It's an expensive timeshare. Not really a club to join.
This is the first thing I think you should really consider. DVC is a timeshare...which brings up several questions:
- Would a timeshare (think 30-50 year financial obligation) fit into your family's normal vacationing schedule?
- If timesharing is for your family - is DVC the timeshare for you?
On the first question, I would not recommend anybody's timeshare for a family that doesn't take
at least one week of vacation every single year. If you don't do that -- every single year -- I doubt that there is a timeshare out there that would really be good for your family. That's partly because of the obligations and limitations of timeshares, and partly because there are SO many non-timeshare options out there.
Is DVC for you? If you are eagerly planning your kids first trip, I would confidently say, "NO...not yet."
If you had gone every year like clockwork, I might think maybe, but in your case...no.
Everyone will tell you DVC works best when used
only for stays in DVC resorts. Non-DVC options for DVC points stays are high-cost on their best day. Usually, you would be far ahead to save your points and pay cash for those options.
I will take it several steps further and say that, IMHO (and others will disagree), DVC works best for stays in DVC resorts
at WDW for people who
really would not be satisfied staying
anywhere else but onsite, in a Disney resort, at WDW.
What am I saying there, and more importantly...why?
For starters, at WDW, there are dozens, if not hundreds of very good options offsite. Many people consider many of those options
better than DVC. At a minimum, offsite lodging is generally easily available for a fraction of the cost of onsite -- even when comparing to DVC owner costs. If your family's needs would be well-served by one of the offsite options, DVC would be a waste of money.
Destinations other than WDW:
DVC currently has 11 resorts, 7 of which are at WDW. The other 4 are located at Hilton Head Island, SC; Vero Beach, FL;
Disneyland, CA; and Ko Olina, Hawaii.
My opinion is that there are better, much less expensive options in each of the four non-WDW destinations. And in some cases, there are better options that unlock a whole world of other possibilities...
for those families for whom timesharing makes sense.