Does DVC make you feel like you're a member of a private club . . . an exclusive private club?

[chainkid]

Its a timeshare period. I love it and I do not regret buying direct in in the early years before resale market became a reality. I would never pay direct prices today when you can enjoy the resort you love at a fraction of the cost. I have never felt special being a member despite the hype. Florida residents have a more exclusive club with benefits that we don't get. Having said that, its a very good timeshare and easy to unload . The resorts will be refurbished on a regular basis and hold their appeal unlike a lot of other timeshares. I feel special owning DVC as my family is enriched by the time we spend together on vacation. I know the people I bring cherish the trips as do I.

 

[mickeyfan100]

Even though it may not be an exclusive club, there’s still that special something... like when a random cast member sees you walking by in a DVC member shirt and yells “Welcome Home” and it somehow makes your day a little more magical.

 

[Louis morrell]

I find the "welcome home" thing kinda creepy. I just never know how to reply. I know they really don't care and are just repeating what they are told to say, so

 

[finchy3]

We love being able to stay at a deluxe on sight property and DVC allows this. There is no way we could do it otherwise.

We are safe in the knowledge it's not a dodgy Timeshare racket

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I find the "welcome home" thing kinda creepy. I just never know how to reply. I know they really don't care and are just repeating what they are told to say, so

Yup. At first the “Welcome Home” was reserved for DVC Members. Now we get it just entering for diner as non Members. They kind of diminished the meaning...

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We love being able to stay at a deluxe on sight property and DVC allows this. There is no way we could do it otherwise.

We are safe in the knowledge it's not a dodgy Timeshare racket

I still agree with @WebmasterPete that it’s a “deluxe adjacent”. I don’t think the DVC resorts are quite as deluxe as the host resorts. Even the GFV seems like an appendage to the Grand Floridian. The building actually seems like a “square box” as compared to the main GF resort. That’s my take, not Pete’s.

 

[lisaviolet]

Not at all.

Ecstatic to buy in 2005, after dreaming about it for ten years. And still happy with it.

But has never felt like an exclusive club. And honestly not a feeling I would want anyway.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

I find the "welcome home" thing kinda creepy. I just never know how to reply. I know they really don't care and are just repeating what they are told to say, so

Thank would be nice. JMHO

 

[js]

I own two other timeshares other than Disney and before we had DVC (both are fixed weeks).

While I really LOVE Disney, I never had the mindframe that it was anything other than a TS.

I know there is Disney magic and we expect a high level of service and care, but I just always (and still do) look at it as a TS, with these "added extras". Maybe that is why I don't get too upset with things are taken away.

For instance, my HHI 3 bedroom August fixed week TS had complimentary golf for four for the last 20 years. Last year, this was no longer an option and we get the pleasure of next month spending $50 pp and added cart fees now, so an extra $200+ this year that normally would have been free. A few little mention about this on the "tug2" boards but that is about it.

I like being part of any of my TS "groups" or a club I LOVE my vacations with my family, just my dh and I, just my mom and I or with my mom and my dd.

For HHI, I would happily wear their logo and have done the same for my other 3 bedroom OLCC TS. I NEVER wear a hoodie at home, ever. But you can bet I pack my DVC hoodie with the three mountains every.single.trip and wear it in the evenings, if I'm chilly. Just like I don't usually wear regular tshirts with college names on it, but I do make sure I wear my tshirt with my ds's college on it for his baseball games, especially when he is pitching! It's just a group of members belonging (paying) into the same shared interest of the location. Period.

As far as "Welcome Home", I LOVE it. I say "thank you" with a big smile on my face

We are all lucky we can all be part of this TS group
and if we don't like it, we can always sell or give to our family. I hope to use my SSR points up until the day they expire

 

[Louis morrell]

Thank would be nice. JMHO

That is my response. It just makes me feel weird to be singled out from others in a group. I could do without it.

 

[Denise W]

Regarding the “Welcome Home”, we noticed the canned announcement on the Boardwalk Bus would say Welcome Home, yet since many/most of the people on the bus were staying at the Inn side not the villas, that sort of ruins the whole saying.
Denise

 

[js]

Regarding the “Welcome Home”, we noticed the canned announcement on the Boardwalk Bus would say Welcome Home, yet since many/most of the people on the bus were staying at the Inn side not the villas, that sort of ruins the whole saying.
Denise

I'll take it wherever they say it at Disney. Disney is home

 

[Louis morrell]

Regarding the “Welcome Home”, we noticed the canned announcement on the Boardwalk Bus would say Welcome Home, yet since many/most of the people on the bus were staying at the Inn side not the villas, that sort of ruins the whole saying.
Denise

They also say"Welcome Home" on the canned announcement on the Coronado Springs bus. I am sure all of the resorts have the same canned message.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I find the "welcome home" thing kinda creepy. I just never know how to reply. I know they really don't care and are just repeating what they are told to say, so

Me too.

And they tell anyone and everyone Welome Home. It’s not special to DVC owners.

 

[Louis morrell]

Me too.

And they tell anyone and everyone Welome Home. It’s not special to DVC owners.

Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was feeling kinda weird for a while.

 

[jarestel]

Ah, the marketing genius of Disney... they sell us their product and make us grateful for the opportunity. Fiendishly clever devils they are!

 

[DVC92]

*Slightly* off topic, but.... we became Members in 2002. We actually took the sales tour in 1996..?? Can’t remember exactly, but we saw the OKW villas and a model of VB. Obviously we did not purchase at that time.

That said, I seem to recall the OKW villa with the table set along with color coordinated cloth napkins. The bathrooms (I thought) also had color coordinated towels.

Was that a thing or am I remembering incorrectly?
My point is, that did look VERY special (although not exclusive).

On a side note I recall the guide telling us that every-other-stay must be at your home resort.

Having been a member from year 1 of DVC, it did have a different feeling in the beginning. OKW was it. The resort had some ornate items like you mention. Members got free park passes through 1999. There were free weekly wine and beverage parties. Since there was a minimum purchase of 230 points members stayed longer. Many of the OKW staff stayed there for years and you got to know them and they you. I still find that to be the case at OKW with some staff members who I have known for years. It has a different feel to it than the hotel attached DVC resorts.

DVC members still get some nice offerings like Moonlight Magic if you happen to be there at the right time. The member lounge in EPCOT. AP and dining discounts. However, I find Disney in general is really on a push to make $$$! Between restaurant pricing, shortened park hours, paid events to stay in the parks longer, etc., they are getting a little too greedy.

 

[mdelano4]

Not even a little.

 

[crisi]

Nope. And we get treated a hell of a lot better other places paying cash. I'm at a Hilton right now getting free drinks and hors d'oeuvre.

 

[Wakey]

I think if this post had been made <2016 negativity would have been at a minimum and more would have said it is like a club. However, the management decisions from that time have really upset people and led it to being called ‘Just another timeshare’ by increasing numbers. I suspect many loyal fans coming to that conclusion now, used to say ‘But it’s unlike any other timeshare’. Suppose it still is with holding its value (for the time being) but it is a very, very worrying situation from a business perspective when one of the main USPs of the product is so rapidly eroded for short term gain.
My personal tipping point into just another timeshare (which also has built into it distrust for the management) was, like many, the lock off premium attempt, and the statements made about it since (effectively we still believe we can and we might). At that point I stopped having any notion, even a fictitious one, that I was in a club.
But I still love the core product. I have just had to change my mindset that I definitely bought just a timeshare, and cash is king as that leads to bonus and promotion.