Meet Ron Schammert, Disney Vacation Club member and owner at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. Ron discovered his love for Walt Disney World and Disney Vacation Club as an adult. Ron was hooked after his brother-in-law, a DVC member, took the whole family to visit Kidani Village at Christmas time. Ron will share a DVC purchasing strategy that might be new to you at the end of the episode. Original show aired as episode 197 and rebroadcast as episode 403.
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Meet Ron Schammert, Disney Vacation Club member. Ron’s first trip to Walt Disney World was as an adult on one of his kid’s football trips down to Walt Disney World. He didn’t fall in love with Disney until 20,15 when his brother-in-law, a DVC member since 2006, treated the whole family to a Christmas-time trip to Walt Disney World. They stayed at Disney Vacation Club’s Kidani Village, his brother-in-law’s home resort. On their way back to Chicago, they were stuck in Florida due to bad winter weather. Ron’s family was pixie-dusted, and DVC member services helped them find last-minute rooms at Disney Vacation Club’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows. This sparked a conversation with Ron’s brother-in-law about how Disney Vacation Club really works. Ron was skeptical about a timeshare program. Still, the more he learned about DVC, the more he saw value in becoming a member.
When Ron found out he was about to become a grandfather, he kicked his Disney Vacation Club aspirations into high gear. After ordering the DVC promotional DVD, he also discovered the DVC Resale Market. Ron credits Jody from the DVC Resale Market team for helping him feel both knowledgeable and comfortable making his initial Disney Vacation Club resale purchase. He bought his first Disney Vacation Club contract resale and later added more direct points. Ron owns his resale DVC points at Disney Vacation Club’s Saratoga Springs Resort. After recording, he added on at the Grand Floridian to take advantage of the existing member direct incentives.
Ron found DVC’s Moonlight Magic event to be a worthy perk for direct owners,s along with discounted Walt Disney World annual passes. Right as Disney Vacation Club was about to raise the minimum number of points required to receive a blue card direct membership, Ron also bought a direct contract. It was really important to Ron to purchase his Disney Vacation Club direct points with the same DVC use year as his existing contract. Ron bought his first DVC contract in early 2020, and since then he has visited Walt Disney World four times, including a trip for his and Jacki’s 30th wedding anniversary in summer 2020. The Walt Disney World resorts had opened at that time, but the Walt Disney World theme parks hadn’t reopened. This meant Ron was able to have his very first resort-only Disney Vacation Club stay. This was a laid-back trip, and it helped Ron fall even more in love with DVC.
To Ron, Walt Disney World and Disney Vacation Club have meant wonderful experiences and memories for his family. He planned a family vacation for 8 to celebrate his mom’s first-ever Walt Disney World trip on her 75th birthday. This DVC trip just so happened to coincide with the opening of Walt Disney World’s 50th-anniversary celebration. At the last minute, Ron’s mom couldn’t attend due to an unexpected illness (Ron’s mom is ok!) However, Ron and his siblings made the best of the rest of the trip in their 2-bedroom DVC villa at Disney Vacation Club’s Grand Floridian. While it wasn’t the trip they hoped for and planned for, they were still able to find the magic in being together for the 50th. On 1 October 2021, Ron and his family were first in line to enter Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. He met an original Walt Disney World cast member!
Ron still has a Disney Vacation Club bucket list. He’d love to visit DVC’s Villas at the Grand Californian out at Disneyland. While very difficult at the 7-month mark, it’s not DVC-impossible to grab a 1-bedroom at the Grand Californian. Ron absolutely wants to make it out to Disney Vacation Club’s Aulani Resort and Spa, perhaps for his 35th wedding anniversary! If you ever go to DVC’s Aulani, you have to check out the grand villa where it feels like you can reach out and touch the ocean. Also on Ron’s DVC bucket list is a trip with his mo. Finally, he wants to stay at every Disney Vacation Club resort. He’s just short of DVC’s Boulder Ridge Villas and Copper Creek Villas.
When visiting Walt Disney World, Ron recommends staying on Disney property whenever possible. It makes the Walt Disney World magic more palpable when you stay in the Disney bubble. Ron also recommends using Walt Disney World transportation to explore and discover all the DVC resorts. While staying oon-propertyisn’t for everyone, you can sometimes find Walt Disney World resort rooms on discount sites like Hotwire. This can be a great way to discover what it’s like to stay on Walt Disney World property for the first time.
Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is one of Ron’s other Disney Vacation Club home resorts. He got a great deal through the DVC resale market and received double points in his first year. He plans to sell this contract in the future, so Ron decided to use financing to purchase his DVC Vero Beach contract. He does plan to sell this Disney Vacation Club contract in a few years because it was cheaper for him to buy it and sell it later than to rent the points he needed. This is an interesting Disney Vacation Club ownership strategy that not many people use. Ron has a background in financial planning and invites you to reach out to him on Facebook.
Credits:
- Chad Pennycuff – Host and Curator of Magical Stories at My DVC Points
- Mary Anne Tracy – Episode Producer
- Ron Schammert – Guest
- Pete Scheidle – Audio Editing
- Chad Pennycuff – Audio Mastering
- Jill Creighton – Show Notes
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