Do you really go to Disney every year or every other year?

[luckytso]

We are considering buying points at BCV. Howevever, 40 years committment is a long time. Do most of you really go there that frequently to make it worthwhile?

My husband is asking why don't we just rent the points from DVC members when we need them? To go to Disney each time, we have to incur costs in park passes, airfare which we will not incur if we go somewhere else closer. I love Disney, however, does it really make sense to make a committment for such a long duration?

I would love to hear your comments. Thanks

 

[DebbieB]

We go twice a year, May and early December. If you are going to buy in, you should be sure you will want to go at least every other year. You can always trade out to other locations also. Regarding the long committment, I figured if I no longer wanted it, I could always sell it. There's a pretty big resale market. I bought in 1999 for $65 for point, it's going up to $80 per point in June, so I should be able to recoup my initial buyin. Renting points is a good idea if you are not sure. I had no intention of buying until a friend invited me to go with her on a trip and I fell in love with the 2 bedroom at OKW and the whole DVC concept. Didn't want to stay in a regular hotel room after that!

 

[Richyams]

Every year, around holloween or first two weeks of December. Have been doing it since '92 when we stayed off site and found DVC. Joined and have been very happy going every year. We sometimes take another vacation and have gone for one week instead of the usual 12 nights. But every year for sure.

 

[PJMPA]

We go 3 times per year, when the kids are out of school or on break. We would go more but the kids say they're embarassed to have to tell their friends where they're going again. Once they're on their own, I'm sure we'll be there at least once a month. It is a great way to get away from it all.

 

[zurgswife]

Our original plan was to purchase 150 points and go every other year....Didn't work....we go every 8-12months now and purchased an addition contract last year. Yet now we buy season passes, we are actually going to drive again this fall, we purchase a large portion of our food at the grocery store and eat in our villa...some people don't like cooking on vacation....I can't afford eating out every day 3 meals..., Some day we plan on trading out for one of the other timeshare choices...maybe skiing... Are there choices on the concierge collection(I thinkk that's its name) that might be closer for you where you might want to consider vacaitoning....

For us it is definately worth the commitment of 40 years....

 

[Bennet]

Do you really go to Disney every year or every other year?

If Zurgswife had her way we would go three times a year and take the cruise. Now if she would just get the right lottery ticket....

 

[ohioMickey]

We also go twice a year. Every now and then I feel a bit embarrased to tell friends and family that... yes, we are going to Disney World again. But then I just come here and read how often everybody else goes, and suddenly I feel a lot better about myself. The DVC Board ... it's therapy too!!!! You guys are my enablers!

 

[lsyorke]

We bought DVC December 2001. We'll be going in July 2002 for our first DVC trip. Then we decided to go next year at Easter. So we decided to buy annual passes. Well, now we decided to go in July 2003 to make full use of the annual pass (LOL). Disney is addicting!! We had all intentions of only going once a year,but as you can see it gets in your blood! Next is maybe a little add on at BCV??? We'll see. We have taken many vacations prior to DVC but you can't beat the quality of the accomodations ad activities for the whole family. This includes the DH who has announced to the whole gang " If I'm lying with my eyes closed by the pool , I am having a good time!"

 

[crisi]

Most people here really DO go that often.

But then, this is a self selecting group of admitted Disney addicts!

I think you are thinking about this the right way. You have to figure the cost of the vacations to see if its a good deal for your family. For a lot of the people here, they were already taking yearly trips to Disney, so DVC was a no-brainer. You are also looking into the future - for us, DVC is a great choice for the next 15-20 years (our kids are 2 and 3) and after that we will be going down mainly to golf. But if your kids are already 10 and 12, and you have no interest in vacationing at Disney without them, I don't think its a good choice.

At two year intervals, you maintenance fees begin to creep into your savings. If you go every three years (bank/borrow/use), you have $1500 in fees invested before you get on the plane - its hard to recoup that cost in lodging (well, its easy if you start with the assumption you were going to have a 2 bedroom anyway - but if you'd be happy in a room at the CBR, the math stops working in your favor).

There are other ways people make it work. You can buy a contract with friends or family, and alternate going every two years (so each family goes every four years). You can go every three or four years, and rent the points you don't use to recoup the fees - neither of these sound like great ideas to me, but other people have made them work.

 

[vacationman]

I am not ashamed to say it - I would live at WDW if I could! (until they rent out space above the shops on Main Street, DVC will have to do)

 

[llp479]

We joined DVC in '98 at BWV because we had been every year for 5 years. With the birth of our third DD in '97, we now needed two rooms. Not only did we continue to go in February, we started going at other times as well. Long weekend, cheap airfare - WDW here we come. Consequently, we just purchased an OKW resale. Booked our 10 day August trip last week!


Only 134 more sleeps! Yes, it's addiction. One for which I don't appologize or seek treatment!

 

[Terry S]

LOL.. Vacationman... Our family too! I don't know how many times my daughter has asked if we could move into the castle? We keep talking about moving to Florida and she keeps telling everyone we are moving to WDW.

We started with the plan to go every other year, after the first year, the plan changed to every year and now that we bought DVC we plan to go twice a year.

 

[EROS]

YEARLY. We'd like to go more often but face tooooooo many financial and employment constraints.

 

[Disney Doll]

We go twice a year, and make a valiant effort to get in a third trip too!!!!!

 

[thepoohbear]

Always twice, sometimes more. We find that we go to the parks less often and spend more time enjoying the perks of the resort now. That crazed park visiting will stop once you know you will be back every year and it makes the whole vacation so much more relaxing and enjoyable. So don't think that because you'll be there 10 days a year will mean you'll need 10 days worth of park passes. The last time we were "home" we only went to the parks one day and it was a wonderful vacation. With DVC you can do as much or as little as you want and you won't feel like you're "wasting" your vacation. In the end, you'll decide to do what's best for you because only you can know for sure. But I will tell you this: I was hesitant to buy into DVC but my husband finally won me over. Now I can't remember what my problem was. It was the best thing I've ever done besides marrying him!

 

[MdmMim]

I go to WDW at least once, maybe twice a year. I spend 3-4 weeks there in the dead of winter--and if I'm careful with my points, I can get another trip in later in the year. I spend some of this time solo and some with DH. I'm retired--he's not! I find that I, too, spend less time in the parks, but I just love to stroll over to Epcot at night, just to leisurely look around.
My friends know of my WDW "addiction" and accept it--in Jan., I have a girls' only trip planned, so these friends will get to enjoy the BWV with me (first time in a 2-bedrm).
DVC's flexibility is great!

 

[CaptainMidnight]

One of the main reasons we chose Vero as our home resort was because we didn't see going to WDW every year. We have since added on to BC.

 

[Granny]

Before DVC, we were in the "every other year" category.

Now, we are planning on four trips in the next 18 months.

As has been pointed out, this was probably not the right place to ask any question about frequency of visiting WDW....at least not the right place if you're looking for an unbiased answer!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Like Granny, we were in the everyother year group until we joined DVC. We just couldn't afford to stay on site every year. Now we go multiple times one year and one time the next. We do that to capitalize on the annual pass rates. We buy annuals and try to get in 2-3 trips over the course of the next 12 months. Then we sit out twelve months and buy a new pass and start the process over again. That means a later Jan. trip followed by a fall trip, followed by another early Jan. trip. Then taking 12 months off and going again on a late January trip. Works great for us, and we usually get at least 21 days in on our Annual passes. We have also exchanged through II to Hawaii. Of course, that didn't mean we skipped WDW though. We just did one trip instead of three!

 

[DVCajun]

Once a year is the minimum I can tolerate before I start to twich and display other unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal.