General Feeling of DVC membership

[BEASLYBOO]

It doesn't necessarily mean a "strictness" in how you live your life! It may just mean some people are planners. For example, I frequently do spontaneous trips but I also plan 2, sometimes 3 years ahead! My son's high school graduation, Greece for 5 people, 2015, I need time to make bank! And DVC has worked for us because we do plan certain occasions 1 to 2 years away, family reunions (11- 13 people) that span 3 states and 2 continents, need pre-planning and organizations. I reserve the villa at 11 months but we plan it way before that! We've had 3 so far in an OKW GV, they were stupendous!

We follow the school calendar, we DVC the 2nd week of June, October for F&W, Pre-Thanksgiving and Feb around the 10-15th! Trus me there's nothing strict about my life other than laughing and having a great time with friends and family!

 

[Alexander]

It doesn't necessarily mean a "strictness" in how you live your life! It may just mean some people are planners. For example, I frequently do spontaneous trips but I also plan 2, sometimes 3 years ahead! My son's high school graduation, Greece for 5 people, 2015, I need time to make bank! And DVC has worked for us because we do plan certain occasions 1 to 2 years away, family reunions (11- 13 people) that span 3 states and 2 continents, need pre-planning and organizations. I reserve the villa at 11 months but we plan it way before that! We've had 3 so far in an OKW GV, they were stupendous!

We follow the school calendar, we DVC the 2nd week of June, October for F&W, Pre-Thanksgiving and Feb around the 10-15th! Trus me there's nothing strict about my life other than laughing and having a great time with friends and family!

That's all great but the poster stated..."YOU HAVE GOT TO PLAN AHEAD. If you are the not the type of person who plans ahead NO timeshare will work for you." And that is just not true. Okay, not strict, how about anal!

 

[lovin'fl]

I thought I posted in this thread the other day, but I guess not. We have been very happy with DVC. There are some Disney (not DVC) decisions that have not thrilled us (not real thrilled with the new FP+ system...was upset to see apps and tips taken off DP...etc). We think direct pricing is crazy outrageous. When we 1st looked into DVC, in 2006, SSR was selling new and was about $95-100pp with incentives. We bought the cheapest WDW resort via resale, OKW and saved a ton of money. It has been shocking to see DVC direct prices climb so much since 2006 ($95 to $165 in 7 years and during an economic melt down...say what!?!?!?!). So we just keep buying resale (added HH last year, AKV this year and more HH this year). And what we get for our $$, we have been very pleased with. We have only used our points for DVC and by this December we will have stayed at all the east coast DVC resorts (except VGF)...therefore we have had no problem using our OKW points at 7 months out. We like and dislike things about all the resorts...but the very best thing about our DVC is that we get a condo for our vacations (with 3 teens it is great to have that space, separate rooms, a washer/dryer, the jetted tub is sweet after a day in the parks and a balcony to escape any bickering). The resorts are all clean and nice quality and have nice amenities and some have fabulous theme-ing (so they are far from a Motel Six). From 2006 to now we have gone from having 200 points to 425 and likely will add more...so, I'd say that speaks to how happy we are.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I want to add something that just happened that was "special" for me. We received an invitation to preview the Disney movie Planes when we are in WDW next week. We are not going to take advantage because we will be boarding the Fantasy for our family cruise, but receiving an invitation to sign up did make me smile, at least! Going to the preview would have been possible, but we want to board the ship as soon as we can, the family is just crazy about the Aquaduck! With any lucky they will preview the movie on the ship. We have been on board for special showings of a few movies, The Strange Life of Timothy Green and others.

Bobbi

 

[sweetdana]

I love my dvc. I use it in conjunction with transferring, renting, rented a time share, onsite universal, and booking with cash say for free dining.

I only own 160 points but go 3-4 times in 12 months then take off for a while.
This 12 months 2 were full dvc stays 1 from my own 1 from a transfer 1 week off site 2 bedroom for peanuts, and 1 split between dvc and on site universal.

I love not having too many mf, but can get points at about 10$ for advance planning at a different home resort through a transfer. (And choose for that trip if I need enough for a studio or 1 bedroom.)

I would love some pixie dust some time, but the savings is well worth the lack of dust.

 

[Apps]

I want to add something that just happened that was "special" for me. We received an invitation to preview the Disney movie Planes when we are in WDW next week. We are not going to take advantage because we will be boarding the Fantasy for our family cruise, but receiving an invitation to sign up did make me smile, at least! Going to the preview would have been possible, but we want to board the ship as soon as we can, the family is just crazy about the Aquaduck! With any lucky they will preview the movie on the ship. We have been on board for special showings of a few movies, The Strange Life of Timothy Green and others.

Bobbi

Actually, i got the same invite but for the AMC theatre in DTD, Anaheim I won't go cause it would be torture for my kids to see the movie and not be able to go to Disneyland (my so cal pass is blocked off until August)

 

[bobbiwoz]

Actually, i got the same invite but for the AMC theatre in DTD, Anaheim I won't go cause it would be torture for my kids to see the movie and not be able to go to Disneyland (my so cal pass is blocked off until August)

OK...we are 2 families that declined!

 

[lovin'fl]

It doesn't necessarily mean a "strictness" in how you live your life! It may just mean some people are planners. For example, I frequently do spontaneous trips but I also plan 2, sometimes 3 years ahead! My son's high school graduation, Greece for 5 people, 2015, I need time to make bank! And DVC has worked for us because we do plan certain occasions 1 to 2 years away, family reunions (11- 13 people) that span 3 states and 2 continents, need pre-planning and organizations. I reserve the villa at 11 months but we plan it way before that! We've had 3 so far in an OKW GV, they were stupendous!

We follow the school calendar, we DVC the 2nd week of June, October for F&W, Pre-Thanksgiving and Feb around the 10-15th! Trus me there's nothing strict about my life other than laughing and having a great time with friends and family!

We have limited times we can vacation due to school and my girls' club (year round) softball schedule. But I know our schedule as it's pretty consistent every year (don't get folks that have to wait until 2-3 months out on a schedule). We know that Aug (until late Aug when school starts) is a good travel time and we know they get off school (and softball) for Xmas week (our schools go up to the 23rd unless that's a Sat or Sun...we know that, everyone knows that, it will always be that way...and they go back to school Jan 2 or the Monday after Jan 2). We also know they get off school (and softball...except an indoor workout or 2 that can be missed) the entire week of Thanksgiving. That's pretty much it...except a few days for semester break in January (which we did WDW this year during that break and it was too stressful worrying about school closings the week before, during midterms, making us lose the break and then flight delays/cancellations due to inclement weather). DH and I can be more flexible for sans kiddo trips, but we still have to plan enough to get grands on board with staying at our house with the kids and dogs.

We also fell into a cycle of doing 2-3 WDW trips every other year using APs...then the other years we do a beach trip using DVC (we own HH points). So, we know that 2014 is beach year (HHI) and 2015 is AP/WDW year and 2016 is beach year again (maybe Aulani)...and so on. We throw in cruises here and there and even book those about a year or so out. We do change plans a lot and booking so far in advance gives us that ability. We added the Oct- 3 night- F&W sans kiddo trip around 5 months out...we booked a sans kiddo cruise in 2011 at 3 weeks out. I digress and kinda forgot what my point was. I guess it was to say that I don't get folks that say they have to wait on schedules to plan anything (I know someone like that and they own DVC at SSR since they never book more than 3-4 months out...that works for them, but we wouldn't want to always stay at SSR so we are glad to have no troubles planning in advance).

 

[lovin'fl]

OK...we are 2 families that declined!

I got it but sent it to my trash box w/out really looking at it.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Maybe it's just my perception, but it seems like for the most part people don't seem entirely thrilled with their DVC memberships. There's a lot of talk of resale, issues with reservations, resorts being unavailable, lots of issues with member services, talk of how savings are lost when you travel to Disney so much, and a general feeling of Disney being in it to make money and not to make DVC members happy.

Is this the general consensus? I appreciate all of the honesty, I just can't figure out if people enjoy their member ships or feel trapped or treated like second rate citizens with the system.

Thanks!

I love my DVC and have really no complaints in the last 3 years. Maybe people misunderstand and expect more from the membership than it actually is. I'm not sure what it is exactly. But I love mine

 

[bonrea]

Kind of hard to plan that far ahead when you can't even book your home resort until 11 months out! We, as many people, are not even able to think that far out as travel depends on school breaks. The only time we even book at 11 months was when we are visiting at Christmas.

I cannot imagine how strict you are in your real life, if you take your vacations so serious! What do you do when something goes off plan? DVC really is about relaxing and enjoying all that WDW has to offer because being an owner you get to go back time and again. Life is too short to make vacations into such serious business!

LOL... I see your point. However; I'm not strict at all. In most cases we are very lazy people. . I just know that we work hard all year (including DD at school) and we need the vacation time. We know where we want to stay so we are checking the calendars [school and work] way ahead of time to make sure we know what to look for. With DHs job he must put in for the time early or he never gets it because of the work he does. We book 11 months out or if we want a non home resort the 7 months. Because I call on the exact 11 or 7 month date we have always gotten what we want or very close to it. Since 1996 when DH (before we ever met and he was single) bought into DVC he and we have never had to wait list either.

Some other DISers here do not do planning and go at the last minute and that is a very good thing. We would love to do that but don't have that luxury so we must plan ahead. Ah... retirement would be a great help with that.
So... Yea... I guess you can plan or be spontaneous.
LOL We also book DCL the moment the itineraries are released.

It doesn't necessarily mean a "strictness" in how you live your life! It may just mean some people are planners. For example, I frequently do spontaneous trips but I also plan 2, sometimes 3 years ahead! My son's high school graduation, Greece for 5 people, 2015, I need time to make bank! And DVC has worked for us because we do plan certain occasions 1 to 2 years away, family reunions (11- 13 people) that span 3 states and 2 continents, need pre-planning and organizations. I reserve the villa at 11 months but we plan it way before that! We've had 3 so far in an OKW GV, they were stupendous!

We follow the school calendar, we DVC the 2nd week of June, October for F&W, Pre-Thanksgiving and Feb around the 10-15th! Trus me there's nothing strict about my life other than laughing and having a great time with friends and family!

Love this post. BEASLYBOO beat me to the answer.

For all the newbees reading this thread you can take this as a sign that no matter what your planning or lack of planning DVC is for just about anyone that can afford it. We use it for everything we do when we travel. We just wish there was a discount for air-fairs.

 

[BestDadEver]

I often get that feeling around here . Seems almost all posts are negative . I enjoyed my first trip as a DVC member .

 

[bonrea]

I suppose I should state that regardless of what other members may say good or bad about it we don't really have any complaints other than what I've said earlier "We wish it had stayed Disney's Best Kept Secret".

WE LOVE DVC AND WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD!!
We have 620 points and we use them all. We bank and borrow once in a while for DCL, Grand Villas and other places and LOVE the flexibility. We use the DVC Member discount for the TIW card and the APs.

DH is one of the few people that I see with his beloved DVC Member apparel everywhere we go. That is all the Disney’s items he will buy. He loves it when people stop him and ask about it. He even keeps a little business card with our member info on it to give them when they ask.

 

[Alexander]

Because I teach and my boys are still in school, we can only travel when school is not in session. Our school calendar comes out in March or April for the following year, so we can only plan our vacations for December, February, and April at 8-11 months out. We used to visit late August to Labor Day every summer, but when DS started high school, sports start in mid-August, so we've had to back that trip up. As I said I only book Christmas at 11 months due to the high demand. If April falls during Easter, I try to book at least 7 months out. Otherwise, I kind of just go with it. For example, for this August, I waited to see how airfare was going to be. Booked Tuesday to Tuesday which is something we've never done. We also are totally and completely flexible with which resort we stay at. I ask the kids for their preference and try that first, but we will take any DVC that is open. I think as long as you don't HAVE to have a GV or specific resort, you can do with less advance planning. We also don't do ADRs much at all. Again, we take what is available and just go with it.

 

[crisi]

It doesn't necessarily mean a "strictness" in how you live your life! It may just mean some people are planners. For example, I frequently do spontaneous trips but I also plan 2, sometimes 3 years ahead! My son's high school graduation, Greece for 5 people, 2015, I need time to make bank! And DVC has worked for us because we do plan certain occasions 1 to 2 years away, family reunions (11- 13 people) that span 3 states and 2 continents, need pre-planning and organizations. I reserve the villa at 11 months but we plan it way before that! We've had 3 so far in an OKW GV, they were stupendous!

We follow the school calendar, we DVC the 2nd week of June, October for F&W, Pre-Thanksgiving and Feb around the 10-15th! Trus me there's nothing strict about my life other than laughing and having a great time with friends and family!

Its also a bigger deal if you don't go very often.

There are two issues with lack of planning - the one that gets posted here most often is availability. The other risk is probably wasted points. You need to plan around the banking deadline, and banking and borrowing. If you go more often than I do, I suspect it isn't a big deal, but since we need to bank and borrow to go every other year, and are far enough away that we need to plan airfare, and have complicated lives that mean we have to plan timing, we tend to know pretty far out. You don't want to be in a place where you didn't bank your points because you thought you might go, only to have the not quite planned trip not happen. The way to get around this is just to bank before the end of the banking window and borrow if you decide to go. That's a complexity that confuses some people.

 

[jillmc40]

Those stinkers are the ones who now, at 16, are planning the trip without me, when they turn 18! Because you see it's "our" DVC!

That would make me proud I went to Disney with my bff, my brother and his bff when I graduated high school. I would love it if my kids love Disney their whole lives. DS 4 asks me every single day if we can go back to Disney. I will just have to buy another contract at some point so I can give them each some points when I die. Until then, I will always have ROFR on the points

As a side note...My parents had DVC before it was called DVC. Back in the 80's. I always thought it was awesome that we could stay in a huge condo while at Disney and have the golf carts and drive all over the place. Maybe this is why I am the way I am..... I wish they still had that :/

I plan 2 years in advance. I'm not so much anal, as I am excited. When I leave WDW I need to know when I am coming back. Obviously I have nothing booked yet, but I know where we are hopefully going to stay in 2015 and 2016. We do Easter break when they fall within a year of each other since that gives us 10 days of school vacation each trip, and the ability to use an AP. If things don't end up going as planned, I don't care, but I love to plan it! Just like ADR's, those are 180 days in advance. You can chose to not book 180 in advance but then don't be upset when you can't eat in the castle...

 

[michelleiada]

We love our DVC! I really did my homework before purchasing and knew what I was purchasing. I have no regrets.

 

[bonrea]

I plan 2 years in advance. I'm not so much anal, as I am excited. When I leave WDW I need to know when I am coming back. Obviously I have nothing booked yet, but I know where we are hopefully going to stay in 2015 and 2016. We do Easter break when they fall within a year of each other since that gives us 10 days of school vacation each trip, and the ability to use an AP. If things don't end up going as planned, I don't care, but I love to plan it! Just like ADR's, those are 180 days in advance. You can chose to not book 180 in advance but then don't be upset when you can't eat in the castle...

D I T T O

 

[Alexander]

Its also a bigger deal if you don't go very often.

There are two issues with lack of planning - the one that gets posted here most often is availability. The other risk is probably wasted points. You need to plan around the banking deadline, and banking and borrowing. If you go more often than I do, I suspect it isn't a big deal, but since we need to bank and borrow to go every other year, and are far enough away that we need to plan airfare, and have complicated lives that mean we have to plan timing, we tend to know pretty far out. You don't want to be in a place where you didn't bank your points because you thought you might go, only to have the not quite planned trip not happen. The way to get around this is just to bank before the end of the banking window and borrow if you decide to go. That's a complexity that confuses some people.

What is banking?
Seriously, we have been in borrowing mode since year two! Figured by the time the end of our contract rolls around, I won't really care if we have points or not!

 

[Alexander]

I plan 2 years in advance. I'm not so much anal, as I am excited. When I leave WDW I need to know when I am coming back. Obviously I have nothing booked yet, but I know where we are hopefully going to stay in 2015 and 2016. We do Easter break when they fall within a year of each other since that gives us 10 days of school vacation each trip, and the ability to use an AP. If things don't end up going as planned, I don't care, but I love to plan it! Just like ADR's, those are 180 days in advance. You can chose to not book 180 in advance but then don't be upset when you can't eat in the castle...

See, I can't plan that far in advance, because even for 2014, I don't know if we'll go to WDW, on a cruise, to Aulani, or maybe Alaska or ABD. I know we will do something, we just haven't decided yet.