Happy thread - What made me become a member?

[lenshanem]

I need a happy thread.
I know there have been threads in the past about what made you become a member, but...
I want to know besides the usual responses of when I walked into the models I was sold....
I want to know what it is about WDW that you love so much that it made buying into DVC seem reasonable?
And it can be recent events or experiences, or even ones from way back as a child. Things that really make you love WDW and prompt you to make those monthly dues payments....
Please no negative posts about WDW on this thread. (I've been guilty of this recently, I'm sorry.)

I'll start -
I must have had some great trips as a kid, cause it seems I have always loved the place. I love how I can be there a week, never once get into my car or even see it for that matter, never watch the TV... Just total separation from the real world. I am in a "fantasyland"! I now love that I can enjoy the same attractions right along with my kids. That I can leave the parks for the day and still be submerged in that "fantasyland" at the hotels. It just totally releases me from reality and I love it.

 

[MAC3]

Hi,

I have been obsessed with WDW since I took my then 3 yr old niece to see The Little Mermaid in the theater(she's now 19). From that point on I started collecting everything Disney and going quiet often too (once every 2 years or so) ... I thought DH would never make it in Disney because he can't handle the checkout line at the supermarket. But 1 trip and he was hooked too.

We always stayed @ the values and saw the DVC booths but assumed it was for the wealthy. I guess what made us buy was we got great bonuses from work (before leaving) and we were sitting by the pool at the Boardwalk with friends who were DVC members at the time..... Nothing more was necessary! I guess we love the escape from the routine reality! People ask us if we get bored with it........all I can say is......"NEVER!"

Great Thread!
Lisa

 

[floridafam]

We bought into DVC because we fell in love with Vero Beach as cash guests. We cried when we had to leave.

We checked into DVC and decided we wanted to use the money for other things. Two of my brothers died around the same time and one of them said he wished he would have went more places in the world. That sealed the deal for us. I wanted to give my kids great memories that would last forever.

 

[Laurabearz]

For us, it was the accomidations... 2 bedroom villas (even before we were a family of five this appealed to us) full kitchen, laundry.... All in a wonderful themed hotel, with great pools, food, and entertainment.

The parks and all the other stuff was the icing.

 

[spiceycat]

Grandmother while she lived took the entire family every year to WDW (it was just the MK then) and we stayed at the Polyn - those are great memories.

I looked at DVC in 92 but got talked out of it.

the next year I took my brother's family to WDW - the kids were 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 - it was a great trip - when it was time to go I was happy because I got to see my cats again - Daniel looked at me and say he could stay at WDW forever!!! Okay that did it - I came back home and brought DVC - no regrets!!! I still love it and being able to share with family, friends, co-workers and sometimes just people who are going through hard times - means a lot - with DVC my life would be much emptier....

 

[littlestar]

My love of Disney started when I was about 10 years old (I'm 45 now). Mom would pile all five of us kids in the car when the Disney classics were showing at the local drive-in movie. Talk about a treat! Keep in mind this was before VCRs/DVD players.

Fast forward to my 1st visit to a Disney resort property in 1994 (Caribbean Beach). Wow, hubby and I both LOVED it. We started visiting almost every year for 4 or 5 days (if we found a discount). Tried Yacht Club, Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge on a code and were amazed at how much fun these resorts were. On Labor Day weekend in 2001 we did a long weekend at Wilderness Lodge and I remember sitting at the quiet pool (looking up at the VWL longingly) and telling my husband, wouldn't it be great to be rich enough to belong to this Disney Vacation Club (we thought it would cost over $30,000 or more to join and would just be for wealthy folks). I can't believe we never took a DVC tour in all that time! If it wasn't for these boards and some friends of ours that joined at Boardwalk, I still don't think we would have checked it out.

In December 2001 we sent off for the DVC video and I read these boards for two months before we finally decided to join at VWL and bought 150 points. After our first trip in March of 2002, we added 60 BCV points on the first trip. Then 50 more at VWL. And finally another 25 point add-on at BCV last summer. Are we done? I don't know. I would love at least 55 Boardwalk points also.

 

[DebbieB]

A friend was a member and we shared a two bedroom with 2 other friends at OKW for a long weekend in early 1999. I absolutely fell in love with the setup. Having all that space, full kitchen, washer/dryer, it seemed like a nice way to vacation. I bought about 6 months later at BWV (which DVC was selling at the time). I like the large rooms at OKW, but I also love the BWV location. I figured it would be better to have the 11 months at BWV, especially when I wanted to stay there in December. 8 DVC trips later (4 OKW, 4 BWV) I have no regrets!

 

[tjkraz]

In late 2001, DW and I decided it was time for our first trip to WDW since our honeymoon--a span of about four years.

We recruited my parents to come along, so the total party was 4 adults and our son, who was 18 months old at the time of the trip. We started planning 9-10 months ahead of time for the September 2002 trip, and one of the things that we looked at carefully was the accommodations.

Our original plan was to get two rooms at a moderate. We had honeymooned at Port Orleans (FQ), and my parents had stayed at Coronado Springs a few years previous. We were both satisfied with the accommodations, and figured that was the way to go.

Then (thanks to these boards) I stumbled into the world of DVC point renting. APs weren't even considered for our trip, so we probably would have paid Rack Rates for two rooms at a moderate. If memory serves, that runs $110-130 (after taxes) per night, per room. When we realized that we could get an OKW 2B for 22 points (about $220 per night), I was floored. Obviously that was the way to go.

My only ambivalence was the inherent risk that comes with renting points. Would we have a room when we got there? Well, all worked out well, and we couldn't have been happier with the accommodations.

Every once in a while I do my own personal reality check and think back to our honeymoon. The quality of the room really didn't bother us, but the lack of amenities did. Vacationing with a washer and dryer in our room was a godsend. During that September trip it rained a substantial portion of the day for the first 5 days of our stay. We literally ran out of dry clothes by Day Two.

The kitchen is also wonderful to have. With us now having two small children, we just don't fell the urge to eat out very often. It's too much of a production, even when on vacation. On our honeymoon we spent most of our meals eating mediocre, overpiced, unhealthy entrees at the food court (or counter service at the parks.)

Anyway, after renting that room in September '02, we had such a great time that we were back at OKW for a week in January '03. Rented points again.

In all honesty, we weren't 100% sold on DVC at that point. We figured that as long as we could rent points when we decided to travel, maybe that was the best way to go.

Then along came SSR. The promotional pricing of $79 per point, along with the 50 year contracts did us in. Oh, and it didn't hurt that some bonus income happened to come our way to coincide with the beginning of SSR sales.

We had started planning our next trip--again on rented points. And it didn't take long for us to realize that the $1000-1500 we would have paid to rent would take a sizable chunk out of our SSR investment.

Woo-hoo!!! We couldn't be happier.

With regard to the negativity, I think it's inherent in a board like this and I can honestly say that it rarely bothers me. The people who take time to post here are often those with a complaint. When you go into any establishment and receive the level of service that is expected, there's rarely any reason to speak up. I doubt anyone wants to read a post from me that says "I drove to work today and DIDN'T get into an accident! Yeah!"

You have to keep things in perspective. If 10 people in a month report that they got a sub-par BCV room, do I think that means that all of the rooms are dirty? Of course not.

 

[erikthewise]

The people on this board made me do it! I originally had no interest in a timeshare, and investigated DVC only to "reject it once and for all". But you people convinced me that DVC was different, and better. I never saw a model or heard a sales presentation, but after checking out the printed materials from DVC and watching this board, I was sold! (You were right!)

 

[dianeschlicht]

My Disney desire started long before DVC! Back in 1982, we went to dog shows down in the Tampa area and then stayed the next week and took in WDW. At that time Epcot was fairly new, and not at all complete. Our kids were 7 and 13. We found ourselves so taken with the detail and beauty of the experience that we just knew we would be returning often. Let me add here that our DS, who was 7 on that first trip, has always loved Epcot best. Even now, as an adult who will soon be 29, it is his favorite.

There truely was and is something magical about the place! On one of our trips, we learned of the new Disney Vacation Club that was going to be starting. It sounded perfect to us, but we decide it was too expensive. That was after we had just stayed on-site for the first time (1991). Little did we know that waiting would only cost us more! We finally joined in 1997, and our only regret is that we didn't do it back in 1991 when they offered the free passes!

Sure, we have seen lots of things change at WDW over the past 20 years, but who's to say they are negetive or positive. Each new thing has a different allure. As long as they continue to keep it fresh and fun and detailed, I will be there!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We did it to save money. On our last non DVC trip we had two connecting rooms during a holiday season at the Poly for over a week. The bill was over $7,000.00. We are a family of six who goes during school breaks and we plan in advance (not a lot of AP discounts planning far in advance). We had to either go less often (not a good option) or buy into DVC. Now we are able to go more often and it costs us less money than it did before. And our accomodations are better.

This year we went for 2 weeks at Christmas and New Year's and I have no doubt it would have cost us over 10K if we were not DVC members and we would have had smaller rooms.

HBC

 

[The4OfUs]

...Because EVERY SINGLE TIME we go, I get the feeling they are doing all these things just for me, and me alone. What? You say there are hundreds of thousands of people there at the same time? Pfft! Doesn't matter - they're making all MY dreams come true, so they must be doing it all for me, right?

I'm the sap that cries at just about every Disney commercial out there. I'm the sap that cries EVERY TIME we walk through the gates at Magic Kingdom and the kids start to run to the ride they want to get on first. It's pure happiness.

My mother asked me why we did this when we bought..."Why would you want to go to the same place over and over again"

I told her it was never "the same place". Everytime we go the kids are a different age, with different interests, and DVC simply allowed us to parlay all that into a "home" in the middle of all of that. We would NEVER be able to afford these types of accomodations otherwise, and we would never be able to share with friends and family like we have without DVC. It's expanded our vacation quality with a sense of comfort and a sense of luxury and a sense of safety as well.

I love DVC, I love Disney, and I think this is a great thread (that...yep..you guessed it...made me cry...)

Pity my poor family on the upcoming cruise, when I'm sure I'll be overwhelmed yet again! *grin*

 

[pumpkinboy]

We took a long MLK day weekend at the Swan with 3 yr old DD and 5 yr old wheelchair bound DS (both redheaded. My wife's wonderful secretary had been an OKW owner for a decade and loved it. After our son met Mickey Mouse for the first time (big smiles!), and we determined that this was our first vacation he didn't hate, we thought to ourselves:
Hmmm, it's warm, totally wheelchair accessible, our DS is treated like a king and all four of us always have a great time! This is the place for us!

We bought at BWV since it was available and we like to walk and our kids love the boat. Yeah, it would be nice to go back to Europe more often and see the relatives, but cobblestones and old cities are murder in a wheelchair. Plus we can get direct flights from Boston and not spend an eternity on the plane. We'll just have to host our European relatives at home or down at WDW.

It really is great to see the look on our DS's face when we plan our next WDW trip! He doesn't talk or move on his own, but when he is pleased with something, he lets us know with the most wonderful smiles!

All that above, plus I did a present value analysis that pleased the finance geek within, cuz I figured that we're saving Big Time over what we would pay at a comparable resort.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

We saw the sign for it in 91, thought it was a great idea and when CT allowed them to send info, I knew I had to have it, so, I bought it.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

It's simple.
The overwhelming look of joy on our children's faces when we are at WDW. It makes us all happy, we de-stress when we are there.
On our first trip, April 2002, we only spent four days in the parks and we regretted it. I kept telling my husband that we would be back, soon!
My mom on that trip had taken the DVC tour, she tried to get the rest of us to go, but we didn't want it cutting into our precious park time. And we gave her a real hard time about it being a timeshare and all. The joke was on us though! As soon as we got home, I was online gathering info about DVC. I ordered the video, researched on these boards and others, and I couldn't really find anything bad about DVC. By October of 2002 we were members at BCV.
We were able to share our first trip home with six other family members, who were just as awed as we were at BCV. In June, we will be sharing our first trip to our newest home SSR with the same family members! We wouldn't be able to do this without DVC!
My dad still thinks we are a little nuts ("timeshares are a bad investment.....") but I will just keep reminding him about the investment we are making in family memories, something we didn't do when I was a child. He gets to watch his only grandkids grow up with Mickey and friends!

The people on this board made me do it! I originally had no interest in a timeshare, and investigated DVC only to "reject it once and for all". But you people convinced me that DVC was different, and better. I never saw a model or heard a sales presentation, but after checking out the printed materials from DVC and watching this board, I was sold! (You were right!)

Honestly, this is pretty much how it happened for us!

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm a late comer to the world of Disney...at least WDW! My first trip was a girls trip in '99, with my mom and my dd, then just turned 6. I fell in love with the place. Went back again with another family, who had already been there as a family. My dh went only because he had no choice. The other dh was going, so he had to go too. THe trip wasn't as terrific as I would have hoped but....dh said he wanted to go again, but just our family. Okay. Fast forward a year and a half and we're at the Polynesian. My dh seems to be getting the whole Disney mentality. He's typical type A, so has to be on the go constantly. The day we left he informed me that he, yes he, had checked into DVC but there wasn't enough time for a tour. THat was on August 23. We closed in mid-Nov. When I asked my dh why he started this whole thing his answer was..."WDW makes you and Katie so happy, that it seemed like a good idea. And we can stay at BWV whenever we want." He likes the hustle and bustle there and the ability to walk to Epcot and the Studios. He is now converted. We can't wait for that first "Welcome home!" this August. A lot of the credit goes to you folks on this board. I came here often before my August trip and really liked what you all had to say. So, a great big Thank-you to you all!!!!! Now, maybe an addtl. 25-50 pts. may be in order.

 

[tinkgrl]

Shan,

Great thread!!! Mom & I have been going in May since 2001. I am in a wheelchair & have a hard time vacationing places (accomendations aren't what we were told etc.) Well not in WDW! We have never had problems here. The staff seems to love me! I have been watching the DVC channell each time we go & was always leary, but we decided to see what it was all about. For us it was the $$ issue. We went to HH in October & were so happy! We didn't want to leave!!! And we get to try different times of the year too. We were stuck in a timeframe because of cost & school.

Allison an associate

 

[tinkgrl]

Shan,

Great thread!!! Mom & I have been going in May since 2001. I am in a wheelchair & have a hard time vacationing places (accomendations aren't what we were told etc.) Well not in WDW! We have never had problems here. The staff seems to love me! I have been watching the DVC channell each time we go & was always leary, but we decided to see what it was all about. For us it was the $$ issue. We went to HH in October & were so happy! We didn't want to leave!!! And we get to try different times of the year too. We were stuck in a timeframe because of cost & school. Disney in general takes me to a happy place in a world of so much uncertainity!!!

Allison an associate

 

[jgart]

I remember traveling to Disney World when I was a little girl. Disney to me has always been the most wonderful place on earth.
My parents, brother and I had visited at least 5 times over the years before High School.

My DH and DD took our first family trip together in 2001. This was the first time we heard about DVC. We checked out one of the set ups at Animal Kingdom on our last day, but didn't want to wast time for the tour. We were sure it was Way way out of our budget. A couple of weeks after returning I received a phone call from DVC and then info in the mail a few days later. We bought without going on the tour. I found out it was very reasonable and I knew if it was something Disney put together then it must be wonderful. When I told my mom we had purchased she just laughed. I was afraid she thought it was foolish and I asked her what was so funny. She just smiled and told me that it brought back a memory of something I said when I was 4. She told me that the first time I visited I was 4 yrs old and I told her after our first day a MK that I wanted to Live at Disney World.

Funny how things turn out.

I LOVE DISNEY!!!!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Can't really say where my love for Disney came from. It was just a feeling that grew slowly from our first trip in 1987. It's funny-I remember sitting at MCO Airport that year, thinking "OK, well now we've been to WDW, erase that from our life list of things to do". Then when we got back, the more I remembered, the more I wanted to return. However DVC didn't happen until about 12 trips later. In 1/2002, they closed my beloved POR with virtually no warning, just before my trip there. But, I thought it was as Roy Wally said in "Vacation", "They don't close Florida". So how could they do this to me? And I wasn't happy at the replacement hotel I chose. So I took the tour, even though it was a solo trip. But when I brought all the info home to show DH, he was the one who wanted to join. Why? He's not a Disney fan. But he was a workaholic, wanted to change, and saw this as a big help ("But you HAVE to take vacation, we've already paid for it"). I was the hold-out, nothing else had worked, and this was a big financial committment that probably would be another failure in changing workaholic DH. But he won (well, I really did want to join, just wasn't convinced of the value to him). And after his first night at OKW, then especially HH, he was hooked. Now he actually looks forward to vacations. And enjoys them! Thanks for letting me tell my story. I get misty-eyed when I think of the positive change in DH thanks to our DVC membership.