a stressful time (June 2005) when we first got into our first house. It was a crazy time but we knew that if we have the $$ today, we should make a smart investment in our (and our future family's) future. We have never looked back since. No regrets and we've taken 4 trips since then. It is part of our budget now so we feel that our vacations are simply airfare (and from NJ to FL is an easy fare.) We are thrilled to be part of the club and take advantage of every perk that we can.

[disneycouple2004]

DW's family has been members since 1991 at OKW..the 1st DVC resort. I can't even begin to tell you how many fantasic trips we have had..so much we bought in ourselves in 2005.
There are so many wonderful things about DVC..you are going to love it !!:thumbsup:

[MickeyMousse]

Buying into DVC is probably one of the best investments I have ever made.:thumbsup: We are Disney maniacs and it really is the only place we want to vacation at. DVC has given us the ability to go more often than we ever could if we had to pay to stay in a resort. The only "con" I can say is that I have found it more difficult to book my trips:I rarely if ever now get my first choice of resort or dates, and that can be aggravating. :fit: But all in all, I love that I did this...:cloud9:

[SignguyTom]

We bought a resale at BWV in Feb. As it was, there were some banked points whch needed to be used before we could get back to WDW. Since we live 6 hours from Disneyland in Anaheim, we were able to use those points at the Grand Californian Resort for my DD's B-Day this coming Nov. It is THE nicest hotel on property and by using the banked points (which would have been forfeited otherwise) it will be the least expensive DLR trip we've ever had. We already have our next 3 WDW vacations planned, taking us through Spring of 2012. These trips will all be in a 2 Bedroom Vaction Homes. We are able to do ALL of this with 175 points because of the flexibility of the DVC system.

Yep, I'm sold on it. :thumbsup: