I never thought I would be starting a thread like this.

In fact, even a week ago, I was firmly in the “the direct prices are crazy — resale is the only logical option” camp. Something shifted recently though, and I figured it might be fun (and hopefully helpful) to document the journey in real time for anyone else standing where we were not long ago.

After decades of incredible Walt Disney World vacations, my family and I are now actively considering becoming DVC owners — and yes, we are currently leaning toward buying direct.

We have a trip planned at the end of May where we’ll be sitting down with a Direct DVC Guide, and we’ve narrowed our focus to a few serious contenders. Between now and then, I thought it would be interesting to track our thought process, questions, second-guessing, incentive watching, and whatever emotional swings inevitably come along with a decision like this.

Part of our shift has been recognizing that the direct benefits genuinely matter to us. We realize benefits can change, and nothing is guaranteed forever, but we’re hopeful that what exists today remains part of the program for as long as possible.

Another honest factor?
A deep love for Disney… and maybe just a little bit of fear of missing out.

I’ve always been extremely skeptical of timeshares. I never imagined we would be “those people.” But DVC doesn’t give us the same icky, high-pressure feeling we associate with traditional timeshares. Instead, it feels like formalizing something we’ve already proven to ourselves over decades — this is where we choose to vacation year after year.

For context, we’re approaching this as a discretionary, long-term lifestyle decision rather than something we’d want to finance. If it didn’t feel comfortable within our normal vacation planning and budget, we probably wouldn’t be considering it at all. My spreadsheets are bursting at the seams as I compare all of our options from a value standpoint. Spreadsheets I've seen on these on there forums are very well done--very impressed!

So here’s the plan for this thread:

• Share our evolving thoughts leading up to our May meeting
• Track current incentives and how they influence our timing
• Discuss direct vs. resale as our thinking continues to evolve
• Celebrate breakthroughs… and probably document moments of panic or doubt
• Ultimately share whether we move forward — and why

If you’ve recently purchased direct, considered it, regretted it, or talked yourself out of it, I’d genuinely love to hear your experiences. For those that have already contributed your thoughts on another post of mine I really appreciate all the deep knowledge you bring to the table.

Thanks for coming along on the journey — I suspect this will either end with a signed contract… or a very educated non-purchase.

Either way, we’ll find out together.

I’m Planning Our First Direct Purchase — Follow Along

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