Why did you join DVC?

[pixiedust4u92]

I am sure that this has already been done, but for all of those non members that can't decide whether or not to join.....let's help them out:

What are the 3 main reasons you joined DVC?

Mine are as follows:
1) It just made sense for us. My husband and I are committed to taking vacations with our family and we like the space--vacations were stressful all cooped up in a hotel room---- We were already paying the money but staying in regular hotel rooms!
2) I wasn't able to travel outside of the U.S. until I was an adult---I want my kids to grow up traveling all over the world----we can afford to do that now.
3) My kids are growing up with Disney as a second home----how cool is that?

 

[ohtarabell]

1.) I take my DD's to disney starting when they were 2 at either t-day or xmas every year. They are now 17 & 20. I want them to be able to do the same for their children (when they have them). I bought for them at AKV

2.) My DW and I want to be there when they go. Bought for us at BWV.

3.) I live in the north and need to get away in winter (3 days here and there do the trick). DVC allows me to come and not worry about a single thing other than flights. No taxi's, no transportation needs, etc. I can play golf, go to the parks, lay by the pool, drink, go out to eat all in one spot. Not sure there is anyplace else exactly like it.

 

[OneMoreTry]

Large family so needed 2BR and they are too expensive to pay cash.

 

[kathrna]

1) We wanted a place to run away from a hurricane to
2) It would FORCE my military husband to take a vacation because we wouldn't just be sitting around wondering where to go and how we were going to pay for it
3) We moved to Florida
4) We are from California
5) It almost feels free since it's already budgeted in
6) And gosh darn it, WE LOVE THE MOUSE!

 

[rutgers1]

1) My wife and I grew up loving Disney. After having honeymooned there and taken our young children there several times already, we feel like it is home.

2) While many people that we know either own - or are planning to own - a beach house, we are not beach people. We are Disney people. We can't afford a house down in Florida, and to tell you the truth, I am not sure we would want a house, as we want the full Disney experience of being on-property. So, for us, DVC is our beach house, so to speak.

3) I will admit it ---- we took the tour, got all emotional as we dreamed of a life filled with Disney trips, and we bought without giving it much thought. We might not have taken the plunge given our "ok" but not "great" financial situation. But it is done, and we are happy.

The thing that kind of gets to me is the look that people give you when you say that you bought a timeshare. It is a look that people never get when they tell people that they bought a beach house. Often, it is a look of "Oh, so YOU are the sucker?" I don't quite get it. Here in New Jersey, people plunk down in excess of $500,000 for a beach house that most only use on weekends during 8 weeks of the year. You could buy 8 weeks in Disney through DVC for MUCH less than that. Oh well, to each his own.

 

[Tara]

1) It just made sense for us.

When I read the title of your post, these are the exact words that came to mind.

I used to be VERY against the idea of DVC because I wanted the flexibility of staying in different deluxe resorts, didn't want to cook on vacation, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Fast forward a few years, 1 very picky eater of a child later and let's not even mention how many thousands of dollars spent at deluxe resorts. And don't hate me, but the whole rat race of planning trips out down to the last morsel of food and having to book ADRs 180 days in advance just wears thin. So DVC started looking better and better!

Then there's the option not just to vacation every year, but to have the flexibility to host family and friends. So we toured this summer and signed papers to buy at AKV, but we came home and rethought that decision and AKV was really not what we wanted, so we canceled. Just 90 days later, BLT was finally announced and we went for it. We already understood our options and we finally had an option that really felt right for us!

I have to say that my husband loves vacationing at Disney, but he can get crabby about planning and has always been more anti-DVC than me. When we toured, I was shocked to find him thoroughly gung-ho about buying even when I wasn't sure!

Now we just have to wait and wait to stay at our new "home"!!

 

[fishermouse]

1) LOVE WDW
2) REALLY LOVE WDW
3) REALLY REALLY LOVE WDW

 

[wehavesix]

We bought our first contract during our very first trip to WDW. We had researched the idea and talked to a guide even before our trip but wanted to look first. Our reasons were:
1. guaranteed that we WILL vacation at least every other year
2. we do have a large family and need the space
3. we fell in love with WDW and Disney Cruise on that first trip. we could easily envision ourselves doing that trip for years to come. even if it gets old someday, there is the cruiseline and adventures by Disney.

There are lot's more reasons I could list but you only asked for 3. DVC is such a good fit for us that we added on this year and now have 350 pts per year. That's enough for a week stay in a 2 bedroom even during peak season or a couple of trips per year in less pricey times. We also are not the type of folks to enjoy a full week at a beach. After a day or 2 of beach, we get restless and start looking for other stuff to do. So the beach condo/house thing didn't appeal to us.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

We have always wanted to join, and just finally got around to doing it. The discounts on AP's are great, and the choice of resorts is supurb.

 

[MagicalPins]

The reason I joined is becuase I feel in love with one thing at Disney World that was so special and unique, I have never seen anything like it, the Adventurers Club. I bought at SSR so I could be the closest to the one thing that brought me back to Disney World over and over. If I had to give 2 other reasons why I joined, 2. Im a Disney Freak 3. I was bored one day

Since the closing of the Adventurers Club, I have no desire to go back to WDW. I'm just waiting for Grand Californian to go on sale and Im dumping my SSR contacts. I've been to Disney World too many times and the one thing that made that resort stand out for me is no longer there. Im too much of a Disney freak to return. Made it out to Disneyland Paris last year. Need to go check out the parks at Tokyo Disneyland and over to Hong Kong. New iteneraies on Disney Cruise Line. Great trips from Adventures by Disney.

Sorry if this turned a little negative. I was just giving the reason why I feel in love with this place and the changes that has drove me away from Walt Disney World and onto other Disney destionations around the world.

 

[alldiz]

To know that I will continue going to my favorite place in the world And stay in accomodations I normally couldn't afford.
Kerri

 

[lah3hh]

I definintely have many more than 3 but here goes some:

1.) Love the Disney difference and especially enjoyed the fact there was no pressure to buy. The guides let the product sell itself and that is hard to find in the world of 'timeshares'/

2.) I want to be able to vacation at least 2-3 times a year. Buying into DVC allows me to vacation for many more years to come at the price I paid back in 1998.

3.) Our DD was raised with Disney because of us being members. Because of that Disney is so much part of our lives and hers that I am pretty sure she will end up getting married at Disney.

4.) Memories, memories and even more memories all at WDW, DL, Disney Cruise Lines, Hilton Head, Vero Beach and many exchanges to some very exotic and wonderful vacation destinations.

I better stop now and let someone else put in their two cents...

 

[Buckeye Fan]

1) Price - We started visiting WDW more regularly over the last several years, so DVC made perfect sense for us from a financial standpoint.
2) Flexibility - It was a super flexible timeshare (any time of year, any size unit, ability to bank and/or borrow points).
3) Value - Though I would not call DVC an investment, it has held its value (thanks to Disney's ROFR). If we ever choose to sell, at least in the near future, we will get the majority of our initial investment back.

LOVE our DVC!!!

 

[dgaston]

We had initials like AP, DCL and just needed to add DVC.

I rented points for a studio a few times, and one night at BWV I was swimming late with DD (now 25) and DS (now 20) and a family at Luna pool had brought down a bucket of frozen margaritas and their kids were in the pool, and they were enjoying the hot tub. I figured that was the way to vacation. Plus with 3 kids, we just needed more flexibility in housing. Now it's mostly DH and I in a studio because the kids can't get vacation time to join us...sigh.

 

[5 for WDW]

Our biggest reason was our daughter turned 3. Since we are a family of 5 our room choices onsite were somewhat limited.

DVC gave us options in gorgeous resorts that we would never be able to afford otherwise.

It also guarantees me a yearly WDW vacation! Just don't tell my husband I look at it that way.

 

[disneymom8589]

We bought into DVC when we were in our mid-40s and our kids were older. We still love going to WDW, even just DH and me, and were also looking ahead to sharing vacations with future grandchildren.

 

[dianeschlicht]

1. We wanted a more affordable way to "do Disney" at least every year, or multiple times a year.

2. We wanted to stay in deluxe accommodations larger than a hotel room.

3. We wanted to help treat family and friends to trips to Disney with us.

 

[WolfpackFan]

We bought to prepare for our retirement years. DW and myself are both retired. We knew money would be tighter once we retired but by being DVC members we are guaranteed 3-4 good trips a year. People can't believe it when I tell them we're going to WDW 3 times over the next year and HHI once. If we didn't have our DVC ownership, there is no way we could take these kinds of trips. We plan on keeping going until we're both using walkers and even then we're not going to let that slow us down .

PS - And how about that Wolfpack yesterday .

 

[ladyelizabeth]

I know this thread is from years ago, but I figured it deserved a bump! Anybody else want to contribute why they joined DVC?

 

[dvcmom14]

We joined DVC to allow us to take annual vacations (which has since turned into a few times a year!) and enjoy the deluxe accommodations. Also, we love Disney to bits and don't want to vacation anywhere else!