Debating DVC Purchase

[DVCsloth]

To me, DVC is daunting with all the points, resale vs direct, trading up/down, recent rules change, large upfront investment, etc. My wife is intrigued about the recent deal for Riviera so I am jumping in to educate myself. I have a ton of questions but need a good starting point. For reference, we are a family of 4 (42/39/4/7) from North Jersey and typically go to WDW once a year typically 1st week November (Jersey Week) or May at least pre-COVID. We would normally stay at AOA or Caribbean Beach so I was hesitant to consider Riviera. We typically stayed 8 days and with a 6 day ticket. It would be preferred to be able to trade to be able to have the flexibility of trying other resorts including Aulani. The upfront cost is not a deal breaker and no financing is needed. I am trying to understand if it makes sense to make a large purchase when we typically pay $2500 in hotel charges ($300 a night for moderate).

Fixed week for Jersey week would probably be the way to go. You can still use your points at different times and different resorts. I don't own there yet but I have stayed the once and we have a full week coming up in September. If I were in the market to add on there. CBR looks like a nice place to stay and rent as well, but I really like having my DVC contracts and have never looked back in over 6 years as an owner. 1 BR would be really nice to own there and you may need a fixed week if you wanted a Standard view to save points during that time. I think the availability will start to tighten up there in the near future.

 

[sagosto]

We have 4 free AOA days to use so we are limited to 5 nights at RIV in November. The Studio SV is 89 points. The 2020 200 UY points will be banked but that leaves 111 points for 2020 YU and then we would accumulate another 200 points for 2021. Wouldn't we need to use the other 111 by Sep 2022? We aren't planning to go back until 2023 so is renting them my only option? It seems Poly/GFV are sold out. We could upgrade the 5 RIV days to 1BR but that's a waste to me.

 

[Sunnyore]

We have 4 free AOA days to use so we are limited to 5 nights at RIV in November. The Studio SV is 89 points. The 2020 200 UY points will be banked but that leaves 111 points for 2020 YU and then we would accumulate another 200 points for 2021. Wouldn't we need to use the other 111 by Sep 2022? We aren't planning to go back until 2023 so is renting them my only option? It seems Poly/GFV are sold out. We could upgrade the 5 RIV days to 1BR but that's a waste to me.

If you can’t use it yourself then rent them out. 111 points maybe close enough to cover your MF for 2022. Or you could upgrade to 1 BR since wife wants the kitchen and laundry. So wait, does this mean you made your decision and bought 200 at Riviera? If so, congrats on your decision!

 

[sagosto]

If you can’t use it yourself then rent them out. 111 points maybe close enough to cover your MF for 2022. Or you could upgrade to 1 BR since wife wants the kitchen and laundry. So wait, does this mean you made your decision and bought 200 at Riviera? If so, congrats on your decision!

Happy wife means happy life . Im wiring the monies so I should be good tomorrow! Thanks

is there a ratio on rent vs own to see how much I’m losing if I have to rent ? I might squeeze in a September visit but man that heat is rough

 

[Sunnyore]

Happy wife means happy life . Im wiring the monies so I should be good tomorrow! Thanks

is there a ratio on rent vs own to see how much I’m losing if I have to rent ? I might squeeze in a September visit but man that heat is rough

I don’t think you are losing anything when you rent. I don’t own Riviera so my calculation might be a bit off but your cost per point is about $12. I got this by calculating your one time cost divided by # of points over the span of 60 years, then added the MF for the rough number. So say you rent out what they’re offering right now which is $16pp, you’re technically making money. And at 111 points it’s about $1600 which is close to your MF for 200 points. I haven’t try renting yet, but for me personally if I can’t use the points, renting sounds like a no brainer especially if it’ll cover my MF for the year. Anyway congrats again and welcome home!

 

[sagosto]

50 years right ? And thanks

 

[Sunnyore]

50 years right ? And thanks

oops ya I meant 50. I calculated 10,000 points which is correct but you get the idea.

 

[Sandisw]

We have 4 free AOA days to use so we are limited to 5 nights at RIV in November. The Studio SV is 89 points. The 2020 200 UY points will be banked but that leaves 111 points for 2020 YU and then we would accumulate another 200 points for 2021. Wouldn't we need to use the other 111 by Sep 2022? We aren't planning to go back until 2023 so is renting them my only option? It seems Poly/GFV are sold out. We could upgrade the 5 RIV days to 1BR but that's a waste to me.

I am assuming an October UY? If so, then the banked 2020 UY points would need to be used by the end of September 2022.

So, either rent them or upgrade yourself. I’ll caution you though that if you upgrade to a 1 bedroom, you won’t want to go back to a studio!

Better plan IMO would be to find a time to do a second trip, even a small one! Maybe by the time you go in November, APs will be back on sale and that will make it an easy decision to squeeze in a second trip!

 

[tlm345]

This may be off topic, I am new to the boards and we are also looking to purchase DVC in the next month. We have our home resort chosen and the number of points we will need. Is there any benefit to purchasing onsite rather than via the phone? While we have toured several resorts we haven't had the benefit of actually sleeping at the one we are purchasing. I'm thinking along the lines of test driving a car before you purchase it. Are there any advantages to taking a trip down and making your DVC purchase face to face, can you stay at the resort or even spend a few hours in a room before you buy?

 

[Nabas]

This may be off topic, I am new to the boards and we are also looking to purchase DVC in the next month. We have our home resort chosen and the number of points we will need. Is there any benefit to purchasing onsite rather than via the phone? While we have toured several resorts we haven't had the benefit of actually sleeping at the one we are purchasing. I'm thinking along the lines of test driving a car before you purchase it. Are there any advantages to taking a trip down and making your DVC purchase face to face, can you stay at the resort or even spend a few hours in a room before you buy?

Right now, most DVC resorts have a show room open. For example, we toured the cabins at Copper Creek last week, with plans to see the Grand Villas at the Grand Floridian and cabins at the Polynesian during our next trip in a few months.

I'm sure Disney will be glad to show you almost any room you want (subject to availability), especially since you plan to purchase.

It's probably best to call to arrange this ahead of time.

 

[Sandisw]

This may be off topic, I am new to the boards and we are also looking to purchase DVC in the next month. We have our home resort chosen and the number of points we will need. Is there any benefit to purchasing onsite rather than via the phone? While we have toured several resorts we haven't had the benefit of actually sleeping at the one we are purchasing. I'm thinking along the lines of test driving a car before you purchase it. Are there any advantages to taking a trip down and making your DVC purchase face to face, can you stay at the resort or even spend a few hours in a room before you buy?

You can certainly tour them but DVD does not give free rooms out to encourage sales.

Pre Covid they had some incentives like extra FPs and even a gift card. But, those are not currently being offered. So, other than having a chance to view before you purchase, no big incentive,

The only resort that requires you to reserve for the tour is RIV. Other than that, you can just tour the model room during the open house hours.

 

[sagosto]

I’m sure this is personal preference but does it make more sense to stay at RIV for 5 days in studio at 89 points and bank remaining to be rented or 1BR BWV pool / garden view for 170 points. My wife likes 1BR but I can’t swallow the 2x points.

id rather push the free 4 AOA day and revisit next year but she won’t do multiple visits in a year. I tried late august proposal but the heat is too much

 

[Sandisw]

I’m sure this is personal preference but does it make more sense to stay at RIV for 5 days in studio at 89 points and bank remaining to be rented or 1BR BWV pool / garden view for 170 points. My wife likes 1BR but I can’t swallow the 2x points.

id rather push the free 4 AOA day and revisit next year but she won’t do multiple visits in a year. I tried late august proposal but the heat is too much

I always take a 1 bedroom now but I much prefer RIV to BWV so I’d spend extra there and just do a 1 bedroom SV as a splurge for that first trip.

 

[DVCsloth]

I always take a 1 bedroom now but I much prefer RIV to BWV so I’d spend extra there and just do a 1 bedroom SV as a splurge for that first trip.

My next trip I booked 3 nights SV Studio then 4 nights SV 1 BR at Riviera. Sometimes we do this to save some points at our home resorts 3 nights GFV SV Studio then 4 nights CCV GFV or reverse. I don't own at Riviera, so I don't think I will be able to grab a whole lot of SV rooms in the near future. Would like to add on a small contract there eventually.

 

[Sandisw]

My next trip I booked 3 nights SV Studio then 4 nights SV 1 BR at Riviera. Sometimes we do this to save some points at our home resorts 3 nights GFV SV Studio then 4 nights CCV GFV or reverse. I don't own at Riviera, so I don't think I will be able to grab a whole lot of SV rooms in the near future. Would like to add on a small contract there eventually.

Did you note on the one that you are moving within the same resort? I did that for a summer trip and askEd them to note so that maybe I will get lucky and my second room will be ready sooner? Figured it didn’t hurt!

 

[DVCsloth]

Did you note on the one that you are moving within the same resort? I did that for a summer trip and askEd them to note so that maybe I will get lucky and my second room will be ready sooner? Figured it didn’t hurt!

Good tip, I will check with them.
Thank you

 

[sagosto]

I always take a 1 bedroom now but I much prefer RIV to BWV so I’d spend extra there and just do a 1 bedroom SV as a splurge for that first trip.

RIV 1BR PV is available but out of our range
BW 1BR PV is available for 170 points vs. RR Studio for 89 points.

It's not a good sign for the future if I cannot find many options as I am currently outside of 7 months from the trip. And, this is with 35% park capacity...

I have limited options given I can't make a 2nd trip by Sep 2022. Wife wants 1BR but it doesn't make sense to me. Argh. The headaches is what I didn't want to deal with.

 

[Sandisw]

RIV 1BR PV is available but out of our range
BW 1BR PV is available for 170 points vs. RR Studio for 89 points.

It's not a good sign for the future if I cannot find many options as I am currently outside of 7 months from the trip. And, this is with 35% park capacity...

I have limited options given I can't make a 2nd trip by Sep 2022. Wife wants 1BR but it doesn't make sense to me. Argh. The headaches is what I didn't want to deal with.

Just try to remember that DVC vooking style is different than cash. Plus, many become much different park days than before.

Unfortuntely, mid September to mid January require 11 month bookings for DVC. It is really the busiest DVC time. It’s the reason they have now raised the cost of rooms during that time with the 2022 point charts...which, be sure you research so you know what you will need moving forward.

As we already shared, direct is given a Welcome Home visit but most often it’s for the resort they are selling. Getting a resort that has already been fully declared and open for all bookings to owners isn’t go to be easy at this point, especially Jersey week which is really popular.

 

[sagosto]

Welcome Home visit in the 1BR is available but more than my points allowed so I am not sure. I need access to the system so I might just join and then cancel if I don't get what I need. Reminds me of Lord of The Flies.

 

[bakerworld]

Straight out, if CBR is your 'go to' destination for hotel and you're fine with CBR than you do not need DVC. When the kids were little we loved the FW Cabins because MK was a boat ride away and that was all they wanted to go.

When the kids aged out of our WDW vacations we started to enjoy BC, WL, GF and this caused DVC to be a $$ saver. We liked DVC because back when we purchased the economy was bad and nobody was going to Disney. Then 3 years later the economy recovered and DVC became harder to use. Then the new DVC Villas all have higher point totals so, as we don't have a lot of points, the newer places are hard to spend our allotment when we can stay elsewhere for less. I usually try and do them around cruises because 2 nights are 'doable'. Now with the pandemic and the borrow limited to 50 points DVC is becoming even harder to use. We still make it work but it wasn't as easy as the last10 years - and I thought they were restrictive. LOL