How many visits before purchasing DVC?

[DVCsloth]

Went as a child in the mid 70's Kind of lost interest. Maybe under 10 visits all the way till the 90's We started going after having our daughter in 2011. Started with Coronado 3 visits then we went to AKV, and we were hooked. Riding the monorail to MK and saw VGF, still didn't know about DVC. Stopped at the kiosk at AK, made an appointment, picked us up and went to SSR signed on the dotted like 100 points VGF! Totally hooked now. VGF, CCV and recently Riviera!

 

[Spinster Travel]

My first trip was in 1983 with the whole family (parents, sister, grandparents, Aunts/Uncles & cousins). I went back several times with my grandmother, in college for spring break and then several trips tacked on the end of business trips. This all on top of several dedicated trips with friends for Run Disney before I bought in. I've got two contracts (Poly and OKW) and on the hunt for a third to hold me over until Poly2 goes on sale. Zero regrets!

 

[Bucketfoot]

We just purchased (VGF direct) in May after a dozen family trips. However 10 of them have been DL. We had the chance to buy at VGC very early on and have regretted not doing ever since. To be fair it would have been a stretch at that time (this isn't something we would ever finance).

We've talked about if off & on the last several years and I finally told my wife we needed to do it now or kill the idea once and for all. Both her and our daughters really wanted to go this year, so we finally said we would do it provided we could book a stay for September. Without having done a DVC stay yet, we've pretty much already accepted that we will buy at DL once the new villas are available

 

[DVCanadian]

Closing in on 100 votes. Very curious about the 3 people who hadn't ever even visited WDW or DL prior to buying DVC.

 

[E2ME2]

My first visit was in 1982, just prior to EPCOT opening.
I was 24, and visited with my wife and our newborn daughter.
I was hooked on WDW after that visit, but struggled to afford many family vacations to WDW.
We probably visited a dozen times between 1982 and 2010, some trips being on the "company nickel", to attend conferences. we didn't know much anout DVC, and only went to a DVC presentation on a whim.
I was resting by a DVC Kiosk in "Downtown Disney", while the DW was shopping in World of Disney.
I struck up a conversation with the CM, and when my wife came over in the middle of the conversation, she begrudgingly agreed to participate in a DVC tour at SSR. We were there for more than 3 hours, all at my request, as i wanted to see every demo room, review all the points charts, and obtain direct pricing on every resort that was for sale at the time. We were preparing, at that time, for our first grandchild, and looking ahead to retirement.
I crunched the numbers thoroughly, and bought SSR on-the-spot.
*We didn't even get any special perks/incentives at the time, save for the free ice-cream!
My only regret was that I did not by in sooner, and that I did not buy more points!
I have since added on 3 times, via resale. (Twice during COVID; couldn't pass up the bargains).
We have been maximizing the points usage since I retired, staying 6-8 weeks a year, in winter.
We thought we were Snow-Birding, but some Floridians on these boards have proclaimed that one must stay in Florida for at least 3 months to be considered a SnowBird, otherwise one is just "SnowFlaking"!
Fortunately, we decided in 2019 to keep our APs renewed. Prior to 2019 we were buying APs every third trip, getting 2-trips from 1 yearly AP, and skipping the parks on the 3rd trip. It was just lucky timing on our part that we renewed in 2020, as we have run into many DVC owners that could not get APs over the last couple years,

 

[Warriorfish5392]

We knew that we were going to plan trips for many years so it just made sense to us to get into DVC now and have it for many years to come. Excited for our welcome home trip this fall!!

 

[NVDISFamily]

I wont count the tons of trips pre kids as would never really have don’t this without having them. About three trips in and lots of YouTube videos watched we started getting recommended DVC videos by the YouTube machine (thanks Pete and your crew). Looked cool, but was mostly a WDW and HI thing…. Then found VGC and was hooked. Wanted to stay at the Grand Cal for many years but the rack rate just never made sense vs getting a nice room nearby. As we were going to Disneyland at least two times a year and really love the location and theme at the Grand Cal we became obsessed with trying to get into VGC if we could. The sellers market gave us a chance to jump in. Fast forward a few months and we now have 1120 points

About half at VGC and the rest at WDW. The WDW points are for awesome longer trips every other year or so to WDW and for use at Aulani. VGC for 4 to 5 night trips to Cali. Hope we love this for many years to come…. Also not excited about the first round of dues next year LOL

 

[ozliz]

I rented DVC points on my first WDW trip then 2 years later I rented DVC points at Aulani too. After that decided to buy a small resale contract. So glad I did as prices went up so high after that and the exchange rate went down so I can’t afford to buy any more. As an international owner its lucky the smaller contract is enough.

the selling point was really the kitchenettes. I can’t afford DVC rooms without the points and with complicated dietary requirements it’s so much easier to self cater most meals and snacks and maybe only eat out once per day. It’s great that Disney chefs are so accommodating but it’s exhausting sometimes to be going through ingredients with them trying to explain rare intolerances and tolerance levels etc.

 

[Jayunit09]

Been going to Disney since I was a kid and my uncle was a CM at Kona Cafe.

My "real" visits with my wife and then with my children is at six visits. We just stayed at BLT on rented points and after a decade of telling my wife we should get DVC we finally purchased at CCV.

 

[FreemanFam]

I went in 1996 at 14 years old. My wife and I just took our Daughter in May so I've been twice and both were anniversary celebration years. We just got a resale AKV contract due to close in Oct. I can't wait to go annually or better!

 

[pamkat1820]

We love Disney. We always wanted to buy but took forever to finally bite the bullet. After paying over $6000 for 2 rooms and only the rooms we decided that’s it!

Best decision we ever made! We are in the process of adding on to our points.

 

[geargrinder]

Zero.

I only found out about DVC recently. Been to DL a ton of times as a kid and as a parent. Since I've heard about DVC and am planning a WDW trip after my youngest daughter graduates HS next year. Figured it was a good opportunity to make a purchase.

First trip (after my first contract closes, currently in ROFR) will be AKL next summer. Next planned trip after that will be AUL Summer 2025 for my oldest daughter's college graduation.

Perhaps a trip or two in between since we'll be "empty nesters"

 

[Noles235]

Wasn’t until I fully understood all the benefits of staying on property that I became a member.

 

[DVCanadian]

Zero.

I only found out about DVC recently. Been to DL a ton of times as a kid and as a parent. Since I've heard about DVC and am planning a WDW trip after my youngest daughter graduates HS next year. Figured it was a good opportunity to make a purchase.

First trip (after my first contract closes, currently in ROFR) will be AKL next summer. Next planned trip after that will be AUL Summer 2025 for my oldest daughter's college graduation.

Perhaps a trip or two in between since we'll be "empty nesters"

I think you may have misread the question.

If you have been to Disneyland the answer wouldn’t be zero. The question was how many times have you been to either Disneyland or Disneyworld before buying DVC.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

(I went once as a kid, but don’t really remember much, so I’m not counting it.)

In 2008, my husband & I took our kids to WDW (MK only) for 1 single day (our tickets were free & we stayed off-site). Then in 2017 our family took a trip to CA- part of which was about a week at Disneyland (at a Hyatt Place) … it was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip

After coming home from CA- I told my sister how much we enjoyed Disney as a family, & how we all wished we could go back!! She asked if we’d ever looked into DVC (she has friends who are members)… & I’d never even heard of it!! So, I started researching… hard!! (I read & watched SO much!!!) Within a few months, we had purchased our first contract (BLT resale- sight unseen). As soon as it closed, we added on a tiny Poly contract (direct for blue card AP’s). Those were supposed to be our only points… but as soon as we took our welcome home trip, I found myself learning the art of “Disney Math” & stalking resale websites

Now, as I think back to our first ferry ride across the 7 Seas Lagoon on the General Joe Potter (in ‘08), looking at the Poly & VGF…my hubby said he’d love to stay there someday. It was a dream that I never imagined would come true- let alone to own at both so that we can keep going back!! I feel so very blessed!!!

 

[tweetykl]

i didn’t vote because I had never stayed on property before we bought. I grew up near Disneyland. my husband has been 2 times before we had kids and 3 or 4 times after having kids. Our trips with kids would be like a Tuesday, Thursday, and the next Monday as we would stay at my parents. i have dreamed at owning at Grand Californian and that is what we did in 2020. Then we bought Aulani sight unseen thinking we could use the direct points at the Disneyland Hotel Tower. We have stayed 2 trips, 3 nights and 4 nights, at VGC this past year. We did 10 nights at Aulani this summer. We need more Aulani resale points.

 

[zavandor]

I answered 2 because I went to WDW twice before buying DVC. However I have gone to DLP countless of times so I already was a Disney parks fanatic. I knew just with two visits that I wanted to go to WDW more often.

 

[DVCanadian]

i didn’t vote because I had never stayed on property before we bought. I grew up near Disneyland. my husband has been 2 times before we had kids and 3 or 4 times after having kids. Our trips with kids would be like a Tuesday, Thursday, and the next Monday as we would stay at my parents. i have dreamed at owning at Grand Californian and that is what we did in 2020. Then we bought Aulani sight unseen thinking we could use the direct points at the Disneyland Hotel Tower. We have stayed 2 trips, 3 nights and 4 nights, at VGC this past year. We did 10 nights at Aulani this summer. We need more Aulani resale points.

No need to vote at all. I wanted to mention to you and other readers that the question I asked was how many times you had been to either Disneyland or Disenyworld before buying, it had nothing to do with staying on property or at a DVC hotel. I created the question as I was curious how quickly after visiting either park people made the DVC commitment.

 

[AvidDisReader]

First went to Disneyland in early 70's and Disneyworld in mid 70's. Visited regularly every 5 years or so until the 1990's when started going yearly. First became aware of DVC in late 80's when had a co worker who had bought into what is now Old Key West. Was not until 2009 when I bought my first DVC contract at BLT (which is still my favorite resort).

 

[UofMGuy423]

First started renting DVC points from a member in 2006 to stay at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge, then rented again for the next 13-years to stay at Wilderness, Saratoga, Boardwalk, Kidani, Grand Californian, and Poly. After our Poly stay in 2021, I knew it was time to finally become a member myself and stop renting. So I kicked the DVC tires for nearly 15 years before buying. lol