Discover the Magic of Membership (step 1): Our Journey to 1152 DVC Points, a Blend of Direct and Resale!

[emchen]

CHAT GPT 4 (after many prompted revisions):
Once upon a time (July 2019) on the island of Oahu, my family and I embarked on a 10-day Hawaiian adventure. At the enchanting Aulani Resort, we took our first step into the world of Disney Vacation Club. With island garden views for $753.98, our one-night stay was filled with the wonder and joy only Disney can offer.

Strolling back from the beach, a door wide open to a DVC villa caught our eye. Intrigued and drawn to the magic of Disney real estate, we explored the villa and were invited to a formal tour.

The charm of Aulani led us to purchase 170 enchanting direct points, but our fairy tale didn't end there! Upon discovering the hidden treasure of the resale market, our master plan took shape. We wisely rescinded the Aulani contract and made a direct purchase of 75 points at the picturesque Disney's Riviera Resort (DRR), a strategic first step into both direct and resale opportunities.

Our DVC journey had only just begun. From our magical stay at Aulani to the "investment in future vacations" in DRR, we continued to explore, blending direct and resale purchases into a grand total of 1152 points and a kingdom of magical memories.

I wanted to share our journey with you all and would love to hear your own experiences and insights into the DVC world. Together, we can continue to uncover the secrets of DVC and make the magic our own!

Our magical stay at Aulani had unlocked a world of possibilities, and the glimpse into the DVC villa had set our dreams in motion. A new chapter awaited, filled with unexpected twists, wise decisions, and more Disney enchantment. What lay ahead? Only (a short) time would tell... Step 2: here!

Full disclosure, ChatGPT 4 edited my writeup in the style of DVC marketing department! I will post my original writeup if there is interest (15 thumbs up)!

Clicking on the banner for each resort in my signature will reveal the step we took towards it. Riviera and Grand Cal is up.

Original human draft:
My Riviera story is the story of how we came to be members of DVC. The year was 2019 and we booked our first visit to Aulani. I booked a hotel room (island garden view) for just one night 6/30-7/1 for my family of 5 just to check it out and get an idea of what all the fuss was about. It was $655.85, $753.98 after taxes and fees. We travelled with my DW's extended family (Brother-in-law family of 4 and SIL family of 3) for 10 days staying in various places mostly in Honolulu/Waikiki. We had an amazing time there and were blown away by the resort. I remember DW and I walking back to our room from the beach and pool and passing by a model DVC 1 or 2 BR Villa, door wide open. DW and I love open houses and she said let's go check it out, it's ok, maybe we'll join DVC now (having done a tour at DL 10 years earlier). We didn't have kids back then and weren't in the position to buy VGC when it was actively being sold (we have had such terrible timing with real-estate). Anyways we checked out the room and afterwards, popped our heads into the adjacent DVC office. They were closing for the day but invited us to a formal tour on our checkout day, offering various incentives (don't remember what exactly). Well, we went on the tour and purchased 150 points at Aulani. What does this have to do with RRV? Well, I debated between Aulani and RRV during that sales presentation but that night, after we checked into the Marriott Vacation Club for a 2-night stay, I discovered the resale market. I dove in and researched DVC intensively, and sketched out a DVC master plan in my head. When we got back to the mainland, I rescinded my Aulani contract and purchased instead 75 points (minimum for "blue card" at that time) at RRV! With those small steps, we started our DVC journey that now rests at 1002 points!

 

[E2ME2]

Once upon a time (July 2019) at the enchanting Aulani Resort, my family and I embarked on a 10-day Hawaiian adventure, stepping into the world of Disney Vacation Club. With island garden views for $753.98, our one-night stay was filled with the wonder and joy only Disney can offer.

Strolling back from the beach, a door wide open to a DVC villa caught our eye. Intrigued and drawn to the magic of Disney real estate, we explored the villa and were invited to a formal tour.

The charm of Aulani led us to purchase 150 enchanting direct points, but our fairy tale didn't end there! Upon discovering the hidden treasure of the resale market, our master plan took shape. We wisely rescinded the Aulani contract and made a direct purchase of 75 points at the picturesque Riviera Resort (RRV), a strategic first step into both direct and resale opportunities.

Our DVC journey had only just begun. From our magical stay at Aulani to the "investment in future vacations" in RRV, we continued to explore, blending direct and resale purchases into a grand total of 1002 points and a kingdom of magical memories.

I wanted to share our journey with you all and would love to hear your own experiences and insights into the DVC world. Together, we can continue to uncover the secrets of DVC and make the magic our own!

Full disclosure, ChatGPT 4 edited my writeup in the style of DVC marketing department! I will post my original writeup if there is interest (15 thumbs up)!

Luv-it!
I hope you garner enough thumbs-ups to post the original.
I am still jealous that you passed that 1000 mark, being at 970 now.
I, likewise, have a good-news story about our DVC journey, and I love sharing it with friends, family, fellow DVCers and Disney enthusiasts. (Actually - I will blather on about DVC to anyone who will listen)
The condensed version for us :
Visited Orlando in October of 2010 scouting for Snow-Bird Retirement options. We were staying in an RV at a campsite near Clermont. We spent the better part of our 10-Day exploratory trip looking at RV Parks, Condos, Rental Properties, and Retirement Communities. (Just as an aside, were we to have gone the retirement community path, we would have gone with "Trilogy" in Clermont). We were struggling with the financials that we discovered and, since we were 10 years from retirement at that time, thought maybe it was too early to invest in something that could encounter many changes before we pulled the parachute-up on our retirement plan. On day 8 of our trip we decided to take a break from the scouting and drove to Disney Springs (might have still been called Downtown Disney at that time)?? While the DW was in World of Disney, I was leaning on a counter at a DVC Kiosk. The rest of the story, from that point, was a magical blur for the next 2 days. A charming and polite redheaded young man convinced my wife that there would be absolutely no pressure at the DVC presentation, and that we did not have to make a purchase decision on-the-spot. That alone set the DVC approach far above the timeshare "tours" we had taken in the past.
After 3 hours with Rafael Massa (I made him take us to every open floor plan available) and a lot of number crunching, we decided to buy on-the-spot!! We bought SSR Direct - 210 Points. We actually completed our first DVC stay in 2012, and didn't know anything about Resale or DisBoards until some time in 2011.
Roll the clock forward to 2023, and we now own 970 Points:
475 at SSR, 230 at BWV, 185 at AKV, 50 at HHI, and 30 at BCV. (275 Direct/695 Resale)
We incrementally increased our trip duration until I retired at the end of 2020.
In 2021 we spent 29 Nights-DVC, 2022- 49 Nights, 2023 - 57 Nights,
and for 2024 we have 63 consecutive Nights booked! (Plus a 7-Night "get away" stay coming up in September).
Probably not the typical DVC usage, as we clamor for studios so as to stretch our points,
but we are Happy Snow-Birds, courtesy of the Disney Vacation Club.

 

[smrice95]

Congrats to both of you! And so jealous! For now we are 320 points. We went to many DVC open houses, but didn't buy in until about 20 years after our first intro to it! When we were on the tour (rented points vacation and offered $100 Disney card to take a tour) I asked to go to the Poly because I had seen the models at SS already. Really I was nosy and wanted to see the bungalows! During the presentation I just kept thinking about the future and experiencing Disney with (hopeful) future grandbabies. We left liked planned and when my hubby went to throw the paperwork away, I said we need to talk when we get home! I said to him, "it is like the field of dreams, if you buy it, grandbabies will come!" We will eventually buy more points and look forward to Disney in retirement!

 

[intamin]

Once upon a time, a mouse robbed me. The end.

In actuality I grew up going to Disneyland. Probably went hundreds of times. During college I had an annual pass and it became a thing for us to go regularly after class and believe it or not I've studied for midterms while at Disneyland. For a few years I did not have a pass and did not go as frequently.. or at least until one of my parents became a cast member and to this day I still rely on for entry into Disneyland . I unfortunately had to move away from home for more education and I only was able to go maybe once a year. After graduating, my uncle gifted us 8 nights in a 1BR at Saratoga Springs.. and the rest is history. We went to Disney World one more time after that paying cash and then went on a trip to Aulani.. and even with the cast member discount, we still paid 3500 dollars for 5 nights in a studio at Aulani. I told my now fiancee I didn't want to go on another trip without DVC which made it pretty easy to convince her. We bought our first contract which was 150 points at Riviera and then a few days later I had a surprise trip planned for her where I ended up proposing to her at the Boardwalk. After that we bought 200 points of subsidized Aulani and then 125 points of resale AKL which brings us to 475. In the next year we will be adding an additional 150 points at Riviera and then likely 300 points of Polynesian which would bring us to 925.. and then I'll likely buy something else to get to the 1000 point club but my fiancee doesn't know that yet . We've been on 5 trips to Disney World since December (partially through DVC and cash/work) and our 6th is in September and we're excited for years more of adventures

Picture somewhat relevant

 

[emchen]

.

 

[emchen]

Luv-it!
I hope you garner enough thumbs-ups to post the original.
I am still jealous that you passed that 1000 mark, being at 970 now.
I, likewise, have a good-news story about our DVC journey, and I love sharing it with friends, family, fellow DVCers and Disney enthusiasts. (Actually - I will blather on about DVC to anyone who will listen)
The condensed version for us :
Visited Orlando in October of 2010 scouting for Snow-Bird Retirement options. We were staying in an RV at a campsite near Clermont. We spent the better part of our 10-Day exploratory trip looking at RV Parks, Condos, Rental Properties, and Retirement Communities. (Just as an aside, were we to have gone the retirement community path, we would have gone with "Trilogy" in Clermont). We were struggling with the financials that we discovered and, since we were 10 years from retirement at that time, thought maybe it was too early to invest in something that could encounter many changes before we pulled the parachute-up on our retirement plan. On day 8 of our trip we decided to take a break from the scouting and drove to Disney Springs (might have still been called Downtown Disney at that time)?? While the DW was in World of Disney, I was leaning on a counter at a DVC Kiosk. The rest of the story, from that point, was a magical blur for the next 2 days. A charming and polite redheaded young man convinced my wife that there would be absolutely no pressure at the DVC presentation, and that we did not have to make a purchase decision on-the-spot. That alone set the DVC approach far above the timeshare "tours" we had taken in the past.
After 3 hours with Rafael Massa (I made him take us to every open floor plan available) and a lot of number crunching, we decided to buy on-the-spot!! We bought SSR Direct - 210 Points. We actually completed our first DVC stay in 2012, and didn't know anything about Resale or DisBoards until some time in 2011.
Roll the clock forward to 2023, and we now own 970 Points:
475 at SSR, 230 at BWV, 185 at AKV, 50 at HHI, and 30 at BCV. (275 Direct/695 Resale)
We incrementally increased our trip duration until I retired at the end of 2020.
In 2021 we spent 29 Nights-DVC, 2022- 49 Nights, 2023 - 57 Nights,
and for 2024 we have 63 consecutive Nights booked! (Plus a 7-Night "get away" stay coming up in September).
Probably not the typical DVC usage, as we clamor for studios so as to stretch our points,
but we are Happy Snow-Birds, courtesy of the Disney Vacation Club.

Thanks for sharing! Were you, by any chance, at BCV Storm-a-long-Bay this past July? Your enthusiasm reminds me of a retired person I overheard in the pool talking with a young man about DVC. It is infectious and I am going to share it with DW. Two consecutive months in a DVC during the cold months. Out of curiosity, which two months are you "snowbirding" in 2024?

Congrats to both of you! And so jealous! For now we are 320 points. We went to many DVC open houses, but didn't buy in until about 20 years after our first intro to it! When we were on the tour (rented points vacation and offered $100 Disney card to take a tour) I asked to go to the Poly because I had seen the models at SS already. Really I was nosy and wanted to see the bungalows! During the presentation I just kept thinking about the future and experiencing Disney with (hopeful) future grandbabies. We left liked planned and when my hubby went to throw the paperwork away, I said we need to talk when we get home! I said to him, "it is like the field of dreams, if you buy it, grandbabies will come!" We will eventually buy more points and look forward to Disney in retirement!

Thanks! Love your philosophy...if you buy it (DVC contracts), they will come (future grandbabies)! Hahaha!

Points have a way of multiplying (like grandbabies). 320 will be 640 and before you know it, 960!

 

[AwfulWaffle]

Our story isn’t nearly as magical but it all started not with the Disney resorts but with the nearly hundreds of photos that followed of my two year old kissing Mickey and Minnie on their noses. While it may not seem like much it was a total game changer for me because I couldn’t even get her to watch 30 minutes of Mickey’s clubhouse to get her in the mindset of Disney but as soon as we get there she acts like these have been her lifelong friends. What started off as just one scheduled character breakfast ended up turning into seven character meals and each one was even more magical then the last.
I had been looking into DVC for many years prior but her older sisters never really showed a strong interest while we were there so I was like meh we’ll just do Disney and Orlando here and there. I never did an official tour but I might as well have since I saw almost every resort where a character interaction was available. At the end of the day we went with Artist Point even though Snow White wasn’t her favorite. The resort easily felt like home from the moment we arrived for that dining experience and a boat ride away from Magic Kingdom is a win for all. We still haven’t stayed as a DVC member yet but we are already up to 285 points and hopefully our first direct buy will come with Poly 2. Of course if it isn’t a new resort then we will likely stay the resale course
Hoping the next baby loves Disney as much as her older sister but at least we are one for three with a chance of two for four . Can’t wait to see your full story and you and others in these forums have been so helpful in the navigation of the resale market!

 

[E2ME2]

Thanks for sharing! Were you, by any chance, at BCV Storm-a-long-Bay this past July? Your enthusiasm reminds me of a retired person I overheard in the pool talking with a young man about DVC. It is infectious and I am going to share it with DW. Two consecutive months in a DVC during the cold months. Out of curiosity, which two months are you "snowbirding" in 2024?

Thanks! Love your philosophy...if you buy it (DVC contracts), they will come (future grandbabies)! Hahaha!

Points have a way of multiplying (like grandbabies). 320 will be 640 and before you know it, 960!

Haha - No, I wasn't at BCV in July. Sounds like maybe I have a doppelganger
We'll be Snow-Birding January through February in 2024.
When will you be there next ?

 

[bakerworld]

Our DVC journey started in '92 but we were house poor so chose not to purchase. In '01 our eldest was in the College Program so we stayed at OKW and was unimpressed. In '08 I talked the better half into a tour to acquire any time FPs and, to my utter surprise, we walked out with a DVC membership. I think the turning point was being able to stay in a park walkable location for the same price as a moderate hotel. We love to avoid the buses. Now we're retired with 3 DVC Homes and 345 points. Our home situation precludes snow birding but it is nice to take a 4 or 5 night break. If I like the 1 bedroom layout I will 'make it happen' but usually we stay in studio's as we're not in the villa enough to really need more space.

 

[smrice95]

Once upon a time, a mouse robbed me. The end.

In actuality I grew up going to Disneyland. Probably went hundreds of times. During college I had an annual pass and it became a thing for us to go regularly after class and believe it or not I've studied for midterms while at Disneyland. For a few years I did not have a pass and did not go as frequently.. or at least until one of my parents became a cast member and to this day I still rely on for entry into Disneyland . I unfortunately had to move away from home for more education and I only was able to go maybe once a year. After graduating, my uncle gifted us 8 nights in a 1BR at Saratoga Springs.. and the rest is history. We went to Disney World one more time after that paying cash and then went on a trip to Aulani.. and even with the cast member discount, we still paid 3500 dollars for 5 nights in a studio at Aulani. I told my now fiancee I didn't want to go on another trip without DVC which made it pretty easy to convince her. We bought our first contract which was 150 points at Riviera and then a few days later I had a surprise trip planned for her where I ended up proposing to her at the Boardwalk. After that we bought 200 points of subsidized Aulani and then 125 points of resale AKL which brings us to 475. In the next year we will be adding an additional 150 points at Riviera and then likely 300 points of Polynesian which would bring us to 925.. and then I'll likely buy something else to get to the 1000 point club but my fiancee doesn't know that yet . We've been on 5 trips to Disney World since December (partially through DVC and cash/work) and our 6th is in September and we're excited for years more of adventures

Picture somewhat relevant

Congratulations! We got engaged at Disney too. Great times! Enjoy!

 

[intamin]

Congratulations! We got engaged at Disney too. Great times! Enjoy!

I picked boardwalk because on our first date we played a similar game to the lobster launching game there. On the very first lobster I launched it bounced off the table and into the pot so that helped take a lot of the pressure off cuz I knew I didn't have to give the game attendant another 5 dollars . When she was choosing a prize I got down on one knee behind her and asked her

Edit: Okay I promise no more pictures haha

 

[smrice95]

I picked boardwalk because on our first date we played a similar game to the lobster launching game there. On the very first lobster I launched it bounced off the table and into the pot so that helped take a lot of the pressure off cuz I knew I didn't have to give the game attendant another 5 dollars . When she was choosing a prize I got down on one knee behind her and asked her

That is great! She must have been so surprised! I got my ring on Its a small world! He couldn't get down on one knee for obvious reasons, but I was very surprised. I think they are the best engagements! Just my POV! We should have bought in then like you!

And don't be apologizing for too many pictures! We need more positivity in the world!

 

[intamin]

That is great! She must have been so surprised! I got my ring on Its a small world! He couldn't get down on one knee for obvious reasons, but I was very surprised. I think they are the best engagements! Just my POV! We should have bought in then like you!

Aw how sweet That's definitely a unique place to get engaged at Disney. Regardless of when we bought in, we all have 20-50 years of Disney to look forward to

 

[emchen]

CHAT GPT 4 (after many prompted revisions):
Once upon a time (July 2019) on the island of Oahu, my family and I embarked on a 10-day Hawaiian adventure. At the enchanting Aulani Resort, we took our first step into the world of Disney Vacation Club. With island garden views for $753.98, our one-night stay was filled with the wonder and joy only Disney can offer.

Strolling back from the beach, a door wide open to a DVC villa caught our eye. Intrigued and drawn to the magic of Disney real estate, we explored the villa and were invited to a formal tour.

The charm of Aulani led us to purchase 170 enchanting direct points, but our fairy tale didn't end there! Upon discovering the hidden treasure of the resale market, our master plan took shape. We wisely rescinded the Aulani contract and made a direct purchase of 75 points at the picturesque Disney's Riviera Resort (DRR), a strategic first step into both direct and resale opportunities.

Our DVC journey had only just begun. From our magical stay at Aulani to the "investment in future vacations" in DRR, we continued to explore, blending direct and resale purchases into a grand total of 1152 points and a kingdom of magical memories.

I wanted to share our journey with you all and would love to hear your own experiences and insights into the DVC world. Together, we can continue to uncover the secrets of DVC and make the magic our own!

Our magical stay at Aulani had unlocked a world of possibilities, and the glimpse into the DVC villa had set our dreams in motion. A new chapter awaited, filled with unexpected twists, wise decisions, and more Disney enchantment. What lay ahead? Only (a short) time would tell... Step 2: here!

Full disclosure, ChatGPT 4 edited my writeup in the style of DVC marketing department! I will post my original writeup if there is interest (15 thumbs up)!

Clicking on the banner for each resort in my signature will reveal the step we took towards it. Riviera and Grand Cal is up.

Original human draft:
My Riviera story is the story of how we came to be members of DVC. The year was 2019 and we booked our first visit to Aulani. I booked a hotel room (island garden view) for just one night 6/30-7/1 for my family of 5 just to check it out and get an idea of what all the fuss was about. It was $655.85, $753.98 after taxes and fees. We travelled with my DW's extended family (Brother-in-law family of 4 and SIL family of 3) for 10 days staying in various places mostly in Honolulu/Waikiki. We had an amazing time there and were blown away by the resort. I remember DW and I walking back to our room from the beach and pool and passing by a model DVC 1 or 2 BR Villa, door wide open. DW and I love open houses and she said let's go check it out, it's ok, maybe we'll join DVC now (having done a tour at DL 10 years earlier). We didn't have kids back then and weren't in the position to buy VGC when it was actively being sold (we have had such terrible timing with real-estate). Anyways we checked out the room and afterwards, popped our heads into the adjacent DVC office. They were closing for the day but invited us to a formal tour on our checkout day, offering various incentives (don't remember what exactly). Well, we went on the tour and purchased 150 points at Aulani. What does this have to do with RRV? Well, I debated between Aulani and RRV during that sales presentation but that night, after we checked into the Marriott Vacation Club for a 2-night stay, I discovered the resale market. I dove in and researched DVC intensively, and sketched out a DVC master plan in my head. When we got back to the mainland, I rescinded my Aulani contract and purchased instead 75 points (minimum for "blue card" at that time) at RRV! With those small steps, we started our DVC journey that now rests at 1002 points!

Original human draft is up. Thanks @VGCgroupie and @Massachusetts for pushing the likes to 15.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I love both drafts.

I love that you were able to research and find resale. Its really opens up so many more options and I think its actually the right beginning step for most people.

Oh how I wish I would have bought VGC back in the day, not only for the value it held, but also all the money spent staying there and at DLH over the years. At the time I really believed DVC was only for the wealthy.

I bought Aulani resale sight unseen and I was so nervous I would get there and be disappointed in my choice. I was not. I fell in love.