How did DVC ownership change your trips?

[VGCgroupie]

We are leaving tomorrow for over a week at Aulani after buying DVC in summer 2024. Never in a million years would we have planned this trip without it.

Have an amazing time! Mickey in his Christmas Hawaiian shirt is everything!

 

[Apiary]

I just want to chime in with a different perspective. When we bought points we had been visiting once a year or once every other year for about a decade. We almost always stayed in deluxe resorts, and we sometimes traveled with family in another room. After buying a small resale contract in 2020 we have continued to travel this way.
Without the DVC contract we probably wouldn't have continued to stay at deluxe resorts due to price increases, and now we can book the occasional second room on points. DVC didn't make us different travelers, we still like spreading our vacation time over multiple destinations. We still like mid-day breaks and we still rope drop and try to close parks.

 

[radiodome21]

Without DVC we wouldn’t have been able to go to WDW three times this year. Two of those trips were planned around some runDisney races too, another advantage of owning DVC for us. The third trip was the longest vacation stateside we’ve ever taken which was 8 days in July. It’s also made us want to learn more about Disney too and have a deeper appreciation for the history behind the not only the parks/hotels but also the man himself, Walt. My 15 year old son loves giving us Disney trivia. If there’s one thing my whole family can agree on it’s that if there’s is one guarantee when it comes to Disney vacations it’s that we’re going to have a great time. That’s something that can’t be said for past vacations where we rolled the dice.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

If there’s one thing my whole family can agree on it’s that if there’s is one guarantee when it comes to Disney vacations it’s that we’re going to have a great time. That’s something that can’t be said for past vacations where we rolled the dice.

Oh, I'm curious where you rolled the dice and were dissatisfied

 

[Girlstar30]

30 years ago we bought OKW during a stay at a Value. We had made trips before and stayed at whatever place looked good on or off property. My first trip was in 1973 when Day's Inn was the rage and my brother and I didn't know the difference. Watching that monorail go around and around and through The Contemporary was mesmerizing!

In that 30 years our son grew from an 8 yo well traveled youngster to a late 30 something married professional. The journey has been interesting, starting with extended family and friends 3BRGV trips to 1 and 2 BR trips with DH, our son and me. Prep school, college and grad school meant empty nester trips for a decade, but we typically went during F & W and had a great time. I think DH and I have only stayed in a studio a few times and he is adamant about having a WD and so am I as it makes the trip so much easier. We don't cook much but stock lots of drinks, fruit, salads and always a frozen pizza for that rainy night.

We are off and on AP holders (on right now) as we try to use it over two longer trips in a year (10-14 days each) so it makes sense. Perks are helpful when our foodie kids are with us.

Until recently we almost always had a rental car, but this next trip in May will be 9 nights at BWV in a 1BR so there is no need for a car. We will be at EPCOT most of the time and will bus to other parks if we need to. We plan to take the Minnie Van to/from the airport as we are saving a ton on the rental car. Now that SWA announced it will deliver luggage from your home airport to your WDW resort I am thrilled! That was the biggest convenience and losing that perk was a PIA for DH as I use a WC at MCO. If there isn't an attendant (often) and sometimes not even a WC, rolling 2 bags and dealing with me is a challenge.

We always invite our son and DIL as they live 3000 miles from us now and have given them many solo trips as well. We love it when they go and we give them a studio at the same or different resort. Lately they have been going to Europe and will be there in March so we won't see them in May. We're planning October and our son may have a medical conference in Orlando so we're hoping they can join us.

We've gone from 230 points in 1996 to 650 or so post covid to 225 now with direct and resale. I often use the OTU points option and can get 48 between direct and resale. Better than buying a bunch of points. I've transferred in points but now that is not so easy as it is one time per year. I'll be smarter about transferring in a larger amount if necessary in the future for bigger trips. Disney is expensive and we are more about getting what we want and save by not eating out much at home the rest of the year, using SWA points for flights, using cash back credit cards and buying discounted Disney gift cards when possible (even to pay for dues). It all counts.

I hope you pick up a tip or two and enjoy your trips!

Is SWA delivering to the deluxe resorts, I thought it was only the value?

 

[Bryanpur]

Since I’m usually on here asking a million contract questions , I wanted to switch gears.
Instead of points/ROFR/prices, I’d love to hear from long-time DVC owners:
How did your Disney vacations actually change once you owned points?
Did you go more often? Stay in bigger rooms? Become more relaxed planners?
Or did ownership not change much at all?
We have always been park people morning til night but I want to stop all that
No echo chamber… I’m just looking for real, honest experiences. Thank you!

It became an actual vacation and not a test do everything possible while pushing our kids to over exhaustion. No more FOMO on the flight home.

 

[melissa70]

It became an actual vacation and not a test do everything possible while pushing our kids to over exhaustion. No more FOMO on the flight home.

This is what I look forward to. We have been going to Disney for 25 years and it’s always been this frenzy to do everything . I’m still processing the new mindset

 

[atthebeachclub]

I need help with the FOMO of the parks still.

Every visit: “I’m not buying lightning lanes this trip!”

Then every visit, I buy lightning lanes anyway 7 days before.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Is SWA delivering to the deluxe resorts, I thought it was only the value?

Apparently it is only values...

 

[Girlstar30]

Apparently it is only values...

Just making sure I didnt miss any thing bcuz we always fly sw

 

[kanerf]

I went from one trip per year to three and longer trips.

 

[melissa70]

I went from one trip per year to three and longer trips.

I like the sound of that!

 

[Orbiter_Fan]

Definitely we go more often, BUT....

DVC makes me more impatient for the next one, ha.

Kinda like the end of a long road trip...when I'm 10-15 minutes away from the destination, I'm the most impatient to be there already!

 

[VGCgroupie]

I need help with the FOMO of the parks still.

Every visit: “I’m not buying lightning lanes this trip!”

Then every visit, I buy lightning lanes anyway 7 days before.

I haven’t figured it out yet either. I keep saying I will then I don’t.

 

[Brob2132]

I haven’t figured it out yet either. I keep saying I will then I don’t.

Every time I have gone and planned not to buy, I have done so anyhow.

It always turns into the equation of is ~$80-$120 dollars/person worth the time back on an already very pricy vacation.

Having impatient children only adds to that value proposition in mom/dad sanity.

 

[bwang123]

While we travelled just as our family many times, DVC allowed us more opportunities to travel with extended family and friends. Saving them money on hotels (free) made it an easier decision for them. We gifted many studios and also booked two bedrooms to share with those we didn't mind being around a lot.

 

[bakerworld]

We vacation about the same times annually but for longer.

 

[longboard55]

Most of our points are used for 1 to 2 night staycations because we are 1/2 hour away. Never did that before.

 

[Makai]

DVC changed our trips by allowing us to finally stay at Disney’s Hilton Head Island resort! We had tried for 5 years to get a cash room there, but were only successful one time. After staying in a 2 bedroom villa for just 2 nights, I knew we had to buy that home resort on resale. It’s heartbreaking to hear predictions that Disney may sell off some of their best DVC properties after 2042, but I still bought it so we could use that contract to the end. Now we have access to Hilton Head even for spur of the moment trips. Went there a week before Christmas, and it was a dream! Now we have Aulani sub resale as well since it’s another favorite property. My DH actually prefers the offsite properties, and that was the only reason he agreed to buy in. Otherwise we would have gone with Marriott. Disney would be making a mistake selling them off in my opinion, for marriages like ours with only one person as the Disney parks fanatic.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Tagging on to everyone else, more frequent trips, definitely more bougie trips, no studios unless a quick weekend, only 1B for the first five years, now creeping into 2Bs every trip so we can bring friends and family and more privacy, space, and accommodating late sleepers (kids and husband) versus early risers who want coffee and to get breakfast started, fold laundry, read our iPads on the balcony (my sister, cousin and I.)

We don't usually rope drop, now committed 2nd shifters. We go in when the strollers go out! And I LOVE not rushing to do anything, ever. I rush every day of my life with kids and work and school and activities and appointments and walking the dog . . . if I'm on vacation, don't rush me.

The resorts and restaurants/lounges/pools are more of a draw to us. We no longer have FOMO for the parks and rides. We'll get to it eventually has replaced we HAVE to do something or else the day is ruined. We never paid for Fast Passes/Genie+/Lightning Lanes, and I don't see that changing. We'll get to it all next trip.

Some trips are budget busters when we eat out every meal and I don't want to cook or deal with groceries. Others are simple and we hardly eat out at all and just enjoy throwing together something quick in the room in leisure.

The caliber of the room utilization is a big deal to me. We all prefer the tower styles of resorts for the usual reasons cited; small footprint, food inside, protected from the elements, etc., etc., but really, the newer DVC towers really nailed the design. It's like being in a good RV or boat; no wasted space and just really good utilization of storage, USBs, kitchen layout, bathroom vanity design. We unpack and really do feel like we're at home. This last trip we had a chef come cook for us! It was really nice, and it was a unique experience for us.

I'm a crazy person and don't mind doing laundry, so we pack very lightly COO and I just throw in a load every night so it's ready the next day. The 1B/2B are really great.

We're branching out to doing other things; Behind the Seeds tour, Keys to the Kingdom tour, Fort Wilderness Christmas carriage ride, hopefully Sangria University and Savor the Savanna.

As a parent, now that the kids are older, we can relax more. The kids know the monorail/Skyliner/bus system (and learning the boats. We just started using them more.) WDW is becoming their local park with their favorites.

My favorite memories are late-night swimming in the quiet pool until super late at night to soothe our feet and just chitchatting as a family and my son and I bingeing "Wednesday" during the record-breaking heat of 2023 in July in our room, curtains drawn, AC cranked, and ordering takeout from Primo Piatto. If we were go-go-go, we'd never do that stuff. Now we slow wayyyyy down, and I can admit I'm not as *****y with my internal agenda, LOL.