Thoughts on Grand Floridian Direct - at $265 per point

[TinkAgainU]

I was really waiting for Grand Floridian to go on sale again, to add a small Direct contract (in the 30 point range). Wanted to be able to book DLH occasionally since as we age the trip to Florida is more tiring. The prices at $265 really took the wind out of my sails, except with such a small contract I'm trying not to overthink it I should mention, I'm on a budget or would not even give this a second thought. I will pick up the 2024 points, but the Closing Costs are no better than resale escrows. Oh, and a LOT of documents to notarize even when buying cash - they have e-notary but all the notarizing and documents make me "feel" like Disney KNOWS this is a terrible deal and want to CYA since they know everyone will regret it lol.

Wondering what others are thinking? Is $265 just a ridiculous price or do you still think it's worth it? (P.S. YES I KNOW it sold dirt cheap two years ago, but I missed that timing lol... moving on...)

 

[JackosinDIS]

It’s not THAT ridiculous. For a 30 point contact you are only paying $2000 more than resale. Think of it as a fee to have the points in your account same day! Or even justify it by dividing by the number of years left on the contract… only $50 per year more for direct points (yes, I know that ignores a whole load of things but it makes it seem a lot more reasonable!)

 

[Sandisw]

For me, it would be worth it. Sure, you could get more resale points but those come with extra dues you don’t really need

And, the use at VDH is worth it. I agree, when you think about it in the long term, you are not spending that much more to end up with exactly what you want

Use your Disney Visa, get rewards, and 6 months at 0% interest to pay over time!

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

FWIW, I’m in the same boat with RIV. The difference is too small for such a small contract to not go direct. I know the initial payment will sting but hoping that quickly fades as soon as the points load

 

[TinkAgainU]

FWIW, I’m in the same boat with RIV. The difference is too small for such a small contract to not go direct. I know the initial payment will sting but hoping that quickly fades as soon as the points load

I will say having the points in the account within minutes of giving my credit card deposit felt very nice! That said, for anyone buying resale, it's like visiting the dentist, you mostly forget the pain when it's over, and are proud of yourself for seeing it thru

 

[AstroBlasters]

I was really waiting for Grand Floridian to go on sale again, to add a small Direct contract (in the 30 point range). Wanted to be able to book DLH occasionally since as we age the trip to Florida is more tiring. The prices at $265 really took the wind out of my sails, except with such a small contract I'm trying not to overthink it I should mention, I'm on a budget or would not even give this a second thought. I will pick up the 2024 points, but the Closing Costs are no better than resale escrows. Oh, and a LOT of documents to notarize even when buying cash - they have e-notary but all the notarizing and documents make me "feel" like Disney KNOWS this is a terrible deal and want to CYA since they know everyone will regret it lol.

Wondering what others are thinking? Is $265 just a ridiculous price or do you still think it's worth it? (P.S. YES I KNOW it sold dirt cheap two years ago, but I missed that timing lol... moving on...)

You don’t have to pay for title insurance on direct points…. so that will save you a few hundred $ right there.

No 50 point resale contracts in your UY?

 

[TinkAgainU]

You don’t have to pay for title insurance on direct points…. so that will save you a few hundred $ right there.

No 50 point resale contracts in your UY?

Good point. But there was only one in the last year per www.dvcforless.com, and it sold for $200/pp for a 40 point March UY (I offered $200 too but was too slow - dang that 3 hour time difference - jumping up to look at 6am Every Day is a stressful jump start lol). So I'm probably legitimately looking at $200/pp resale for a 25-30 point resale contract and do Not see "small contracts" going down in price with the hikes in Direct points prices?

As for the Title Insurance, it looks like I'll only save a tiny bit on Closing Costs. Disney quoted me closing costs of $384 for a 30 point direct. I just bought a 30 point resale and my closing costs were $425 thru Jeffrey Sweet, Esq, including title insurance - so only a $41 difference. BUT I should still come out ahead with the 2024 points (pretty much Free with my March Use Year).

 

[DVC_Eeyore_Fan]

I was in a similar boat and just added on at VGF direct at the current price per point. I thought I bought enough during the “fire sale” in summer 2023, but after our last stay in a 2BR we wanted more VGF points to consistently stay in a 2BR. So when my guide called me and told me $265 per point it hurt, but considering you don’t get any discounts below 100 points direct right now the $30 difference between the active selling resorts made me feel a bit better.

I’d vote for adding on direct if you want the potential to use at VDH in the future. Also, my guide confirmed that they will only push out payments 60 days now instead of the old 90 days, but I gladly took the 60 days. We also waived title insurance to save a little bit of money.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I was in a similar boat and just added on at VGF direct at the current price per point. I thought I bought enough during the “fire sale” in summer 2023, but after our last stay in a 2BR we wanted more VGF points to consistently stay in a 2BR. So when my guide called me and told me $265 per point it hurt, but considering you don’t get any discounts below 100 points direct right now the $30 difference between the active selling resorts made me feel a bit better.

I’d vote for adding on direct if you want the potential to use at VDH in the future. Also, my guide confirmed that they will only push out payments 60 days now instead of the old 90 days, but I gladly took the 60 days. We also waived title insurance to save a little bit of money.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

90 to 60 days is interesting…I assume that either means sales are strong enough they aren’t worried about losing sales, they are hoping to push more people to high APR financing instead of letting them put it on a credit card (which eats into DVC’s margins), or that they foresee needing to make incentives more generous in April/May/June and don’t want people renegotiating their contracts?

 

[VGCgroupie]

I was really waiting for Grand Floridian to go on sale again, to add a small Direct contract (in the 30 point range). Wanted to be able to book DLH occasionally since as we age the trip to Florida is more tiring. The prices at $265 really took the wind out of my sails, except with such a small contract I'm trying not to overthink it I should mention, I'm on a budget or would not even give this a second thought. I will pick up the 2024 points, but the Closing Costs are no better than resale escrows. Oh, and a LOT of documents to notarize even when buying cash - they have e-notary but all the notarizing and documents make me "feel" like Disney KNOWS this is a terrible deal and want to CYA since they know everyone will regret it lol.

Wondering what others are thinking? Is $265 just a ridiculous price or do you still think it's worth it? (P.S. YES I KNOW it sold dirt cheap two years ago, but I missed that timing lol... moving on...)

Closing costs for a CA property are much much cheaper than FL. And I have not needed a notary for CA properties. Just a thought!
Edit: realized you wanted 30 points so VDH wouldn’t work.

 

[DVC_Eeyore_Fan]

90 to 60 days is interesting…I assume that either means sales are strong enough they aren’t worried about losing sales, they are hoping to push more people to high APR financing instead of letting them put it on a credit card (which eats into DVC’s margins), or that they foresee needing to make incentives more generous in April/May/June and don’t want people renegotiating their contracts?

My guess is probably the former but I have nothing to back that up. My guide just told me that they were “tightening that up and can only go out to 60 days now.”

 

[TinkAgainU]

... We also waived title insurance to save a little bit of money. ...

I didn't think to ask about this ... turns out it reduces my Closing Costs rather significantly. Thank you and AstroBlasters for pointing it out!

 

[sndral]

…Oh, and a LOT of documents to notarize even when buying cash - they have e-notary but all the notarizing and documents make me "feel" like Disney KNOWS this is a terrible deal and want to CYA since they know everyone will regret it lol.
…

I’ve paid cash for all of my contracts including adding on a couple years ago when VGF2 went on sale & never had to notarize anything - has something changed & DVC now requires a cash buyer to have docs notarized?

 

[TinkAgainU]

I’ve paid cash for all of my contracts including adding on a couple years ago when VGF2 went on sale & never had to notarize anything - has something changed & DVC now requires a cash buyer to have docs notarized?

I was told the purchase documents (even cash) must be notarized, but I'm a California resident buying a Florida timeshare, so maybe that's the difference. They also make you fill out extra forms and those notarized too if you are buying in a Trust - but they did that in the past too if I recall. They offer an e-notary, so it's doable but definitely a lot of extra steps. The purchase document for resale is usually about 2-3 pages, DVC direct is 52 pages and references a ton of documents I challenge anyone to read in their lovely legal terminology and cross referencing If I recall there is even a section where you state Disney can run credit and personal reports on you and share those with their affiliates - and this is for a cash sale. Not for the faint of heart buying this timeshare but explain that to the Grandkids

 

[sndral]

I was told the purchase documents (even cash) must be notarized, but I'm a California resident buying a Florida timeshare, so maybe that's the difference. They also make you fill out extra forms and those notarized too if you are buying in a Trust - but they did that in the past too if I recall. They offer an e-notary, so it's doable but definitely a lot of extra steps. The purchase document for resale is usually about 2-3 pages, DVC direct is 52 pages and references a ton of documents I challenge anyone to read in their lovely legal terminology and cross referencing If I recall there is even a section where you state Disney can run credit and personal reports on you and share those with their affiliates - and this is for a cash sale. Not for the faint of heart buying this timeshare but explain that to the Grandkids

I’m in CA as well - it must be the trust.