How did you get seriously interested in DVC?

[CallMeAFlower]

I'm in this same boat. I LOVE Disney World, and I don't want to have to convince my wife and family to make a trip happen every time. To be clear, they all love it too, but my wife always wants to feel justified in our spending, and WDW has never really felt that way for her because it's so splurgy. DVC makes it way less so, and makes it a lot easier and natural to make those vacations happen.

Yes! I'm definitely in the camp of feeling like I need to justify the cash spent on each vacation, so I'm glad that we finally just bit the bullet. It will eventually save us money in the long run, but for now it's nice knowing that we have a standing vacation waiting for us at a location we would probably be visiting a lot anyway with a young kid.

It's also good to know that we always have a way to add more or even sell our contract if needed. The resale market is still so strong even after all the economic bumps! I can finally see why DVC has a ton of members now that we're in the "club"

 

[sl1038]

I know you’re not supposed to buy DVC for the perks, as they can change. However, I bought for Moonlight Magic. As a character enthusiast, I saw a TikTok of all the rare characters at a DCA MM and knew I wanted that chance as well. Talked it over with the boyfriend. He thought it was too much money to pay to meet characters. We tabled the discussion for several months until I got FOMO seeing another MM video. I had to pull the trigger on direct, and he and I have both never been happier. We’ve had 11 Disney trips this year. We’ve since bought 3 resale contracts and are shopping for another as we speak.

 

[patm95]

I know you’re not supposed to buy DVC for the perks, as they can change. However, I bought for Moonlight Magic. As a character enthusiast, I saw a TikTok of all the rare characters at a DCA MM and knew I wanted that chance as well. Talked it over with the boyfriend. He thought it was too much money to pay to meet characters. We tabled the discussion for several months until I got FOMO seeing another MM video. I had to pull the trigger on direct, and he and I have both never been happier. We’ve had 11 Disney trips this year. We’ve since bought 3 resale contracts and are shopping for another as we speak.

Wow. Good for you!

 

[atthebeachclub]

I know you’re not supposed to buy DVC for the perks, as they can change. However, I bought for Moonlight Magic. As a character enthusiast, I saw a TikTok of all the rare characters at a DCA MM and knew I wanted that chance as well. Talked it over with the boyfriend. He thought it was too much money to pay to meet characters. We tabled the discussion for several months until I got FOMO seeing another MM video. I had to pull the trigger on direct, and he and I have both never been happier. We’ve had 11 Disney trips this year. We’ve since bought 3 resale contracts and are shopping for another as we speak.

Wow! Which resort did you pick direct?

 

[zavandor]

Going to AKL to eat at Boma and then to BCV to eat at Cape May. I fell in love with the resorts and started really investigating DVC as an option. Before that I was a value or offsite guy.

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

When we were planning our first disney trip my wife mentioned the idea of staying at the contemporary. It was ridiculous and like 10k +for a room our trip. We booked a room at AOA for 3.5k at like a year and a half out but then started researching resorts more. I initially wanted port orleans riverside as it could accomodate 5 people at a cheaper price than AOA.

However we also discovered DVC rentals and DVC resale at that time. We sent a request to a DVC rental broker and within a few weeks right around the 11 month window our room was confirmed. We had also started watching the dis and old dvc show with Pete and a bunch of others that aren't around anymore. We did this for the next 11 months leading up to our trip. We were convinced we probably wanted to do resale at some point, but we wanted to experience our rental stay first at the polynesian. We were sold on it after our trip and got a resale contract signed within a month of returning home.

 

[mikeuno]

Thankfully my mom purchased two contracts back in 1995 - so many great memories over the years!

 

[eandt]

At a park kiosk?
At a resort?
From another member?
Doing your own research?

For 15 years, I passed those kiosks thinking it was beyond my reach and really having no clue how it worked. Discovering resale really open things up for me, for several reasons.

Obviously, the official DVC infomercials and kiosks never really drew me in.

Dabbled in tours but never thought we would keep going back year after year sometimes multiple times. Decided to rent points in 2019 after more than 25 years of moderates and we were hooked. Took our one year old granddaughter for her first trip a few weeks ago which only confirmed we made the right choice … Only regret is we didn’t jump in sooner

 

[RMDVC24]

My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I took our first trip together to WDW in Feb 2019. It was the first time either of us had gone on a Disney vacation. We fell in love with WDW and have been going at least once a year since. We would see DVC kiosks and signs here and there so I looked into what it was. I saw the price and the word 'timeshare' and told my wife this isn't for us lol. Then my wife found out that one of her colleagues is a DVC member and she told us about the resale market. When we saw the prices, we decided to learn the ins and outs of the program and decided it was indeed for us! We went from All Stars to the Grand Floridian and haven't looked back! Now we have a 1 year old who is going on their 2nd Disney trip next month

 

[JMOR80]

Like so many others we always stayed off site when I was growing up and visiting WDW. Our first family onsite vacation was in spring of 2018 staying at the all Star music, my wife was then hooked at staying on property. Shortly after returning the Disney vacation club emails start coming in but at the time I didn't think we would be going back enough to make it worth the cost ( I think it was $170 per point at copper Creek and 75 points for member benefits ). A few months later we were planning another trip for the fall of 2019 to visit family and figured we would stay at WDW to allow the kids to go on some of the rides they were not able to the year before. I knew we were going to stay on property and started looking at the WDW reservations when I stumbled on DVC points rentals. Our first rental was at OKW and the family loved it. Upon returning home I started looking into purchasing direct and in my research ended up buying a 100 point resale contract at AKV in 2021. 300 points later and a mixture of resale and direct points we have been back every year.

 

[DebbieB]

in 1999, a friend who was a member belonged to an AOL DVC chat room (remember those?). The group decided to do a meetup. My friend asked if I wanted to join, she was sharing an OKW 2 bedroom with 2 others. I said yes. I couldn’t believe how nice it was. I had taken my mom on a couple trips and I thought this would be great for us. That was March. I thought about it and in September I bought Boardwalk. The choice at the time was OKW or BWV. We had stayed at Beach Club the year before and I loved the location. Plus BWV rooms were harder to get. I took her the following May for Mothers Day and we stayed at OKW with plans for December at BWV. We always stayed in a 1 bedroom. She was blown away by the room. I can still see her face when we walked in!

Edit: The 1999 meetup was about 15 women. My friend and I are still friends with many of them (on Facebook now).

 

[DisnEElove]

Didn't get serious until I was shaken awake by 2 DVC families while heading to Port Canaveral from a pre-cruise stay at Boardwalk Inn. They'd mentioned when we boarded the cruise shuttle bus that it was difficult for them to get in BWV and were asking our strategy. I told them I wasn't a member, and we had no issue booking our hotel room. This made the couple in front of us turn around, lol! Both families then tag-teamed their questions: how many times we visit Disney/year, found out we were out-of-state Passholders who went often and stayed at mostly Deluxe resorts. We got it from both the front and back- how it just made sense to be a member. I told them I'd looked at it before but didn't like couch beds so I didn't see the need for 1-2 bedrooms since not everyone in our family goes each time and we didn't want a kitchen.. They told me of the refurbs that were beginning to include 2 beds. This was around the time RIV and VGF were active.
I got curious and was wondering if we WERE wasting money- met with a guide on the ship, did a tour of the resort studios at VGF during our post-cruise stay, and instantly fell in love. I had been wanting something like a hotel room because we love eating at WDW restaurants, and that gave it to us. Signed that trip and am quite thankful for being held hostage to the 50-minute timeshare sales pitch those members gave us on that bus! We've been adding on since.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I’ve been a DVC member and lover since childhood. When I was 11 we were on my third trip ever to Disney, when my parents heard about the DVC. This was right after the club started, 1992. They bought into it on that trip and we started doing one long annual Disney trip, usually in a 2 br or grand villa because my grandparents and other family members often came along. I’m now a member with my own contracts and I still do one long annual trip thanks to DVC. So I was sold on DVC by seeing how my parents were able to take these nice long trips and treat family members as well, and stay in better accommodations then standard rooms. But my parents were sold into it at a kiosk..

 

[Judique]

in 1999, a friend who was a member belonged to an AOL DVC chat room (remember those?). The group decided to do a meetup. My friend asked if I wanted to join, she was sharing an OKW 2 bedroom with 2 others. I said yes. I couldn’t believe how nice it was. I had taken my mom on a couple trips and I thought this would be great for us. That was March. I thought about it and in September I bought Boardwalk. The choice at the time was OKW or BWV. We had stayed at Beach Club the year before and I loved the location. Plus BWV rooms were harder to get. I took her the following May for Mothers Day and we stayed at OKW with plans for December at BWV. We always stayed in a 1 bedroom. She was blown away by the room. I can still see her face when we walked in!

Edit: The 1999 meetup was about 15 women. My friend and I are still friends with many of them (on Facebook now).

My story was similar although a bit earlier than yours! I became involved with a group on the AOL message boards probably mid nineties and a couple of the group members owned at Old Key West. We did multiple trips and meet ups but I mostly stayed at the Polynesian with occasional stays at other resorts. The idea of buying didn't sink in until the year 2000 came along.

On my November trip of that year I made my decision and bought Boardwalk, then 3 more smaller contracts.

I'm still in touch with a few people from that group and have a memory box full of trinkets from a meet up at Animal Kingdom Lodge (before it became part of DVC) where a couple dozen of us had a Boma dinner. It was perfect for me as they had Simba's Clubhouse and my youngest DD was able to stay there while we had dinner. At the end she didn't want to leave! Our group often did park meetups to do rides and other things such as cartwheels on Main Street! Fun loving gals! I don't remember everybody but still have a number of contacts from those years who have been kind enough to keep in touch with me.

 

[rentfn]

I never really looked much into. Thought it was for the rich rich. Whenever I looked stuff up I saw that initial buy in cost and thought you had to pay that much each year. Once I realized that wasn't the case, I quickly switched to, "Why wouldn't we get this"

 

[intamin]

I never really looked much into. Thought it was for the rich rich. Whenever I looked stuff up I saw that initial buy in cost and thought you had to pay that much each year. Once I realized that wasn't the case, I quickly switched to, "Why wouldn't we get this"

Of all the outsider misconceptions about DVC, this one is one of the most common and I hear and I feel like a lot of people shut down looking further into it or stop listening to the direct guides after that because people go like how will I ever recover that cost? And of course at that point it makes no sense to buy DVC instead of just booking rack rate if you think you have to pay that every year.

 

[tx911]

Of all the outsider misconceptions about DVC, this one is one of the most common and I hear and I feel like a lot of people shut down looking further into it or stop listening to the direct guides after that because people go like how will I ever recover that cost? And of course at that point it makes no sense to buy DVC instead of just booking rack rate if you think you have to pay that every year.

Yeah, paying $30,000 to stay a week in a studio every year, even I know that’s a bad deal

 

[intamin]

Yeah, paying $30,000 to stay a week in a studio every year, even I know that’s a bad deal

You would think that people would maybe recognize that hrmm maybe somethings off but instead they're like OMG what a ripoff and don't bother to question and just shut it down right there

 

[heathpack]

My cousin has worked for DVC for 30 years, so I knew about it from her since way back when. However way back when, I was paying off student loans and buying my first house and so forth. No way did I have the money for DVC. Eventually though I got ahead of the curve financially and was living in Los Angeles when VGC was built. 100% we were buying that. Word on the street was that it would be sold first to existing members and might sell out in that phase. We bought a 25 point HHI contract resale just in case. Then when VGC sales started, there was a world economic crisis and we balked at buying direct. Within a year, we bought an 85 point VGC resale for $82/pt. That suited us just fine for the ensuing 15ish years when we were living in LA- we only wanted to stay 1-2 nights a few times a year.

I learned a lot about timeshares as I was researching DVC. Our “main” timeshares were two Hyatt properties- one in Carmel, CA and one in Lake Tahoe. We also bought two every-other-year Marriotts- one in Hilton Head and one in Park City. For awhile, we also owned a Myrtle Beach Sheraton that we used exclusively for trading in Interval International. With the exception of the Hyatt Tahoe property and our DVCs, all of our timeshare purchases have been in the range of $0-$1500. We gave away the Sheraton a few years ago, and 2 years ago when we moved from California to Alabama, we sold the Hyatts to put the $ into DVCs. We kept the Hilton Head Marriott to use, and the Park City Marriott to trade into other Marriotts through Interval.

Since we moved to Alabama and now can drive to WDW, it’s our intent for DVC to be our main timeshare system. In the past year, we have purchased resale: 50 BCV points, 90 Copper Creek points, and 150 VGF points. Plus we still have the 25 HHI + 85 VGC. We’re probably done, but I’d buy Poly, BLT or additional Copper Creek or VGF for the right price.

We bought APs last April and will have had 5 trips to DVC in this AP cycle: BLT/Boulder Ridge last April, BCV last Sept, AKL a few weeks ago in early Dec, Boulder Ridge (one of our last Hyatt trades through Interval) in Feb, and Poly/BCV in March. We plan to be on an every third year cycle of APs and multiple DVC trips, with the next one starting in Dec 2027. In between we’ll use the Marriott timeshares, and our very last Hyatt trade. So far that is: Marriott Aruba June 2026, Marriott Aruba Jan 2027, Marriott Hilton Head Memorial Day week 2027, and we hope to trade into a Marriott in Hilton Head for late Aug 2027. Then in Dec, the new DVC cycle starts with a VCF stay…

We love timeshares!

 

[Cfabar1]

My cousin has worked for DVC for 30 years, so I knew about it from her since way back when. However way back when, I was paying off student loans and buying my first house and so forth. No way did I have the money for DVC. Eventually though I got ahead of the curve financially and was living in Los Angeles when VGC was built. 100% we were buying that. Word on the street was that it would be sold first to existing members and might sell out in that phase. We bought a 25 point HHI contract resale just in case. Then when VGC sales started, there was a world economic crisis and we balked at buying direct. Within a year, we bought an 85 point VGC resale for $82/pt. That suited us just fine for the ensuing 15ish years when we were living in LA- we only wanted to stay 1-2 nights a few times a year.

I learned a lot about timeshares as I was researching DVC. Our “main” timeshares were two Hyatt properties- one in Carmel, CA and one in Lake Tahoe. We also bought two every-other-year Marriotts- one in Hilton Head and one in Park City. For awhile, we also owned a Myrtle Beach Sheraton that we used exclusively for trading in Interval International. With the exception of the Hyatt Tahoe property and our DVCs, all of our timeshare purchases have been in the range of $0-$1500. We gave away the Sheraton a few years ago, and 2 years ago when we moved from California to Alabama, we sold the Hyatts to put the $ into DVCs. We kept the Hilton Head Marriott to use, and the Park City Marriott to trade into other Marriotts through Interval.

Since we moved to Alabama and now can drive to WDW, it’s our intent for DVC to be our main timeshare system. In the past year, we have purchased resale: 50 BCV points, 90 Copper Creek points, and 150 VGF points. Plus we still have the 25 HHI + 85 VGC. We’re probably done, but I’d buy Poly, BLT or additional Copper Creek or VGF for the right price.

We bought APs last April and will have had 5 trips to DVC in this AP cycle: BLT/Boulder Ridge last April, BCV last Sept, AKL a few weeks ago in early Dec, Boulder Ridge (one of our last Hyatt trades through Interval) in Feb, and Poly/BCV in March. We plan to be on an every third year cycle of APs and multiple DVC trips, with the next one starting in Dec 2027. In between we’ll use the Marriott timeshares, and our very last Hyatt trade. So far that is: Marriott Aruba June 2026, Marriott Aruba Jan 2027, Marriott Hilton Head Memorial Day week 2027, and we hope to trade into a Marriott in Hilton Head for late Aug 2027. Then in Dec, the new DVC cycle starts with a VCF stay…

We love timeshares!

Do you like the Hyatt in Carmel? I love Carmel and am rather partial to Hyatt as well!