Does ANYONE think it's a good idea to buy direct from Disney??

[JimMIA]

I am getting 2014 for no mf, only paying prorated 2015 according to my guide

Of course you're not paying 2014 MF! 2014 is over.

MF's correspond to CALENDAR year not UY -- they cover the resort expenses from January 1 to December 31. You did not own during 2014; therefore, you don't owe 2014 MFs.

But you're getting ZERO for free. You are paying full price for those 2014 points and you're only getting about 1/2 the useful life from them.

ETA: The info about 2015 is correct. DVC does pro-rate the MF's so that you are not paying MF's for the part of the UY when you did not own.

That is often not true in resale -- MFs are a negotiable item.

 

[Deb & Bill]

By the way, by going direct, I am getting 2014 amd 2015 points ....just some extra info. Loded contracts seems to be creeping up in ppp.

You are currently in your 2014 June UY so you didn't get anything you weren't entitled to get. Your June 2015 UY starts on June 1, 2015.

 

[loveglobe]

Use Year has NOTHING to do with when you can book. It has to do with when you can BANK points you are not going to use.

If your DVC timeshare salesman told you UY didn't matter because you'd be booking during your home resort window, either:

• You misunderstood him, or...
• He has no clue how DVC works

Wow JimMIA you obviously have a very low opinion of DVC Guides, and of me and my fellow posters, and for that I regret causing you to want to respond on this thread. I've read some of your other posts and have found them to be insightful and fair, but for some reason everything you've posted here comes off as really harsh. If you're just having a bad day I'm sorry and hope tomorrow gets better for you, truly. However, if you read KAT's post carefully, and mine again as well, I think it's clear that we both understand UY has nothing to do with when you can book. And c'mon, we understand banking points. What she was saying and what I was agreeing with is that if you plan your vacations as far in advance as possible then UY isn't much a factor. If I couldn't plan in advance yet liked to travel during a specific time of year then UY would be important given the banking window. For me, even though I will be using the 11 month window as much as possible, I also know for a fact that I will not be traveling to WDW in summertime, so a Sept UY is ideal (though yes KAT it is still a bit muggy then but at least there's the draw of the F&W Fest!). I appreciate everyone's advice here, but don't appreciate being belittled. Hopefully it's not too much to ask that other users treat me and my fellow posters with the respect of reading the thread carefully and not being so judgmental in your responses.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Your Guide is merely a timeshare salesperson. That's all. They do say things that will get you to buy from them and not a resale. They get no commission from resales. DVC timeshare sales people usually a bit more laid back than other timeshares, but they are a lot different than they were when OKW first opened up and in the early years. They were honest and even suggested when it wasn't a good idea to buy. They didn't tell you that you were being given points for free. I've heard some of them tell potential members outright lies.

 

[nalajms]

In case you didn't catch this reading in other threads ... if you decide to buy 200pts at VGF, consider splitting your contract into 2 - 100pts so that if you ever decide to downsize it'll be easier. I think we paid an extra $250 to do that, but we were thinking more along the lines of our 2 kids. If we have number 3, I'm not sure what we'd do .

 

[bethy]

I do. But only because we are buying more VGC and plan to travel almost exclusively to DLR and rarely to WDW. The point cost isn't that different. And I want to the increased likelihood of being able to use my points at the DLR resorts when VGC isn't available (which it's often not.) Also, I want to keep the same UY - need to keep it simple.

 

[loveglobe]

Nalajms that's a good point! We don't plan on selling, and hope to still be alive when the contract expires in 2064, but that would've been a good safeguard just in case!

bethy - how far in advance do you find you have to book VGC? We live in SoCal so would like to stay there one night here or there, off season and mid-week is fine, but I've also heard it's hard to book because the inventory is so small.

 

[sndral]

...I think it's clear that we both understand UY has nothing to do with when you can book. And c'mon, we understand banking points. What she was saying and what I was agreeing with is that if you plan your vacations as far in advance as possible then UY isn't much a factor. If I couldn't plan in advance yet liked to travel during a specific time of year then UY would be important given the banking window. ... I appreciate everyone's advice here, but don't appreciate being belittled. Hopefully it's not too much to ask that other users treat me and my fellow posters with the respect of reading the thread carefully and not being so judgmental in your responses.

Planning vacations far in advance certainly enhances DVC utility, but it's irrelevant to choice of use year. Use year issues typically arise when the unexpected happens. When life gets in the way and that carefully planned vacation has to be cancelled or postponed use year can become very important. For example, let's say you have an October use year and have a September vacation planned using current years points. You learn in July that you have to cancel/postpone your trip - you are too late to bank those points and they will expire 9/31 - so you must use those points before 9/31 or they are gone. If instead you have a September use year you are in great shape, you have until 8/31 the following year to use them and you can still bank them for use beyond that.

 

[DVC Mike]

The reasons to buy direct are mostly to do with speed and convenience, as you'll pay more than going resale.

• You can get the exact number of points that you want (although you must typically buy a minimum of 100-160)
  
• Faster than resale (you will be in the system and have your points and be able to make reservations much faster than resale, sometimes within a day)
  
• No worries about the purchase if Disney executes ROFR, since that only applies to resale purchases
  
• More expensive cost per point than the resale market, although be sure to take into consideration any incentives that DVC is offering. DVC doesn't negotiate the price. Some brand new resorts may not be available on the resale market.
  
• You can easily finance through DVC, and Disney doesn’t report the loan to credit reporting agencies; also, the interest on the loan will be tax-deductable (in most cases) since it’s a mortgage
  
• You can pay with a Rewards credit card and get points/cash back
  
• The full set of points you buy will be available immediately, versus some resale contracts which may be “stripped” of points.
  

 

[Dean]

After visiting WDW 18 times (and DLR 20+, and every other Disneyland in the world except Shanghai), I'm finally in a place in life where buying DVC makes financial sense. I've had a few meetings with a DVC guide, but I'm a planner and like to analyze things thoroughly. After doing a ton of research and pouring through the threads on this board, it seems like the overwhelming consensus is buy resale not direct though Disney unless you want a Guaranteed Week or want like 400+ points all with the same use year (neither of which I need). Is there ANYONE out there who can provide another solid reason to buy direct from Disney?

I've done the math and realize that using points for the Collections really doesn't make sense now (which is a main perk of buying direct), but to play devil's advocate here as an example, 25 years from now when DCL or Adventures By Disney cost an even more exorbitant amount of money, wouldn't it make some sense to use points at that time? I am a die hard Disney fan and plan to keep this contract for the full life of it, not sell in ten years once the kids grow up. BLT would be my top choice resort, but VGF is a very nice second and there aren't many resale options for either one of those in the market right now.

Thanks in advance!

For a full sized contract, the only reasons to buy direct are if you must have that new resort and are willing to pay the huge extra. It never makes sense to buy to use points for DCL, ABD, etc. While the option might not be there in 5 yrs, to think it'll be cheaper is not a reasonable conclusion and not born out by past history. If you do buy direct, I'd suggest one or more fixed weeks if you have the options even if it's not weeks you'd normally use. You might not save enough on VGF currently to justify waiting for a good contract though. Don't let the two closings scare you off if you're saving a lot anyway and it makes sense otherwise but for 200-250, don't do it just to get enough points. One option is to buy more than one home resort, and in that situations, 2 closings are often worth it.

 

[Kebby]

I just wanted to add on that we just bought PVB and were told we had to have an October UY for the same reasons you were told. We also wanted August/sept. I told our guide it was a deal breaker and I got the UY I wanted or I was walking. Needless to say we now have an Aug UY.

 

[disneynutz]

Nalajms that's a good point! We don't plan on selling, and hope to still be alive when the contract expires in 2064, but that would've been a good safeguard just in case!

bethy - how far in advance do you find you have to book VGC? We live in SoCal so would like to stay there one night here or there, off season and mid-week is fine, but I've also heard it's hard to book because the inventory is so small.

Best plan is to plan that anything can happen. You may grow tired of ownership after a few years, you may have a life change, job change, health.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Bill

 

[bethy]

Nalajms that's a good point! We don't plan on selling, and hope to still be alive when the contract expires in 2064, but that would've been a good safeguard just in case!

bethy - how far in advance do you find you have to book VGC? We live in SoCal so would like to stay there one night here or there, off season and mid-week is fine, but I've also heard it's hard to book because the inventory is so small.

Actually you are in the best position to be able to utilize non-VGC points at VGC. Flexibility in that you live in SoCal and don't have to travel far or plan far ahead. And a willingness to go for just one night and also midweek. Basically, after 6 months, or even soon after 7 there are typically sporadic nights available here and there - especially for studios. The exception might be in January and February. Also, I'm sure the waitlist yields decent results now and then as people's travel plans change.

 

[Erigeni5]

I'm a converted buying resale supporter. However, IMO one has to know first of their preferrences and/or priorities.

I myself consider big savings as my top priority and I don't have problem with timing. Thus, resale is the best and perfect route for me.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Lauren may I ask which resort and UY you wanted? It does seem like you lucked out finding exactly what you wanted so quickly - congrats!

We went for VGC with an August UY. I saw you've decided to do VGF - congrats! I've already got add-on-itis and I've been watching BLT and VGF listings, and while I've seen a few for August or September UY, I haven't seen any for the VGF yet. Out of curiosity, are you considering a fixed week or just buying points?

 

[loveglobe]

The reasons to buy direct are mostly to do with speed and convenience, as you'll pay more than going resale.

• You can get the exact number of points that you want (although you must typically buy a minimum of 100-160)
  
• Faster than resale (you will be in the system and have your points and be able to make reservations much faster than resale, sometimes within a day)
  
• No worries about the purchase if Disney executes ROFR, since that only applies to resale purchases
  
• More expensive cost per point than the resale market, although be sure to take into consideration any incentives that DVC is offering. DVC doesn't negotiate the price. Some brand new resorts may not be available on the resale market.
  
• You can easily finance through DVC, and Disney doesn’t report the loan to credit reporting agencies; also, the interest on the loan will be tax-deductable (in most cases) since it’s a mortgage
  
• You can pay with a Rewards credit card and get points/cash back
  
• The full set of points you buy will be available immediately, versus some resale contracts which may be “stripped” of points.

This is an excellent and concise post, thanks DVC Mike. Most of those bullet points apply to my case, so I feel going direct was the best move for us in this case.

However, we did decide to call our Guide back and ask for the contract to be split 125/125 (points, not fixed week Lauren since we expect our travel habits to change a bit over time), and at first he said that it would have to be Oct UY since Sept closed yesterday, and then he said he could get us Aug. We made it clear we only wanted Sept UY (due to the reasons I've already outlined above) and were willing to go on the WL. He called us back a short while later saying he got a supervisor to ok Sept for us, so we got exactly what we wanted. Whether or not that was some kind of unnecessary sales ploy or he truly did need approval higher up, I don't know, but I do know that I like and trust my Guide. He's funny and patient, and a former New Yorker like myself. We spent a good 20 minutes after finishing the contract (this was after an hour on the phone and past his 5pm end of work day) just talking about our shared backgrounds, so I don't think he was blowing smoke the entire time. It also behooves him to not sour the relationship from the start because he'll be servicing it for years to come. There are certainly bad DVC Guides out there, and it seems like some of you have unfortunately had to deal with them, but I've had enough experience with other DVC guides, realtors, car salesmen, contractors etc. to know a bad one when I meet them and trust me my BS meter is quite high - you don't live in NYC for the first 25 years of your life without developing a keen sense of when someone intends to rob you! My FIL was an industry parts salesman for much of his career and an honest person, so I guess I just believe that if you believe in your product and love what you do, you don't need to rely on lies to get your job done. And at the end of the day, we feel good about our decision and are excited to join DVC, so regardless of what we might have saved by spending more time hunting on the resale markets, I will be sleeping well tonight and dreaming of our first DVC vacation! : )

 

[JimMIA]

Wow JimMIA you obviously have a very low opinion of DVC Guides, and of me and my fellow posters, and for that I regret causing you to want to respond on this thread. I've read some of your other posts and have found them to be insightful and fair, but for some reason everything you've posted here comes off as really harsh.

Sorry, I didn't mean my responses to sound harsh or belittling. If you took them that way, I apologize.

I don't have a low regard for DVC sales personnel, but I realize they are timeshare sales men and women who have a vested interest in the prospect buying from them. Within the timeshare industry, DVC sales personnel are better than many, not as good as some. But certainly not as bad as companies like Wyndham or Westgate, who are severely ethically challenged.

However, over the years I have had numerous conversations with a number of guides who clearly had no idea how a DVC account worked in the real world. Not that they were lying necessarily, but just didn't know what they were talking about...especially with regard to UY, banking, borrowing, reserving and canceling.

What she was saying and what I was agreeing with is that if you plan your vacations as far in advance as possible then UY isn't much a factor.

I guess I misunderstood some of the comments. However, if that's what you meant, I would respectfully disagree.

Planning far in advance doesn't negate the effect of UY, IMHO. The only situation where UY becomes of considerable importance is if you have to cancel after your banking deadline has passed. Whether you made that reservation the previous day or 10 months previously is irrelevant.

I also think UY is something we probably fixate on more than we should. We had an October UY with three families, all with school age kids and one teacher who vacationed mostly in the summer and never lost a point due to cancellations or banking issues. To me, UY is something you manage but not something to really worry about that much.

In a perfect world, if you have a UY a month or two prior to most of your vacations, that's ideal but many have found that their vacation periods change as their kids get older and become in activities (sports, school, etc) which preclude vacationing during much of the school year.

 

[loveglobe]

Sorry, I didn't mean my responses to sound harsh or belittling. If you took them that way, I apologize.

I don't have a low regard for DVC sales personnel, but I realize they are timeshare sales men and women who have a vested interest in the prospect buying from them. Within the timeshare industry, DVC sales personnel are better than many, not as good as some. But certainly not as bad as companies like Wyndham or Westgate, who are severely ethically challenged.

However, over the years I have had numerous conversations with a number of guides who clearly had no idea how a DVC account worked in the real world. Not that they were lying necessarily, but just didn't know what they were talking about...especially with regard to UY, banking, borrowing, reserving and canceling.

I guess I misunderstood some of the comments. However, if that's what you meant, I would respectfully disagree.

Planning far in advance doesn't negate the effect of UY, IMHO. The only situation where UY becomes of considerable importance is if you have to cancel after your banking deadline has passed. Whether you made that reservation the previous day or 10 months previously is irrelevant.

I also think UY is something we probably fixate on more than we should. We had an October UY with three families, all with school age kids and one teacher who vacationed mostly in the summer and never lost a point due to cancellations or banking issues. To me, UY is something you manage but not something to really worry about that much.

In a perfect world, if you have a UY a month or two prior to most of your vacations, that's ideal but many have found that their vacation periods change as their kids get older and become in activities (sports, school, etc) which preclude vacationing during much of the school year.

JimMIA I appreciate your response, and understand where you're coming from now. Thank you. I agree with what you're saying about UY, and would just clarify that I was essentially comparing the importance of UY between someone who plans far in advance versus for instance if your work schedule is unpredictable so you can't book months ahead but it's always relatively slow during the winter so wouldn't want to have to bank points before that season (assuming you don't have points to borrow and have to use them up this year). In the latter case, your UY would be a much more important factor than to someone who can plan 11 months out. That's what I was trying to get at and I believe you understand that as well. I feel like we're both just looking at different sides of the same cube so to speak. : )

But in any case, it's reassuring to hear that you haven't lost a point yet, and hopefully all this fretting on my part about our UY will be for naught (time will tell though - 49 years on this contract!).

 

[Tigger1]

If it is a small number of points and a new resort I would go Direct. I have seen many listings for older resorts that actually cost the same as Grand Floridian or even more if you calculate Price per point divided by number of years left on contract. With the Poly you would get 50 years of points, closing cost is less than a resale and no maint fees for 2014, 2015 fees would be prorated. Also compare interest rates of Direct and resale if financing.

 

[Dean]

JimMIA I appreciate your response, and understand where you're coming from now. Thank you. I agree with what you're saying about UY, and would just clarify that I was essentially comparing the importance of UY between someone who plans far in advance versus for instance if your work schedule is unpredictable so you can't book months ahead but it's always relatively slow during the winter so wouldn't want to have to bank points before that season (assuming you don't have points to borrow and have to use them up this year). In the latter case, your UY would be a much more important factor than to someone who can plan 11 months out. That's what I was trying to get at and I believe you understand that as well. I feel like we're both just looking at different sides of the same cube so to speak. : )

But in any case, it's reassuring to hear that you haven't lost a point yet, and hopefully all this fretting on my part about our UY will be for naught (time will tell though - 49 years on this contract!).

UY is insurance in case life happens. It can be worth a years worth of points or more in some situations. Just be clear that for the situations where UY does not provide that safety net due to booking habits or unpredictability, the risks still exist. Basically DVC is a greater risk for that group than it is for those who can use UY as a major advantage. And while Jim or many others (myself included) have not lost points, many have or had to use them in a way that didn't provide the same return such as using points for cash type options like DCL or for unit sizes that they would have preferred not to use. As for the sales staff, they are timeshare sales people, no more and no less. And while they may be better and more appropriate than most, and maybe a little less so the past 3-4 yrs, the facts remain the same.