So I would be wary of RIV. The problem I think that will arise is a few years down the road when resale starts kicking in. Anyone that buys RIV resale is going to only have RIV as an option to stay. That is going to greatly block up their rooms IMO and booking there will be extremely hard.....even at 11 months.
The other thing I would ask yourself is why buy direct? If you are only visiting once a year, AP's will do nothing for you. Moonlight Magic will not be a factor as well. We have been going to Disney for years and we both kick ourselves for not giving DVC a chance a long time ago when it was cheaper but we finally looked into it and bought resale. We saved $10,000 buying resale verses direct! We go once a year so AP's and Moonlight Magic have no relevance to us. The only thing that stings a little bit is not having access to the EPCOT lounge but due to overcrowding in the parks, we have stuck with our "no more than 3 parks" in a trip rule so it's not like we are even in EPCOT every visit and our kids would rather run around doing Agent P then sitting in a lounge. As resale owners we can pool hop, go to Top of the World Lounge, rent DVD's, use community rooms, have the same booking windows, etc. If I lived closer and we went more often then the AP discount and Moonlight Magic events would be a bigger draw but at this time they were not worth $10,000. Even at Disney $10,000 can buy you a lot of treats! Also, don't forget member benefits can be removed at any time.
Now if you want to buy RIV because you want to keep the option of staying at all current and future DVC resorts, I get that. Remember though, only the points you buy direct can be used at RIV and future resorts! Just because you have a Blue does not mean any points other you buy at resale are immune to the rules.
IMO, if you want to stay at CC and AKV, then I would buy resale at CC. AKV has plenty of inventory to get rooms at 7months as long as you are not looking to get value or concierge. CC gets booked quickly and having that 11 month window advantage is critical to book there. If you want to stay at RIV, then rent your points out (CC points would rent very quickly) and then rent points from someone who owns or has the ability to rent at RIV.
Pretty much my feelings, too.
Justadreamaway makes excellent points. To reiterate and expand a little, RIV is shiny and brand new, but that will fade as it does with all resorts.
- Having the Skyliner is a big draw to be sure; however, the point costs are high, as in the VGF range, so your purchase won't stretch as far.
- As others have pointed out, the dues at RIV won't necessarily rise slowly--that's a risky assumption.
- Buying RIV means that should you have to sell down the road (no one thinks they will but many do), the interested resale buyer will have to understand that he/she can ONLY book RIV going forward, and that would scare me as a potential seller. The legacy 14 resales allow you to book ALL of them except RIV. 14 > 1.
- Buying resale, say AKV, means you don't have all the perks allotted to DVC owners, but as pointed out by
justadreamaway, you'll save thousands of dollars going resale, and it would literally takes dozens of years to make up that cost difference, if it's ever made up at all. Meanwhile, any perk given to members can be taken away at a moment's notice. The only thing you are buying when you purchase DVC is the ability to offset future accommodation costs, period. All else is gravy.
- Booking:
CCV studios are difficult to get, even at 11 months, but they're almost impossible many times of the year at 7 months. (Disney sold a tremendous amount of points based on the cabins which few can actually afford, so the studios then become the go-to reservation.) There is no prettier place than WL during the holidays, so with CCV, you can actually have a chance at booking a studio--there is no chance at 7 months.
RIV is new, so booking patterns currently are indiscernible; with such high points needed for a stay there, I'm hazarding a guess that it will be a tough get for a studio down the road.
AKV has some of the better booking availability in all of DVC. That being said, the downside for many is the "remote" location. Sure, it can have transportation issues--so do all the resorts at times. If you drive, which we do, it's not an issue. AKV is also one of the best-themed resorts; RIV is pretty and shiny, but well-themed it is not.
- Buying DVC is very personal, and in the end, the mantra most people swear by is "buy where you want to stay." Why? Because if that's the resort you're "stuck" with if nothing anywhere else is available at 7 months, then you'll be happy. So, I'd figure out which resort feels most like home to you, and then make the case to buy there.
Good hunting!
