Enjoying the long term benefits of DVC

[bwvBound]

Story telling ...

The morning following DVC's Moonlight Member Magic event at Disneyland, my darling hubby and I went through Downtown Disney for breakfast before returning home. As we strolled along, we noticed many older couples walking arm in arm enjoying all-things-Disney.

I figured, thanks to DVC, we'll be among them. We are almost there now ... but not quite. Even so, we wouldn't have been at Disney last week if it weren't for DVC. We likely wouldn't be doing much of anything Disney if we had to pay out of pocket ... yet in 2017 we attended a movie screening (Pirates, May 2017), took a mini-cruise (DCL Wonder) and spent a lovely evening in Disneyland ... all because of DVC.

Thanks, DVC!

 

[Murron]

My husband and I are (were) workaholics. We knew early on that we needed to do something to somewhat "force" a family vacation each year. Initially bought into the original Disney Vacation Club Resort (aka Old Key West) in '92. Our twins were 4 yrs old at the time. It has given us years of wonderful family vacations. And now we are one of those older couples walking arm in arm still enjoying Disney.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We baby boomers love a good time! Disney provides that entertainment that never gets old. So glad we were able to purchase DVC and have been enjoying it for over 10 yrs. now.

 

[CarolynFH]

Members for 20 years now and so many lovely memories! So many fun trips with our kids and with friends and family members. Got to give our DD and DSiL a honeymoon at BWV. Found out DGD’s an adrenaline junky on her first trip at age 5, which lead to her dad our DS riding ToT, his least favorite ride in all of WDW, over and over. None of those trips would have happened without DVC. Now we too are the old folks wandering the parks hand in hand, not worrying about missing things ‘cause we know we’ll be back!

 

[Donna M]

Our first grandchild should be arriving in a few days, and thanks to DVC she will be joining us on our trips in a few years. Love being able to enjoy the resorts without rushing since we've 'been there done that' and know we will be back.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I loved your post and everyone’s comments! DVC has given us many happy memories. We are at “that” time in our lives.

 

[MommaBerd]

These are the stories that helped “sell” DVC to us. Though we are still in the raising kids phase, we dream of taking our grandchildren (hopefully at least ONE princess!) on magical trips. Could we do that without DVC - of course. But purchasing DVC just significantly increases the likelihood, and gives it a more “home-y” feel.

 

[bwvBound]

We baby boomers love a good time! Disney provides that entertainment that never gets old.

Ah, I'm a young Boomer. I was grinning ear-to-ear and singing along through Fantasmic! as I sat crossed-legged on the pavement. I was thoroughly swept away by the selection of songs and images and loved the the references to older memories!

 

[kboo]

I'm either a young boomer or an old Gen X, or somewhere in between. We had kids late (in our 40s) and they are still young. These anecdotes are heartwarming! And like @Murron, we are/were workaholics and buying DVC is forcing us to take at least one real family vacation a year. (Our May 2015 Disney trip was actually a work conference for me, and March 2016 was a work conference for DH). I was just thinking that buying DVC still costs less than buying that little red sports car, and the best thing is that our whole family can enjoy DVC and it doesn't depreciate 50% the minute you drive it off the lot! Also, there is more room for strollers and car seats in DVC than the little red sports car. And it's probably safer.

ETA: This Thanksgiving we are visiting my inlaws; FIL is nearing the end of his life and is housebound. For Christmas, we are visiting my parents; my mom has advanced dementia now, and our March 2016 trip was her last trip to Disney and she still enjoyed it with all of her grandkids . It was a dream of hers to do that, so I am glad we got to make it happen - including my sister and her toddler - when my mom could still understand. We are also very much looking forward to our February vacation just me, DH, and our kids. Much needed break!!

 

[com_op_2000]

DW & I are both Disney fans from a long time before we met.
We bought into DVC in '93, still continue multiple trips per year, and will continue to do so for many years to come.
We currently have one DCL and three DVCs booked for 2018 with at least three more DVCs to book in '18.

DW & I, DD & DSonnL were all married the same week, years apart in February.
We booked a DCL to celebrate our anniversaries over a year in advanced; DD’s room on cash, DW & I’s on DVC points.
While we were at SW’s Sharks! Restaurant celebrating MiL’s 90th birthday in November with 4 other families; we got to talking about cruises and we mentioned ours was upcoming.
Low and behold someone starting looking at the DCL website and found a veranda room available and booked it, then stated we are crashing your cruise. Then what did two of the other families do, but booked the same thing. Another family had to go home and do some financial planning but booked another room within a week. Now we have 6 rooms with 14 people going that will be celebrating two anniversaries and two birthdays (two of those 4 families have birthday celebrations that same week).

It is stories like this that we could never of had except for DVC, I would not pay DCL prices to go on a cruise.

 

[bwvBound]

While we were at SW’s Sharks! Restaurant celebrating MiL’s 90th birthday in November with 4 other families; we got to talking about cruises and we mentioned ours was upcoming.
Low and behold someone starting looking at the DCL website and found a veranda room available and booked it, then stated we are crashing your cruise. Then what did two of the other families do, but booked the same thing. Another family had to go home and do some financial planning but booked another room within a week. Now we have 6 rooms with 14 people going that will be celebrating two anniversaries and two birthdays (two of those 4 families have birthday celebrations that same week).

I love the, "Crashing your cruise." Quite often, when booking cruises along with my parents, others would, 'crash our cruise.' They'd always be picking our brains, "Where are we going next?" Congratulations on your February celebrations -- wishing you a great time! (Hey, we have a Feb anniversary, too. Perhaps we should join yours? lol ...)

Edited: Hey Mom&Dad ... miss you, bunches! Thanks for teaching us to travel ... and so much more. Love!

 

[kboo]

Our first Disney cruise this past August was for DH's 50th - we got some friends to join us as well, and turns out another friend's family, by coincidence, was joining us too. 6 adults, 7 kids. So much fun.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our first Disney cruise this past August was for DH's 50th - we got some friends to join us as well, and turns out another friend's family, by coincidence, was joining us too. 6 adults, 7 kids. So much fun.

Our first DCL cruise was for DH’s 60th Birthday. That was 13 years ago, we are Platinum and have enjoyed cruises with grandchildren, adult friends and as a couple.

 

[ziravan]

What enticed me the most about DVC wasn’t cheaper rooms but the people who commented on these boards about how DVC changed the way they did Disney.

Knowing I’m coming back removed the pressure to ‘get my money’s worth’ on every trip. I spend more money now, but I also get more.

Now. We add something different and unique to each trip, and we are seldom disappointed.

DD9 and I booked 3 nights last May and on subsequent nights: 1. Saw last Wishes. 2. Saw first HEA, 3. First DVC Pandora preview. The CMs had a lottery for previewing Pandora. Several were very jealous we got to preview, in a good way. Amazing trip.

Last time we went, sept, DVC AKV moonlight magic and MNSSHP. Amazing.

Next up: Disney after hours planned for Jan.

A co-worker said to me the other day, “I’d ask if you’re planning to go back to Disney soon, but I know the better question is, WHEN are you planning to go back to Disney?”

“Yup. January.”

Happy Thanksgiving every one. We have lots to be thankful for and DVC is indeed one of those things.

 

[cmarsh31]

Thank you everyone for your stories! DH & I experienced our first adults-only trip in June to celebrate our 15th anniversary, and are now waiting to close on our first DVC contract! I'm already dreaming of trips with grandchildren and as older adults. Our June trip was a much different pace than our normal packed trips with the kids and we loved it!

 

[jpeka65844]

DH and I always say that when we see an older couple enjoying Disney Parks. “That’s gonna be us!”

You know the one that gets me? The short clip of the older couple riding in the Autopia car during the “Forever Young” sequence in WoC at DL. Tears. Every single time.

 

[relspeak]

We bought our DVC in 2009 and have had the most wonderful times. My Grandaughter Elenore asks where the rest of our room is when she stays at a standard hotel. The 2 bedroom at BLT seems normal to her. Will bring my 2 year old Grandson Owen in March for the first time. Their Grandma Anne passed away from cancer in May, so it will be the first without her. She so loved her DVC.

 

[bwvBound]

Their Grandma Anne passed away from cancer in May, so it will be the first without her. She so loved her DVC.

{{HUGS}}

 

[gillep]

My husband and I are (were) workaholics. We knew early on that we needed to do something to somewhat "force" a family vacation each year. Initially bought into the original Disney Vacation Club Resort (aka Old Key West) in '92. Our twins were 4 yrs old at the time. It has given us years of wonderful family vacations. And now we are one of those older couples walking arm in arm still enjoying Disney.

What a sweet story, I hope this is me and DH in the future. This is also why we purchased DVC, DH and his friend signed up to run the Disney marathon, and while planning the trip we realized that we had been together over 6 years and had never once vacationed together, outside of traveling to see family for holidays. We had the best time on that trip, and purchased DVC when we got back home to force ourselves to take the time to vacation together. Now our WDW time is specifically for us to reconnect, we have been so many times that I feel like I don't have to do too much thinking, and we can just enjoy ourselves and do as much or little as we like and not worry about anything.

 

[sleepydog25]

Lovely thread. I know the most common argument for those who don't go to Disney often is "don't you get bored?" followed closely by "you're limited only vacationing at Disney, aren't you?" For the former, no, there's always a new adventure to explore and plenty of favorites to re-visit. For the latter, I will say that sure, we could save money and not go to Disney and choose, say, the Grand Canyon or a trip to Ireland. . .but those aren't mutually exclusive. It takes commitment to save or, gulp, renting out points to do those sort of things, but it is possible. Besides, most people have favorites. Where we live, the most common vacation--each and every year--is to "go to the beach," in this case the beach almost always being Myrtle Beach. That's great but just as repetitive as going to Disney. I also have many friends who have to spend thousands on PSLs for the right to buy season tickets (also thousands) to the nearby Div 1 college football team. . .not to mention the thousands it takes over the course of 5-6 home games to buy food and/or tailgating. To each his own.

As for our story, my wife and I found each other later in life, and we did so through Disney. We were introduced via a now defunct DIS Boards forum which eventually led to meeting in person at WL. It was an emotional and life-changing moment that forever mapped our future together. I had a VWL contract and once we married, we added on there since it was our hearts' home. DVC allowed us to revisit the Lodge several times before we married, and we had the actual ceremony at the Lodge, as well as our dinner afterward at Artist Point. So many times we've strolled the grounds there after dinner and reveled in the ambiance of flickering lights and majestic music. Over the years, we too have strolled hand in hand at many locations--listening to street performers in Disney Springs, catching the Osborne Lights (including the last couple of days thanks to a last-minute DVC trip), seeing new Fantasyland with member passes, watching fireworks from TOTWL (and on Disney cruises), taking the same silly pictures over and over (the 3D glasses pic before Philharmagic is standard), and the list goes on. Owning DVC has enabled many of these times, allowing us to know we'll have some wonderful place to stay, whether it's our beloved home at VWL or any of the other DVC resorts. In short, our lives have been enriched by buying into something we know is a luxury but that is also a big part of our lives.