DVC Purchase Questions

[Terry6228]

Hi Everyone!

I’m going down the end of April. Staying DVC at Poly (rented points). I'm seriously considering buying since I'm down on average once a year. If I had DVC I'd go more honestly. I've been speaking with someone about direct sale from Disney but I have a few questions that I'm looking for answer from someone who isn't at the end of the day looking to make a sale.

Riviera is being pushed. Gorgeous. Would absolutley love it but if I can I'd rather get more points. Agent said my only other option was Saratoga. Is this accurate? I know Disney is going to push certain things but is there a place where I can see what else is available with a point breakdown?

Also, how often are promotions run? There's one now going until April first but I'd rather wait til my trip to pull the plug with everything.

 

[intamin]

So I’d recommend doing a lot more research before buying in.

The resorts they are currently selling are Aulani, Riviera, Villas at Disneyland Hotel, and Cabins at Fort Wilderness (sales open to new members on 2/27).

You can technically buy ANY resort from Disney, but they will always push the ones in active sales. They do have sales on previously sold out resorts occasionally but usually the discounts aren’t nearly as good as the ones in active sales.

I love Riviera (points to signature) but the major downside with buying direct at Riviera, Cabins at Fort Wilderness and Villas at Disneyland Hotel is that if you were to resell the contract, that new owner can ONLY book the home resort. This negatively affects the resale value of the contracts from those resorts. This is opposed to if you bought a contract from another resort, when resold, those contracts can still be used at the original 14 resorts.

There is a promotion going at all times, some promotions are better than others. If you sign a contract within the last 10 days, Florida timeshare law allows you to rescind that contract. So a common strategy is to buy direct within the last week of a promotion and then see if the next promotion is better. If it’s better than what you bought for, then rescind. If not, then keep what you already have.

I’d strongly recommend taking a look at the resale market, but if you really love Riviera, keep in mind you will not be able to book there, Cabins at Fort Wilderness or the Villas at Disneyland Hotel with resale points unless the resale points are from that one home resort. In which case you would ONLY be able to stay at your home resort.

For most people, resale is the better option; however most of us on here probably have hybrid memberships so we can enjoy the perks of buying direct (Moonlight Magic, AP discounts, lounges) but get a better deal on the points themselves by buying resale.

 

[davidhr]

They can sell you any resort besides Grand Californian and Grand Floridian, but they are going to be super expensive. Active resorts (Riviera, Villas at Disneyland and cabins at Fort Wilderness) have promotions that make the price better.

Another option to get more points is resale, but that come with some restrictions. You might or might not care about them, so have a look.

There’s always a promotion running. Sometimes it’s not great (like at this point). Sometimes it’s very good like the one we had in summer.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I’d

Hi Everyone!

I’m going down the end of April. Staying DVC at Poly (rented points). I'm seriously considering buying since I'm down on average once a year. If I had DVC I'd go more honestly. I've been speaking with someone about direct sale from Disney but I have a few questions that I'm looking for answer from someone who isn't at the end of the day looking to make a sale.

Riviera is being pushed. Gorgeous. Would absolutley love it but if I can I'd rather get more points. Agent said my only other option was Saratoga. Is this accurate? I know Disney is going to push certain things but is there a place where I can see what else is available with a point breakdown?

Also, how often are promotions run? There's one now going until April first but I'd rather wait til my trip to pull the plug with everything.

How much research have you already done into understanding the differences between resale contracts and direct contracts?

I’d recommend doing a lot of research first and then tour various properties while you are there to see if there is a specific one you are in love with or if you’d be happy just staying anywhere….

In general, do not assume you will be able to get the room you want at a resort you do not directly own within 7-months.

Also, do not assume that you will be able to book the least expensive room category…. even if you own at that resort.

The buy in price gets all of the attention, but the dues are the vast majority of the cost of owning over the long term.

 

[Floridian From Afar]

This is a big purchase. I agree with the above poster, in that you should do a lot of research before buying in. There are so many aspects to DVC, way beyond the ability of any single post to fully cover. I think I researched every thing for 6 months or more before feeling that I truly understood the product and was ready to buy. (And there's plenty of things I still don't fully understand) I'm not saying you need to take that long, but don't jump the gun before you really know what you're getting into. It's not going anywhere, and I think you'd be better served taking some time and maybe paying a little more for what you want vs jumping in, saving a few bucks now but regretting the decision.

Ultimately I think most people would say to buy where you want to stay.

 

[jlnten17]

Agree with all of the above and would add if you want to get the direct perks (which I think are worth it but keep in mind they can be removed AT ANY TIME) you have to buy a minimum of 150 direct. The reason this is worth it for our family is the ability to buy the sorcerer pass and the merch discounts. We don't go during Thanksgiving/Christmas so the sorcerer pass saves us a fair amount of money.

 

[Sandisw]

My guess is that the recommendation for SSR was due to price in comparison with RIv since you mentioned wanting more points.

But, I would think OKW, and AKW should be similar.

 

[eticketplease]

Ultimately I think most people would say to buy where you want to stay.

That is a popular saying but if you plan to move at the 7 month window I would say buy where you don’t mind staying. For example you want monorail access and would prefer poly or VGF but BLT is a good fall back.

Same with Epcot you want to be at walkable resort but you would be ok staying at Riviera if you could not move at 7 months.

The buy in price gets all of the attention, but the dues are the vast majority of the cost of owning over the long term.

This is very true.

The other thing I would look at is the point charts. If you are buying resort X but would like to stay at Y, look at Y’s most expensive category for the time you be going as the lowest priced options are taken by the owners of Y. If you can buy that many or more if you can afford it. If Resort X has a lower point chart you can then either stay for longer, book another trip or bank the points if Resort Y is not available this time.

 

[MartyParty]

My guess is that the recommendation for SSR was due to price in comparison with RIv since you mentioned wanting more points.

But, I would think OKW, and AKW should be similar.

Like what Sandisw said. Just checked the DVC add on tool for members. Saratoga and Old Key West are $205 with AK (Jambo or Kidani) being $210.

If talking direct buy, I'd personal want / stay at AK. Case to be made with Saratoga. Contract ends a few years earlier but the maintenance fees are a little less. Potato potahto.

Bit of a higher price point but the additional Poly offer should be interesting. If they offer a similar deal as the recent VGF that will make it interesting. And unlike Riviera, if Poly is tacked onto the existing Poly association the resale restrictions shouldn't be there (like Riviera). But will see. There's a whole Poly board for this discussion and I'm not wanting to start that thread here.

 

[kilik64]

I only skimmed so forgive me if already posted but:

You mention you are staying at Poly this coming trip, if you are a big fan of that resort the new tower will go on sale most likely later this year (also possible early next year). Would be worth it to wait for that to drop if you plan or want to stay at poly a lot in the future.

 

[eticketplease]

Just checked the DVC add on tool for members. Saratoga and Old Key West are $205 with AK (Jambo or Kidani) being $210.

If talking direct buy, I'd personal want / stay at AK. Case to be made with Saratoga. Contract ends a few years earlier but the maintenance fees are a little less. Potato potahto.

Comparing the same ending of 2057 OKW is $0.80 more a point in dues than AKL but is $5 less upfront.

I would buy AKL for the lottery system of getting Club level or a value room.

Otherwise I would stick to SSR as dues are much cheaper. All three are fairly easy to get into at 7 months.

 

[eticketplease]

I only skimmed so forgive me if already posted but:

You mention you are staying at Poly this coming trip, if you are a big fan of that resort the new tower will go on sale most likely later this year (also possible early next year). Would be worth it to wait for that to drop if you plan or want to stay at poly a lot in the future.

I would agree if they care about staying at resorts other than the O14, discounts and other extras. If not and they were a fan of the Poly I would just go resale. Prices right now are $225 direct so who knows what they will rise to when that comes on sale.

Edit. Changed “cared” to “care” I have no idea if they care or not about newer resorts

 

[intamin]

Comparing the same ending of 2057 OKW is $0.80 more a point in dues than AKL but is $5 less upfront.

I would buy AKL for the lottery system of getting Club level or a value room.

Otherwise I would stick to SSR as dues are much cheaper. All three are fairly easy to get into at 7 months.

Do they have a good sale on AKV/SSR? I know awhile back they had a decent deal on AKV but haven’t seen anything I’d consider a great deal for either. It’s hard for me personally to justify direct AKV/SSR when the deal for resale on either of those properties is so good.

I also bought into AKV for the lottery system of getting club/value rooms and have been pretty successful at obtaining them I’d say. I am actually yet to stay in a standard/savanna studio and have stayed in value/club level studios multiple times. I’m cheap though and I usually book one night in a value studio and the other night in a club level room to get all the snacks for 2 full days but pay approximately the same as if I had paid for 2 standard studios

 

[Terry6228]

Do they have a good sale on AKV/SSR? I know awhile back they had a decent deal on AKV but haven’t seen anything I’d consider a great deal for either. It’s hard for me personally to justify direct AKV/SSR when the deal for resale on either of those properties is so good.

I also bought into AKV for the lottery system of getting club/value rooms and have been pretty successful at obtaining them I’d say. I am actually yet to stay in a standard/savanna studio and have stayed in value/club level studios multiple times. I’m cheap though and I usually book one night in a value studio and the other night in a club level room to get all the snacks for 2 full days but pay approximately the same as if I had paid for 2 standard studios

What is this lottery system for AKV???

 

[thanxfornoticin]

What is this lottery system for AKV???

I'm pretty sure it's not an actual lottery system!! But it certainly can be luck of the draw depending when you're trying to get them!

 

[eticketplease]

What is this lottery system for AKV???

Just meaning that you have to own there to book those types of rooms.

 

[eticketplease]

Do they have a good sale on AKV/SSR? I know awhile back they had a decent deal on AKV but haven’t seen anything I’d consider a great deal for either. It’s hard for me personally to justify direct AKV/SSR when the deal for resale on either of those properties is so good.

I also bought into AKV for the lottery system of getting club/value rooms and have been pretty successful at obtaining them I’d say. I am actually yet to stay in a standard/savanna studio and have stayed in value/club level studios multiple times. I’m cheap though and I usually book one night in a value studio and the other night in a club level room to get all the snacks for 2 full days but pay approximately the same as if I had paid for 2 standard studios

Dvcnews.com showed some incentives for OKW but they weren't that good new buyers of 150 would get it for $4 off but might be able to qualify for the Magical beginnings and welcome home discounts.

https://www.dvcnews.com/dvc-program...purchase-prices-inch-higher-via-rate-increase

I wouldn't buy them direct either but it is an option for someone that is not a member and wants that blue card err DVC Y

 

[WinterSolider]

My guess is that the recommendation for SSR was due to price in comparison with RIv since you mentioned wanting more points.

Is SSR even any cheaper than RIV given current incentives?

I believe OKW is the only sold-out resort offering incentives right now so that's probably cheapest overall.

 

[eticketplease]

Yes SSR is cheaper.

SSR is $205, RIV is $225.

You would have to buy 300 points for the Riviera incentive to be $20 a point making them then the same price.

However your family would have 16 years more points at Riviera compared to SSR.

 

[CWTC]

They can sell you any resort besides Grand Californian and Grand Floridian, but they are going to be super expensive.

If someone has their hearts set on VGC or VGF and wants direct, it never hurts to ask. We wandered into the DL member lounge last month and asked the guide who was there about VGC points. We now own direct VGC points.

To the OP:
I agree with what others have said with regards to researching the product.

Understanding the booking windows is really important as is having realistic expectations of what you will be able to book at 7 months. Also having an understanding of UY and what it means to you.

Point charts for rooms can be changed over time so sometimes buying extra points as a cushion is important.

Ask yourself what is important to you. For some people getting the best value out of their points is important - for them a low cost resort in studios makes them happy. Some people like quieter resorts and the choices at Wilderness (CCV and BRV) are ideal for them. For others location of the resort is important - for them buying where they want to stay is clutch. Being able to walk to a park and stay in a 1BR when it’s just the 2 of us is important hence our home resorts and the number of points we have.

Ask yourself if the direct benefits are worth it. Any direct benefit can be taken away so buying direct may not be worth it depending on the delta between resale vs direct. Also make sure you understand the restrictions of a resale - both if you are buying resale but potentially if you buy direct and then resell it in the future.

We are very happy and have owned DVC for 15 or so years. Our mantra has always been to buy where we want to stay and we rarely book into non home resorts (but have switched at 7 months to Aulani, VGC before we owned, and the Poly overwater bungalows).