Did anyone buy DVC without staying there first?

[kdepot]

We bought DVC having never stayed in a DVC resort. WE had 4 nights at BC and we walked around AKL once. We bought after 1 year talking about it and looking at resale. We bought from Disney direct because of 25% off at the time because of our DS is a Seasonal CM.

 

[pycees312]

sure did... We live in California and bought DVC shortly after California residents were able to purchase. All i knew was that I wanted it and that it suited our families travel plans for the next 10 years or so.

 

[crisi]

We did.

However, I think its really important that you understand the difference between DVC rooms and CRO rooms - and the services and upkeep. DVC rooms are very nice well maintained timeshares. That will come with some differences (like the location of the DVC rooms at the BCV is not as nice as some of the BC rooms. Or you don't get daily mousekeeping. Or a studio has a pull out couch instead of two queen beds).

 

[kenny]

Add us to the list!

Never stayed at a DVC resort (or even the hotel sides at BW,WL,AK,BC) and had not even taken the tour.

We love Disney and always wanted to buy just never thought we ever actually do it. Then last March (monday was our 1 year DVC anniversary) we decided to take the plunge. Bought SSR sight unseen.

We did research and looked at tons of pics online. In the end we knew we couldn't go wrong with Disney.

Made our first trip home the past Nov and while there we took the tour of BLT. Needless to say we are proud owners there too now!

You could always consider renting pts from an owner next trip if you want to try one out. Saves a lot of money and you will get to see what it would be like.

 

[Inkmahm]

Us, too. We bought BWV first after not having stayed DVC before. We were on the waitlist for VWL and found out we could buy it when we were staying at VWL for the first time. Perfect timing!

 

[mistaroo]

We bought BCV without having stayed at a DVC property on WDW proper. We did stay at Hilton Head and Vero Beach but that was long (5+ years) before we ever considered buying into DVC. I don't know if we have any regrets or not b/c we haven't taken a vacation since we bought our resale a few months ago. We also bought BLT without test driving it first.

I do LOVE the BC and all the deluxes for that matter and won't give up staying in them from time to time. We bought DVC now knowing our young kids will one day be teenagers and the extra space will be nice.

 

[M4travels]

We purchased back in '05 while at DLR; no full-sized model at that time, only a scale version in a plexiglass case. We had never been to WDW but have always enjoyed the timeshare lifestyle and thought it would be a great way to explore the FL parks. Totally surprised our guide by purchasing that day.

 

[Princess Tink]

Count us in....we were a little crazy, and bought sight unseen and had never taken the tour either! We stayed in Dixie Landing, oops I mean POR and wanted to inquire but never had time. Came home after our 2nd trip to the world and started seraching the internet for information. One of the best decisions we've ever made! Even added on 160 pts at AKV last Feb while on a cruise....again sight unseen! It's always been a dream of DH's to stay at AKV...and now he cane!

 

[disneynutz]

Here is the way that it happens for most people.

Disney creates a perfect picture that makes you want to buy. They pick you up and deliver you to the beautiful, well decorated, friendly preview center, (they don't use the word sales) where they offer you refreshments. You meet with a highly trained Guide, (again they don't use the words, sales person). You view a wonderful movie and discuss the benefits and cost savings of ownership. You tour the models that are beautify decorated and manicured. Now you really want it and will probably buy because you are caught up in the moment. They give you free ice cream.

Here's the reality. You later find out that you don't know as much about the DVC as you thought. You thought that all DVC resorts would look like the models and not show as much wear as they do. You didn't understand how important a home resort and UY is until you can't get the reservations that you want. You don't know anything about the views available at each resort and you assumed that they all had good views. You also didn't know that dealing with MS can be a real pain sometimes.

Later you learn to accept and live with the DVC way of life and don't admit to anyone that you should have taken your time and learned more before you bought.

DVC can be a wonderful way to save money if you are a WDW nut and vacation there every year or so.

Do yourself a favor and stay in a room at the resort that you are interested in and buy where you love to stay.

 

[Nanajo1]

Back in "98 I was planning a family trip for 10 of us. During my research I found out for a little more than I would spend on one trip our family could go every year! The cost of 4 rooms for ten days vs OKW 245 points. Never saw the villas until after I bought. We've never regretted it and have added on to the total of 1505 points!

 

[Ali and boyz]

we did, we live in Scotland so couldn't just so a quick visit to try it out. we did the tour though and bought from there. never regretted it

 

[dolphingirl47]

We had never stayed at DVC or even onsite at WDW, but loved Orlando and I love Disney. After the tour, we had them drop us off at OKW, which seemed to be the most suitable home resort for us and had a walk around. It was love on first sight. A few days later we went back and signed the paperwork. We had our first visit home about 9 months after we signed on the dotted line and could not be happier.

dolphingirl47

 

[DisneyMim]

Yup one of the very first. We bought site unseen in Oct 1991. Not even any pictures either, just artist's renderings. We were ready to buy months before that, but had to wait!! We hardly even thought, just knew it would be what we had been waiting for.

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[Wedgeh]

Absolutely and haven't regretted it at all! Bought AKV points after only staying once at Pop Century 4 years before when DVC was far from a possibility for us.

 

[mom of princessx2]

Never stayed and never toured and had only visited Disney once staying at CSR. However, we loved Disney and DH loves to golf. We think SSR will be our perfect fit for years to come. Couldn't be happier!!

 

[mecllap]

Am in the process of doing that now through resale -- buying "sight unseen", but well-researched (hope nothing goes wrong). Staying at SSR for the first time on an exchange in June, which will be the first time seeing it for real; planning that trip led me into going ahead and making the purchase now, even tho I won't be using the points for another stay there right away.

Stayed in a timeshare unit a few years back, and it pretty much completely changed the way we want to travel. It's very hard to go back to a regular hotel room, once you've stayed in a vacation home that is more like a condo or apartment. I know that DVC rooms tend to be smaller than the timeshares we've been to, but they do have similar advantages. Even a studio has a little more room, limited kitchen set-up, access to a laundry room, balcony, etc. And a one-bedroom has a kitchen, laundry, separate sleeping area, etc. And DVC is on-property.

A couple of the TS's I've stayed in have had their disappointments -- but they've still been better than nice hotels.

If it's financially comfortable for you, and you will be going to Disney at least every 2-3 years (or every year), I doubt that you'd be unhappy buying sight unseen -- there are ways to stay in different resorts; you're not just limited to the one you buy into. Lots of helpful info to read on these boards to help you make the decision.

Similar discussion seems to be happening concurrently on adjacent thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2110873

 

[thepops]

We've stayed on property and off, but never DVC. We took the tour and jumped in.

 

[mecllap]

Similar discussion seems to be happening on adjacent board: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2110876

Well, now that these two threads have been combined it looks odd that I mentioned this -- so please ignore this post.

 

[LisaS]

We bought site unseen but only after doing a lot of research. We were pretty confident that we wanted an Epcot resort (BCV or BWV) after staying at the YC a couple of times. We spent a lot of time looking at the 360-degree room tours of all of the DVC resorts on the public DVC website: www.disneyvacationclub.com, the wonderful photo tours of the DVC resorts on www.tagrel.com and the room photos on www.allearsnet.com. We spent a lot of time here on the DVC boards to learn about the program and to read about the pros and cons of each resort. It's not the same as seeing the rooms in person but we learned what we needed to know to be comfortable with our decision to buy a resale at BWV. We bought a smaller contract than we needed and figured we would add on later once we were sure DVC was a good fit for us. We ended up adding on at VWL after our first stay there. We were already interested based on the room photos but the feeling we got when we stayed there convinced us that that was the place we wanted to add on.

 

[ILuvMulan]

We did not take a tour and have never stayed in a DVC resort, but we knew we wanted to go back almost every year. Without DVC our family of 5 would soon need two rooms. The cost for us in the long run made the difference and our favorite park is Animal Kingdom so we bought AKV. We have our first trip home in 106 days and we can't wait. So far no buyers remorse. We are using developer points at SSR for our first stay, but plan to check out our new "home" while we are there.