When did you know you wanted DVC?

[CarolynFH]

Not buying in during that first trip ended up being a good thing because obviously you pretty much hit the jackpot in terms of location a few years later!

Yes, we were pretty fortunate!

 

[PolyRob]

its a never ending cycle... it feels cool... then you wonder are the cool kids the ones who stay CL? are the cool kids the ones who live at Golden Oak? or belong to club 33?

I just say enjoy what brings you joy... don't worry about being one of the cool kids...

I have thought about Club 33, but i could never justify that even if i had the $$ (Ok if i was rich, i wouldnt care ).

I would rather buy another contract or go on cruises or a different vacation.

Golden Oak i can get on board with

If I win the lottery, there will be signs! Golden Oak is #1 and Club 33 is #2 on my list

 

[PorcoSBC]

Did not grow up going to the parks. First time I was 19, and walk in straight into the Utilidors as a Cast Member. Magic got me almost immediately. Few years later, I started dating this girl who shared the same Disney vibe I had and we start going annually and this is the first time we researched but the upfront money seemed huge and the maintenance fees were more expensive them the hotels we were booking so it made no sense. Moved out of the USA and spent almost 10 years away from the parks in a time I travelled around the world, got married to that girl and had a kid. When the kid turned 5, we celebrated with her first trip to WDW. Eyes lit up. SOLD. Next week we were on research mode and 2 months later we got a piece of the Poly to call our own.
Going to Aulani next week....Life is good.

 

[PolyRob]

I purchased DVC after visiting WDW multiple times annually for years and paying to stay in deluxe resorts. I refused to pay rack rate and got tired of chasing bounceback, AP, Disney Visa, etc discounts. I was already planning 180+ days in advance at the time so booking in the 11-month window was no problem.

 

[Cfabar1]

First visit with DH and kids (DS and DD) was March 1994, FW Cabins. I was supposed to spend So we marched into the DVC sales center at BWV and told them we wanted 300 points at BWV, because that's what we'd need to stay Thanksgiving week in a 2BR.

Have you ever added on? do you still use the same amount of points/travel period? or has your travel pattern changed?

 

[DoubleBaconBLT]

We went to WDW once in 2021 after postponing the trip twice due to Covid. It was awesome, but we decided not to go back until Covid was "over." In 2024, we went back and it was even better. We immediately booked another trip for 5 months later...then another for 6 months after that. For that final trip, we rented DVC points directly from my travel agent, and stayed at Poly. Well before we arrived, I started doing analysis on the points system, how much we were paying, and how much the room "should" have cost. It became immediately clear that if Disney trips were going to happen every year or even every 2-3 years, DVC would absolutely pay for itself quite quickly. Fast forward 4 months, and we now have both direct and resale contracts as well as annual passes. The next couple of years are going to be awesome.

 

[CarolynFH]

Have you ever added on? do you still use the same amount of points/travel period? or has your travel pattern changed?

Nope, never needed to add on - although every time a new resort opened, I’ve wanted to own a bit of it! We’ve made liberal use of borrowing, very seldom banking except when “saving up” for a big family trip. We also have access to other timeshares near WDW, which helps us stretch our DVC points.

Our travel pattern has changed a lot, though, as kids grew up and we became empty nesters. Thanksgiving 1998 was the last time we came for that week. We mostly came during early March for our kids’ Spring Break with occasional trips at other times for conferences or to suit our guests. After it became just the two of us, our usual time became mid-October into early March. And now there are grandchildren, so our pattern is changing again!

Edit - pesky typos!