What finally prompted you to purchase?

[Kidanifan08]

We joined in 2008. It was our first trip with our son, who was 2-1/2 at the time. We knew at that time that we wanted years of Disney trips in our collective lives. My DBIL and DSIL had been owners since the early years of OKW, so from their experience, we knew it would be a good fit for us.

We bought AKV direct, although BLT was an option. We were drawn to the decor and feel of AKV, so it was a done deal. Kidani was not yet opened, and there were some good incentives at the time to purchase direct.

Since then, we have more than doubled our original purchase with resale points at AKV. We look forward to many more years of long, memorable Disney vacations!

 

[kim532]

We took the tour back when they were selling BWV. Seems like forever ago. We had just gotten our first 'grown up' jobs and we were on our first vacation. The thought of buying a timeshare seemed the least of our priorities. I could kick myself now for not purchasing then.

It was several trips later and then renting points a couple of times that I became very intrigued about buying. Bugged the crap out of people here on the boards.

But I think the deciding factor that had us pull the trigger was experiencing our first trip with our son. It was halfway thru the trip we knew this is were we wanted to be as a family. We took the tour again and bought at AKV.

I wish we could add-on, but that will be later down the road. Can't wait though!

 

[Kimmielee]

My husband and I bought on our honeymoon as the timing was right. We bought 100 points to start. We live in St. Petersburg so we go often, mostly on weekends. I sat down and figured out 1 weekend a month + 1 week and figured we needed 400 points. These are Studios with the occasional Grand Villa thrown in for a special one night gathering with local friends. We bought SSR, AKV and most recently VGF. We are also on a wait list for 50 points at BCV to snag my DS's birthday weekend each year or watching for a good resale to pop up. We bought in 100 point blocks to give them to our kids (Husband's daughter lives out of state) when we are to old to enjoy it!!! We will have to buy another 50 after BCV to even out the contracts for them!!!

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[nd43]

We took our first DVC tour 8-9 years ago at SSR and just purchased VGF recently.

Reasons for us:

- we had the extra money to buy a timeshare now
- our last trips, we were paying cash for the villas (did not even know about renting points until recently) - so we knew we liked the setup
- our vacation style changed and we started spending a lot less time in the parks and a lot more in the villas and around the resort (why the villas started working a lot better for us as we appreciated the extra room to spread out)
- after many years of Disney vacations, we realized we would continue to enjoy our more relaxing vacations just as a couple at Disney even with our older children growing up and leaving the house - so buying with older children became less of a concern
- our work life has become a lot more flexible so we knew we could book vacations far in advance and not have "sudden" work conflicts we could not control ourselves

Things I continue to worry about

- getting burned out on Disney - and finding the non-Disney options poor
- getting tired of having to fight availability issues
- a reduced level of service that goes beyond mouse keeping and starts reducing our vacation enjoyment
- health issues that would make walking all around Disney a real problem
- and for the opposit direction, realizing you never have enough points to really do what you want (like, suddenly you have grand kids, multiple families, and you would like to reserve a GV at VGF and the points are well... oh my high)

 

[thisismyusername]

The studios that sleep five at VGF sealed the deal for us. For us, while we'd love to have our own king bed and our own bedroom and a full kitchen, we've been fine vacationing at Disney thus far in a hotel room, but there were no DVC properties that could sleep five in a studio.

We love that we were able to buy a small contract and eek a few nights a year out of it yearly, or go for 9-10 nights every other year (which is our intent right now so we don't get Disney'ed-out and so that it forces us to do other vacations the years we don't go). With the small contract, paying our MFs monthly doesn't even make a dent in our monthly budget. And, financially, the cost of the initial contract makes sense--it's the cost of 3 vacations.

Plus, we love that we're getting into the contract right at the start of ownership and will get 50 years of use of it should we live that long or want it that long. Additionally, the theming and decor at the VGF is by far my most favorite on property (a silly reason, but still factored into my decision). A whole bunch of things came together just perfectly for us to decide this was the right time to say yes.

ETA: The recent surge in resale prices also swayed us into buying direct. We were strongly considering BCV and BWV for resale, but we would have needed a lot more points for our family of 5 since a 2-bedroom villa is the only option for us there.

 

[Iceman93]

For us it was Aulani. We've done Disney vacations for years (Orlando, Anaheim, Tokyo, Paris, cruise) and always thought about DVC but talked ourselves out of it. The initial buy-in price was intimidating, plus the idea of committing to Disney vacations for the rest of our lives. Even though most of our vacations do involve Disney, we also like going places and taking cruises that don't involve the mouse.

Last year we visited Aulani and swooned. For those who haven't been there, it's hard to describe just what an amazing job the Imagineers did. And the level of service provided by the CMs is unsurpassed. We were cash guests in a 2BR ocean view villa; my parents were in a regular hotel room so we vividly experienced the benefit of the extra space and amenities.

We decided to take the tour even though, as always, it wasn't the right time financially to embark on a big purchase. Our guide was perfect--knowledgeable, no-pressure, honest, and friendly. We thought about it for a couple of days and knew we were going to buy when the conversation shifted to "how many points" instead of "should we do this". I think the final nail in the coffin was when we realized that we really could see ourselves going to Aulani every other year or so for the rest of our lives. Add to that the flexibility with the points to help with future WDW vacations, the option to trade for the other collections (poor value though it may be, at least it's there), and the incentive Disney was offering for a bonus 10% on points...

Well, we pulled the trigger and are going back for 11 nights this year. I don't think we'll have add-on-itis yet, but who knows?

 

[lorie13]

We stayed at BWV in a 2 bedroom with our grown up children and their friends in 2008 for 11 nights. Booked the rooms directly with CR. Compared what we paid to owning and it made sense. Bought on that trip direct at AKV. We picked points based on a 2 bedroom one week stay savanna view during adventure season (which we travel the most) and it was 270 point. There has been a slight point value change since original purchase and it is now 273 points for the same week.

 

[DOREEN1779]

Thanks for sharing all the stories. I know I can convince my husband, but I want him to want it like I do. Our last two visits have been awesome and I am hoping after our visit next month, it would be time to take the plunge.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Thanks for sharing all the stories. I know I can convince my husband, but I want him to want it like I do. Our last two visits have been awesome and I am hoping after our visit next month, it would be time to take the plunge.

I know exactly what you mean! That's why we're taking an exploratory trip for labor day (although we already purchased some GFV--we are planning on fleshing it out w/resale as long as he digs it )

 

[lovin'fl]

Well, both DH and I were on board with buying DVC in 2006. Though, our 1st WDW trip, in 2003, was DH's idea and I did NOT want to go. Our kids were 4, 4 and 6 at the time and I was thinking it would be a lot of money for a miserable trip that would be all hard work and no fun. We stayed off-site in a cheap place in Kissimmee, we drove there from NC (where we were living at the time) and we ate at all the local restaurants (not WDW restaurants) and it was not too expensive. Our kids were in year-round school, so we could go in September (low crowds) and it was a fabulous trip. We booked an on-site (at POR) return trip soon after..and got the wonderful, back then, DP as well. After that 2nd trip, we knew we would like to go regularly (like twice a year) and since we were a family of 5, we always needed to do a moderate or deluxe (no values had rooms for 5 back then). It would be pricey to do POR twice a year and we thought how nice it would be to have a 1BR villa (with W/D and separate room for us parents...not to mention that jetted tub). Shortly after that 2nd trip I came into a small inheritance and it was a no-brainer to buy DVC. SSR was selling new at around $95-100pp, so we bought OKW via resale for $76pp...closed in June 2006 and booked BWV for September that year.