Do any of you actually live close to WDW?

[DVCajun]

How do you justify keeping your points?

 

[wdw1972]

I live 3 hours away - close enough for frequent trips, but far enough that I go for "vacations"...not day trips.

I've got a friend who lives 40 minutes away....she uses her dvc points the same as anyone else....for resort stays rather than driving home. DVC resorts are a great vacation destination, whether inside wdw or not. I'd keep my points and happily use them to stay at OKW even if I lived 5 minutes away. There's nothing to "justify"...I like staying there, so I do.

 

[mikesmom]

I wish I was closer! I have fantasies of popping over (even to Vero or HH!!!) for a getaway when I REALLY need a vacation. I've even thought of how nice it would be to check into a DVC resort when I have to build a marketing plan for a client or have a stack of reading that I absolutely must get read. What a luxury to be able to sit on a balcony, be uninterrupted by phone, fax or folks and catch up on my reading and just think.

I'm sure a lot of people will think I'm nuts to even consider working at DVC - but what a nice environment to work in.! I'm sure I'd be much more productive and creative in the midst of all that comfort, peace and quiet.

 

[Gail Reale]

Not yet..........but we are building a home in Clermont, approx. 30 minutes away and expect to be in in June!!!!! I am too excited and can't believe it. As for our points, just because we will live in Florida, we will still need to vacation, and this may be the time that we begin to use the exchange feature of DVC. Or, we can just hop over to VB for a day or two, or up to HH.....oh the possibilities are endless!!

 

[DVCajun]

I ask because we're considering moving (congrats Gail!! ). I really would like to keep my points, but DH is pushing to sell them. If push comes to shove I'll give them up, but I'd like to keep them. Ultimately, if I had to choose, I'd rather live 5 minutes away than take vacations on points!

 

[Beth]

Thanks for your second post - I wasn't sure what you meant.

We live about 55 minutes away (2 hours from Vero.)

The flexibility of the DVC program is ESPECIALLY great for Florida owners.

We use our points SEVERAL times a year for short stays. Just long enough to get recharged. But they're also nice to have when you need to be in Orlando, and don't feel like driving back home late at night. Case in point - my SIL got us tickets to Cirque for Christmas. I called and booked a studio for that night so we didn't have to drive back home. It made it SO nice.

Also - any time there's a good show at HOB - we'll hop over then stay the night.

It's also great for our friends/family - they've gotten GREAT birthday/Christmas presents from us!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

To put it in perspective...if you live close to a really great destination you are much more aware of what you are missing by driving in for a day trip versus being immersed in it 24 hours a day. For me that great destination is locations like Manhattan (a place I can't afford to stay overnight in), the Jersey Shore or Vermont for skiing.

I wish Disney would open a hotel in the theatre district and then add a DVC component to it.

 

[Regina]

I don't live anywhere near WDW, but, if I did, I know exactly what I would do with my points. I'd use them to stay in a DVC resort, and let my visitors stay at my house.

 

[Disneynut53]

I live 40 Minutes away. It's great, we have passes for the year and we go on the spur of the moment. Usually when we go on vacation we have family come down and we stay at OKW, but we have stayed at WLV or OKW on a saturday night just to get away...

 

[gary in florida]

We live a little over an hour away. We purchased while living here. We justify it by being able to go to WDW for 2-3 days at a time. We only have 170 points, but this year as an example, we are going the end of April for 3 nights at BWV, studio. With our family in December for 3 nights at VWL, 2 BR. Then are planning on a 3 night in September at the new Beach Club, stuido. So that's 9 nights spread over a year. It really satifies the Disney fix, better than a week straight once a year. Also, this way we can pick the times with the less points, no Friday or Sat nights.

 

[Cinderelli]

We only live one hour away and wish we had MORE points. We only have 160 but with borrowing have been on 4 trips using points this year. We've also taken advantage of the good AP rates and had some wonderful stays at the other resorts.

I don't think it matters how far or how close you live. There's something magical about being on-site.

 

[msdis]

I'm so envious of all of you who live so close. If we lived close we would be of the not normal dvcer's who would use their points for weekends only.


Gail, how is clermont? We have been studying that area for a while and watching the real estate in that area. Looks like a nice community with a LOT of new growth. We hope to live in that area sooner than later.

 

[Gail Reale]

msdis - i would have e-mailed privately, but you don't have your e-mail on here so......we really liked Clermont. Reminded us of Pennsylvania in a lot of ways. It's in Lake County and there are a lot of lakes! Plenty of hills and nice breezes because of the hills. You should take a ride up there some time. Good Luck!

 

[Simba1]

I live less than 15 minutes away...the points still have incredible value to me....Port Canaveral (DCL) is only an hour away, VB - two hours plus all of the exchanges.

 

[DeeP]

I live in NJ now, but I also own a home in FL which is an hour away from WDW and will be relocating there. The fact that my FL home is so close to WDW and I will be able to use my DVC points for more frequent visits is a definite plus+++++

 

[KyBill]

We have a winter condo in Ft. Myers, about 3 hours away from DW. We use points in October on the way to Ft. Myers, maybe a trip in November for the Wine and Food Festival and a trip in Jan or Feb.

 

[ducklite]

We're also looking at new homes in Cleremont, but not seeing the right thing yet. We want a custom home and it looks like most are production builders in that area.

We just added on another 250 points at the BCV. Our thinking is taht we will use the points for VBR, maybe HH, and to cruise and trade once we are there.

Anne