Disney Vacation Club

[Fflewduur]

My search has not revealed a thread dedicated to this topic, so I hope I'm not wandering off into redundancy here...

Are there are other Disney Vacation Club members who frequent this forum? Are you happy with the program? Have a favorite property? I've been in since '93, when "Old Key West" was still called simply the "Disney Vacation Club," and I'd be interested to hear what other members have to say.

[gadgetmobile]

We just bought DVC in 2005. Old Key West is our home resort, and we have stayed there twice. We were in a studio last summer and in a 2-bedroom in November. We are going back in June 2006 and staying in a studio at the Beach Club.

We have really enjoyed DVC so far. We take a bunch of our Disney DVDs on the trip with us and end up watching them in the room after we've been in the parks all day.

[MikeyMouse]

I've been a DVC member since November 2004. My home resort is the still-in-progress-but-open Sarasota Springs Resort. We haven't had a chance to stay there yet, but my fiancee' and I will be using our points for the first time this May on the tail end of our honeymoon. All in all I've been impressed with the communication and level of service from the DVC staff.

Even if you only have enough points for a REALLY nice trip every two years, it's still a great investment.

[danamichelle]

About how much does the Vacation Club cost? Do you have to pay all at once or is there some type of payment plan?

[MikeyMouse]

The cost depends on how many "points" you purchase on a yearly basis. The minimum you can buy is a package that gives you 150 points per year (enough for a 1 room unit for 1 week). You can roll points over from one year to the next, so you can either go away every year, or go away to someplace nice every 2 years. The points are good at any Disney resort, Vacation Club, or hotel, and can even be transferred to Interval International for travel around the world.

It's a really good deal, and YES, you can finance it through Disney. The next time you're in WDW, I'd highly recommend sitting down w/ a vacation counselor and seeing if it interests you. I've been to several "timeshare" presentations before, and this one was the best; no pressure, no hassle, etc.
Gee, I sound like a salesperson for the DVC!

[Fflewduur]

It used to be an even better deal--back in the early days, when they weren't yet sure how well the program would sell, they offered as incentive free admission to (what was then) the Big Three parks for all members of your party on each visit. That program ended Dec 31, 1999...but we sure put it to use!

[Alan]

I think it costs around 15,000 dollars... I like Old Key West the best because it has the biggest rooms. DO NOT go to the vero beach resort, there is practically nothing there and the restaurants aren't good

[goofystitch]

My family have been members since '95. Old Key West is our home and favorite resort. We have also stayed at the Boardwalk and Yacht & Beach Club. Boardwalk was our least favorite due to the weird room layout and the fact that everyone's balconys are so close together. However, it was a very fun resort with lots to do and we enjoyed the ferry to MGM and Epcot. Yach & Beach was a smaller room than you get at Old Key West, but again, it's got the convenience of the ferry to MGM and Epcot and the pool at both Boardwalk and Yach & Beach were more fun than Old Key West. We like Old Key West the best because the rooms are set up more like a condo than a hotel, the balconys feel private and you typically have a great view, and they have small pools close to your room if you aren't staying near the hospitality house. We typically drive down, so transportation isn't a big issue, but my biggest complaint is the lack of busses and how many stops they have to make.

[Alan]

We like Old Key West the best because the rooms are set up more like a condo than a hotel

there are seven disney vacation club resorts that offer "condos". I think they are wilderness lodge, old key west, hilton head, vero beach, saratoga springs, Beach club villas, and boardwalk villas. So you can have many options if you want to have condo/suite style rooms. But old key west has the largest rooms...

[KyleRayner]

I've been a DVC member since April 2005 and my home resort is Old Key West. It was the best decision. I love it.

[Kram Nebuer]

I've been in since '93, when "Old Key West" was still called simply the "Disney Vacation Club," and I'd be interested to hear what other members have to say.

My parents and my aunts and uncles went on a tour for the Disney vacation club that summer of 1993! I have no idea why we ended up not signing up for it because since 1989, we've been to Disney World or Disneyland almost every other year. We have a time share now, but it's not with Disney, but has resorts within the WDW property.

Even though I was only about 6 years old, I wish I went on the tour to see the resort. All us kids (Escapay, Jane McCoy, and our cousins) were left at a Day-Care-esque place (btw, my only life's experience at a Day Care outside of pre-school) and we played with toys and other kids and given fake Aladdin coloring books. It was weird because Aladdin had premiered the previous year, but the special Disney Vacation Club coloring book had non-Disney Aladdin characters. I remember being really confused because I was at Disney World with an Aladdin coloring book but he looked really different and had long sleeves.

[blackcauldron85]

New DVC Resort Near CSR Planned?
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showpost.php ... ostcount=1
(via disneyreport.com)