Who loves their DVC membership?

[eliza61]

Don't sweat OP,
I think on a whole, we DVC'ers are a pretty happy lot. Some times the complaints will be a knee jerk reaction to some thing we're dissatisfied with. (like the price increase to $95 bucks when you trade out or a raise in our dues) That's pretty normal and if you think that's bad check out the stink they made on the trip planning boards when the DDP changes were announced.
I can't add any thing new than what was said. My family and I have had the greatest vacations ever at our dvc resorts and I look forward to many more.

 

[Lucky82061]

I love.. love... love.. love.. love.. LOVE.. my DVC!!

Of course there are minor things here and there that come up but nothing diminishes the enjoyment I get out of the vacations I can take with my points

 

[bobbiwoz]

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

I think you are incredibly lucky! Great!!! Those pictures of the lights enticed me to invite family down for a second vacation next year, that lead to 2 40 point add ons...not quite as lucky as you regarding out of pocket expenses.
Bobbi

 

[bblanch]

Thanks for starting this thread, Elisabeth. As an almost new owner (awaiting ROFR) it's refreshing to see these replies instead of some of those other threads.

 

[ACDSNY]

I love our DVC!!! I just wish the money fairy would come visit us so we can add on more points. I love the flexibility of using just a night or two for a spur of the moment trip or taking those longer trips. I can't wait for GCV and Ko'Olina. Since we're on the west coast we don't get to WDW as often as DL.

 

[Laurabearz]

I think you are incredibly lucky! Great!!! Those pictures of the lights enticed me to invite family down for a second vacation next year, that lead to 2 40 point add ons...not quite as lucky as you regarding out of pocket expenses.
Bobbi

Lucky for sure.

As far as add ons... I can not wait for the GCV to start selling but that's a whole other thread!

 

[manntra]

I am a new member also....August 2007 and won't be making my first trip home until August of 2008! I am taking my three nephews (ages 16, 16 and 14 at time of trip.) We are staying in a two bedroom at AKV---I think I will need my space! This will be the first trip for all three and that alone makes me happy! I have six nieces/nephews, I am single with no kids (well, Ziggy my dog ) and I am so excited and can't wait to go home!

 

[mjy]

I, too, am one of the many people who wished that I had purchased earlier. That was -- and is -- my only regret regardng DVC.

I absolutely love my membership. Because of it, I have a couple of "guaranteed" vacations a year and somewhere else to call Home!

Congratulations on your purchase!

 

[sajetto]

Hey Elisabeth! I remember you from the weddings board and I'm so glad to see you guys bought in!

My husband and I bought in last year and I read the stuff on these boards everyday. I think that most of these people have valid complaints, but you can see most of the same issues when booking on cash. We've really enjoyed our membership and have added on this year. We're even planning on adding on again, but we're torn between adding on more AKV points now or waiting to see if CRV happens. With that said, I'm sure its obvious that we haven't had any issues that have made us feel that DVC was a bad decision.

 

[DVC Mater]

So here is why I love my new DVC, (when it finally closes ) I'm buying enough points to stay in a 2bd at BCV for a standard dvc week (sun-thur) during FW in october, 6 day park hopper plus dining plan for my family would be approx. $970. I just checked WDW online and BCV cash ressie (2bd during same sun-thur) with dining plan and tickets=$5500+. Even with my MF of around $960 that's a huge savings year after year. In fact the cash ressie is almost a 1/3 of my contract price....seems like a no brainer

 

[La2kw]

I am a brand new member (I bought earlier this month) at AKV. I've noticed quite a few threads here with complaints about minor things relating to DVC. I'm not saying that some of these aren't legitimate complaints, but it's been sort of difficult to read so many criticisms right after buying DVC myself. So I thought I would see who is thrilled with their DVC membership. I've noticed lots of folks here owning at multiple resorts, so apparently they like it enough to add on. Feel free to tell me what you love specifically about DVC.

I'm new, but I'm thrilled to own at AKV! I just love, love, love the theme and the beautiful lobby. I can't wait for my first stay at "home" there in March 2008. I'm also looking forward to a soak in the whirlpool tub whenever we stay in a 1BR unit.

The only complaints I have read are from folks who know DVC can do better, because they have done better in the past. DW and I love our DVC, but we aren't going to just quietly accept all the changes which have adversely affected the membership we love so much. So my point is, many of us complain because we love our membership so much. We were used to being taken care of by DVC as opposed to being taken advantage of by DVC. I still have my points at two resorts, and am looking forward to adding on at GCV and CRV. However, if things don't improve at WDW, we will definitely look into selling our contracts.

 

[momof3poohlovers]

We are new DVC members as well(closed in June) and just got back from our first trip "home" on Monday and we absolutely love it. We stayed in a 2 br AKV and can't wait to go back. I have absolutely no regrets and have just added on another 110 points. Don't let the negative reports get you down, just enjoy yourself!

 

[3DisneyKids]

LOVE LOVE LOVE our DVC! We have had many wonderful trips and I say this with all seriousness...DVC has improved our family life as a whole. We are able to travel much more easily now. We go to WDW 2 or 3 times per year instead of once every 18 months...and we are always all so happy planning and talking about the next trip, etc. We just have a great time together talking about DVC as well as when we are actually there.

The negative threads you read here are posted by people who STILL love their DVC. There are a couple of things to take into account on these boards...First, many folks have been here since the early days of DVC. And these members have seen lots of great perks and benefits disappear. I mean, DVCers used to get FREE PARK PASSES included with their stay. Hello? Who wouldn't be bummed to see that go away? And other lesser ammenities have seemingly gone away as well. Those who are newer members can't miss what we never had.

Also, those who post here are DVC enthusiasts (a better word choice than fanatics, don't you think? ). We enjoy obsessing about every possible little DVC topic...towels, window blinds, throw pillows...seriously, there is even a VERY long, multiple-page thread about the SOAP!

So keep the negative comments in perspective. We evaluate lots of the tiny details that many folks would never even notice.

The one area that may, indeed, be a significant issue is with declining mousekeeping/maintenance. My guess is that this is a WDW-wide issue. They now employ nearly 60,000 people. And the cleaning jobs have to be among the least desireable of those 60,000 jobs, and they are thus hard to fill and short staffed in many of these types of positions.

Additionally, some folks are frustrated by not being able to book their home resort at only 3 or 4 months out (which used to be easier to do...however, now that there are more members, some of the smaller resorts can fill more quickly).

For us...in 6 or 7 Disney trips...we have never had any major issues. At OKW we did notice the aging of the resort, but that was all. I have booked every single one of our DVC vacations within 6 months or less and always gotten the resort that we wanted.

Welcome Home! Wishing you many magical vacations...don't stress about your purchase.

 

[cncDisney4]

We absolutely LOVE our DVC membership. We joined in October of 2005 and have made 6 trips so far ... with 4 more trips scheduled for 2008. DH & I are close to becoming "empty nesters" and are looking forward to many spur of the moment trips. Can't wait for a great SWA Ding so we can book a quick trip! We've also enjoyed taking friends and family to WDW with us.

I can honestly say that this was one of the best decisions we ever made. I wish we could have joined earlier when our sons were younger, but we've had some great trips so far and look forward to some wonderful solo trips and let's not forget (IN THE FUTURE) trips with grandkids!

So relax and ENJOY!

Cheryl

 

[Ksp]

If it weren't for DVC, we would have never taken family vacations - DH firmly believes that the world at work stops when he leaves. And I would never have heard this wonderful quote from my two (at the time) teenagers - " Thanks for bringing us to Disney, Mom. It makes me happy just to walk through the park (Epcot) with you."
And THAT is why I love DVC.

 

[simzac]

My DW and 2 DS's come first, but being a DVC member ranks as high on my list of things that are important in my life after them. And they are the reason I love being a DVC member.

 

[dlwharp]

We joined DVC in 2003. A couple of years ago we were planning on selling our interest. We're so glad we did not. This year, due to an expected, very expensive, trip to Scotland for my DFIL's funeral, we thought we'd be unable to go on a vacation. Because of our DVC, we had an absolutely wonderful week in a 1BR villa at OKW - with $49 airfare from Southwest, park tickets paid for by points from our Disney VISA, we felt like we had an almost "free" vacation. Next year, we've booked the DVC member cruise on points - we'd have never done a cruise next year if it wasn't for DVC. Since we're empty nesters, a 1br for the two of us is an incredible luxury - and we love it. We've been able to take our DS, DDIL and DGrandson along with our daughter on two wonderful trips to the world too - all because of our DVC. We now understand what the couple who "convinced" us to buy over breakfast on the Disney Magic back in 2003 with the comment "it's the best thing we ever did" meant - we're saying the same thing now!

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

We LOVE it! We joined in 05 and stayed at the Boardwalk in 06 for our first DVC trip and I could spend over an hour typing why it was our best vacation ever!!

 

[Fitswimmer]

A couple of years ago, on a single day trip with my parents I actually made a wish during the "Wishes" fireworks that I would be able to figure out a way to buy into DVC so I could take my parents to WDW for relaxing vacations. Jiminy Cricket is right, wishes do come true and I became a DVC member with SSR as my home resort. Since I purchased, I have stayed at OKW, HHI, VB and SSR and loved them ALL. Like many others here, my only regret is that I was not able to do it sooner.

The best moment for me will forever be the look on my Dad's face when we walked into our villa at OKW for our first DVC trip.

Now my parents brag to their friends that their daughter is taking them on vacation. It's so wonderful to give them this back after they spent so much effort and money taking me to WDW as a child.

No matter what little annoyances occur on our trips, we are always so overjoyed to be there that they just melt away.

 

[bobbiwoz]

A couple of years ago, on a single day trip with my parents I actually made a wish during the "Wishes" fireworks that I would be able to figure out a way to buy into DVC so I could take my parents to WDW for relaxing vacations. Jiminy Cricket is right, wishes do come true and I became a DVC member with SSR as my home resort. Since I purchased, I have stayed at OKW, HHI, VB and SSR and loved them ALL. Like many others here, my only regret is that I was not able to do it sooner.

The best moment for me will forever be the look on my Dad's face when we walked into our villa at OKW for our first DVC trip.

Now my parents brag to their friends that their daughter is taking them on vacation. It's so wonderful to give them this back after they spent so much effort and money taking me to WDW as a child.

No matter what little annoyances occur on our trips, we are always so overjoyed to be there that they just melt away.

What a nice daughter...your post makes me smile!
Bobbi