Considering DVC, Some questions before I commit to offers.

[num]

My wife and I are planning to buy into DVC with the face we have a young but growing family and it looks like a nice way to guarantee time together and make some great memories.

I'm considering resales of copper creek or Grand Floridian, but leaning more towards copper creek as a home.

The reason for my post is I feel like I'm missing something.
Why would I buy direct ? I understand I wouldn't be able to stay at RIveria, that's ok for now.

What we want is to be able to spend some time in WDW at diff lux resorts.
We are also interested in using the points for adventure vacations and cruises.
Do we miss out on that by buying resale?

Just looking for the gotchas in this. Also, is there a concise place where I can find what the maintenance fees are for these so I can really run the numbers?

Thanks

 

[Adg0428]

My wife and I are planning to buy into DVC with the face we have a young but growing family and it looks like a nice way to guarantee time together and make some great memories.

I'm considering resales of copper creek or Grand Floridian, but leaning more towards copper creek as a home.

The reason for my post is I feel like I'm missing something.
Why would I buy direct ? I understand I wouldn't be able to stay at RIveria, that's ok for now.

What we want is to be able to spend some time in WDW at diff lux resorts.
We are also interested in using the points for adventure vacations and cruises.
Do we miss out on that by buying resale?

Just looking for the gotchas in this. Also, is there a concise place where I can find what the maintenance fees are for these so I can really run the numbers?

Thanks

Yes you would lose on that also. But from what I’ve read, cruises aren’t a good use of points. It’s better to rent them and use the cash. I’m sure someone has a link, but yes you can google the dues for each resort.

 

[num]

yeah, i read the same on cruises. you’re better off renting your points and using the cash.

 

[teawar]

Adventures by Disney and cruises are a crazy amount of points. It’s still expensive by cash, but not as much as it would be if you attached a dollar amount to your points.
We have a small direct contract and a larger resale contract. The points are points when it comes to booking. The only issue we have with our resale points is when it’s time to borrow from another year when booking, it will often come up as an error and we have to call it. It’s a stupid glitch that is frustrating but not a deal breaker.
You can get a lot more bang for your buck with resale.

 

[chalee94]

Just looking for the gotchas in this. Also, is there a concise place where I can find what the maintenance fees are for these so I can really run the numbers?

Thanks

Lots of useful information in the DVC Resource Center thread here on the DIS:

(1) The DVC Resource Center - Updated December, 2020 | The DIS Disney Discussion Forums - DISboards.com

 

[Fulcrum]

Even if you wanted to, you cannot use resale points to book cruises or Adventures By Disney (and it’s not a good use of your points either way). For your first contract, I would buy direct to acquire the blue card. You can contact a DVC agent and find out which properties are currently available if you’re interested. When I bought direct this August, every resort except VGF and VGC were available to purchase. Although they’re only advertising Aulani and Riviera, they have points at most of the other DVC resorts. I almost bought points at CCV (my family and I ultimately decided on AKV), which at that time were going for $220/point. Based on that price and the length on the contract, CCV is one of the most economical contracts to buy direct. Although this is for resale, it shows which resorts offer the most value financially. If you want to buy direct, you can simply plug the direct numbers into the cost per point and calculate that: https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/best-economical-dvc-resorts-to-purchase-spring-2021/

Also, here is a source regarding annual dues: https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/buying/annual-dues/

 

[defrogger]

For direct, the to biggest advatages is being able to stay at Riveria (you said not an issue) + future resorts and annual pass discount. This year there is a discount for annual pass holders roughly $400 per person if you are ok with some black out dates, they dont always have the annual pass discount every year though. So if your only going once a year, the annual pass isnt going to help you save, but if your going 2 to 3 times a year it will.

If you think going direct is something you want, Grand Floridian will probably have some Direct discounts coming soon when they open up sales for the new addition there. Granted some people think price will go up, I think it will be the same as now with some discounts. But thats just an opinion. I have to imagine there going to announce pricing soon.

Do your research, im new to DVC so others will have better advice.
But you mentioned wanted to stay at different resorts. So if you are a family that likes to go for a whole week in studios, ide say you should have an easy time staying at your Home Resort, Saratoga, Animal Kingdom, and Old Key west. Poly also seems easy to get at 7 month window as well.
The others are tough to get at 7 months.

However if your staying in 1 bedrooms, its easy to get most of the resorts at 7 months with the exception of maybe OCT and Nov and holidays
Also if you live close to Disney, I do not, and you plan on 3 day trips and your flexible with your dates then you can probably stay at a nice chunk of resorts.

Something else to consider, if your staying in studios, Copper Creek only sleeps 4 and are a tiny bit smaller then most of the other resorts. Grand Flor sleeps 5 and has allot more room, granted allot more points to stay in those rooms as well.

Both Copper Creek and Grand Floridian have good long term value
In the end they are both great resorts

 

[Fulcrum]

For direct, the to biggest advatages is being able to stay at Riveria (you said not an issue) + future resorts and annual pass discount. This year there is a discount for annual pass holders roughly $400 per person if you are ok with some black out dates, they dont always have the annual pass discount every year though. So if your only going once a year, the annual pass isnt going to help you save, but if your going 2 to 3 times a year it will.

If you think going direct is something you want, Grand Floridian will probably have some Direct discounts coming soon when they open up sales for the new addition there. Granted some people think price will go up, I think it will be the same as now with some discounts. But thats just an opinion. I have to imagine there going to announce pricing soon.

Do your research, im new to DVC so others will have better advice.
But you mentioned wanted to stay at different resorts. So if you are a family that likes to go for a whole week in studios, ide say you should have an easy time staying at your Home Resort, Saratoga, Animal Kingdom, and Old Key west. Poly also seems easy to get at 7 month window as well.
The others are tough to get at 7 months.

However if your staying in 1 bedrooms, its easy to get most of the resorts at 7 months with the exception of maybe OCT and Nov and holidays
Also if you live close to Disney, I do not, and you plan on 3 day trips and your flexible with your dates then you can probably stay at a nice chunk of resorts.

Something else to consider, if your staying in studios, Copper Creek only sleeps 4 and are a tiny bit smaller then most of the other resorts. Grand Flor sleeps 5 and has allot more room, granted allot more points to stay in those rooms as well.

Both Copper Creek and Grand Floridian have good long term value
In the end they are both great resorts

There is no annual pass discount for DVC members currently. Members can purchase the Sorcerer Pass instead of having to pay for the Incredi-Pass (the Incredi-Pass is otherwise the only available AP for non-Florida residents). You are still paying full price for the Sorcerer Pass; Disney may be moving away from annual pass discounts for DVC members and instead simply allowing them to purchase a tier below the most expensive option.

 

[RoseGold]

Here's the math. I found this chart helpful. Even though it's only a few months old, prices have significantly changed overall, even from this chart. BUT, it's a buyer's market, because there is so much inventory out there. There are bargains to be had if you are patient.

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/best-economical-dvc-resorts-to-purchase-spring-2021/

 

[igrsod]

I would purchase resale... just my opinion, but we have purchased resale twice and have never once regretted it. The "perks" of a direct purchase are minuscule and not worth the savings that came from buying resale.
Do your research, do the math, only you can figure out what makes sense for your family and your style of vacationing.
I did the math multiple times and I couldn't make the numbers work in such a way that justified buying direct.

 

[jbreen2010]

If you’re not interested in the perks the only downside of resale right now is you can’t book at riviera (and any future new DVC properties).
But if you like the resort you’re buying at than go for it.

we also really liked copper creek and grand Floridian. We actually just bought resale at grand Floridian and the reason being was for the price of maintenance fees being slightly cheaper (we liked both resorts but did some math around the listings available). When adding up years left + maintenance fees + cost to buy in, we found a grand Floridian contract that was just a little cheaper than copper creek.

And all of the above is fine but if you really liked one or the other, the extra $XX/year is really not a big deal to be able to book in the 7-11 month window.

 

[CarolMN]

Here is a direct link to a history of annual fees, including the current year:

A history of DVC Annual Maintenance Fees since 1991

It's actually the 5th post in the DVC Resource Center thread, which @chalee94 linked for you in his post above. That Resource is also pinned near the top of all the DIS DVC Forums. If you haven't explored it yet, do give it a look. Lots of helpful and interesting information is archived there.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Suzabella]

We purchased our first small contracts resale just to get in the door. Once you're a member, you can add on in smaller amounts rather than the 150 minimum required by DVC. Then we purchased smaller contracts direct to get to the 150. We also added a larger resale contract in there a couple years ago. We now have 3 home resorts - HHI, BRV and BWV.

You can purchase 'sold out' resorts direct and if they don't have the points available, you can get on a waitlist so don't think you can only buy the currently selling resorts even though they may try to steer you that way.

 

[num]

Wow, tons of good info here. Thank you all very much.

I think a small resale to see how it fits our lifestyle, then possibly a direct buy at the new Grand Forlidian if the prices make sense is exactly what I'm looking for.

And just for my clarification, am I correct in my understanding that if I am a member, I can't pool points from direct + indirect together? for instance, I buy a 100pt resale, and a 150pt direct. I cannot use them for a 250pt stay at rivera, but can use them for a 250pt stay at grand floridian right ?

 

[Adg0428]

Wow, tons of good info here. Thank you all very much.

I think a small resale to see how it fits our lifestyle, then possibly a direct buy at the new Grand Forlidian if the prices make sense is exactly what I'm looking for.

And just for my clarification, am I correct in my understanding that if I am a member, I can't pool points from direct + indirect together? for instance, I buy a 100pt resale, and a 150pt direct. I cannot use them for a 250pt stay at rivera, but can use them for a 250pt stay at grand floridian right ?

after the 7 month mark they are good everywhere besides riviera. You can pool them then. At the 11 month mark you can only buy where your points are for.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I recommend resale. However things you need to know about resale is that resale points cannot be used for cruises or to book adventures by disney. You cannot purchase the discounted AP with resale purchase either. You can trade them into RCI. Now having said all that using points for a cruise is not economical- you are better off renting the points and using the money towards a cruise. The only direct benefit that is worth it, in my opinion is the discounted AP pass and that is only worth it if you are going more than one time per year. Copper creek is a great resale buy for the years available and reasonable point chart. RIV is a gorgeous resort but the resale restrictions may impact resale price if you ever need to sell. Also the point chart for RIV is higher than CCV so CCV points will go further.

 

[Sandisw]

There is no annual pass discount for DVC members currently. Members can purchase the Sorcerer Pass instead of having to pay for the Incredi-Pass (the Incredi-Pass is otherwise the only available AP for non-Florida residents). You are still paying full price for the Sorcerer Pass; Disney may be moving away from annual pass discounts for DVC members and instead simply allowing them to purchase a tier below the most expensive option.

Just to clarify, the gold pass was a unique pass only available to DVC and FL residents. The $400 difference was not a discount as no one else could buy it at a higher price.

That is the same of the Socerer. pass. That pass is only supposed to be purchased by those with a qualified membership.

Now, people not officially eligible have been sold the pass. Whether this will stop at some point or continue, we have no idea. I would not buy resale expecting to buy that pass as long as the language from DVC says you can’t.

The discount previously given to DVC was off platinum level passes and for tthe Incredi pass which is the equivalent that is now gone.

So for discounts and such, while they exist, you are guaranteed them as someone who holds the blue card. White card is hit or miss.

To the OP, the biggest benefit for direct is the ability to stay at RIV and future resorts, as well as any other special events they decide to run.

And, RIV can be similar in cost compared to the resales you mention.

Having said that, if you don’t see yourself wanting to stay there, then direct probably doesn’t make sense since both CCV and VGF are difficult for studios especially if you want to travel mid September to mid January. Owning there if that is where you want to stay is important.

Given the new rooms being added to VGF, I’d probably look into that further over CCV.

As already mentioned, no use for the Disney Collection. While it is not the same value as using for DVC rooms, I have done a few 3 night cruises using points and it was well worth it. It replaced a trip to WDW and shortened another but in the end, it worked out fine.

So I wouldn’t go into DVC with the trading to those options as a regular thing, but for the occasional cruise it might work out.

Oh, and to add, I do not think they are selling VGF to new buyers right now as the new points will go on sale at some point in the next 3 to 6 months.

Good luck!

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Wow, tons of good info here. Thank you all very much.

I think a small resale to see how it fits our lifestyle, then possibly a direct buy at the new Grand Forlidian if the prices make sense is exactly what I'm looking for.

And just for my clarification, am I correct in my understanding that if I am a member, I can't pool points from direct + indirect together? for instance, I buy a 100pt resale, and a 150pt direct. I cannot use them for a 250pt stay at rivera, but can use them for a 250pt stay at grand floridian right ?

After 7 months you can use the points anywhere except the resale contract will not be able to book RIV, but you can use the direct VGF points there.

 

[nuhusky123]

i Weighed these options as well, I am planning to by vgf2 as soon as they go on sale.

that said I plan to visit wdw a couple times a year for a total of about two weeks the annual pass discounts earned direct made sense to me

what I did was buy 150 points into akl and now I’m waiting to add on at vgf2. Bonus I got to bank my 150 points from 2021 for an upcoming stay in 2022 and I still have my full 150 2022 points to spend

i find the ease of closing and getting points direct same day and not having to worry about finding contracts with the same use year worth buying direct

 

[num]

What is the significance of getting points in the same use year? Is it just for the convenience of having them all loaded up at once?