Profile of a DVCer ...

[Kayceegee]

When DH and I married in 1995 I suggested we go to WDW for our honeymoon. He turned pale, but since he loved me he said OK (he had been once before, middle of July, stayed off site and HATED it--I would have too!). We stayed at the Yacht Club and he loved it. Went again in 1997 and bought BWV then.

DH is 49 and I am 50. We are both nurses; he works in Home Health and I in a hospital in Surgery. DH has grown children from a prior marriage and we love taking the grand kids to Disney, but we love going by ourselves, too.

Like most everyone, we have fairly stressful jobs and vacations are a priority for us. We will do without some things, but never will do without vacations. DVC works perfectly for us.

I feel proud to be among such good neighbors.

Karen

 

[Boo]

DH and I are avid travelers which is why DVC appealed so much to us. We liked the idea of traveling to many different places and WDW once in awhile. DH and I met while we were studying abroad in Rome senior college year and we've been traveling together every since. We love Morocco at Epcot Center because we spent 1 week backpacking through it. We are the type that would rather spend our extra money on vacations than bigger tv's, cars etc.

We bought a few years ago, we both just turned 31. We have a 2yr old DD, and a 1 MONTH old little boy. We've already taken DD to WDW this past Feb. and looking forward to another family pilgrimage to the mouse in 2004.

DH is a grill buyer for a corporate hardware store. I'm a stay at home mom that works part time from home for a dsl company. We live in the Chicago burbs and try to take advantage of the great culture, restaurants, and overall atmosphere in the best US City!!!

Our parents thought we were foolish buying into a "timeshare deal". Since we've taken them to Hawaii and Concierge exchanges, they've changed their tune and have graciously offered to take the kids to WDW

 

[Granny]

Kayceegee (Karen)....thanks for taking the plunge and making your first DIS post. Please don't make it your last!

You summed up nicely what makes DVC such a great investment...vacations are very important. It took me too many years to realize how important they are for the family, and for my own health and energy levels.

 

[nezy]

DH-38-FDNY for 17yrs.-Irish Catholic, Conservative
Me-36-teacher-at home w/ 3kids7,6, &4-Irish Catholic, Conservative, college-educated(MS in reading). For us family is VERY important. We like to travel and we do not have a lot of things. All I want for Christmas are more points!!

As a child we never took vacations. Dad had at least 2 or 3 jobs at a time. We lived in a beach community so vacation was going to the beach. No complaints from me. However, going to the beach in Jan. or Feb. living in NY requires some travel.

Dh & I have always felt that winter trip was a great way to rujuvinate. We are by no means rich-DH, 38, is a fireman FDNY and I am a teacher currently home w/ the kids doing odd-jobs to help pay for our trips "HOME" to the World.

I agree it is sometimes awkward to tell people we go to Disney every year, but it is definately more affordable and worthwhile than trying to scramble for a " bargain vacation" and try to do everything in one shot.

It seems for all of us no matter the demographics, family, vacation, and Disney are important!

 

[Tootsietoo]

We have been traveling to WDW with our children almost every year since 1978. We joined the DVC in 2001. When choosing between material things (such as a bigger house, a new kitchen, etc.) or creating beautiful memories, we always choose the memories. I realize that going to WDW every year wasn't exactly cheap, but my kids will remember those trips forever, not the new carpeting!

My husband is a retired school administrator, presently doing consulting; and I am a teacher. We are both in our mid-fifties. Up until now, there was no way we could afford DVC. I was a stay-at-home mom until my youngest entered first grade, and since 1991 have been putting our three children through very expensive private colleges (Go Irish!). My youngest just graduated. Perhaps if Disney had started selling DVC in the 80's, financing would have been an option for us. We spent a few thousand a year on Disney anyway; but when college tuition time rolled around, it was just not possible.

The main reason that I bought into DVC was to guarantee that my grandchildren will have those same wonderful memories as my children. My first grandbaby's trip to WDW will be this Christmas, and I can't wait!

This thread has been very interesting. Thank you!

 

[ncligs]

Wondered if any new DVC'ers would like to add to this thread.....

 

[jasmine206]

We are currently a family of 4 - me 34, DH 29, DDs 6 and 4 - trying to decide if there will be any other additions! DH is a firefighter for our city and I am an ER nurse practitioner who currently sells pharmaceuticals. Fireman and nurses don't have great hours, and I wanted to be home every night to eat with my kids! We bought into DVC at OKW last year and did it so that we could continue to afford to go to our favorite vacation spot affordably in the years to come. We've only stayed at OKW as DVCers, but we are going to VWL next month and can't wait. We are all equally fanactical about Disney! We are middle middle class, although DH drives the monster truck (I mean the Expedition); only affordable because I drive a company car. We don't go to movies or eat out a lot, occasional take-out and pizza is pretty much it. Love love love DVC!!

 

[zurgswife]

We are a family of 6. My SIL owned BWV before we purchased. DH did the finacial thing and said it wasn't worth it...We went down for a surprise visit for his 40th bday....by the time we left we had purchase BWV.....What a great present!!!!

My DH is a VP for a local Bank and I run my own cleaning business we have 4 kids in a church school....but WDW is the only real vacation we take every year.....and we love every trip.

And being a family of six it is a great deal....

 

[tigger1bounce]

I am a single mother of two DD 13 and 12. We (joint decision between all of us) to buy in 1999 at BWV. I have loved every minute of it! And like almost everyone else, people think I'm crazy for buying into something so "extravagant". I am a general manager for a fast food restaurant. What a very diverse group we DVC'ers are

 

[WDWLVR]

Great thread...thanks Nick & Cindy for bumping it up again as I missed it the first time around.

My DH (MarkRG) and I are DINKS (duel income no kids) that are living a happy middle class lifestyle. We own a small ranch home in a northern suburb of Chicago and I would say travel is the one thing we treat ourselves to most. I'm 45 and work as a middle manager in a direct mail firm, he's 35 and works as a service tech in the dry cleaning field.

We bought in early 2000 with some money we inherited from my mom's passing. Before that time it wasn't financially sound for us to buy even though we loved Disney and tried to go every other year.

Growing up I never went on vacation because the money wasn't there and I grew up in a single family home. I remember the tears in my mom's eyes on our first trip to Walt Disney World (when I was 19) because she thought she would never make it there or Disneyland. We had many wonderful trips together.

My DH grew up in a family that vacationed every year, but like most of his generation it was during times when school was out like Easter vacation. That was his taste of Disney - long lines everywhere.

When I suggested WDW for our honeymoon in 1990 he was cautious but agreeable. Since it was October the lines were short, the temps were wonderful, and we were staying at the Grand Floridian...he was hooked!

Buying into DVC has been one of the absolute best things we have ever done. We have stayed at Boardwalk (our home) during the holiday season. We've taken a 7 day cruise on the Magic. We even gave his parents 5 nights at Vero Beach! In less than a month we go back home to Boardwalk for a week long stay in a 2 Bedroom with his parents. Next February we are going on the SS Member Cruise and hope to meet many of you there.

Thanks for sharing all your stories - hope you enjoyed mine as well. Hi neighbors!

 

[jskrup]

Hey,

I am married with 3 children. I am a Disney fanatic, although my wife is not as much of a fanatic as I am she loves Disney as well.
My children dd-6, ds-4, dd-1 are starting to take after dear pld dad in becoming Disney fanatics. We have been back to Disney World 2 times( oct '99, june '02) since our oldest was born. We became DVC members in fall '01 with home resort of Hilton Head and we are planning our first trip to Hilton Head in July '03.

Disney is one of the places in the world where you can escape the outside world and go back in time to a place where people are courteous and friendly. Disney has really remained the same in as much as it provides families with a place to vacation and have fun together as a family.

The DVC is such a wonderful way to make sure you can vacation every year together.

 

[hpygrll]

This is a fun thread!!!

I am 32, DH is 33 and we have an 8 month old little boy who is not going to go with us on our next trip in 13 days!!!! He is going to stay with his very happy grandparents!!! I am in retail management, DH is currently a stay at home dad. We are definitley lower middle class but are Disney fanatics. We own a Honda Accord (1997) and are leasing a Pontiac Montana(2002). We are very good with our money so have no debt (just mortgage, DVC and home equity_ sure no debt! HAHA)

I used to be in management with the Disney Stores so we bought into OKW in 2000 with a very nice discount - otherwise we probably couldn't do it. WDW is a priority for us and we also love Vero Beach - we take turns every other year. Someday we want to add more points. This year we will be at a 1 Bedroom villa at VWL and BCV - can't wait. It's been great getting to know all of you!!! - Jenny

 

[ncligs]

Jenny(hpygrll),

Its always nice to see another "buckeye" DVC'er.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Hi everyone,

DH is 33 and I am 31 with 2 dds 10 and 5. I am a mainframe security administrator (computers) working on my MBA and DH is an RN for an air ambulance service and will receive his master's in nursing as a nurse practioner this December. Have talked about relocating at that time, but we both agree that it would have to be further east to be closer to Disney! We are definately middle class and live comfortably in a suburb of Kansas City, MO. We joined DVC when we visited HH in 2000 and decided we would like to return every year. Several addons later we also also own at OKW and BCV. Decided we needed to go to HH and WDW every year! We have really enjoyed reading about all of our fellow DVCers and hope to meet some of you at Disney some day!

 

[SheriB]

We are a family of 4 : myself 36, DH40, DD15, DS11. My DH is an inside salesman for a large industrial valve company(BS in business). I am a bookkeeper (AS in business)with a credit union for a local refinery. We are basically middle middle-class. Being from South Jersey, my childhood vacations consisted solely of a week at Ocean City, NJ every summer of my life. I absolutely love the shore, and will continue to vacation there. My husband, on the other hand, is the youngest of 7, and the only vacations he ever had was an annual week in the Pennsylvania mountains with his father, brother, uncles and close family friends to go deer hunting (let the record show that I despise hunting of any kind-but it's part of his heritage).

Both my DH and I had never been to WDW until our High School senior trips. My family never went because my dad (who worked 3 jobs when I was a kid to make ends meet)always told us we couldn't afford it (what's funny about this is that my parents, who are comfortably well-off now, have been to WDW 3 times themselves since their 3 kids grew up and moved out-my dad jokes and says it's alot cheaper to take 2 people than 5.LOL)

We took our 2 kids to WDW Apr. 2001 (stayed offsite). Had the best time of our lives (even though we did all of Orlando commando style in 10 days). This year my son came to me with a large post-card type advertisement for Disney moderate resorts and said, "Mom, is this a good price? Do you think we could go again this year?" I told him to go ask his father. We discussed it for about 5 minutes and said, "Why not?" Best spontaneous decision we ever made.

Now, we had never heard of DVC until we stayed at CBR in July and saw the little promo booths around the world. We kept saying all week, "We have to go check that out." We finally did when we were at the Boardwalk our last day, just killing time till we had to catch our plane home. We took the tour and knew it was something we wanted to do. But we didn't buy right then and there. We came home, looked over our finances, I thankfully found this board, tossed around the idea of a resale, but ultimately decided to purchase BCV through Disney. We are waiting to finalize everything.

We know that we could never possibly get bored at WDW, nor will our kids. Now we are guaranteed to plan on coming every year or other year at least. We are coming home for the first time next June, and, get this, we're taking my parents with us(the ones who couldn't afford to take their kids! LOL)! We're also looking forward to the years when it can be just the two of us (we joke and say that we're going to retire and work in the world-my DH even said he'd be a street cleaner on Main Street, cause even the trash is clean in WDW!)

I've really enjoyed this thread, and reading about everyone, and hope to meet some of our new neighbors real soon!

Sheri

 

[SCDizneyDawn]

Hi everyone!

We have a very strange demographic! I am a traveling ultrasound tech and 35 yrs old, my husband also travels with me and sometimes gets part time jobs and is 39 yrs old. Right now we are in Port Huron, Mi. Our home is Charleston, SC. I have been a Disney fan my entire life, but became more of an addict after we were married. We bought our DVC membership in Oct 2000 just before the BWV sold out. Then we added on at the BCV in Feb ( my valentine's day present! )
I try to go to Disney as offten as possible , which normally ends up being 2-3 times a yr.
We also are planning to attend DIS Con II this yr so I can meet some of my fellow Disney addics! Hope to meet some of you then!

 

[daisy2000]

I love reading all of your posts... its interesting to see the diversity of DVC members. We are new DVC members and are also in the middle, far from wealthy, and have had our share of financial ups and downs during our 19-year marriage. DH is a self-employed contractor & I work 2 part time jobs doing DH's books and working for an HMO, and I'm a full time mom (DS is 14, DD is 12) We all love Disney but I'm the biggest Disney nut in the house! We love to travel, love WDW, DCL and weekend trips around the Northeast, where we live.

Like most people, we can't have it all, so we own a much smaller house than most of our friends w/ comparable incomes. It is a sacrifice of space & so-called "status" but it allows us to send our kids to parochial school and to live a really fun lifestyle that includes DVC and lots of fun weekend trips throughout the year! I know some people think we're crazy, but a big house is not our priority. Enjoying life and eachother is our priority and we feel very lucky to be able to give our kids some great experiences while making wonderful memories. In the end, it won't matter *where* we lived, but *how* we lived (I know its corny--but true!)

 

[zillow]

Middle class here in central Mass. I'm 34 and now a stay-at-home mom with 2 children (girl 3, boy 4 months). Previously I collected unemployable degrees (BA English, MA German Literature, MLIS Library and Information Science). DH, also 34, works in finance. We purchased our points while on a getaway weekend trip at the Grand Floridian in 2000. I used to go to Disney every year as a child and it's always been very special to me so I wanted to pass that on to my children as well.
It's nice to 'meet' everyone.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'm a nurse, work in a hospital on a medical floor, which is the one place that most nurses DON'T want to work.DH is a realtor. We have no kids. We bought at OKW in 1997, love it. We go to WDW at least 2x/year, usually one long 8-10 day trip and one shorter 4-6 day trip. We're pretty normal middle class types. We're thinking of buying more ponits...currently we have 200. We'll be going in October 2002, and staying at BCV, which we will look closely at to see if that's where we want to buy more points, or if we want to do a resale. We've been slowly, over the last 8 years, renovating ou house, which is a 3 bedroom cape in a nice town in CT. Like I said, we're pretty normal.

 

[RAMWDWFAN]

Hey guys!

I'm a 42 year old Disney nut who also happens to be an attorney specializing in employment discrimination. Disney is my escape from reality, especially during those times when clients and judges are getting on my nerves. I try to get to WDW every three months now to get recharged. Then I can do a better job for everyone.