Any benefit to purchasing while at Disney vs. offsite?

[KevinKII]

Sorry in advance for the story leading to the question. Wife and I took our five-year-old to Disney in October on his fifth birthday. His first trip ever and our first trip together. I had looked into DVC prior to the trip and even considered renting points to book at Animal Kingdom. We decided against that and booked through a travel agent at Pop Century. On our first day in we went to Disney Springs and I decided to check out the DVC booth (which lead to a tour). We both liked it, but it was not a decision I wanted to make on the spot. We had a great time on our trip. I have kept in touch with our guide asking questions every once in a while. We (wife and I) have been discussing buying in since the tour. Now we are considering a spur of the moment trip in April for my 40th, and my wife wants to go back again at the beginning of December for Christmas stuff. Then we discussed going again in March when my aunt usually takes her trip to Disney/Orlando.

I spoke with our guide earlier this week to ask if she thought going in April would be possible (at any resort) and then booking our home resort in December (Riviera or Copper Creek would be our purchase). She said that we would be guaranteed April since it would be our "welcome home" first trip and that they would pull from cash inventory if they had to in order to accommodate. Also, she said there were still openings of studios for December at Rivera. I found that hard to believe but took her word for it. She then said we might have to do a split stay or move up to a one-bedroom. That would be okay with us.

I did not discuss the number of points with her, but my wife and I are thinking 175 would work for these trips (October UY). Using 120-130 2019 points for April, bank leftovers to 2020 for December and March (borrower a few from 2021 if needed for March).

Now my question, is there any benefit to buying on property vs doing it all now electronically? Any perks/upgrades/comps that they might offer to "seal the deal"? There are openings at a couple of resorts for the time frame we are looking to attend. The reason I am asking is because of her explanation of the "welcome home" first trip scenario. She stated that we could book that trip at any resort and be guaranteed a room since they would pull from cash inventory. The wife would like to be at Wilderness Lodge for the December trip. We assumed these would be sold out regardless, but worth a shot to make that our first DVC member trip. Plus, this would allow us to bank the 2019 points to use for 2020, and maybe bank some of the 2020 points to bring grandparents in 2021.

I did see the moonlight magic just sold out on the 21st at MK and was disappointed we did not act sooner as it would have been fun to be at that event on my birthday. We would likely buy the Gold Pass too if we go through with all this since we would be able to get three trips to use if we buy it in April.

 

[zavandor]

MS cannot materialize rooms out of thin air. If all rooms are booked even for cash reservations, then they cannot book a room in that resort.
In your case, I would ask the guide to guarantee a reservation and a ticket for the MM as a precondition to buy. I cannot believe they don't have tickets put aside to offer for cases like yours, to close a sale.

Personally, I would book the birthday trip on cash and research the resale market, but if direct works for you, then try to get the most from your guide BEFORE you buy.

 

[AKNOTTS66]

I will say this. If you are looking to buy direct, make sure they are able to sell you the resort you want in your state. My dad wanted to buy BLT from Disney and they were allowed to sell it to him in our state. They were only able to sell Riviera, CCV, Poly and Aulani and if we wanted to buy BLT we had to be at WDW to buy. Its probably different in every state but I would check with your guide just to make sure.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

For a welcome home, they do not guarantee resort, just a room. They might very well our you at OKW. Would you be okay with that?

 

[Sandisw]

Really no difference to buy now. As others have said, the welcome home will help you to get something for a trip, but no guarantee they can get you exactly what you want,

With RIV, because it’s in active sa,es, they are able to secure rooms there easier due to so many not yet sold.

 

[sethschroeder]

did not discuss the number of points with her, but my wife and I are thinking 175 would work for these trips (October UY). Using 120-130 2019 points for April, bank leftovers to 2020 for December and March (borrower a few from 2021 if needed for March).

So I didn't see anything about a specific resort. Have you chosen that? It seems you have since you said how many points you need for April.

Have you looked at resale vs direct. Based on what it sounds like trips in April/Dec/March all in the same year it sounds like the main benefit of the annual pass would help save you money in the long run.

I had looked into DVC prior to the trip and even considered renting points to book at Animal Kingdom. We decided against that and booked through a travel agent at Pop Century.

What was the reason not to rent? Just loss of flexibility?

She stated that we could book that trip at any resort and be guaranteed a room since they would pull from cash inventory. The wife would like to be at Wilderness Lodge for the December trip.

So this brings up another question do you need specific resorts? You understand it can be difficult to get non-home resorts when you are traveling in busy times of the year for DVC. Have you checked out the availability thread for an idea and will you be okay with staying at your home resorts many times?


You may have thought of all this but things that came to my mind.

 

[KevinKII]

So I didn't see anything about a specific resort. Have you chosen that? It seems you have since you said how many points you need for April.

Have you looked at resale vs direct. Based on what it sounds like trips in April/Dec/March all in the same year it sounds like the main benefit of the annual pass would help save you money in the long run.



What was the reason not to rent? Just loss of flexibility?



So this brings up another question do you need specific resorts? You understand it can be difficult to get non-home resorts when you are traveling in busy times of the year for DVC. Have you checked out the availability thread for an idea and will you be okay with staying at your home resorts many times?


You may have thought of all this but things that came to my mind.

We are looking at Riviera and Copper Creek, but leaning toward Riviera for the better cost on points (195 vs 220 not including current incentives).

We have looked at resale vs direct. We were/are considering direct just to be able to stay at all resorts including future resorts. We would not take these trips in succession every year, but if we bought direct we would be trying to do trips that would allow us to buy a gold pass and use it at least twice.

We decided not to rent to "save" money and be able to do some extra special stuff for his birthday while at Disney. We weren't sure what we would need for everything and thought it would be better just to have money on hand.

We do not require specific resorts and understand the difficulty of getting a non-home resort.

 

[sethschroeder]

We are looking at Riviera and Copper Creek, but leaning toward Riviera for the better cost on points (195 vs 220 not including current incentives).

Make sure you understand that Maintenance Fees will be a vast majority of what you pay in the long run.

Right now its like $7.44 for CC vs $8.30 for RIV. You are going to pay that per point every single year for the next 45-50 years. They will go up over time as well.

but if we bought direct we would be trying to do trips that would allow us to buy a gold pass and use it at least twice.

Do the math though because 2 trips vs a gold pass. You will save on your family of 3 roughly $1700 per 2 years ($850 per year). So you would need to take how much resale would save you and divide out by $850 to see how many years before you break even.

Also remember that Gold Pass does have blackout windows. These will fall into the Spring Break / Christmas windows typically. These dates and the Gold Pass discount can always change as well.

We were/are considering direct just to be able to stay at all resorts including future resorts.

This is a big reason to buy direct. Remember that over the next 20 years at this point we don't have a single resort that you can't stay at with resale points that doesn't have a comparable resort. When 2043 comes around and those resorts expire is when this really comes in to play.

RIV has both BWV/BCV as options
REF has both CCV/BRV as options
Disneyland might not be for a while but has VGC (although its basically impossible to book here no one would know about the Disneyland Resort one and how hard it will be to get)

If you can swing direct though and the AP comes out to saving you money in 10 years time it likely makes sense. I would likely have bought direct if we didn't 100% have our minds set on BWV and only BWV.

 

[mustinjourney]

to answer your question -- I don't think they provide any additional incentives if buying in-person vs over the phone. If doing over the phone, you'd get your points much faster, so you'd have better shot at booking what you want.

 

[KevinKII]

to answer your question -- I don't think they provide any additional incentives if buying in-person vs over the phone. If doing over the phone, you'd get your points much faster, so you'd have better shot at booking what you want.

Thank you. I know they do not haggle on the price of points, but I was not sure if they would offer to upgrade the current room to a DVC room for the remainder of stay or comp the cost of the room or anything like that.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

You don’t get ice cream over the phone.

 

[pixieprincess925]

Also in person they give out DVC tote bags or backpacks or something (depends what they have at the moment). Make sure they send you that if you buy over the phone! I think it's worth asking for the MM tickets as well since you'll be there anyway.

DVC is not in the habit of upgrading or comping rooms - at least not that I've heard.

 

[striker1064]

Thank you. I know they do not haggle on the price of points, but I was not sure if they would offer to upgrade the current room to a DVC room for the remainder of stay or comp the cost of the room or anything like that.

Nope. I've read many years ago they'd apply the cost of your stay to your DVC purchase, but that is long gone. They are selling more than enough points as-is without needing to offer any such incentives.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

You might want to look over some of the threads on riviera before you purchase there. Some highlights:
1. Riviera Fees heavily subsidize the gondola— that’s why the fees are so high.
2. Riviera point chart is high
3. Resale restrictions make your purchase less valuable should you resell
4. Riviera does not have a lot of extra common space or amenities (make sure you like the resort).
You will love dvc!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Nope. I've read many years ago they'd apply the cost of your stay to your DVC purchase, but that is long gone. They are selling more than enough points as-is without needing to offer any such incentives.

We got that deal when we bought our DVC points the first time. In 1997.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We are looking at Riviera and Copper Creek, but leaning toward Riviera for the better cost on points (195 vs 220 not including current incentives).

We have looked at resale vs direct. We were/are considering direct just to be able to stay at all resorts including future resorts. We would not take these trips in succession every year, but if we bought direct we would be trying to do trips that would allow us to buy a gold pass and use it at least twice.

We decided not to rent to "save" money and be able to do some extra special stuff for his birthday while at Disney. We weren't sure what we would need for everything and thought it would be better just to have money on hand.

We do not require specific resorts and understand the difficulty of getting a non-home resort.

Buy the resort you don't mind staying at if you can't reserve a non-home resort at seven months out. It is getting a lot harder to book a non-home resort at seven months. It will be difficult to book BRV at seven months in December.