Is the magic gone?

[Goofy + 3]

Obviously, just about everyone on these boards is thrilled with their DVC purchase and their only regret is that they didn't buy sooner. I get that. But part of the appeal to me as a prospective buyer is that this was Disney's best kept secret. It's not a secret at all anymore. Does anyone feel a little less "magical" about their purchase now that DVC is more mainstream (perhaps "mainstream" isn't the right word, but I'm just saying it's far more well known now than it was just a few years ago- and when KT starts selling, that will be the case even more so).

I'm probably worried about nothing and this is just a way for me to stall and not shell out the money to join. But what do you think? Is it still as magical now that the DVC community has grown so much? And are you concerned about the flood of points entering the system that KT will bring (I'm guessing that the 11-month window will become even more important then and the ability to stay at places other than your home resort will be limited).

 

[Tiggerlover48]

I too haven't joined yet and wonder about the service that you receive. They already have your money!!!!! What makes it so special?

 

[chalee94]

DVC becoming more "mainstream" is a big part of what gives us the opportunity to stay at a resort that has exotic animals outside the balcony...and potentially resorts just off the monorail by the CR and in hawaii.

there can be a sense of elitism that some people have to fight: some music fans loved u2 when they were a relatively unknown irish band, but gave up on them in the mid-80s after they hit the top 40...IMO those people are idiots...

OTOH, there is a risk that as the money rolls in, disney will start to screw it up and cut back on DVC customer service in the interests of milking their cash cow...that's a valid concern and something to keep an eye on...

 

[DVC Jen]

I think it all depends on why you bought in and your state of mind when you did.

If you bought in thinking you were somehow one of the disney elite like was mentioned earlier - and that you are now entitled to tons of discounts and freebies - and destined to be treated as someone of greater importance - you will be disappointed.

If you bought in with the thought process that you are prepaying vacation accomodations for years to come - and making it possible for your family to enjoy disney as well as other places for a very long time. If you are realistic with your expectations that discounts and freebies will come and go and they are nothing more than an unexpected yet nice perk. If you do not think of yourself as more important or special than the first time visitor staying at a value resort AND you bought in because you LOVE Disney and know deep in your heart that love and or magic will not fade for you - you won't regret your decision.

At least that is MY opinion.

 

[wildernessDad]

It's prepaid vacations. That's what it is. It's a long term thing. DVC members are not special and do not deserve special treatment.

There has been growth, dramatic growth, and I just hope that WDW can keep up with it. Perhaps another theme park. That comes to mind. I would hate for WDW to be crowded all year round.

 

[tomandrobin]

We can feel the Magic!


DVC is by no means "big" yet. It is no where near the likes of Hyatt, Hilton or Westin. And I would call those resort systems small to madium at best.

 

[snowbunny]

It was never a "secret"...that's a marketing slogan and nothing more!

 

[bnlbebes]

If you bought in with the thought process that you are prepaying vacation accomodations for years to come - and making it possible for your family to enjoy disney as well as other places for a very long time. If you are realistic with your expectations that discounts and freebies will come and go and they are nothing more than an unexpected yet nice perk. If you do not think of yourself as more important or special than the first time visitor staying at a value resort AND you bought in because you LOVE Disney and know deep in your heart that love and or magic will not fade for you - you won't regret your decision.

I agree with the practicality of the above statement. You can't join DVC expecting constant and consistent Perks. When they come it is a nice surprise, but the main objective of joining should be to guarantee a Premium way of spending time at WDW for years to come.

I also had to laugh at the "Best Kept Secret" thing. I have always thought of it as a clever advertising slogan, but it also makes me laugh at the way they heavily publicize it. Having DVC reps all over every WDW resort and park! To give away our "secret" to as many as will listen.

 

[hansel1]

I have no remorse and the magic is still here.

I use dvc as prepaid vacations in a deluxe resort for the price of a value. I enjoy the location of my resort the most out of all the "perks". (BWV)

As for the flood of points, I am not really worried about it as I always have a planned trip by the 11 month window. If i were to buy into the new Contemporary resort dvc, I would be worried that I wouldn't get the times I wanted with so many people interested in it. I would bet it will be a sell out even if they prices are higher per point with a higher point cost per stay.

 

[DeeCee735]

JMHO here.....

It is more magical now than it was before we bought in.
Driving through the gate at the BWV and hearing "welcome home" is where it starts. Walking into that gorgeous lobby with a feeling of "coming home" once again is wonderful. Knowing we can do this over and over and over, and bring family and friends, and God willing our grandchildren one day......there's just no other word for it but magical. Seeing the reactions of those we've brought with us is so much fun, "showing off" the World, the resorts, the BWV and "doing" Disney with them is something we want to do for years and years.

It is a prepaid vacation, yes - but to us - so much more. It's a place we love EVERY time we go there, and its OURS. A feeling of familiarity, a warm welcome upon arrival, always friendly (if not extra ordinary) service, etc make it all the better. We never expected any perks, but it's nice to have "members only" discounts/happenings, it creates more of a community feeling.

I don't see any of the services diminishing over time or with the growth of the vacation club. Disney has held its own standards higher than the competition since Walt created a Disneyland, and I don't think they'll compromise that just because the vacation club is growing, if anything I would think they'll try to continue to create something better and over and above all the others as they have in the past, and as they appear to be doing with KT.

We're in it for the long run, my kids are already asking if we can "extend" the ownership, even though they'll be in their 50's when it expires!

 

[spiceycat]

brought in 1993 at OKW (then DVC) and still love it.

have other timeshares - that generally trade to get DVC or if RCI - something close.

if you love WDW and see yourself vacationing there for at least the next 10 years - then DVC was designed for you.

with KTR@CR - it will be even better.

OKW and SSR have the most points. despite its size KTR is not a big DVC. It only has 281 units (now that might be more villas - but I think the estimate was 350 villas at most) - so not many at all.

SSR was so such better than BCV - room design and interior - AKV beats them both - so expecting KTR to be something more. (don't know how it can beat AKV - just expecting it to)

DVC is home. a hotel room is a hotel room even at WDW. but DVC is home.

even now am surprised by the number of people at WDW who don't know what DVC is.... so yea there are still some people who don't know what they are missing. or are afraid because it is a version of a timeshare....

if you love WDW then you will love DVC.

now if you think this is some elites club - sorry that isn't DVC. it never was or will be.

they will sell to anyone who has the money....

now sometimes the DVC members are happier than WDW resort guests - but hey won't you be knowing you were going home from WDW instead of just another room.

or after illiuinations at Epcot you could walk back to your home - BWV or BCV....

or just take a boat after wishes at MK - VWL...

 

[Mom2PixiePrincess]

For us the "magic" is in already having the largest part(hotel cost) of vacation expenses taken care of! We know that for the next several decades we'll have deluxe accomodations at WDW. The usual stress over saving for a room, balancing whether to stay in the deluxe resort or the value resort or somewhere in between based on budget: to break the bank or not, is GONE! IMHO the deluxe resorts are much nicer and have supreme amenities over the value resorts.

Of course we had to put out a large chunk of money at the start, but now it's done. Instead of just taking the usual two week vacations, we now plan several throughout the year as well as the usual two weeks. It's a great get away, sometimes we don't even visit the parks! Of course we only live 2 hours away, so we don't have to figure flights or anything. Now if Disney would only offer DVC in the kennels! We'd be set!

If you like to vacation at least one week out of the year and you have the cash to pay for your DVC upfront then there really isn't any reason NOT to buy!

 

[global_mom]

JMHO here.....

It is more magical now than it was before we bought in.
Driving through the gate at the BWV and hearing "welcome home" is where it starts. Walking into that gorgeous lobby with a feeling of "coming home" once again is wonderful. Knowing we can do this over and over and over, and bring family and friends, and God willing our grandchildren one day......there's just no other word for it but magical. Seeing the reactions of those we've brought with us is so much fun, "showing off" the World, the resorts, the BWV and "doing" Disney with them is something we want to do for years and years.

It is a prepaid vacation, yes - but to us - so much more. It's a place we love EVERY time we go there, and its OURS. A feeling of familiarity, a warm welcome upon arrival, always friendly (if not extra ordinary) service, etc make it all the better. We never expected any perks, but it's nice to have "members only" discounts/happenings, it creates more of a community feeling.

I don't see any of the services diminishing over time or with the growth of the vacation club. Disney has held its own standards higher than the competition since Walt created a Disneyland, and I don't think they'll compromise that just because the vacation club is growing, if anything I would think they'll try to continue to create something better and over and above all the others as they have in the past, and as they appear to be doing with KT.

We're in it for the long run, my kids are already asking if we can "extend" the ownership, even though they'll be in their 50's when it expires!

You made me teary! We feel the same way, we love DVC!

 

[mopee3]

I too haven't joined yet and wonder about the service that you receive. They already have your money!!!!! What makes it so special?

I would think that maybe DVC really isn't for you. When we, my DW and I, start talking about going back, a smile comes into our voices and our faces. We believe the times we spend there are magical.
We are going back in late April with a couple of people who haven't been to WDW but the DH used to visit WDL when he was younger. When you ask him about WDL I see the same smile come into his smile and voice. So if you can't see the "DVC" thing, don't worry just go someplace that you really enjoy and go there.

Oh one more thing, we have 5 children and when we say when we pass on and leave this earth we will have to leave it to them and is that alright with them??

I hear alot of HURT ME , oh HURT Me some more!!!!!

Mo

 

[vacationman]

Since there is no place on the face of this earth where I would rather vacation, DVC was a natural for me. I actually bought 300 points in 2000, bought 310 more two years later, then sold all of it three years ago and bought into Hilton GVC because we we wanted to go to Hawaii and needed to save some money. When we sold DVC, we sold for what we paid to join (because point price had gone up enough to net out sales commissions). I doubt that could happen with any other timeshare. Two weeks ago we bought back in to our former home resort. We are truly home again and could not be happier. While staying in Orlando with Hilton was far less expensive, we never felt part of what we love about Disney.

 

[veenstra56]

I understand what you are saying. After all, if everyone is a member then it's not much of a club, right?

That said, I still have zero regrets about my purchase(s), and as long as Disney strives to maintain a high level of excellence I will continue to be a happy member.

 

[Goofy + 3]

Just to clarify, I'm not looking for a "Disney Elitist" secret society complete with secret handshakes and everything. I was just curious if any of you thought it was any less magical now that it's experiencing such a spike in growth. Thanks for the feedback..

 

[Goofy + 3]

JMHO here.....

It is more magical now than it was before we bought in.
Driving through the gate at the BWV and hearing "welcome home" is where it starts. Walking into that gorgeous lobby with a feeling of "coming home" once again is wonderful. Knowing we can do this over and over and over, and bring family and friends, and God willing our grandchildren one day......there's just no other word for it but magical. Seeing the reactions of those we've brought with us is so much fun, "showing off" the World, the resorts, the BWV and "doing" Disney with them is something we want to do for years and years.

It is a prepaid vacation, yes - but to us - so much more. It's a place we love EVERY time we go there, and its OURS. A feeling of familiarity, a warm welcome upon arrival, always friendly (if not extra ordinary) service, etc make it all the better. We never expected any perks, but it's nice to have "members only" discounts/happenings, it creates more of a community feeling.

I don't see any of the services diminishing over time or with the growth of the vacation club. Disney has held its own standards higher than the competition since Walt created a Disneyland, and I don't think they'll compromise that just because the vacation club is growing, if anything I would think they'll try to continue to create something better and over and above all the others as they have in the past, and as they appear to be doing with KT.

We're in it for the long run, my kids are already asking if we can "extend" the ownership, even though they'll be in their 50's when it expires!

Thanks. This is just what I was hoping to hear.

 

[Tiggerlover48]

I would think that maybe DVC really isn't for you. When we, my DW and I, start talking about going back, a smile comes into our voices and our faces. We believe the times we spend there are magical.
We are going back in late April with a couple of people who haven't been to WDW but the DH used to visit WDL when he was younger. When you ask him about WDL I see the same smile come into his smile and voice. So if you can't see the "DVC" thing, don't worry just go someplace that you really enjoy and go there.

Oh one more thing, we have 5 children and when we say when we pass on and leave this earth we will have to leave it to them and is that alright with them??

I hear alot of HURT ME , oh HURT Me some more!!!!!

Mo

Actually I think it is. I was just asking if there was some sort of difference. Getting people opinions. I saw the thread and thought I would pose a question too. I know about the magic and have experienced it many times.

I love WDW and can think of no other place I would rather be and go. We are still thinking if we can afford it, as I am a stay at home mom. But I think we are going to do it and we'll figure out the rest later.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

HHI & VB are the secrets.