A purchase of Disney Vacation Club points does not include the Disney Dining Plan or theme park tickets. Those must be purchased separately. The good news is that being a DVC member does give you discounts on some food, recreation, and ticket options. For example, my DVC membership allows me substantial savings on the price of an annual pass.
As to the cost-effectiveness question ... because the DVC does involve a large financial investment, I cannot give you specific purchase advice. However, when we did the math in our family, based on our own travel style and level of investment in the DVC, we felt like our DVC membership paid out financially after about five or six years of ownership. You should seek the advice of your own financial and legal advisors when considering a purchase of this magnitude.
I'm glad you had such a great time on your first trip to WDW. And I'll pass along your kind words to Laura :-)
As much as i love Disney and the DVC, my recommendation to you would be to make at least one or two more trips to WDW before you consider DVC membership. Once you've had a few WDW vacations, you will be more able to gauge whether you can picture yourself and family members vacationing there for decades. I also STRONGLY recommend that you attend one of the free DVC information session during your next WDW vacation. They have all the financial details and can answer budget and financing questions for you. You can also get more information from the DVC website found
HERE.