Thinking of purchasing DVC. The plan would be to go every other year as there are other places we want to visit. I’m thinking 125-150 points would be enough for our purposes. Anyway, the reason for the post - looking for suggestions for good DVC websites with info about the purchase process, pros/cons of DVC, resort specific considerations, etc. If you have any advice, feel free to reply with that as well.
I would suggest Mouseowners and DVCNews as a good starting point. Both have a resale broker as a site sponsor I believe, certainly Mouseowners does.
Mouseowners is essentially a DVC specific forum with a wealth of knowledge amongst the members there. DVCNews is a website that has some good info.
2 Likes
You will purchase resale?
I agree with the sites @Nicky_S posted. I also like looking at this for information regarding the process:
https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/
They also have an app (iOS) that you can set alerts for a certain amount of points, resorts, UY, or price per point.
1 Like
I liked this primer regarding the entire process!
2 Likes
Yes. That seems to make sense. Not sure the benefits of direct make it worth the extra cost for me.
I generally avoid disboards it I like that.
1 Like
Are you learning toward any resort?
I love AKL. BC. CC or BR. Monorail resorts don’t really appeal to me, but generally keeping an open mind to almost anything right now.
Any suggestions?
Do you know what type of rooms you would most likely book?
I would look at the inventory:
I love my CC points, but there are so many owners, and it is difficult to book. BR is being updated, but that is a small inventory too.
3 Likes
There is also a big difference in lifetime of a BC/BR contract versus an AKL/CC contract. I would think hard about how long you intend to use it and/or if you want to hand it down to children, etc.
I LOVE both BC and BR (and am doing a split stay between the 2 in 10 days) but we have very young kids and those expire in close to 20 years! Our SSR contract has an extra 12 years over those contracts.
2 Likes
I have thought about this too. Hard to say for sure, but I could see us using it for 20+ years easily given we are still fairly young and our kids are only 4 & 7. I guess I have some more research to do. Oh well. I don’t have a trip booked until May so I need something to work on 
1 Like
1-bedrooms. Maybe 2-bedrooms when the kids are older. I know some don’t have 1-bedrooms. That helped narrow my search.
When you look at that one bedroom chart you will notice CC has a total of 56 1 bedrooms at the resort. AKL has a total of around 240. I think it depends on if you can book exactly at 11 months (at 8am) and you don’t plan on traveling during DVC prime times (a combo of popular times and low points- December for example).
I think we have it narrowed down to AKL or BCV. My husband likes BCV for the location and pool, but I’m not a huge fan of the size of the 1-bedrooms and the difficulty in booking there. I’d prefer AKL because of the extra bathroom in the 1-bedrooms, the size, and the food options right at the resort. I also like that AKL has more years remaining on the contract. I acknowledge that BCV has good food options a close walk away at Epcot. I think the location issues at AKL are easily addressed by renting a car or using Lyft. On our last stay (at AKL) the transportation was only really an issue for MK.
Maybe the answer is to buy at BC to secure it at 11 months and rent AKL from time to time which should be easier at 7 months. So many choices. I bet this is how people end up with multiple contracts and different home resorts haha
I do think you would be able to easily change to AKL at 7 months (after the Covid points) but that is a significant difference in years. Are you ok with this? BWV works for me since I am older. Is BC about $20 more a point resale?
Latest resale averages from DVC Resale
Yeah. I think I have finally convinced him of AKL. He doesn’t think the years is a big deal, but I do. I’d only be in my mid-fifties when the points expire at BC. Also, the 1-bedrooms at BC are small. Factoring in the points charts and the initial price per point, AKL seems like a clear winner for me based on our family’s vacation style.
1 Like
Last question. Any reason to buy direct? I got a quote from Disney for direct for a few resorts. AKL is $186/point whereas on resale it is closer to $120/point. Some of the perks seem great, but not worth an extra $10,000 (if we go with 160 points and even more if we go with a larger contract). I can always add on a direct contract later if it becomes an issue, but there doesn’t seem to be much of a benefit.
I have two direct contracts and I cannot think of any reason to buy direct today. If you decide you need that blue card later Disney will be more than happy to sell you those points. Also, Disney can match you UY.