We've owned since 2001. Family of 3, DD is nine now. We typically have gone once a year. A couple of times we went twice in a year. We wish purchased sooner too, as we always stayed in Deluxes. Here is our take , FWIW.
*The ownership paid for itself after a couple of years. We have brought family and reserved up to 4 studios at a time. This gave relatives who could not otherwise afford it, the opportunity to go to WDW and not pay for accommodations. It helped them quite a bit. We never ask for remuneration for rooms we get for others when they accompany us on our trips.
*We don't usually cook either, but we do keep drinks and munchies on-hand since we have the fridge and kitchen. We stock up on water and freeze it, and bring it to the parks. We keep cereal, and we reheat leftovers for quick snacks. That's the extent of it.
*Lack of Mousekeeping doesn't bother us, but that is a personal thing. The less people are in and out of our room, the better I like it.
*In a one bedroom or larger you get in-room laundry facilities which I really like. But even in studios, communal laundry facilities are free. We pack less and have less to catch-up on when we are home.
*We are more diligent about taking more vacations now. DH owns his own business, and as a lot of you know, the business really owns you. Having DVC allows us to make long-range plans and stick to them.
*As far as being "stuck" going to WDW only, we do take other vacations other times of the year, so WDW isn't the only place we go. Plus, with banking and borrowing you can amass up to three years worth of points, which can be used for bigger trips or for the
Disney Cruise line, hotel rooms in Europe,
Disneyland California. DVC is also going to build in Hawaii, so the options are always changing.
*we've crunched the numbers. The yearly dues are less than what we would spend on a weeklong stay at a deluxe hotel. The fact that we can get rooms for others without increasing our cost is just great too.
We aren't sure if this is forever for us, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
My advice to people is always threefold: 1) If you go to WDW at least once a year: 2) if you like to stay on-site at a deluxe hotel (Prior to ownership we would stay at the BC/YC and now we own there) and; 3) if you can afford it, I say it is a no-brainer. Even if you only go to WDW every other year, just buy fewer points and bank them from year-to-year to come up with the number of points you need to stay.
Also to be noted, when we took the tour, I had an argument with DH in the sales office, because I thought buying DVC was the dumbest thing we could do. I wasn't in favor of it at all. He forced the issue, and now I'm the one who knows the ins and outs of the whole program. Go figure.
I'm not pushing it one way or another, you have to do what works best for your family. Good luck with your decision
If we deciede to sell sometime in the distant future Disney holds it's value pretty well.
I don't even cook at home
