Do you tell your friends/family you own DVC or keep it private?

[Lil Micky]

We're new to DVC but jumped in the deep end (bought VDH direct + AUL resale). We're not "Disney adults" (yet anyways) - I've only been to DLR 2x and never WDW. I just know when I like something and want to commit; my wife and I dated for 6 months, were engaged for less than a week, and are going on 10 years strong.

I have no problems talking about it - I told all of our friends and family but we also want to use our points to bring them on trips with us. I got a kick out of the initial reactions from people because I have a reputation for being intelligent and financially savvy, which doesn't line up very well with their mental models of a timeshare purchaser.

I still tell them they probably shouldn't buy a timeshare, definitely to never finance one, and about resale or renting for a more economical entry point. If you are considering buying, limit yourself to single-digit % of your net worth. Use things like Welcome Home/Magical Beginnings and CC points to bring down the cost of direct. Etc.

I also share my rationale behind DVC specifically and what separates it from the aggressive timeshare pitches and terrible contracts they've been warned about for decades by pop culture. DLR gets ~17.5M annual visitors and only has two deluxe branded resorts; one of them (VGC) is the only resort in any major program that I'm aware of where resale value exceeds the average cost of new direct sale points in the network. WDW gets ~58M and has twelve. No other hotel chain has that kind of draw or brand power, and that (IMO) is why DVC is the only major program to "only" lose half its value at resale.

Lastly, I don't give a !@$% what they think about my decision to commit to annual trips to Disney and Hawaii with my family. Haters gonna hate. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[waynesburg60]

Very few of our extended family and friends even really know what DVC is. People know we go to Disney a lot and once in a while we might say something like “we joined DVC, it lets us stay in villas that have kitchens” and that’s usually the end of it. On this forum where we live and breathe points, contracts, expiration dates, direct and resale, 7 months and 11 months, and so on, it’s easy to forget just how little “normal” people know, or care, about all of this.

I tell people we have DVC when asked "Where are you going over break." 90% don't have a clue other than its an expensive "disney thing". The other 10% who know, wish they were DVC'ers.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

People at work have asked me why we go to Disney without kids, which I counter with “Why would you go with kids?”

Our kids are adults and the grands are little, so it will be awhile before we bring them with us again.

 

[LadybugsMum]

People at work have asked me why we go to Disney without kids, which I counter with “Why would you go with kids?”

I love my kids and we have a great time when we go, but one of my best trips to WDW was with my college bestie sans kids.

 

[Chuck S]

Most everyone knows I own DVC, they always ask how I can afford to go to Disney twice a year. For a long time I thought I was the only person in town that was a DVC member (our city is about 30,000) but I now know of at least two more. One of them is the secretary of my CPA, which I just found out, since I had my taxes done. Another is a family member of my dentist. And I usually, but not always, take friends with me. My last trip and my next trip are solo, then I have friends going in February.

 

[RMDVC24]

My wife and I just became DVC members in January (resale-riff-raff ). My family looked at me like I had 2 heads when I was trying to explain why we were looking into a Disney timeshare. We decided it was best not to tell them just yet. Eventually we will let them know. My wife's sister and her husband are also Disney lovers, so they know and are thrilled for us!

 

[cheryl.UK]

Yeah, we have no kids and people always ask us why we go. I just say, name me one other place where you can guarantee that I will have a great time and it will be stress free and I'll go there. Until then, I'll stick with Disney. My vacation time is precious. I don't want to waste it.

 

[architectonic]

We do not voluntarily speak of being members to anyone. However, we also do not hide our love for Disney and share our trip experiences with friends and family. In other words, my wife is always sharing her photos. Over time, people figure out that we have a membership. Most thought we were crazy... UNTIL... they started having kids of their own.

Now we are in a different predicament. The family and relatives that once laughed at us for "wasting" money on a Disney timeshare, are also now the one's asking for a "hookup". Tides have turned so to speak. Our problem now is that everyone wants to come with us. Moreover, they all feel entitled and have this perspective that they should be able to use our membership as if it were their own. They want free rooms and seem to have forgotten that we spent a good penny upfront to enjoy what we have.

So that brings me to the question for everyone, how does everyone deal with family and friends (non-members) that insists on you booking trips for them? While we have a decent number of points, we use it all every year. We simply do not have enough to include another family without sacrificing the level of accommodation that my family have come to expect and enjoy. It is a really sad situation and not something that I take lightly. As much as I would like to share the membership, we do not have the points to really do so - but no one seems to either understand or care about that.

 

[CarolynFH]

So that brings me to the question for everyone, how does everyone deal with family and friends (non-members) that insists on you booking trips for them?

Wow, no one in our family would insist on our booking trips for them - when we take someone, it’s by our invitation only. In your case, I guess you just have to keep repeating “I’m sorry, we’ve used all our points this year and don’t have any extra.”

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

We do not voluntarily speak of being members to anyone. However, we also do not hide our love for Disney and share our trip experiences with friends and family. In other words, my wife is always sharing her photos. Over time, people figure out that we have a membership. Most thought we were crazy... UNTIL... they started having kids of their own.

Now we are in a different predicament. The family and relatives that once laughed at us for "wasting" money on a Disney timeshare, are also now the one's asking for a "hookup". Tides have turned so to speak. Our problem now is that everyone wants to come with us. Moreover, they all feel entitled and have this perspective that they should be able to use our membership as if it were their own. They want free rooms and seem to have forgotten that we spent a good penny upfront to enjoy what we have.

So that brings me to the question for everyone, how does everyone deal with family and friends (non-members) that insists on you booking trips for them? While we have a decent number of points, we use it all every year. We simply do not have enough to include another family without sacrificing the level of accommodation that my family have come to expect and enjoy. It is a really sad situation and not something that I take lightly. As much as I would like to share the membership, we do not have the points to really do so - but no one seems to either understand or care about that.

I have never had someone be that direct in asking to use our points...but if it ever happened I would just say that while we don't have enough to help with accommodations, I would be happy to assist with other aspects of WDW planning. Maybe not as valuable in their eyes but still leading with generosity - just of a different kind.

 

[jodifla]

We have owned for 28 years.... everybody knows, and many many people have been with us.

 

[hockeydad21]

My family and friends know how Disney obsessed I am and I am proud about it!

Since I retired from full time teaching, I will spend 4 nights every month from Dec to March at WDW.

I could not do that without DVC!

That's incredible! Good for you, and congrats on retirement.

As far as the original question - our parents and siblings know since we've planned some past and future trips with them. Most of our friends don't know, but we really don't talk about it. When they ask how our trip was, we tell them how great it was and what we did, but never really that we're DVC owners. Afterall, it is just a room to stay in

The one time I did proactively bring up that we were members was when our neighbor told me they were going back to Disney World (their 3rd trip in 3 years paying cash rates for 1 and 2 bedroom deluxe villas). Once I learned that, I had to speak up and at least make them aware of DVC and that they should look into it if they plan to keep going back. For the sake of looking normal, I have restrained myself from sending my PowerPoint presentation and Excel document used in convincing my wife we should purchase DVC.

 

[Chuck S]

For the sake of looking normal, I have restrained myself from sending my PowerPoint presentation and Excel document used in convincing my wife we should purchase DVC.

Normal is over-rated.

 

[pinkxray]

That's incredible! Good for you, and congrats on retirement.

As far as the original question - our parents and siblings know since we've planned some past and future trips with them. Most of our friends don't know, but we really don't talk about it. When they ask how our trip was, we tell them how great it was and what we did, but never really that we're DVC owners. Afterall, it is just a room to stay in

The one time I did proactively bring up that we were members was when our neighbor told me they were going back to Disney World (their 3rd trip in 3 years paying cash rates for 1 and 2 bedroom deluxe villas). Once I learned that, I had to speak up and at least make them aware of DVC and that they should look into it if they plan to keep going back. For the sake of looking normal, I have restrained myself from sending my PowerPoint presentation and Excel document used in convincing my wife we should purchase DVC.

Dh has a coworker that goes to Disney every year. Every time we get back from Disney, his coworker tells him that his family keeps considering DVC. He asks Dh multiple questions. Dh knows next to nothing about dvc, he is just along for the trips. He asked me to put together so beginner info for his coworker. I put together 4 pages of info including resale vs direct, cost of resorts, dues, expiration dates, list of websites of where to begin and YouTubers that I found helpful when researching. Pretty sure the guy thought I was nuts, but that was my condensed, basic as can be version. He still didn’t buy and he still goes every year.

 

[pinkxray]

I don’t randomly tell people but I don’t hide it either. My close group of coworkers know but one of them owns a timeshare (Wyndham bonnet creek) so she asks about it. They know because they ask how/why I go so often. None of them care about Disney so I never say any besides that. I just recently got 2 new coworkers who just started going to Disney with their young kids. They both have aunt with dvc so they have asked me sometimes which resorts are dvc.

I do have a dvc magnet on my car and sometime use my dvc mug at work. I put the magic on my 10 year old car this summer bc I chose 150 direct points at VGF vs getting a new car this year. So when all my car workers get in there brand new cars and I get in my perfectly fine 10 year old car I see my dvc magnet and am happy with my choice.

My DH is not a Disney person. He knows almost nothing about DVC, which resorts we have, anything. He seems to be the person that gets the most people to get talking to him about. Two times on the plane ride there he has sat next to DVC members who chatted him up about Disney and DVC.

He took DS to boy scouts a few months ago and one of the dads brought up Disney. I guess they had a conversation about dvc and DH has finally learned enough that he said it was perfectly natural to discuss all this. The guy owns SSR, 180 pts resale. Dh knew to say we own SSR and his crazy wife just had us purchase VGF direct to take advantage of the good incentives last summer. DH forgot how many points. He asked me how many points we have. 310pts. He told me that is nuts.

 

[RD-SOX]

I am a dental hygienist in NH and I am amazed how many patients I see that are DVC members, I love chatting about WDW and DVC. It makes them more comfortable with the appointment. When they ask, I am pretty forthcoming and saying we have 3 contracts. Usually they are like WOW, but we just recently added on so its not like we always had 3. Both my hubby and I are in our 50's and I have some young 20 something co-workers that think I'm rich because I go so often, none of their business what I do with my money, now that my kids are grown we spend it on ourselves, lol, some of them say "why do you go to Disney so much?" So my response is "because I like it" then I counter with " why do you Door Dash an $18 coffee everyday at work when I make mine for pennies at home?' they are left speechless and stop judging after that.