Hey there DisneyBarlans and Costillo Mom!~ ITA with SEC, It's SOOOOOOOO Worth It!~
Welcome to the Dark Side!~ Opinions on DVC will probably be slanted towards good reviews here, but there are some really smart folks who answer all kinds of great questions honestly and generally with happy Disney enthusiam.
To us, the only drawback of DVC is that we didn't join sooner. We loved the FWcabins and the home like atmosphere of them during vacation, so we already were that type of home away from home thinkers. We just happened upon a kiosk the last day of a visit to WDW and said hey, why not take the tour. WE had NO IDEA we were about to fall in love, Disney Style.
With DVC you get all kinds of opportunities and if you're going 2x's a year then you should definitely look into DVC. With DVC you get $100 off each annual pass and with an annual pass you get the discount on DDE (20% off most Disney resturants) for the meals you choose not to eat in your rooms. Those DVC kitchens are the best for morning breakfast, late night snacks, nice easy dinners in the evening, after a long day at the parks or a a great lunch in the afternoon when you are doing the parks at night.
Washer/Dryers in villas 1bdrm or larger, so a load before bed, throw in the dryer before the parks and fold whenever. LESS packing is what I'm saying.
DVC allows you to vacation when you want, most times where you want (holy smokes the whole 11 month/7month window thing) at DVC resorts.
DVC resorts have the best pools as a group at Disney.
Add it all up and again, I wish we had joined DVC sooner. The best part of DVC. When you go home for the first time, and you are greeted with the first, "Welcome Home!~" and the tears swell up from anticipation, unforgettable.
The contracts are forever
(not really but it seems like a long time), and you can deed them to your kids when they are older. (We're greedy and don't want to ever give them up, but alas we won't be here forever and the kids will be adults with their own Disney lovin kids someday)
Happy Researching the Best Keep Disney Secret!~
~DW