Direct DVC question

[smisale]

Not all DVC members can buy the tables in wonderland only blue card members I thought that was Available to everyone that own DVC

 

[LadybugsMum]

AP holders can get TIW as well

 

[smisale]

so if you bought resale you are not eligible for TIW

 

[shoegal9]

You can get TiW as White Card (or FL resident). I did it right before lock down.

Yes, I said that if you’re not DVC you have to be a Florida resident.

I didn’t know that out of state APs could purchase as well. Good to know!

 

[shoegal9]

so if you bought resale you are not eligible for TIW

I didn’t think so unless FL resident or AP. But I saw a post elsewhere on the boards that someone was able to purchase as DVC without a blue card in 2018. So I’m not sure.

 

[Matty B13]

I didn’t think so unless FL resident or AP. But I saw a post elsewhere on the boards that someone was able to purchase as DVC without a blue card in 2018. So I’m not sure.

No body knows if it is a Blue card benefit, but I don’t think I have seen anyone denied.

 

[sethschroeder]

No body knows if it is a Blue card benefit, but I don’t think I have seen anyone denied.

I would say the information around the program does not call it out:
https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/faq/dining-reservations-plans/tables-in-wonderland/
You will notice on the Epcot lounge page it is called out at least some white cards do not qualify:
https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/membership-magic/epcot-members-lounge/
Also if you sort alphabetically you can find the listing in the discounts section which also does not call it out:
https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/discounts-perks-offers/dining/
So I would say anyone can get it.

 

[RoseGold]

I got TiW with a white card in 2020 before the lockdown.

I wish I hadn't, but that's another story.

 

[RichV03]

Thanks for all the help! Another question though, knowing resale restrictions with RIV would you still consider buying direct from there? We are considering doing 100 direct(prob would give us enough points to do a 10-15 day vacation every other year with our resale points) from RIV for the sole sake of it being closer to Epcot and HS. Our other home is BLT and thought it might be a good shake up midway through a trip. I’m not asking because we plan to sell but who knows 15-10 years when kids aren’t interested anymore we might not need that many points and blue card benefits.

 

[CastAStone]

Thanks for all the help! Another question though, knowing resale restrictions with RIV would you still consider buying direct from there? We are considering doing 100 direct(prob would give us enough points to do a 10-15 day vacation every other year with our resale points) from RIV for the sole sake of it being closer to Epcot and HS. Our other home is BLT and thought it might be a good shake up midway through a trip. I’m not asking because we plan to sell but who knows 15-10 years when kids aren’t interested anymore we might not need that many points and blue card benefits.

My feeling on Riviera direct is that you should buy it only if both of these things are true: 1) you LOVE the resort; 2) you have a very high level of confidence that you will own there for 20+ years.

There are threads upon threads on this topic; I wouldn’t say there’s much of a consensus.

 

[RoseGold]

My feeling on Riviera direct is that you should buy it only if both of these things are true: 1) you LOVE the resort; 2) you have a very high level of confidence that you will own there for 20+ years.

There are threads upon threads on this topic; I wouldn’t say there’s much of a consensus.

I would add to this that you don't plan to stay in a studio. Studios are already tight there, and it's not even close to sold out yet and doesn't have all the locked down, third class rental points stuck at RIV.

If you plan to stay in a studio, I would pick BLT/Poly/AKL.

 

[CastAStone]

I would add to this that you don't plan to stay in a studio. Studios are already tight there, and it's not even close to sold out yet and doesn't have all the locked down, third class rental points stuck at RIV.

If you plan to stay in a studio, I would pick BLT/Poly/AKL.

Studio availability being tight to me is a reason in favor of owning if you plan to stay there because there will never be any at 7 months. Are the preferred studios tight as well? I thought it was just standard? The poster said he wanted to be close to Epcot so I don't think BLT/Poly/AKL get there.

Honestly @RichV03 if you're not sure you will own more than 15-20 years and you want to buy some direct points near Epcot, I'd really think about Boardwalk. It's walking distance so no relying on transportation at all, it's only $10 more per point at 100 points but the MFs are a little lower and the points per room night are MUCH lower - Standard averages 14 vs 19.4 for RVA and Preferred averages 17.7 vs 24 for RVA. That means that a preferred studio at BWV is fewer points than a standard at RVA. So you're getting a lot more bang for your buck. And even if you want to cash out in 15 years, my best guess is that it will still likely fetch around $60 a point.

If in 21 years when BWV expires you do want to pick up some more points, I'm betting you'll be able to afford a lot more than you can today.

 

[RichV03]

Studio availability being tight to me is a reason in favor of owning if you plan to stay there because there will never be any at 7 months. Are the preferred studios tight as well? I thought it was just standard? The poster said he wanted to be close to Epcot so I don't think BLT/Poly/AKL get there.

Honestly @RichV03 if you're not sure you will own more than 15-20 years and you want to buy some direct points near Epcot, I'd really think about Boardwalk. It's walking distance so no relying on transportation at all, it's only $10 more per point at 100 points but the MFs are a little lower and the points per room night are MUCH lower - Standard averages 14 vs 19.4 for RVA and Preferred averages 17.7 vs 24 for RVA. That means that a preferred studio at BWV is fewer points than a standard at RVA. So you're getting a lot more bang for your buck. And even if you want to cash out in 15 years, my best guess is that it will still likely fetch around $60 a point.

If in 21 years when BWV expires you do want to pick up some more points, I'm betting you'll be able to afford a lot more than you can today.

I thought about that but I was more so wondering if people thought RIV resale will be desirable in 15-20 years seeing there will still be plenty of years left. I think for now we will stay at studios but as kids get bigger we'll need bigger rooms. We got 120 points at BLT with 19' points banked. And if I buy direct I could get 19' points banked as well so we would kind of start out with 4 years worth of points right off the bat. If we go every two years I figure will have 440 points to use/rent.

 

[sethschroeder]

I thought about that but I was more so wondering if people thought RIV resale will be desirable in 15-20 years seeing there will still be plenty of years left.

BCV/BWV relaunch in to DVC will be around the corner which will hurt RIVs value.

The thing you need to remember though is that DVC is only get more expensive. In 20 years RIV will likely be the "cheap" option when it comes to where to stay in the Epcot area. Also resale restrictions will be common so people will be buying where they want to stay which only time will tell if people prefer RIV.

The negative of RIV is that there is no hotel side to get people to fall in love with the resort. As an example a place like AKL, Contemp, WL all have hotel cash sides which help get people to fall in love with the resort.

You have to just assume 50% of your starting costs will just be lost if you ever sell in the future.

 

[RichV03]

BCV/BWV relaunch in to DVC will be around the corner which will hurt RIVs value.

The thing you need to remember though is that DVC is only get more expensive. In 20 years RIV will likely be the "cheap" option when it comes to where to stay in the Epcot area. Also resale restrictions will be common so people will be buying where they want to stay which only time will tell if people prefer RIV.

The negative of RIV is that there is no hotel side to get people to fall in love with the resort. As an example a place like AKL, Contemp, WL all have hotel cash sides which help get people to fall in love with the resort.

You have to just assume 50% of your starting costs will just be lost if you ever sell in the future.

Thank you, this is very helpful. I knew it would be a loss if we sell down the road. Hadn't thought bout other resorts having restrictions as well. I wish they would extend Beach or Boardwalk like they did with OKW but agent I talked to said he hasn't heard anything yet.

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks for all the help! Another question though, knowing resale restrictions with RIV would you still consider buying direct from there? We are considering doing 100 direct(prob would give us enough points to do a 10-15 day vacation every other year with our resale points) from RIV for the sole sake of it being closer to Epcot and HS. Our other home is BLT and thought it might be a good shake up midway through a trip. I’m not asking because we plan to sell but who knows 15-10 years when kids aren’t interested anymore we might not need that many points and blue card benefits.

I wasn’t going to but ended up adding 175 there last fall. My adult kids..who I added to the deed...liked it for ease to DH and Epcot. I also own 500 SSR and now 100 BLT for stays elsewhere.

While I have benefited from the resale market with selling contracts..sold BwV to buy this..I did not consider the restrictions as part of my decision.

I am happy to have bought and can use the 11 month advantage to get SV studios through the year. And then at 7 months use my SSR points for any nights still available.

Consider it a win win for me!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

My feeling on Riviera direct is that you should buy it only if both of these things are true: 1) you LOVE the resort; 2) you have a very high level of confidence that you will own there for 20+ years.

I agree with this! I thought this was the consensus... Anyway, for the OP: the deal for RVA gets better with more points because of the incentives, consider the discount at 150 or 200 pts and see if that might be worth it since it sounds like you will want larger accommodations in a few years.

I would add to this that you don't plan to stay in a studio. Studios are already tight there, and it's not even close to sold out yet and doesn't have all the locked down, third class rental points stuck at RIV.

But if you own there then you'll be able to get a standard studio at 11 months more easily, I say wanting to stay in a studio is a reason to buy there! Also, the preferred studios are not so hard to come by at 7 months.

Studios that sleep 5 may make sense for the OP while kids are little, and RVA studios sleep 5

 

[RoseGold]

Studio availability being tight to me is a reason in favor of owning if you plan to stay there because there will never be any at 7 months. Are the preferred studios tight as well?

For now, sure. I'm imagining 15 years from now when there are a pile of resale points that MUST get those studios.

 

[Sandisw]

I agree with this! I thought this was the consensus... Anyway, for the OP: the deal for RVA gets better with more points because of the incentives, consider the discount at 150 or 200 pts and see if that might be worth it since it sounds like you will want larger accommodations in a few years.


But if you own there then you'll be able to get a standard studio at 11 months more easily, I say wanting to stay in a studio is a reason to buy there! Also, the preferred studios are not so hard to come by at 7 months.

Studios that sleep 5 may make sense for the OP while kids are little, and RVA studios sleep 5

So far, not having any issues getting SV studio at the 11 month mark since owning...including for early December. They went fast for that month,

But I got mid April around 10 months out too, Obviously, things can change As we go forward, but owning at least gives the best chance!

 

[sethschroeder]

So far, not having any issues getting SV studio at the 11 month mark since owning...including for early December. They went fast for that month,

But I got mid April around 10 months out too, Obviously, things can change As we go forward, but owning at least gives the best chance!

They over-release the resort in relation to points though right? So if they sold 25% of the points really 30-35% of the resort is actually bookable by those points.

We really won't know until a year or so after its sold out as at the same time right now if its harder to get a specific week it might just be that everyone is doing their only trip during that time frame. An example would be around Christmas, Food+Wine, ect where people might be wanting to kick off their ownership with something special.

The only thing I would accurately predict is standard will be hard because the other rooms are more expensive and that studios in 20 years might start to get hard as 10-20-30% of the resort starts flipping to resale points locked in.

People should just be getting a fixed week as a fallback as it protects some of the resale value as well likely.