Convincing a Spouse

[jpolak]

We rented points and stayed at Beach Club. I knew that once DW stayed in that room, there would be no going back to a regular room. Needless to say we have been members ever since.

 

[hsteacher]

I also have a DH who traveled lots with his family when he was younger and my family just never had the money so I LOVE to vacation. He would much rather stay home and relax at home. Convincing him was key as I agree with the previous poster, I wouldn't do this without his input and both of us agreeing. It wasn't easy to say the least. He just didn't see the value and considered it money in Disney's pocket early (which it is) and out of ours (which it is). It took me from the very first time we toured OKW way back (so over 20 years maybe???) and the true math of all our vacations with Disney to show him we really should have done this earlier. As our kids have gotten older, 2 bathrooms is really nice. Can we function in a studio, sure but since we only vacation 1 or 2 times a year, I want to really vacation and have the luxury without stepping all over each other. Also, every time we've been on the cruise or at the World, our kids friends are there and many times they stay with us (not necessarily overnight) and it's great to have the extra room. They love being at the Boardwalk area with friends and find lots to do without going to the parks all the time. My DH -- he still waivers back and forth on the good and bad about our cash outlay on this BUT when we had our first "home" vacation, he certainly loved all the little perks, the feeling of being waited on and the larger room with the kids.

 

[arthur06]

I would NEVER make a purchase like this without her consent. Sometimes on here I like to think outloud! I know she has some valid reasons to not want to join, and I have valid reasons to join. There are other things that we need/want. But from my persprctive, I look at it like my wife and kids are the most important people in my life. We have a nice home, could use bigger with our newest son, but that will happen in time. We have nice, dependable vehicles. We have $0 in credit card debt. We are both in our 20's, although, I barely am!

(little cloud dream) (que silly music) When I was growing up, I had ONE birthday party that I was allowed to invite friends. just one, and it had to substitute for a gift. Meaning, I did not get a birthday present becuase we spent money on a party. I was in about 6th or 7th grade. And we went to a local arcade and 6 friends were each give 50 tokens or so. Since I was the birthday boy, I got double! I don't regret forgoing a birthday present because the party was the gift. If you asked me what I got for my 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, ect... birtday gifts, I couldn't tell you! But I do remember that!

My kids will grow up more privliged then I ever dreamed of being. But I truly beleive that its the things you do, not the things you have that you carry with you in life.

 

[jeanninepl]

It was my DH's idea to take the tour in 2006 when we were there staying at the CR - I had been to Disney many times and he had only been there once but our kids LOVED it. Neither one of us liked SSR so while DVC was appealing, we didn't love any resort enough to spend the $$$. However, I secretly hoped we would buy DVC because I LOVE LOVE Disney.

Fast forward to July 2008. We stayed at the GF with a perfect view of BLT construction. We missed staying at the Contemporary that trip (even though we liked GF). We also took the buses back from the Boardwalk one day and knew how much we loved the monorail.

So, this Chrsitmas there was 225 pts to BLT under the Chrsitmas tree from my DH. We get our favorite CR and the monorail!!!!

 

[taurus8012]

My wife was dead set against it .I said O.K did the pouty( )This is the only thing I ever wanted routine and later gave her a Kiss for listening.(True Story) . So I planned our Disney trip (we was going that year ) I rented points from a DVC member for 5 nights. The 1st night we stayed at one of the All-Stars before moving over to Animal Kingdom. Well for my wife it felt like a typical trip until we got to AKV then her Jaw dropped. I had numbers on hand , the look on the Kids faces but I had to let her make the suggestion so to speak. I just said to her two days after we checked in there "Boy the kids really seam to like this Resort huh ?" I tell you 10 min. later she started with the "what if " questions and that was all she wrote .............LOL Bottom line I know that my Wife is my best friend and she wants me to happy. Reading your thread your wife seams to love you just the same maybe we need to put her in a position to suggest what you are already suggesting LOL once she see the look on not only your face but the kids as well...... she might have a change of heart

 

[arthur06]

LOL Bottom line I know that my Wife is my best friend and she wants me to happy. Reading your thread your wife seams to love you just the same maybe we need to put her in a position to suggest what you are already suggesting LOL once she see the look on not only your face but the kids as well...... she might have a change of heart

My wife is my best friend! She tells me a lot that she doesn't like to hear about my time growing up, because it makes her sad that I was raised how I was. She said that it makes her feel bad about being raised in privlidge. To me, I was raised how my family could afford, and I didn't know another way. She always tells me that she wants to spoil me! But when I ask for something, she says, why can't you want something cheaper! She bought our Envoy one day when I was at work and traded in our Jeep? I just want her, my boys, and myself to be a close family! I want our memories. Heck, today, I offered to get rid of my Sirius radio 12.95 per month and our internet and home phone (we have cells) 94.00 per month.

 

[taurus8012]

You will be fine ...lol my wife is the same way . Thats too funny because I tell her she grew up like the Huckstables from Cosby and I grew up like the Evans from Goodtimes different but both families was happy. Family is the most important thing to me and Disney is by far the safest family trip that there is. She will fuss a little bit about the initial cost but she knew that my only vice is Disney......The only thing you will need is time she will come around

 

[arthur06]

I never thought that this thread would generate over 1000 views! WOW! I got another e-mail from my guide this afternoon, but I hate to break bad news to him. Maybe I will just wait until the 28th to see the new incentives. I cruise would be nice though.

 

[flechette]

My hubby wasn't immediately sold on it either. My method went something along the lines of:

Me : "Love, could you name me one big dollar item I've wanted and bought?"

he literally left the room to think about it and couldn't come up with anything. My SUV- he decided on the model and color, he decided on the house over several of my objections, etc .....

Me: " ok then, I want the DVC."

Hubby: "So I can say yes now and everything be fine, or I can say no - we'll argue for 6 months and then eventually I'll cave it - is that about right?"

Me "You do understand!" he got hugs and kisses

I then researched, found out about resale, dragged him to OKW which seemed like our best fit. We were walking around the dock and Jimmy Buffett started to play and he was hooked We later had an opportunity to stay at Hilton Head Island and loved it.

It helps that we both like to have space and the past non DVC trips we've taken we have both missed having a living room for one person to go hide in while someone else slept in

Eventually it did come out that he was worried about only going to Disney for the vacations and I sat him down with the II options and said - where else do you what to go?

Good Luck!

 

[janni518]

How did everybody convince a spouse that wasn't sure if buying DVC was the right thing to do? Stories of things that worked and things that didn't.

I just kept making the info available and hoping he'd come around. Only took 8 years.

 

[MickeyStalkers]

Took her to Disney, planned special times for us and had a wonderful relaxing time doing all the things she likes. BINGO...."where do we buy"

 

[Vickis3js]

Well I had talked to DH about it before we left for our first trip as a family staying in Disney. He was dead set against it. Before we left though we thought it would be a one time thing. Well we decided the day we got there that every year we would spend Christmas in Disney. So then he brought it up during conversation at our first diner in WDW and the next day we stopped to look at one of the kiosks by test track while waiting for our fast passes to be good. He made the appointment and we walked to the ride and he told me NO WE ARE NOT buying, atleast not while we are here. Next day we went he looked at the numbers thought about how much we hated Pop, we are a family of 5 and our choices were kind of limited and he wanted space and liked the idea of 2 bathrooms and none of the family suites were available once we learned more about them and he couldn't see spending the money for a deluxe. So our guide walked about to give us time to talk and I looked at him and said well is it something you want to talk more about when we get home of just no now and he said Nope it makes sense tell her we are ready to sign. So he went from a firm no to a definate yes. We are so excited to be spending our first Christmas this year "home" For us it just made sense!

 

[disneychic]

Actually my DH convinced ME! In Oct. 2000 - our honeymoon, we were staying at the GF on the "Grand Plan"--- grand $$$ plan! This was only my second trip to WDW (first time staying on property) and my DH's 1st trip. I was loving every second of our WDW stay. Anyway, we were waiting to eat lunch at the GF Cafe, and the DVC desk is right there. I went in to use the ladies room & when I came out my DH was sitting there at the DVC desk talking with the CM. All I heard was, your tour is scheduled for tomorrow.... We left to go have lunch and my DH said he wanted to find out more about DVC. I told him that my bestfriends parents were members, had been from the beginning but I didn't know really anything about it. All I knew is that they vacationed at Disney A LOT! So, we went on our tour and met the greatest DVC guide ever, he explained everything to us, and I was really interested. Our guide had to check back with an other apointment, so my DH and I went to grab something to eat on the Boardwalk and said we'd go back right after lunch. When we left I said to my DH, "Sounds interesting, but we're not joining are we?" and to my surprise he said "Yes, we are!" I couldn't believe it! He went on to say that he knew I'd want to go back to WDW, and that this would be the best way to ensure that we'd have a WDW vacation every year. I'm so glad he thought of it that way! We went back and met with the DVC guide after lunch and joined. Since then we've added on points 3 more times!

 

[arthur06]

I just kept making the info available and hoping he'd come around. Only took 8 years.

I really don't hope that it takes 8 years for us! My boys are little and don't want to miss all these good years where they are amazed!

 

[crisi]

I really don't hope that it takes 8 years for us! My boys are little and don't want to miss all these good years where they are amazed!

Here are some sincere questions:

1) Why DVC and not an onsite or offsite hotel - you imply your kids would "miss" Disney without DVC, but there are other options - some appropriate for a family of five for much cheaper than a DVC one bedroom.

2) What other travel/opportunities will your kids "miss" in not missing Disney? Perhaps my biggest DVC regret is that we've been far more tied to Disney than I anticipated - and I haven't made the trips with my kids I'd hoped to make to other places. When I chose to "give up" a trip last year due to feeling broke, it wasn't the "paid for accomodations" of the DVC trip that went - it was the trip to Washington DC. So my kids went to Disney AGAIN and they haven't yet been to DC. That wasn't a decision I was wholly comfortable with, it was the decision we were forced into by owning a timeshare. (I'm hoping for DC this summer).

DVC is great in terms of forcing you to take vacations - unfortunately, it really encourages those vacations to be at WDW. WDW is a very cool place, there are a lot of other really cool places we aren't seeing when we are at WDW.

 

[arthur06]

Here are some sincere questions:

1) Why DVC and not an onsite or offsite hotel - you imply your kids would "miss" Disney without DVC, but there are other options - some appropriate for a family of five for much cheaper than a DVC one bedroom.

2) What other travel/opportunities will your kids "miss" in not missing Disney? Perhaps my biggest DVC regret is that we've been far more tied to Disney than I anticipated - and I haven't made the trips with my kids I'd hoped to make to other places. When I chose to "give up" a trip last year due to feeling broke, it wasn't the "paid for accomodations" of the DVC trip that went - it was the trip to Washington DC. So my kids went to Disney AGAIN and they haven't yet been to DC. That wasn't a decision I was wholly comfortable with, it was the decision we were forced into by owning a timeshare. (I'm hoping for DC this summer).

DVC is great in terms of forcing you to take vacations - unfortunately, it really encourages those vacations to be at WDW. WDW is a very cool place, there are a lot of other really cool places we aren't seeing when we are at WDW.

Let me answer your questions:

First, Why DVC??? I am a huge Disney fan! I am totally in awwww of AKL. We live in North Iowa and the opportunity to have a savanna view room is totally unique. The "feel" of Disney is just special to me! That consistent, "we do this as a family" feeling. I know there are cheaper alternatives, but you also pay for what you get. I believe in Disney, trust Disney, and believe in there long term future. The money issue isn't really the hang up for us!

Right now there is the 100 point new member buy-in at AKL, that is all I want (for now). That gives us a few options for a yearly, bi-annual, and tri-annual trips, depending on our accommodations. I really like the point values travel options. Also, a Disney timeshare seems like more of an investment then other timeshares. How many people bought OKW when it opened? What did they pay then, what can they sell it for now? I see many timeshares where the seller will sell for $1.

Second, I don't worry about missing out on other vacations if we buy DVC. We have been to Orlando 6 times since 2001 (mixing on and off property), Disneyland once, Boston and Cape Cod, Washington DC (which is really enjoyable), Black Hills, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Chicago (several times), Kansas City and Minneapolis (several times). I guess my vision for family vacations is a mix of relaxing, education, and fun! I guess (for now) I want a starter batch of points that if one year I don't want to do Disney, I just bank them.

I would also love AKL, for my in-laws. My in-laws do a lot for us! My DFIL is not much of a traveler and ride goer, but having a savanna view would be so cool for him. I know he will want to be there when the grand kids are at Disney, but he would be content going to MK one day and spending the next 3,4,5 days sitting on the balcony with a Busch Light watching the animals!

 

[kristenrice]

My DH is very "anti-Disney", which is my fault. I love Disney so much and he has been inundated with it since we met. He had never been to WDW and when we got married, we had a Disney-themed wedding and a honeymoon at the WL!

We took the DVC tour in 2001 with my parents. He had not been "desensitized" yet so he was not completely against it. We decided (rightfully so) that we were not in a position to purchase. We were planning a wedding and buying a house so financing a timeshare was not a good idea.

Fast forward to 2008. Sadly, DH lost his mother to cancer in 2007 and his father to a stroke in 2008. We were left with a moderate inheritance. DH and DBiL decided to take an elk hunt out west which cost almost $10K! I asked (politely) if we could use part of the inheritance to buy a small DVC resale. I used the argument that his parents would be pleased that we wanted to commit to family vacations for the next 50 years. He had always said that the elk hunt was a "tribute to Dad" so I pointed out that the DVC could be a "lasting legacy" that we can pass on from his parents to our children. He still was not entirely convinced.

I eventually had to point out that he takes at least one, if not two, hunting trips every year. This leaves me behind with the children. I told him that even if HE doesn't want to go to Disney, I do, and I know the kids do too. I pointed out that he can take his annual hunting trips and I can take the girls to WDW while he is hunting. When the girls get older, they can take a hunting trip with dad AND a Disney trip in the summer with mom. He softened a little. I also told him that I do not expect that he wants to go on every trip with us. I would rather he stay home if he is not going to enjoy it.

What sealed the deal is when I bought him a Rolex with my casino winnings. I did not have enough to cover the entire DVC contract, so I bought him the Rolex that he'd been drooling over and gave it to him for Father's Day. By the end of that week, we had an offer going to Disney for ROFR! He still thinks of the DVC contract as "mine" and not "ours", even though his name is on the deed and he has a membership card.

Now that we are owners, my plan is to take an early June trip followed by a Spring Break trip and then a year off. DH is expected to do the Spring Break trips because that will be only once every 3 years. If he wants to come in June, he can, but I wouldn't be upset if he decided to stay home. We can generally afford to fly in June, but NOT over Easter! That's why he must come along when we drive.

We are leaving in 2 months (OK, 71 days and 15 hours, but who's counting) for his first stay at AKV. We are staying in a value 1BR for four nights in June. I was able to book the Sunset Safari on a whim and I have not told him about it. I am saving it as a surprise for our last night there and it will be our (early) anniversary present. If the rest of the stay does not WOW him, I am hoping that the safari and dinner will. (FWIW, I am paying for it with MY longevity bonus from work. We have always had the agreement that the longevity bonuses are ours to do with what we please, no questions asked.)

My only "advice" is not to pressure your spouse (like I did) Also, be open to each other's likes and dislikes. As much as I love my DH, I do not love to be around him when he is grumpy...and vice versa! He knows that I would be MISERABLE if he dragged me along on a hunting trip to make it a "family vacation". I do not plan on "dragging" him to Disney. I will not be upset if he decided not to come along. I would look at it as he is getting his solitude at home and I am off in my "happy place". We are two of a kind, but we have very different ideas of what is "relaxing". For me, it is sitting in the sunshine on my balcony, gazing at a kudu through my binoculars. For him, it is sitting in a tree stand, covered in snow, gazing at a 10-pointer through a rifle scope.

Good Luck! And remember, Disney World is not going anywhere. If you need to wait a year (or SEVEN!) then that's OK. Just make sure you are comfortable with your decision.