Who else is glad they bought 20 or 15 years ago? Or even 10?

[mickeymom629]

Yeah, I can't remember what the discount was. I think it was around 20%.

I don't remember what the discount was but, luckily my aunt came on a trip in 1999 with us and told me to go ask the DVC booth. Thank goodness she did, we bought immediately (HH points were the "bargain" then) and we added VB points after a special came out and I could get my cm discount, too, in 2003 before I had to stop working for Disney . I always wished I could add on more points, but I think our 200 has worked out nice enough for us. (Funny thing is we've never been to VB and only stayed at HH 2 nights after a cruise)

With 4 kids, we probably wouldn't have gone on as many trips to Disney or stayed in any place comparable to our DVC villas, let alone on property!! This past January, we splurged (banked and borrowed) to stay in a BWV grand villa and it was a wonderful, magical villa for dh, myself and my "grown" kids!!! WDW is their childhood vacation place and, though we can't all get there as often as we'd like as a group anymore, it's great to know that we have to "plan our next vacation"!!!

 

[mnra]

I don't remember what the discount was but, luckily my aunt came on a trip in 1999 with us and told me to go ask the DVC booth. Thank goodness she did, we bought immediately (HH points were the "bargain" then) and we added VB points after a special came out and I could get my cm discount, too, in 2003 before I had to stop working for Disney . I always wished I could add on more points, but I think our 200 has worked out nice enough for us. (Funny thing is we've never been to VB and only stayed at HH 2 nights after a cruise)

With 4 kids, we probably wouldn't have gone on as many trips to Disney or stayed in any place comparable to our DVC villas, let alone on property!! This past January, we splurged (banked and borrowed) to stay in a BWV grand villa and it was a wonderful, magical villa for dh, myself and my "grown" kids!!! WDW is their childhood vacation place and, though we can't all get there as often as we'd like as a group anymore, it's great to know that we have to "plan our next vacation"!!!

I bought in the early 90's and I am so glad we did. I agree we never would have gone as often or stayed in such nice places being 5 of us as we did back then. In addition who could pass up free park tickets. My kids are now 23 23 26 and even though they can;t go as often as they would like I still go a few times a year. We have done two family trips in the last 4 years and if you still ask my youngest where they would like to go as a family it is disney world and they look at me as if I should know that. They have been other places but when it comes to going as a group it is off to disney we go. And yes the grand villa is wonderful and we have stayed there and hope to again soon.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I'm glad I Bought in 2005.

I' ve been reading what others are paying to come for a week

OMG!! For a week for 4 of us its costing me $2000 (2 nts at BLT in studio, 5 nts in 1 bdrm at BC( cost of MF) 4 4 day FL resident tickets, 1day at SW, and food .

If I didn't own DVC I would never be able to stay deluxe, because I could never justify spending that much on a room. I would love to go on a Disney cruise but again I think Disney charges way to much vs other cruise lines and can't justify the cost.

But I love my DVC.......and now that we have moved to Florida and are only 1.5 hours away, I love it even more. AND I'm so glad They don't charge an arm and a leg for weekend points any longer too. We have 1 week long trip and 2 weekend get aways planned for 2013.

 

[aclov]

I bought sight unseen in 1999 as a single person! Got married the following year than divorced 8 years later, now I'm engaged and will be heading to Aulani this summer newly remarried! So glad I bought when I did and DVC has been enjoyed by me and others in my life!

 

[goofy4tink]

First trip to WDW was in '99. Went back, with dh, in '01. Then, because that trip was a bit of a bust due to the other family we were with, went back in '03. For the first time, we walked over to BW on our Epcot day. As we stood there, by the boat dock, looking at BW, my dh turned to me and said...'If I could buy that vacation thing here, I would. But only here.' The next day was our departure day. My dd and I went to the MK for a last few hours, dh stayed at the Polynesian to finish his packing and relax a bit. When we got in the town car to go back to the airport, dh told me that he had given our name to the DVC rep and they would be calling me in the next week or so.
2 months later? We owned at BWV!!! Have never looked back!!! Wish it had been sooner but that probably wouldn't have been feasible since we had only made two trips prior to buying. And? We never even looked at a villa!! Bought sight unseen.

 

[geffric]

Bought OKW in 1993. Never regretted it.

Those first seven years of free park tickets sure didn't hurt any, either!

.

us too! best investment we ever made..

 

[nsalz]

Our family of four brought 13 years ago at the minimum of 150 points. It has been perfect for us...we have gotten to stay in beautiful resorts at least once a year. Home resort is BWV. If I remember right, it was $68 a point.

 

[heyyyitsliana]

I'm so happy we bough into Wilderness Lodge almost 12 years ago. If it weren't for DVC our family would never go on vacation.

 

[LSchrow]

DH, 2 kids and i were going every year to WDW, staying mostly deluxe, CM discounted rooms (disney store).
my brother & his family, and my parents started going every other year, staying in a 2-bdrm villa (yes, that was expensive!)

we all fell in love with the BWVs, i did extensive research (with a heck of a lot of math), and we bought BWV in 01/1999. with the specials, and CM discount, the DVC points per night cost was about 60% (or more) off rack.
we added two more contracts (BCV and SSR) later on.

without DVC, i doubt we would have been able to take the vacations we have (the economic downturn hit us hard). buying DVC when we did was one of the best decisions we ever made - not just for financial reasons, but for the wonderful family memories, and our sanity (vacation is a neccessity for good mental health).
i doubt we would have bought at the current direct prices - and would have missed out on a lot of the most amazing times we have had as a family without it.
(just to note: we do/did many other things as a family, but being at WDW has been like a second home for us: relaxing, bonding, laughing......)

 

[TagsMissy]

We only bought in Feb 2009 but I am glad even between then and now that we bought then.

 

[AnnaS]

13 years ago - wish we had bought sooner. We used to avoid the "timeshare" talk/approach like the plague. Needless to say - we approached them on DVC.

 

[llenne]

210 points at OKW in 1994. Another 150 at SSR in 2005. Vacationed at WDW every year since, one RCI trade, one DCL, and getting ready to spend 10 days at Aulani July 5-15.

 

[Debby7]

We bought in 1994 sight unseen after our first trip to WDW. My nephew had just died in a car accident and we decided we wanted to make memories not regrets with our kids. Our kids have honeymooned at WDW and now we are taking our grandkids. Buying DVC was the best decision our family ever made !

 

[k3chantal]

No regrets at all especially after the frustrating conversation I had with my mother. My parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary and would like my sibling and I to take our families and go to an all inclusive resort in Mexico. Well, that's ten thousand dollars for us since there are five in our family and this year that's not going to happen. So, we booked a trip using our points that had nothing to do with their anniversary. She is angry that we are going and has argued that our current plans cost 10 thousand dollars. I had to very patiently explain that no, I did not have to cough up ten thousand dollars this year to go on this trip. I only have my maintenance fees to pay.

And yes, I am terribly sad that I can't go on their celebratory trip. They are fantastic parents and deserve a great experience with the whole family. And yes, I did offer to share my points, no go, we are the only Disney lovers in the bunch.

But yes, even through I bought 5.5 years ago I completely agree that it was one of the best ways I have ever spent money.

 

[ssawka]

Been members less then 4 years, but so glad we bought when we did. Paid $92 PP for BLT. There is no way I would pay today's prices. We even financed for a year and in that first year the price went up 22%

 

[Alice Sr.]

I bought BWV after my divorce to insure my DD's would have a good vacation every year, in a safe place that would allow them freedom as they grew up but provide me with sense of security while they were allowed to explore on their own. We always brought at least one of their friends (usually one for each DD) and/or family and it has worked out exactly as I had hoped. Always really enjoyed taking kids that had never been to WDW, including our exchange students from Germany and Japan. The next chapter has us all going with my new little GD she's only a month old but I am busy planning her first visit.

 

[dizfan]

We only bought 4 years ago. Very happy we bought when everyone else said the sky was falling. Every time we compare prices today to what they were in early 2009, we know we made a good decision for us.

 

[childsplay]

Bought 13 years ago, still love it, but with the kids moving into high school I can see changes in our traveling down the road, but I'm sure DVC will still play a role

 

[xbrentx]

We just closed in January, $57.5 per point for 240 points at SSR. We're already happy we did as the prices are going up next week!

 

[castleri]

Bought first in 1997 and then at BCV and SSR pre opening and have never had a moments regret. Now we are in the position of living in Florida 6 months of the year and are not using as many of them as before. The grown children are helping use them on a regular basis. I hope to get a room for a couple of nights in April so we can have a few days at WDW before we head north for the summer.