Profile of a DVCer ...

[barrie]

Let's see if I can bump up the diversity level of this thread a bit...

I'm a lesbian. My 11 year partner, Sutree, and I bought into DVC in 2000. We actually learned about DVC through this board while trying to find affordable ways to get back to Disney after a wonderful trip that we took to Dixie Landings. We love owning a piece of the mouse! We own at WLV but have never stayed there because it is so much like Oregon. We like OKW best for the space - although we just came back from a stay at BCV and it was pretty nice being so close to everything. I wish we could buy at each of the resorts!

I am 43 and am a consultant at a non-profit agency. I work to increase the power of people with developmental disabilities to control their own lives and I teach people without disabilites how to be more respectful and supportive of those with disabilities. Sutree is 47 and is an artist who calls herself "a stay-at-home house-butch and all-around handidyke". We don't make tons of money but we lead a comfortable life - mostly due to the fact that we don't have kids. I don't know how people with kids manage...our pets just about do us in!

Disney is definately not highly regarded in the circles we run in. But that doesn't stop us from telling people about our ownership. We are used to being the odd ones out so it's no big deal! We bought in because we wanted to be able to go often and this made financial sense for us. We love the feel of the resorts. We'd never be able to stay in such nice places as often as we do without being DVC members.

My mom lives in Florida and I combine my visits to Disney with visiting her (not always though!). In October we are taking 6 of my co-workers to OKW. Our next trip after that we will take Sutree's brother's and their families to WLV. My sister and nephew are going to benefit next. We really bought in so that we could share with our friends and family. We thought that we'd also use our points to go to other places as well but I am starting to think that we will probably just keep going back to Disney because there is so much to do that we'll never get tired of it!

What fun it's been learning about who everyone is. Thanks for the thread. Barrie

 

[Pa@okw95]

Barrie--I have given much thought to prejudices over the years and there are millions of them. One thing I do notice all the time that the subject of a prejudice depending on how severe it is, has trouble forgetting it. I forgot to say I was heterosexual in my profile because I am not conscious of being so. I doubt in your life time that will happen to you but you never know.

 

[cheyita]

I finally read through all these posts for the first time (took two days), and I feel ready to post myself.

We're soon to be officially members - in the closing process. We first went on the tour last summer, when we stayed at BCV during their first month open. We almost bought on the spot, but we were afraid we were just too caught up in the magic of it. We went back to FL in December for what was supposed to be a trip to Tampa, but we could stand to be that close to Disney without going, so we actually paid out the almost-$500 a night to spend two nights at BCV. Already we were wishing we had bought that membership. When we started to plan our trip for this year, we realized that we need to do this.

Now...sorry, on to us. I'm 32 and DH is 36. We have two DDs - ages 7 and 4. My hubby's a blue collar sort of guy, and I'm currently purely a SAH mom - though I used to work various at-home jobs like medical transcription and daycare. While we're not rich, we are comfortable and we definitely believe vacationing is very important.

I've been thrilled to read about the families who are in their 40s with teenage children who are still happy they joined DVC ten years ago and continue to enjoy WDW every year. I'm hopeful that I'm reading into my future by reading those posts!

 

[RichAyers]

Howdy Neighbors!
I am 34 and my DW is turning 32 in a few days. We live in the Chicago suburbs and ave a DD 4 1/2 and a DS 8 weeks. I am a Financial Analyst for IBM and my wife is currently a stay at home mom. She worked at IBM prior to our having kids in Training and Development. We both have our Masters. It is tight living on one income for now, but well worth it! We were married in Disney 10 yrs ago this Nov and are returning for a week at the BCV we just purchased a few weeks ago.

I REALLY wanted to surprise her with this, but was afraid I would get a kick in the butt instead of a hug and a kiss!! So I ran it by her first (she was luke warm to the idea, but as the weeks have passed she is as excited as I am). Kind of our 10yr anniversary gift to ourselves! We were married in the Yacht Club gazebo and just love that area of Disney. It just seemed right to buy there also. I am way more of a Disney nut than my wife and my DD is right there with me ( I have her converted already).

Since we got married at Disney, every time we go there it is so much more than just a vacation. We can walk by the gazebo and it seems like we were just married.

Already have 2004 planned with the out-laws (uh, I mean in-laws ) and hope to sneak in a short trip here or there as a surprise!!

If anyone is around nov 9-14, maybe we can do Beaches and cream and talk about the Dis!

Rich

 

[CK1]

Hi, I'll add our profile and bump this thread back up again!

DH and I have been proud owners at BWV since '99, but have benefitted from DVC since '92 when my sister and her dh bought (and have always been so kind as to share!) DH is 37, I'm 36, and we have 3 little mice: two princes (ages 8 and 6 ) and one princess (turns 3 tomorrow!). We live in the mid-ohio valley area working for a fortune 100 manufacturing company; dh is in management, I'm a research chemist (currently working part-time as a chemist, full-time as a mom! )

My sister has used her DVC membership for their family at Tanque Verde, a heap of inns in New England, Hawaii, California... but every time our fam of 5 considers doing that, we somehow end up at WDW! We usually visit every other year for a long stay... it's hard with 3 kids (especially 2 school-age sports-nuts and a coaching dh) to get away very often! Just got an add-on and hoping the extra pts can go towards a HH stay on our "off" years!

Nice meeting everyone!

Cindy et al.

 

[disneymom99]

I am a part time occupational therapist and my DH works for the county. We have 2 DD ages 7 and 11. We are your very average run of the mill middle class folks. We began taking Disney trips in 1999 and stayed on property for the first time that year. Right then and there we knew we would be back many times. However, Disney vacations are very expensive. We stayed off property at Westgate in 2001. BIG MISTAKE! It was that experience that drove us to vow NEVER to stay off property again! Although DVC is a major financial addition to our already tight budget, we decided that we would make the sacrifice for 5 years (now about 3.5 left for the payments) to enjoy many years of the Disney magic. This also allows us to be able to provide our children with wonderful vacations every year. To us, it is well worth it. Gayle

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

Just love this thread.... let's see if it can keep going.

Anybody?

 

[WEDway2002]

Hi all ...

Well ... my wife and I joined in '94 when DVC came up to Long Island (we thought about it since '92 and then dove in)! We have truly enjoyed every minute of it. We are both music teachers on Long Island (my wife has taken some time off these past few years to be with my DS - 4). My DD is 9 and has been to OKW close to 16 times now. I would say that we are very middle class (especially with one income lately). We are also strong believers in making memories with our kids. I have been a Disney Store cast member twice, not for the income but just to be a part of the magic in my own small way. Our dream is to either retire to Central Florida and work at WDW or be "snow-birds" and still work there.

It certainly feels good to be in the company of such a wonderful group of people!

Dave

 

[yesdisneyfool]

Joined in 2000.

Parents of one (DD) and we were just approaching 40 yrs old. Had visited WDW on an annual basis since 95 and said this is for us. Bought sight unseen at OKW (recommendation from a friend) and have never looked back. As a matter of fact we did the addon after the 1st year and we're looking forward to the next in a few years. We've never stayed off site and can't imagine ever doing so. DVC gives us the ability to come down more often and bring family and friends.

DVC rules!

 

[LarryM]

Hi all
I am 39 y/o retail manager and DW is 40 y/o teacher we have no kids. while in Marine corp in the early 80's I went to Disneyland quite frequently. We went to WDW in 94. It was when MGM opened. This was her first exposure to the disney magic. We took a WDW vacation every year just about for 4 years always staying at Dixie Landings. Went on the tour when it was just OKW before BWV opened. We could not afford it at the time. Then in late 99 we bought sight unseen at BWV and closed in Jan. 2000. Now we go every year sometimes twice and always take friends or family memebers with us on one of our trips to give them the chance to go and experience WDW and see why we love it so. That is one of the main reasons we bought so that we could share WDW with our friends and family.

 

[mrsdopey13]

We are two huge Disney fans who are professionals that bought last year while we were on our honeymoon so that we could make sure that no matter what,some day our (yet to be born) children can have wonderful Disney memories and be able to have great vacations guaranteed!!!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Nice to meet everyone......
I'm 40 and an RN who works part-time in a very busy Labor and Delivery room in a suburban hospital just 15-20 minutes outside of Philly. My husband, Rob, works in management at the University of Penn and does home remodeling on the side.
We live in the typical house in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I'd say we're middles class---not rich but comfortable. My husband and I spent our honeymoon in WDW in 1986 and it took us 8 years to get back to the Kingdom after that---too busy having babies and all ! lol But once we went back as a family, we've made it our vacation destination ever since. I'd say we're there 1-2 times a year. We also have several family members we visit in FL when we're there.
We have three kids, ds (16), dd (12), and dd (10). We have a Rottie and 3 cats. We used to fly to and from Orlando, but since June 2000, when we bought a conversion van, we've been driving. Saves us like $1000-$1,300 every trip in airfare and rental cars. It's the best investment we made besides our DVC membership---which we also bought in 2000. We only purchased 150 points (OKW) because we already had another timeshare and just wanted something to add on to it. If it weren't for our Vistana timeshare which we purchased in '94, we would have most likely bought more points with DVC.
I enjoy photography, music, reading and scrap-booking when I find the time.
My husband keeps such a busy schedule. We treasure our family time in WDW. It gives us time to really slow down and smell the roses (and the MK turkey legs !)
Going to go back and read some more posts now.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

I am so glad someone asked this question. Before we bought, in June of 2002, I never thought we would be able to afford it. I started surfing these boards around January and everyone had such valuable information for me. I tried talking to my husband about the DVC and he said, "Did we hit the lottery or something? Because if we didn't, we can't afford that!!!!" Well, we went down for our annual vacation (somehow we could afford to go everyear) and I said come on, let's just set up an appointment and talk to somebody. He relented and we both were hooked. They had that great Magical Beginnings program which really helped alot. The monthly payment isn't painful at all. And we saw how much money we could save by joining. We couldn't afford not to buy.
As for our profile. . . my husband, his father and his brother are in business together for themselves. Sometimes things are great and sometimes they aren't. They say that's how it is for the first few years. I currently stay at home with our dog and do some of the behind the scenes work for the biz. We do not have any children yet. We just have an enormous love for Disney. I have gone many times as a child. My husband didn't go until he was 22. Like many, who have never gone, he didn't see what all the hype about Disney was. Of course that all changed when we got there. My husband is so intense with the business, sometimes working 12-16 hours a day we sincerely look forward to our trips. My husband once made a comment to someone, "I don't care if all the trees are "plastic" and they control the weather. . . the relaxed feeling you get when you are there is worth every penny to me." I second that. We aren't by any means well off, we are definately right in the middle of working middle class. Perhaps I could buy nice furnishings for everyroom and great accessories if I didn't have the DVC payment every month but those things don't matter to me. It's the great time we get to spend together connecting as a couple that's important to us.
Thanks for listening.

 

[Verandah Man]

We have been going to WDW and DL since 1983. We heard about DVC on many trips and through our Disney magazines, but never thought we could afford it.

My grandmother moved to Florida in 1985 and my parents moved to Florida in 1988. Finally, we had free lodging anytime we went to Florida, so didn't give DVC another thought. What a mistake!!!

My grandmother passed away in 1995, and my parents moved back to New Jersey the following year.

It was during this time that my DW and I started our family by adopting a baby girl from Mexico in 1990. We still were able to make yearly trips to Florida, but not always going to Disney.

It was during our annual trek in March 2002 that we took the DVC tour. It was a vacation that almost didn't happen. My DW came down with a cold the day before we were to leave, our 11 year old DD, came down sick on the way to Florida, we almost turned the car around in Georgia and headed back home, I'm glad we didn't. I also started feeling ill our last day at WDW, we were supposed to visit friends in Ft. Myers after WDW, but never made it.

We arrived in Florida a day earlier than we had planned, we called WDW and they had a room available(this was Easter Week). The first morning, instead of going to the parks, we took the DVC tour. Our tour guide Glen Wilson was great, we had so much fun taking the tour and talking with Glen. We bought into the DVC with a 170 point purchase. We came home from that vacation and started planning our first trip "HOME." We went to VB for five nights and one night at OKW in November 2002. Before our trip, we did a 50 point add on in October 2002.

While staying at VB, we took a ride up the coast on Thursday and saw the Disney Wonder in port, what a sight!!! On the drive back to VB, we decided we wanted to take a Disney Cruise. A week after returning home to NJ, we called and got our cruise set up for August 2003. We are so excited about our upcoming cruise!!! Without DVC, we would probably never have been able to do the things we are doing.

We are a hard working middle class family. My DW had to stop working after 22 years in the collection field, because of health reasons. I have been reading water meters for my local government for the past 24 years. Our DD will be turning 13 y/o after we get back from our cruise. We feel blessed, that we are able to belong to the DVC, we just did another 130 point add on this month, taking us up to 350 points. We were able to refinance our home mortgage, and with the savings on our monthly mortgage payments, we used that $$ to buy these additional points.

We look forward one day, when we can pass our DVC down to our DD and her family, that's unless we live to be in our late eighties, and can still get around!!!

Andy

 

[rsschneck]

I have been lurking on these boards for months now so I figure I will introduce my Disney Family.
I am 34 years young. I work part-time as a Dental Hygienist. Graduated college in 1991 and that was our last trip to WDW. I went to college in North Carolina while DH was in the Army (He served in the 1st gulf war). I volunteer at my daughter's school and try to keep the household running smoothly since DH works 60 hours per week on average. I am, of course, the families travel agent and love all the helpful hints I receive while reading these posts.
DH is 35 (don't tell him I told you). He works at Intel. He is a Physical Design Specialist. He helps design all the wonderful computer chips that keep us surfing faster and better. He works a lot and vacations are very important to us so he can relax and get a little more quality family time. He has loved Disney forever and now so do the rest of us (it is a sickness that is very contagious). We have been married for over 16 years. Our DD is 7 and has thought she was a Princess since birth. She is in the first grade. DD takes ice skating lessons, Golf lessons and swim lessons.
We purchased a 300 point resale @ OKW and closed 11/02. We purchased a 100 point add-on @ SSR in October of 2003. We have been on two Disney Cruises. We have used our points for one of the cruises, a stay @ HHI and a stay @ OKW. The 2004 year has 3 DVC trips planned HHI and OKW twice. We will try SSR in 2005.
We are Disneyland Veterans! We are very excited about becoming WDW Veterans as well. So little vacation time and so much WDW property to cover. I figure 40-50 years outta cover it!

 

[JLS]

Hi -

I am 29, my husband is 30. We have been married two years, and live in Los Angeles, CA. We don't have kids yet, but we hope to have our first within the next two years. I am an attorney and my husband is in sports public relations. We make pretty good money and are saving for a house and putting away money for a time when I might want to work in a less demanding job. We made our first Disney trip together in July of 2000 (we were still engaged then) and stayed a week at the WL. We loved it. I went back with a friend that December to the Beach Club for a few nights and fell in love with the Beach Club. We got married in 2001, so no trip to Disney. In May 2002, we took two friends with us and rented points from a member for a 2-bedroom villa at BWV. We were really impressed with that set-up and have been interested in DVC since. This May we took another trip and rented points at the Villas at WL (also stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge). We loved the WL Villas too. Our last day of our trip, we had gone to Blizzard Beach and then parked at the Boardwalk to have a leisurely late lunch and stroll around. We saw the sales/information center and decided to go in "just to get some information." 4 hours later we emerged as DVC members 300 points at BCV! I thought I was going to have trouble selling my husband on 150 points, and after the presentation, HE is the one that suggested 300 points.... I think what sold him was the fact that we can use points for stays at the Hyatt in Lake Tahoe, which is where we got married. We put all of the purchase on credit cards (three different cards). We have some cash set aside, so we are paying it off that way quickly, instead of financing through DVC.

Going to Fla is a long way for us, but we are trying to plan our first trip to BCV. Probably not until next May, but I am hoping for something sooner.

 

[Goofy's Mum]

Hi,
My husband and I are both 50-ish (okay, he's 50 and I'm 51!). He works as a claims coordinator at our friendly Wal-Mart, and I'm a medical transcriptionist for a medical group of about 75 doctors. We have no children (unfortunately), but we do have four wonderful pseudo-children in our cats, Noah, Abigail, Lydia, and Jesse. We joined DVC three years ago, never dreaming that we could afford it - we're solidly middle class and proud of it.
People often say "You're going to Disney again?" and we say "yup, we're going home!" And there's no place like home!!!

 

[Loubon]

I guess it is my turn....

I grew up in New York City (can't you tell by my accent?) met my wife and moved to Long Island, NY (where she was from) got promoted at my job and moved to NJ (where we are since).

I'm 44, DW is 45 (and I never let her hear the end of the 10 month difference) DDs are 15 and soon to be 10. My wife retired when I got promoted (!) and has been a great mom to the kids. I spent my whole career in Sales & Marketing (MBA in MKT) until I crossed over to the dark side about 6 years ago. I now head up the Technology dept. for my company! (I knew why the boards were out the other day but I'm not a geek!)

Our honeymoon at Disney 19 years ago started the Disney fever (although it was always there). We looked at DVC in 1998 while at the Coronado but the money seemed like alot back then. 5 years made a big difference as it was easy this go around.

I enjoy seeing people help others learn the ropes here. I try to give back (and hopefully can do more as time goes by). But this board is more than posts. It is the people on the board that I feel I already know. You have to admit that sometimes you probably check a post based on who posted it or who replied last. There is an anticipation that comes with that. Sometimes a laugh or somtimes a "what's their problem now" or sometimes an animated smiley! It is that uniqueness that brings me back. I try to do the same. I try to be identified with lighthearted posts (what's the funniest you've seen or have you spotted any celebrities) so that people can get away from the day to day stuff as they countdown the next trip home.

Let those who don't understand us laugh. We always have each other!

 

[Verandah Man]

Originally posted by Loubon
I guess it is my turn....

I grew up in New York City (can't you tell by my accent?) met my wife and moved to Long Island, NY (where she was from) got promoted at my job and moved to NJ (where we are since).

I'm 44, DW is 45 (and I never let her hear the end of the 10 month difference) DDs are 15 and soon to be 10. My wife retired when I got promoted (!) and has been a great mom to the kids. I spent my whole career in Sales & Marketing (MBA in MKT) until I crossed over to the dark side about 6 years ago. I now head up the Technology dept. for my company! (I knew why the boards were out the other day but I'm not a geek!)

Our honeymoon at Disney 19 years ago started the Disney fever (although it was always there). We looked at DVC in 1998 while at the Coronado but the money seemed like alot back then. 5 years made a big difference as it was easy this go around.

I enjoy seeing people help others learn the ropes here. I try to give back (and hopefully can do more as time goes by). But this board is more than posts. It is the people on the board that I feel I already know. You have to admit that sometimes you probably check a post based on who posted it or who replied last. There is an anticipation that comes with that. Sometimes a laugh or somtimes a "what's their problem now" or sometimes an animated smiley! It is that uniqueness that brings me back. I try to do the same. I try to be identified with lighthearted posts (what's the funniest you've seen or have you spotted any celebrities) so that people can get away from the day to day stuff as they countdown the next trip home.

Let those who don't understand us laugh. We always have each other!

Very Well Said Lou!!! I get that all the time, "Going to Disney again?" My reply, "Yes, and I LOVE IT!!!" Of course, this time it has changed a bit, we're going on a Disney Cruise!!!

BTW Lou, my DW is 13 and 1/2 months older than me, she'll be 50 next March and I'll still be 48 for another six weeks. LOL!!!

 

[Loubon]

Hey Andy,

You're a perfect example of what I meant. We've never met but thanks to these boards I know where you got your name and that you love rock shrimp!