When did you know it was time to sell?

[kdonnel]

I have owned for 20 years and am starting to think it is time to sell.

I am at that point in life where my kids are no longer kids. It has become extremely difficult to find times where all four work/school calendars line up for family vacations. Vacations have become shorter and generally spur of the moment as the stars just happen to align.

In the short term family vacations will be even less of a thing as my two young adult children make their own way in life.

As a result our recent WDW trips have actually been cash trips staying either on or off property but not at DVC properties because the trip has been so last minute there is no availability or due to poor planning points got banked and then could not get borrowed due to the recently expired borrowing rules. I can do one or those every year just with the monthly dues payment money.

For those that sold some or all of your points, did you regret it?

My concern is what happens when/if grandkids appear but I don't see that happening for 3-5 years at the earliest. I guess I have also kind of tired of WDW after 20+ years of many trips a year and just don't see the same value as I did 20 years ago.

 

[Transferteck]

My concern is what happens when/if grandkids appear but I don't see that happening for 3-5 years at the earliest. I guess I have also kind of tired of WDW after 20+ years of many trips a year and just don't see the same value as I did 20 years ago.

I’ve only owned for 3 years and wonder if I will be in your shoes in about 15 years. My thoughts today are that I would rent out for a couple of years before I made the decision to sell. But if your resorts are expiring in 2042 you may not have that option due to the shorter contract. At least take a full year off and use your points one last time on a phenomenal stay now that borrowing is at 100%. 3 years worth of points could be an exciting trip. Good luck making your decision.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

We bought BW in 2000...250pts then in 2011 another 50pts all direct...At present all 12 family members 3 generations still like to go...more difficult acomadating beds now instead of sofas...Considering the prices, we do more resort stays....not parks all 6 days... all points gone for 2023...2 trips coming up...my hubby would sell in a heart beat...but we love being together even tho we live close and see each other often...

 

[LYSE]

Why not just rent out all your points for a few years and use that money for the spur of the moment trips, I would probably do that for a while until I was sure I was done.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

Yes. I would rent as wel - have you asked your kids what their take is on the dvc? The older resorts expire in 2042, so there’s only 20yrs left and… prices to resell are on the high side.

If you’re sure you won’t be going back as often, the 7/11 mo rule is a pain, and you do cash anyway, selling might be the right choice. No bad option. Good luck!

 

[Murron]

We are going through the same process. Members for 30 years. Adult children who are not as enamored with Disney as they were in their younger days. After 60+ trips, I'm sure they want to explore more than Disney (as do we)! The vacation process has become complex, parks are wall to wall people, rooms can be difficult to book, etc. We had decided to hang on and just use our points for HI and Vero....but they were "discovered" during and immediately after Covid. There are other reasons which I'll keep to myself In any case, we did decide to rent for a year or so to see how Disney continues to move on as a company.

 

[kdonnel]

Yes. I would rent as wel - have you asked your kids what their take is on the dvc? The older resorts expire in 2042, so there’s only 20yrs left and… prices to resell are on the high side.

If you’re sure you won’t be going back as often, the 7/11 mo rule is a pain, and you do cash anyway, selling might be the right choice. No bad option. Good luck!

We have talked about it as a family and they didn't indicate they would be too sad if we no longer had DVC as long as we still went to Disney once and awhile.

 

[Suzabella]

We're in the same boat. We've owned for 20 years. Our kids are grown and married. We have 1 grandson. We don't do spontaneous trips because of DH work travel but our DS with the toddler has no interest in going to WDW due to some of the decisions they've made of late. It breaks my heart because he usually wins the Disney trivia and knows all the Disney movies and quoted them regularly.

Our other DS is just so crazy busy that getting everyones schedule to align has been really difficult. My DH would sell in a heartbeat. He agrees with DS #1. I'm in the rent the points or do DVC only stays camp.

We have a trip scheduled in Sept. with friends who have never been. We'll see how it goes but it may be the final trip for us.

 

[MICKIMINI]

The market is softening for sales for some resorts and prices have dipped off their high this spring depending on what you have. If your 2042's are dropping in value, better now than later.

Personally, I'd rent for a couple years and think it over. Rentals are in demand right now and you can easily get $18-20 PP.

It's a tough decision but doesn't have to be final. You can always buy again down the road.

Good luck!

 

[paults]

our trip this October will decide when we will sell.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

I have owned for 20 years and am starting to think it is time to sell.

I am at that point in life where my kids are no longer kids. It has become extremely difficult to find times where all four work/school calendars line up for family vacations. Vacations have become shorter and generally spur of the moment as the stars just happen to align.

In the short term family vacations will be even less of a thing as my two young adult children make their own way in life.

As a result our recent WDW trips have actually been cash trips staying either on or off property but not at DVC properties because the trip has been so last minute there is no availability or due to poor planning points got banked and then could not get borrowed due to the recently expired borrowing rules. I can do one or those every year just with the monthly dues payment money.

For those that sold some or all of your points, did you regret it?

My concern is what happens when/if grandkids appear but I don't see that happening for 3-5 years at the earliest. I guess I have also kind of tired of WDW after 20+ years of many trips a year and just don't see the same value as I did 20 years ago.

Do you enjoy WDW as a resort generally? Have you considered using your points as an FLA stay-cay, maybe just for you as a couple as the years pass?

We often enjoy being able to pre-plan & book an adult stay-cay under the palms, especially as FLA hotel prices have soared. Booking a 1-BR & eating "at home" - it's a relatively low-cost get away. A few ADRs, leisurely walks around all the resorts (REALLY wish they'd bring back pool-hopping), sunsets on the many 'boat rides' available for free, no pressure to go into parks...We don't even use a car since time is of no importance.
It's our 'condo' in the Sunshine State in our golden years.

(And when I miss the parks, at another time, I book myself into a studio for a care-free solo adventure)

Win Win

 

[Brian Noble]

I have owned for 20 years and am starting to think it is time to sell.

It sounds like the biggest question in front of you is whether or not you'd keep it just for you and your partner, rather than building all of your trips around the kids and/or their kids. Do the two of you vacation on your own at all? If you did, would Disney (and specifically WDW) be one of the places you often returned to?

We are at a similar life stage. My youngest finished his undergraduate degree last year, and they are both off launching their own lives. And yes, this does make getting together harder to accomplish! For example, one of them is spending most of their summer digging for fossils in a cave system in South Africa. Our strategy for family vacations is to (a) pick really attractive places to visit and (b) invite the kids to join us far in advance. The hope is that they will often try to plan around them if the trip is interesting enough. This year was almost two weeks in Boston and the Northern Vermont mountains, but it was planned with some good knowledge of when they'd both be available. Next summer is two weeks in the Hawaiian islands. I am guessing they will each make an attempt to join us for at least one of those weeks.

We also are making a point to plan some of our trips around their schedules. The plan for next spring is that we will spend a week with each of them, separately, during their respective spring breaks in their graduate programs. Those places were each picked with their own preferences in mind. Finally, we are committed to vacationing without the kids, just the two of us. We did precious few of those trips when the kids were growing up and have a lot of catching up to do.

We probably won't have a Disney trip be the "all four of us together" trip for a long time, because one of the kids is not at all a Disney fan, nor a fan of theme parks in general. My partner is also at a point where they never really need to go back, but would probably go from time to time if I wanted to. The other kid takes after me: we are both theme park fans, and Disney will probably be part of that, but not an exclusive part. For example, their "spring break" trip is likely to be Universal next year.

 

[kdonnel]

It sounds like the biggest question in front of you is whether or not you'd keep it just for you and your partner, rather than building all of your trips around the kids and/or their kids. Do the two of you vacation on your own at all? If you did, would Disney (and specifically WDW) be one of the places you often returned to?

We vacation as a couple often but rarely to WDW. Most recently as a couple we have been mostly doing national parks.

 

[corpcomp]

DS is in his late 20's and no longer goes with us but I put his name on the deed so that it passes to him so he can take his children if that ever happens!! Needs to find a wife first but the pandemic killed going out. Of course that's when he finds out about the maintenance fees haha.

 

[Brian Noble]

We vacation as a couple often but rarely to WDW. Most recently as a couple we have been mostly doing national parks.

Sounds like it might be time to sell. I wouldn't keep it for the possibility of grandchildren. That's never certain, and even if they do come along, for the first several years with a growing family a trip to WDW is often more an exercise in logistics than actual family fun.

It's also possible that as each new family establishes itself they will want to do a fair few vacations as their own family rather than always with everyone else. I know that was true for us.

Finally, you can still do the "frequent family vacation" thing, but using some other timeshare with many more locations as the base, or even just cash money to go where and when you want.

 

[keishashadow]

OP - i was shaking my head until you mentioned last minute trips. IMO if you are dependent on booking them, the writing is on the wall. it’s probably time to sell or plan on renting the points if you want to hang in there for future GC.

The mr & I are admittedly orlando theme park obsessed, regardless of having three lovely adult children & a grandchild, all who are happy to tag along for the ride.

was casually asked when we would sell (née gift our various memberships)…

my response: when they can pry them out of my old, cold hands.

 

[DonMacGregor]

It sounds like the biggest question in front of you is whether or not you'd keep it just for you and your partner, rather than building all of your trips around the kids and/or their kids. Do the two of you vacation on your own at all? If you did, would Disney (and specifically WDW) be one of the places you often returned to?

We are at a similar life stage. My youngest finished his undergraduate degree last year, and they are both off launching their own lives. And yes, this does make getting together harder to accomplish! For example, one of them is spending most of their summer digging for fossils in a cave system in South Africa. Our strategy for family vacations is to (a) pick really attractive places to visit and (b) invite the kids to join us far in advance. The hope is that they will often try to plan around them if the trip is interesting enough. This year was almost two weeks in Boston and the Northern Vermont mountains, but it was planned with some good knowledge of when they'd both be available. Next summer is two weeks in the Hawaiian islands. I am guessing they will each make an attempt to join us for at least one of those weeks.

We also are making a point to plan some of our trips around their schedules. The plan for next spring is that we will spend a week with each of them, separately, during their respective spring breaks in their graduate programs. Those places were each picked with their own preferences in mind. Finally, we are committed to vacationing without the kids, just the two of us. We did precious few of those trips when the kids were growing up and have a lot of catching up to do.

We probably won't have a Disney trip be the "all four of us together" trip for a long time, because one of the kids is not at all a Disney fan, nor a fan of theme parks in general. My partner is also at a point where they never really need to go back, but would probably go from time to time if I wanted to. The other kid takes after me: we are both theme park fans, and Disney will probably be part of that, but not an exclusive part. For example, their "spring break" trip is likely to be Universal next year.

My "youngest" is actually taking a handful of his lifelong friends to WDW next summer, just for fun. Likely a 2BR at OKW, so the whole gang will fit (they all go snowboarding three or four times every winter and all get along well in one space). He's also a former DL CM (a family tradition) and actually loves WDW (mostly Epcot), and wants to treat his friends and show them the Florida parks. About half of them are also former DL CM's, but none have been to WDW.

 

[VWLMember]

I have owned for 20 years and am starting to think it is time to sell.

I am at that point in life where my kids are no longer kids. It has become extremely difficult to find times where all four work/school calendars line up for family vacations. Vacations have become shorter and generally spur of the moment as the stars just happen to align.

In the short term family vacations will be even less of a thing as my two young adult children make their own way in life.

As a result our recent WDW trips have actually been cash trips staying either on or off property but not at DVC properties because the trip has been so last minute there is no availability or due to poor planning points got banked and then could not get borrowed due to the recently expired borrowing rules. I can do one or those every year just with the monthly dues payment money.

For those that sold some or all of your points, did you regret it?

My concern is what happens when/if grandkids appear but I don't see that happening for 3-5 years at the earliest. I guess I have also kind of tired of WDW after 20+ years of many trips a year and just don't see the same value as I did 20 years ago.

Wow. This is exactly what happened to us as well. A few months ago we had the same conversation. Crazy thing is we are also at the 20-year point. We decided to sell and the transaction closed today. We do not regret the decision. We will still go every few years. Our vacations now are more about bucket list items. Greek Island cruise next month!

 

[ITGirl50]

Why wait for the kids to go with you? Just do your own thing. We use our points at WDW and Aulani. DD (25) rarely goes with us anymore. She doesn’t have the PTO time and she would rather use it for other places. We try to coordinate with her and have taken a couple of last minute trips with her, but we’ve decided not to coordinate with her anymore. We would never go if we waited for her schedule to open up. It is what it is.

Now if you don’t like going without them, you probably should sell. You don’t need it anymore. If you want to take the grands some day, you could always rent points or pay cash like you are now.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

We have two contracts: AKV and HHI. Over the past few years, we have discovered we LOVE HHI much more than WDW. We have decided to go one last time to WDW next month kind of as a goodbye trip. I need closure! We have owned since 2008. We have taken our DSs on many trips, but DH and I discovered as they got older that we loved going to WDW just the two of us. We dreamed of longer, more relaxing trips together after we both retired. We were even contemplating an add-on contract at BRV. We have both been retired for two years now, but WDW is no longer the WDW we both loved. We have thought about selling our AKV points, but we decided we will use them for an extra trip to HHI each spring. We will see how this goes for a few years and then decide. As of right now, neither of our DSs want to go. I told them the other day if they ever have kids and want to take them to WDW, then let me know and we'll provide them a room, but they will be responsible for planning the trip! We will just be along for the ride. And this is coming from someone who also had dreams of being a Disney travel agent upon retirement. No way, no how would I want to do that now!!!

By the way, my DH and I took a trip out west in April and LOVED it. We hit many national parks along the way. In addition to the two HHI trips each year, we will also go somewhere new instead of WDW. Next year is New England (new for me, not for him.)