Does ownership in DVC take away from the whole Disney experience?

[ldo]

we usually stay in a 1 Br villa with kids sleeping on the sofabed. This Christmas, we all stayed in a WDW hotel room for 3 days. We had an excellent time, but DH and I both said "that is the last time we are doing that." We like the DVC 1BR for the space, having a full kitchen, and 2 TVs. We find it more relaxing. We like not having to walk to the restaurant to get breakfast--and we like having a microwave to heat stuff up, as we often have leftovers. Plus, sometimes, our kids just want to veg in the room and have a quick dinner of ravioli after a long day. For a weeklong stay, DH uses the grills for 1 or 2 nights.

 

[amym2]

We stayed at OKW and the THV for our first DVC stay in Oct 2012, and I'll never forget the first time we heard "Welcome Home" while checking in. The kids got balloon animals and stickers at OKW and while checking in at SSR for the THV, a CM saw the kids' lanyards and gave them pins. We didn't get daily mousekeeping, but we didn't miss it, and the trip was just as magical a trip as any. And the feeling of walking into Aulani this last October was magical as well, with a lei greeting and great service. I can't imagine the trip feeling any less magical because we're DVC members.

 

[MiramarQE]

I think renting is a great way to check out DVC! We did just that 12 years ago and just enjoyed the trip so much more because of the bigger room. To us the ability to spread out, have a kitchen, washer/dryer are huge! We bought resale right after that renting trip and have been enjoying ever since. We own at BWV but have enjoyed a wide variety of the resort. You sound like a good candidate for DVC!

Could not agree more - we are residents of South Florida and have been frequent hotel guests, value to deluxe over the last 15 years (my first resort stay was over 30 years ago) - and have been mulling over DVC for at least ten years.

We rented a 1 br at BWV last Sep and we're now hooked - just passed ROFR on 175 BWV points.

TRY IT first to be sure - renting points makes it easy. If you're not sure - keep renting, it still saves $$s

 

[Golden Rose]

It has certainly changed our experience, and while we thought we might regret it, instead we've added on twice. We were almost perfect DVC candidates in some ways; we were going to WDW approximately every 9 months, we always stayed club level in deluxes, and we usually got 2 rooms or a large suite. We were worried we would miss concierge amenities, the included alcohol and snacks, and daily mousekeeping.

What we're found is that we set up our own "club level" lounge in our kitchen. We have snacks for the kids, alcohol for us, and food for easy breakfasts, and it is better and cheaper than we used to get in the lounges. It's also less crowded and has a better view.

I really prefer to book my own meals and activities in advance, so I don't mind not having a concierge at hand. We don't miss the mousekeeping at all, and have gotten to where we prefer not being interrupted.

We love having the extra space at a really good price. It's definitely saving us money. We may go a little more often, but not much more than we'd go, anyway. We find having the kitchen, the washer dryer, and the extra space adds to our vacations. We try to always get great views, and what could be more magical than sipping your coffee on your balcony while you watch zebras chase each other and giraffes eat their breakfasts, or relaxing at night watching the fireworks on your own balcony.

Staying in a particular resort before you buy is generally a very good idea. Even if you're pretty sure you know you want DVC, you may be surprised by which resorts you fall in love with.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

DVC has only added to our experience.

I am one of those members that likes less housekeeping. It works for me.

We also enjoy the added space, kitchens/kitchenettes, laundry facilities.

We have been able to stay places we normally wouldn't have stayed on Disney property.

We also like that we can use our points for Aulani, Vero beach, hilton head, DLR, or trade out to RCI and more. Just in case we couldn't or didn't want to take a Disney world vacation again. This hasn't happened yet.

It also slowed out touring style, we use to rush and stay in the parks all day. Now we take breaks and enjoy everything a little more because we know we will be back year after year.

I do say do your research and get to know the ins and outs. We did a lot of research. We knew about issues concerning DVC and that sometimes we will not always received what we think we should privilege wise. We considered the changes to how parks are ran and when our kids are grown are we going to want to return without them. That answer is yes. So there are many factors.

Also, you will always pay dues, even when you pay off your initial purchase.

So many factors and concerns, definitely read and research and ask many questions so you know what you are getting into.


Good Luck!

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[wendyt_ca]

Owning DVC has completely enhanced our Disney experience and made it a LOT better! The trip we bought DVC we stayed in the Deluxe resorts and after that knew we always wanted to stay in a Deluxe. So it saves us a LOT of money. And has allowed us to also stay at some resorts in California and Paris.
For our Disney vacations I find them a lot better. I find we are treated phenomenal by cast members. They still are real Disney resorts and any with seperate buildings are still attached to the main ones. We have mainly been staying at AKL (we are in love with it) and always stay in Jambo house so our only difference is it guarantees us the 5th floor.
I find we end up getting a lot of extre perks (like AP promotions every once in a while). Plus love the store discounts, free parking, etc. DVC has also made it so that my friend could experience AKL twice (something she can only do because of me) as well as bring my 11 year old autistic brother to Disney. This was huge for me.
This past Oct I also received an invitation to tour the new GFV before it is opened for being a DVC memeber and it worked out that it was while I would be in Disney with my friend. We had the best time. They gave us a free breakfast at Citrico's with Mimosa's and touring the villa's was a lot of fun!!

I always say this is the best purchase we have ever made and DH says the same!