Did you stay DVC before buying?

[Santa]

Just wondering how many DVC owners stayed in a DVC resort before purchasing?

 

[phorsenuf]

We didn't. We actually bought at SSR sight unseen. We knew we couldn't go wrong with any of the resorts. We had been kicking around the idea for a while and then when they came out with the friends and family promotion last year it was the final push we needed.
We haven't regretted our decision for one minute, except that we didn't buy more points.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yes, we stayed for 5 nights at OKW before we purchased.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

Yes, we stayed at OKW and to be truthful, we were not that overly impressed. We got a smoking room and they would not move us. It reeked!!!! However, I made a point of going to the boardwalk area to check it out and was won over. However, I do think that OKW is growing on me. The landscaping and everything is beautiful.

 

[jetstream]

We purchased last January (2006). We toured SSR while we were staying at the Contemp. The October before (2005) we stayed at the Swan. Enjoyed the Boardwalk area and chose to purchase there.

Didn't stay at DVC, but close.

 

[magicmommy]

No. But we did take the tour while at WDW and purchased on that trip.

 

[LisaS]

We bought BWV site unseen. We spent a lot of time looking at photos of all of the DVC resorts on the DVC public website, tagrel's site (he has some great photo tours of several DVC resorts), and the photos on allears. We got a good feeling for all of the resorts that way and felt confident buying in based on what we had seen.

ETA: When I say "site unseen", I mean the interior. We had walked past BWV many times during our stays at YC so I knew what the villas looked like from the outside, and knew that many of the villas had views of the boardwalk or the canal. The option for a great view was a factor in deciding to go with BWV.

 

[shellbelle1971]

We had such a nightmare experience staying offsite at an "all suites" hotel that when we saw the DVC accomodations it was game over for us!

 

[Judy WI]

Bought HHI, never seen or stayed there yet. Bought BCV and had never even been on the board walk. It just looked like something I would like. Stayed at BCV last week and loved it.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Nope. We toured OKW in 1996 while at WDW, and then in 1998 our guide "Rafael" called us and told us about BWV and we just decided to go ahead and take the plunge sight unseen.

 

[jade1]

Nope, just remember watching a WDW planning trip in 1997 that showed a man all dressed up on stilts with a big hat walking on the boardwalk and thinking-wow, I will never be able to stay there.

 

[Pocahantas]

We rented points 4 times before purchasing our DVC contract. I wanted to buy points at BCV in December 2002 when I first saw that resort but my DH wasn't interested. Renting points and actually staying at the DVC resorts got him to change his mind!!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We stayed at the Polynesian on our first trip. That's when we bought DVC. Never stayed in a DVC resort before our first trip on our own points (second trip to WDW).

 

[Muushka]

We toured at BWV in 1998. We had stayed at WL a couple of times and we still rented the room at CRO for VWL before buying.

No way we were going to plunk down that kind of $$ without being sure it was what we really wanted.

 

[MinMouse]

Nope! We had been to Disney several times and decided we were ready to finally take the plunge. So we bought BW site-unseen (with the exception of having dined at Big River Grille once). We had tried unsuccessfully to rent points on E-bay (of course, this was before I found the DIS!). We decided to just take the $$$ we were going to use to rent towards our purchase. Then we had to wait about 8 months for our trip "home". It was the longest 8 months and a great homecoming!

 

[jakenjess]

We never stayed in a DVC before buying. We had toured OKW in '92 and loved it, but really couldn't afford it at the time. (I SO wish we had bought then!) Then in 2005 we toured SSR and took the plunge. We had stayed at WL and BC, but not in the villas. Since we've stayed at OKW, VWL, BWV, and VB and loved them all!

 

[3DisneyKids]

Yes, we rented before buying. For us, we absolutely knew that we were going to purchase, but it was a matter of which resort. I wanted SSR for the extra 12 years (our kids are very young still), but I had been on these boards a lot and it was the height of SSR-bashing, so I was very reluctant to buy SSR.

Long story short--rented points for an SSR stay...went looking for things not to like about the resort (after reading all of the negatives here)...couldn't find anything I didn't aboslutely love about the resort! And the rest, as they say, is history....

 

[diznyfanatic]

Yes, we stayed at OKW, VWL and VB on rented points before we purchased. However, we purchased our BWV points resale without ever having stayed there but added on at VWL because we fell in love with it after the wonderful time we had there.

 

[KristinU]

Yes, but not intentionally - when I called to book BWI for a trip in 1997 the CRO agent asked if we'd like to try the BWV studio instead for roughly the same price - we said "sure" and had a fabulous trip! We thought about buying in then, but it took us a few more years to actually pull the trigger.

 

[mamaprincess]

We had never even gone to WDW when we bought SSR. I was born to be a Disney Freak!!! All I had was a WDW vacation planning video tape that my sister who lives in Orlando sent me while I was pregnant. I lived and breathed that tape and secretly planned to brainwash my children, and husband to become as obsessed as I had become. I somehow through my constant secret trip planning stumbled upon DVC's information. We were owners the following year and have been back every year since then!