Your Greatest DVC Surprise?

[Hollymom1229]

So I'm sure we all have had some surprise over the course of our membership. It could be the attacks of add-on itis, a surprise love affair with a resort you didn't think you would like, a lasting friendship with other DVC members who travel the same time as you each each year. So what was your greatest DVC surprise?


Ours was loving OKW. When we bought in it was the one resort we had zero interest in staying at, and then we let a friend choose the resort based on pictures and she chose OKW. DH and I were not looking forward to it, the color scheme, the theming, we knew it was not going to be our thing. When we arrived we were gobsmacked by how much we loved the whole resort, but especially our gigantic 1 BDR villa which was larger than some apartments we've lived in.

 

[bwvBound]

Our biggest surprise were the Treehouse Villas! Not only that they were built -- but that they became part of our SSR "Home Resort" advantage.

 

[starbox]

Before we bought, we had not stayed at any of the resorts. Based on the photos in the Dream book, I thought BWV would be my favorite (actually asked about buying it direct) and was NOT anxious to try BCV (it was the last resort we tried). BCV ended up tied with AKV as my favorite resort. BWV is my least favorite. Oh well! Glad I did not buy where I thought I wanted to stay because I was WRONG.

 

[Pakey]

Biggest surprise so far has been VGC. I've owned at BCV since it opened and have stayed at almost every DVC resort. My least favorite WDW resort is Wilderness Lodge and the villas there. So since VGC and the Grand Californian hotel are similar in theming, I thought I would dislike it. However, I enjoyed it very much.

 

[Coach81]

1. OKW one bedroom size.
2. Treehouse Villas- size and elegance.
3. BLT- Theming, relation to MK, and overall resort.

And the biggest surprise- Just how much we have enjoyed our DVC..and why we are currently trying to add on more points!!!

 

[com_op_2000]

The vacations I never would of taken without DVC:
Doral in Miami (Played Blue Monster)
Seven DCLs only one on cash
Two RCI exchanges
Every year since '93, have stayed at a DVC in the WDW between Thanksgiving and Christmas
Multiple family vacations
Sharing the stays with family and friends

Before DVC, we had bought a timeshare and canceled cause we were lied too. We were excited and knew we would purchase as soon as we learnt of DVC cause we trusted Disney to it correctly.

 

[DebbieB]

My first DVC trip was before I was a member, March 1999. A friend of mine who was a member invited me to join her for a "ladies weekend" with some friends she met in an AOL chatroom. We stayed in an OKW 2 bedroom with 2 others. After a short time there, I knew I had to have this for my trips to WDW with my mom. We stayed at Beach Club in fall 1998 and I fell in love with the boardwalk area. But I loved the huge OKW rooms. I ended up buying BWV for the 11 month advantage and my mom and I started going twice a year, May at OKW and early December at BWV. She passed away in 2005 but we had great memories of our 11 DVC trips. The other great part was I met ladies who are still great friends, we still meet up at WDW and DL! Planning April at BWV, September at VGC and October at OKW!

 

[DVCconvert]

My bigest surprise has been the rate of increase of DVB non subsidized dues!

 

[kjd469]

Biggest happy surprise - how much I loved Grand Californian
Biggest unhappy surprise - how much I disliked BLT

 

[rentayenta]

Biggest surprise was that DH bought me DVC for our anniversary in 2009.

 

[Muhlenberg]

• How much I like Kidani.
• How much I vacationing with our adult kids!
• I'll agree with PP...how much I dislike BLT studios. We really like CR, and I THOUGHT I'd like the BLT studio. Maybe a 1 BR will be a better experience...someday when I have enough points to stay in one.
• How much we like the THV!

We have more resorts to experience, so this is a work-in-progress.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Our biggest surprise was much like the OPs....we were really surprised that we would fall in love with our new home SSR. When we bought into it, we thought we were not going to use it much, just use the points to go to other resorts. We were a little nervous about the size of the resort and how far away it was to any of the parks. Well we decided to add onto our January trip and wanted to stay at SSR to see what it was like. From the time we stepped onto the property we were blown away. We loved everything about it...the interior decor was wonderful (very classy), loved how it was close enough to DTD, we actually stayed in Congress Park so we had a view of DTD Westside (loved it), loved the pools, and loved how remote and quiet it felt. My family is so happy that we bought into this resort and I know that we will make many memories there.

Along with SSR, we were very surprised with the 1-bedroom villa. When we stayed at SSR, we decided to try out a 1-bedroom (always stay in Studios). Let's just say....Wow, again we were blown away with the size of it. I had mentioned this to a DVC CM and he said that if we liked SSR 1-bedrooms, then we will love the other resort's since they are much bigger in size then SSRs. I am thinking that we are going to have to add on soon so we can have enough points for them .

 

[delaneyc52]

DVC was an impulse buy for us So, my biggest surprise is really how much we loved BWV and really most of the DVC resorts without ever tiring of them. My unhappiness is that it was easy to book and wander in the early years, and now it is so crowded almost all the time and booking gets more and more difficult. But my love of DVC overcomes my whining.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I think our biggest surprise was that we wound up buying at BLT. When we looked at the early pictures online, we tought the decor was awful. However, when we went through the sample villas at SSR, we changed our minds. (Didn't like the studio sink configurations, but the decor was nicer than we'd given it credit for.)

After our first stay there we were sold on the place. I called our guide the day we got home and added on.

 

[Tigger031266]

Hawaii blew away every expectation. I expected great wdw resorts but to have my fav resort Be in Hawaii is a surprise. Aulani is amazing and we in dvc are lucky to have it. If u have not been there, it's worth the flight.

 

[Geomom]

When possible, we love to stay at BWV due to the closeness of Epcot and Hollywood Studios--I love being able to walk to the parks.

When we stayed last October, BWV and BCV weren't available, but OKW, SSR, and AKV were. Previously, we had stayed at OKW (our home resort and we enjoyed our 1 stay there) and SSR (hated it both times we stayed there). We decided to try AKV for the first time. Stayed at Kidani and absolutely loved it! Loved having a Savannah view room, loved that the community hall was inside the main building, loved all the cultural activities, and loved that the room service menu was food from Sanaa. We really did not expect to like it so much due to the distance from the other parks. So...now our first choice is still BWV or BCV due to the closeness of Epcot, but AKV will be on the list if those aren't available!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I think I was most surprised when BLT was announced and also that we bought 250 points there.

VGC are so nice and my favorite rooms of all.

The Grand Villa at BLT is awesome!

I was surprised when a cruise and a one week RCI trade was offered as an incentive to buy.

Some of the "little things" that have surprised me are...
Receiving special fastpasses and balloons at VGC check-in.
My son receiving a gift bag of toys as a birthday present whn we stayed at AKL concierge on his birthday.

Not a nice surprise...
The oceanview room we had at Aulani was VERY far away from the ocean. It was really a loud pool view with an ocean off in the distance. My only disappointment with DVC.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

My biggest surprise: Kidani!
I've loved views of the animals at Jambo but didn't like the villas, the decor (way too dark for my taste), the configuration of the villas. We only stayed there for a day or two to introduce new friends and family to the savanah's, didn't like it for longer stays at all.

Kidani changed all of that! The decor is lighter, the layout of the two beddroom works great. The addition of a third bathroom when you travel in parties of 6 or 7 as we do, is a blessing! Also, the master bath is spectacular!

I enjoy all of the DVC resorts but I love, OKW, BWV, Kidani, & SSR in that order!

 

[CMOORE185]

My greatest surprise was the firing of Jim Lewis and the debacle at the Hawaii resort. Not a good day for DVC.

 

[WDWMom]

My bigest surprise was that our DD has become the biggest Disneyoholic. Her first trip to WDW was just before she was three. She will be 21 soon and all she wants to do is go "home". Since she has been in college, we have not been able to take off during her spring break because we can not take her brothers out of high school.

So in May we are taking her to WDW for her 21st trip for her 21st birthday. All she asked was to stay at OKW, spend a whole day at MK, and finally get to go to Jellyrolls with Mom and Dad.

Our other surprise was how we feel that CM's remember us. We have the same last name as a former pro football player. He is actually from our hometown, too, but no relation. We do not have an easy last name either. The guys at Hanks ask the boys every trip if "we are related to him yet?" The CM's learned long ago that "Jay" was not their dad and there was no relation, but they keep teasing the boys even though they are now teens. Randy at bell services calls us by our first names. He may remember us or just able to see our names somehow, but he truly makes us feel like he remembers us from year to year.