I think Poly tours the bungalows and CC the cabins!
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I should also mention that we come in spite of the heat not because of it. We are beach goers. But being able to use points(?) in DLR in CA is a definite plus. Ideally once I’m retired we would travel during all the times I can’t right now as a teacher. Nov - March or so.
Resale contacts and direct contracts are the same number of years fir each resort-with the exception of OKW. In other words, a direct AKV contract and a resale AKV contract expire the same year.
Research til your eyes bleed! Make sure you understand use year and banking and borrowing. Study the point charts carefully-how many points would you need for when you like to travel and the size of unit and location you want?
Understand that busy times for DVC are not the same as for general Disney travel. For instance, early December is the hardest time to book-if you want to travel then make sure to buy where you want to stay.
Using your points for other hotels and cruises is a horrendous financial value. You can also only do this with direct points. Don’t do it.
If you want direct benefits, plan to buy the minimum-125-direct, and the rest resale. Easiest to buy resale first and then Disney will match your use year direct. Don’t buy more than that. Remember that the main direct benefit is the ability to buy discounted APs. They aren’t selling APs at all right now so decide if that’s worth it to you.
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Thanks. I understood some of that lol. I promise I won’t make any transactions until I understand all of your post. That’s why I’m trying to listen to the podcast for new members. I’m not in any hurry and would want to be able to get the discounted APs. I’m hoping things settle down by 2022 and perks etc come back. I appreciate your specific advice, that will be very helpful once I understand more. I’m willing to educate myself - occupational hazard of being a teacher lol. I am glad I asked the question because knowing I’m not completely nuts for considering DVC helps motivate figuring more out about it. Right now it’s mostly mental and not emotional as there is no way anything is happening this year.
Everyone’s answers have been wonderful. Thanks.
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Can you link the podcast info you are referring to plz? And TY!
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See if this works.
https://mydvcpoints.com/resources/new-member-education-series-playlist/
I did not find this someone recommended it in another thread recently.
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thank you !!!
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Have you looked at the direct prices? To get “blue card” benefits (discounts, moonlight magic, EP lounge) you will need 125 direct points. There are some resorts that are not as expensive direct as others (SSR and OKW). You will see that Vero and Hilton Head are cheaper, but their dues are crazy (hurricane damage is possible).
I like this direct v resale chart
https://www.buyandselldvc.com/index.php/buying/direct-disney-prices
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The math on buying direct to get discounted APs is one area where being a single or couple vs a family might make a difference. Even families can take 10-15 years before discounted APs cover the increased cost of buying direct, especially if that’s your first contract (minimum of 125 points).
Although the APs aren’t being sold right now, I’ve seen that the discount was $125-200 per person. When resale prices are usually 40% less than Disney direct…there has to be something other than discount APs to make direct worth it.
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I think the difference between a gold AP and regular is closer to $300 per person?
That being said, if I was a first time buyer today I would only look at resale. I know the Riviera direct incentives make the cost about the same as many resale contracts but that resale restrictions and crazy point charts make it a hard no for me.
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I think you’ve gotten a ton of advice here, but my understanding is that if you want to stay at GCV you NEED to own there. If you want to try and be flexible and stay at multiple resorts, I would buy at SSR or OKW.
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I was looking at the availability table and it appears some room types are typically available for some times of year at GCV, but I agree it is not something I would bank on.
Maybe! I could have been reading an old article.
I own at VGC and yes, it’s very very hard to get if you don’t own there. There are maybe 48 DVC rooms. If you want to stay there, buy there-or rent your points out and pay cash. Never swap points fir a regular hotel room.
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We are at YC next month, too.
I went to a DVC appointment/sales pitch . I did not find it to be a hard sell, very pleasant experience. I got a $100 Disney gift card out of it.
We did not buy since we don’t have 50 years left and neither of my adult children was interested in taking on the dues after we aren’t around.
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I had heard that VGC was really tough to book. It makes me even more excited that I scored two nights in November just last week. I think I was looking at just the right time. I may never be able to stay there again though! Those contracts are really pricey on the resale market.
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We bought a BLT resale contract in August of 20. Just my DW and myself but we occasionally take a niece, cousin and aunt. We were staying mostly at moderate resorts and occasionally buying season passes and staying more frequently. We started looking into DVC to see what if there was a way to stay at a nicer studio room(s) or even upgrade to the 1 or 2 bedroom every once in awhile. We ultimately decided that if we used the DVC for 10 years and then decided to sell we would only be out the annual dues for the time that we used the DVC. In this scenario we would be spending less per year and getting a deluxe resort versus a moderate one. This assumes that you have the money up front to buy the DVC contract and that you are probably not going to be earning the same rate of return for the money that you paid for the contract versus other investments. Youtube has some good videos that explain the ins and outs. It really depends on your personal situation. As far as direct versus resale, it was a no-brainer for us becasue it was almost $100 a point cheaper for resale and we saw little value in the direct “benefits”. The only thing we would have been interested in was the discounted annual passes.
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Sorry to bump an older thread, but I wanted to give you my perspective as well since I’m in a little different situation than others have posted. I’m single, childless, and almost always stay in value resorts when paying cash, yet I found value in becoming a DVC member.
I used to travel to WDW every other year, then every year, and now multiple times a year as funding permits. I bought a small resale contract because I would never see the savings via perks in my lifetime and I figured if my financial situation changed I could at least guarantee a trip every 3 years. I also really enjoy spending 1 of my trips at a hotel that I would never stay in otherwise as I would never pay $400+ per night for a hotel.
My annual dues are roughly the cost of 1 deluxe night and instead I get 3-4. Yes you have to account for your purchase price, but my breakdown there is about $3.85per point. SSR dues were $7.11 this year so technically I paid $548 for my 50 points this year. Depending on travel season that will get me 2 to 4 nights in a studio at pretty much any resort. That means I paid $274 a night for a 2 night stay or just $137 a night for a 4 night stay in value season at SSR or OKW. Given the value resorts cash rates are averaging over $150 a night I figured this was a pretty great investment. Plus if I want to sell in a few years I’ll probably at least break even and since these contracts have an expiration date no one is going to have to mess with this after I die like other timeshares in perpetuity.
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Ditto. This pretty much sums up my thinking as well.
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How long did it take you to close on your contracts after making your offer? I just signed my initial offer documents today. The documents said about 60 days (which appears to include both ROFR as well as everything else), but curious if that is typical or just what they say. It seems like the ROFR portion typically has been taking 3 weeks based on the Disboard listings.