Direct Now or Later

[AwfulWaffle]

My wife and I are taking the plunge into DVC this year because it has just gotten so expensive for our every other year trips. We bought 200 points and are currently awaiting ROFR so that we can unlock member pricing. We know with the new addition to our family that we will soon need one bedrooms so we feel 350 is a good point total for us over the next ten years. Question, how good is prebuy member pricing? We already went to Disney this year and both like Riviera and we really like the promos going on right now but are torn because we really like Poly too and with one bedrooms coming there soon we are curious if prebuys are better then anything we might see with Magical Beginnings. Once the “new” wears off at Poly then we should be able to book one bedrooms at the seven month window so I don’t think availability will sway us one way or another so it comes down to direct cost per point. Thanks for your advice .

 

[Sandisw]

Whatever Poly tower goes for next year, I'd bet a lot that is will be more than what we are seeing today with the current incentives, welcome home credit, and the MB program.

We do not yet know what will happen with the new Poly tower in terms of association....if it is rolled in to PVB...which I do think is unlikely, getting those larger units may not be as easy as one thinks at 7 months.

If it does end up as a new resort/association, it will almost definitely have resale restrictions which means the 200 points you are buying resale today will not be valid there for use, even at 7 months.

If Poly tower is where you think you really are going to want to use your direct points regularly, then I would wait until it is for sale. Nothing worse IMO of owning, thinking you will be able to stay one place and then not getting it and being frustrated with what you do have.

 

[AwfulWaffle]

Whatever Poly tower goes for next year, I'd bet a lot that is will be more than what we are seeing today with the current incentives, welcome home credit, and the MB program.

We do not yet know what will happen with the new Poly tower in terms of association....if it is rolled in to PVB...which I do think is unlikely, getting those larger units may not be as easy as one thinks at 7 months.

If it does end up as a new resort/association, it will almost definitely have resale restrictions which means the 200 points you are buying resale today will not be valid there for use, even at 7 months.

If Poly tower is where you think you really are going to want to use your direct points regularly, then I would wait until it is for sale. Nothing worse IMO of owning, thinking you will be able to stay one place and then not getting it and being frustrated with what you do have.

I missed the resale comment but yes I am aware those can't be outside the legacy resorts but we love split stays so that's a non-issue for us. I am almost certain it will likely cost more buying at Poly tomorrow then Riviera today since Disney almost always increases prices from year to year. I guess the question I am really asking is for current Riviera owners that bought at the presale did it work out cheaper for you to buy then as opposed to what it would have cost if you bought today with these new offerings (the inflated pre-price cost - all the deductions going on atm) ? From what I found online, point cost in 2019 for members was 188 minus developer credit for buying 150 which brought the price down to 176.33. Given 4 years of inflation at about 4% per year then that would bring the cost up to 204 bu my math could be wrong so just double checking. Thanks.

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks that is good to know about the restrictions. The way my guide made it sound was any contract I bought direct could still be used at restricted deeds like Rivera so I assumed the same would hold true for future restricted resorts. Yeah if I can’t book at Poly tower with direct points from Rivera then I definitely have to wait. Also, I know it will likely cost more buying at Poly tomorrow then Rivera today since Disney almost always increases prices from year to year. I guess the question I am really asking is for Rivera owners that bought at the presale did it work out cheaper for you to buy then as opposed to what it would have cost if you bought today with these new offerings (the inflated pre-price cost - all the deductions going on atm) ?

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, your direct points bought at RIV can be used to book at 7 months at Poly tower. But, that is not the same as there being high competition for those rooms and finding them difficult to book as a non owner. People buying direct at VGF now can certainly book RIV at 7 months, but chances of getting SV rooms is not easy as owners snatch them up.
Same could happen with the larger units at Poly tower...by the time 7 months happens, there may not still be rooms left for all the dates you want at the tower

The restrictions I was talking about are your resale points you are buying...those will only be good at the Poly tower if it is added to PVB....if it is a new resort, with restrictions for resale points, you will not be able to use those there, even if you own direct points as well.

I bought RIV in 2019 direct for $162/point for 175 points. It was the year of opening and it was not the initial buy in price...which would have been a bit lower.

The current incentives, because of MB, certainly make it comparable, but there is no guarantee that something like that will be offered in the future, so that piece, I would not use as part of the calculation...

The general rule of thumb is that initial incentives are better than future ones...unless something like now which is due to the impacts of the economy, etc. and sluggish sales that force DVD to offer such deals.

 

[AwfulWaffle]

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, your direct points bought at RIV can be used to book at 7 months at Poly tower. But, that is not the same as there being high competition for those rooms and finding them difficult to book as a non owner. People buying direct at VGF now can certainly book RIV at 7 months, but chances of getting SV rooms is not easy as owners snatch them up.
Same could happen with the larger units at Poly tower...by the time 7 months happens, there may not still be rooms left for all the dates you want at the tower

The restrictions I was talking about are your resale points you are buying...those will only be good at the Poly tower if it is added to PVB....if it is a new resort, with restrictions for resale points, you will not be able to use those there, even if you own direct points as well.

I bought RIV in 2019 direct for $162/point for 175 points. It was the year of opening and it was not the initial buy in price...which would have been a bit lower.

The current incentives, because of MB, certainly make it comparable, but there is no guarantee that something like that will be offered in the future, so that piece, I would not use as part of the calculation...

The general rule of thumb is that initial incentives are better than future ones...unless something like now which is due to the impacts of the economy, etc. and sluggish sales that force DVD to offer such deals.

Many thanks, that helps so much. The pricing I found online was much different so glad to see some real member pricing to keep Google honest. At that price point, the rise of inflation would be a wash but as you said its an unprecedented discount so don't expect anything like this to exist 4 years after Poly Tower opens.

 

[PBandJFamwich]

Not a comment about the initial price of RIV but I would buy at RIV now and not wait. We recently bought our first contracts at RIV and VDH and are so happy with our purchase of RIV. We stayed one night at the original VGF building and then 3 nights at RIV and much preferred our stay at RIV. Many of the things we disliked at VGF will probably be shared with the Poly Tower.

Being a monorail resort, VGF was crazy busy and overwhelming, and we found the monorail and boats to MK to not actually be convenient (especially in comparison to the skyliner). We also disliked the spread out layout of VGF and how much walking was necessary to the monorail and boat dock. RIV in contrast was so quiet in comparison while still being family friendly. Everything being in the same building was great and the walk to the skyliner short. The skyliner is great because you are never walking up and missing the boat/monorail and having to contemplate walking or waiting for the next one.

 

[Littlelulu01]

It is difficult to look back at original prices because of various incentives offered for varied number of points purchased. I wholeheartedly agree that the initial offerings are the best. Rivera had a little hiccup with the pandemic. I bought during that timeframe and got all points 2019 forward. I think I paid a couple dollars more than the first offers and felt lucky to get such a comparable price and get all points available for the contract.

GFV2 is a little strange. It has the original expiration date of gf1. It’s still a great deal considering inflation but in comparison, GF1 had points available since 2013? so several more years to use and was also initially offered at $145/point which at the time many people thought was insanely high priced.

I think this current offer with incentives is the most significant “sale” I’ve seen besides an initial offer and the Aulani sale a couple years back.

Most sales they offer the meaningful discounts on bigger contracts. This sale with such a discount on only 150 is pretty exciting.