How many of you are DVC members?

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

I didn't want to ask on the DVC boards because they obviously are members. But DH suggested looking into becoming a DVC member and I really want to but I think it will have to wait about a year until his truck is paid off. I am comfortable with where are bank account is in relation to our bills ( as in I still have a decent amt of money left at the end of the month) And once his truck is paid off There would be that much more in the bank. Sorry rambling ---my question - if you became a member, Are you glad you did? If you didn't may I ask why not? ( other than a financial reason of initial cost - because we could afford it but I would rather wait for his truck to be finished)

 

[miksilver]

Yes. I bought this year -- resale and just 150 pts. Not too many, although we are already considering our first add-on, but not until we can pay it in cash and we need it for a certain trip. If I keep saying that I might actually stick to it We have already taken one trip, and have 2 more booked for October and May '09.

 

[Colinsmom]

We will probably do it once we have the money saved up to pay cash (we save all the money from DH's overtime, which can be significant when it happens regularly). I don't like the idea of financing DVC. Our cars are paid off (and "car payments" go into savings for when one of those die) and credit cards are paid off monthly - our only debt is the mortgage.

 

[KirstenB]

We've been members since 1993. That was back in the day when we had discretionary spending, pre-kids, naturally!! We love our DVC. Have you looked into resale DVC purchase? I haven't looked lately, but it used to be considerably cheaper than buying from DVC directly.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

We bought in a couple of years ago. I'm very glad we did. We put ourselves on a wait list through Disney to purchase 150 points at the beach club. We love the boardwalk area and the fact that you can walk to two parks.

We also are realizing that 150 is not enough..Once you get used to a 1 or two bedroom its hard to go back

Some things to consider:

If you are specific about where you want to stay and when (and its a popular time) you really need to be able to plan your trips 7-11 months out to get what you want. DVC doesn't really work well for last min vacations.

Financially, you are really just pre-paying your vacations...If you travel to Disney at least 1 every two years and stay in deluxe then DVC makes more sense.

 

[princessfionasmom]

this year. We only got 50pts @ OKW which I know is not much but it's enough to get us sun thru thur night stays every year or we can bank or borrow and make a week long vaca. With such few pts the maintenance fees are doable for us, we do not have a lot of expendable income but manage to go to disney every year so it's well worth it for us. I only wish I had bought a few years ago but better now than later. It really doesn't have to be a huge investment. Take a look at where you would want to stay and buy there, it does matter! The take a look at how long you'll stay and how often you'll go and then get your pts. You can buy resale or directly from DVD, we bought resale because we only wanted a small contract and OKW was one of the cheapest we could get. I am not picky about where we stay, we used to stay at values so anything is an upgrade plus we love the idea that OKW has two beds in studio. Good luck with your decision it's one I don't think I'll ever regret making.

 

[alyssa810]

We are thrilled to be members! We did a tour before we bought our house and agreed that we needed a house first, and then my DH bought a small resale contract at BWV as a "birthday" present for me that was of course really for both of us. He bought another contract a few months later for WLV, and then last year we sold both of those and bought a new contract all at OKW, all resale. We are very pleased with it!!! We're able to go at off peak times so we can really stretch our points.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

we joined in March, we have 1/2 paid off up front and financed the rest, but we have been paying double payments to help reduce the final cost. We should be paid off in 3.5 yrs . Then you only pay your maintenance fee and that is based on how many points you own and where you own. We bought into AK based on our family size, but this being our first time down and we were not at the 11 month window, we decided to try OKW and am looking very forward to it. Like a pp said, it is like prepaying your vacation. I can't wait to be prepaid off. LOL. We looked into it for a few years but didn't have enough for us to be comfortable with the finance payment. So when we did have enough then we bought into it. HTH.

 

[eliza61]

We love our membership and we're very glad we purchased but I am the 1st to admit it is not for everyone. Here are our reasons

1) Of course, we love Disney. When we purchased dh & I knew this was some place we would be returning to many times. My kids are now almost college bound and we use our dvc now way more than ever. I've taken quick mini vacations without kids only dh & I, last may I did a girlfriend only trip, Birth day trips and extended family vacations. It is very versatile.

2)We stay deluxe. If you like staying off site or in a value dvc is not for you.
3)We adore the extra space. My sons are big guys (6ft + each and every one) trying to squeeze all of us into a hotel room is ugly. We purchased enough points for a 1 bedroom when we go.
4) We put down 1/2 and financed the other 1/2. we were very comfortable with this.

I really can't say the dvc has saved us money because we go to wdw way more than we would if we had to book normally. It has increased our "Quality of life" type of thing.

 

[Fall1]

We are planning on touring during our October trip and hope to buy BCV resale when we come home!! Can't wait!!!! Now, to decide how many points to buy....

 

[antree]

We are members, so glad we did. If we didn't do it I don't think we could or would go to Disney once a year, some times twice. We bought through relatives 100 points, once that was paid an transfered in to our names then we bought 130 more during a special Disney was running. When that is paid off we will then buy more if the time is right.

 

[SandrainNC]

We are in the process of purchasing 160 points right now. We went the resale route for AKLV (yep there are already resale points available for AKL but not a whole lot). Too early to tell if we like it I guess since we are waiting to close.

Sandra

 

[Picabo]

We looked into buying but ended up not doing it. (yet!) For now, we bought a timeshare here in Virginia Beach b/c its only 3 hr drive for us. We most likely would not be able to go to Disney yearly. Yet, if we want to, we can trade into a Disney property (when available). But one big factor (for us) is that we want t stay on the monorail while our kids are little. We do not want to have to take busses each time we go to a park - not while the kids are still in strollers. Once they are out of strollers and able to handle being at the park the whole day....DVC may be a good option for us. But for now, we felt the properties were too far away from MK and too inconvenient by relying on the busses to deal wtih 2 toddlers and strollers. So I guess for now convenience is more important that room size.

melanie

 

[Perditamarie]

We are members and really enjoy it. It is great for a families of 5 (or larger), as regular resort prices get a bit crazy, especially deluxe. Also, when you have small children, the kitchen, washer and dryer and more privacy are wonderful. We also enjoy the discounts on annual passes, and plan our trips so we can get at least 2 trips use from them. We also have been able to invite family to come along and share a very nice villa.

 

[pigget74]

We have 200 at BCV. When we pay this off we will probably add on. When we bought we were only a family of four. Thought we were done and now we are a family of six.

 

[moredisneyplease]

Another DVC lover here !! Did i mention that I love my DVC? i bought in spring of 2006 (150 at SSR), worked hard to pay that off, and just recently added on 160 at AKL because I know that 150 just isnt enough!

I highly recommend purchasing DVC if you are a WDW requenter and like to stay in amazing resorts (BWV, BC, AKL, OKW) without paying the really high nightly fee!

 

[BigEeyore]

We just joined this year - wish we had done it a few years ago when we first thought about it. We had been renting an off-site condo for the last few years, and were willing to give up being on WDW property to have the extra space, kitchen, and washer/dryer. With DVC - we get our extra space and the luxury of staying on site in amazing hotels.
Honestly - before kids, it didn't matter too much where we stayed, but staying on site is just so much more magical for kids.

 

[eliza61]

We looked into buying but ended up not doing it. (yet!) For now, we bought a timeshare here in Virginia Beach b/c its only 3 hr drive for us. We most likely would not be able to go to Disney yearly. Yet, if we want to, we can trade into a Disney property (when available). But one big factor (for us) is that we want t stay on the monorail while our kids are little. We do not want to have to take busses each time we go to a park - not while the kids are still in strollers. Once they are out of strollers and able to handle being at the park the whole day....DVC may be a good option for us. But for now, we felt the properties were too far away from MK and too inconvenient by relying on the busses to deal wtih 2 toddlers and strollers. So I guess for now convenience is more important that room size.

melanie

Glad to hear it Melanie,
Whenever I'm asked, I try to encourage people to think about how they truly vacation and not to let the "pixie dust" cloud the issue.

 

[lukesmom]

We have 250 pts at SSR. Bought in 2 years ago. I was waiting for Contemporary (BLT) to add on points but not too sure now. I think a resale might be a better way to add points!


Donna

 

[minnie2]

We just bought in AKV back in June. We haven't used our point yet but will be in Nov

We are very excited about this!