Is Disney’s Best Kept Secret your best kept secret too?

[dbs1228]

It took us going to disney for 15 years straight to become dvc owners! We DO have teenage daughters in which 2 will be in college next year and I thought "what are we doing buying in now" well I cannot see myself and DH NOT going to disney at least once a year. We could afford it and realized how much we have spent over the past 15 years staying at the Ft Wilderness cabins

My father has time shares off property and has offered them to us free for our visits but we have always turned him down because there is something about staying "on property". I am so excited about trying every resort! I really feel this was the right decision for us and let me tell you our DD's are extra excited since they are already looking to use our points! lol

 

[ILuvMulan]

You know, I did this with a few friends who sort of "ganged up" on us at a social event. Broke out the calculator on my phone and asked how many packs of cigarettes they each smoked each day - 1 pack a day each (married couple). 2 people at $4-$5 a pack they're looking at $3,160-$3,650 a year on cigarettes - in 2007 we did 10 nights at WDW and went to Kennedy Space Center for less than that. In 2008 we did a 4 night Disney cruise with 3 nights on either side (6 total) at WDW for less than that! So I pointed out that for what they spend on smoking for a year, I spend almost 2 weeks on vacation, in Disney World. Parks, tours, La Nouba, dining out every day, bobbing around in the crystal clear waters of Castaway Cay, Palo, etc. I added that I'm pretty sure I'm getting the better end of the deal!

We all make our choices and I get that. I just wish we didn't catch so much grief from the people we love for ours.

Love it!! Yes, you are getting the better end of that deal!!!

 

[ToddyLu]

Like you DH and I (45 &41) do not have children. We have been yearly since 2002, my first trip. I was the one at the beginning of Main Street who screamed "look it's the real castle!!!", grabbing DH's arm. Seeing Osborne Lights after losing our house in Katrina and my FIL 5 weeks later---shear tears of joy and healing. When they turned those lights on for my first time..wow.....it ranks up there with seeing El Greco's paintings in Toledo, Spain or hearing Pavarotti's first notes in our local convention center. So that is what "I get" at Disney. I do not advertise that we own DVC, just to my co workers who enjoy Disney. MIL was completely on board. My parents, not as much....due to the expense...but they were supportive and quietly let me blurt out the details in excitement.

MIL went for our first visit last year to AKV and will get a studio again this year. This thread is so funny. My parents were over Wednesday night and I am planting the seed for their trip with us in 2011. I showed them the pics for the resort and savannah and let them know that we need to plan 11 months in advance. I had to explain to my Dad to really think about how long he wanted to stay because AKV is different from Pop (where we stayed with them in 2008). I will throw our ownership out there if I am talking with another Disneyphile.

One of the girls in the Gift Shop at our hospital is a seasonal CM and was Chip or maybe Dale at one time. I can discuss it with her ad nauseum...

 

[BroganMc]

if we didn’t tell them there are a few that would go looking it up and hold the numbers over our heads! It’s so frustrating to be judged and insulted for something that in the grand scheme of things is so SILLY!

Really? Man, I thought my enemies were bad. Your friends beat them hands down.

Just get used to saying "It's none of your business". Now if they want to start paying your bills for you then they can have some say in what you do.

 

[calypso726]

Chalk me up as another one that can't keep a secret Everyone at work and my entire family knows about my love for Disney and that we are DVC members. DH and I do not have kids and will not be having kids.

I guess I have been lucky and have not had people make snarky comments. I have had co-workers ask in a sincere, politely interested manner what makes me keep going back to WDW. I explain that there is nothing I love more than leaving reality behind. I tell them I get to do that at Disney without being followed by the men in the white coats who want me to wear a jacket with extra long sleeves that buckle up the back

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I only tell my friends who also go to Disney. As others have said you get the snarky comments like "what, are you rich or something, going to disneyworld twice in one year???" and I feel like saying "are you rich or something that you smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day and have a 60" flat screen??????" (no offense to smokers, but most people that say this to me smoke). But I bite my tongue.......How about, I work full-time, my husband works OVER full time and has his own business and we deserve a nice vacation? But no some people dont see it like that It's unfortunate that some of us are forced to keep it a secret to avoid being antagonized all the time about it!

 

[WonderlandsMostWantd]

Really? Man, I thought my enemies were bad. Your friends beat them hands down.

Sadly, the looking up the cost to use against us is DH's side of the family. They're also the ones who choose to go to the movies EVERY weekend and go out to dinner frequently and other uses of their "disposable" income which just aren't our speed. So, if we say we can't afford to go to Red Lobster or Olive Garden as a large group on at least a monthly basis, or think that buying expensive gifts for all 14 adult siblings & spouses every single birthday and Christmas is getting to be a little much on the pocket book, Disney is their first target (In other words we could afford to spend more money on them AND more often for that matter, if we just spent less of our hard earned money on ourselves) ...

... on a related note, we're thinking about moving from MN to TX one of these days!

 

[WonderlandsMostWantd]

My DVC contract is a secret from my family. The kids know, my ex knows, all my coworkers know, but mom, dad, sis, bro and their families... nope.

That's similar to us. My coworkers know, and while none of them are "Disney people" they are happy for me because they know how happy it makes me, and, we have a few friends who are less judgmental, and they know and are happy. I know that some of the reason for the comments from the freinds that criticize come from a place of not understanding and of jealousy because they've made life choices that prevent them from taking vacations and doing much nice stuff for themselves. SO, we try not to take it too personally, but I wish I could share my happiness with them!

Also kind of funny... 2 of the friends who gave us a hard time about it before recently became pregnant... we stopped over to see them tonight and they told us they can't wait for "Auntie Ana" to take them and their daughter down to WDW for her "first trip to Disney World" in a few years In light of this thread from this afternoon, the irony of the timing of that statement was NOT lost on me this evening!

 

[arthur06]

We dont really keep our membership a secret... Most of my coworkers and friends know that we own DVC, but they have no idea any details beyond that. They dont know what we paid, how many points we have, how to use the points... and thats the way I like it!

My in-laws were skeptical when we joined... MIL made one trip with use (we were at AKV for F&W) and she cant get enough... We are going back in December and MIL and FIL will be joining us!

My co-workers dont really say anything anymore, Im not affraid to put them in there place. All our cars are paid off, and my wife and I both have good paying jobs... I dont tell them how to spend there money and they have no right on telling me how to spend mine... but if anyone I work with wants to go to WDW, guess who they look up then...

 

[wbl2745]

There are some members of the family, friends, and colleagues that we don't talk about our "Disney habit." My wife's parents completely and thoroughly do not understand Disney at all. "You're going to Disneyland again? Isn't that just for children? You've already been there, why are you going again?" We just don't bother telling them at all. We just got back from our first DVC trip to the VGC and didn't mention that we were going. I think they are really missing out. My DMIL would love the flower festival at Epcot.

I suppose that we just share the information with friends who understand. Although DVC is a "timeshare" it seems like there are significant differences. My former boss bought a timeshare at Bear Lake in Utah and paid $500. That's it! Well the problem is that the original builders are nowhere to be seen and the only support for the buildings are from owners' dues. The whole place is falling apart. So when people think of timeshare, that's what they think of. Disney's point system seems a lot better to me. Also, the fact that Disney still owns a part of each resort, and that most of the WDW and DLR DVC properties are attached to a Disney hotel. I have a hard time seeing Disney letting the DVC property degrade their hotels.

Some times it is easier just not to talk about DVC than to try to explain it.

 

[auralia]

i don't give two toots what people think as soon as i made it through ROFR i posted it on face book, and discovered a cousin of mine is also a disney aholic...i had no idea! so i learned something from it, no one came down on me, they accept my obsession (well except maybe my father but i said dad you just bought a 46000$ tractor because it's your thing well this is my thing and it was WAY less than your tractor and at least i can rent it out if i can't use it lol let me see you rent that tractor out and know it will come back to you in the same condition it left in! )

 

[arielrocks]

To the op - omg you and I are the same! Not similar EXACTLY the same. Same
lifestyle same kids
situ and same dvc secret!!!

It's actually fun keeping it a
secret and now when we go
and stay at the luxury Disney properties the eye rolls have turned green with envy!!! We
tell them we rent peoples
points!

 

[WonderlandsMostWantd]

You know, thanks to this thread, I think we now have a way of explaining our lush accommodations in pictures when we get back from our first stay at our new "home"... IF they ask, we rented the points... yeah... that's the ticket!

December can't get here fast enough! I need some Casey's mini corn dogs and a Mickey bar. Then, all will be right with the world again.

Anyone else going "home" between Nov 30 - Dec 10? Perhaps we should have a "secret" support group meeting!

 

[papertraveller]

This thread is a fascinating read.

We also keep our DVC ownership relatively quiet. Mostly, I can't be bothered to explain what is so unique about the product, and the fact that you can use those points for so many different kinds of vacations. It's not like you're having the same vacation time and again.

But another reason: I've discovered that by carefully managing those points, and scouring the web for great airfares, you can squeeze in many more trips than before. And that's where I feel a bit guilty. Looks like we'll manage a couple this year, and I'm still trying to finesse one more. It looks extravagant to the outsider, but that last one will cost us only airfare and food, so in the words of a TV pitchman, 'It's almost free!'

 

[Inkmahm]

My DH and I got married late in life (I was 45 and he was 44) so we also have no children. We have fur babies and we have DVC. We get comments all the time from friends and family about how often we go to WDW. I don't care. We love it and will keep going as often as we want to. We are open about our DVC ownership although I don't think anyone realizes just how many points we own (over 600.)

When we are at WDW and we are sitting to do a bit of people watching, often while enjoying a Dole Whip float, sometimes we see really old couples hiking through the park. I always point them out to my DH and tell him "I hope that will be us in 20 years."

 

[nunzia]

We keep it pretty quiet too...partially because people's eyes glaze over when you mention timeshare and it's really alot of effort to explain and have the glaze get deepen if they don't get it. My DH glazes over and he has no interest in all the ins and outs so he just packs his bag and goes along. Also, we live very frugally, so I think people would would judge if they knew the expense considering our modest lifestyle..it's almost like "Why would you buy a timeshare when you don't have_____" fill in the blank. Heck, DVC costs less than most cars out there, and lasts forever (because of our advanced age ) instead of the life span of a car. What I don't get is why people seem to think it's OK to attack your spending/vacation choices. I don't knock anyone who thinks going to the same beach every year is silly, so why do they think knocking going to Disney every year is OK? I don't knock people who spends hundreds for a purse, so why would they think it's OK to knock someone who buys a Disney timeshare? Life is short...as long as you are responsible and enjoy what money buys, have at it.

 

[DizGirl20]

I never told my family when I brought DVC because my brother always makes the comment "You're going to Disney Again!" So its just easier not to tell them it costs me next to nothing to go except for the initial cost which is mostly paid.

Hey, are we related?!?! We must have the same brother!

And NO, we just bought DVC last December and my family does not know. Only our best friends who are jealous!

 

[anna08]

I actually use DVC membership as a way to validate our frequent trips (2-3 per year) to my family and friends who don't understand.... "We have points left for this year that we have to use or lose" and then no one can argue about ANOTHER trip. Once in a while I will explain how fast membership has paid us back - how the cash cost of our last trip would have been a third of the cost of our last add-on. One time a client of mine heard I was going to Disney and was so kind in talking about the trip - turns out her Dad was one of the first OKW buyers and we bonded in our love of DVC!

 

[ddoconnell]

Most of my family and friends have all been supportive....especially when they get to go with us and stay in a Grand Villa! That being said there, are those family members that just can't understand why we bought DVC....couldn't we just stay in a value resort ? Don't get me wrong, all Disney hotels are nice, but we were looking more for the home away from home thing not the clean place to shower and sleep thing! Those folks don't get it...but are very jealous about the number of times we get to go to WDW. Hang in there and just enjoy your vacations how you want to

 

[SnowWhite2]

I keep quiet about it too! I just say "we are going to FL".

Why is it acceptable to go to the beach every year, year after year, and not acceptable to go to WDW?

The one time someone asked why are we going to Disney, didn't we do that last year, I responded "Yes we are going again. There is a new ride, a new show and a new parade (whatever it was at the time). You go to the beach every summer. What's new there? Same water, same sand, same boardwalk activies. Don't you get tired of going there every year". I don't hear about Disney anymore from these folks.