Who loves their DVC membership?

[RLRDA]

We went to WDW in 1998 when our oldest son was 18 months old. I remember seeing the kiosk in the GF for DVC and my DH & I wondering what it was all about. We brushed off the idea...."too expensive" and at the time, for us, it was. Two additional trips, 6 years and 2 more children later.....we bought in 2004. We wished we had done it sooner but by waiting we were able to buy without financing anything so we also enjoy peace of mind. As a family of 5 we definitely crave the extra space, kitchen, living room and the W/D is my favorite....never again will I return from a week's+ vacation with 4 loads of dirty laundry.

You will love your DVC membership and AKV is a fabulous home away from home! Enjoy many years of memories!

 

[I'mNoPrince]

We have only been members since 05 but Love it .

We have started to branch out and try the other resorts and have not been disappointed at all.

We love the DVC and it's flexablity did 3 trip last year and will do 1 big one the next few years.

 

[ead79]

You are experiencing a standard post-purchase reaction. It is not necessarily buyer's remorse, but it involves a heightened sensitivity to the product accentuated by a sense of finality. New car buyers who are otherwise happy with their purchase often notice (unhappily) that everybody seems to be driving the same car in the same color. Something similar sometimes happens with job changes and other major "purchases" (I even heard a colleague lump marriage into this category ).

In the case of DVC, you just happen to be more sensitive to the comments at this time. In a year, your thoughts will be colored by your own experience. In a way, this thread is no more representative of DVC than what you read elsewhere -- since you are soliciting only positive comments.

What you're saying makes a lot of sense. I agree that it's probably normal to wonder if you made the wrong decision after a big purchase. I guess I am probably more sensitive to negative comments about DVC since I just bought it myself. I tend to take things like restaurant reviews or resort reviews on the DIS with a grain of salt since people can have such different experiences and have different tastes. I should look at DVC the same way even though it's a larger purchase.

I know this thread won't be an accurate representation of how people feel about their DVC membership (as with all things, I'm sure there are things they love and things they don't like about it at the same time). I guess I was just bummed reading about people's complaints and wanted to see some positive thoughts about DVC.

 

[ILuvWishes!]

DH & I purchased DVC 1997 for our 1998 Disney Honeymoon. Best purchase we have ever made! We travel to WDW 2-3 times a year. We recently stayed at AK Lodge (and paid cash because we did not want to borrow from 2008 points) and have to say that we liked the DVC rooms much better, but the AKL bed was WONDERFUL. I hope they put them in the AKV, heck put them in all DVC resorts too!!

The cost is a big factor, I know. On our honeymoon we stayed in a 1-bedroom at OKW for 10 days and at that time it was running around $330 per night. If we paid cash for that trip, we would have paid 1/3 of our purchase price for DVC. We only had 150 points at that time. So, we definitely have found the cost/benefit of buying DVC and so will you. If we paid $$ for all the rooms we stayed in over the past 10 years, we would have paid much more $$ than we have paid for DVC (I think that is what I am trying to say).

I will not kid you, we have had some problems with our rooms being very dirty upon arrival. But after a phone call (or two) our problems get fixed.

The flexibility of DVC is second to none compared to any other "timeshare" program. One of my brothers also owns DVC and we put our points together (62 total, 31 each) and sent our younger brother to Maui for his honeymoon for 3 nights.

Congrats! You are now offically part of the Disney family. Enjoy your many years of never having to pay for a hotel room again.

 

[Mokat76]

Color me very happy. I scoffed when my sis and family bought in; then I went w/ her and the girls. Simply put, I was hooked. I bought in a couple of years ago and still am very pleased that I did. My stays have been great.

 

[ransom]

We love our membership!

 

[ammo]

What you're saying makes a lot of sense. I agree that it's probably normal to wonder if you made the wrong decision after a big purchase. I guess I am probably more sensitive to negative comments about DVC since I just bought it myself. I tend to take things like restaurant reviews or resort reviews on the DIS with a grain of salt since people can have such different experiences and have different tastes. I should look at DVC the same way even though it's a larger purchase.

I know this thread won't be an accurate representation of how people feel about their DVC membership (as with all things, I'm sure there are things they love and things they don't like about it at the same time). I guess I was just bummed reading about people's complaints and wanted to see some positive thoughts about DVC.

If you stick with it (and it sounds like you will), DVC will probably become a cherished part of your family memories. We think there is no equal vacation experience on WDW property -- the kitchen, laundry facilities, benefits such as AP discounts, and relaxed atmosphere just a few minutes from our favorite parks and resorts (such as the lobby of the WL). And nothing can beat the excitement and wonder that our kids express walking into the lobby. What's not to love?

 

[J and R's mom]

I LOVE my DVC (for 4 years now)!

 

[disneybass]

We are new members as of Sept. 2006. Two trips home to OKW and counting. Love it!!

 

[Laurabearz]

WE LOVE OUR DVC!!!

As a family of 5, I can't tell you how nice it is to have room for all of us.

90% of most hotels make us get two rooms, and then can't garrentee they will even be close to each other... Sometimes we cram into a room that allow's 5, but never for more than a night or two... we need our space!

We love the flexablity... We did HHI 4 years in a row in the summer and we dont own there... This summer we are doing 8 nights at DLR (two rooms, let's hope they are connecting - sigh - )as our big summer trip (we can't wait for Grand California points to go on sale and book our beloved two bedroom)

We have even taken a no park trip... 8 nights at WDW and didn't step in a single park, just enjoyed all that the resorts had to offer.

 

[DVC Grammy]

We've been members @ 10 years, and we still think it was one of the best decisions we ever made; it has given us multiple happy vacations each year. That, to us, is priceless!

 

[DKH01701]

Love it, Love it, Love it

 

[jimmytammy]

We own at VWL and love it! DVC for us means great accomodations, planning out our vacations way ahead, not being concerned about how much it will cost us to stay somewhere. Knowing we are going back to WDW many years to come has helped us slow down, relax and enjoy. For that matter, we enjoy just being around the resort.

DVC has also helped to create some wonderful memories for our family.

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

We LOVE our DVC We became owners in early 2005 and have since stayed at our home resort SSR, Grand California hotel at DL, VWL, VB and BCV. All our stays have been wonderful! With the rising cost of hotel rooms at WDW and elsewhere DVC will guarantee us vacations that we can afford to my favorite place in the world! We are currently planning a trip to WDW for Christmas 2008, a trip that we would not be going on if we did not have DVC.

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Duplicate post
So I'll edit and add
Our biggest regret is that we did not buy back in 1995, little did we know on that trip that we would be back almost every year since.

 

[NYMomof4]

Rather than driving a new SUV, I am taking my 4 kids to Disney twice a year. We love our DVC

 

[AKV707]

Love our DVC! We just joined in July. We have only had one stay so far. We were at OKW. What a wonderfully different vacation experience. Going home to AKV next July. We usually go twice a year. When we looked at what we were spending on accomodations, DVC made perfect sense to us. And our DVC accomodations are better than any hote; room on property. Decades of DVC to go!

 

[tomandrobin]

Owning DVC has spoiled the hell out of us!

Since we bought two years ago, we have avaeraged about 30 days each year at WDW. We love the flexibility, you can stay 1 day or two weeks. Going further with the flexibility, you can stay in a studio, all the way up to a grand villa. Or do a split stay between room size or resorts. No other timeshare can offer all of that flexibility.

But on top of everything, its Disney!!

 

[Laurabearz]

Just had to pipe in again...

I saw a picture yesterday of the Castle with the new lights... Called MS today and low and behold they had a room available Dec 14th-17th. $49 each way SWA tickets (used a credit i had, total cost for my family of 5 to fly down after credit... $127 bucks!) MVMCP tickets $233.00

So thanks to DVC my family is flying down for 3 nights this December and our out of pocket expenses... $350 plus food

Oh yeah... Thanks DVC! Saved us paying over $1000 for Poly for the same 3 nights

DVC and Whims sometimes work out very very nicely


PS.. now if only DVC would help me tell my husband what I just did... He doesn't know yet

 

[MinnieGi]

DVC - Love it!!!!

We just returned yesterday from a 9 night stay in a one bedroom villa at BWV followed by SSR. We've been members since '02 and have just loved all of our trips. The ability to have our family of four spread out in a one bedroom villa makes our WDW and HHI trips relaxing and funf!

In just seven months we are looking forward to another HHI trip and this time we are taking friends along. We couldn't do that without our DVC.