Direct purchase becoming less attractive

[Jlo85]

Always been skeptical about whether the premium for buying direct is worth it. But the new introductions of paid, tiered DVC member perks and the increase in the sorcerer’s pass price are kind of a nail in the coffin, right?

Kind of reminds me of how the airline loyalty programs have gone downhill - packed lounges and fewer perks as the membership increases.

 

[Chili327]

The paid “perks” are definitely not swaying me, but they lost me a long time ago. The restrictions pretty much killed it for me, they act like that was going to improve direct sales, but it just makes the value of being able to sell a timeshare more like a regular timeshare, the opposite of what made D.V.C better. IMO

It’s the nickle and dime stuff that seems to kill everything. Can you imagine how many more people would be into D.V.C if they had zero restrictions and the perks were included. People would be just throwing money at them. lol

 

[AstroBlasters]

Always been skeptical about whether the premium for buying direct is worth it. But the new introductions of paid, tiered DVC member perks and the increase in the sorcerer’s pass price are kind of a nail in the coffin, right?

Kind of reminds me of how the airline loyalty programs have gone downhill - packed lounges and fewer perks as the membership increases.

I don’t think it materially changes the calculation unless the only reason you were buying direct was for lounge access….

A lot depends on what resorts you want to have access to and if you feel the need to “future proof” your points to stay at Epcot post 2042, Disneyland Hotel, any Disneyland FWD projects, Riveria, Cabins/Reflections2, etc.

There is also the discounted WDW AP and discount on food and merchandise.

 

[Sandisw]

I’ll flip side it. I think the this new program has the potential to offer direct buyers more tangible discounts and could be seen as a plus.

Yes, I know, you pay the fee upfront but the return on that fee is a discount on things owners may already be buying.

Now, no one should ever buy DVC for perks, they come and go, but if you were someone who didn’t benefit from the DVC AP, at least you now have the ability to purchase one type of multiday ticket at a discoint. And the cost for OTU points just reduced, not to mention other aspects.

I am always about the end game and if an owner can see real savings then it could tip the scale, even if it is short lived.

We used that in part when adding our kids to direct membership. They get the discounts now traveling without me, and could buy the AP. We knew it could end at anytime but if we got a few purchases out of it, we substantially reduced the additional cost.

But, lots of things are going up outside of DVc so it will certainly impact those willing to invest in it, even at the resale level.

 

[Brian Noble]

the increase in the sorcerer’s pass price

This happens every year. Twice in some years. The cost of admission always goes up---and generally faster than consumer inflation.

Despite this the Sorcerer is more of a discount than it used to be. The Incredi-Pass went up $100, Sorcerer only $80.

 

[skier_pete]

I don't see why the new "paid for member perks" would dissuade buyers. They didn't take away any existing perks unless you count the lounges potentially being harder to access, and they added some new perks that could definitely be seen as increased values. (The One Time Use point discount is a $240 savings if you use it. )

And I also don't see your argument on them raising the sorcerers pass. Yeah sure the AP prices went up, but so did the ticket prices. You buy the sorcerers pass because you go enough to offset ticket costs, and ticket prices have honestly gone up faster than the APs lately.

I just priced out a 7-day (no hopper) ticket for our trip next October and it's $726+ tax. A Sorcerer's Pass is $1079 + tax. We use our DVC and our APs to go every fall and stagger trips to get two trips, so assuming the prices don't go up in 2026, I'm looking at two trips costing $1452+tax (without hopping) versus $1079+ tax (with hopping). And then in the 12 months in between we can take additional trips if we want and the tickets are paid for. I would argue the sorcerers pass is the MAIN argument for buying a direct contract, but I would still NEVER buy more than 150 points direct. (And to be clear, I have only ever bought 50 points direct last year at Disneyland - the difference is my resale points are old enough I have the member benefits.)

The recent rule (now 5+ years old) that your resale contract leaves you "stuck" at your home resort is the only thing that would potential turn "ME" off from resale, but only at Riviera! (I would never buy the cabins and Disneyland hotel I don't see the resale limit as really an issue.

Anyways - back to the topic at hand - which as I understand the OP is "The appeal of buying direct has become less appealing versus buying resale". I would say that over the last 5 years Direct buying has probably become more appealing because of the removal of benefits from resale, but in the end resale has always given you the biggest of benefits which is a significant discount on DVC, which in turn gives you a significant discount over WDW hotels - so to me it is STILL the more appealing of the two. I was recently reading a post about someone getting a great "deal" at Pop Century at only $180 / night+tax and I think to myself "That's about what I pay to stay at Boardwalk or AKV". If OPs intent was to say that "DVC as a whole is less appealing". As I said, if someone really wants the benefits and sees value in them - and I can understand that - then 150 point contract gets you there, and the rest should all be resale.

 

[DanCali]

This happens every year. Twice in some years. The cost of admission always goes up---and generally faster than consumer inflation.

Despite this the Sorcerer is more of a discount than it used to be. The Incredi-Pass went up $100, Sorcerer only $80.

That's absolutely true, but also to be expected because of the lower cost basis. It's like the wealth gap in the economy doubling if everyone's wealth doubled.

But in percentage terms the Incredipass went up 6.9% and the Sorcerer went up 8%. Both are insane increases with year-over-year inflation now below 3%, but it seems like Sorcerer got the shorter end of the stick. On a percentage basis, the Sorcerer used to be at a 31.1% discount to the Incredipass but with the new prices the gap narrowed to a 30.4% discount

Looking on a long-term basis, I found the receipt below from 2011 in my inbox. Those older FL Resident passes were close in functionality (i.e., blackouts) to the Sorcerer Pass and were about $400 apiece before taxes. At $1080 today that's a 170% increase in 13 years. The US BLS CPI Inflation calculator shows Inflation over that period was 40% (or that $400 in 2011 would have the same buying power as $557 today). They slowly but surely turned the annual pass into a luxury product over the years. And with a flat stock price over 10 years, it's not adding shareholder value (albeit I'm sure there are other missteps to point to along the way).

 

[davidhr]

Each person is different. Nothing DVC/Disney has done lately has changed my view about direct vs resale.

I only consider resale viable (for me) if I can get extremely cheap points.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I prefer the cost of things I don't care about to be a separate purchase in addition to the product rather than bundled with it. This way I am not paying with an inflated product price for things that don't have value to me.

I am still tempted by direct for the privilege of staying at all future resorts. And the silly things on the side that come and go. And the mounting panic of 2042 which is really 2041 or even 2040 when you think about it....

 

[tx911]

Now that I own a restricted resort, I've become a little more averse to resale, because I want the flexibility to use all my points at 7months at any of my resorts. The difference in buy-in price just seems relatively insignificant to me compared to dues.

 

[MartyParty]

Always been skeptical about whether the premium for buying direct is worth it. But the new introductions of paid, tiered DVC member perks and the increase in the sorcerer’s pass price are kind of a nail in the coffin, right?

Kind of reminds me of how the airline loyalty programs have gone downhill - packed lounges and fewer perks as the membership increases.

Biggest benefit for me is direct purchase allows for access to new resorts. That's the biggest perk. Which in the beginning this wasn't even a restriction, so it didn't matter. Not a money saving perk having access to new resorts but merely more choice.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I am in no way offended by the new $99 membership add on.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Personally, I think that the reason to be attracted to a direct purchase now is the ability to use those points at restricted resorts. If I wanted to stay at VDH or Riviera or whatever, and have flexibility, that's where I'd see some value in direct points - not on a monetary basis. That would be the attraction - unrestricted points I could use at resorts that resale points would not otherwise get me.

 

[mistysue]

The ability to buy sorcerer passes is huge for me. That's saving us around $2,000/year for our family at this point. Even without getting APs every year, it has more than made up the cost difference than if I had bought resale at the time.
The points I bought direct are also "worth more" now than when I bought them, so if I wanted to downgrade I could sell and buy somewhere selling for less at any time to be resale only.

Right now it's a lot to bite, but people were also saying that 10 years ago. We don't know that things will keep going up this dramatically, but everyone told me I should buy resale; I ignored them and here I am thousands of dollars ahead and I can use my points anywhere I want.

 

[Suger Mag]

the new program (paid perks) does not bother me much, kinda reminds me of Tables in Wonderland ,,, where you paid a one time fee and then got discounts at dining for a year.... which if I remember correctly also included alcohol.

I would be excited for specially priced tickets etc.

 

[Brian Noble]

Both are insane increases with year-over-year inflation now below 3%

Disney tickets routinely exceed the pace of inflation. So do many other entertainment options. I do not understand how that can be possible while still maintaining attendance, but it has been true for as long as I've been around DISboards.

 

[HairyChest]

As a resale owner, the perks of direct dont bother me. The only thing that does is not being able to try the new resorts. Would love to book a couple nights at the fort wilderness cabins right now. But I am a very happy resale owner at the poly.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I have to agree with OP's that owning at the minimum (150 or grandfathered amount) is a huge benefit in staying at new resorts and will be more so post 2042. We gave up AP's last year, but it doesn't mean we won't buy them again if we have longer and/or multiple stays scheduled. 20% dining discount is pretty sweet on the AP's!

 

[DanCali]

As a resale owner, the perks of direct dont bother me. The only thing that does is not being able to try the new resorts. Would love to book a couple nights at the fort wilderness cabins right now. But I am a very happy resale owner at the poly.

I think there's some FOMO involved with the idea of missing out on new resorts. But are you really missing out that much on not being able to stay at RIV or CFW? Probably not...

We have some direct points and just switched a stay at the 7 month window from VGF to CFW just to see what it's about. We like all DVC properties we've stayed at so I suspect we'll like the cabins as well. But it's nowhere near the convenient location of VGF, PVB or BLT so I suspect it may be a one-and-done experience. We also like RIV a lot but since we bought BWV resale I don't feel much need to splurge on that expensive points chart at RIV, especially since it's hard to get standard view at 7 months. Besides, is RIV even a real "EPCOT resort"?

So you have RIV and CFW and possibly Reflections before the end of the decade.... But aside from that, what "new resorts" are coming online between now and 2042 that may be restricted? With all the O14 resorts up and running till 2042, I don't see much point in buying direct just to "future proof" a big unknown. It may be different after 2042 if you have restricted BWV2, BCV2, and BRV2 but by then you'll be 18 years older and may care a lot less.... Until then, if you own resale at PVB, VGF, BLT, CCV, OKWe, SSR, AUL, VGC you still will have plenty of options to exchange into for the next 30 years!

 

[HairyChest]

I think there's FOMO involved even with missing out on new resorts. Are you really missing out that much on now being able to stay at RIV or CFW? Probably not...

We have some direct points and just switched a stay at the 7 month window from VGF to CFW just to see what it's about. We like all DVC properties we've stayed at so I suspect we'll like the cabins as well. But it's nowhere near the convenient location of VGF, PVB or BLT so I suspect it may be a one-and-done experience. We also like RIV a lot but since we bought BWV resale I don't feel much need to splurge on that expensive points chart at RIV, especially since it's hard to get standard view at 7 months. Besides, is RIV even a real "EPCOT resort"?

So you have RIV and CFW and possibly Reflections before the end of the decade.... But aside from that, what "new resorts" are coming online between now and 2042 that may be restricted? With all the O14 resorts up and running till 2042, I don't see much point in buying direct just to "future proof" a big unknown. It may be different after 2042 if you have restricted BWV2, BCV2, and BRV2 but by then you'll be 18 years older and may care a lot less.... Until then, if you own resale at PVB, VGF, BLT, CCV, OKWe, SSR, AUL, VGC you still will have plenty of options to exchange into for the next 30 years!

Exactly thats why I’m not considering buying direct. The Poly, Grand & Wilderness Lodge will always be my favorite. From the outside looking in, Riviera has been a disappointment to me. I never stayed in a cabin at wdw before (and I love the wilderness theme) so thats the only thing I feel missing. However, there is no way I would pick any of the new built properties over the originals I can stay at.

Part of me hopes Disney doesn’t build anything spectacular like the original properties so I wont have to really consider buying some direct points. In that regard, they have been great so far