Retirement changes everything.

[tom1944]

LOL I’m from Jackson, by Great Adventure and my wife is from Somers Point and Ocean City

I live in Jackson also
My family has summer homes in Avalon and Cape May

 

[Maria_Ohana]

As you get older, you start to think things differently. I retired in April and my wife will retire some time next year. We have been DVC owners for many years and our family has enjoyed the many,many, many trips we have taken and all the fun and memories we have made over the years. Our kids, our Grandson, our step Grandkids (along with extended family members) and now our Great Grandson who is 23 months have all been introduced to Disney. It was time for us to rethink the points we have and also take into consideration the year they expire.

One of my wife’s favorite things is to have a family vacation where everyone is together. This means everything to her. We have one every year, either at Disney World, Hawaii in a Grand Villa (and we have had our share of some awesome Grand Villas) or a large beach house in southern California or New Jersey where we are from, or even a large mountain home in the winter for sking.

Now as retirement comes into play points mean everything. As retirees we will be able to get away anytime we choose, so we need points for that and still wanting to take the whole clan on a fun family vacation to Disney.

Selling a large amount of points at Boardwalk which expires in 2042 (who knew that its right around the corner) and getting points in a resort that will go much further makes sense to us now. Old Key West has the cheapest Grand Villas and could be used for the family vacation every so many years. Our thoughts are on some other contracts that don’t expire until 2057 or later. While my wife and I know we will most likely not be around at that time, our great grandchilden will. We would like them to experience the joy past generations of their family have had.

Looking back many years ago when we purchased our first DVC contract, it was alot of money for what people called a time share. We were concerned whether we were doing the right thing. Well now years, and a few DVC contracts later we know we would never have been able to do the things we’ve done if not for those purchases. This was one of the best investments ever.

While we love the Boardwalk, it makes much more sense for us to be able to purchase more points at a resort that not only uses less points but also expires in a much later year. We do own Animal Kingdom and that expires 2057.

At the age of 18 months, we treated our Great Grandson along with his parents to a 4 day trip in Disneyland (4 hour drive) and he still talks about meeting Mickey and Donald Duck. Can’t put a price on that. So we now have a 4 day trip back to Disneyland in September for his 2nd birthday party.

What’s so special is enjoying the fun and excitement we experience watching the smiles on our kids faces. Same for our grandsons face and now not only do we get to see the joy in our Great Grandson’s face, but we get to see the excitement in his father’s face when he sees his son enjoying the things he had when he was a kid. Nothing better than that!

We took our Grandson to Disney World so many times that one time when he was about 9 years old we said to him “guess where we are going” he said “where?” We said “we’re going to Disney World” his response was “AGAIN?” We still laugh about that.

Changes happen, whether its just the way life goes or ones you make. Disney is not the same as it was 20 years ago. But neither is this world. Those at retirement age can attest to that.

There have been many changes in the parks some good and some not so…but it is still the Happiest Place On Earth when you look thru the eyes of your loved ones. Keeping the investment that we had made many years ago going for as long as we can is important to us. So in closing, here’s to many more years to come as we plan our next chapter of Disney experiences. Enjoy the times you have, it goes quicker than you think. My wife and I were in our 20’s yesterday, we just have to stop blinking. Thanks for reading.

Thank you for sharing this. We are still about 10 yrs away from retirement, my husband and I were thinking what do we do when we retire, or even 10 yrs after retirement. Your posts puts a better perspective in what we want to do with our points. Although we only have 450 points, adding more to be able to share the magic with others is priceless. We hope that someday we will have grandkids to take to Disney and see it thru their eyes. In the meantime, we'll watch our adult boys for now until they find a partner to share the magic.

 

[Maria_Ohana]

We are also mid 60s, just retired and from NJ and just purchased DVC

Glad to hear you bought at your age. This solidifies that we can add more points LOL.

 

[Maria_Ohana]

Congratulations on your successful retirement! I'm planning for retirement in 2033, and DVC is going to be a big part of it. Maybe we'll be neighbors!

We're planning on retiring around 2033-2034!!!

 

[Maria_Ohana]

Save what ever you can, time goes so fast 10 years will be here before you know it. It took my wife and I a long time to realize that. But when the market crashed in 08-09 we learned a hard lesson. So since then when ever we wanted to buy something we asked ourselves “do we want it? Or do we need it.” We had lost so much in that crash but we knew we had to do what ever it took to be able to retire comfortably. If you look in your closet and see clothes still with their tags on, shoes never worn, a new car just because you needed tires on the old one…all those expences means less for retirement. We have season passes at DL and WDW, We have a credit card that affords us a free companion pass for airfare. So the rest was learning 12 years ago if we don’t need it we don’t get it. We now get to savor the fruits of our labor and we never had to suffer doing it.

Thanks for the reminder. We are frugal, and trying to balance experiences while we are still young (aka 51 yrs young LOL). I will pass up on those new shoes I just saw for $85. I just had my husband pick up a RTIC cooler on FB market place to use for our day trips since I always pack us lunches/snacks. There are cheaper coolers, but they don't hold the ice/cold. $65 on FB marketplace vs $102 online brand new.

 

[Nickylv]

I live in Jackson also
My family has summer homes in Avalon and Cape May

My wife and I opened the casinos in AC 1979. Left NJ and moved to Las Vegas and have been here for 27 years. Can’t beat the weather. No snow and light sweater winters. No windsheld scrapers ever needed. Have a vacation home in Hilton Head Island.

 

[tom1944]

My wife and I opened the casinos in AC 1979. Left NJ and moved to Las Vegas and have been here for 27 years. Can’t beat the weather. No snow and light sweater winters. No windsheld scrapers ever needed. Have a vacation home in Hilton Head Island.

I thought you were still in Jackson.

My college roommate was from Jackson. You were in town when they had the powerhouse wrestling teams.

 

[Nickylv]

I thought you were still in Jackson.

My college roommate was from Jackson. You were in town when they had the powerhouse wrestling teams.

No I left, my mother still lives in Jackson. She is in her 90’s and still live in our childhood home. I come home a few times a year since my mom can’t travel anymore. I still have many childhood friends that I still stay in contact with and we get together when ever I either come to town or they come out to Vegas. When the casinos opened we moved to Seaville in uppertownship where we raised our kids, both graduating from Ocean City High, right on the beach. We went on to upstate New York so my wife could get her Masters at Syracuse University and as soon as she graduated we left the snow and moved to Henderson which is a town next to Las Vegas, all our kids and some family members followed us out here and we have been here since. Its been great to us here.

 

[Sammie]

The only thing about OKW that I do not like is the lack of elevators except for 3 buildings. As we age we are looking at SSR due to that.

 

[Nickylv]

We requested an elevator building but they did not have one available but we did get a first floor one bedroom that was really nice so it worked out okay.

 

[mvenez]

We are also mid 60s, just retired and from NJ and just purchased DVC

Cool! Congrats and welcome home!

 

[tom1944]

No I left, my mother still lives in Jackson. She is in her 90’s and still live in our childhood home. I come home a few times a year since my mom can’t travel anymore. I still have many childhood friends that I still stay in contact with and we get together when ever I either come to town or they come out to Vegas. When the casinos opened we moved to Seaville in uppertownship where we raised our kids, both graduating from Ocean City High, right on the beach. We went on to upstate New York so my wife could get her Masters at Syracuse University and as soon as she graduated we left the snow and moved to Henderson which is a town next to Las Vegas, all our kids and some family members followed us out here and we have been here since. Its been great to us here.

There is a proposal to build a huge hotel next to Ocean City High School right at the end of the boardwalk

 

[smrice95]

Loved reading everyone's post. We bought into DVC after many, many years. Never looked back. The main thought was for our future Gbabies. We want to experience Disney with them! Neither of our kids are in serious relationships, but I remind them when they start dating someone that they need to get rid of them if they are not Disney people! LOL! In seriousness, we currently go with my mom and sometimes my dad. My nephew and his girlfriend comes up and joins us. We have a packed 2 bedroom on many nights. Disney with extended family is great. Just the other day my husband was asking me about our first year of retirement (in 3 years!) When do we want to go to Disney and do we want to do our first cruise? Planning is lots of fun and I look forward to the two of us trips and huge family ones. I just wish I had the opportunity to buy more points right now with the low prices. I won't until college loans are paid! Enjoy family!

 

[HIRyeDVC]

As you get older, you start to think things differently. I retired in April and my wife will retire some time next year. We have been DVC owners for many years and our family has enjoyed the many,many, many trips we have taken and all the fun and memories we have made over the years. Our kids, our Grandson, our step Grandkids (along with extended family members) and now our Great Grandson who is 23 months have all been introduced to Disney. It was time for us to rethink the points we have and also take into consideration the year they expire.

One of my wife’s favorite things is to have a family vacation where everyone is together. This means everything to her. We have one every year, either at Disney World, Hawaii in a Grand Villa (and we have had our share of some awesome Grand Villas) or a large beach house in southern California or New Jersey where we are from, or even a large mountain home in the winter for sking.

Now as retirement comes into play points mean everything. As retirees we will be able to get away anytime we choose, so we need points for that and still wanting to take the whole clan on a fun family vacation to Disney.

Selling a large amount of points at Boardwalk which expires in 2042 (who knew that its right around the corner) and getting points in a resort that will go much further makes sense to us now. Old Key West has the cheapest Grand Villas and could be used for the family vacation every so many years. Our thoughts are on some other contracts that don’t expire until 2057 or later. While my wife and I know we will most likely not be around at that time, our great grandchilden will. We would like them to experience the joy past generations of their family have had.

Looking back many years ago when we purchased our first DVC contract, it was alot of money for what people called a time share. We were concerned whether we were doing the right thing. Well now years, and a few DVC contracts later we know we would never have been able to do the things we’ve done if not for those purchases. This was one of the best investments ever.

While we love the Boardwalk, it makes much more sense for us to be able to purchase more points at a resort that not only uses less points but also expires in a much later year. We do own Animal Kingdom and that expires 2057.

At the age of 18 months, we treated our Great Grandson along with his parents to a 4 day trip in Disneyland (4 hour drive) and he still talks about meeting Mickey and Donald Duck. Can’t put a price on that. So we now have a 4 day trip back to Disneyland in September for his 2nd birthday party.

What’s so special is enjoying the fun and excitement we experience watching the smiles on our kids faces. Same for our grandsons face and now not only do we get to see the joy in our Great Grandson’s face, but we get to see the excitement in his father’s face when he sees his son enjoying the things he had when he was a kid. Nothing better than that!

We took our Grandson to Disney World so many times that one time when he was about 9 years old we said to him “guess where we are going” he said “where?” We said “we’re going to Disney World” his response was “AGAIN?” We still laugh about that.

Changes happen, whether its just the way life goes or ones you make. Disney is not the same as it was 20 years ago. But neither is this world. Those at retirement age can attest to that.

There have been many changes in the parks some good and some not so…but it is still the Happiest Place On Earth when you look thru the eyes of your loved ones. Keeping the investment that we had made many years ago going for as long as we can is important to us. So in closing, here’s to many more years to come as we plan our next chapter of Disney experiences. Enjoy the times you have, it goes quicker than you think. My wife and I were in our 20’s yesterday, we just have to stop blinking. Thanks for reading.

OMG. This was the most beautiful post I've ever read on these boards. Thank you for that amazing testimony of your life with DVC. I only got into DVC a couple of years ago. I'm in my mid 40's. None of my contracts expire until at least 2060. I hope to be in your shoes one day. Here's to your family and good health going forward!

 

[vdangelo239]

As you get older, you start to think things differently. I retired in April and my wife will retire some time next year. We have been DVC owners for many years and our family has enjoyed the many,many, many trips we have taken and all the fun and memories we have made over the years. Our kids, our Grandson, our step Grandkids (along with extended family members) and now our Great Grandson who is 23 months have all been introduced to Disney. It was time for us to rethink the points we have and also take into consideration the year they expire.

One of my wife’s favorite things is to have a family vacation where everyone is together. This means everything to her. We have one every year, either at Disney World, Hawaii in a Grand Villa (and we have had our share of some awesome Grand Villas) or a large beach house in southern California or New Jersey where we are from, or even a large mountain home in the winter for sking.

Now as retirement comes into play points mean everything. As retirees we will be able to get away anytime we choose, so we need points for that and still wanting to take the whole clan on a fun family vacation to Disney.

Selling a large amount of points at Boardwalk which expires in 2042 (who knew that its right around the corner) and getting points in a resort that will go much further makes sense to us now. Old Key West has the cheapest Grand Villas and could be used for the family vacation every so many years. Our thoughts are on some other contracts that don’t expire until 2057 or later. While my wife and I know we will most likely not be around at that time, our great grandchilden will. We would like them to experience the joy past generations of their family have had.

Looking back many years ago when we purchased our first DVC contract, it was alot of money for what people called a time share. We were concerned whether we were doing the right thing. Well now years, and a few DVC contracts later we know we would never have been able to do the things we’ve done if not for those purchases. This was one of the best investments ever.

While we love the Boardwalk, it makes much more sense for us to be able to purchase more points at a resort that not only uses less points but also expires in a much later year. We do own Animal Kingdom and that expires 2057.

At the age of 18 months, we treated our Great Grandson along with his parents to a 4 day trip in Disneyland (4 hour drive) and he still talks about meeting Mickey and Donald Duck. Can’t put a price on that. So we now have a 4 day trip back to Disneyland in September for his 2nd birthday party.

What’s so special is enjoying the fun and excitement we experience watching the smiles on our kids faces. Same for our grandsons face and now not only do we get to see the joy in our Great Grandson’s face, but we get to see the excitement in his father’s face when he sees his son enjoying the things he had when he was a kid. Nothing better than that!

We took our Grandson to Disney World so many times that one time when he was about 9 years old we said to him “guess where we are going” he said “where?” We said “we’re going to Disney World” his response was “AGAIN?” We still laugh about that.

Changes happen, whether its just the way life goes or ones you make. Disney is not the same as it was 20 years ago. But neither is this world. Those at retirement age can attest to that.

There have been many changes in the parks some good and some not so…but it is still the Happiest Place On Earth when you look thru the eyes of your loved ones. Keeping the investment that we had made many years ago going for as long as we can is important to us. So in closing, here’s to many more years to come as we plan our next chapter of Disney experiences. Enjoy the times you have, it goes quicker than you think. My wife and I were in our 20’s yesterday, we just have to stop blinking. Thanks for reading.

What a lovely read thank you for sharing!

 

[Nickylv]

There is a proposal to build a huge hotel next to Ocean City High School right at the end of the boardwalk

That’s too bad, it’s so over crowded in the summer. We used to go back every year and rent a beach house but it got so much more crowded, if that’s even possible, we stopped coming. We now go to our vacation home in Hilton Head Island and while we are there we drive to St. Augustine FL. Stay for a week there and then drive to Disney and stay there. Fly home from Orlando Airport. Usually go April and May, September and October and part of the month of December. Have to be back in Henderson to spend Christmas with our family.

 

[Maria_Ohana]

The only thing about OKW that I do not like is the lack of elevators except for 3 buildings. As we age we are looking at SSR due to that.

As much as I love the room sizes and points chart at OKW, the lack of elevator has prevented us from adding there. I agree as we get older, elevators are necessary. Even carrying a carry on luggage can be challenge going up 2-3 flights.

 

[Nickylv]

OMG. This was the most beautiful post I've ever read on these boards. Thank you for that amazing testimony of your life with DVC. I only got into DVC a couple of years ago. I'm in my mid 40's. None of my contracts expire until at least 2060. I hope to be in your shoes one day. Here's to your family and good health going forward!

Thank you for the well wishes and for taking time out of your day to read my post.

 

[Nickylv]

Congratulations! My situation is similar in many respects in that we are from New Jersey, my wife just retired and I plan to in the next year so. One big difference is that we just became DVC members (CCV) this year but we plan to use our DVC membership to build some great memories for my kids and grand children. Our first big family trip is coming up in January and I'm really looking forward to "watching the smiles on the kids faces" as you enjoyed over the years.

My wife and I originally had some second thoughts about buying into DVC in our mid-60s but those thoughts have vanished. Your post and remembrances just reinforced our decision.

ENJOY!

Did you still go in January, would love to hear about it.

 

[mvenez]

Did you still go in January, would love to hear about it.

Yep - had a great 8-day stay at CCV in late January. We took our 3 kids and 5 grand-kids and had a blast. We had two 2-br villas and the room assignor was able to fill our room requests. They put us right across the hall from each other and so the little ones were able to run right across the hall to go from room to room. It was so nice that I'm in the middle of getting some more points so that we don't have too long a wait to do it again. Thanks for asking!