On June 16,2010, Cindy, Sophie, my niece Stephanie, and myself checked into our hotel at Port Orleans French Quarter.  This was Stephanie’s first big trip to Walt Disney World, so we were extremely excited to share everything with her.  On the day of our arrival, I started up a conversation with the person in POFQ working for DVC.  She asked us what our plans were, and then told us that if we went for a tour of the facility, they would give us free fast passes for the four of us.  If I remember correctly, these were instant fast passes, and each card had something like three fast passes per day per person.  So we had twelve instant fast passes per person with those cards!

Since the only thing we really had to be at the park for was a dinner engagement at The Crystal Palace, we decided to take the tour.  What would it hurt to see what the best kept secret was all about?  The folks at Disney Vacation Development (DVD) certainly have all their ducks in a row!  The DVC Sales Center is located at the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, and they bring a van over to take you and your family — and just you and your family — to the sales center to begin the tour.

One of the wall murals in the welcome center

Once you get there, you are put into the big welcome center where you can get a light refreshment.  Also at this time, you are invited to let your children play in the Kids Center, where they can play all sorts of games under the watchful eye of staff.  Sophie did that and had a great time!  In the meantime, our sales person Johanna Padilla introduced herself, and started talking about the concept of the Disney Vacation Club.  While she was talking, we were looking at a lot of the things that they have on display at the center — such as the locations around the world where DVC is in place.  We also got a small tour of the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa while we were walking to the models.  But in reality, the exciting part of the tour for me was when we looked at the models.  To me, that was so cool!  Here is a picture I took during the tour.

The tilework at the Animal Kingdom Master Bathroom

After the tour, which showed us both the models for Animal Kingdom and Bay Lake Tower, plus a small scale model of the treehouse villas, we sat down with Johanna to talk about the plan itself.  Really, when we found out how  much of our vacation club ownership we could have paid had we paid on that instead of the vacations we took, it about made my wife and I sick to our stomachs!  In the end, the cost of the plan was such that it really made sense to us to take the plunge!

After all of the paperwork was completed — and I’ll be honest, it took probably about 2 1/2 hours instead of the hour that we had been told — we were finally able to finish up and visit the ice cream parlor!  Sophie was in cloud nine as she was able to make her own sundae, and then the van took us to the Magic Kingdom so we could make our dinner reservation!

Train in the ice-cream parlor

Train in the ice-cream parlor

When we agreed to take the tour, we had no idea that we were going to actually purchase a DVC ownership.  It certainly is a family decision to make together, and each families decision may very well be different, but even if you don’t purchase, don’t be afraid to take the tour!  You’ll get something for your time, and you’ll see a side of Disney that not many other people see!  If you are interested in buying, please mention me as a referral!  Just check out this image for more details!

Mention me if you buy please!

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• Is Disney’s Beach Club Resort Right For You? (chipandco.com)
• Is Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa Right For You? (chipandco.com)

Mike (162 Posts)

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