Best DVC Bang For Your Buck?

[Frugal Fairy Tales]

What do you think is the best bang for your buck right now in the DVC world? (Can be best direct points, best resale points, best room type, best resort, etc, etc)

 

[Sandisw]

Whatever resort is the one that will make you the most happy.

For me, since it’s RIV, that’s the best bang for me!

 

[RichVIII]

Whatever resort is the one that will make you the most happy.

For me, since it’s RIV, that’s the best bang for me!

Agree with this. I find more and more we want to stay at the places we want to stay with the room types that work best for us.

 

[Nursemanit]

Vacation is not the time to do the bang for your buck calculation. If you want it and can afford it then pick the resort you want.

Nothing wastes money more than buying something you don't like.

 

[matt and beth]

I’ve been wondering if buying resale Aulani might be the best bang for buck…

 

[Jlo85]

I agree ‘buy where you like’, but in terms of comparing…

• Riviera resale is best if you can swallow the restrictions
• Aulani resale (unsubsidized) is best among the legacy resorts
• SSR is the best value at WDW
• Otherwise, OKWe, PVB, CCV and AKV are all good.
• The only really questionable buys are BCV, VGC or Aulani direct

 

[ziravan]

This is a luxury item and best bang for your buck doesn’t apply.

It’s way too much money to spend to not get exactly what you want.

“Buy where you want to stay” has always been the best advice on this forum and I agree with the previous posters that that is “the best bang for your buck.”

 

[scoobdoo]

Always RIV

 

[Ruttangel]

The best bang for your buck if you are buying where you want to stay would be at AKV. Those value rooms can be 55pts for a week, if you paid about $12pp (eg 100pts for 35yr is 3.5pts per year + dues of $8.5 is $12pp), thats $660 for a week!! You definitely need to own to get a full week and you may have to pick up days behind walkers but 100% success for me so far.
The rooms are slightly smaller so best with 2 adults and 2 non teenage children.

 

[RoseGold]

DVC points are a five figure discussion. Orlando is flush with other timeshares with more favorable math, if that is your goal. Heck, you can even rent these reservations for really cheap and not buy one at all. I've eyed that Wyndham one more than once. Head over to Redweek and poke around.

If bang for your buck is the goal, Disney in general is not the answer, and DVC isn't the answer. Staying on site at Disney is more expensive than other options, and DVC locks you into buying park tickets.

I did math in 2017-19 deciding to buy. The AoA family suite went up more than I calculated, but the room that didn't is Swan/Dolphin. If I were doing the math today, I'm not sure I would buy at all.

 

[Stargazer65]

As you can see, there's a pretty solid consensus.

 

[DVCsloth]

I do agree with "buy where you want to stay". I would choose Riviera as best choice for me if I were buying as a new owner. We seem to travel to Epcot and HS more lately, so I think the location of Riviera works well for us. We have been spending less time in the parks lately, so location and amenities mean a lot to us.

 

[BeachClub2014]

It is pretty hard to go wrong with the "buy where you want to stay" approach. The actual cost differences between many of the resorts (depending upon how you do the calculations, of course) are not that large. You may save a few bucks on one resort over another, but at which one do you want to stay?

 

[RoseGold]

As you can see, there's a pretty solid consensus.

A lot of words, not a lot of math.

There aren't many rooms that would actually stack up to the math with DVC as expensive as it currently is. Sure, if you bought your points 10 years ago, you look like a genius. Even 2018, when I actually did this math, it made more sense. But now, DVC is expensive, and this is an expensive on-site stay.

I think the value AKL and OKW 3BR would probably hold up, assuming you were actually going to pay cash for those rooms. But good luck booking that. And you'd still be better off financially staying off site. Sure, if you're the kind of person who would spent $700/night at Poly, and wouldn't set foot in a value. you can probably do better with DVC. Guessing that's not OP. (And if you're that person, you should be off-site anyway). I've seen cash pricing for the bungalows/cabins at like 3K/night. I haven't done the actual math on it, because I'd never book that, but I think DVC can hold up well to that. If you're asking about frugal DVC, that's probably not you.

I can make a lot of arguments for DVC (and WDW), but cost effective isn't it.

 

[Jlo85]

A lot of words, not a lot of math.

There aren't many rooms that would actually stack up to the math with DVC as expensive as it currently is. Sure, if you bought your points 10 years ago, you look like a genius. Even 2018, when I actually did this math, it made more sense. But now, DVC is expensive, and this is an expensive on-site stay.

I think the value AKL and OKW 3BR would probably hold up, assuming you were actually going to pay cash for those rooms. But good luck booking that. And you'd still be better off financially staying off site. Sure, if you're the kind of person who would spent $700/night at Poly, you can probably do better with DVC. Guessing that's not OP. And I've also seen cash pricing for the bungalows/cabins at like 3K/night. I haven't done the actual math on it, but I think DVC can hold up well to that, if you're that kind of person. If you're asking about frugal DVC, that's probably not you.

I can make a lot of arguments for DVC (and WDW), but cost effective isn't it.

Disney has made it pretty clear they will raise prices and cut perks to control the crowds. So, I agree that if you don't think you'll be able to regularly afford a luxury product like Walt Disney World, DVC probably isn't a good buy. Disney and DVC is more expensive today, but the question is will it continue to get more expensive. And I think the answer to that is *probably* yes. It won't be accessible to the middle-class anymore.

But I think DVC is definitively the best timeshare program on the market, at least for right now. The other brands are cheaper, but they're not as well managed, and they aren't as popular (e.g. resale value).

For math, I do recommend a Net Present Value calculation. I've posted one on this forum, but they help to consider whether DVC is a good investment if you are looking for value vs. paying cash. I do think this board also tends to lump-in direct and resale buyers. I think direct purchases definitely are a luxury product. Resale I'm not so sure. If you're buying resale, you're looking for a deal. So the value is certainly something to consider in addition to 'where do you want to stay'.

 

[RoseGold]

But I think DVC is definitively the best timeshare program on the market, at least for right now. The other brands are cheaper, but they're not as well managed, and they aren't as popular (e.g. resale value).

It's not like the choice is spend five figures on DVC or buy some gross timeshare. You can book them cash or rent them or stay in other ones, or stay in other, very nice hotels or Aibnbs. And change it next year.

I would include renting DVC in this discussion too, because I think DVC points are still priced too low to be worth it to owners. If you can accomplish what you want with renting, that should be on the table. And I can make a very good math argument for that, if you are set on staying DVC.

 

[Brian Noble]

What do you think is the best bang for your buck right now in the DVC world?

Wyndham Bonnet Creek, resale. A peak-season (incl. Christmas, NYE, and Easter) 2BR is 224K points. You can buy points for about $10/K resale, so you'd be out the door for about $2,250. Annual dues for that ownership would be a shade under $1,600. Unlike most DVC 2BRs, the freezer has an ice maker, and the dining room table seats six. The resort has an excellent location, and we often find ourselves driving past it to get to/from our villa when we are staying at OKW or SSR.

That's a little facetious, but not entirely. Orlando is absolutely chock full of really fantastic timeshares. Many of them are as nice or nicer than a typical DVC resort. Most of them can be had for pennies on the dollar in the secondary market, and have annual dues that are comparable to or less than DVC. Of course, you won't get any of the Disney perks with this, but the money you save can pay for quite few extras, and leave you some leftover.

DVC is a product that only makes sense if you cannot imagine yourself enjoying WDW visits without staying at a Disney resort at least once every other year. You will pay dearly for that privilege, even if you are buying resale, and no matter how you do it. And that's why the answers to your question so far are essentially: "There aren't any."

 

[Brian Noble]

The other brands are cheaper, but they're not as well managed

I could not disagree with this more. In my experience, Disney is a distinctly average timeshare company. I've stayed at five or six DVC resorts, most of them several times, and the "hotel branded" timeshares in Orlando (Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton) are all at least their equal and usually better.

they aren't as popular (e.g. resale value).

This is true, mostly. Marriott might be something of an exception. But, this also cuts both ways. If you are buying resale in the first place, the fact that you sell for "less" than you'd sell DVC doesn't matter. I put my Wyndham portfolio together for negative cost (meaning: I got a free year's worth of use here and there that more than made up for the purchase costs). My annual fees are also much lower than average for that system. I sort of fell into that with a bit of luck, and probably couldn't replicate it if I tried, but still. If I end up just giving it back to Wyndham when I'm done for Zero Dollars, I've still come out ahead just on the purchase price.

 

[Jlo85]

It's not like the choice is spend five figures on DVC or buy some gross timeshare. You can book them cash or rent them or stay in other ones, or stay in other, very nice hotels or Aibnbs. And change it next year.

I would include renting DVC in this discussion too, because I think DVC points are still priced too low to be worth it to owners. If you can accomplish what you want with renting, that should be on the table. And I can make a very good math argument for that, if you are set on staying DVC.

You may be right. Though, AirBnBs certainly aren't as nice or affordable as they were a few years back either.

When I was pricing out renting, it didn't seem like the value was really that great. David's charges $23/point for 11 month booking. Disney's rack rates I found could vary from like $25-$38/point. So, yes sometimes renting was a pretty decent savings (at the cost of the stricter cancellation policies), but sometimes you're talking about a very small savings. I also wonder as Disney prices people out, if the rental rates will outpace inflation.

I could not disagree with this more. In my experience, Disney is a distinctly average timeshare company. I've stayed at five or six DVC resorts, and the "hotel branded" timeshares in Orlando (Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton) are all at least their equal and usually better.

Yeah, I guess my main concern would just be could you get out from under those other timeshares if you really wanted to? I know people who have had trouble. At least DVC I feel somewhat confident people will buy it if I want to get rid of it. Also, like all things DVC, you're paying for the bubble and convenience.

 

[BeachClub2014]

If you're asking about frugal DVC, that's probably not you.

Definitely agree that the word "frugal" and "DVC" should not be used in the same sentence. Unless that sentence reads: "DVC is not a frugal purchase."

The OP's question was more so on where to find the best DVC bang for their buck so would certainly imply the interest in actually purchasing DVC. If that is the case, then buying where you want to stay has many merits. Renting is not for everyone.