Today the panel discusses a series of articles on DVCFan.com talking about some hard truths that come with Disney Vacation Club! Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments!
Visit the article HERE!
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We’ve been DVC members since 1994 purchasing 400 points. I don’t recall the exact amount, but we paid somewhere around $50 a point. We’ve gone to Disney World as well as other destinations every year using our membership. Even when my wife was laid off we still made a trip to Disney World. A DVC membership should never be considered an investment. As Ms. Smit stated, “It’s a guarantee” you can enjoy a vacation. When we first became DVC members our two daughters were just little girls. Now, they have children of their own and we enjoy taking our grandchildren to Disney World. I will say though the magic of Disney is starting to fade away. This is one reason why my wife and I are planning to use our membership to travel more to non-Disney locations. We’re retired, so the membership is coming in very handy.
I do question what Ms. Vallotton stated about 80% of the purchasers are impulse buyers. Does she have any data to support that claim? This isn’t like buying a Goofy hat and then asking yourself the next week, “Why did I buy this.” Becoming a DVC member is a big investment. I seriously doubt only 20% of the people who became DVC members went home and thought about it. We’re actually part of the so called 20% Ms. Vallotton is talking about. We took a month deciding to buy into DVC after a trip to Disney World. Most people and DVC friends we talk to on the message boards said the same thing. Compulsive buying is expected when you spend $$$ for some Disney merchandise. However, I seriously doubt 80% of DVC people do the same when they spend tens of thousands of dollars for a DVC membership.
I agree with Norm in that WDW is beginning to fade for us and we have been looking at other options for vacation using our points.
I thought about DVC for nearly a year after seeing several YouTube videos and reading about the advantages of being a member. We went for our annual spring break vacation staying at Coronado and the second day a DVC rep spoke to me as I was looking at the boards while my wife and daughter were getting a pretzel. I told my wife we can just check it out and take the tours, and she was totally onboard when we saw the model rooms so we bought into the new Copper Creek and we have been solid Disney fanatics ever since. Today though we are rethinking the whole Disney four times a year thing and actually contemplating getting Universal passes but staying at Disney resorts for a while to see how it will work out. I don’t think we would sell, the value is just too good to throw away.