My parents have been taking me to Disney World since I was just a toddler.  We stayed at the Grand Floridian majority of the time, and we were on the Gold Key Plan.  Eventually Disney stopped offering that plan.

My parents eventually bought into Disney Vacation Club.  We still vacationed on money for quite some time.  After they took me, wife, and daughter to Disney World, and we stayed in a DVC villa I saw what a savings this could be.

We toured some of the other Florida timeshare properties.  We were not happy.  We took one final journey into the DVC sales office.  After speaking with Kelly Jo we decided that we needed to think a bit more.  To our astonishment Kelly Jo didn’t pressure us one bit.  As a matter of fact she told us that she would give us some paperwork to look over, and if we were interested we could call, and do everything through the mail.

The other timeshare presentations were high pressured, and just as a note… the FREE food is absolutelly the worst.  (Hot Dogs, and soda are what we were given at the last timeshare presentation we went to prior to purchasing Disney Vacation Club (DVC).

We went home, and I did a lot of number crunching.  The wife, and I decided that this was definitelly an opportunity for us to take advantage of.  We initially purchased 150 points.  Later on we added 50 more.

Since we became DVC owners we have gone on more trips to Disney World.  We also used the points to go on Disney Cruise once, and also stayed at Vero Beach once.  All together we have hit the savings already.

We go to Old Key West majority of the time, and stay in a 1 bedroom villa.  On occassion we will stay at either the Boardwalk, or Saratoga Springs.  Granted we almost always vacation in Disney at Value times.

My daughter of 9 absolutelly loves going to Disney, as we don’t work on a schedule, or cram a lot into a day.  We have actually started a ritual of going to Disney during Easter.  My daughter loves the activities that the DVC resorts have, plus that is one of the only times that she has numerous days out of school.

The reason that the season means a lot is that Disney has structured the points values based on the time of year.  Major holidays are “Peak.”

By going as much as we do, we have found that purchasing an Annual Pass works best if you are going to vacation in Disney at least 2 times within the 364 days.  DVC members get a discount on their Annual passes.

We successfully get to see each of the parks during each trip.  Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios (Hollywood Studios).

Do your research if you are going to purchase a timeshare.  You may think that it looks good at first, but won’t really know until you have used it a few times.  You can see our unbiased reviews at either of our sites.

You can view more about Disney , Disney Cruising, and more at:

http://www.DisneyContestBlog.Com, or http://www.MyBlogs4U.Com.

Well, we recently made major changes to our upcoming vacation to Disney World.  Originally we were going to drive down with our camper, and stay in Fort Wilderness.  After we realized the cost we were going to incur we changed everything… Well, almost.

We are now driving down, and staying in a “Suite” just outside the main gates of Disney World.  Then we will be moving over to our timeshare in Disney.  Starting to prepare now is essential, as I have to make sure everything is ready.  Between getting the car luggage carrier out, and washed to making sure the car is running absolutelly perfect, there is a lot to do.  I know it seems a bit early, but it really isn’t, as work can get in the way, and I tend to forget to do things.  Some of the stuff is in my schedule to do by certain dates, so it may not be done yet.
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While DVC has come across as the most economical way to vacation in my mind, the economy is really chopping away at other peoples dreams of taking a vacation.  Here is News Update #4 on DVC.

1. Disney allows purchases of DVC to be financed.  Certain limitations are in place that I never actually knew.  Point purchases under 50 points are not eligible for financing through Disney, while other restrictions apply to other point purchases.

2. Disney had previously eliminated the 25 point add-on in the past.  Disney has fully reinstated the 25 point addon policy.

3. Disney had originally announced that they were going to require 200 point minimum purchase at Bay Lake Towers.  Disney has abandoned this.

4. While it doesn’t just pertain to DVC… Disney Magical Express has made a policy change that is supposed to take effect on March 30, 2009.  Baggage pickup will no longer be handled prior to 5am, or after 10pm.  Guests must bring their luggage to the Disney Magical Express counter with them at time of check-in.

5. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Disney has lost one of their DVC financing sources.  Full article here.

The previously scheduled operation of online check-in has been announced to be fully operational as of February 24, 2009.  Go to http://www.dvcmember.com for access.

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Have you ever wanted to see the deed to a Disney Vacation Club purchase?  Well, you can click HERE for the Orange County Comptroller site.  Just enter “Disney Vac” in the Grantor field, and enter your “Last name – First name” in the Grantee field.

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The following information is based on information that I gathered through several sites that I frequent.  While these dates are “Slated”, they may change if Disney has any reason to delay.

Bay Lake Towers…

Treehouse Villas…

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I am linking to the DVCNews.Com site, as they have posted the current DVC promotions on their site.  The promo page is HERE.  The promotion that Disney is running seems to be a nice one, but with the economy the way it is right now I can’t forsee many people buying.  The old promo of the DVC Visa, and money off, and 1st year without dues was probably the best promo I have seen yet.

If you are still on the fence about buying DVC, then look at DVCNews.Com breakeven analysis.

I am making a list of sites that have tools to help in planning Disney DVC vacations.  While there are many out there, I don’t have the resources to find all of them.  If you have one, then comment here, and I will make sure it gets into my listing.  Here are a few that I have.

http://web.nalu.net/~wneth/

http://www.mousemanager.com/index.html

http://www.tagrel.com/

http://www.dvcmember.com