Bought Riviera Despite Restrictions

[ziravan]

And. You can request/demand the UY you want. There aren’t many things they will give on if you press them, but UY is one of those things. Or. Has been in the past.

We requested our UY match our current contracts and the answer we got was, “of course”.

We demanded Jun UY for our Poly contract and was asked if we were sure we wanted different UYs, which was the case at that time. We were sure. That was the end of the discussion on that.

 

[Sandisw]

Congrats!!! Very excited for you!

Do you mind sharing what use year you got and which points you got for the RIV direct points? Someone said in this thread they’re giving 2021 points for RIV direct contracts?? We are very close to buying RIV direct points as well and we were told our use year would start March 2022.

The only 2021 points that can be given are Oct and Dec UYs because they are still in their 2021 UY.

All others have started their 2022 UYs.

As soon as we hit Oct 1st, then it will be only Dec that gets them.

If you checked into buying after March 1st, then, then the first set of points is 2022 because that is the current UY for March.

 

[busyizzy]

Thanks for the responses. When I asked our guide what the use year would be, he responded March 2022 immediately.

 

[CarolMN]

Thanks for the responses. When I asked our guide what the use year would be, he responded March 2022 immediately.

This will be our first contract ever so we don’t have any previous use year to try to match. Would it be worth asking for an Oct or Dec use year to get an extra year’s of points? The difference of the banking deadline of use year of March vs Oct vs Dec won’t really impact us I think.

Depends on your travel pattern. Generally, you want a use year that begins a month or two (but no more than 7) before your usual vacation time(s). That gives you more time to bank or use the points before they expire should you have to cancel a trip. Think of it as a kind of "free" trip insurance. Check out this thread for more helpful information:

Understanding Use Year

 

[pianomanzano]

Congrats!!! Very excited for you!

Do you mind sharing what use year you got and which points you got for the RIV direct points? Someone said in this thread they’re giving 2021 points for RIV direct contracts?? We are very close to buying RIV direct points as well and we were told our use year would start March 2022.

They’ll only give you 2021 points if a UY is still in 2021. Oct and Dec are still in 2021 so you’d have to request those use years. However if you’re a new member it’ll be hard to get those UY. Prior to joining I kept requesting a UY that would give me early/current points but was denied. Several weeks later after my resale was approved and added, they had no problems letting me add-on to my UY that was previously denied.

 

[kanerf]

I have two contracts at RIV direct and I am closing on a resale contract. I also love the place.

 

[garegco]

Thanks for the responses. When I asked our guide what the use year would be, he responded March 2022 immediately.

This will be our first contract ever so we don’t have any previous use year to try to match. Would it be worth asking for an Oct or Dec use year to get an extra year’s of points? The difference of the banking deadline of use year of March vs Oct vs Dec won’t really impact us I think.

On a new, first contract ever purchase in July we requested an October UY when they were offering March. They had to get manager approval which was done in under 5 minutes. They also get pre approval to bank those expiring 2021 UY points after the deadline which you have to do yourself by calling or chatting MS once the points hit your account.

I think you could push pretty hard that you won’t purchase unless you get the UY you want. However it might be a slightly different situation now if you want October as it’s almost here already. I would guess there would be no issue with December.

 

[pianomanzano]

I'm a little surprised by how few people buy fixed week contracts, but I know it doesn't fit everybody's travel style.

Ever since they updated the fixed week charts, I think they’re no longer worth it. For instance, OP’s fixed week was only 130 points prior to the revision, now it’s 153. To me, it’s not worth paying that premium for a studio that only costs 130 in 2022 and 139 points in 2023.

 

[tjkraz]

Thanks for the responses. When I asked our guide what the use year would be, he responded March 2022 immediately.

This will be our first contract ever so we don’t have any previous use year to try to match. Would it be worth asking for an Oct or Dec use year to get an extra year’s of points? The difference of the banking deadline of use year of March vs Oct vs Dec won’t really impact us I think.

March is still a good Use Year from the value perspective, in that you'll get another set of points just 5 months from now.

Over 40+ years, it's better to select a Use Year which suits your travel habits. March is particularly good if you tend to visit in the March - June timeframe. It's bad if you tend to visit in December - February. Mostly because of the banking provisions. With a March UY, if you have to cancel a Nov - Feb trip on short notice, you won't have any flexibility to bank the points.

If your travel patterns are bound to vary--which is often the case over an extended period as people change jobs, kids age, etc--specific Use Year isn't all that critical. At least, it's tough to predict.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I was considering getting a guaranteed week for Jersey Week, but I thought Jersey Week moved around. Sometimes it was the first week of November, sometimes the 2nd. Am I wrong on that?

Jersey week is the week when Election Day falls. So this year it is the second week, but other times it is earlier.

 

[CarolMN]

Jersey week is the week when Election Day falls. So this year it is the second week, but other times it is earlier.

I thought it was the week that includes the NJEA (Teachers') convention, a Thursday & Friday.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I thought it was the week that includes the NJEA (Teachers') convention, a Thursday & Friday.

It is, but in my experience that has always fallen right after Election Day. And Election Day is easier to track than NJEA convention.

 

[pangyal]

Congratulations!!! We absolutely love Riviera, bought resale there last year and continue to toy with the idea of buying a FW there around the same time as yours (do we need three FW at different resorts? Probably not, but with Riviera especially, it might be wise to hedge those bets considering the crunch that’s likely coming with the booking availability down the line). Great choice for the week, too! Enjoy

 

[ziravan]

We sold our BCV in Jan to make room for it, budget-wise. DW loves Riviera. I do too, but I’m convinced she could stay there every trip now. And it’s our 2nd fixed week as we also have a Poly fixed week.

Fixed, or now Favorite weeks are a great deal. And I believe, with as many points as we bought, a great hedge against needing to sell.

 

[Wakey]

The resale restrictions hit Disney badly with this resort, big discounts and slower to sell. They should scrap them all and admit it was a greedy mistake (or just mistake, they won’t admit the greed bit).

 

[DonMacGregor]

The resale restrictions hit Disney badly with this resort, big discounts and slower to sell. They should scrap them all and admit it was a greedy mistake (or just mistake, they won’t admit the greed bit).

 

[NVDISFamily]

The resale restrictions hit Disney badly with this resort, big discounts and slower to sell. They should scrap them all and admit it was a greedy mistake (or just mistake, they won’t admit the greed bit).

I don’t like them but it wasn’t enough of a barrier to prevent me from buying what the family all agreed we wanted. Wanted both a MK and a EPCOT area resort with more points in the EPCOT/HS area. No desire for a 2042 resort (youngish family). Riviera won out as our main hub for WDW.

I also feel there are going to be quite a few converts to the “the restrictions aren’t that bad” cause with VDH coming down the path in a few weeks/months. If people buy in there with the restrictions that might open them up to the possibility of buying Rivera. The subset of this set might be small…. But a thought.

I hope you are right and they go away. We will know more soon when VDH goes on sale what path they are likely to take.

BAH now I want to make some popcorn. It’s too late so I’ll have to do it tomorrow

 

[Sandisw]

The resale restrictions hit Disney badly with this resort, big discounts and slower to sell. They should scrap them all and admit it was a greedy mistake (or just mistake, they won’t admit the greed bit).

But that is not exaclty true. I posted in another thread that the 3 months prior to the shut down were some of the highest sales for any of the resorts…120ks, 189k, and 130ks. It had restrictions then too and strong sales happened.

Had it continue to see those levels, it would have sold out early then expected. 6 million points, at 120K average, takes 50 months to sell out…add in the pandemic, and it’s impacts, and you have at least another explanation as to why the average sales are what they currently are since it went on sale.

Not saying that the restrictions haven’t played some role, but definitely no evidence it’s the only reason sales are what they are right now.…and I certainly don’t consider $1350 discount right now on 150 points such a huge discount that is making people choose it over VGF if VGF is their preferred resort.

Regardless of the reasons, it still has outperformed VGF for two months…so, if the sales at RIV are not good right now, then VGF are even worse.

And, isn’t that all DVD needs to show the restrictions are not a failure?

 

[RoseGold]

Regardless of the reasons, it still has outperformed VGF for two months…so, if the sales at RIV are not good right now, then VGF are even worse.

And, isn’t that all DVD needs to show the restrictions are not a failure?

I guess by this logic Aulani wasn't a failure? It got some sales for a while and it could have been worse?

RIV opened in 2019 and it's not even half sold.

I understand the timeshare-y reasons Disney put in the resale restrictions, but this is the natural result. Actually the result could be much worse if the whole brand suffers down the line in a few years, when angry people lose their shirts, which historically was hard to do with DVC. I mean that was the point, to crush resale and the exit strategy, which is a long term plan with long term consequences we haven't even seen yet.

 

[Sandisw]

I guess by this logic Aulani wasn't a failure? It got some sales for a while and it could have been worse?

RIV opened in 2019 and it's not even half sold.

I understand the timeshare-y reasons Disney put in the slimy resale restrictions, but this is the natural result. Actually the result could be much worse if the whole brand suffers down the line in a few years, when angry people lose their shirts, which historically was hard to do with DVC. I mean that was the point, to crush resale and the exit strategy, which is a long term plan with long term consequences we haven't even seen yet.

And you don’t think that the pandemic had any role in why the sales are currently where they are?

If you use an average monthly sale of 100k..decent by any standard, it would have taken about 30 months to reach todays sales numbers. It’s currently been on sale 42 months.

Now add in the pandemic and about 3 months of zero sales, and you are about a year behind where it should have been using that 100k a month average.

No matter what the resort, 6 million points using typical DVC averages is going to take about 5 years or so to sell out.

Again, I am not saying it’s lighting the world on fire but to pretend it wasn’t selling strong right before the pandemic is just not true.

If market conditions don’t matter, why has VGF done so poorly the past two months?