What was your DVC tipping point?

[edk35]

My tipping point was a holiday stay at the WL. We had my wife and I in one bed and our two kids (5 and 7 at the time) on bunk beds. Our baby was in a pack & play. The room was very cramped and we were ready to go home after a few nights.

A friend owned DVC and when he told me about the size of the rooms, I was sold.

We now stay in two bedroom units and absolutely love the space. So the comfort factor was definitely our tipping point!

I have to agree. We are a family of 5 too. Our dd is almost 18 now, then ds almost 15 and our ds 9 so we were starting to get two rooms and we took the plunge and LOVE OUR 2BR units. We have learn to vacation differently with DVC now too...less commando park time, more chillin at the resort time.

 

[photobob]

I have to agree. We are a family of 5 too. Our dd is almost 18 now, then ds almost 15 and our ds 9 so we were starting to get two rooms and we took the plunge and LOVE OUR 2BR units. We have learn to vacation differently with DVC now too...less commando park time, more chillin at the resort time.

I'd also like to echo those sentiments. The more trips we take the less time we spend in the parks and the more time we spend at the resort. Having and one or two bedroom villa makes for a much more relaxing time in the room. You have more like the comforts of home than just a room with two beds in it.

We use the washer and dryer a great deal as well, so we don't have to take as much clothes with us or have a huge pile if dirty clothes when we get home. We don't do a great deal of extensive cooking, but we do make use of the stove and oven to cook quick meals and the full size fridge is a huge plus.

 

[edk35]

I'd also like to echo those sentiments. The more trips we take the less time we spend in the parks and the more time we spend at the resort. Having and one or two bedroom villa makes for a much more relaxing time in the room. You have more like the comforts of home than just a room with two beds in it.

We use the washer and dryer a great deal as well, so we don't have to take as much clothes with us or have a huge pile if dirty clothes when we get home. We don't do a great deal of extensive cooking, but we do make use of the stove and oven to cook quick meals and the full size fridge is a huge plus.

I have to counter reply this too.

We used to spend VERY LITTLE time in our resort rooms....well ..because "how much fun is it to have 5 people hanging out/relaxing in a room with 1 tv, 1 bathroom and two beds and the day bed?" So that made us always leave early, stay late at the parks and basically take showers and sleep and do it all over again. So our next step was to DOUBLE OUR RESORT ROOM COST and get two rooms...sure this helped....we got two bathrooms and two tv's but still it is not like having a living room area and kitchen. Disney World is so much more than just those 2 water parks and 4 theme parks. For us ....having a DVC 2br villa is what is finally making us SLOW DOWN and really take IT ALL IN. I still need to work on this relaxing slowing down thing.....because we are still DVC rookies with less than 2 years ownership...but with each trip....we do much better.

The kitchen is great to have....even if it is used very little. We don't really cook..mostly use the fridge and have quick things for breakfast and snacks. We have used the toaster a lot. The microwave gets some use and we have used the stove maybe a few times. The washer and dryer get lots of use.....LOTS. We just love having room to relax. DVC does this for us. Sure we still stay in regular resorts.....when we are saving up points or have none to spare....and YES WE STILL HAVE A NICE TRIP.....but we always miss that 2 br. vacation available through DVC.

 

[mikesmom]

The first time we stayed at BWV 1 bdrm on cash. Yep, cash at full rack rate - didn't know about discounts or these Boards then.

I had been taking DS about every other year from the time he was 7 -always stayed offsite. Remarried when DS was 11 and we started going as a family. Still stayed offsite, but usually in suite type hotels (Embassy Suites, etc) to have 2 sleeping areas. When DS was 15 we decided to save up and splurge on an onsite stay "because he's a teenager and won't want to come on vacation with us much longer". Ha! We walked in the room and jaws dropped from both my guys. We weren't there 5 minutes before DH was telling me to arrange to take the tour. That was a marvelous vacation - the extra space, plus onsite ability to come back to the room for a rest, plus DS was able to travel the parks a bit without us, plus (and this is NO small thing) the full kitchen that saves us money on food for the eating machine. It was the best vacation - we bought within 2 weeks, added on within the year.

 

[javamom]

The realization that we were A) going to keep coming back to Disney nearly yearly if not more, b) that what we had already spent for a couple of trips would have about half-paid for our points.

Even still, we did not take the plunge until we realized that we were about to call and book trip 3. We canceled trip 3 and bought a resale.

 

[PEANUT1]

when we were talking about it and my mother in law said she'd pay for it

 

[edk35]

when we were talking about it and my mother in law said she'd pay for it

MIL

 

[MikeyNS]

Our tipping point was seeing how much it was for a week in a deluxe resort and it would only take about 5 visits in 50 years to "break even".. then after buying and doing more research and seeing how much the room rates rise throughout time I knew it was a better deal. Now I can visit WDW and actually vacation instead of going to WDW and wear myself out.

 

[PEANUT1]

the really funny part is that she thought her other kids would want to use it too...but we aksed and they said no

Now we are adding on....I guess we'll pay for this one.

 

[mommomtoJoseph]

...with our 5 year old and almost 3 year old. We had a blast seeing it through their eyes!! The icing on the cake was when our smallest one was looking for "hidden Mickeys" in a clover patch last week at his daycare.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

the really funny part is that she thought her other kids would want to use it too...but we aksed and they said no

Now we are adding on....I guess we'll pay for this one.

I like my MIL well enough, but...does your MIL want to adopt another son? My dh is a wonderful son, and well...he has a very sweet wife too. On the other hand...since FIL is remarried, I actually have 2 MILs.

No thanks, 3 MILs are too many!!!

 

[pyrxtc]

well, AKV came out. They were offering double developer points and we have a family of 2 adults and 4 kids who are only getting older and needed the extra space that we get in a 2 bedroom. We bought 270 points, got the discount and 540 free points that I used for 17 days of vacation. The icing on the cake was concierge at AKV. I couldn't help but want that.

 

[cdtommie]

We have a close friend who is a OKW charter member and she graciously invited us to come come down to OKW a few times (loved the free park passes). We had a great time but were not crazy about the OKW location so were not ready to join - until BWV opened.

 

[podsnel]

Our tipping point was when my DS14 was BARELY fitting in the daybed in the BC room- we knew we would ALWAYS be returning to WDW, and we knew next time we would need different accomodations- at least 2 rooms, and we like deluxe, so that would mean CHA-CHING!!!!! We realized we could purchase a lifetime of vacations now, at today's prices, and it all made sense.

And don't worry about being confused about all the lingo- one day it will all click for you , it's really not THAT hard!!

 

[TiffBiff]

I spent just over $4000 in Feb for a week. I found out about DVC right before the trip and while we were there, took the tour and loved what I seen. I was ready to buy then, but had to wait for my finances to come in/out of probate. When I got word probate was almost finished, I started reading around and discovered resale. I haven't even closed on my resale and I'm already ready to buy more .

 

[rstackjd]

When we got married 9 years ago (2nd time around for both) we took a "new family" honeymoon to WDW. My wife and the kids had been there a numebr of times, but I had never been there before. I was sold the minute we walked in the door and started talking about DVC right then and there. At the time we thought "well, will we really go back to Disney properties that often - costs, airfare, etc etc.

Fast forward 9 years, 4 trips to WDW, two to DL, 1 Disney Cruise. Yeah, it would have paid for itself had we bought in '99 when we first looked at it. Instead, we just bought AKV in Jan of this year. Better late than never.

The biggest tipping point however was the realization that our biggest vacation goals and dreams seem to center around Disney, whether just the two of us (it's nice to feel like a romantic young couple again) or with the kids and now grandkids. Nothing quite puts a lump in your throat than seeing the little ones pure joy. 2 year old granddaughter meeting Cinderella (and the PRINCE!) for the first time in April - worth every penny all by itself.

As my SIL puts it - "man you guys really drank the kool aid" yes, yes we did.

 

[cseca]

Let's see in year 1998 we stayed at All Stars and walked around BW area. Fell in love with it and I vowed (really I did!) that one day I'll stay there (that's when I thought I don't have enough $ to spend on a deluxe resort).

Then in 2000 we stayed at WL with a pin discount $159/night. LOVED the resort. We splurged because we thought "When else are we going to be able to stay there?". And when we were walking in the lobby the DVC kiosk was calling my name (ok, yeah not really. But it whispered... really).

We took the tour and realized that BW is the place we could buy into! I think we thought about it for about 15 min. And did the calculation in our heads to find that we could stay at BWV studio for the 11 nights for LESS than what we are currently paying at WL for 8 nights- with a pin code!

8 days at WL approx $1300
MF for 1 year on 150 pts - $750
Ownership cost 1 year - $243 ($10200/42years)
TOTAL: less than $1000

We understand that we're talking about studio at slow seasons but even with peak season we can still do 6-8 nights without a sweat. And we try not to go during peak season anyways because of the crowd. Also, studio is enough for us for now. That's why we were happy with the 150pt.
After we signed tho, we found out that WLV was being built. I then saved my $ to add on as soon as it went on sale. Both are my favoritests resorts on WDW property...

10 years later, we got married on BW Sea Breeze Point stayed on both properties (BW and WL) for our honeymoon...

So DVC is a great deal for us. Oh and we go to disney at least once if not three times a year... Depending on vacation budget and time off situation.