If you knew then what you know now....

[ATLMouse]

Thanks so much for sharing your love for DVC with us new folks. We REALLY thought about this purchase for a year, and it is nice to see so many people who have a DVC membership love it like we thought we would.

If you could list 3 things you wish you knew when you first bought, what would they be? We have only been to WDW twice, and have never been to anything in Orlando other than WDW.

So, give us 3 gems of wisdom....

Thanks!:party:

[Donald A]

1) They can change points within a given week. For example, they can make it more points to stay on a weekend as long as they make it cheaper to stay on a weekday. Matter of fact, they just changed the point charts making weekends less and weekdays more.

2) The real gems of the vacation club are the smaller resorts like Beach Club Villas. Buy where you want to stay. I own at Saratoga Springs and it is a beautiful resort but it is very close to the border of the property and takes awhile to get anywhere. Beach club is literally a very short walk to EPCOT and a boat ride (or long walk) from the Studios. They are also building Bay Lake Towers which will be on the Monorail system. However, when I was there in December I am not sure how that will work out. It seems that the Contemporary will get quite crowded at the Monorail station (assuming it shares with the new complex).

3) Keep in mind dues. I bought the lowest amounts of points (150 at the time) at the resort with the cheapest dues and pay about $650 a year in dues. It seems like this goes up slightly each year.

Just some food for thought.

[DisneyWhirled]

1. DVC allows us to slow down. Knowing that I have many trips in my future, I am not so adamant about military style park touring. If we miss something, we know we will go back!

2. If you collect pins, make sure to ask to see the DVC member only pins at your resort.

3. You can take a WDW cruise on DVC points! (Although it uses a lot of points) You don't have to pay out of pocket for the cruise itself.

...I had to add one more....

Be wary of add-on-itis :) It has bit us twice since our initial purchase :)

[hlkeck]

1) Really make sure you're buying the right number of points. We bought 160 and I surely wish we had over 200, probably 240, to make me happier.

2) Buy where you want to stay. It bears repeating often.

3) Try concierge at least once. It's really great!

[FiggyFan]

Here is my list:

1) Read everything they give you. There is so much fine detail in the contract documents, and plenty of it may never apply to you. Still, you can learn just about everything you need to know by reading it. A few examples: Can I park my RV in the resort parking lot? (yes, depending on size). If I reserve a room for a friend or relative, do they get DVC privileges? (yes, if you don't charge them rent). What happens if a hurricane destroys a building? (it is in there.)

2) Buy where you want to stay. The club has grown tremendously since we bought, and reserving a non-home resort has gotten much more difficult.

3) Make sure you can plan vacations far enough in advance to take advantage of the 11 month home resort window. (See number 2)

DisneyWhirled makes a good point about "add-on-itis". It got us three times (so far). :blush: