On Fence: Love Disney But Not Parks

[Granny]

I'm with SpiceyCat and some others...no need to pay the upcharge that DVC commands just to soak up some atmosphere. You could buy Marriott or somewhere and still visit the Boardwalk area or other non-park areas of WDW to soak up the ambience.

Or, based on what you described, you might enjoy Vero Beach more as a place to relax and do much of what you described.

 

[OKW91]

Just to add my two cents, we have been members since 91, have seen all the parks many times over! We will be leaving in two weeks for a 6 week stay at OKW, (we are retired, and this is better then renting a house for the season) we will probably visit the parks only once or twice in that time! We enjoy all the other small things like relaxing by the pool, pool hopping, the Market Place, just sitting on the balcony having a drink,etc. There is also the exchange programs and using points for a cruise. It may be a little more costly then some other time shares, but for us the atmosphere is worth it!!!!

 

[JudyS]

I think a fair number of DVC members spend most of their time at the resorts, rather than the theme parks. So, sure, DVC can be worthwhile even if you don't go to the parks much.

There are a LOT of nice timeshares on Hilton Head, and it is easy to trade into Marriotts there in the off-season. Disney's Hilton Head resort shows up pretty regularly as a trade, too. So, if you think you will go to Hilton Head a lot, you may want to buy another timeshare, one that trades through II, and trade in. It can be much cheaper than buying DVC.

There is info on this at www.tug2.net. You can email me for advice, too.

 

[goldilocks_63]

Plushy, not as much in fees, and if not a Disney lover, why pay the overhead?

Goldi

 

[DisFlan]

Do you play golf? That's the real reason MY husband goes to WDW. The rest of us do what we want. He spends maybe 20% of our trips in the parks. He enjoys the parks and has his favorite rides, but they're not the main draw for him. And he loves the DVC resorts!

There's magic for everyone at WDW, whether you're a park lover or not.

DisFlan

 

[spiceycat]

My opinion only - Marriott caters to golfers much better than DVC does.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) If you "aren't into the parks" don't buy DVC.
2) There are lots of other timeshares with better amenities.
3) They are typically cheaper, too.
4) You can easily trade into other vacation areas.

 

[lllovell]

We were somewhat park commandos but I am hoping that our recent purchase will slow us down a bit too. I am looking forward to spending time in the pools and playing putt putt, etc with our 2 and 4 year old sons, but love the fact that we can pop over to a park to see the evening shows or ride a favorite ride every day if we choose.

It has actually be VERY hard for me to figure out how to plan now that we are DVCers. Last year, we went down several times (20+ nights) over the course of the year, but staying in nicer places with beautiful surroundings make me want to do it differently and I am not really sure how! lol I am "cheap" with my point and spend lots of time plotting and trying to figure how to stretch them the furthest only to toss up my hands at myself at times remembering that it really will be better if we get that one bedroom with a kitchen rather than being able to stay longer in a studio because we will have more room and be able to enjoy more and and and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I just don't know WHAT I want to do , but for someone that doesn't want to go to the parks much, I am not sure that all the "extras" that go along with DVC make it worthwhile for the dollar.

 

[mdmom2004]

First, THANKS everybody who responded. I've been reading this thread avidly and I see there are definate pros and cons. To clarify a few things:

- We're not golfers (other than putt putt)
- We're not totally anti-park - we can see doing one park a visit (i.e., of a 4 day stay, doing one park day). I was just wondering the parks continued to be the focus of everyone's visit.
- Yeah, I know other timeshares are cheaper, but I absolutely cringe at the thought of having to "work" to arrange a timeshare vacation (I've been reading tug2.net and even if I could figure out the way it works, I shudder to think of buying a South African timeshare b/c its a "good trader" or getting stuck with a timeshare etc. etc. - ye gads. Will I pay more to trade outside DVC? Yes, but if it's once in 3-4 years, no big deal, right?)

So: At this point, I'm on the fence between Marriott and DVC (any thoughts guys?). I'm leaning towards DVC b/c I can't see schlepping our little family over to Aruba, Hawaii, etc. etc. for a week at a time. Orlando's a cheap, 2 hour flight away. My attitude: give me some palm trees, sun, putt putt, decent places to eat, some recreation options, and I'm happy. I don't have to be somewhere exotic. As one person told me, "When your travel prefrences change, you can always sell DVC and buy Marriott."

I'd welcome thoughts on Marriott v. DVC. And thanks again to all who responded to my first post. What a great board!

- Cathie in Maryland

 

[Granny]

Cathie...Marriott has Orlando timeshare sites, doesn't it? Couldn't you purchase there?

We don't go to the parks every day of our stays, but still like to be immersed in the Disney experience when we are at our accommodations. So for us, on-site is an important part of our vacation.

If being on-site isn't that important to you, I still think you can do better (financially) with Marriott. But if you think you'd enjoy having a WDW on-site "base" for future Orlando vacations, DVC is a great place to be.

 

[jade1]

Now that Ap is such a good deal we will most likely do many mornings or just an evening in the parks. BEFORE the AP deal we would most likely do a day or 2 in the parks in a 5 day stay at the resort and just enjoy the weather, atmoshere and quiet calm of DVC resorts. We literally could (and would) spend a week just at VWL (or any) resorts and not go to a park. Does that mean another TS in the area would be better? Maybe, but going to OKW or another DVC resort for 6 weeks like another poster sounds heavenly. There is still Disney atmoshere and attention to detail at these resorts I doubt you find anywhere else. What about just taking the monorail, pool hopping, resort hopping/eating/shopping? That would not be the same feeling if you went back to the "other" resort at the end of the day.