Member rollcall - who here is a DVC member?
 

I thought it might be kind of neat to hear from the MouseScrappers who are also DVC members. Tell us a little about it. :)

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?

- Did you buy from Disney or resale?

- Where have you stayed on points?

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort?

- any other thoughts?

I bought into Boardwalk and Old Key West - both during 2009. Just 50 points each so not a lot. I was tempted to buy my first contract straight from Disney while I was on the Disney Magic, but I'm glad I waited until I got home so I could do my research. I bought both contracts through resale - it allowed me to buy less points (for less money!)

So far, I have stayed at Kidani Village (studio), Grand Californian (regular hotel room... before the villas opened), and Beach Club Villas (studio). I ironically haven't had the chance to stay in either of the resorts I bought into, but hope to soon. :)

I don't think I have a favorite resort yet... I want to try them all. But I must say that the slide at Kidani Villiage is awesome!!! I hope to make it back to BCV when it's not so cold so I can try out their lazy river/pools and slide.

We have all of our points at the Wilderness Lodge Villas. We bought a couple of our contracts through Disney and a couple through resale.

We love VWL especially during the Christmas time when it is decorated. We love the dark, wood feel to it as well.

We have stayed at Old Key West, Saratoga Springs and at Beach Club. We are staying at Boardwalk when we go down late April. We are now staying most of the time in a one bedroom and was the reason for adding the last points we did. With them both being older now, we all just needed more room.

We try to go down twice a year with our late Nov/early Dec being approx two weeks.

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? Grand Californian in 2010 we have 160 points

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney, while on the cruise

- Where have you stayed on points? no where on our points yet. but we are staying at the Grand Californian on March 11th. My sister and BIL have been members for like 6 years. We have stayed at Saratoga Springs (2 times, 2 br both times) and Animal Kingdom Lodge (1 time in a 1 br).

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Not yet. Looking at the models tho, I loved the Bay Lake Towers rooms!!!

- any other thoughts? Nope :)

We became DVC members in 2001 and our home resort is the Boardwalk. We bought resale. Our children are grown so we're able to make three trips a year staying in a studio.

We've stayed at the Boardwalk, Saratoga Springs and Vero Beach. We always consider staying at other DVC resorts, but always end up back at the Boardwalk since we LOVE the location and it's really become our "home" when we're there. For our trip in June, we usually stay a week at the Boardwalk and tack on a few days at Vero Beach to relax after the parks. We have the dates for our first trip to California, but aren't sure yet if we'll be staying at the Grand Californian.

Our daughter and SIL own at Saratoga and Boardwalk and have stayed at those as well as the Beach Club and Vero Beach. This summer they'll be staying at Bay Lake Towers...and they're closing on another contract this week! Our son has stayed at BWV, BCV, VWL, and SSR, but hasn't decided to take the plunge and own yet.

As you can tell, our favorite is the Boardwalk Villas and for a more relaxing Disney experience, we love Vero Beach. :yes:

We have 2 contracts from 2000 & 2001 both direct from Disney, the point price was $65 for each so as I've watched the price increase I'm very glad we bought then.

Our contracts are at Boardwalk & Wilderness. We've stayed at both of those, Beach Club & Old Key West. I've stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge with my Mom & sister.

We've never stayed at Saratoga; prefer OKW for the space & lower points and it is in almost the same location just a little further from DTD.

The only non DVC resort we've stayed at is the Contemporary for a couple of days in 2000; DVC works very well for my family as my DH is not a park person but does enjoy the "inclusive" nature of Disney vacations with the resort, parks & restaurants.

Hard to pick a favorite; as someone else mentioned Wildness Lodge is great at Christmas time. We like Beach Club and Boardwalk for the location.

Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? We bought into BLT during our Adult only vacation Nov 2008 and have added 5 more times...WooHoo! We also now own at BCV.

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? We bought direct for Disney. Mainly due to the incentives at the time. We got matching points which gave us 2 trips to SSR and then a free 7 night cruise with our last add-on. We did however purchase BCV on the resale market

- Where have you stayed on points? SSR, OKW, BLT, BWV, BCV, and AKL

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Bay Lake Tower is amazing although I've always considered Beach Club due to the convenience of EPCOT. Can't get away from the view and convenience of Bay Lake Tower though.

- any other thoughts? No regrets. We travel at least 3 times a year... When my kids are grown it's my retirement vacation 8-9 times a year. When I'm gone then my kids can enjoy DVC on their own.

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? Animal Kingdom Lodge 2007

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? from Disney

- Where have you stayed on points? OKW 2 br, SS 1br, WL 1br, AKL 1 br savannah view, and we will be staying in a 1br at Bay Lake Towers in August (can't wait!)

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Of those we stayed at already, Kidani was our favorite. Absolutely beautiful resort. The kids loved the pool (especially the slide) and water play area. The theming is lovely.

- any other thoughts - Just that we are getting spoiled! We are headed down to Caribbean Beach next week (buy 4 nights, get 3 free) and are wondering how will survive in a regular hotel room. I love my DVC!

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? Animal Kingdom, 2008

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney

- Where have you stayed on points? Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom - Kidani, just booked Grand Californian for July

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Beach Club, we stayed not on points.

- any other thoughts? With a family of 5 we love the extra bathroom at Kidani.

Hi Neighbor! We are DVC members as well:

- Which resort did you buy into and when? BLT :yeah: March 2009

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney, got great incentives: gift cards, instant fast passes, and a free 7 day cruise.

- Where have you stayed on points? BLT, HHI and SSR. Beach Club not on points.

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? I sight everytime I thing BLT is our 2nd home but I do really like Beach Club because of proximity to Epcot, DHS and fun restaurants.

- any other thoughts? No regrets! The only thing that could top BLT is having a DVC location in DL Paris (major exhale!).

Hi DVC neighbors!!!!

We own 300 points at AKV! DH and I bought our first 200 point contract after we took the tour during grown ups only vacation last March. We added on 100 more at Christmas time! We bought both contracts from Disney. We were going to do our add on resale but between the facts that we got a great incentive, that we got 09 points although our 09 use year was almost up, and that our new points have the same use year as our original contract we couldn't go wrong with buting direct from DVC!

We've only stayed at SSR (October 09) and Kidani so I have limited knowledge to base favorites on. I LOVED Kidani though! It truly felt like home!

We are sooooo happy with our decision to purchase DVC. It was truly the right thing for our family! I love knowing that the next trip is right around the corner!

Hi DVC Neighbors! :wave:

We brought into DVC in 2007 when we took our daughter for her first trip to WDW. We just went along to see what it was and to have a look at the AKV models but we were sold from the word go! We brought that day, we knew nothing about resales so we didn;t shop around but I have no regrets. We brought 160 points for AKV and at the time we were getting a lot of $ for our £'s. So it was a really good deal for us but I would have to ask DH to be specific about how good :lol2: I do know that we got the developers points incentive.

We had out first trip home in Feb 2009 staying at AKV Jambo House in a 2 bed standard. This was our first time staying at a deluxe hotel of any sort and we were blown away. We had been excited when we stayed at Coronado Springs in 2007 which was a step up for us from the budgets. So to us this was sheer luxury! We were so happy we had our DVC to enable us to stay in accomodation like this. So much so that we brought another 50 points whilst we were out there for AKV :hooray:

After this trip we were very generous and let my brother in law and his girlfriend go out to the world on our points in Nov 2009 so that they could have one last trip before their first baby arrived. They stayed at a studio in OKW which they loved.

Coming from the UK we get to go to Disney every 18months - 2 years so we always go for around 2 weeks. We are currently planning our first Halloween trip for this October. We are booked for a 1 bed savannah at Kidani but we are so tempted to try and change to a 1 bed Wilderness Lodge when the 7month window opens. Decisions decisions!

I really don't know yet which my favourite DVC resort is but I am planning on having fun trying them all so I can make a decision on this. I know that I will always have a soft spot though for our home resort though.

You are so lucky to be able to go over to Disney so frequently!:woohoo:

Have you seen the 1br at Kidani? Gorgeous!!! (not to mention the benefit of the Savannah view). I toured a number of resorts last month with a bunch of travel agents, and the 1br at Kidani was a clear favorite. Many were wowed by the luxurious bathroom, and a few commented that the unit felt larger than any of the other resorts we had toured (as far as villas, we toured SSR, BLT and Kidani... we toured WL but only saw a standard hotel room). But, since you have stayed at Jambo, I can understand if you want to try one of the other resorts.... hmmm :idea:

We are lucky being able to go to Disney so often, we all love Disney so it is an easy choice for us as to where to spend our vacation money and we go without a lot in between to save for our disney trips. I have needed a new bathroom since we moved into our house in 2004 but we still haven't been able to put in a new one. Everytime DH says well do you want a new bathroom this year or a trip to wdw its an easy choice :lol2: DD made it all worth while when she told me the other day that she is really lucky because her mummy and daddy would rather take her to disney than spend money on the house. You can not put a price on that, she will only be little for a short time and we have the rest of our lives to live in a nicely decorated house :) She wont remember that our bathroom coordinated perfectly but she will remember the magical vacations.

As for choosing where to stay it is the hottest topic around here at the minute. We have only seen the model 1 br units for Kidani we've never actually been in one. We were blown away by Jambo so with the additional space and extra bathroom I know we will love Kidani & DD would love the view. However I have been put off a little by the fact that there is no food court and that the hotel is so big you can have almost a mile walk back to your room if it is at the furthest point from the bus stop! DD is only 7 and she gets so tired if we have a long day walking around the parks. WL has great themeing like AKV and its close to MK and my we like the look of all the restaurants. DH & DD are both fussy and will only eat at Mara at AKV as everywhere else is not to their tastes. However the pool is much better at Kidani and the list goes on I have no idea how to make a decision but we need to decide what we want by the 17th march :eek:

Gotcha... good reasons. Our studio room was a long way from the lobby, but not too far from the bus stop. Yeah, no food court, so if you know you'll be wanting to stop in the food court periodically during your visit, than Kidani may not be right this time. Since your DD is only 7, I say go for VWL (or BLT) so you'll be close to MK... you'll have plenty of other opportunities to stay at Kidani. :)

Good luck deciding! :sorcerer:

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?
Boardwalk Villas (1999)
Villas at Wilderness Lodge (2001)
Beach Club Villas
Saratoga Springs
Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas
Villas at Grand Californian (February 2010)

- Did you buy from Disney or resale?
Disney

- Where have you stayed on points?
Boardwalk Villas
Beach Club Villas
Saratoga Springs
Old Key West
Villas at Wilderness Lodge
Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas (both Jambo House and Kidani Village)
Grand Californian (a month before the villas opened)

DCL Disney Wonder
DCL Disney Magic

Bay Lake Towers (in August 2010)
Villas at Grand Californian (in January 2011)

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort?
We like to stay at Beach Club Villas during the Food and Wine Festival because it's within staggering distance to Epcot.
Saratogo Springs was nice because it's withing walking distance to Downtown Disney.
And the kids loved Animal Kingdom Villas, especially Kidani Village (and the pool there.)

- any other thoughts?
I never thought I'd like doing laundry on vacation, but it's so easy to throw a load in in the morning before heading to the parks and come back later to clean clothes. Makes packing so much easier since we only have to take a few days worth of clothes instead of something for every day. And love that I don't have to come home from vacation with a mountain of laundry to do.

We love using our points for cruises, too.

What a great idea for a thread!

I bought into DVC last summer - 50 points at OKW through resale. My sister has been a member for years, and I've stayed with them quite a few times. I've been to SSR (my first and only trip so far on my own points), BCV, AKV and Vero. This summer we're planning a family trip and hoping to get in at Hilton Head, but we're waitlisted for a 2BR and so far, it's not looking promising. So our backup plan is OKW.

I'm not sure I have a favorite just yet. AKV is beautiful - love the savannah and the decor, but the others have their advantages too.

Robin, ya'll haven't bought some Bay Lake points yet? Did they have a better deal on Grand Californian.

I'm hoping to stay there in Dec but not sure we can get it at the 7mth window. Will need to be the week before Christmas.

Nope, no BLT points. When the email came out about BLT, I called DH and said "NO" before he even got out a hello.

But he just bought the GC points last week. The numbers worked out that it was cheaper (or not much more) to buy points than to pay cash for the 1-bedroom for the few nights we're going to be staying there after the cruise next year. (We're gonna need the washer/dryer after 2 weeks on the ship.)

I've heard mixed reviews about the rooms at BLT, too. Some really like them, others say the rooms aren't that great. I guess we'll find out for ourselves in August.

Oh, and don't count yourself out of BLT. We just booked it last month, around 6 1/2 months out. That wasn't even the resort we were trying to get into, but they had rooms available.

I don't really have a desire to stay at BLT; maybe if the kids were smaller but they'd rather be close to Epcot & Studios so that works out great.

It's the Grand Califorian that we want to stay in but I may just use points for one of the hotels if I need too.

We bought at Saratoga in 2003 and took our first trip 2004. We bought directly from Disney as there was a good price incentive at the time. We almost added on last year on our cruise but it wasn't the right time... sigh:phht2:

All but 2 of our trips have been at SSR. Our kids are older and like the access to Downtown Disney. We stayed concierge at AKL before they added on to become part of DVC. It was awesome and we got to do the Sunrise Safari (available to concierge guests) which I highly recommend. Last summer we stayed at Kidani and I love those rooms too. Next summer we are hoping to stay in the Treehouse Villas as we are taking my cousin's step-son who said he "has to stay there!!"

We usually go once a year in August... hot, hot, hot...but I teach elementary school and we are off July and August and honestly, it is hot and muggy in NY too:yes: We've tried July but it is terribly crowded (lots of large tour groups with teenagers). When I finally retire many,many years from now, I plan to hit all the things I can't now....MNSSHP, MVMCP, Food and Wine, Flower and Garden - just to name a few.

We plan on hitting all the DVC's in WDW, Vero, and Hilton Head over the next few years. With my DH's new job, he will be racking up frequent flyer miles so hopefully we'll get to the GC and DL. Don't know if Hawaii is a possibility, but if I ever hit the lottery(:lol2:) I want to do all the overseas parks.

DVC was one of the best things we ever did:thumbsup:!

I'm sitting here at the table in a BWV 1-bedroom villa. It's wonderful! My DH really likes it. It is so much more space than the room we have over at POR (which we will go back to tomorrow). I said, 'so, does this make you want to buy more points?' ;)

I hope you are having a great time!!!!!!!!!!

Our first DVC trip we stayed in a studio one night then moved to a 1 bdrm. My DH loved the 1bdrm said he wanted one all the time. I said then we need more points and added more pretty quickly. :yes:

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? We bought at Saratoga Springs in 2005 (cause that is what was newly selling at the time) We've not yet stayed there!

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney.

- Where have you stayed on points? Beach Club, Old Key West, Beach Club, Boardwalk, Old Key West, Grand Californian, Beach Club, Wilderness Lodge, and heading to OKW next month. Did the 4 day cruise on partial points. Oh and a B&B in Vermont.

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Beach Club is by far our favorite!!!! Followed very closely by OKW!!!!

- any other thoughts? Can't wait to get back to the magic!

Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? AKV 250 points in Dec 2008
AKV 50 points in Dec 2009

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney

- Where have you stayed on points? SSR, Kidani, OKW

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Kidani...hands down! I do want to try out Beach Club though because its sooo close to Epcot ;)

- any other thoughts?
I have 300 points... and still want more...it's a sickness:whistle:

We are totally wiping out our points next year (and most of the following year)for an Adventures by Disney trip and for 2-3 nights at Disneyland Paris. Its killin me that I won't have any points left to just go to WDW... but that said, I don't know how we would have swung the ABD trip next year without DVC!

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? We bought BLT, My Mom bought Grand California. We just bought our points saturday June 19 before we left!

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney

- Where have you stayed on points? Not yet but we are planning on next may and possibly next october also.

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? I really liked from walking around Saratoga. Very nice!

- any other thoughts? SOOOOO excited to be a DVC member cant wait to use it!!:thumbsup:

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?

Our home resort is OKW. we bought in 2002

- Did you buy from Disney or resale?

Resale

- Where have you stayed on points?
OKW, BCV, BWV, VWL, AKV

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort?

Seems like my favorite resort is the one we are staying at. I love the theme at VWL and AKV but you can't beat the location of BCV or BWV

- any other thoughts?

We have been really happy with our decision to buy. You get to stay at awesome resorts for a fraction of the cash price. However I am still mad they took away our free valet parking

Fellow members... I'm trying to help Jan out a little. Can anyone help? Details here: http://mousescrappers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4752

Thanks,
Carol

We bought into Saratoga Springs in 2006 through Disney. We have 325 points.

We have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, Saratoga, Boardway, and Beach Club on points. We are staying at OKW, BLT, and Saratoga on our 12 night trip in 2 weeks.

My hubby loves Beach Club while I kind of lean to Boardwalk just for the location. Although we haven't stayed anywhere that we don't love yet. We're super excited to try OKW and BLT this time!

Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?

We bought resale at the Boardwalk in 2006, we took our first trip in 2007.



- Where have you stayed on points?


We have taken 2 trips on points, and have stayed at Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, Boardwalk again, and taken a cruise. My favorite is the Boardwalk.


- any other thoughts?

We just love DVC. We live in the UK, so we can't visit very often, but every other year we get to have the most amazing trip, staying in places we never would have dreamed about without DVC. Next year we are already planning another cruise and a Boardwalk stay on points, and a cash booking at OKW for some free dining.

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)? Disney's Boardwalk, 2000
Disney's Boardwalk, 2003
Disney's Boardwalk, 2007

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney

- Where have you stayed on points? We have stayed several times at the Boardwalk, twice at the Beach Club, 3 times at Wilderness Lodge, twice at The Grand California, 3 times at Saratoga Springs, once at Animal Kingdom Lodge, once at Vero Beach and we have taken 4 Disney Cruises...

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? The Boardwalk is our favorite.

- any other thoughts? Best investment that we made..We are able to take at least 2 trips a year to WDW usually 1 week in the summer and the second for 4-5 nights at Christmas...

Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?
BWV in 2000 and then more BWV and then more BWV and then some BCV.

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney for most, some from resale

- Where have you stayed on points? BWV, BCV, BWV, OKW, BWV, VWL, BWV, SSR, BWV, AKV, BWV (you get the picture..........)

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Ummm, geee, ya, let me think........

- any other thoughts? I think BWV should be bigger. :D

Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?
Saratoga Springs (2005) and then more Saratoga Springs (2006)

- Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney

- Where have you stayed on points? SSR, SSR, SSR, SSR, BCV, BWV, SSR,
BCV, BCV, BLT, BLT, BLT, and in January BLT and August SSR.

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort? Did not think BLT would be a favorite of
mine, but it really is. Do enjoy SSR too cause we love walking to DTD.

- any other thoughts? Want the economy to come around again so I can get
some more points!!!
__________________

We bought into VGC in 2009 with 200 points right after our second son was born directly from Disney. We have stayed at BLT and BCV this past November. We are planning VGC next November. We really love VGC but have yet to stay there. I really enjoyed BLT though. We are looking to add on another 200 points so we can equally distribute to our boys when they are old enough!

My original points (first 150) are at VWL, and I purchased them in 2001. Then I added 50 BCV points about a year or so later, followed by 150 SS points and then another 100 SS points. So I have 450 pts total scattered amongst 3 resorts.

I bought my points directly from Disney.

Using points, I have stayed at Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Animal Kingdom Kidani, Bay Lake Tower, and Vero Beach. My upcoming trip in two weeks will be in a pirate room at Caribbean Beach using points. I have also exchanged and gone to Tremblant, Canada, which was absolutely beautiful.

I don't know which is my favorite resort. They have so many different things to offer. I love the pool at BCV, but if I'm going to be in the Epcot resort area, I'd rather stay at Boardwalk because the rooms are bigger. I LOVE the decor in the AK-Kidani rooms and the whole atmosphere of VWL. Who can choose?!

Other thoughts... BEST decision I ever made. I could never afford these vacations as often as I go with being a DVC member!

We own at Boardwalk. We bought after-market in Oct. 2007. My brother bought at Bay Lake in Dec. 2009 while visiting with us (we all stayed there, it's awesome). We have 150 points, but I want more! I'm always buying more to take family and stay in a larger room. We stayed at Animal Kingdom in Nov- it was really nice. This Nov. I'm shooting for Bay Lake again, I have reservations for Boardwalk, but I'll be changing or getting on the wait list in April.

- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?
The Villas at Wilderness Lodge in 2010

- Did you buy from Disney or resale?
Resale

- Where have you stayed on points?
AKL

- Do you have a favorite DVC resort?
Not yet - I want to wait until we stay at our Home, LOL

Wow, lots of Mouseowners around here! We bought 225 points at Saratoga Springs Resort (December use year) and closed on 3/26/09! :) Dream come true for me! Yay! (Poor hubby :rolleyes:)

We bought resale from a lady in France. So far, we have stayed at Boardwalk Villas, Animal Kingdom Villas, Saratoga Springs, & Old Key West. We’ll be trying out Wilderness Lodge in October for a night. I sooooo want to stay in Hawaii next!! Lol! Not sure what my favorite is, but I’m pretty sure it will be Aulani! :) One day I will stay at Bay Lake if they ever have availability!

I really wanted to buy more points before they changed the rules about using resale points for cruises and Disney adventures. We’ll see what happens next with my addonitis! Lol!