If you've been in DVC for years...

[flipflopmom]

Does Disney hold the same magic, especially for your older kids? This has been on my mind so much since we made our decision to buy in. Our kids are 2 and 9, and thankfully, they GOT IT. Our 9 year old's best friend came back from her first trip a month before our trip and they had a great time, but I doubt they'll go back anytime soon. The parents said it was a lot of fun, and they were glad they had gone, but you could hear the "but" in their voices. We came back saying it was the best week of our lives! Our oldest talked about experiences, their kids talked about rides. I know you guys know what I mean what I say we got the magic.

I wonder how going every year will affect that. Granted, our daughter says she never wants our week in a beach house again, she wants Disney, and I know our 2 year old will be thrilled for years, Dh and I will go with or without them, but I kind of worry that once she hits the too cool for school teen years she'll have a change of heart..... She started off complaining about eating with the Princesses, changed her mind during planning, and during the trip, the photos don't lie. Her eyes were as lit up as the 2 year old.

Thanks for reading this wordy post! Any input is appreciated!

 

[KPH500]

We've only been members for just under a year but still have gone to WDW quite frequently in the past.

Our youngest son is 12 ... guesstimating he's been to WDW eight times, most recently last month. He totally 'gets it'. While some people see WDW as an amusement park, those of us that get it realize that couldn't be further from the truth. Our trips have changed very much over the years from chasing down Buzz & Woody at MGM (hey, it was still called MGM back then) to a more laid back approach.

For example, Typhoon Lagoon takes the place of Mickey's Toontown, parasailing over Bay Lake instead of standing in line for character meet & greets, dinners at places like Fulton's or Tutto Italia have taken the place of grabbing something quick on the fly from Pecos Bills.

If you adapt and change your vacation style as your kids grow and change I don't think you'll have a problem.

Just my two cents.

 

[Chuck S]

I grew up near Disneyland, and went several times a year as long as I can remember. It never "got old" for me.

 

[cj9200]

We joined in 1996 so it has been a while. The magic is still there and we always look forward to our trips. Saying that, the way we tour the parks has changed. I let our annual passes expire and the last two trips were focused on other things. The most recent trip we only spent two days (out of seven) going to parks. Still had a great time.

 

[GGOOFY1]

We have been members since '93 and my kids still get it. They are looking forward to our next trip "home" There was a time there while DD and young DS were involved in High School activities (cheerleading, skating, baseball, hockey and friends), that consumed their summer that they lost interest. But, when we had a baseball tournament at Wide World of Sports, and they starting running around the world with their friends that the interest was renewed Last summer we had a GV at OKW and DS brought 6 of his friends for their HS graduation. Now they keep bugging me to go back
So even though they are lead off track , they will come "home" again!!!

 

[Granny]

My daughters are now 20 & 18 years old, and still look forward to our WDW trips. Clearly though, it is a different type of anticipation as they now look forward to it in a similar way that they would look forward to any trip. But honestly I'd say that yes, the magic does wear off a bit for them.

Like others on this thread, we tour the parks less each year. We enjoy the resorts and the other non-park amenities of the area.

My guess is that we have built some great memories for my daughters, and they will "rediscover" the magic when they have children of their own and can see WDW anew through their excited eyes.

 

[BeccaG]

I grew up near Disneyland, and went several times a year as long as I can remember. It never "got old" for me.

For what its worth, I also grew up near Disneyland. Got my first pass in high school because my friends had passes, none of them Disney enthusiasts like myself, but because it was a fun outing. In college I was a cast member at the park, I then honeymooned in WDW and took my family back as DVC members in 2007. When I took a few days "away" before our youngest was born, we spent our time at Dinseyland. So I guess, to answer the OPs question, Walt's parks can maintain their magic for your kids as they grow older, but as others have said, it kinda depends on the kid!!

 

[DeeCee735]

We've been members since 2000 and have gone up to 3 times in a 12 month period. My kids are 20 (twins). My DH really doesn't like to fly, so we've been driving down once a year as a family, up until last January, when we finally got the guy on the plane. He LOVES it when he's there, however he only goes once a year, but I get there every chance I get, about 3x a year. I've taken my friends and cousins and it's awesome!

As far as the magic and my kids....my DD took her friends down on their spring break and they had a blast. Both my kids are bringing friends this coming January trip. They both LOVE being there, and they look forward to being able to travel their with their friends (and not us )in the future! The magic is very much alive and well for us.
I think I'm going to need more points! Some for their separate trips, my separate trips and the family trips! Whew!

As for myself, the magic will never fade! I love it so much I'm hard pressed to branch off and go anywhere else. I know I should, I just don't really want to

We felt we would love it from the day we bought in, and that hasn't diminished at all! Enjoy your many years of vacations to come.

 

[leanne2255]

We've been members since 1999, but even before that, we traveled to WDW every year. The magic never wore off on my DD's, ages 19 and 23. My oldest, became a cast member in the Career Start program and would still be working there if the economy had not turned bad when it was time to hire on full time.

My DH and I travel there alone now, and the girls still want to come with us. Jobs have gotten in the way for them, and they do not always have the time or money to come along.

We will be grandparents in October and my DD is already looking forward to bringing her son to WDW to start the circle all over again.

 

[goofy4tink]

Let's see....bought DVC in '03. In the past 12 months I've been to WDW...twice in Sept (Labor Day and then for the closing of PI), then a night before our Disney cruise in early Dec, then 5 nights after our cruise, April for 5 nights, heading back in two weeks for a week, then back in Dec for 12 days..nope, never gets old for me.

 

[flipflopmom]

Thanks everyone. I felt very fortunate that my DD got it this year. I was really worried. I see there being so much to do and see, we won't have seen it all when our contract expires when I am 81! It's a gamble to buy in early in their WDW times, but I would hate to spend money staying somewhere else, then buy in. I've seen "wish I'd done it sooner" soooo many times!

 

[La2kw]

Does Disney hold the same magic, especially for your older kids? This has been on my mind so much since we made our decision to buy in. Our kids are 2 and 9, and thankfully, they GOT IT. Our 9 year old's best friend came back from her first trip a month before our trip and they had a great time, but I doubt they'll go back anytime soon. The parents said it was a lot of fun, and they were glad they had gone, but you could hear the "but" in their voices. We came back saying it was the best week of our lives! Our oldest talked about experiences, their kids talked about rides. I know you guys know what I mean what I say we got the magic.

I wonder how going every year will affect that. Granted, our daughter says she never wants our week in a beach house again, she wants Disney, and I know our 2 year old will be thrilled for years, Dh and I will go with or without them, but I kind of worry that once she hits the too cool for school teen years she'll have a change of heart..... She started off complaining about eating with the Princesses, changed her mind during planning, and during the trip, the photos don't lie. Her eyes were as lit up as the 2 year old.

Thanks for reading this wordy post! Any input is appreciated!

DD17 is done. She has no desire to go back after 20 plus trips. DS18 likes it a bit more, but is off to college so will be too busy for a while to join us.

That said, DW and I are looking forward to future trips without them. I know we will miss them, but we have lots of great memories of them growing up at WDW. I think we will probably start doing a few exchanges as well.

 

[littlestar]

Our grown kids still like the Disney resorts, but they insist upon a car because they don't care for the quality and price of most of Disney's restaurants and they like to shop at the outlets.

They absolutely don't like being trapped when it comes to Disney food quality or slow buses. With all of our visits through the years to Orlando, they also have favorite local restaurants they adore - like Flippers Pizza, so I think that's another reason why they insist upon a car. We've been staying at onsite Disney resorts since the early 90's, and became DVC members in early 2002.

Something that has become a must for our grown daughters is Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween party. They pretty much go to it every year - they love it.

Our girls still adore staying on Disney property for the escape and theming it provides, but they also have some favorite offsite properties, too, and other destinations they enjoy visiting - like Hilton Head and Hawaii.

 

[stitchineeyore]

Members since my birthday in 1999 (great present from DH, yes?) Kids are now 21 and 27. 27 year old son is so-so, but he's coming for Halloween with the family. 21 year old daughter will probably be a disney "lifer"; still goes every year on her college spring break (we get a 2 BR and she brings friends). DH and I are going for my birthday a month from today. We have done just about every exchange there is, and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. The magic has never gotten old for us

 

[disneynutz]

What gets old is watching Disney make profit decisions that affects the magic that Walt and Company created so many years ago.

The things that made WDW unique are slowly disappearing and generic everything is their new motto. Disney used to focus on the Guest experience, now they focus on increasing attendance and charging extra.

 

[SusieBea]

We joined in '93. Our daughters were 8 and 11 at that time. For several years, we went at least twice and sometimes 3 times a year. It was good because there was something that everyone enjoyed: parks, pool hopping, golf, eating, shopping. Now I am the only one who still wants to go. My DH says he is "parked out" although I remind him of how much he enjoys the golf there. My older daughter and SIL have been "too cool" for Disney, although now that they have a 9-month-old son, some interest is re-developing. Our younger daughter is in the hospitality industry and that has taken away some of the magic for her even though she does not work for Disney. Soooo, all of our experiences are different depending upon the complexions of our families. And, I do see the experience coming full circle when grandchildren arrive. Good luck to you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We joined in 1997 and have been every year since then. At first we went once a year, then got more points and went twice a year (My husband did the marathon or half marathon at least four times in a row). About two or three years ago we sold some of our contracts and started going once a year. Next year we won't go at all and we'll bank our points for summer 2011. We'll go to the beach for two weeks in 2010.

We still look forward to going, but it is getting easier to increase amount of time between trips. Once our son goes to college, we'll probably use the points to go for F&W festival or Flower and Garden Festival (since they are moving the dates for that one) instead of late spring/early summer.

 

[ransom]

The main boredom danger of any repeated activity is getting stuck in a rut. So if you go to WDW and stay at the same resort every time, tour the parks the same every time, etc., then it will undoubtedly get old quicker than if you change things up. The great thing about WDW is that there's so much there, beyond the parks. As others have mentioned every single resort is a world unto itself, worthy of exploration and of spending time just sitting and enjoying its unique ambiance.

So my advice would be to change things as your children age. Let your oldest make more and more decisions about how she wants to spend her time as she gets older, and make sure your younger one gets the same experience as he gets older.

Even your tastes will change over time. Most of us end up spending a lot more time at the resort as we continue visiting WDW. You may find that you like hanging out by the pool, or cooking elaborate meals, or exploring the area outside WDW.

So as long as you let it flow naturally, and do what each of you wants to do on each trip, then I think you'll continue to enjoy WDW and your DVC membership for many years to come.

 

[Quilter007]

Hmmm.....we just got back from using our developer points at SSR. We're from the west coast so this is only our 3rd trip to WDW. Our 1st DVC trip. I have to tell you, it was a disaster. I just got off the phone with the DVC member satisfaction team and I think all they are going to do is log my complaint. Our home resort is VGC. Hopefully once we stay there we'll like it. If not, we'll put the points on the resale market as soon as Disney sells out. Our best trip to WDW was the first one where we stayed off property at a Marriott. The second one was at the Poly. Frankly, based on our experience, we don't how Disney manages to get people to come back for a second hotel stay in Florida! We've stayed at the Disneyland hotel & loved it! Anyway we're staying on the West Coast until younger DS is old enough to go on the sunrise safari thing at the animal kingdom DVC, then we'll do the concierge level thingy and if that goes badly, there will not be a fifth try!!!! We'll just go to Cocoa Beach, the Space Center, golf & eat key lime pie until we explode!

Hey -- the DVC Member Satisfaction "try to make me feel better without doing anything for me guy" did tell me that Space Mountain is getting the California ride insides not just a facelift so at least y'all will have a real Space Mountain ride. The first time we rode the Florida Space Mountain ride, DS asked, "Mommy, why did they bother with seat belts on this ride? Is it broken?"

 

[lah3hh]

We have been members since July 1998. I say it all the time, one of the best decisions I have made in my life other than marrying my lovely DH...

Our DD is now 22 and has been receiving the DVC benefits since she was 11. Maybe we are a little different than some on the boards. We don't just do WDW with our points. I know, hold the eggs you want to throw at me...but we do HHI, VB, DCL (10 cruises in 11 years, not bad huh!) and even exchanged out when it was II to Las Vegas, Bay Habor Michigan, New York and Hawaii. On top of the variety of locations and ways we have spent our points we have done WDW more times than I need to count. We love it there and find ourselves taking a relaxing vacation at the World and most folks don't say that after a trip to WDW. We don't do comando style park days anymore and many times don't go to a park at all. I know, crazy by most standards but not according to what seems to be the DVC standard.

I don't think your children will get tired of anything you do as long as you provide variety and age 'appropriateness'(is that a word??) as they grow and change.

I have had more wonderful vacations with my daughter and husband over the past 11 years and honestly look forward to as many more as I can take...did I ever say I love my DVC??