Well, if you need to lock a bunch of money up in a “for use on Disney vacations only” box…DVC is probably the way to go 
Based on how much thought you are putting into this, I’m sure you will make the right decision. It sounds like you are the right demographic where this could save you money (prefer staying onsite Deluxe, plan to travel regularly, etc.). But:
This makes me a little nervous, because with a purchase this big, I would want to make sure both spouses are fully invested. Only do it if you both feel really good about it after doing the math and considering what you want your vacation habits to be. I don’t mean to speak out of turn - you know your spouse better than anyone - just throwing this thought out for your consideration.
Personally, I’ve decided not to invest in DVC for the time being because paying a little more each visit is worth the flexibility of not being locked in to my vacation.
I think if I were you I would NOT buy in:
- DH is not 100% comfortable with it
- “DH pretends to not like Disney” - I find this strange and although I might wish for him to like it as I do, I would take him at his word and if he says he doesn’t like it, trust that that’s what he means.
- DH needs to be forced to go on vacation. If he doesn’t consent to going, I can see points getting lost or wasted
- I would never buy direct, but that’s me - the perks just do not matter enough for the savings.
3 Likes
So I thought i would just add how i made my decision a few years ago. I knew i would be visiting disney often and for a long time. So i based my decision on what i had been doing in the past - average 12-14 days a year in a studio during the lower point seasons. I figured this over 20 years. So I took my purchase price and added 20 years worth of dues based on the current year to come up with how much i’d be giving disney. I then divided this by the amount of days and it came out to $165.00 a night. This was less than the rates i had been paying to stay at the dolphin or at the deluxe resorts with a cast member friends and family rate. So for me it made sense.
Some points:
I did not worry about increases because it was based on all current prices. Yes dues will increase but so do regular room rates.
I bought direct and would recommend you do so for your first set of points, after that use resale companies. the savings of resale are only on the purchase price which dilutes when considering over the contract (savings varies by resort and how many points the resale contract has on it).
1 Like
Yes, I agree with this. We would need to be likeminded in order to move forward. I honestly think he would enjoy it and benefit from it as much, if not more, than me. But if he can’t agree that it’s a good idea I’ll just shelve the idea and perhaps revisit it in the future.
1 Like
This is good feedback. Thank you! I say he pretends not to like Disney, but it was his choice to celebrate our 20th anniversary there. LOL. I tried to push him toward London, or NYC, or a cruise, but he really wanted to go to WDW. And he is always so happy and relaxed while we are there. I don’t know why he can’t just embrace it. 
5 Likes
We also rarely vacationed short of our summer beach trip, but knew after our first Disney trip that we would be going back.
We made the plunge to DVC shortly after that, planning to go 1-2 times a year and ended up going 5 times in the first year…oops
It has definitely helped us to choose to take more vacations. Agreed, it is a large cost upfront, but has made planning less stressful and more fun. We figured if something comes up and there is a period we cannot go, we can plan a bigger trip the next year or even rent points if we couldn’t get there.
We also purchased direct for our first contract for the benefits and then resale for the second since we already had the member benefits. Our direct contract was through copper creek. I think because it was a new resort, we had a lot of difficulty booking at the windows, which was very frustrating so we bought our second contract at Saratoga (not because that’s where we wanted to stay, but to make sure we could at least get a reservation and then later modify). In retrospect, I wish we did more of a middle ground, but neither myself or my husband (who is also much more conservative about spending money) have ever regretted purchasing DVC.
@Disneymom33, how easy has it been to transfer your SSR points to another resort at the 7 month mark? As I said earlier, I don’t mind staying there, I just don’t want to be able to only stay there. We will mostly likely travel during what is now Dream Season, early February or late May/early June.
If you use this tool:
https://tools.dvcvacations.com/points-calculator
You will see even this year 3-4 months away you can get AKL savannah, BWI, and BR one bedrooms.Of course that might change year to year but it is a good sign.
The yearly maintenance fees are the dealbreaker for me. Often just those fees are equivalent to what you’d pay to stay onsite 2-4 days.
@HibiscusHuny It definitely depends on room type and where you are trying to stay as well as time of year.
Studios are hard, 1 and 2 bedrooms easier.
Boardwalk/Beach/Yacht clubs are limited at the 7 month window if not looking for a split stay, but there is always the option of wait list. We have had a wait list come through 2 out of 3 times that we tried.
Actually for me they average about $100 a night stay.
1 Like
He sounds like my DH. He says he “hates” Disney, but keeps signing up for runDisney races and it was his idea to buy DVC.
1 Like
@HibiscusHuny, I have been thinking about @bigmikeh1965_639024’s point regarding direct cost over the life of the contract. I too, like @Disneymom33, bought CC and although I have always worked hard and booked my studio, it is a challenge. I then started looking for a small BWI resale contract. I soon discovered that matching UY would be a challenge. The tipping point for me was that all resale contracts were stripped or didn’t have points until the 3rd year. I bought direct in May for an August UY. I immediately banked the first year and had access to double points. My BWI contract will expire when I am in my 80s. Those early years are important to me. Over the life of the contract a $1-2 savings with resale was foolish for me.
1 Like
I just wanted to say, I too am considering DVC (will not hi-Jack the post with my own delimas) but love the depth of thought and advice here. You all think about these things the way I do, which can not be said for all DVC discussions! Thank you for the insights!
2 Likes
I realized I have a question for the good of the discussion: if you buy resale for your main contract, are you eligible to buy a small direct contract from Disney? Or do you have to have at least 100 points direct in order to qualify to buy a smaller add on? Thanks!
Oh man, this thread has sent me down a rabbit hole. Now I’m considering buying DVC… HELP!
But really, all the info here is super helpful.
You can buy a small contract as an add-on. There may be different minimum points at different resorts, but it does tend to be less than for new direct buyers.
You won’t qualify for a blue card unless you buy 100 direct. And if you do accumulate 100 points direct by adding on small amounts, if you then sell and are left with fewer “qualified” points, you loose your blue card perks.
Same applies by the way when resorts expire. If you have 75 direct points at CCV and 25 direct points at BCV, once BCV expires, you will no longer be a blue card holder.
I found a vero beach contract on resale that had all three years intact when i wanted to add 60 points a while back. The different use year can be a pain but i use these points for easy 7 month out on split stays. The dues are slightly higher but at 60 points really didn’t amount to much more.
1 Like
I’ve come to at least one conclusion on this . We really need to own points at Poly no matter what. (Assuming we buy at all of course, which DH seems to be really warming up to as we discuss it.) So the question become whether it is worth it to buy a direct contract at SSR for blue card, and then a smaller point resale contract for Poly. The combination of the two points would allow us to go every year for a least a week split stay between Poly for 3-4 nights and a 1BR wherever we could book it for another 3-4 nights. Or if we went every other year, a full week at Poly and then 100 points to play with each year or 200 points every other year. We live close enough to always drive, so we have a lot of flexibility to travel when its convenient or if I see a booking that looks good and can grab it in that 6 month window. I also actually like the idea of a split stay between Poly and a 1 BR elsewhere because it would give us access to that privacy, and a washer/dryer/kitchen for half of our stay.
The other option would be just to purchase all the points we want Poly resale, which is of course much cheaper than direct right now and ignore the blue card benefits. This makes the most financial sense. I guess I just need to decide if the blue card is worth it or not. I know many of you have come to different conclusions about this. My biggest concern is that now that Disney has made such a major change with resale/booking at Riviera, there will be more changes down the line that don’t favor resale purchasers.
1 Like