Thanks! I'm excited, if we get the points in time for our Universal trip in late August, and if Universal has a flexible policy on shortening our stay and if we can find something on short notice (I don't expect to have points loaded before August begins), then we might just do a one night stay after we finish our last Universal park before we go to the airport. Lot of ifs!
Honestly the "right" amount of points is different for everyone. For us 250 points at one resort wouldn't be enough for us. We travel during high points cost time such as during Christmas and Spring Break and our home WDW resorts are Poly, GF and Riviera. We also stay in 1 bedrooms and like the better views. We also don't want to be in a borrowing situation. Those room classes during our preferred travel times take some major points and we are booking at the 11 month window. Now a family that like to stay in studios at those same resorts and don't mind the cheaper views and are going twice a year for around a week during lower points season a 250 point contract may be just right. If you decrease from traveling twice a year down to just 1 week a year 250 points may be too much for you. You can stretch those points even further at the 7 month window by staying in a studio at Old Key West, Saratoga ect. The number of points you require has nothing to do with being a "newbie" but everything to do with personal travel preferences. We also own 2 resale contracts (450 points total) at Riviera and a lot of people would tell to never buy resale at Riviera because those points are restricted to only Riviera. We got exceptional deals on those 2 contracts and plan our trips 11 months ahead plus we love Riviera. We also own a direct contract at Disneyland plus other resale contracts so we have flexibility. Riviera resale isn't a good choice for everyone ie those that only will have the 1 contract, those that want to pool their points at 7 months and stay at a non-home resort or those that don't plan their trip at the 11 month window. The most important thing when buying a contract is that you know before buying what you are able to do with your contract and what you as an owner needs to know to get the most out of that contract. I feel like most people buy what they think are "enough" points and quickly find out that they would love to have more points. I see everyday people posting that they are short points for booking the room that they want and how do they handle that or the cheap room type they thought they'd be able to book isn't available but they don't have enough points to book a more expensive room type. You may also find that you travel less one year but want to travel more the next or splurge on a better room class. That's where banking and borrowing your points gives you flexibility. There is no perfect number of points out there. Congratulations on your new purchase and hopefully you pass ROFR soon.
Before I started looking into resale contracts, I thought I'd use my D23 discount and add on another 50 points direct at BLT. Nope the discount was 500 bucks and the price is 275 a point right now. That's about 13000 with the discount. For 21k I'm getting 170 point resale, and paying less than double for more than 3x points. We were always just a bit shy on points and I didn't want to borrow 2026 to take my friends next June. I'm crazy too.
Lol so not even close to worth it. I got an amazing deal when I bought last year at 209 a point so I will always use that as a data point.
Yep for BLT which is 275 a point normally that was a great deal. Husband said we shoulda bought a decade ago.A $209 amazing deal? And here I am waiting for another $150-175 deal lol. I may be expecting too much from DVC in 2025
Yep ugh if only I had boughten my VGC in 2017 when I briefly thought about it.
I can relate to all of this. I bought my 300 direct points at RIV this past April. I was like, well, that should be enough for 1-week in a 1 BR most of the year, right? But, that was very near sighted. As I've learned more and more, I realize you only really get the benefits from the Sorcerer's pass if you go at least 2 weeks per year. And, as my kids get older, it is going to be both more difficult to pull them out of school for a week and I can eventually see us needing 2 BR accommodations. And, since our spring break is ALWAYS the week before Easter, that means there is a good chance our most likely travel times at some point are going to be spring break or Christmas break in a 2 BR. And, if you want more direct points at one of the actively selling resorts, there is probably not going to be a cheaper time to buy than right now and especially before it is sold out.
I'd say it depends on how comfortable you are with the 7-month booking window and split stays. If you value knowing your nights are secured more than 7 months out, and all at the same resort, I'd go with more RIV.
Yes those are all valid points as well as Riviera is getting very close to being fully declared so it could be sold out in the next 1 possibly 2 years. They probably don't need to heavily discount Riviera direct to get it sold out. If you bought more points direct at Poly you could alternate the years you use your contacts and bank or borrow to get the room type you want. Ultimately it comes down to are you okay having priority at only 1 resort or at 2 or more resorts also are you interested in split stays. Yes for annual passes to be worth it I think 7 or 8 days may be the break even point for sorcerers pass and 10 days is the break even point for incredipass. If you aren't traveling during actual Christmas or Thanksgiving the sorcerers pass is a great value. Buying DVC is really a personal thing and what works for one person doesn't work for another. With the ages of our kids 1 bedrooms work great for us (girl 8, boys 5 and 3). In a few years I see us migrating to 2 bedrooms as the kids get older. We will also end up with my husband's brother at some point (hopefully several years down the road) so we will have to do 2 bedrooms at that point. We have the points to pivot to 2 bedrooms at some point. Currently we've been taking trips more often with higher point value views. In the fall we are doing 5 nights in a copper creek cabin so eventually our view types or how often we are going may change to accommodate 2 bedroom usage. Good luck figuring out your dvc plan.
