One of the most precious memories of my childhood was my first trip to Walt Disney World in the summer of 1990. As the son of Los Angeles natives, I grew up going to Disneyland, but, to me, that was nothing compared to being able to visit three parks and surround myself in the world of the Mouse for a whole week. I had to be the luckiest kid on earth and could not wait to go back.
As often happens, life did not work out that way. I never did go back to Disney World, and the sole outlet for my Disney-ness was our vast VHS collection of movies and the occasional collectible that mom would order from a magazine–the Disney lifestyle at home!
In 2006 I took the leap and got married to my lovely bride. While we both are often called “mature” for our age due to how we carry ourselves in public, we are really both two goofball kids at heart. When planning our honeymoon, the thought of a cruise, the beach, or any other typical honeymoon bored us. So I pitched the thought of Walt Disney World, and she loved it!
After that trip we took our kids twice—each time we ran around the parks like maniacs, stressed that we would never be able to afford to come back. We all loved the trips and on the drives home to Virginia would always talk about the next time we would go, but we never knew when that would happen.
Well, one day I decided I was going to make sure we would have plenty of chances to go back. I did not want my kids to dream about going back to our happy place and then have it never happen for them.
So one Saturday morning in April, 2009, I took matters into my own hands. Sitting on the floor of our bedroom I called the Disney Vacation Club guide, who had given us a tour the previous January. I wanted to buy in and was ready to sign on the dotted line ASAP. I was so anxious I kept calling and leaving multiple messages until he called us back!
By the end of the day we were not only DVC members, but we also had our first reservation secured. A few weeks later we were staying at the Boardwalk in a one bedroom and taking our boys to Star Wars weekend. We also booked one night in a savanna view studio at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. By the end of the trip we knew we had made the right decision for our family. Our boys came home as excited about the accommodations as they were about the parks!
Since that initial trip we’ve gone several more times and even added on to our initial contract. Our family firmly bought into the magic that is Disney World and DVC. Now one of my passions in life is to help people decide if DVC is right for them and to show them how they can make the most of their membership.
Contributed by: Rob (NDD#107) is the DDL Disney Vacation Club Blogger. He is also the creator of Disney Family Man.
Rob lives in Virginia and works in the maritime industry. His first exposure to Disney was from hismother, a Disney nut herself, who took advantage of any opportunity to bring Disney into their home. Rob began visiting the parks as a young child going to Disneyland almost every year. At the age of 10 his family took their first visit to Disney World and he fell in love. Since taking his lovely wife on their honeymoon to Disney World in 2006, Rob and his family have returned to a Disney park every year (usually multiple times!). His family has been DVC members since 2009 at Animal Kingdom Villas and 2010 at Saratoga Springs.
Rob is the founder of http://www.disneyfamilyman.com and is passionate about helping people maximize their Disney experiences.
I’ve gotta say I love talking about our DVC membership with friends, too. We’ve just planned a trip this September with SEVEN of our closest friends, and when we told them the hotel wouldn’t cost a dime (and especially when we SHOWED them BLT), the gasps around the room created a vacuum in which disbelief remains firmly suspended.
We each grew up visiting a bit more regularly, but shared the instant feeling that WDW was our home away from home and that we had to secure a guarantee of trips for years to come — DVC is a great solution for it (at least until we can buy into Golden Oak…)!
Also: great first post! Look forward to reading more.
Thanks John, looking forward to having a great discussion on here with current DVC members and those looking in to joining.
Rob,
As they say “Welcome Home” to the DVC family. I know our 1st trip in 2005 I was afraid it would be that our 1st and last, but after that trip we started to plan another one in 2006 and we made a point to talk to a DVC rep do the tour and I have to tell you we purchased in we have no regrets and have even added on a couple times and I have to tell you we use or point when ever we can,2 weeks visits, 3 day w/end get aways. If this was out of pocket we would not be able to afford the accomindations. Oh we are also from Va. 🙂