Current DVC Perks for Direct vs. Resale

[AstroBlasters]

IF you can make it to a MM event, sure thats a decent perk, but the amount of members who have been or can go to one has to be a pretty small percent. Will you make or change your trip to go to one once they are announced? Id guess that not a majority of folks can or would do that. If one were to happen the dates you were already going to be there, sure, but for what I would guess to be the biggest majority, MM is not something they will ever make it to.

Oh and for the dining 10% off perk, you can get half of that for free if you have a Target red card, just buy up disney giftcards at 5% off. Or watch for other promos to get that or more.

You could also get your 10% DVC discount and then pay with a Disney gift card purchased from Target at 5% off… so that would be 15% off….

 

[kilik64]

You could also get your 10% DVC discount and then pay with a Disney gift card purchased from Target at 5% off… so that would be 15% off….

But you dont have to pay extra thousand of dollars to get the 10%.

But also touche

 

[tjkraz]

IF you can make it to a MM event, sure thats a decent perk, but the amount of members who have been or can go to one has to be a pretty small percent.

I don't know why you would think that. They've held the events 12-13 times per year. (Only 8 are currently scheduled for 2023 but more were added last year.) If the average trip is about a week, 20-25% of members will stumble into at least one event per year. Many members visit multiple times per year, increasing their odds.

Over the course of 3-4 years, odds are the vast majority of members should run into one of the events. And yes, some people do adjust their trip dates to coincide with MM or add a short trip especially for that.

Admittedly it's a small sample size but I ran a poll on another platform and about 30% of respondents had never attended one. 30% had attended once and 40% two or more times.

Of the people who have never attended, I suspect they frequent travel periods when the events are traditionally not offered. It's pretty rare to see them November - mid January. (except Disneyland). Also the 5-6 week period around Easter, whenever that happens to fall.

That's about 16 weeks when you rarely see MM offered. Of the other 36 weeks on the calendar, we often see 12 or more MM dates.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I don't know why you would think that. They've held the events 12-13 times per year. (Only 8 are currently scheduled for 2023 but more were added last year.) If the average trip is about a week, 20-25% of members will stumble into at least one event per year. Many members visit multiple times per year, increasing their odds.

Over the course of 3-4 years, odds are the vast majority of members should run into one of the events. And yes, some people do adjust their trip dates to coincide with MM or add a short trip especially for that.

Admittedly it's a small sample size but I ran a poll on another platform and about 30% of respondents had never attended one. 30% had attended once and 40% two or more times.

Of the people who have never attended, I suspect they frequent travel periods when the events are traditionally not offered. It's pretty rare to see them November - mid January. (except Disneyland). Also the 5-6 week period around Easter, whenever that happens to fall.

That's about 16 weeks when you rarely see MM offered. Of the other 36 weeks on the calendar, we often see 12 or more MM dates.

Being West Coast (but not So Cal) based, I do not anticipate ever being able to attend. Last minute flights to So Cal are $$$ and you are not getting into Grand Cal after the 7-month mark. Our whole reason to buy VGC was because the rack rate is ridiculous.

I think it’s easier if you are WDW based and can easily drive to the parks and get a DVC room within the 7 month booking window.

 

[karen4546]

You could also get your 10% DVC discount and then pay with a Disney gift card purchased from Target at 5% off… so that would be 15% off….

Yep. And 20% + 5 % off merch when using a discounted GC is almost free…. Lol.

when they were doing the 30% off for APs on merch. That is what I told my husband when we were buying my new Dooney bags.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yep. And 20% + 5 % off merch when using a discounted GC is almost free…. Lol.

when they were doing the 30% off for APs on merch. That is what I told my husband when we were buying my new Dooney bags.

Which one(s) did you get?

 

[tjkraz]

Being West Coast (but not So Cal) based, I do not anticipate ever being able to attend. Last minute flights to So Cal are $$$ and you are not getting into Grand Cal after the 7-month mark. Our whole reason to buy VGC was because the rack rate is ridiculous.

I think it’s easier if you are WDW based and can easily drive to the parks and get a DVC room within the 7 month booking window.

There are always going to be fringe cases. And everyone's travel habits are different.

We live 1000 miles away from WDW. We had penciled-in a trip for July 2022 and when MM dates were announced, we settled on dates that would coincide. And made it to the event at Hollywood Studios.

The most difficult point to convey here is that a lot is bound to change over the course of the ownership. Both the makeup of the perks offered and one's own travel habits and preferences. 20 years ago we were planning our trips 2-3 years ahead, picking dates and resorts which would maximize our points. Today, the kids are grown, our schedules are a lot more flexible and our own taste in resorts and seasons has changed over time. Recently we took our first cruise in more than a decade and loved it. Suddenly member cruises don't seem entirely off limits...and they're only available when using direct points. (Yeah, yeah, don't get me started on the value.)

I'm not saying one way is right and another is wrong. Simply playing devil's advocate as someone who has been down this road a little longer than some. In my opinion, summarizing it as "I'm not paying direct prices for 20% off t-shirts and 10% off meals" is probably a little too superficial for a purchase that runs up to 50 years. When we first bough, I had kids ages 3 and 1. Today they are....older. And life has changed considerably.

At the same time, I don't know what options people are weighing when trying to decide between the two. If someone is weighing SSR resale at $120 per point, it's a tough sell to move up to Riviera at $200+ each. (Though in fairness, that Riveria purchase not only brings the member perks but also flexibility to book other destinations and 16 more years of ownership. And possibly the bonus of getting 2022 points.)

As for resale, whether it ends up being a case of "fear of missing out" or just "missing out" will be decided over the next 30-50 years.

 

[AstroBlasters]

There are always going to be fringe cases. And everyone's travel habits are different.

We live 1000 miles away from WDW. We had penciled-in a trip for July 2022 and when MM dates were announced, we settled on dates that would coincide. And made it to the event at Hollywood Studios.

The most difficult point to convey here is that a lot is bound to change over the course of the ownership. Both the makeup of the perks offered and one's own travel habits and preferences. 20 years ago we were planning our trips 2-3 years ahead, picking dates and resorts which would maximize our points. Today, the kids are grown, our schedules are a lot more flexible and our own taste in resorts and seasons has changed over time. Recently we took our first cruise in more than a decade and loved it. Suddenly member cruises don't seem entirely off limits...and they're only available when using direct points. (Yeah, yeah, don't get me started on the value.)

I'm not saying one way is right and another is wrong. Simply playing devil's advocate as someone who has been down this road a little longer than some. In my opinion, summarizing it as "I'm not paying direct prices for 20% off t-shirts and 10% off meals" is probably a little too superficial for a purchase that runs up to 50 years. When we first bough, I had kids ages 3 and 1. Today they are....older. And life has changed considerably.

At the same time, I don't know what options people are weighing when trying to decide between the two. If someone is weighing SSR resale at $120 per point, it's a tough sell to move up to Riviera at $200+ each. (Though in fairness, that Riveria purchase not only brings the member perks but also flexibility to book other destinations and 16 more years of ownership. And possibly the bonus of getting 2022 points.)

As for resale, whether it ends up being a case of "fear of missing out" or just "missing out" will be decided over the next 30-50 years.

I get what you are saying, but I would argue that West Coast based members are not “fringe cases”.

 

[SteveAZee]

I owned direct when OKW was the only resort available and the perks were great. It's a shadow of what it once was. I ended up selling my points after a while, but then just recently bought back resale.

My plan is to go 6 or 7 times before 2042. I did the math (based on rental points I used in 2019) and what I think my family and I will typically spend on food (discountable) and merch (which isn't much) and the numbers just didn't work out to justify direct vs resale. As far as getting access to newer resorts, there's a vibrant rental market so if you have the urge to stay at the Riviera, you could probably arrange to rent points there (I'm guessing) as well as rent your own points to someone else to help offset the cost, so there might be less FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in buying resale. There are probably one or two other things mentioned above that you'd have to do without, but from my perspective I don't feel the need to do everything. That's me.

 

[karen4546]

Which one(s) did you get?

Sketch wallet and tote. Use my wallet everyday because it is large enough for my phone and has a strap. LOVE!

 

[JodyK]

If you assume direct members will be able to attend a MM event once every 4 years, over 30 years, with 4 people attending, valuing it at $150 per person (after-hours cost), the number value of that perk would be around $5000. Assuming the perk lasts the whole length of the contract, which is a large assumption.

Maybe calling it FOMO isn't the best description, but I do think it is more about how perks make you feel and perceived value than actual dollars and cents value. I'd also take into account how much time and work you are willing to do to recreate direct perks. Sure I can rent my points, turn that money into cash and use it to book a Disney cruise, but is that something I actually want to do and will do? I can apply for the Disney CC to replicate some of the other discounts but I need to do that, remember my card, and know what discounts I get and that takes time and effort and if I won't do that then maybe I am better off with direct because it is all in one place.

 

[StevieB81]

We bought BLT direct in 2009 for around $50 less than what BLT resale was going for when we were looking to add on resale (went with AKL). Looking at direct prices now, I feel like we stole BLT. I will say the perks we had saved us a lot of money. We are a family of six, so everything is expensive. Dining discounts-I want the TIW card to come back, we saved thousands with it-and merchandise discounts saved us a lot of money (my wife sure can shop). We used to go once every 2 years and stay for 10ish days, so the AP wasn't for us. Plan to get one (if they come back) with the added resale points because we can get two to three trips in a rolling year now. I've been waiting for a while, though. But, until those couple things that are bigger hitters come back, I'm not sure I'd buy direct at the current prices.