Current Owners: Would you Buy At 2021 prices?

[sethschroeder]

Come back in 20 years and same will be said. Go back 20 years and you will find people saying it's crazy to buy at those prices.

Many will say no because at this point they are older and their view is skewed vs when they were younger with young kids or kids on the way.

 

[DebbieB]

I bought BWV in 1999, 250 points @ $65. $16,250 - $1,500 incentive for selling back 150 of first year points. So $14,750. Less than a car payment. Riviera at $200? $50,000 and the points don't go as far? No way.

 

[Transferteck]

Absolutely. You only wanted replies from non- Florida residents but DVC is more than a dollars and cents proposition. It’s about the memories and the experiences. If you were to buy into any timeshare other than Disney you will never have a valuable product when or if you’re done with it. You wouldn’t be around a better class of human while at another timeshare. The other timeshares wouldn’t have the best customer service or theme parks right outside your window. How many timeshares have live animals to view from your balcony? If you look at your investment no matter when you buy-in there is always a break even point or time when you finally feel like you are staying for free or minimal outlay of cash. That happen for those at $50, $85, $125, and yes it will happen at $200, just not today. Again if you love Disney and plan on vacationing there for the next 10-15 years then you won’t regret it. If you love memories, safety, wholesomeness, then you won’t regret DVC either. Just my 2 cents from Florida.

 

[xWilliam]

Yes I would buy again. In 10-15 years today's prices will look like a steal. And while others like to complain about dues and what not, at the end of the day, you still have a valuable money saver when used as intended. How many other timeshares can you actually resell for a great price? How much will rack rates be in 10, 20, 30 years? Disney's catch, is that you'll keep coming back to spend money at the parks, which is why they give you such a discount on dvc vs deluxe rack rate prices.

 

[sethschroeder]

Riviera at $200? $50,000 and the points don't go as far? No way.

Bought 300 points for less than that at Riviera.

200 points for 50k would be $250/point

 

[awatt]

Yes I would, because we go to Disney frequently, and that hasn't changed much since we bought in 2005. So instead of paying for the yearly or twice yearly lodging , we paid it up front. Still using the points every year so it's been a good value. Plus, I love having the 1 or 2 bedroom option, which is crazy expensive rack rate.

if I bought now, would buy less points probably because of the prices, but I would still buy in.

 

[DebbieB]

Bought 300 points for less than that at Riviera.

200 points for 50k would be $250/point

I have 250 points. I just used $200 as a round number, not sure what the exact direct current price is.

 

[alieila]

I bought 150 CCV, direct in 2018, and wish I had gotten more! I was tempted by the Chase deal but 250 points is tempting, but at the moment, I might look into resale as we are enjoying the benefits of being out in Colorado; and able to use the points through RCI. We are staying for our first time at SSR and hope it is a good stay! First time as well in a 1 bedroom, we normally do a studio at WDW Resorts.

If you log on and look up "Add-On" you can see that Riviera and Aulani are going for $201 per vacation point; and $220 per vacation point for CCV.

 

[sethschroeder]

I have 250 points. I just used $200 as a round number, not sure what the exact direct current price is.

Well its roughly $100/point more than what I paid so a fairly big difference as bought direct for Riviera at $155/point. Probably was around $160/point for 250 points.

 

[jarestel]

Sure, I'd buy. When DVC direct prices initially broke the $100 / point barrier many posters here thought that was a deal breaker (at the time). Today, that's a bargain on the resale market. I imagine in another 5-10 years, resale buyers will be paying close to or over $200/point for some properties (and loving it!).

 

[Marionnette]

you kinda answered your own question...one of the main reasons direct price is high is because resale price is high. Yes it is hard to justify paying $200 per point, but what if you can sell it for $150 after 10 years?

Actually, resale is high because direct is high. DVC controls the market.

 

[Lulubelle17]

I may be wrong, but shouldn't we keep inflation into consideration? Yes, prices have outpaced inflation, but yesterday's prices compared to today's prices adjusted for inflation are not much different. Those who bought in 1998 got a better deal but it definitely was not cheap even at the time, so I'm guessing those who bought at those prices would buy again at today's prices. Using an inflation calculator (there is one on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website), it shows for example that $30,000 today was equal to $18,000 (approximately) in January 1998. So those who say "I only paid $18,000 for my points 20 years ago" did not save that much money once you adjust for inflation.

 

[linzbear]

Literally just did. We initially bought in direct at $96/pt for VWL as a sold out resort in 2006 (at the 150pt minimum!). At the time everyone told us that was a bad idea, we should do resale, etc, but we were young and wanted the financing. Since then we've had 4 kids, and we've squeezed out as much as we can in a 1bed, and knew we'd have to add on to get a 2bed on a mostly-yearly basis. We had no interest in buying SSR/AKV, and no interest in any of the 2042 resorts (we already have one and we'll be only 60 years old when it expires), and CCV was out because we already own BRV. That leaves BLT (which I do love), and GFV (which I have very little interest in), both sitting in the $150-160ish range resale. We managed to snag the website error this past Saturday and get RIV at $169/pt, which is really a lot like our first contract where we could have paid resale at around $86/pt. This time we did it because we want to be near Epcot, and didn't want the resale restrictions - it was worth the roughly $10/pt extra we paid, and besides that we put the entire thing on our Southwest card, so the difference pays for the airfare, too.

I personally think it depends wholly on whether you still think a Disney vacation is worth it at all. My inlaws who have owned since '98 don't care anymore about the parks, they want it to be 'how it used to be.' I'm fairly certain that it's nostalgia glasses they're looking through - it's still just as magical now as it used to be, and for me even moreso with the over the top theming of Pandora, Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story Land, new Fantasyland. I'm excited to see what comes next.

 

[smsharp]

Literally just did. We initially bought in direct at $96/pt for VWL as a sold out resort in 2006 (at the 150pt minimum!). At the time everyone told us that was a bad idea, we should do resale, etc, but we were young and wanted the financing. Since then we've had 4 kids, and we've squeezed out as much as we can in a 1bed, and knew we'd have to add on to get a 2bed on a mostly-yearly basis. We had no interest in buying SSR/AKV, and no interest in any of the 2042 resorts (we already have one and we'll be only 60 years old when it expires), and CCV was out because we already own BRV. That leaves BLT (which I do love), and GFV (which I have very little interest in), both sitting in the $150-160ish range resale. We managed to snag the website error this past Saturday and get RIV at $169/pt, which is really a lot like our first contract where we could have paid resale at around $86/pt. This time we did it because we want to be near Epcot, and didn't want the resale restrictions - it was worth the roughly $10/pt extra we paid, and besides that we put the entire thing on our Southwest card, so the difference pays for the airfare, too.

I personally think it depends wholly on whether you still think a Disney vacation is worth it at all. My inlaws who have owned since '98 don't care anymore about the parks, they want it to be 'how it used to be.' I'm fairly certain that it's nostalgia glasses they're looking through - it's still just as magical now as it used to be, and for me even moreso with the over the top theming of Pandora, Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story Land, new Fantasyland. I'm excited to see what comes next.

Dang that's a pretty good website error!

 

[princesscinderella]

Literally just did. We initially bought in direct at $96/pt for VWL as a sold out resort in 2006 (at the 150pt minimum!). At the time everyone told us that was a bad idea, we should do resale, etc, but we were young and wanted the financing. Since then we've had 4 kids, and we've squeezed out as much as we can in a 1bed, and knew we'd have to add on to get a 2bed on a mostly-yearly basis. We had no interest in buying SSR/AKV, and no interest in any of the 2042 resorts (we already have one and we'll be only 60 years old when it expires), and CCV was out because we already own BRV. That leaves BLT (which I do love), and GFV (which I have very little interest in), both sitting in the $150-160ish range resale. We managed to snag the website error this past Saturday and get RIV at $169/pt, which is really a lot like our first contract where we could have paid resale at around $86/pt. This time we did it because we want to be near Epcot, and didn't want the resale restrictions - it was worth the roughly $10/pt extra we paid, and besides that we put the entire thing on our Southwest card, so the difference pays for the airfare, too.

I personally think it depends wholly on whether you still think a Disney vacation is worth it at all. My inlaws who have owned since '98 don't care anymore about the parks, they want it to be 'how it used to be.' I'm fairly certain that it's nostalgia glasses they're looking through - it's still just as magical now as it used to be, and for me even moreso with the over the top theming of Pandora, Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story Land, new Fantasyland. I'm excited to see what comes next.

I’m so happy they honored the website pricing error. I’m in the same situation with my in laws who have owned at OKW since 1995. My father in law passed away a couple of years ago andmy mother in law has gone with us a couple of times since then but she says Disney is just not the same anymore and she wants to remember it how it was when her husband was still alive. It’s been hard for her but she got a puppy which shocked us and it has really helped her.
I agree the magic is not gone and I hope to continue to enjoy our DVC with our kids and future grandchildren, I’m in my forties so I too so I definitely plan to outlive my bwv 2042 contract also.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

We managed to snag the website error this past Saturday and get RIV at $169/pt

What?!?!! How did you even see it? Were you already looking to add on at RIV? I can’t believe they honored and error- yay for you!!!

 

[linzbear]

What?!?!! How did you even see it? Were you already looking to add on at RIV? I can’t believe they honored and error- yay for you!!!

Yes, I checked early when they put out the new promo to see what it was, and noticed they had not updated the price per point. It was there incorrectly for probably 6 hours? Screenshot & cash offer, and they had to honor it. We originally were planning on adding on next year, and doing our home renovation this year, however there is a shortage of lumber and labor, so we swapped it out. I'll get the extra bathroom in my house next year instead.

 

[Figment of Speech]

I'm not an owner yet; I'm just observing, learning, and considering. So I'm open to and interested in hearing feedback to my thoughts. But my impression is that as long as there's no reason to believe that direct prices would ever go down, the best time to buy is not when the price per point is low (because "now" — whenever "now" is — is the lowest you'll ever get from this point onward, unless you're a time traveler) but when the minimum number of points on initial direct purchase is low.

Here's the rationale.... I've heard of some people employing the strategy of making their first purchase direct from DVC and subsequent purchases on resale. That way, you're in on any current and future benefits of direct ownership but also get the savings of resale on your added-on points. Price-per-point only ever goes up (knock on wood), but the minimum number of points purchased changes periodically. If I have my history right, it was 220 in 1992, hit a low of 75 a couple of years ago until recently, and now appears to be 125. So if you're going to buy direct, you save the most by doing it when the minimum is low, and then adding on at your leisure by resale.

The fact that the direct price always increases over time, combined with the resale market being regulated by Disney's ROFR, means that it's always a safe purchase for new buyers — there's never a wrong "now" — because the market will always be favorable for resellers later on. But because the minimum on direct points varies, that's where you might be able to save (if you want to buy direct). Does this make sense? Do I understand DVC right, or do I have holes in my logic because I'm new to looking into this?

 

[TeamRiley]

I live in the west, and we bought at VGC for a decent price (thought it was high back then).

We would totally do it again at today's prices. Not sure about WDW, but at DLR staying inches away from the Park is awesome. Ride Grizzly River, get soaked, run upstairs, throw your clothes in the dryer, eat lunch, back in the park in 25 minutes.

If you do the long term analysis, the total maintenance fees paid over the life of ANY contract completely outweigh the up front buy in. Depending on how you calculate overall inflation and fee inflation, over the life of a contract at say VGF, a buy in difference of $150 pp vs $180 pp ( a 20% difference initially ) ends up being a difference of less than 4% of total amount paid after 44 years.

The Maintenance Fees are what you have to decide if you can afford. The buy in is not the concern in the long term, so I would totally do it again.

 

[Minniesgal]

It is expensive but once you are done with your points they can be sold so the money isn't lost. We sold VGC in 2019 as we just had too many points (empty nesters) and got $65 a point more than we paid.