For 5+ year DVC veterans: As satisfied with DVC now as you used to be?

[crisi]

DVC is pretty much what it was when we joined (five years ago). If anything, our room was better maintained than past rooms. But DISNEY has changed. For us, the biggest thing and the biggest disappointment is the quality of food at table service restaurants. For us, this is a big deal. Other things that have changed, too - they moved F&W back to our travel week - I know a lot of people think F&W is a lot of fun - for us it just adds inconvienence and extra crowds.

Possibly the biggest issue is we've changed - our kids are getting bigger and Disney has gone from "an easy vacation to take with kids" to "we want more experiences than Disney can provide for our kids." When they were five and six - they weren't up to Washington DC. Now they are eight and nine, and Washington DC sounds interesting. They loved San Francisco and Monterey last year. Boston and New York City are on the list. My daughter is obsessed by the thought of going to Paris (why Paris? no clue), while my son thinks a Carribean Beach vacation sounds right up his alley (for him, this sounds like an entire week on Castaway Cay - which, I suppose, is what it is).

 

[Melrosgirl]

We bought in December 2002. We are satisfied with DVC. Very glad we bought it when we did. Have used it probably a dozen times since then. I should add that we're pretty easy going. If I have to wait until 4 p.m. to check in, I'll wait and not complain about it. My rooms have always been clean. Are they always totally 100% perfect? No. I don't mind worn carpet (to an extent). I don't mind only 2 towels instead of 4 in the room. I don't care if we don't get a welcome home, but I always do like that, LOL.

 

[shellbelle1971]

DVC is pretty much what it was when we joined (five years ago). If anything, our room was better maintained than past rooms. But DISNEY has changed. For us, the biggest thing and the biggest disappointment is the quality of food at table service restaurants. For us, this is a big deal. Other things that have changed, too - they moved F&W back to our travel week - I know a lot of people think F&W is a lot of fun - for us it just adds inconvienence and extra crowds.

I didn't respond, as we bought DVC first in '98, then sold in '01, then bought again in '04 or '05 (can't remember, exactly.)

Our sentiments are that we notice and dislike the exact same things as Crisi, but overall we're so disney-addicted that we keep adding more points.

I think you're likely to get a skewed view on this poll, as those who are dissatisfied with the changes in DVC have likely already sold their contract(s) and/or aren't likely to be hanging around the disboards that much.

 

[jarestel]

I would answer no, I'm not as satisfied. This should not be inferred to mean that I am dissatisfied, but I do find that the general resort upkeep, maintenance, and housekeeping issues are not exactly what I would have expected "way back when". The resorts tend to show their age very quickly and since most of them are less than 10 years old, this does concern me over the longer haul.

The original expectation of DVC providing first class accomodations for members has morphed over time into providing simply average/adequate accomodations. Not that there's anything horrible about average type rooms, but my expectations were a bit higher (as was the reality) a few years back.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Despite some of the changes--no placemats, no napkins, no throw pillows--we are as satisfied as we were when we bought into DCV almost 11 years ago.

We still love OKW wo much that we have only stayed somewhere else (SSR) only once.

I could have written that!

 

[Granny]

I think you're likely to get a skewed view on this poll, as those who are dissatisfied with the changes in DVC have likely already sold their contract(s) and/or aren't likely to be hanging around the disboards that much.

I agree that any poll on this site will be naturally skewed. However, I think that there are a significant number of people like jarestel above who are less satisfied with WDW/DVC experiences yet still find the ownership to be worthwhile.

That's why I tried to word it the way I did. And the only reason I picked 5 years is because newer owners shouldn't have changed their opinion all that much in just a year or two. Also, I bought in 2001 so I thought I'd draw the line around that time frame!

I appreciate everyone who has voted and chimed in with their comments. I look forward to many more.

 

[OlderMan]

Diane,

I added those specific items--placemats, napkins and THROW PILLOWS--especially for YOUR benefit!

 

[eliza61]

We are still extremely satisfied. We purchased simply for the ability to lower our accomadation cost at Disney. While the perks are nice, they were not influential in our decision to buy. I've been very fortunate in that all my stays have been fantastic. I have seen some customer service snafus but I travel for my livlihood (generally 100-130 nights a year in a hotel) so unfortunately I've seen a decrease in customer service across the board from the four seasons to motel 6. Call me a cynic but I think its the result of our "want it now, want it cheap" mentality. I'm hoping for another 20 years of great vacations.

 

[Dean]

I voted less satisfied but let me explain. Overall I think DVC still offers the same core options and true value for the right persons it did 5 years ago or when I joined in 1994. What has changed is my knowledge and my personal situation. Currently we are empty nesters, own a number of other timeshares and can trade in to DVC fairly easily if we want. We are also somewhat Disney'd out at present. I think the biggest change in DVC itself is simply a shift in that the increases in price have shifted the $$$ curve to make DVC less reasonable for some that DVC would have been a fairly good fit for at a lower price in the the past. For the right family DVC is still a wonderful option.

 

[Tamar]

We're Class of '01, and we're just as satisfied. Earlier this year I started getting nervous about owning HH points because of the growing membership and our plans to use points pretty much exclusively in the World, but now that we sold the HH and replaced them with BWV we're good to go.

 

[jodifla]

I was a HUGE DVC booster, but I no longer recommend it to others. It has gotten very expensive, and they keep taking away perks at a MUCH faster clip than they give back.

Just look at the recent 4-month rule, the $95 fee to stay at DISNEY hotels, and the gutting of the concierge collection.

I have a 6 year old, so we're still pretty happy with our visits. But the magic is greatly diminished for me, and I can see selling down the road, something I NEVER thought I'd say.

I also wonder how DVC can keep hyping the "options" when they KEEP TAKING ALL THE OPTIONS AWAY!

 

[DebbieB]

I voted same but have feelings on both sides (more satisfied/less satisfied). I'm happy about the $100 discount on AP's and the free internet. I'm not happy about the $95 fee for non-DVC WDW resorts and new banking rules. It really limits my options when I have a last minute business trip to Orlando and want to stay just 1 night. DVC really markets the outside options (at least they used to) and this really dimishes that.

 

[OneMoreTry]

Less excitement. Partly due to lack of DW's interest. But DD8 who is ill loves WDW so DW has to go along somewhat.

Just as satisfied but in a different way. I'm glad we purchased but am not sure we would now. In fact I'm glad we purchased because I don't think we would now and I like having the points.

We always use all.

 

[boBQuincy]

After almost 9 years of ownership we feel the maintenance and certainly the housekeeping has gone downhill at BWV. It would not be considered a deluxe resort anywhere else.

But, if you want to stay that close to two theme parks there aren't many other options. We would not even consider selling, we use all our points every year.

 

[Dean]

I was a HUGE DVC booster, but I no longer recommend it to others. It has gotten very expensive, and they keep taking away perks at a MUCH faster clip than they give back.

Just look at the recent 4-month rule, the $95 fee to stay at DISNEY hotels, and the gutting of the concierge collection.

I have a 6 year old, so we're still pretty happy with our visits. But the magic is greatly diminished for me, and I can see selling down the road, something I NEVER thought I'd say.

I also wonder how DVC can keep hyping the "options" when they KEEP TAKING ALL THE OPTIONS AWAY!

Your feelings are your own certainly. But I find it interesting that IMO the 4 month rule is neutral to a slight member benefit to the membership as a whole, the $95 fee really makes no difference to me for a program I saw as so overpriced already it doesn't matter and same for the CC and these are all things that could have been taken away totally the day after you bought in. Most anyone that buys where they wouldn't have bought in without any of the other perks is buying for the wrong reasons, doesn't understand the system and probably won't get enough benefits from the entire system to make owning worthwhile.

 

[disney54us]

Less satisfied, 10 year member. Not that I'm selling, I still enjoy Dis, but as far as overall satisfaction, and what I feel was a five star trip, to many little things that over time add into big things. AP discount, yes it's nice but $100 is not going to make me do a dance and over look the changes that many members have seen happen.

 

[PBader]

I voted more satisfied. We have been fortunate it seems, not to have had any mousekeeping satisfaction issues since we joined in '95. My DS is now 19 so our vacationing has changed over the years. I really like the new resorts that have been announced, I see that as a wonderful change. We really don't use to many of the "perks"--so don't miss any of them that are gone--except for pool hopping to the BC. We don't take advantage of the aps (but it is great savings) --we buy 7 or 10 day passes that last us for years.

I don't see SSR as a "mistake". We really enjoy the quiet that OKW and SSR offer. We enjoy the fact that we can walk over to DTD and spend some time. I don't like that the points for DCL are so much more than they used to be--but DCL wasn't even around when we purchased. I enjoy the variety that the program offers and I still recommend DVC to my friends that visit WDW often.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

Ive been very satisfied although we are at a crossroad with our children getting older. We may start to look to stay at other locations than Disneyworld. I don't know what the 4 month rule is....I'm almost afraid to ask. My hopes are that the keep the dvc properties fresh, and keep the discount into the parks in effect. Also let's not make booking our vacations so complicated( like the 4 month rule I suspect). That is when I will sell, when it just becomes too much work to plan a vacation.

 

[JimC]

Nice poll Granny!

I said about the same. But it was a close call with less satisfied. The core offering is what I chose to base my answer on. If I added in "perks" and other non-core DVC issues or WDW issues it would easily be less satisfied.

We still enjoy DVC and WDW, but are less enthusiastic regarding the program. That could also be a result of knowing more about the timeshare market and ownership in another program.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Ive been very satisfied although we are at a crossroad with our children getting older. We may start to look to stay at other locations than Disneyworld. I don't know what the 4 month rule is....I'm almost afraid to ask. My hopes are that the keep the dvc properties fresh, and keep the discount into the parks in effect. Also let's not make booking our vacations so complicated( like the 4 month rule I suspect). That is when I will sell, when it just becomes too much work to plan a vacation.

The 4 month rule is about banking. Prior to 1/01/08, owners could bank 100% up to 6 months out of expiring, 50% up to 4 month out of expiring and 25% up to 10 months into the use year. The new rule in effect 1/01/08 is bank 100% up to 8 months out.

So if you were a late banker, you would have been able to bank up to 25% total with only two months left in your use year. Now you can bank more points later, but not as late as you used to be able to do.