Important to note that all of the perks and extras are being offered by current DVD/DVC management. Prior two managers offered different perks. They can stop and/or change the perks at anytime. They are a marketing gift and are not guaranteed.
Bill
I agree with this, but I do think this position deserves some qualifications.
If you ordinarily buy annual passes and you plan on buying one this year with or without DVC, you can safely factor in the $220 per person savings when you look at the difference between resale and direct
for this year only. After that who knows. But to be fair, there has been some variation of an AP discount for DVC owners for at least the past 5 years, so there is some consistency there.
If you are planning on spending money on food or merchandise in the parks, I think it is safe to calculate the 10-20% discount that you will receive as a DVC member
for this year only. After that who knows.
If you do this, then the difference between resale and direct will be reduced to a point where I think it is worth the risk of them potentially (probably) taking the perks away. I think your risk at that point is quite low.
That being said....if buying a DVC direct contract will cause you to engage in behaviors that you would not ordinarily engage in (purchase AP, second trip, souvenirs, etc.) then it's not really fair analysis to use all that money saved because in actuality you would have saved more if you simply didn't do anything. But then you wouldn't have had the experiences.
Bottom line is that you're better off not suffering from paralysis by analysis and in most cases if you're going to purchase DVC it's your best bet to buy your resale contract, add on 25 points direct, and go have fun.
