One thing that made you take the plunge?

[mariepapa]

I am interested in hearing from various people why they finally took the plunge and bought DVC. Also, how long did it take you to finally buy after starting to look into it?

 

[puente0629]

Well, we haven't bought yet but we will next week and it definitely took us a while. First, you have to have the funds available even if your paying upfront or financing. Second, you really want to make sure you pick the right Villa for you (honestly, we are still debating, lol). Last, you really, I mean really want to make sure DVC is right for you. DVC isn't for you if you only travel once ever couple of years and never/not usually stay at the deluxe resorts.

We are finally ready to take the plunge because we are financially stable, we go to Disney once or even twice a year and would really like to have different experiences through out our lifetime (the 500 different destinations).

It took us about 2 years to finally commit, we spend those years researching and saving.

Hope this helps...

 

[bwvBound]

I am interested in hearing from various people why they finally took the plunge and bought DVC. Also, how long did it take you to finally buy after starting to look into it?

Answering those in reverse order ...

How long? 8 years.
Our first look at DVC began in Feb 1996 while staying in the Dolphin watching the building of Boardwalk Villas. We stayed in a BWV studio unit in Sept 1998 as part of our DCL land/sea package and took the tour. Our next DVC stay, again at BWV, was in Jan 2004 via exchange through Interval International and our purchase came in May 2004.

One thing that made us take the plunge?
Our employer quit paying room expenses for our annual stay ... and we began having to cover this aspect ourselves starting in 2004. Over the following years the employer slowly phased out air, conference fees and food. This year's event in Jan 2009 was our first time paying all expenses related to our annual tech conference. Sure glad we had DVC to help defray the "jolt!" of expenses!

More of the story, if you wish to know:
Our tour in 1998 sparked a real interest in the product. We liked what we saw but weren't convinced we'd travel for vacation purposes to Orlando every year. The minimum entry, at the time, was 225 points - and we really didn't feel we would be able to use them considering cross-country flights, car rental and other travel expenses. Yes, we worked every angle through our jobs to attend the tech conference each year -- but we were only committed to Orlando if the employer covered the expenses.

Our interest led to research ... which led us to a similar points-based program with many destinations on the West Coast. This other program was a much better fit given our location and we made that purchase in July 2000. It was a great decision for us both for travel w/in the immediate program and for exchanges. It was this first timeshare that allowed us to trade into DVC in Jan 2004 and several times since. The add-on bug bit us and we bought/sold a few different timeshares until tailoring a happy set of tools for our travel preferences. Ultimately things fell into line to add DVC and it, too, is working well for our "must-stay-on-Disney-property" visits to Orlando. While most of our DVC points are used for work, we look forward to our first-ever DVC for WDW Vacation this December!

Borrowing from another thread:

I want DVC but in the end it (gasp) might not be the right choice for us! But that is a long and hard decision that may take a full year of research to decide.

Take the year! Look hard at DVC and other timeshare/vacation club options. Rent a timeshare stay or two. As much as we love our timeshare products, they are much easier to buy than to sell -- don't settle for a poor fit.

 

[rhonimouse]

We just took the plunge this year, but 1st toured in 2002 and then again last year in december 2008. We always knew it was something we wanted to do. We travel to Disney at least every other year and sometimes every year... We were at a point where we can afford the expense and knowing Disney will continue to figure in to our vacation plans for years to come, it just mad sense to us... We worked with our guide over the last year and she was always available to answer questions that would arise. We chose BLT, it is the closest thing to being in the MK and it has a new modern decor, plus a bonus, the annual dues are less than AKV...I also took in to account owning BLT means I can book there at 11 months, and could still book other resorts at 7 months...BLT is smaller than AKV (the other I liked) so I am betting it is easier to book AKV at the 7 month window than BLT would be....

Have fun choosing!

 

[disneynutz]

I am interested in hearing from various people why they finally took the plunge and bought DVC. Also, how long did it take you to finally buy after starting to look into it?

We finally bought because we wanted to save money on the cost of our room at WDW.

We took a couple of years to research, visit the different resorts, and discover all of the info that Disney doesn't tell you.

We first bought BCV resale and soon found out that trying to stay at other resorts booking at 7 months was sometime unsuccessful. Now we own at 5 resorts and we always get our reservations when and where we want.

 

[daisygirl902]

I have been considering DVC for a couple of years but always made every excuse to myself that it is just not worth it for me....I always stay at Value resorts and actually love Pop Century...we also travel fairly regularly during free dining (i know, i know - it's not actually FREE...I say this tongue in cheek as many DVC members HATE free dining).

We (my family and I - although I am the only one so far who had taken the DVC plunge) go to WDW at least once a year, and in the past few years have gone twice (as well as a trip to DL in California), and as I get a bit older (although I still love Pop Century) I am starting to enjoy a more high end type of travel...I have asked for King Sized beds at value resorts more than once and been turned down upon check-in....

I want to try out the Deluxe resorts and really the only way I can start to do this is with DVC. I was still very hesitant to buy in, as I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to commit, but what really changed my mind was the DVC members that I met on the DCL Cruise I went on last month...I spoke to many DVC members and realized I had NEVER spoken to a DVC member who was not happy with the choice that they made. DVC is not right for everyone but I really started to think it was right for me. I am 32, have very little debt, and have a good and stable job, and my fiance and I truly love everything Disney.

I decided to look into it more seriously, and went on the tour the day after we got back from the cruise. In speaking to the guide I realized that NOW is the right time for me! I am planning a huge trip next year to WDW for my wedding (at Wedding Pavillion) and will be staying for almost 2 weeks, with my in-laws staying with us week 1....so that would mean booking 2 seperate rooms at Pop Century (now that we're members we are staying in a 1 bdrm at BWV instead)...

The money that we are saving on the wedding trip alone paid for our downpayment on our membership. I went in just to get information and 3 hours later was signing my first contract (200 pts at BLT)....and we are already saving towards a second contract to add more points, as eventually we would like to be able to take family members and/or friends with us on our adventures.

It was a great decision, and I have not regretted it for a second. Although I am new to DVC I really feel like I would have regretted waiting one more year to sign up...but again it's a personal decision and you have to make sure it's the right time for YOU!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Well, we haven't bought yet but we will next week and it definitely took us a while.

That's great news Annie -- Good luck!

It took us seven years from when we first took the tour to actually purchase. In hindsight, we would have saved so much money had we made the committment from the get-go.

What actually pushed us off the fence was husband retiring from the service. We were afraid to buy while he was still active duty because we weren't sure what base we'd be at and didn't want to buy something we might not be able to take advantage of. Now it's full steam ahead!!!

 

[cvjw]

We just bought this summer, but had tossed around the idea for years. We have gone to DW once or twice a year for the past 10 years, and plan on continuing to visit DW. Our boys are ages 10 and 13, and we can't comfortably stay in a regular hotel room anymore. Now, with DVC, we can visit Disney, stay in a one or two bedroom, and have plenty of space. Also, we had the money available to buy our contracts and not finance - so we took the plunge and bought contracts at 3 resorts.

 

[saintstickets]

I am interested in hearing from various people why they finally took the plunge and bought DVC. Also, how long did it take you to finally buy after starting to look into it?

We started looking into this a few months ago. We made several offers thru resale and were either turned down by the seller or got the infamous "they must be out of town" answer from the reseller. (Be careful of this ploy to try and incite you to increase your offer) With that said, we had an offer accepted this week and are now waiting on Disney and ROFR.

Our reasons for buying DVC are twofold. Our 3 children are 25,25 & 21. We do not have any grandchildren yet. We are looking at using DVC for hubby/wife get-a-ways until such time that grandchildren start arriving. During the interim, we will add points when we can . When those little ones do arrive, we will have enough points to take the whole family to WDW and have a ball!

 

[cman]

A 14 night stay at All-Star Sports with two toddlers!!

We were there in 1998 for two weeks and had a wonderful time. The only negative was staying at the All-Star. Don’t get me wrong, we knew what we were getting based on the price and that was only way we could afford to stay that long. The problem was that we normally stay in some sort of condo type of vacation home when we took any vacation. 14 days in the All-Star hotel room with tired kids and no place to escape and relax was all I could handle.

On the last day we had time to kill and went over to the Boardwalk to spend the last few hours there. We didn’t know anything about DVC but decided to take a tour while my in-laws kept the kids busy. When we walked into the 2 bedroom boardwalk view room I told my wife that if she though we were ever coming back to Disney she better take a serious look at DVC.

We met with the guide and walked out with the paperwork. 1 wek later we joined. Been using it for 11 years and have had 5 wonderful family vacation at various DVCs. I am starting to plan another for January 2011. Can’t wait!!

 

[bookwormde]

Being able to have a full kitchen and room to spread out

bookwormde

 

[mariepapa]

Thank you for all of the thoughtful replies. It helps to know how others have felt about the same decision my husband and I are facing! I look at it as something we need to do before we go back but likely we will be waiting a while. Hubby does not tread lightly, nor should he

 

[Crystal_27]

We looked and researched DVC for several years before purchasing. We were hesitant, though, because there wasn't a DVC available on the monorail, and we loved having that convenience during vacation. So, when BLT was announced, we took the plunge. And, it only took about a week of "final" research before we became new members. Good luck with your decision!!

 

[drusba]

We actually toured shortly after OKW opened in the early 1990s. Did not like OKW because of location and lack of hotel amenities and those factors greatly outweighed our like of the rooms and room sizes. Then bought at BWV shortly after it opened in 1996 because it was ideally located and was more of the hotel atmosphere with amenities we liked. One main reason for choosing DVC besides that we go there often (more than once a year): we wanted both location on site near the parks and the ability to always get a 1BR or 2BR because we abhored staying in a single hotel room once we had kids. In fact, when we were comparing values in determining to buy, we were doing so between DVC and the cost of the 1 and 2BR suites or the cost of renting adjoining rooms at the deluxe Disney hotels, which of course rendered DVC very cheap since those were always very expensive and DVC's 1 BR's were larger than the 1BR suites at other hotels or two adjoining rooms.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

It took my 18 months to decide, because I thought that SSR was the only resort we could buy through Disney. We went to Disney in Feb 2004 and knew we wouldn't be back until 2006. We bought in Oct 2005 and got to stay DVC in Feb 06.

The reason I finally decided to buy was because I work very hard (as we all do) and that I felt I deserved a great place to stay while on vacation. In 2004 we stayed at the All Stars Resort and with a 3 &6 yo it wasn't bad, but It was great either. The thought of getting to stay at the BW in a one bedroom was really great! In 2006 I wanted to stay at a Deluxe and after pricing it out (no discounts -as it was during Presidents week) I figured that I could put the $3000 cost for deluxe towards the $12,500 buy in and be ahead of the game!!!

We just love the space and the location of BW & BLT and we are so glad we decided to treat ourselves. No more cramming into a value!!!

 

[jodifla]

I am interested in hearing from various people why they finally took the plunge and bought DVC. Also, how long did it take you to finally buy after starting to look into it?

We decided and bought within 30 days, maybe less than that.

We stayed at Vero when it first opened, and decided to take the tour because I wanted to see the beach cottages. We were BLOWN AWAY by the size of the rooms. After looking at the numbers, we thought..hmmmm. Maybe this will be a good deal.

So we set up an Orlando trip and checked out OKW and BWV. Then we were sure.

That was in 1996. My DH, not really a WDW fan, is a huge fan of resorts and comfortable vacations, and being able to treat family and friends.

It has worked out great! And we even financed...

 

[rentayenta]

I am interested in hearing from various people why they finally took the plunge and bought DVC. Also, how long did it take you to finally buy after starting to look into it?

Got our first DVC DVD about 2 years ago right after our first trip. Then our friends bought about a year ago and I caught the bug bad! Got another DVD in the mail, had DH watch it. Took our trip this past May and between our two sets of friends (who we went with us) owning DVC, staying DVC with them, and DH wanting to take the tour, we bought 170 points at SSR.

 

[MaryPA]

I really liked reading this thread - on how and why everyone decided to DVC!!

Disney is our only real vacation destination and we would save up for every two to three years. And then, Chuck's job was changed to nights, where I work days. Therefore we only get to really see each other on weekends. Right there we decided a get away vacation is necessary every year. We started to plan and save for a yearly trip when we received a mail out about DVC. We really beat this around for a whole year, at that time they were selling SSR. SSR just did not appeal to us. It's just the two of us - we were more interested in the DVC that was 'part of the hotel'. Never staying in a Deluxe, we only stayed in the value and moderates.

We went to a DIS MEET a few years back in Allentown PA and met a wonderful family who told us about the DIS and Resales. They also gave us some hints about how to stretch our points by not staying DVC on weekends, either transferring to a hotel out of pocket or coming home on Fridays.

That very week did it for us. We found a resale we were interested in {BWV} and within a month, sealed the deal. We have not regretted it at all and we now go, at least every year and some years twice!

 

[TK Brown]

We bought in 2008. We had been looking at DVC for about 2 years before we bought. I found a friend who had bought and borrowed their member book. That answered a whole lot of questions for me. I then called his giude with a list of other questions I had. Was upfront with him by saying we were still thinking about it and were not going to make a quick decision. About a week later, we bought our 225 at AK. Have been back 4 times since then!!!

It might be one of the best "family" decisions we have made.

 

[DisneyMim]

Well, in our case it took Disney a LONG time to finally come around to our way of thinking. LOL!! Actually we were waiting for Disney to finally get into the timeshare business. We bought right away, in 1991, one of the first 10 people, site unseen. Never did a spreadsheet, didn't have to look at it, yada, yada. We knew we would love it because it was Disney. Still, love it, love it. love it!!!

Enjoy The Magic!!