Any regrets for doing DVC?

[chalee94]

I noticed the dvd mentions that the DVC is about what you would usually pay for 7 trips. Is this how you look at it, and did it help you decide to go for it and join?

depends on how you do the math. whether you normally stay in a deluxe room...whether you stay on weekends or not...

definitely look at a few of the pt charts and estimate the way you typically vacation to see if the numbers at least look reasonable.

 

[evaready51]

Hi,
I'm new and just received my dvd on the DVC. Is there any of you that purchased the DVC and regret ever doing it? and why?.

Thanks so much!!!

Onjly regret we should have done it sooner!!!!

 

[lovinthemouse]

We have had absolutely no regrets at all. Well that we did not purchase sooner. We visit WDW at least 1 maybe 2 times a year and this allowed us better accomodations. We can only tell you how it works for us. You know your finances and travel habits. Just make sure you can financially afford the other things that go along with it...(food, souveniers, travel expenses and annual dues). But it has been great for our family. Good Luck!!!!!

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

I don't necessarily regret buying in, but I wish I'd done more legwork before we did. We took a trip with the kids, stayed at Boardwalk, learned about DVC from a guy at the pool, came home, and bought a large contract at SSR. I didn't know about the DIS or the resale market and admittedly didn't do much research.

If I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know now, I would have shopped around and bought a few smaller contracts via the resale market for the 11 month booking advantage. I don't necessarily have a problem with SSR, but there are other places we would like to stay, and we have encountered some difficulty getting in.

I also have a distinct longing to stay at the Monorail resorts, but feel like that avenue is closed to us because we've chosen to spend our Disney money in another way. I know that whatever is going on at the Contemporary may help, but who knows what sort of availability issues they'll have there.

And my last issue is this...no flames please...after our last trip, I am worried that going to Disney every year, sometimes twice a year, is taking the magic out of it. My kids were so blase' about it all, and I found myself feeling sort of "been there, done that" as well. It sounds blasphemous coming out of my mouth, because I LOVE Disney. Now I'm worried that too much of it is making it less special.

So...regret is a strong word. No, I don't regret having done it. But I have my worries.

 

[ldbrown318]

My only "regret" is not having done it back in 1998 when we first looked into it. Where did I put that time machine............

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I also have a distinct longing to stay at the Monorail resorts, but feel like that avenue is closed to us because we've chosen to spend our Disney money in another way. I know that whatever is going on at the Contemporary may help, but who knows what sort of availability issues they'll have there.

I agree. We are looking forward to being able to stay at the Contemporary again, and kind of miss POR as well.

And my last issue is this...no flames please...after our last trip, I am worried that going to Disney every year, sometimes twice a year, is taking the magic out of it. My kids were so blase' about it all, and I found myself feeling sort of "been there, done that" as well. It sounds blasphemous coming out of my mouth, because I LOVE Disney. Now I'm worried that too much of it is making it less special.

I kind of felt that way after visiting with my sisters. However, on the next trip, we changed modes from park commando to a more relaxed pace, and voila the magic returned.

So...regret is a strong word. No, I don't regret having done it. But I have my worries.

I also agree that for me "regret" is a strong word. I would say there are a few small pitfalls that make the program less than perfect, i.e., staying at non-dvc resorts, spur of the moment trips, not a lot of viable non-Disney options. My only worries are kind of long term pie in the sky stuff, like what if our transportation system collapses, gas goes to $15/gallon, or Disney is sold to some other conglomerate, who wants to sell the land or some other awful thing. I think corporate takeover is probably the most viable of any of those long-term worries. I mean what if we find ourselves with a real estate interest in some rat hole like Six Flags?

Overall, we are totally and completely happy with DVC. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

And my last issue is this...no flames please...after our last trip, I am worried that going to Disney every year, sometimes twice a year, is taking the magic out of it. My kids were so blase' about it all, and I found myself feeling sort of "been there, done that" as well. It sounds blasphemous coming out of my mouth, because I LOVE Disney. Now I'm worried that too much of it is making it less special.

I felt a little of what your expressing, then we took a trip to the Vero Resort and stayed by the beach. I only live a few hours away but it's far enough away and it wasn't theme park oriented, a lot more relaxing. I've also made 2attempts at Hilton Head but my schedule was not flexible, as soon as I get the school calendar I'll hopefully make it happen. I don't want to get burned out on Disney, so I thought mixing it up a bit would be great. We've even gone up in August and not done the theme parks, other than maybe a water park and the kids loved it. Have you been to the other resorts outside of Disney?

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I felt a little of what your expressing, then we took a trip to the Vero Resort and stayed by the beach. I only live a few hours away but it's far enough away and it wasn't theme park oriented, a lot more relaxing. I've also made 2attempts at Hilton Head but my schedule was not flexible, as soon as I get the school calendar I'll hopefully make it happen. I don't want to get burned out on Disney, so I thought mixing it up a bit would be great. We've even gone up in August and not done the theme parks, other than maybe a water park and the kids loved it. Have you been to the other resorts outside of Disney?

I was actually quoting Dallasdisneymommy. I had a little bit of that burnout feeling, but got over it. I think that for some of us its hard to get out of the commando mode. In our case, that is when we stopped to smell the roses, and it was wonderful. We skipped AK on our last short trip. No biggie. We'll catch it next time. That is when it hits you. Wow! DVC is even better than I thought!

 

[lin7]

I'm 50-50 on it. I love being "part" of Disney and having a great place to stay when we're there.....however, I really don't like the pressure of not being able to get ressies when you want them and having to be put on the waitlist.

I understand nothing is guarenteed, but it is a little frustrating for everything to fill up fast (mostly for seasonal times) and then your plans have to just hang until or IF your waitlist comes through. Especially if you need to get flights and you watch the good deals come and go!

I totally agree with you, though I don't regret my purchase, I just wish I knew how hard it is to get reservation if you don't make it 11 months or 7 months ahead. I wish I knew when I bought, how far advance you have to secure your reservation. We have always book 3 or 4 months ahead when we book with Disney and thought that would be about the same for DVC. I wish my guide had explained to me that DVC wouldn't be such a great idea for us if we book 3 or 4 months ahead. He actually did actually ask us how far advance we book and we told him and he never menition that wasn't enough of a timeframe for DVC booking. He just comment that we had 11 months to book our vacation at our home resort. I know I should have done research before we bought but we actually bought as soon as the presentation was over lol. So there was no time for research lol.

 

[disneycrazed139]

I don't regret it. on the same token, if the situation came around again, I wouldn't buy it again. I don't know if that makes sense. At the time, it was the right decision for me!

 

[bwvBound]

If I had it to do all over again, knowing what I know now, I would have shopped around and bought a few smaller contracts <... edited>

Thanks for that helpful tip!

We made our purchase in three contract chunks. Glad we did!

 

[MDonley]

No regrets at all.
We could have bought a summer cottage where I'd have to do my own upkeep, mow the lawn, winterize, pay insurance & taxes, and look at the same neighbors. AND only be there a couple of weeks a year! With DVC and Disney, changes are much better and more exciting! We taken a curise, sent DS on honeymoon cruise, gone to DLRP, gone to DL, and so much more since joining DVC.

 

[zorro77]

No Regrets;
Without going to Disney i don't think we would have enjoyed our life as much. We travel with a disabled family member and this has made it fun and exciting for the family every year. The memories are something we will always remember. The cost seemed like alot at first but as the years went on it worked out. You are planning months in advance at that gives everyone something to look forward to.

 

[thepowellslovedisney]

No regrets yet but we are very new. I would note though that I have been very surprised at the attitude of some of the CMs at MS. There have been times that I felt like I was putting them out by trying to make a ressie.

 

[tidefan]

I felt a little of what your expressing, then we took a trip to the Vero Resort and stayed by the beach. I only live a few hours away but it's far enough away and it wasn't theme park oriented, a lot more relaxing. I've also made 2attempts at Hilton Head but my schedule was not flexible, as soon as I get the school calendar I'll hopefully make it happen. I don't want to get burned out on Disney, so I thought mixing it up a bit would be great. We've even gone up in August and not done the theme parks, other than maybe a water park and the kids loved it. Have you been to the other resorts outside of Disney?

Also, another good way we found to shake things up was a visit to Disneyland and DCA. We had a blast...

 

[pearlieq]

Well, I guess I'll be a lonely voice, but I'm having regrets. I'm not ready to sell yet, but I find myself at the Timeshare Store checking resale rates more and more often.

My problem is twofold. First, I'm finding that going 2-3 times a year does take a bit of the "magic" away. DH and I are pretty blase about going now and are finding more things to be irritated about than enchanted with. While you do develop a certain "zen" where you don't worry so much about riding everything because you know you'll get there again soon enough, the other side of that coin becomes a "why bother?". Plus, I miss the excitement of pondering which resort we'll stay it and enjoying the different experience each time.

My bigger problem is that I sincerely feel there is a decline in the "product" WDW is selling. I see maintenance and upkeep being neglected, infrequent and insipid expansion and development, and really obnoxious cost-cutting and money-grubbing.

I'm growing weary of endless hard-ticketed parties, inflated prices at mediocre restaurants, ever increasing ticket prices, and reductions in park/entertainment offerings (i.e. reducing Fantasmic showings to 2x/week, closing AC, etc.)

I feel like WDW is becoming more and more generic. They're closing PI to put in new shops and restaurants. I have plenty of shops and restaurants at home that I can visit anytime I want. I sure didn't have an Adventurer's Club. The menus at the restaurants are being consolidated and dumbed-down.

So yeah, I'm starting to regret being tied to the next 45 years to a place that isn't serving me as well as it used to. There are, of course, things I like about my DVC membership and it's nice that I could sell it today for nearly what I paid for it.

But I'm just not an unequivocally happy owner these days.

 

[ACDSNY]

Our only regret is we wish we'd paid more attention to what the UY would mean to us. We started with a FEB UY and we normally travel in the Fall. We added on at AK with the 100 min to start a better UY for us.

I'm glad we started with a small 100 point resale contract and all our add-ons are small. It's making selling a couple 60 point contracts pretty easy.

 

[WALTSAGOD]

I don't regret it. on the same token, if the situation came around again, I wouldn't buy it again. I don't know if that makes sense. At the time, it was the right decision for me!

Please explain.?

 

[byoung]

Our only regret is not discovering it sooner!

My only recommendation is in this very tough economy, make sure you can afford the monthly payment as well as the annual maintenance fees before jumping in.

I agree here

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Our only regret is that we didn't buy more points initially. Within a year we wound up adding on. DVC didn't hurt us financially and it actually made our multiple trips per year much more economical. We were already buying AP's and such before DVC, so that was not a consideration for us, it was part of our vacation budget anyway.