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.
Congratulations on your retirement! And thank you for the update post otherwise I wouldn't have seen this thread at all. Hope you and your wife will continue to enjoy all your retirement adventures! I'm very envious and hope my husband and I can do the same when we retire (we got many many more years to go!).
