Does anyone regret becoming a DVC Member?

[utahkennedys]

I read mostly positive things on this board, but does anyone regret their purchases? I wonder if people only resell DVC because of financial reasons, or is it because they have regrets? I am just starting to explore the option of DVC, but want to know all sides. I have taken probably 25 trips in my 30 years to WDW staying everywhere possible, and I plan to take trips about every 18 months with DH and 3 year old DD, so that is why I am considering it.

 

[JimFitz]

After I bought I did have some buyers remorse, only because I spent $20,000. I would have remorse spending that much money on anything. Whenever dues come up I wonder if it was the right thing to do, but then I think of the fun, the sun, and Mickey and it all goes away. Whenever I walk down Main St. USA and hear the music, I know I made the right choice.

It truly is the happiest place on earth.

 

[brunoflipper]

I read mostly positive things on this board, but does anyone regret their purchases? I wonder if people only resell DVC because of financial reasons, or is it because they have regrets? I am just starting to explore the option of DVC, but want to know all sides. I have taken probably 25 trips in my 30 years to WDW staying everywhere possible, and I plan to take trips about every 18 months with DH and 3 year old DD, so that is why I am considering it.

we are not selling for financial reasons (2 MD family, well established)... we are selling because, after a third trip in three years our 4 and 5 yo's were not particularly thrilled with the parks per se... they loved the pools and the hotel but the glow was gone... their initial responses (three years ago) when we first walked down main street were priceless ( i honestly got choked up, hell i almost cried the first time i went when i was twenty five)... this year, they lead the way and skipped rides because "we saw it last year"... oh well... even for our part the thrill was gone... it was all too familiar and i found myself becoming way too nitpicky about conditions of rides and the parks themselves... and i really got to a point where i felt like a sucker... they were selling it, i bought it and now they are laughing at me...

the background is that i never went as kid and have ever since been trying to reclaim parts of my childhood... i love disney, the mouse and wdw... we bought the timeshare (one of two we own, the other we have no intention of selling) to be a "member" of of the disney magic and to have another "home"... we never felt that...

after our most recent wdw trip, we watched as our kids reveled in the sand and surf for three days at vero beach... my oldest son's quote was "can we just go to the beach every year?"... you could argue, "yes, just go to vero every year" but we feel locked in... and as for trading to other timeshares, the deals do not appear to be nearly as attractive qas on-property and quite tedious to execute/coordinate... we are selling because it just does not fit... we (and remeber i am a certifiable disney-nut) are too fickle, both parents and kids... we'll go back to wdw but only when they ask...

before any divc holy-rollers come after me with pitch forks, i am not trying to disuade anyone from purchasing if it works for you, great... in fact, i envy anyone that can be happy with the purchase and i wish you all the best... so please do not disect and expound upon my comments... it is just diff'rent strokes ("what you talkin' 'bout, Willis?")...

 

[LIFERBABE]

Brunoflipper, I agree. As all that read these forums know, I am a die hard WDw nut! I go to all the special events and enjoy them immensely.

That said, I see exactly where you are coming from. My Dh and boys don't like the parks nearly as much as I do. We spent 15 days over Christmas 2004 and I had to drag them to the parks and that included US/IOA.

When we made the decision to purchase DVC, I asked myself were the resorts someplace I would like to visit even if the parks weren't so nearby. The ones I answered yes to, were the ones we purchased.
As I was typing this, my 6 year old asked how much longer until our trip to Disney World.

They love the resorts and family time we spend together and the parks are just extra. DVC has some of the nicest resorts in the industry, and I saw our family enjoying the resorts and activities separate from the Theme parks and that is how we made our decision to purchase.

I know many buy DVC because of the Theme Parks, we purchased knowing that even if we tire of the Theme Parks we will still have a great vacation in a Destination resort.

 

[eva]

We've never regretted it. We purchased in 97 when our daughters were 12 and 14. They loved going to WDW each year. But we also took them on another trip somewhere else each year too. However that 2nd trip was never as good. We were always comparing the rooms to DVC and the entertainment to WDW. Now it is just DH and myself and we enjoy going every year just the two of us. Sure we only ride our favorties and skip things that don't interest us. I love that we can go and do what we enjoy and still have time to relax around the pool. Every year we do try to do a couple new things like tours, watersports, or a spa package. I don't think that we will ever find another location that has so much to offer without ever having to jump in the car to drive somehwere. Next year we are taking my husband's family with us. There will be 9 of us (all adults) and 4 of them have never been to WDW. I can't wait to see their reaction to WDW and the GV we are renting.

We're hooked!

 

[Muushka]

before any divc holy-rollers come after me with pitch forks, i am not trying to disuade anyone from purchasing if it works for you, great... in fact, i envy anyone that can be happy with the purchase and i wish you all the best... so please do not disect and expound upon my comments... it is just diff'rent strokes ("what you talkin' 'bout, Willis?")...

Nope, no pitch forks from this DVC holy roller! The OP asked a great question. You gave an honest answer. If all anyone ever wanted to know about was the pixie dust, they would just order a DVC video from them and the official DVC reading material.

We realizied about 1 year into our marriage that we both really loved WDW. That was back in 1992. We waited till 2000 to buy into DVC, and that was a major decision. Considering how the stock market did, I feel we really did use our money wisely. Some years we go two times and some years we only go once. Those are the tough years!

 

[WolfpackFan]

I wonder how many folks consider their DVC membership as a timeshare at WDW or a timeshare in Florida? It seems to me that if folks are "tired" of WDW they could still use their DVC membership to take vacations in Florida. With it's central location, you can take day excursions to a number of places in the central Florida area. Or you could simply just relax around a very nice resort. And finally there is always VB and HH. I wouldn't sell my membership just because the glow from the parks has worn off as if that would ever happen .

 

[EdTreo]

The first time I've been to MK was a total disapointment for me, Epcot seemed so fake and MGM is probably the only park that interest me. I told my GF now my DW that I'll never come back again. She felt the same way too. We have since moved to central FL but never visited WDW till our DD was born and when she turned 3 I couldn't believe that we are going crazy over WDW. I don't know how long this excitement will last but it sure is an inexpensive vacation for our family. Once a year will fly somewhere else but for a quick weekend get-away every 2-3 months to keep our sanity intact is truly a blessing.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The only remorse is that we didn't buy it sooner, we were in our late 50's when we did in '03. We weren't buying it for our children, but we did hope for extended family vacations with our grown sons and their families down the line, and when one son, a teenager at the time said "Don't expect me to go with you," we decided that it wasn't for us in 1996.

Neither DH nor I know much Disney history, trivia, or locations of hidden Mickeys (that may change, DS, the one mentioned above, gave me a book).
However, DH likes trains, and the Magic Behind the Steam Train tour was wonderful, and we try to do special things like that once in awhile. We don't always go into a park, we've never had AP's, but we will this year. We're ones who HAVE squandered a day on a park-hopper just to eat in WS and see Candlelight Processional.

Our Grand Gathering for my 85 year old mom was a huge success in terms of happy memories. We took her around different resorts and she especially loved the atmosphere around VWL, and that's where we're bringing her for a few days this December, this time with just a few others. I echo eva's remarks about sharing WDW with friends and relatives who haven't been there as well as those who love the whole atmosphere as much as we do.

No flames from me. We took our boys all around the country and all around Florida when they were living with us. I can't count the number of times that I insisted that "There's more to Florida than Disney World." However DVC at WDW and VB is where DH and I most often go to rest, relax, enjoy ourselves, and we've found our hearts' "home."

Bobbi

 

[Alexander]

Yes, I regret buying into DVC in February 2005 instead of 1991 when it was first available. We realize that in time we may get tired of going to WDW (ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, like that's going to happen) but we can use our points other ways, or bank them and skip a year (ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, like that's going to happen), or even rent them (for really, really cheap ) and do something unrelated. But for now we are floating on that we finally bought in. We didn't feel remorse for spending the money because we sold our other vacation mode (5th wheel RV) and used that money.

Wolfpack, we often don't even bother with the parks sometimes. We just stay at the resort and enjoy the pools, boat rentals, and the likes. The resorts are some of the nicest around and you don't have to feel the hub-bub of the parks while you are there.

 

[Daitcher]

after our most recent wdw trip, we watched as our kids reveled in the sand and surf for three days at vero beach... my oldest son's quote was "can we just go to the beach every year?"... you could argue, "yes, just go to vero every year" but we feel locked in... and as for trading to other timeshares, the deals do not appear to be nearly as attractive qas on-property and quite tedious to execute/coordinate... we are selling because it just does not fit... we (and remeber i am a certifiable disney-nut) are too fickle, both parents and kids... we'll go back to wdw but only when they ask...

before any divc holy-rollers come after me with pitch forks, i am not trying to disuade anyone from purchasing if it works for you, great... in fact, i envy anyone that can be happy with the purchase and i wish you all the best... so please do not disect and expound upon my comments... it is just diff'rent strokes ("what you talkin' 'bout, Willis?")...[/QUOTE]



Certainly won't flame you ( like I did before) ). I can see where someone could feel this way. We love DVC for the flexibility it provides and because if we ever decide to sell we will get our money back. Who knows we may even make some money the way things are going. No other timeshare holds the value like this. We aren't enamored with the parks either. We love the resort time and just use the parks and DTD and the BW as diversions and a change of pace. We don't regret buying in for a second. I hope you end up getting out with a break even or a profit.


DAVE

 

[jcodespoti]

No. I have no regrets about it.


Joe in CT

 

[NCRedding]

My only regret, and it is a small one, is my add-on package. I love my HH points orginal package, and then decided to add on when BCV was selling. We bought 50 points, and I wish we had either bought none, or bought maybe 80.

I found we really didn't like our stay at BCV, and with our 50 points, it is hard to stay there for any length of time, except in a studio.

As for my orginal purchase, I love it. We've stayed in a variety of places at WDW and at HH.

 

[JimC]

No regrets about purchasing. Only regreat is waiting as long as we did.

 

[jarestel]

We have no regrets about the purchase. The money we spent wasn't earmarked for anything other than "play activities" anyway, so that wasn't a factor. I do wonder though if we will grow tired of WDW after some number of years. We haven't yet, but we've only been DVC members for 5 years. Who knows how we'll feel in another 5 or 10 or 20 years? Even if we burn out in the future, I don't think we'll have any regrets, since we have experienced many wonderful vacations with our extended family and we'll never regret that.

 

[utahkennedys]

Thanks everyone for your honest answers. I kind of feel like maybe we "missed the boat" too when we first heard about DVC on our honeymoon in 1996. I wanted to buy it then, but we were poor students...of course we have been to WDW every year since then anyhow and are leaving this Wednesday again!

 

[Pa@okw95]

We still enjoy going to OKW to get out of the cold. We also enjoy the many choices we have to eat, but WDW is no longer the place for me. I only buy park tickets when I have guests coming down. The place has to keep prices down to cater to a different demographic then in the beginning. Thus many services suffer, also the change to a more conventional amusement park with thrill rides instead of what Walt Disney wanted for the whole family has really ended WDW for me. I still enjoy the warm weather down there, but if I had to buy now I would not, but I did buy in 95, got all those free park tickets for years and have no regrets. I will sell if OKW does not keep up its maintenance. Last January they showed me that they are not keeping up with the maintenance, so selling may be in the future. You can't run a first class operation on a beer budget.

 

[JimC]

Thanks everyone for your honest answers. I kind of feel like maybe we "missed the boat" too when we first heard about DVC on our honeymoon in 1996. I wanted to buy it then, but we were poor students...of course we have been to WDW every year since then anyhow and are leaving this Wednesday again!

It is never too late. We toured in 1992 and were saving to have a house built. We could have made it work but were too conservative to take it on. It the guides had been even a little aggressive we probably would have gone ahead. It took us ten years to finally buy-in.

 

[Bella2000]

I regret not buying sooner and having those earlier savings to justify a new purchase. So now if the rumors of a $3.00 price increase in June and a 2005 DVC Contemporary come through I might not purchase. That will be a huge bummer for me since I've been dying for a monorail based DVC but I think I would regret that type of purchase if the price were $100.

 

[KCSKCS]

I have no regrets about buying into DVC. Back in 1992 my wife and I were just dating at the time and we decided to go to Disney World. My Travel Agent, who happend to be my father had booked us in the Poly. The day before our departure "my travel agent" informs me theres a problem and that we cant stay in the Poly for some reason that escapes me now. He informs me that we are staying at some place called the Disney Vacation Club. I was not to happy with that. We decide to make the best of it. When we arrived at the Vacation Club we immediately fell in love with the place. Back then there were only four buildings that were around the Hospitality House and Pool. We stayed there for a week and it seemed we were the only ones there. We would be in Olivas and we would be by ourselves except for Captain Yahoo that was always sitting at the back booth. It took me about three mornings before I realized he was fake..LOL I remember the great waitress Wanda that worked in Olivas who teased me for the rest of the week about the Captain. The place was like a ghost town except for the cast members who were "Super NICE". Me being from New Jersey I was like "ok" whats wrong with these people being so nice to me and saying good morning etc...It was different from home, thats for sure. One day while my better half was at the pool I went on the tour with a DVC Rep. At the end of the tour I was expecting a aggressive sales pitch, which I didnt get. I got a Ice cream Sundae. I was waiting for the hammer to fall. I went back to my room and gave it some thought, not much though and I decided to jump in . I was in my 20's and I knew that I wanted kids etc and what better place to bring kids. Back then as part of the purchase you got the park passes. I was very lucky because I had the passes for 8 years, boy do I miss that! My first official use as Member was within a couple of months of buying and on that trip I proposed to my wife right near the lighthouse near the main pool. Since then we have gone back numerous times and my kids who are now 9 & 6 just cant get enough. It was the first place that both my kids went into a pool. I can understand why some people have regrets , some of the pixie dust has worn off for us too..Way back when I really felt "special" and sometimes now just like a "number". For us though the many positive thing at DVC far out weigh the few negatives. So if it wasnt for my travel agent I probably would have never been a DVC member and wouldnt have some of the wonderful memories...For me I have no regrets