Does anyone living in Orlando own DVC?

[VanessainWonderland]

Does it make sense to own DVC if you live in the Orlando area? We are moving to Orlando next summer, but I still want to do DVC....Any opinions would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[erionm]

We are DVC members and live in Longwood which is about 45 minutes north of Orlando.

 

[chrismass]

It's still a vacation, even if it only takes you 1/2 hour to get there...imo I'd like the option of being able to bring food to my unit from my own refrigerator instead of having to buy everything from scratch. Plus you can bring cooked food and it would still be warm enough for the first nights dinner!

 

[sznk]

we live ~ 40 minutes (by car) from WDW and are DVC members.
because we don't need to deal with flights or car rentals, we typically go for two or three nights at a time. we own at SSR, but because of our flexibility, we often are able to book at our other favorite DVC locations, such as BCV, VWL, or Vero, without the 11 month window. we even got AKL Concierge once at five months out!

I don't think we'd stay at WDW very often if we didn't own DVC. the hotel room rates seem so high compared to what we get in the villas. maybe it's the psychology of using points being less painful than cash.

it's fun to be able to go often and not feel we have to see everything at full speed when we're there. it's also nice to have a big dinner and waddle back to the villa instead of driving home.

another observation - since we moved from NY to Florida, family and friends like to visit us more often. it's nice to be able to share DVC with some of them.

we have seasonal passes. we prefer not to visit the parks when they're super crowded, so not being able to go into the parks at Easter or Christmas or most of the summer is fine for us. when we stay at WDW during those times, we typically stay at SSR or OKW. if we feel like leaving the hotel area, we boat or walk over to DTD.

everyone's situations and preferences are different, but it works just fine for us.

 

[Brandis]

On our Disney cruise we had tablemates who work at WDW, live in Celebration AND are DVC members.

 

[JasonDVC]

On our Disney cruise we had tablemates who work at WDW, live in Celebration AND are DVC members.

That's hardcore!

We have family that live in Celebration and visit Disney often. They said the reason they are NOT DVC owners is because they live so close. They said if they moved beack to New England they would buy.

 

[dmoore22]

Work is just where I spend my time between WDW vacations! Can't wait to get my retirement job with the Mouse!

I know this off-topic but I like the way you think.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

On our Disney cruise we had tablemates who work at WDW, live in Celebration AND are DVC members.

Sounds good to me!

 

[ilovecoasters]

We live just over 45 minutes from the parks. It's so nice to be able to make reservations on a whim and go for a long weekend whenever we want.

 

[dclfun]

We live in Orlando ( Hunter's Creek) and are literally a 10-15 minute drive from our driveway to the entrance of any WDW park or resort. We own 450 points and use them all. I don't have airfare, am quite flexible, and don't visit the parks much at all unless I am staying at a Disney resort- that's what makes it a "vacation" to me.---Kathy

 

[VanessainWonderland]

Thanks for sharing! Now I have to convince DH!

 

[loveswdw]

We personally don't but we have friends that live about an hour away over on the Space Coast. They own SSR and use it for their weekend trips. When they first talked about buying in, we were already BCV owners. I tried to point out that they might not need DVC since they lived so close but they bought anyway. And they are glad they did. I'm jealous of how often they get to go! We can only go about once a year--I'd love to be able just to pop over on the weekend. And, with the recent reallocation of points, they'll get more trips with their points. Not a bad deal at all. Lucky them!

 

[franandaj]

I don't live in Orlando, but we've been DVC members for about three years now. We live 20 minutes from Disneyland and when they started seeling points, I thought "geez, what a waste to buy points there". But one night staying in the hotel on my SSR points after a F&W event (with very much wine), I realized how nice it was just to go back to the room, stay immersed in the magic and not have to go home. Also the VGC is so small that I realized how hard it would be to get in at 7 mos at the peak times of the year.

The next day we were in the DVC sales office and purchased 165 points! I have seven stays booked this year all 1, 2 or 3 nights and I can't wait for the first one. I think it's even better to own when you're fairly close because you can go whenever you want and not have to book airfare. Especially with WDW and the availability of the larger resorts. There is a guy that is on another DVC list I subscribe to who literally gets up in the morning decides he wants to go to Epcot to hear whatever band is playing at the American Pavillion, books a studio at OKW drives down in half and hour and is immediately immersed in the Disney Magic! How cool is that?

 

[OKWJan]

We used to live in Illinois, but now live in Celebration and we have kept all our points. We use them when friends and family visit, when we want to have a 15 minute away from home vacation, and started using points to go to Vero Beach for relaxing, fishing, and kayaking trips. We still love DVC!

Lots of our friends here are DVC members from before they moved to FL, and still use their points too, for trips, resort visits, and cruises.

And yes, I now live 15 minutes from the mouse and work for him part-time too. Life is good

 

[Pig Pen]

We are moving to Winter Haven (30 miles from MK) in January and plan to keep our DVC. We actually own at Vero Beach so plan to use our points there if we don't use them at WDW. We foresee using points for family visits.

We also hope to work at WDW!

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

We used to live in Illinois, but now live in Celebration and we have kept all our points. We use them when friends and family visit, when we want to have a 15 minute away from home vacation, and started using points to go to Vero Beach for relaxing, fishing, and kayaking trips. We still love DVC!

Lots of our friends here are DVC members from before they moved to FL, and still use their points too, for trips, resort visits, and cruises.

And yes, I now live 15 minutes from the mouse and work for him part-time too. Life is good

You are living my dream!! My wife and I both just retired from the military and are looking at moving back to Florida to get away from this DC commute. I could totally see not only keeping my DVC but adding on for family visits and many weekends. I want a few acres so don't think I can get as close as you, but who knows. to the OP, Good luck, I hope DH can see the advantage of owning.

 

[DisneySJB]

I also have the dream of retiring to Florida and keeping my DVC points. I already have my part time job picked out - photographer Yes, I want to be one of those people who takes pics of the kiddos meeting their favorite characters or seeing the castle for the first time.