DVC Members Challenge

[DizneyNutz]

Hey all my fellow DVC Members! I have a question for ALL of you---do you remember your first trip to WDW---you know, the one that took your breath away and made you a fan for life? I have read so many posts, and replied to some, without actually submitting because I didn't want the backlash---so, I am posting my own thread....

I have read the posts where Members are so unhappy with everything from parking to towel service! To me, it's sad. If you ARE a MEMBER and have been blessed to be able to BE A MEMBER (it's not cheap folks) then you should REALIZE what a gift it is!

No, the pools aren't always going to be out your back door---the parking lots aren't always going to be exactly what you want AND neither are the rooms! Some folks complain ALL the time---for instance, my toilet bowl was not scrubbed next to the wall, HELLO---how well do you do that at home? I get so tired of reading all the negative, maybe I do prefer to see the positive in any given situation, but regradless of that, it costs ME AND DH JUST AS MUCH to be members! You can take it or leave it, love it or hate it, but by golly, don't portray yourself as a "privileged" person that should have EVERYTHING at your disposal just because you are a DVC Member----it gives us all a bad rep.

Just my opinion---but hey, that's what these boards are all about---sign me disgusted at some of the things I've been reading---especially the post that starts out "GOOD NEWS TO SSR FANS" and then proceeds to tell you how AWFUL her experience was----if there are any NEW SSR Members out there, like myself, I am sure this kind of attitude makes you feel great---let's see, you've just spent 13,000.00 or so to be in this "exclusive" club and you read stuff like that---could it be that our expectations have grown to proportions that are TOTALLY unreasonable????

I am sure that I am going to take a beating here and that's ok---I can take it. I guess I am still so new to the WDW Game that I see no wrong---sure, things aren't ALWAYS as you'd planned or hoped they'd be....but the Disney Stars will always be shining in our eyes---because, let's face it, if you didn't LOVE WDW you wouldn't spend these kind of dollars to own a piece of the magic!

I love it, will always love it, and will look forward to AND enjoy EVERY second I am blessed to be a DVC Member and a WDW Fan! No, it won't always be perfect, but nothing is---if you want TOTAL perfection at every turn, then good luck in finding it......

 

[nezy]

You won't hear me complaining!

I have just come back from a trip to a very expensive resort in Puerto Rico, w/ a great reputation. While everything was great, it just didn't have that little extra that I always expect and seem to get from any DVC resort. I think you are right in a way that DVC has raised the bar on our expectations.
I have never had a reason to complain. Not that everything is perfect-but I am forgiving of human error and can overlook any so called problems. I have had to clean a room upon my arrival. I can deal w/ that.

I do however understand that people pay alot and therefore expect alot. there is nothing wrong with that. Just as I can overlook any little problems or inconveniences, I too can overlook those who constantly bash the DVC resorts.

 

[Granny]

Our first trip to WDW, we had to cancel about 30 days in advance with our booking at CBR. Then circumstances changed and we were able to go after all but the only on-site resort available was Wilderness Lodge.

It was fate...that's all I can say. Because the first time we drove up the driveway and saw the immense entryway, and walked through those doors into the lobby....we were hooked! This was before we ever stepped foot in a park!

We got a room in the resort with bunk beds...the kids were in heaven. The maids posed the kids stuffed animals each day as if they were doing things while we were at the parks. Whispering Canyon was a hoot...literally!

So for us, we knew two things right away. We would always stay on-site at WDW, and Wilderness Lodge would always be our home.

 

[J and R's mom]

To answer the first part of your question (" I have a question for ALL of you---do you remember your first trip to WDW---you know, the one that took your breath away and made you a fan for life?") :

I was 11 when we took our first trip to WDW. We stayed in the villas that were torn down so that SSR could be built (at least I think those were the ones....they were next to DTD). That trip AWED me. So when my parents asked me where I wanted to go for my HS graduation trip I said WDW. When it came time to get married, I picked WDW. What got me hooked was the magic of the place, the ability to escape reality--even if just for awhile.

 

[Cruelladeville]

Hey, it's a free world, and if people want to whine, go ahead, maybe they will feel better afterward. Disney does not do everything correctly, sometimes they mess up, so people should have the freedom to whine and receive comfort from other members, if that's what they need. Give them some slack, please. Maybe one day, it will be your turn to whine and receive comfort. There are times when we all need that.

 

[gjw007]

Hey all my fellow DVC Members! I have a question for ALL of you---do you remember your first trip to WDW---you know, the one that took your breath away and made you a fan for life? I have read so many posts, and replied to some, without actually submitting because I didn't want the backlash---so, I am posting my own thread....

I remember my first trip to WDW; It made me wonder where was the fun in the place. It was about the 3rd week in July, 1995. It was hot, temperatures in the upper 90s/lower 100s. I entered the Magic Kingdom expecting rides; I saw a roll of stores to the left, a roll of stores to the right. I felt I entered a shopping center. It was also extremely crowded. Okay, so the place is popular; there must be something to this than just shopping.

I went to try some of the rides, waiting almost 2 hours to get on some rides. Was it worth the wait getting sunburn and being miserable; No! I just couldn't see what people saw in going to WDW. I went to the MK, MGM, and Epcot.

I went to Universal Studios and thoroughly enjoyed it while WDW had been unenjoyable. Still hot and crowded but I enjoyed it much better than Disney.

A friend recommended giving Disney another shoot. She's the one who enjoyed Disney. I went the week before Xmas 1996 and have gone during that period ever since. I like Xmas and Disney does Xmas well. If I based WDW only on my first trip and I would never go again and would make the same recommendation to others. I'm less of a Disney fan than I am a fan of Central Florida. There is so much to do in the area. Disney is okay but if it was the only thing in the area, I would vacation more elsewhere.

 

[mamaprincess]

Ahhhh this is more like it I think I'll stay here for a while. It's been rough out there.
Anyhoo, I discovered the power of WDW before I ever went. I was pregnant, housebound and bedridden in the 1st trimester with my now 22mos old princess.Ooooohhh the misery. I was extremely nauseas, I couldn't eat or drink without some serious unpleasantness and there was nothing to be done about it except have the ocassionale miserable stay at the hospital. That got old and I decided to just do the rest of my time on the family room couch. It was at this fabulous (cough cough) point in my pregnancy that my sister Pam decided to obsess about the girls, (my oldest), going to Disney by the time they became 5. She's from the school of thought that says early endoctrination is crucial to the magic taking hold at the core level. So she sends me a Disney Vacation planning video, you know that highly addictive thing that we watch again and again and again... until we can get our next fix
of the magic. Needless to say I was hooked from the beginning. The twins and I sat down on my misery sofa and watched the tape and laughed and dreamed and planned and longed for that first life altering glimpse of Cindy's Castle. Turned out that the tape was my only salvation.

My obsessive travel planning gene was activated by the tape thus causing me to call several travel agents and also search my entertainment book for anything Disney. To my infinite delight there was something called the Disney vacation club in my entertainment book. Of course I called immediately...DOH! It was no longer in operation, but as I ranted and darn near cried and begged for some sort of... well... anything that they may have along the lines of this (discount) club, I was mercifully and fatefully given the number of the DVC. Granted, I didn't have the faintest clue as to what this was but if it had anything to do with Disney I was all in. I was able to leave a message in a voice that I'm sure had a very thinly veiled desperation. Got a call Back from Betty Prickle. Own a piece of the magic... Can you picture the spirals going round and around in my eyes from that point on.

Fastforward to April of 2004 and after many, many days in The Wife and Children Tactical Brainwashing and Disneyfying Camp my Dh finally broke and gave in to our demands... we closed on saratoga and made our 1st sweet pilgrimage home.

When dreams comes true, enjoy them but if by some chance someone should rain on your parade, we'll be here to give you one of these and these

 

[newholidayx2]

walking into the Wilderness Lodge lobby did it for us

 

[JimC]

Hey all my fellow DVC Members! I have a question for ALL of you---do you remember your first trip to WDW---you know, the one that took your breath away and made you a fan for life? ......

Sure do -- 1978 our honeymoon. Contemporary tower room overlooking the MK. The era before garden wings and convention center. One park and the old ride ticket system. Still have some of those in a scrapbook. Rates were about $35 - $55 per night back then (very extravagant to us at the time).

 

[disney junky]

The year was 1971. I was a junior in high school. Fifteen years old. My older siblings were in college but my younger sister was a pesky 9 year old. My parents took us out of school for a couple of days and we flew to Orlando to see this new Walt Disney World thing--only the second time I had ever flown in a commercial jet. We arrived at our hotel, the Contemporary Resort and I remember being amazed as we approached the hotel at a bridge where the road passed under a lake. I watched in awe as these things called monorails traveled in and out of our hotel lobby. The view from the hotel was amazing. I could see perfectly shaped trees, shrubs formed into the shape of Disney characters, things I could never have imagined. I recall Swiss Family Robinson Tree House, the ride sponsored by one of the airlines, maybe Eastern, where at the end they leaned you back and blew a breeze across you to make it seem really fast as you raced down a slalom with skiers on both sides, Small World (which I had seen at the 1963 NY World's Fair), Hall of Presidents (which I thought was amazing), 20,000 leagues, Jungle Cruise, and so much more. We had little booklets of tickets, certain tickets for certain rides. The one night, we ate at The Top of the World, which was the restaurant at the top of the Contemporary. I ate twin petite filets. After dinner, Johnie Ray performed. I didn't know who he was, but my parents were pretty excited. Apparently back in the 40's he had a hit call "Cry" or something like that. He worked the room and literally shook each hand in the audience as he performed. I remember seeing the light show on Bay Lake; who ever imagined this stuff in the 70's. We took the ferry from the hotel to MK, again, something so out of the ordinary for a rural Pennsylvania boy. We checked out the Polynesian Resort; I beat my dad in tennis for the first time ever; everything was just amazing.
Maybe it was the time of my life, maybe it was the time in history-Viet Nam, campus unrest, but Disney became a sort of Utopia for me. I don't talk about it much because when I do, I tend to get excited and ramble a bit, sort of like I did here, and then people just stare at me....

 

[WDWLVR]

First time at Disney was in 1976. It was only the Magic Kingdom back then and we stayed at the Howard Johnson in the Village (now Downtown Disney area). It was wonderful. I was 19 and was with my mom. It was our first real vacation. She cried when she saw the castle for the first time. We were hooked!

Years later when DH and I got married we honeymooned at Disney and that's when he was hooked.

We lost my mom to lung cancer in 1997 and after settling her estate took my in-laws on a land/sea vacation with DCL to thank them for all their help when she was sick. On the cruise portion we met a DVC member and talked to them. We then called to look into DVC.

We made up our minds and made an appointment to tour and took a long weekend in January of 2000. We were staying at All Stars (since it was a spur of the moment trip didn't want to spend too much). The tour of the DVC unit did it for us. The separate bedroom with king size bed, jacuzzi tub, washer/dryer, full kitchen. We knew the one bedroom was for us and we bought enough points so that we could stay in that.

Over the years we've done mostly one bedrooms, but also a two bedroom (when we had my in-laws with us), and studios (for quick trips - usually before or after a cruise).

We've been let down a few times but nothing that I wouldn't expect could happen anywhere else on property. Most of the time we have been very very pleased with our accomodations and are very happy that we are members.

DVC truly is our home away from home and DH and I love it!

 

[dianeschlicht]

My first trip to WDW was about a year after Epcot opened. We were blown away by the details of the landscaping all over WDW and the cleanliness and attention to themeing details of everything in the parks and resorts. It was like a magnet drawing us back again and again. Finally, in 1994, we checked out DVC, but didn't purchase until 1997. I have never been a complainer, and I also have never had a DVC room that had any problems worth complaining about. I am always impressed with how well they are maintained when you consider the amount of people going through those places!

 

[BEACHCLUBVILLAS]

I have a question for ALL of you---do you remember your first trip to WDW---you know, the one that took your breath away and made you a fan for life?

It was 1975 and my high school senior class organized a trip for $249pp including airfare for 4 nights at what is now, I think, the Travel Lodge in Lake Buena Vista. Only the Magic Kingdom was open. We had a blast.

Then, fast forward to 1982 when my husband and I stayed at the Poly for our honeymoon. EPCOT opened while we there. As resort guests, we got to try EPCOT a day before grand opening (Oct. 1) to help Disney make sure everything was in good working order. WOW! That was my impression.

Then, every other year we visited and it's the only place my state trooper husband can really relax without thinking about how to solve crimes. So here we are, DVC members, and visiting more than once a year. Yet, everytime I go I remember my firsts and it makes me relax and enjoy my pina colada in the Florida sun by the pool all the more.

 

[tlotgg]

My first trip to WDW was 1991. My in laws had just moved to FL. and we were planning a "vacation" to visit them. I love my in laws but this was not my idea of a "vacation". So my wife suggested we take our then 6 and 8 yo daughters and go to WDW for a few days as a more typical vacation activity. Now I'm a fairly patient man and the one thing that I don't tollerate well is waiting in line. My wife explained that the line waits weren't "too long", so off we went. Being total WDW novices I did not expect the bazillion cars in the parking lot, not thinking to remember what parking lot we were in, the bazillion people on the trams all racing at once to get to the monorail, the half bazillion people in front of me to puchase admission media, the bazillion people again at the gates of the MK and to top it off, not long after entering the MK all three females announce they have to go to the bathroom! I'm left standing under a small tree by the carousel just past the castle thinking what a horrible mistake this junket was, getting more annoyed by the second, looking at the size of those ride lines and it happened!! I felt a small "sensation " on my shoulder. I looked to my left and bird had just "made a deposit" on my left shoulder. It was one of those defining moments where I was going to either start screaming and trash everything in sight or admit defeat. I looked upwards and said to myself OK, I get the message. I just burst out laughing as my family was returning from their rest stop. Needless to say it was my introduction to my love affair with WDW.

 

[Holly]

My first WDW trip was in 1988. My parents had scrimped & saved for YEARS to be able to take me and my two siblings to Disney. We drove from Connecticut and camped at Fort Wilderness. I was 12, and I remember being so awed by Fort Wilderness and thinking it was a park!

On the first night there was severe rain and our campsite flooded. We all had to squish into the van and sleep there for the night.

Since then, whenever I feel a bit annoyed about something like not getting my exact room request, I think back on that flooded campsite and smile.

Good thread, DizneyNutz.

 

[TR Denise]

My first trip was 1977 it was our honeymoon. Everything was just so magical. Growing up we didnt have a lot of money so our only vacations were camping ones (we loved them) so the first time I stayed in a hotel it was the Contempary . My DH just said last week (as we were planning our Oct visit) how did two young kids who didnt know what they were doing find this great place that we love together. I think what really led us to DVC was staying with my parents in the fairways and clubhouse villas. With 3 kids how do you go back to a hotel room. My kids have great vacation memories that they cant wait to share when they have children

 

[Nanajo1]

Our first trip was back in 1978. We stayed at a local HI in Kissamee. We really didn't plan very well and although the 4 kids ages 2-8 had a good time it wasn't "magical". I planned better in 1985 and we stayed at CR it was more fun. The kids enjoyed MK and Epcot. It wasn't until we joined DVC and had our first stay that the Magic kicked in. In 1999 DH and I went by ourselves to check out the BWV and OKW. We had bought sight unseen. We had a BWV PV studio and we thought we were in Heaven. Everything about it was great. I had become mobility impaired by then and I had found a place that I was free and independent! There were very few places I could not go on my ECV. When we saw the 2BR at OKW we knew we had found a home away from home! Now we take our ever growing family(up to 19) every other T'giving and the Magic continues. However, Heaven in a studio has been replaced with Heaven in a 1BR when it is just DH and me.

 

[tigger002]

My first and second visit was 1973 and 1975. I was 16 and 18 years old traveling with my family. It was at Xmas and Easter and very crowded and did not get to go on my rides. We had to wait in line with our cars for hours just to get in. It was just okay. Went once while in college, not much again and a couple more times before the kids were born and never stayed at Disney hotels. We went again when my two boys were 3 and 5 and stayed at then Dixie Landing. Wow I think the hotel did it. We have taken the kids, now 3 of them 17, 15, 11, every year (sometimes twice) and bought DVC in 1998 and have been Disney Nuts ever since. Well I am probably more the Disney nut but the rest do like it very much. I really think staying on Disney property completes the Magically feeling.

 

[wtpclc]

September 1996, pulling into the Boardwalk at about 2 am for our honeymoon. My dh had been to wdw several times with his family, but always Fort Wilderness campgrpund. The lights at the back entrance made me feel like I was entering a Hollywood set. My very frugal dh just kept saying, "Are you sure we already paid for this???" His way of saying that it had to be more than we could ever afford.

Arriving at the MK the next day was even more magical. I had to take pictures with teh circus elephant topiaries as soon as I got off the bus. That picture says it all. I had arrived and I was enomared.

FYI - Our next 2 trips were at mods. Very nice, but not the same. There wasn't the freedom to walk to a park or even the night life on the BW. DVC means we always get delux. SSR means the freedom to walk to DTD.

OK. I want to go home!!!!

 

[geffric]

My parents went to WDW when we were kids and came back talking about Epcot and in great detail described the Land Boat ride. it sounded so MAgicla to us. When I got an opportunity to go to a conference in Orlando ( mid 80's), i knew that i have to go to Epcot. One month after DH and i got married, he mother moved in with us to spent her last days. She died of cancer on April 6th 1990. We both were very depressed and decided to get away for a long weekend. We went to WDW and stayed off site but found a place to forget your troubles, so the Magic began. In 1993, when the kids were 2 years and 4 months respectively, we took our first vacation as a family and went to WDW. We stayed offsite in a horrible hotel. So we were ready to discover the Magic. My SIL had told us to check out OKW while we were there. And we did and bought that day.


We have gone every year for 2 weeks since then.