End of an Era (Our Family's DVC Trips)

[Sammie]

Believe me if you have enough points for a Grand Villa and tell your kids when they are teens; they can bring a friend, you will have no trouble with them making time to go.

Before long you will have grandkids, time will fly by as they get older.

Keep the points, the memories they provide are priceless.

 

[edk35]

I'd say this is time to put your foot down and tell your daughters that family fun comes first and cheerleading, softball, basketball, guitar practice, whatever will just have to take a back burner at least twice a year.

We have a 13 yr old and we manage at least twice a year - early June (right after school is out) and Thanksgiving.

Don't give it up quite so quickly. See what you can work out first. (Unless you need the funds to buy those athletic shoes and cheerleading uniforms. )

By the way, we're checking into BCV two weeks from today.

I AGREE TOO..DON'T GIVE UP TOO EASILY. My kids are 16, daughter dances 5 days a week year round. My son is 13 and plays sports year round and my youngest is 8 and plays two seasons a year. WE ARE BRAND NEW TO DVC. I wish we would have done it much earlier....years ago. My kids love Disney and we have managed to fit in trips every year the past few years and now we are going three times this year...two being DVC members. It is so easy to get caught up in the KID'S ACTIVITIES and let other things take the back burner but DISNEY IS PART OF OUR FAMILY and we are going to keep on going for as long as we can. Good Luck with your choice. I hope YOU STAY!!!

 

[minster22]

Just another experience here with an "older child"....My son was 8 years old the first time we went to WDW in 1986. I was a single Mom then and believe me it was a struggle to even take a WDW vacation.....we stayed off-site at a Best Western. Since then I married and with financial circumstances different and a DH who supports my WDW addiction, I have gone to WDW many times. My now 28 yr old son ( and long-time girl-friend) love coming with us, even more so than when he was a little guy!!!They live several hundred miles from us so the uninterrupted time of a vacation at WDW together is truly priceless!!

 

[Liljam]

I had been to WDW over 20 times by the time I was 12 years old. When I turned 13, I began snubbing my nose at family vacations, and I chose to stay with my Grandma at home while my family continued to go to WDW and other places. I was captain of the cheerleading team and I hated to miss practice, plus I started having boyfriends and preferred movie night to WDW. The minute I drove over the Florida line last month, I cried because of my memories and was thankful to be going back to what molded me so much as a child.

Moral of the story is... Don't give it up. One day your teens will be adults too and they will probably have a memory or two of these trips. I didn't have to think twice about DVC and when I told my mom that I wouldn't ever charge her & dad rent to go along she was tickled pink. That's the least I could do for them. If you have a trustworthy family member, leave the kids at home so you can still have a week of r & r! Good luck with whatever you decide too!

 

[rocketriter]

I don't know how many points you have. We have just enough points to go for 1 week every other year in a 2-bedroom, which should sustain us indefinitely without pushing our kids out of shape. I can see how 4 weeks every year would conflict with their other activities. Perhaps you can scale back rather than turning off the tap completely.

 

[mbhoxsie]

I would say keep the contracts for now... Even if you can't take the kids exactly when you want to go, there will come a time when activities slow down and you will wish you could go...

Or just take those points every so often, trade them out to Concierge or World Passport, and you and your spouse go on some nice trips for two...

 

[theostwalts]

Thanks, everyone! The advice is great!

We currently have three contracts. Maybe we should just either sell one or two of them or give some points away for a couple of years.

It really isn't a financial issue. It's much more of a reflection of the changing needs of the kids. Maybe an adjustment rather than a wholesale change is what is needed, though...

One of the issues for me is that the longer trips were very cost-effective. Staying 12 days (Sunday to a week from Friday) was just the right amount of time, and it really maximized the annual passes. We've just recently started to fly, and that certainly adds some expense (although the larger inconvenience is that it is costly to make any changes). If we took shorter trips, I'm sure that we would fly (we live in Minnesota). At first glance, it seems more rushed to fly and take a vacation for 5 nights or so. Maybe I'll just HAVE to adjust!

That's a great idea. And I will be more that happy to accept any points that you want to give away. No need to thank me for being the first one to step up and take one for the team.......always willing to do my part....LOL

Just kidding, hope you are able to work things out so you can continue to enjoy making magical memories with your family. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best.

 

[eporter66]

I knew it would end someday, but hoped it would be when they buried me...

My DD 12 and DD 9 are now both so busy with school, sports, and activities that it has become too hard for us to find time to get to WDW. We have been going to WDW the last 10+ years for on average of two weeks per trip twice per year (total of 4 weeks per year). With annual passes, it worked GREAT, although I personally felt like I should have been allowed to vote in Florida elections...

But this is our last trip for awhile this upcoming June. It simply has become much too difficult to schedule now that the girls are so busy.

We bought DVC with the hopes of doing a family vacation once a year or once every other year. Our daughter is only three (although she has made two trips to WDW already). I hope that we can always work something out -figuring if we bank points we can just stay in a bigger room if we can only go every other year. But seeing how busy things get with people, we have wondered if eventually DVC will not work. I will try to keep it as long as I can - figuring we could always do a guys vacation / girls vacation where I can go with some friends or the wife could. I hope we can always make it work.

DVC has been great to us so far - and it sounds like it has for you as well.

E