Just came home from my last vacation and heavily considering making the DVC leap as I generally only stay Deluxe on property so I’m sure I’m leaving a lot of money behind. But. Am trying to figure out the right resort and still deciding if I do direct + resale. I keep changing my mind. Resale seems fine but I worry about restrictions and there’s something weirdly enticing about the membership card? I’m thinking best bet is poly for family size and booking window as well as contract length. But are there any other contenders. I like akl but seems like I’ll be able to book there even at 7 months and sometimes frustrating to only have the bus. Avoiding riviera because don’t want to be stuck there. Thinking 200-250 points to start for two smaller or one week long trip a year. Help please! 
I can’t help with the direct versus resale discussion. But as a family of five who have stayed at all the DVC resorts I may have some insight there. Would your family be doing a studio, a one bedroom, or a two bedroom?
I’m thinking we’re staying studio for now and 1bdr as the kids start to age up… reading through these posts I worry about availability if I don’t have the right home resort
With resale you can find some good deals right now with higher point contracts as some commercial renters are bailing due to increased scrutiny. Check out DVC For Less to search across resale sites.
Generally you have to own your direct contract a very long time before the benefits end up paying off…but it can pay off in time
Our favorite studios that sleep five are Riviera, GF and the Poly. We like those because of the bathroom situations. Riviera and the Poly both have two showers. The GF has a huge double vanity and then a separate shower and toilet area.
Oddly BLT is our home resort which has the smallest studios and only sleeps four. We rarely stay there. I honestly don’t tend to have problems booking things that aren’t our home resort. And I’m not someone to book early. Not even at the seven month mark.
AKL studios only sleep 4. You would have to book a 1 bedroom for 5. With what you shared I think Poly is perfect. You will not be able to stay at Riviera or the Cabins with resale but you will save a lot of money.
For studios I would buy Poly. Great location, awesome decor, huge rooms, two bathrooms with plenty of space. That said, there are other resorts where 11-month booking will be more valuable – Poly regular studios are often bookable at 7 months (but not the higher demand Tower rooms).
I would go resale if your primary concern is cost. You can get so many more points with the savings vs direct!
That said, price it out with the direct discounts and perks and see if it makes sense for you. Everyone has a different fact pattern – Sorcerer passes, Moonlight Magic, lounge benefits, discounts, etc. What matters to one may not to another.
If you want to be eligible to book at Riviera, Ft. Wilderness, or the upcoming Reflections (is that what it’s still being called?), go direct.
Yeah I’m not in a rush so I think I’ll watch incentives and what’s available. Maybe some mix of direct and resale unless that’s a headache …
It can be fairly straightforward as long as you get the same use year, but if you’re going to do some direct, at least get 150 so you can get benefits.
If you are going to do a combo of direct/resale get the resale first. It is much easier for Disney to match a direct Use Year.
This is what I heard thank you, I figure it will also give me the opportunity to decide whether or not I even need to go direct for any amount of points. Sort of a jumping off point literally !
Maybe folks mentioned it already above. (They probably did.)
But when deciding on a resort, some things to also consider isn’t just up front point cost and specific resort preferences, but also “value for points” and contract expiration dates (particularly for resale).
So, for example, SSR, OKW, and BWV give you some of the most bang for the buck (or, well, points), because similarly accommodating rooms are “cheaper” in points compared to places such as Poly, GF, etc. Of those, though, SSR and OKW have the “bus problem” (which isn’t REALLY a problem, but it IS nice to be within walking proximity of some parks). BWV has the lovely advantage of being walking distances (and boating distance, and access to Skyliner) from HS and EP, but the expiration date on the contracts there usually are 2042, versus, say, 2054 for SSR. So the cheaper up front point cost should be reflective of the fewer years to use the contract.
We own resale at BWV and SSR. We love both…and often we end up using our SSR points to stay at another resort at 7 months. We’ve used them at BLT, BWV, and this August, OKW. We have more points at SSR. BWV is our favorite resort to stay at, but we have relatively very few points to work with there.
We did make a bit of a mistake (but I mean…is owning DVC points ever a mistake? 
) in not having our SSR and BWV contracts me the same use year, but we make it work just fine.
Thanks for this- for all these reasons I was leaning towards poly, even though the upfront is higher it gives me a longer time frame and flexibility of monorail/boat and bus which for me is a big deal- I like to get in and out as quickly as possible (I’m a rope drop, afternoon pool and stack my LL for evenings and late nights). Although with a forty year contract my usage could change 
. Something about the skyliner doesn’t appeal to me for main source of transport- feels too restrictive though it’s nice to travel between parks. Honestly it will likely be poly for me (it would have been wilderness if they had 5 person studios and 1bdr)
I should point out that the Skyliner access comment I made regarding BWV (and also applies to BCV) wasn’t because it gives you easy park access or anything. In fact, there is no need to use the Skyliner at all, since you have the boats and walking path at the Epcot resorts. BUT, the Skyliner has a few things going for it. One, on a non-park day, it is just a relaxing/fun little ride to take. Two, if you want to hop between HS and EP or vice-versa, it is just another alternative to taking the Boats. Three, it is a nice way to go explore other resorts. (My wife and I took the Skyliner to Riviera while staying at BWV to eat lunch there, plus hopped over to Pop Century in hopes to track down some specific merch, etc.)
For US, I wouldn’t really want to own on the Monorail loop because MK is one of our least favorite parks, and the monorails can sometimes be really annoying. But at Poly, you can also walk or take the boats.
Boulder Ridge does have 5 person studios.
As everyone else points out here, there are many factors to consider, and everyone’s situation is different. So just a few thoughts from me. You can definitely save money buying resale, but I ended up buying direct (twice) for a few reasons: 1) you get all the points right away. Not only are they loaded in your account straightaway, but also you get every point from every use year (sometimes with the option to sell some back for a savings). So many resale contracts are stripped when I have looked, and I don’t necessarily want to wait a year or two to be able to use my points. I’m a little Veruca Salt in that way. 2) buying direct has its hiccups, in my experience, but I don’t feel like I’m questioning each aspect in the same way, and I take comfort in that. I’m Disney’s target customer here–I’m willing to pay a little more for them to take care of things for me. 3) I realized that it would bug me to be ineligible for some benefits. Many of the “blue card” benefits aren’t worth a lot, and most will tell you that they are happy to give them up for the $$ they save. But as Veruca once again, I want the full array of benefits. YMMV.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite resort. I own at GFV, and I got that direct a few years ago when the incentives were almost as good as resale. But I love the Poly location more because of the MK access and walk to the TTC for easier Epcot access. And I want to be able to book at the tower (esp. with its 1BR being one of the ones with 2 bathrooms). So I bought some Poly points too.
No regrets from me for either. I don’t know how long i will ultimately hold these contracts, but with both GFV and Poly, I feel like given the expiration dates and locations, I can always sell them when I’m ready and get a decent amount back again. Good luck in your decision!
Thanks for all this- I definitely feel the “it would bug me” about the direct just not sure if worth the cost differential yet. My guess is ultimately I’ll prob start with 100 resale and then do 150 direct at poly based on everything here.
I would definitely look for a loaded resale contract vs. stripped, if you go that route. It can be harder to find, but worth the wait.
The only issue I see with Poly is the lack of non-studio rooms as your kids get older. Even with our one kid, we’re considering transitioning to a 1 bedroom in the future.
We bought resale and we’re ok not getting the perks.
Admittedly, most of the time my wife and I like to get 1 bedrooms just for the two of us!!! 