3rd year in a row going to WDW. Should I be a DVC owner?

[noisykid]

This will be our (Me, wife, soon to be 10 yo daughter) 3rd year in a row going to WDW.

We have paid rack-rate for the past 2 trips: Jan 2023 Poly Club Level and Jan 2024 Beach Club 1BR Villa (direct). Each for 6-7 night stay. We're now going to go back for Nov 10-16, 2025, and have currently booked another 1BR at Beach Club Villas (direct again). I could also see us maybe doing a short stay in March/April of 2026, followed by possibly another longer stay in either the Fall of 2026, or Jan 2027. My point being we would likely do 1-2 stays per year if we had DVC. If we didn't purchase a DVC contract, I think we'd probably not visit Disney properties as much and would vacation elsewhere with a lot less Disney mixed in.

We've liked the flexibility of booking direct vs. renting points in case we need to cancel, etc. I got covid on day 2 of our 2023 trip and was stuck in the room all week, so we used that as an excuse to go back and splurge again a year later, where we had a wonderful healthy stay at BCV. We're big Epcot fans, so the easy walk over at any time really increased our enjoyment, as did having a washer/dryer and kitchen. Although, the lousy layout of the BCV 1BR's bathroom is kinda meh and needs a rethink. This year, some friends are going down in Nov so we're using that as our motivation to join them for a few days and before we knew it, we expanded it to another whole week at BCV 1BR. The off-the-rack trips have been pricey obviously, so we want to be smart about this moving forward. I look back at the amount of money we've spent for our resort stays for those last 2 trips and this upcoming one, and it could cover a decent contract.

I've read some threads where people have stated that if you're staying in 1BR units at BCV, etc., the cost savings isn't that great when you do the math and consider the 2042 expiration. So just posting here to get the ball rolling and hear some opinions given our travel to date and future. Also, if we were to buy a resale contract in the next month or so, I'm guessing that reserving a 1BR at BCV would be difficult to impossible, and we might have to "settle" for either a different resort or room type this year, correct?

Feel free to ask any questions that might help. Thanks!

 

[CraigInPA]

BCV seems to be pricey for the number of years remaining compared to other resorts, whether you are buying direct from DVC or on the resale market.

Have you considered Riviera? As a currently being sold resort, there are typically some kind of incentive for direct purchasers. I wouldn't buy resale at Riviera, however, given the restrictions.

You might also look into renting points, instead of booking direct with Disney. You'd save a ton. However, you do lose flexibility in cancelling (although some brokers offer some flexibility for re-booking later).

 

[cruisehopeful]

You sound like a good candidate. I'd also consider if you would stay at the non WDW resorts if you take a year or two off of going to WDW. If yes, that may be the tipping point.

If you are attached to Beach club, I would buy a resale contract there. This coming November is out as far as staying at Beach club. Perhaps, if you buy direct they would get you a Welcome home stay, but that's not a guarantee and buying direct at Beach club is very expensive. You can buy resale now and maybe find a room at AKL or SSR in November. It'll take at least 2 months to get your points from when you sign a resale contract.

 

[Sandisw]

I think you are definitely a candidate for owning DV,!

We definitely were not willing to rent before we bought because for us, the lack of flexibility outweighed the savings.

I have a hard time with the pricing at BCV because of its expiration date and being locked out of new resorts come 2042.

Now, it’s also not my favorite place to stay either.

We are RIV fans and that might be something to consider, especially direct!

You can get a name from our referral thread that can save you an additional $500!

And, while getting you that 1 bedroom at BCV this November via your new points might be tough, those adding on direct are given a welcome home stay which may make it possible.

At the very least, getting you something that you can’t get on your own!!

Good luck!

 

[sethschroeder]

If you are dropping rack rate at minimum you should be renting points from someone. Getting a 1BR at a resort is the easiest of any room but fall is most likely to book up where you have to own at the resort you want to stay.

Owning at Riviera is likely a better choice but if you only ever want to stay at BCV then I would likely just buy there so you don't run in to issues. If buying at BCV then you can buy resale which helps bring down the cost some.

Only way to get a 1 Bedroom at BCV in November right now would be buying direct and having DVC pull some strings for your first stay.

Important to note that you need to book DVC stays 10/11 months out for busier DVC times and for slower times like the summer you can wait a little bit longer. So if you want to do last minute trips you either need to be flexible on where you stay or you need to stick with cash stays.

 

[Matty B13]

I second looking at RIV, but you might want to think about some of the other DVC resorts as well. BCV is very pricey with only 17 years left on the contract, I would stay away from the DVC resorts with a 2042 end date. Some of the best resale values right now can be had at Poly, VGF, and BLT with much longer end dates.

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/buying/dvc-deed-expirations/

1 Bedroom units at most resorts (except low point cost rooms) are usually available at the 7 month mark most times of the year, so getting into BCV at the 7 month mark should be doable. This November 2025 might be a different story though by the time you were to go through the resale buying process. You might have a chance if you buy direct at RIV and/or Poly.

 

[sndral]

When folks do the math they are generally comparing studios to what they’d pay for a hotel room to calculate how long before they’ve made their upfront DVC cost back & start realizing savings.
However, those numbers only make sense if you plan on staying in hotel rooms. When I bought I was paying cash for either 2 deluxe Disney hotel rooms or a 1 br. villa, so those are the numbers I looked at & my payoff was literally one year for the price of a resale contract. That was over a decade ago though, the pay off would be longer now.
My DVC points are a way to save money on my visits to WDW, the fact that I could save even more money by staying in a studio isn’t relevant to me because I don’t want to vacation that way & I can afford not to.
A couple of things to think about -
You won’t be able to stay club w/ DVC (AKV Jambo has 5 club two bedroom lock offs which are almost impossible to get.)
You are correct, if you opt for a resale contract by the time you go through ROFR & your points are loaded, there won’t be much availability anywhere for this fall - especially anywhere near Epcot (food & wine.) Even if you opt for a direct contract, most of the BC villas are likely booked, if you talk to a guide (the Disney name for a DVC sales person) ask them what they could secure for you as a welcome home stay to replace your Nov. stay. Right now the new Poly tower, Riviera & the Ft. Wilderness cabins are the resorts that are in active sales & they’ll have the best direct prices.
If you opt for resale take a look at this thread to see what others are paying https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...formatting-tool.3965193/page-37#post-66132522 & this site aggregates all DVC listings https://www.dvcforless.com/listings.
Finally, take a look at MFs - long term how much you pay in maintenance fees aka dues - may matter. https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program-men...y-vacation-club-annual-dues-released-for-2025

 

[kassonvike]

We bought SSR 15 years ago or so on the resale market (back then there were very few/if any restrictions on resale vs direct). I have not regretted. it. I could sell it today for quite a bit more than we paid (again we bought on the resale market though). You mentioned maybe wanting to take a year or two off every once in awhile to go elsewhere. The rental market is VERY easy to use for sellers too. We got annual passes and went to DW 3 times in one year. We had no desire to go back again this year. Instead I put points up through one of the rental brokers and got about double what our dues were for those points. It was very easy and the entire process was complete in about 48 hours. We are using the money to help pay for a week at Universal. I could see us renting out again in the future if we decide to take a few other trips away from Florida (especially as our kids start to leave the nest). With the resale and rental market is seems like a lot less risky proposition compared to most time shares. I also agree with what others have said about staying away from those that are expiring soon. You want some time to get value back from those up front costs.

 

[fla4fun]

It sounds like you could be a good candidate if you plan to continue the trips to WDW. If buying resale, you have the option to start with a small contract that could cover a trip every other year or a larger one that would cover a yearly trip. This would let you get your feet wet, see how the dues and other costs (tickets, transportation, etc.) would impact your budget. Then if it’s everything you’ve been hoping for, you can buy more direct if you want the direct perks. Whether you buy resale or direct, don’t finance it if at all possible.

I am struck by your statement that if you didn’t buy DVC you would likely vacation elsewhere. Are your Disney trips just a short term phase? Would you feel trapped or forced to vacation at Disney after a few years? Sure, you can rent out your points or even sell your contract, but I think it’s important to consider this before getting into DVC in the first place. I am a person who can vacation at WDW every year until I leave this earth and never get tired of it. Not everyone is that way. Some people visit one location a few years and then get tired of that and want something new. If you are just looking at Disney vacations for a few years or intermittently, renting points as another poster suggested may work better (and also won’t come with any resort restrictions).

Whether or not to buy is a very individual decision. You are getting a lot of good advice. Think carefully about what your needs and goals are but if they align with the decision to purchase, and it’s no financial hardship to do so, then go for it.

 

[Genie+]

I’m thinking DVC could serve you well. But no need to buy a huge amount of points at first, which would leave room to mix in some cash stays.

1BRs are typically only 25 to 50% more expensive than regular hotel room for WDW rack rates, and often have inventory for discounts/offers. For DVC point charts, 1BRs are usually 100% more points and sometimes even 150% more points. So this category seems like a good candidate for doing cash stays. As far as Club Level, so far DVC only has an option at Animal Kingdom and its pretty competitive to book.

DVC can save alot though. Like we booked Poly Water View for December around $500/nt (24pts at $21 per point rental) when rack rate was $1400 and the best offer was $1100. If booked with the points we bought later, would’ve cost closer to $400/nt.

 

[noisykid]

Thanks for all of the responses so far, given us plenty to think about. To be clear, we've no real interest in club level moving forward. Definitely more interested in 1BR (or even 2BR) stays in the future and still leaning toward Epcot area and deluxe (or just under) stays.

 

[mort1331]

Riv is a good resort for Epcot. You have skyliner for both it and HS. Plus its close to the Springs.

 

[sndral]

Thanks for all of the responses so far, given us plenty to think about. To be clear, we've no real interest in club level moving forward. Definitely more interested in 1BR (or even 2BR) stays in the future and still leaning toward Epcot area and deluxe (or just under) stays.

IMO Epcot area is a tougher decision than say an MK area resort. First, because the unrestricted resorts - BWV & BC - expire in 2042, so not a lot of years left on those contracts. Riviera, OTH has a lot of years left on the contract (expires 2070) but, it’s the first restricted resort, if you buy resale there that’s the only place you can stay. If you buy direct there you can stay elsewhere at 7 months, but if you decide you want to sell in a couple of years you’ll realize a bigger loss. I happen to like the Skyliner so that’s a plus for me, although it’s not as convenient as just walking into Epcot like you can from the BC & BWVs. I’m not a fan of the tower type DVC resorts (BLT & Riviera) & prefer more spacious grounds & grand soaring lobbies, but that’s personal taste & others love the more convenient compact footprint & thus prefer the tower resorts .

 

[zavandor]

I'll play devil's advocate and say you shouldn't buy DVC. This is the reason:

If we didn't purchase a DVC contract, I think we'd probably not visit Disney properties as much and would vacation elsewhere with a lot less Disney mixed in.

Why would you pay quite a bit of money to lock yourself in something you wouldn't otherwise do?

 

[FellowWorldTraveler]

This will be our (Me, wife, soon to be 10 yo daughter) 3rd year in a row going to WDW.

We have paid rack-rate for the past 2 trips: Jan 2023 Poly Club Level and Jan 2024 Beach Club 1BR Villa (direct). Each for 6-7 night stay. We're now going to go back for Nov 10-16, 2025, and have currently booked another 1BR at Beach Club Villas (direct again). I could also see us maybe doing a short stay in March/April of 2026, followed by possibly another longer stay in either the Fall of 2026, or Jan 2027. My point being we would likely do 1-2 stays per year if we had DVC. If we didn't purchase a DVC contract, I think we'd probably not visit Disney properties as much and would vacation elsewhere with a lot less Disney mixed in.

We've liked the flexibility of booking direct vs. renting points in case we need to cancel, etc. I got covid on day 2 of our 2023 trip and was stuck in the room all week, so we used that as an excuse to go back and splurge again a year later, where we had a wonderful healthy stay at BCV. We're big Epcot fans, so the easy walk over at any time really increased our enjoyment, as did having a washer/dryer and kitchen. Although, the lousy layout of the BCV 1BR's bathroom is kinda meh and needs a rethink. This year, some friends are going down in Nov so we're using that as our motivation to join them for a few days and before we knew it, we expanded it to another whole week at BCV 1BR. The off-the-rack trips have been pricey obviously, so we want to be smart about this moving forward. I look back at the amount of money we've spent for our resort stays for those last 2 trips and this upcoming one, and it could cover a decent contract.

I've read some threads where people have stated that if you're staying in 1BR units at BCV, etc., the cost savings isn't that great when you do the math and consider the 2042 expiration. So just posting here to get the ball rolling and hear some opinions given our travel to date and future. Also, if we were to buy a resale contract in the next month or so, I'm guessing that reserving a 1BR at BCV would be difficult to impossible, and we might have to "settle" for either a different resort or room type this year, correct?

Feel free to ask any questions that might help. Thanks!

Out of curiosity do you happen to have an annual pass? That does help with discounted rooms, but rack rate is still a lot! I’ve come to find 1 bedrooms are not as hard to come by as studios, but last second is very difficult because everything always sells out.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

3 years in a row does not a DVC owner consideration make in my opinion.

Based on the fact that you said if you don't buy DVC then you'll vacation elsewhere leads me to bleive that you'll regret buying into DVC and "force" yourself to use it as it doesn't seem like your heart and soul are even really that into Disney...

For you I don't think its a commitment you should make.

If you want the luxury of having what is basically an appt then next time I'd suggest the Cabins (non DVC) or stay offsite at a house.

 

[noisykid]

I'll play devil's advocate and say you shouldn't buy DVC. This is the reason:



Why would you pay quite a bit of money to lock yourself in something you wouldn't otherwise do?

Because we would likely vacation in a bit less expensive way. Rack rate for a week+ for the next 10-15 years doesn't seem all that feasible.

 

[noisykid]

I should add, we love Disney. My daughter and I slightly more than my wife, although she's really come to enjoy it more than she or I ever thought she would. Even if we don't do DVC, we will still visit Disney regularly, just probably 50% as much as we would if we had DVC as a motivator. This is all just guesstimates, there are no hard and fast rules, the whole point of my post was to have the discussion with those that have had similar thoughts, etc.

 

[noisykid]

IMO Epcot area is a tougher decision than say an MK area resort. First, because the unrestricted resorts - BWV & BC - expire in 2042, so not a lot of years left on those contracts. Riviera, OTH has a lot of years left on the contract (expires 2070) but, it’s the first restricted resort, if you buy resale there that’s the only place you can stay. If you buy direct there you can stay elsewhere at 7 months, but if you decide you want to sell in a couple of years you’ll realize a bigger loss. I happen to like the Skyliner so that’s a plus for me, although it’s not as convenient as just walking into Epcot like you can from the BC & BWVs. I’m not a fan of the tower type DVC resorts (BLT & Riviera) & prefer more spacious grounds & grand soaring lobbies, but that’s personal taste & others love the more convenient compact footprint & thus prefer the tower resorts .

I agree across the board here and we too are more interested in the non-tower resorts.

 

[noisykid]

Out of curiosity do you happen to have an annual pass? That does help with discounted rooms, but rack rate is still a lot! I’ve come to find 1 bedrooms are not as hard to come by as studios, but last second is very difficult because everything always sells out.

We do not have Annual Passes at this point.