DVC as your children become adults

[disneydietitian]

Just looking for some stories and perspectives of how you have used and (hopefully) enjoyed DVC with your older teens and as they become young adults. We have enjoyed Disney through the years as they have grown and are thinking very seriously about purchasing DVC now. Wish we would have earlier!

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

My kids are only 16 and 13 at this moment but we are already starting the trend of bringing friends next year due to being able to book 2 bedroom villas with our points. Then, significant others. Our girls love Disney and definitely plan to still want to go as they are young adults.

 

[Sandisw]

We enjoyed them in similar ways but they were more in control of what they did or did not want to do.

So, many of the trips were more laid back too with them sleeping in and joining us later in the day!

Of course, once they become young adults, more trips to Epcot for festivals were added to the mix!

 

[Lorana]

My oldest turns 18 this week. My youngest is 15 1/2. As they’ve gotten older, we’ve actually done more time at the resorts: we’ve done disney enough that none of us feel the need to pavement pound all day. We have a trip planned in 3 weeks and it’s a big one: celebrating our 20th anniversary and his 18th birthday! We have a bunch of friends coming the first half of the week, and a bunch of family the second half. While we have some planned events together, we also plan on letting the older kids go off together (especially when it’s just friends down with us - some of our friends kids are the same age as our kids), so it’ll be fun and different.

Alas, my oldest doesn’t love disney as much as we do. I am hoping he’ll feel the nostalgia some day! He’s already asking if he can start to choose not to come on future trips, which breaks my heart. I’m not ready to let go! I told him that once he graduates high school, it’s his choice to come on vacations or not (we travel more than just Disney), but that once a year he doesn’t get to say no. He can just choose which one he says yes to.

He DID surprise me by wanting to go on the Disney Wish with us, though! When it first came out and I talked about booking it, I had said I was going to get one late summer after he had moved into college, and he was like “but I want to go, too!” And so now we go 2 weeks before college move-in this summer!

One thing my boys both still love are character meals. They like to eat and they both love to take pictures with characters. They may not be as into as many rides or being in the parks all day, but they both love being goofy with characters.

 

[aam808]

We purchased DVC on Jan 2019 on our 1st WDW visit. All our children are adults and we have 5 grands (4,5,6,7,12). Disney wasn't a part of any of our lives until now. Knowing the contract will outlive us we bought with them in mind as we'd like for them to understand the importance of a real vacation away from home. WDW is costly but it has the all inclusive feel and has many options for everyone.. They are not into Disney but all 3 have said they would be happy to inherit the DVC. We have split our contract so each will have an equal amount.

 

[AnnaS]

We own a little more than 21 years.

When they were teenagers - one trip we invited two of my oldest son's friends (the two friends came for 4 nights/we were there for 8)
my daughter wanted to celebrate her Sweet 16th birthday with three of her friends - I went with my sister and 4 girls

We also traveled a few times with a friend of ours (also DVC members). She also has three kids - same age/same sex. We also went on a few DCL cruises with my friend and some other family members here and there.

My kids are now married. Two sons have their own small contracts. My dd recently married. She/they all use some/my points when needed. They don't make as many trips as my DH and I do.

We now vacation as empty nesters, with friends and when possible with my kids and grandchildren.

 

[suzycute]

We bought in to DVC (SSR 100 points) in 2007, as our children were going to university. Sadly we didn't understand the DVC concept when we used to bring them as children (usually staying at a moderate on site - CBR). We then added on at BWV (50 points) in 2009 and these have been enough for what we wanted (coming every other year in a studio or sometimes a 1 bed villa)
Now we have grandchildren arriving and we really want to have enough points to be able to bring them (and their parents!) in a 2 bed villa and for us to sometimes come on our own. So, as we are about to retire, we are in the process of buying another 150 BWV points (we love the proximity of Epcot and Studios). I would love to also add on a small BLT contract as well if I can find one!

 

[Pens Fan]

We have one adult child. When he was younger, while we loved our Disney trips we only went every 3 years or so. There are only so many vacation days available and so many places in the world to see. Plus, we live 10 hours away from our extended families, so we always needed time to go back home. As my husband neared retirement, we finally decided that DVC finally made sense for us as we would actually have the time to go every year. Because our son was an adult at the time we were able to put him on the deed and when we get too old to really enjoy the parks, he will still be able to use it. He has already used it for a friends trip to celebrate their college graduation back in 2020. We were thrilled to be able to do that for them.

Once we bought in and realized how much more enjoyable having all the extra space is (usually stay in 2 BR's), we were hooked. More points were purchased. More trips were planned. Even more points were purchased. More trips were planned. You get the picture ...

We've found our trips to be much more relaxing and enjoyable now. We have the space to spread out and not be on top of each other. We also always know we'll be back soon so there is no stress of getting everything done. If we miss a restaurant or a ride, it's no big deal. We'll be back. We spend a lot more time relaxing at the resorts now, or just hanging out at the Epcot festivals or Disney Springs. It's a different kind of Disney trip than our pre-DVC days, which we find really fits with an all adult trip.

 

[disneydietitian]

We have one adult child. When he was younger, while we loved our Disney trips we only went every 3 years or so. There are only so many vacation days available and so many places in the world to see. Plus, we live 10 hours away from our extended families, so we always needed time to go back home. As my husband neared retirement, we finally decided that DVC finally made sense for us as we would actually have the time to go every year. Because our son was an adult at the time we were able to put him on the deed and when we get too old to really enjoy the parks, he will still be able to use it. He has already used it for a friends trip to celebrate their college graduation back in 2020. We were thrilled to be able to do that for them.

Once we bought in and realized how much more enjoyable having all the extra space is (usually stay in 2 BR's), we were hooked. More points were purchased. More trips were planned. Even more points were purchased. More trips were planned. You get the picture ...

We've found our trips to be much more relaxing and enjoyable now. We have the space to spread out and not be on top of each other. We also always know we'll be back soon so there is no stress of getting everything done. If we miss a restaurant or a ride, it's no big deal. We'll be back. We spend a lot more time relaxing at the resorts now, or just hanging out at the Epcot festivals or Disney Springs. It's a different kind of Disney trip than our pre-DVC days, which we find really fits with an all adult trip.

That's awesome! I have an 18 year old, too so I was planning to put her on the deed so that information helps! She is also interested in the Disney College Program so if she were to get into that, I figure DVC will only help us be able to go see her and she can use her blue card membership for discounts.

 

[bakerworld]

We vacationed in WDW 5 times with our kids from toddler to teen. On our first trip we commando'd, quickly to discover that was the one sure way to make our kids hate vacationing at WDW. Our second trip we asked the kids what they wanted to see that had been missed the first trip and my youngest said The Room. By trip 4 the younger two preferred to stay at the resort. We only asked they vacate the room by noon for the housekeeper.

We joined DVC when our youngest was in College. We joined for us with couple trips in mind. Through their 20's our kids have enjoyed trips there with their friends. DVC makes a great Spring Break destination where you don't have to worry about them driving or running out of things to do. Post College DVC makes a nice vacation for them enjoying the pools during the day and Disney Springs in the evening without worry of a DUI or PI. Only our oldest enjoys the parks as we do. The younger will do maybe one park day. Basically we all enjoy DVC mostly not as a family group.

 

[Travel60]

First points purchased when kids were young (?6 & 9). Now they are 34 & 37, both married, one with kids. We've added on a few times. We love to get 3-BR villa for a week, often at HHI for whole family. Had a week scheduled at Boardwalk in 2020 but it got cancelled. Have also done Alaska cruise as a family on points (I know....bad use, but ours are old and "cheap" and we don't want to deal with tax ramifications of renting).

We told each kid they could use DVC points for their honeymoons either at a DVC or trade out.

DH and I also like to spend several winter weeks in Florida...VB or WDW in 1BR.

So, use has changed as they've grown but we still use them. As we've added on, we've made sure our contracts are such that we can give equal points to each child when the time comes that we can no longer travel.

 

[bakerworld]

That's awesome! I have an 18 year old, too so I was planning to put her on the deed so that information helps! She is also interested in the Disney College Program so if she were to get into that, I figure DVC will only help us be able to go see her and she can use her blue card membership for discounts.

Tip: Our eldest was in the College Program. She was stunned to be expected to work a 40 hour week and work back-to-back shifts. She also was stunned to be expected to pay towards lodging and have to buy food.

It is the one bulleted item that every employer asked her. This drove her crazy as she thought the intern positions and study abroad program should have been their focus. LOL

 

[AnnaS]

That's awesome! I have an 18 year old, too so I was planning to put her on the deed so that information helps! She is also interested in the Disney College Program so if she were to get into that, I figure DVC will only help us be able to go see her and she can use her blue card membership for discounts.

My dd ended up doing the College Program too almost 10 years ago - wow - how time flies. She met her now husband in the program. They were engaged in Disney and had a Disney Fairytale wedding . She will love it if she goes for it and gets in!

 

[DougEMG]

My daughter is 27 and says we aren't allowed to go to Disney without her! Lots of times she will bring one of her friends with her as well. Once she turned 18 we started adding her to any new contracts we bought.

 

[kandlsutton]

We used to go to WDW with our 3 kids, every 3 years or so because that’s all we thought we could afford and also school schedules with the kids 10 years apart. But a solo trip in 2019 had us thinking more about what we want to do when we retire and we decided that we want solo trips 1-2 times per year and family trips every other year. After looking at cash rates for 2BRs, our mind was made up. Cash rates at Rivieria for our December trip were about 1/3 the cost of our contract. So after 3 trips, we are staying for cost of dues (excluding tickets, food, etc.).
When we get tired of going (doubtful), the kids (and grandkids) will have the use of our contracts to continue making magical memories.

 

[1Robins]

The first time we ever thought about DVC was back when they first started to sell BWV. Our children at that time were 6 yrs and 8 yrs. Being that we're from Southern Californa and only 55 minutes (without traffic) to DLR, we thought to ourselves do we really see ourselves coming to WDW that often? Well, we continue to return to WDW annually and stayed with our Starwood Points (now Marriott) at the Dolphin. We eventually did buy our first driect DVC contract at SSR in 2006 and added on in 2007 ($98/pt) and in 2009 bought a resale contract at SSR for $68/point (btw just sold the resale contract for $142/point with the anticaipation of buying Disneyland Tower). Now that our children are adults and married, they have occasionally used the points for a vacation to WDW, but we tend to use them at GCV. Most of the time, when my husband and I travel to WDW we'll stay at SSR. We do have annual passes and will go into the parks and ride a couple of attractions or maybe have dinner at one of the signature restaurants. Honestly, our main focus tends to be on golf. We generally play 2-3/week and play not only at the WDW golf courses, but our home club is part of Club Corp so we play at affiliated Clubs within one hour drive of WDW.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

My oldest turns 18 this week. My youngest is 15 1/2. As they’ve gotten older, we’ve actually done more time at the resorts: we’ve done disney enough that none of us feel the need to pavement pound all day. We have a trip planned in 3 weeks and it’s a big one: celebrating our 20th anniversary and his 18th birthday! We have a bunch of friends coming the first half of the week, and a bunch of family the second half. While we have some planned events together, we also plan on letting the older kids go off together (especially when it’s just friends down with us - some of our friends kids are the same age as our kids), so it’ll be fun and different.

Alas, my oldest doesn’t love disney as much as we do. I am hoping he’ll feel the nostalgia some day! He’s already asking if he can start to choose not to come on future trips, which breaks my heart. I’m not ready to let go! I told him that once he graduates high school, it’s his choice to come on vacations or not (we travel more than just Disney), but that once a year he doesn’t get to say no. He can just choose which one he says yes to.

He DID surprise me by wanting to go on the Disney Wish with us, though! When it first came out and I talked about booking it, I had said I was going to get one late summer after he had moved into college, and he was like “but I want to go, too!” And so now we go 2 weeks before college move-in this summer!

One thing my boys both still love are character meals. They like to eat and they both love to take pictures with characters. They may not be as into as many rides or being in the parks all day, but they both love being goofy with characters.

Is planning ADRs at 60 days more challenging because the young adults might want to do their own thing?

 

[ITGirl50]

We bought in 2007. Now have added on multiple times and have 1120 points (after the last contract closes). We use all our points and end up borrowing every year. We never do studios and sometimes bring our adult DD (24). We also take last minute, long weekend trips… Sometimes it’s me and DD, sometimes it’s DH and DD, sometimes I bring my mom or sister. Or I have brought my niece and her family. We have gifted a trip to our DD and her friends. We have gone to Aulani 4 times. We use it as our vacation home. We plan to add more points before retirement.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I'm probably going to get a lot of hate for my opinion, but I don't find DVC a good value for week long stays. I finally bought into SSR and got 50 points for short studio stays at locations other than SSR or OKW for my kids to enjoy for a night or two at a time. I only bought 50 points because I don't really care to stay much at DVC when my kids are grown. I don't see the point of owning a lot of of DVC points when Wyndham and Marriott are so much more versitile and a better value. I have both Wyndham and Marriott deeds so DVC trading affiliation doesn't matter because I own both II and RCI main companies. As an adult, I find Wyndham and Marriott my preferred ownership over DVC. Also, the one bedrom portion of my 2 bedroom Marriott lockoff pulls all of the SSR Interval International inventory. Here is what I can personally see with my Grande Vista 1 bedroom deposit:



If I were to stay at SSR for a week at the same times in the picture above, it would cost about $1150 more per week when factoring in buy in cost + annual dues (compared to Marriott dues + trading fees). Also, using a 2 bedroom lock-off legacy Marriott week and splitting the lock-off into two weeks makes so much more financial sense for staying in Orlando (which is ALWAYS available in II). This Lakeshore reserve week in the picture below costed me about $1100/week for the 2 bedroom (maintenance fees + exchange fees). Just the studio portion of my Grande Vista lockoff has enough trading power to pull a 2 bedroom at Lakeshore Reserve. Lakeshore Reserve is attached to the JW Marriott and Ritz Carleton (2 luxury hotels) so its onsite amenties are BETTER for adults than any DVC property IMO. My daughter loves the lazy rivers (1 at Lakeshore and 1 more at the JW) + the two water slides.



The World center Marriott is also adding a lazy river + 3 more slides (having a total of 6 slides) in March for my daughter to enjoy once shes 48 inches. Alternating between SSR, OKW Lakeshore Reserve and the World center makes much more sense to me than buying a large DVC membership because when my kids are adults, I can just exchange my Grande Vista deed for more adult locations. DVC points are terrible for exchanging out of DVC but its super easy to exchange into SSR or OKW.

Most DVC owners that I converse with are oblivious to the value that other companies have to offer (buying resale of course). These are people that I talk to at the resorts. Some of them know you can buy DVC resale, but almost NONE of them know you can do the same thing with the other big players (Wyndham and Marriott) for a much better value for yourself and the kids. Again, this is my opinion and I am a DVC resale owner.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I'm probably going to get a lot of hate for my opinion, but I don't find DVC a good value for week long stays. I finally bought into SSR and got 50 points for short studio stays at locations other than SSR or OKW for my kids to enjoy for a night or two at a time. I only bought 50 points because I don't really care to stay much at DVC when my kids are grown. I don't see the point of owning a lot of of DVC points when Wyndham and Marriott are so much more versitile and a better value. I have both Wyndham and Marriott deeds so DVC trading affiliation doesn't matter because I own both II and RCI main companies. As an adult, I find Wyndham and Marriott my preferred ownership over DVC. Also, the one bedrom portion of my 2 bedroom Marriott lockoff pulls all of the SSR Interval International inventory. Here is what I can personally see with my Grande Vista 1 bedroom deposit:

View attachment 643460

If I were to stay at SSR for a week at the same times in the picture above, it would cost about $1150 more per week when factoring in buy in cost + annual dues (compared to Marriott dues + trading fees). Also, using a 2 bedroom lock-off legacy Marriott week and splitting the lock-off into two weeks makes so much more financial sense for staying in Orlando (which is ALWAYS available in II). This Lakeshore reserve week in the picture below costed me about $1100/week for the 2 bedroom (maintenance fees + exchange fees). Just the studio portion of my Grande Vista lockoff has enough trading power to pull a 2 bedroom at Lakeshore Reserve. Lakeshore Reserve is attached to the JW Marriott and Ritz Carleton (2 luxury hotels) so its onsite amenties are BETTER for adults than any DVC property IMO. My daughter loves the lazy rivers (1 at Lakeshore and 1 more at the JW) + the two water slides.

View attachment 643459

The World center Marriott is also adding a lazy river + 3 more slides (having a total of 6 slides) in March for my daughter to enjoy once shes 48 inches. Alternating between SSR, OKW Lakeshore Reserve and the World center makes much more sense to me than buying a large DVC membership because when my kids are adults, I can just exchange my Grande Vista deed for more adult locations. DVC points are terrible for exchanging out of DVC but its super easy to exchange into SSR or OKW.

Most DVC owners that I converse with are oblivious to the value that other companies have to offer (buying resale of course). These are people that I talk to at the resorts. Some of them know you can buy DVC resale, but almost NONE of them know you can do the same thing with the other big players (Wyndham and Marriott) for a much better value for yourself and the kids. Again, this is my opinion and I am a DVC resale owner.

This is a very interesting and insightful observation. Sounds to me you like Disney but don’t really love it. I think the whole point of DVC is being able to stay on Disney property and being immersed in the bubble. I can understand that families can grow out of Disney and that’s fine. I have friends that have both WVC and MVC and they love it because it works for their families. I think most of us love DVC because most of our vacations are at Disney. But you ain’t lying about the prices. DVC, and it’s dues is probably much more expensive than your other traditional timeshares. But I do really appreciate your insight. I think most of the fanbase here have largely been trained to believe that traditional timeshare programs are bad or that they are nothing more than money pits, not realizing that DVC can be the same if it’s not right for your family.