We Did It! Now how do we tell our daughter?...

[JCCalistri]

Hi everyone!

Thanks to everyone on here my fiancé and I took the leap and just closed on a contract at BLT resale with ROFR pending for the VGF resale The best of two worlds for us now as a family and in the future. So thank you again for all the comments as we really took each to heart, looked at our lives and goals and felt confident with the decision we made. Now comes the fun part....How do we tell our 12 year old daughter who was convinced we would never do this? We head to Disney shortly and my fiancé loves to do surprises (he has already bought her a DVC magic band and pin) and can't wait until her birthday in August to surprise her. So any ideas friends?

 

[Leia's Mom]

Hi everyone!

Thanks to everyone on here my fiancé and I took the leap and just closed on a contract at BLT resale with ROFR pending for the VGF resale The best of two worlds for us now as a family and in the future. So thank you again for all the comments as we really took each to heart, looked at our lives and goals and felt confident with the decision we made. Now comes the fun part....How do we tell our 12 year old daughter who was convinced we would never do this? We head to Disney shortly and my fiancé loves to do surprises (he has already bought her a DVC magic band and pin) and can't wait until her birthday in August to surprise her. So any ideas friends?

How about go to a park before you check into the hotel and take her to a lounge? Or let her magic band in where it says "Welcome Home" and then go to a lounge?

 

[pinkxray]

Congrats on your purchase! I love DVC and VGF along with BLT are 2 of my favorites. We own at VGF and hope to add BLT and CCV down the way.

I would have suggested the DVC magic band but your already have that.

Welcome home!

 

[intamin]

How about go to a park before you check into the hotel and take her to a lounge? Or let her magic band in where it says "Welcome Home" and then go to a lounge?

If she only bought resale I’m not sure if it still says welcome home when you enter a park. Definitely won’t be able to get into a lounge without being DVC-Y.

Personally I’d just tell her we’re staying at Pop Century or somewhere off property and then surprise her when you guys arrive at your actual resort.

Edit: reread your post, since you just closed I’m assuming you’re not staying on points this trip. In which case on an MK day, I would pack the ears and magic band in a backpack and take a midday trip to GF. When you get into the lobby break the news to her and tell her we’re home and give her the magic band and ears then @JCCalistri

 

[AstroBlasters]

I’m just going to throw this out there…. you could have a conversation with her as she is 12 and not 5…..

Benefits:
1) Anticipation is a huge part of the fun and you could share in that as a family prior to the trip.
2) It eliminates the “letdown” if she doesn’t have some over the top reaction.
3) It a great opportunity to have a financial conversation about why you made the decision you made as a family unit.

 

[kilik64]

If she only bought resale I’m not sure if it still says welcome home when you enter a park. Definitely won’t be able to get into a lounge without being DVC-Y.

Can confirm that I am resale only and always get the purple welcome home light up at park entry.

 

[JCCalistri]

Congrats on your purchase! I love DVC and VGF along with BLT are 2 of my favorites. We own at VGF and hope to add BLT and CCV down the way.

I would have suggested the DVC magic band but your already have that.

Welcome home!

Thank you. We appreciate it. Best decision we have made and it took a while to get here.

 

[JCCalistri]

If she only bought resale I’m not sure if it still says welcome home when you enter a park. Definitely won’t be able to get into a lounge without being DVC-Y.

Personally I’d just tell her we’re staying at Pop Century or somewhere off property and then surprise her when you guys arrive at your actual resort.

Edit: reread your post, since you just closed I’m assuming you’re not staying on points this trip. In which case on an MK day, I would pack the ears and magic band in a backpack and take a midday trip to GF. When you get into the lobby break the news to her and tell her we’re home and give her the magic band and ears then @JCCalistri

Great idea! Thanks.

 

[JCCalistri]

I’m just going to throw this out there…. you could have a conversation with her as she is 12 and not 5…..

Benefits:
1) Anticipation is a huge part of the fun and you could share in that as a family prior to the trip.
2) It eliminates the “letdown” if she doesn’t have some over the top reaction.
3) It a great opportunity to have a financial conversation about why you made the decision you made as a family unit.

I couldn't agree more. I always like teachable moments and there is a lot after what we reviewed, and discussed before we bought resale vs direct. For sure I know she will be excited and want to know the how and why which we will share with her. Thank you for the thoughtful response.

 

[JCCalistri]

Can confirm that I am resale only and always get the purple welcome home light up at park entry.

How fun! I can't wait!

 

[intamin]

Can confirm that I am resale only and always get the purple welcome home light up at park entry.

Good to know! I wasn’t sure but I’m glad they didn’t gatekeep that expensive purple light

 

[Electron_si]

If she only bought resale I’m not sure if it still says welcome home when you enter a park. Definitely won’t be able to get into a lounge without being DVC-Y.

Personally I’d just tell her we’re staying at Pop Century or somewhere off property and then surprise her when you guys arrive at your actual resort.

Edit: reread your post, since you just closed I’m assuming you’re not staying on points this trip. In which case on an MK day, I would pack the ears and magic band in a backpack and take a midday trip to GF. When you get into the lobby break the news to her and tell her we’re home and give her the magic band and ears then @JCCalistri

I can confirm that when we bought our first resale contract we did get the welcome home when we scanned into the parks. I wasn’t expecting it to happen when it did.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Only I get the welcome home greeting on my MB. Am I doing something wrong? DH is absolutely on the deed…kids are not. He doesn’t care but I think they would love it. (Mostly mentioning here because I want to make sure that OP knows whether or not they’ll get it for their kid)

 

[Electron_si]

Only I get the welcome home greeting on my MB. Am I doing something wrong? DH is absolutely on the deed…kids are not. He doesn’t care but I think they would love it. (Mostly mentioning here because I want to make sure that OP knows whether or not they’ll get it for their kid)

I think he has to link his DVC profile to his MDE app and then generate the DVC card to the wallet and then it should work.

Not 100% sure on the steps above, going off memory from over a year ago, but we were able to have both myself and my wife MB’s give the welcome home magenta ring and message when scanned. We are obviously both on the deed, I was the primary

 

[CarolynFH]

Only I get the welcome home greeting on my MB. Am I doing something wrong? DH is absolutely on the deed…kids are not. He doesn’t care but I think they would love it. (Mostly mentioning here because I want to make sure that OP knows whether or not they’ll get it for their kid)

Yes, as above he needs to have his own login to the DVC member website (even if he never logs in for any other reason!) and link his membership to Disney’s Magic Mobile so that MDE “sees” he’s a member when he scans in. Some members have had to contact MS to get their Club ID and activation code in order to create their DVC website login, even though they’ve been members for years.

 

[Blerghityblergh]

I wonder if you could wrap and have her open some merch from each of the home resorts with a sign on top that says welcome home? Congratulations! This is so exciting!!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I wonder if you could wrap and have her open some merch from each of the home resorts with a sign on top that says welcome home? Congratulations! This is so exciting!!

Love this idea. Each resort usually has Tervis cups (you can find them on eBay if you can’t buy them online) and I think the Disney store has tote bags and similar items online.

 

[sndral]

Hi everyone!

Thanks to everyone on here my fiancé and I took the leap and just closed on a contract at BLT resale with ROFR pending for the VGF resale The best of two worlds for us now as a family and in the future. So thank you again for all the comments as we really took each to heart, looked at our lives and goals and felt confident with the decision we made. Now comes the fun part....How do we tell our 12 year old daughter who was convinced we would never do this? We head to Disney shortly and my fiancé loves to do surprises (he has already bought her a DVC magic band and pin) and can't wait until her birthday in August to surprise her. So any ideas friends?

My first question is where are you staying for the upcoming trip?
I’d probably drop the news while strolling around each of the resorts you’ve purchased.
For VGF, how about on an MK day you take the boat over to the GF, then wander over to the resort studios building (BPK - behind the main pool) and check out its lobby. Then stroll around the beach pool & go into the original villas building’s lobby - I love the whimsical Penguin fountain. Then, maybe head up to the Enchanted Rose in the main building or the patio in front of Gasparillas for some drinks & snacks & then casually ask which building your daughter would prefer to stay at next trip & then let it out that you’ve bought DVC & will be staying at the VGF for many years to come .
I’m not as familiar w/ BLT, but you could then hop on the monorail & wander around the Contemporary/BLT & have a similar conversation there .

 

[BamaGuy44]

I’m just going to throw this out there…. you could have a conversation with her as she is 12 and not 5…..

Benefits:
1) Anticipation is a huge part of the fun and you could share in that as a family prior to the trip.
2) It eliminates the “letdown” if she doesn’t have some over the top reaction.
3) It a great opportunity to have a financial conversation about why you made the decision you made as a family unit.

They could also do all that after they did some whimsical surprise, no? They wouldn't have to wait until the day of the trip

 

[MagicDVC]

Only I get the welcome home greeting on my MB. Am I doing something wrong? DH is absolutely on the deed…kids are not. He doesn’t care but I think they would love it. (Mostly mentioning here because I want to make sure that OP knows whether or not they’ll get it for their kid)

Your DH will have to have DVC member listed under Memberships & Passes in his profile on MDE. I believe to do this, he would need to log in to DVC under his Disney account.