One of my most memorable trips to Walt Disney World occurred when I was around 12 years old. As a child, I was too young to understand what went into planning such an adventure, yet alone the cost associated with it. Whether it was spending the day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom or getting burnt to a crisp on the lazy river at Blizzard Beach Water Park, all I knew was that I was having the time of my life with my mom and grandma at the most magical place on earth.
Although we were initially focused on how many times my wife, Amy, and I could visit Walt Disney World each year as Disney Vacation Club Members when purchasing, we also realized that DVC provided a unique opportunity to share this joy with the ones we love. For Amy, this would mean an opportunity to share her love for Disney with her mother who had never visited before. I, on the other hand, viewed it as an opportunity to show my mom how much has changed over the years and thank her for making this special place a part of my childhood and now my life.
Having recently returned from this trip with our mothers, I am left with two significant takeaways:
My first takeaway is the memory of watching both of our parents experience the joy and excitement of being at Walt Disney World. I will always remember the smile and look of joy on my mom’s face while watching Fantasmic and Illuminations, as well as Amy’s mom yelling during Flight of Passage, “I’M FLYING, PAUL!”. For them, it was the Disney trip of a lifetime that would likely have never occurred had we not joined Disney Vacation Club.
Second, the escape and tranquility that Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House was able to provide throughout our trip was significant. Each day started or ended with the whole family either enjoying some time on the balcony of our 2-Bedroom Lock-Off Villa – Value Accommodation, or visiting the savanna to see what the giraffes and zebras were up to. The experience we had here with our parents validated even more our decision to make it our “home”.
This will not be the last time we share this joy with those we love and are already planning future trips with other friends and family. On both this site and in our Facebook Group, we often talk about the perks of DVC ownership. For me, the greatest perk we receive as owners is the joy and happiness that we get to experience and the fact that we can share it with those we care about.
Pete Scheidle
June 29, 2019Paul – totally agree. One of my goals is to get enough points to share our DVC adventures with friends and family. We planning to do that with some friends at AKV next Februrary. They haven’t confirmed they are coming yet, but we already have two studios booked. They are friends that have been before, but stayed at a value. We are asking them to cover MF – but still would cost them about half what they paid at Caribbean Beach. We also would like to someday take MIL and BIL and stay in a 2-bedroom, but as yet do not have enough points to cover it. Someday soon we hope!
Joyce
June 29, 2019This is what DVC is all about!! Making lifelong memories, and being able to give others some of the best moments of their lives. Share the love!!
Patti
June 29, 2019This is so true. Since DVC, we were able to introduce a friend to WDW (and now she comes all the time with us), and we are including my son in law’s parents on the upcoming trip. I am so happy to share this place with people we love.
Andrea
June 29, 2019Loved this. I’m taking my best friend and her girls for a second time next year. We are booked into a grand villa at Jambo house! They would never be able to go to Disney otherwise. It makes me so happy to share it with them. We are all so excited for next year. Our kids are growing up. The oldest is eighteen soon, so this will be the last time we do something like this, I suspect. Precious memories.
Jill
June 29, 2019I agree 1000%!!
Tracy O'Leary Robinson
June 29, 2019Love our DVC. With it we can go 3 to 4 times a year for long weekends. Last year we introduced our new sil to it and now he’s coming on his 3rd visit. Our disney mad daughter is thrilled …i see dvc in their future one day maybe?
Jan Scotellaro
June 29, 2019Thank goodness we bought our points years ago. We have enough that we’ve been able to bring friends for quite a few trips with us, usually in 2 or 3 studios but we did book 2 bedroom in AULANI. We took 4 friends on Disney Dream 5 years ago and I have just returned from a a Wonderful Cruise to Alaska with 3 friends that helped me out when my husband passed away last year.
I am so thankful for my DVC that I am able to share with my friends.
Lisa
June 29, 2019Lovely article and for me, what DVC is all about. I’ve been able to share our love for WDW with various family members and the memories we’ve made are priceless!
Patricia Watterson
June 29, 2019Been DVC Member since Feb 2009. Best thing we ever did. I have been able to share our joy with family and friends throughout the years. Many have said the best part was being able to sit on the balcony early am watching the animals on the Savannah. WE always stay at Kidani, love that it is peaceful and we enjoy being away from the hustle and bustle. Gives us a chance to unwind and relax at the end of day.