History Part I

Now that you've learned a little about us, how did we come to learn about Disney Vacation Club (DVC), and decide it was right for us? That question has a very complex and long history.

2000 - First Knowledge Of Disney Vacation Club
Sad to say, I heard about DVC around 2000. A co-worker/friend and fellow WDW fan told me all about it. We talked briefly about going in together on a membership that we could take turns using. After a few fleeting discussions and number-crunching (the points minimum was considerably higher then), we decided it was too expensive, and we soon forgot about DVC entirely.

2005 - DVC Resurfaces
In early 2005, as I was the beginning stages of planning a December 2005 vacation at WDW, I saw an ad for DVC on one of Disney's web sites. Out of curiosity, I requested more information, and soon had a DVD and the beautiful hardbound Magic book in hand. Betty, one of the DVC guides, called and spoke to me at length about DVC. She was very friendly and professional, and there was no pressure whatsoever.

Freddie and I watched the DVD, read through the book, looked over points charts and decided we REALLY liked the Beach Club Villas, but it was more than we wanted to spend. We also liked the Boardwalk Villas because of its proximity to Epcot, the Boardwalk Area, and I was particularly excited about watching movies in the pool. We knew we would have to buy Boardwalk as a resale since Saratoga Springs was the only DVC resort being sold at that time.

I was also trying really hard to lose weight, so I asked Freddie if we could use the DVC purchase as an incentive for my weight loss. If I could lose 50 pounds, we would buy it. He agreed. To inspire myself, I printed out photos of the Boardwalk Villas and posted them in various places to remind me to be "good". :o) I lost some weight, but not the 50 pounds I wanted.

...DVC Recedes Again
As the months passed, DVC started to seem less than ideal. We are a family of four, but my mom had gone to WDW with us for at least the last four trips. We didn't want to prevent her from going with us, and we also couldn't afford enough points for a room that would accomondate five.

Besides my mom, the December 2005 trip has also included two additional family members. We rented a vacation home on that trip -- a beautiful four bedroom, 2100 square foot home in the Windsor Palms community. While the drive to and from the Disney property wasn't bad, we definitely missed being on-site.

Having the extra space and privacy for seven people, however, pushed DVC further from our thoughts. Surely buying a fixed number of points in a DVC membership would limit our flexibility and make it hard to go with a larger group in the future (aka The Big Family Vacation Fantasy).